(Providence, RI) -- Rhode Island stands alone in the Northeast as the only state "in recession." That's the consensus of economists who delivered the somber news to lawmakers yesterday, adding that the state's economy hasn't been this bad in nearly two decades. The Ocean State's employment figures, foreclosures rates and personal income growth are worse than other New England states and national averages, and according to Michael Lynch, an economist with the international consulting firm Global Insight, Rhode Island was the only New England state to report negative employment growth between March 2007 and March 2008. Lynch is one of many economist participating in a two-week conference that the "Providence Journal" reports will determine exactly how much money state leaders can spend on programs that touch nearly every Rhode Islander, such as subsidized healthcare, education aid to cities and towns, and bridge and highway projects.

Well I am home from my amazing trip to Australia & New Zealand. To be honest I am not thrilled to be back because I am missing Kate badly after being with her twenty-four hours a day for two months straight.

I am still getting used to being home and not being somewhere new almost everyday. Everyday was like a new adventure; exploring new places with my partner in crime, Kate. It was nice to be disconnected from everything too; no television, cell phones, or computers. I was always meeting new people from all around the globe, just shooting the breeze and having a good time.

I have officially caught the travel bug. I know I wont be going anywhere soon because I pretty much wipe out my savings account, but I eventually want to see the rest of the world and meet up with some of the people I have met on this trip.

I have been sick because I caught something on the plane from Auckland to LA, but I am slowly but surly getting better. I have been doing a little of job hunting but I am still trying to get settled, getting everything unpacked and cleaning out some old things. I still need to get some pictures from Kate before I can post them, but be on the look out for them.

I feel like it's a new chapter in my life; time to start my career and finally get some things I have always wanted underway. Best time to try some new things.


Kate & I on the way into Queenstown, New Zealand.

Two wonderful years with my amazing girlfriend Kate! I can't wait to see her <333

The newspaper won't print names of graduates anymore, so check out the link instead

http://www.uri.edu/commencement/commprogram07.pdf

This is a very exciting time for me, there is so much going on.

First off, I finally graduated. When I looked back and think about how this might of never happened, I am very proud of myself. After changing my major at the end of my sophomore year and flirting with the idea of dropping out I was off to a rough start with one of my professors telling me "You might want to think about changing your major" But I managed somehow and here I am graduating and damn proud of myself.

Second, my birthday is the same day as graduation which is a nice gift to myself. I don't really care about my birthday but it is cool it is the same day as graduation.

Third, May 19th will be me and Kate's two year anniversary. I love that girl, she is amazing. Even though I won't be seeing her because she is in Australia it is all good because I will be going to see her in June, which brings me to my fourth point.

I leave for Australia on June 18th and will not be back until August 17th. I will be traveling around Australia June 18th – July 8th, then around New Zealand July 8th – August 12th. It will be an awesome experience and just nice to get away from everything for awhile. I am so glad I am doing it with Kate I think it will be amazing for us to do this together, it just adds to the awesomeness of it all. No stress or worries until I get back and start to look for a full time job, which shouldn't be hard seeing there is plenty of opportunity out there for people with accounting degrees.

Life is awesome, and when I think back a few years I never would have imagined all of this great stuff would be happening to me. I couldn't be happier with my life.