Day 325! I’ve already known for a while now that I was going to go home for my cousins wedding next May. But I hadn’t finalized anything yet… but the time has come to buy my first ticket home. I don’t have a flight yet… that’s still to come. But today, I bought my ticket to a music festival I love dearly, Bonnaroo! Thus solidifying and confirming to myself that I am, in fact, going to the US for the Summer of 2025!

I woke up to my alarm at 4:50am. I was not going to miss the presale of the music festival Bonnaroo (also known as “Roo”). I unfortunately missed out on the 2024 Roo which had a lineup I would’ve really wanted to see. But I’m not only going to see the musicians, I’m also going to spend a weekend camping with a group of friends I haven’t seen in over a year!

5am rolled around (12pm back home) and I secured my ticket for Bonnaroo 2025! I can’t wait to be back “on the farm” with the amazing people in my camping group and enjoying a weekend full of incredible music!

Due to the excitement, I felt pretty awake. I almost decided to go surfing then and there but I thought it’d be better to be more rested. So I went back to sleep… with the intentions of waking up at 7:30am to go surf.

But… I slept through my alarm and woke up at 8:30am. Now I still could’ve gone surfing, since I didn’t work till 4pm. But I felt like it was a sign to take the day off and rest up to surf more this weekend.

So I made myself breakfast before getting back into bed and reading.

The forecast said there was potential rain this morning. So I waited to see if it came true (it did not). It was around 10:30am by this time and rain was completely out of the forecast. So I decided to pack up my backpack and head to the beach.

I didn’t really have any intentions on getting in the water. But I wanted to finish up my audiobook and sit outside. While I walked to the beach, the clouds started to part and the sun started to peak out!

I ended up sitting in the bit of sun, listening to my audiobook, and watching surfers attempt the choppy waters.

I ended up finishing the book. It was a nicely written whodunnit/thriller novel. I enjoyed it and thank you to my friend Maddie for suggesting it. Girl, Forgotten is definitely not a must read, but it wasn’t a bad one either!

After about 3.5 hours at the beach, I decided to head back home.

It was lunchtime and I decided to make myself some tuna wraps.

I then decided to play some guitar and then read until it was time to work.

My shift today started at 4pm and was scheduled till 10pm, but it of course ran a bit longer (which I was totally okay with). The shift started off slow and then as dinner started a constant stream of people were in and out of the bar and restaurant.

Then as the night went on, the bar picked up a bit.

Around 8:15pm, I had my break and dinner. Usually I’d go into the office to eat, but since I spent the majority of the day alone, I wanted to eat out by the bar and people.

While I ate my chicken schnitzel, a couple of my coworkers came to join me. We ended up having a number of us sitting in a row at the bar (since we all ended up taking breaks very close to each other. This happened because of the time we all ordered food).

After my break, there were a few moments where I was alone on my side of the bar and it got a little hectic. But it wasn’t anywhere near as packed as it could’ve been!

During this shift I met a couple of people from the US. One was from Ohio and the other was from Oklahoma… and he went to the university of Oklahoma! Small world and he was excited to hear I went to KU… bit of a rivalry.

I worked till just before 11pm and then my manager told me to clock out and have a beer. Some patrons were drinking half new half old: And I decided to pour one for myself.

My friend Will was back in town and showed up at the bar. I ended up having a couple beers with him and his friends before calling it a night and heading back to my house.

The night sky on my walk home was insanely pretty. It’s cool that we can see the stars, even with all the lights on in town.

I got home and called it a night! Tomorrow I have a morning shift and the that’s it. On my way out of work my manager told me there’s a chance I’ll be needed tomorrow night! I hope that’s the case! I really enjoy working Saturday and it s craziness. But I also have plans to surf in the morning, a potential afternoon of surfing, and a night of drinking with friends if I’m not needed at the bar.

– Elie