Missing EVERYONE!!

      At the moment I am feeling quite lonesome. Sure I have friends here, but it is the presence of friends and family from home that I crave right now. I know it sounds sappy and such, but it really has been eating at me for the past few days. Work seems to do a good job of distracting me from that fact, but as soon as I finish my shift I realize just how far away from home I really am. My hikes and adventures with my friends here take an edge off the loneliness, but again, as soon as I sit down and take stock of where I actually am I get a bit bummed that my closest friends and family are not here to experience all of the amazing things there are here.
     I honestly did not think I would miss everyone back home this much. I knew I would to a degree, but not this much. And the fact that I still have about 3 and a half months here does not help.  the only contact I have had with friends and family at home is either through Facebook, or through writing letters using the USPS. The letters I have received thus far have really brightened things up for me here. I absolutely love reading them. Receiving and writing letters are another thing that seem to take the edge off of my low point moods.  
     Despite all of that, I am doing alright here. I think I will be able to survive until my time here is done. I have been trying to find some good hikes to go on for my next days off and I think I may have found one. Which means that you all will be getting a whole new batch of photos to look at soon. I love taking pictures here. The land is so beautiful that all you have to do is point and shoot to get a good photo. I hear the Tetons are much more pretty though, so I am going to have to take a trip there very soon to find out for myself.
     As usual work is crazy. Lately people have either been sick or just not showing up, which means we all have to pull a little extra to survive a night. And sometimes that little extra and put some of us over the edge. I know I almost lost it tonight. If it were not for my amazing manager and my awesome co-worker I do not think I would have made it tonight. Some of the people I served were great too, so that helped as well. I love talking to people who are willing to chat it up a bit. Just the other night I met a women from Salem, Oregon just like me :) And tonight I met a cool British couple and some friendly Australians. Among other nice people too. Overall, the work sucks sometimes, but there are some bright spots that keep me going. I just hope those bright spots don't stop.
     Well, it is pretty late/early so I think I am going to get some sleep so I can actually make it to breakfast on time. Remember that I love and miss you all and that I wish you all could be here with me.