Day 1

I don't really know how to begin. I've never actually kept a blog before, I've always unleashed my thoughts, musings, questions, complaints, comments, etc. on the people around me. I'm a talker, I thrive on that type of human connection. However, current circumstances have greatly diminished my vocal interactions with people, which means... I need an outlet. Someone suggested I start a blog and I kinda went back and forth, debating whether I wanted to do something that's just so public but eventually I just did it. So here I am! I guess I'll see how this goes.

My name is Maria Morales. I've lived in Los Angeles, CA most of my life, except for the six years that I lived in Ithaca, NY when I went to Cornell University. The experiences that I had those 6 years pretty much formed the adult that I am today. Those were some of the best years of my life and I met so many amazing people that I still keep in touch with today, and always will. When I moved back to LA, it was definitely a rocky beginning. I felt out of place and lonely. But thankfully, I've made new friends and I've reconnected with the city that I've always loved.

For the last two years I worked at Bloomingdale's and granted, it wasn't the best job in the world, but I liked it. I liked the energy, the life, the people, the environment, and the neverending change. I'm also a procrastinator so I was also too lazy to find a different job. That and I still can't figure out what I want to do with my life. I know, I know, trust me I've heard it all before. But that's beside the point right now. Anyways, to make a long story short (and believe me, I'm a rambler so it would be a looooong story, with footnotes and everything), on September 11th, 2006, my life kinda... stopped. Based on the results of a biopsy I'd had done a week before, I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of blood cancer.

The weeks following my diagnosis were jampacked with activity. If I wasn't at work, I was at the hospital getting tests done. During that time, I was too busy to really think about what was going to happen. The day I met with the oncologist I realized things were going to change drastically. Literally, I met with her on a Friday, stopped working the following Tuesday, and started chemotherapy on Wednesday. And since then.... I watch TV, read, sleep, go to the movies, play on the Internet... wait for the mail... watch the grass grow, the paint peel.... You get the point.

At first I talked on the phone alot but all I needed was one $300 bill to convince me that I needed another form of comunication with the outside world. I guess I should clarify that the reason I had to stop working was because apparently chemotherapy not only attacks cancer cells, it also affects your immune system and make you susceptible to infections and sicknesses. I was told to avoid sick people, kids (those dirty germ-mobiles, lol), and any activity that would increase my chances of getting sick/hurt. Anyways, I joined myspace, even though I swore I never would. But it just wasn't enough. I needed, craved, something more... introspective. Hence, the birth of this blog.

I know this entry was kinda long. In books, prologues are suppose to be short, but like I said, I'm a rambler :). I'll try not to focus too much on the cancer stuff, I can't help it sometimes, it just dominates my life. Well, I guess this is it for now....