So right now I'm jobless and sort of homeless. All of my stuff is on Renee's porch. I am sort of looking for a job... but I'm not gonna lie, it's a half hearted search. I'm tired. I'm enjoying my "family" and friends here... it's good to be back. It feels so good to finally celebrate and enjoy life. A friend on Monday asked me what I was going to do that day - and I didn't have an answer. It was an awesome feeling.
Things I've done here so far:
- gone to Cookout three times. In 4 days.
- stayed up until 4am to watch a meteor shower.
- watched Aladdin for the first time in like 10 years
- slept until noon.
- gotten pulled over for speeding... which I totally talked my way out of by pretending I was "new to the area"... yay for Tennessee tags.
- called everyone I know.
- bought a stupid number of DVDs at Blockbuster - they were on sale and I HAVE TIME TO WATCH THEM NOW.
- baked a birthday cake for Lisa with Max and Cana. Lots of sprinkles were involved.
- stole Renee's keys and left her locked out of her house.
- not turned on my mac.
- checked out my NEW HOUSE in the ghetto. I <3 it.
- hung out with my fabulous new roommate and her crazy mother. We're going to have way too much fun.
I miss you Nashville kids, though. I'm not gonna lie. I feel like both of my lives need to converge. That would be great. Nashville + Raleigh = my version of heaven. :-)
Showing posts with label NC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NC. Show all posts
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Friday, May 16, 2008
Listening: Part II
Okay so a few weeks back I posted about how I was shifting my focus to listening instead of deciding. Well let me tell you, it's pretty incredible. I feel like everything is coming together. Things don't seem as impossible as they did even last week. For the first time I actually feel like this whole graduation/move back to NC thing is going to happen... and not only that, but it's the right decision. I have a peace about it. Even if it changes again, for right now, I need to be there. The obstacles that seemed insurmountable are falling away one by one, such as living situations, which church to go to, etc.
God does absolutely amazing things all the time. Paying attention works wonders.
God does absolutely amazing things all the time. Paying attention works wonders.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Can I just say...
... that my life rocks?
Stuff is starting to pull together for my move. Yay!! I don't know that I could be much more excited to be out of school. And um, I have fans. They made tee shirts. :-)
You wish you had kids that cool in your life. :-)
Meanwhile, it's raining. I feel like a 5 year old, staring out the window wishing it was sunny out. I'm having a Cat In The Hat moment right now... I'm envisioning Thing 1 and Thing 2 running around, being scolded by a goldfish while running through the office with kites.
The only thing to do on days like this is sit on the couch with a huge bowl of mac and cheese. With Lifetime on TV. And only Lifetime. From 7am when the Nanny comes on and kicks off my morning until she closes it out at 1:30 AM, with a little Golden Girls, Reba, Frasier, and Will and Grace in between.
Granted, in this scenario I will be passed out wayyyy before 1:30. Are you slightly distressed that I know Lifetime's programming schedule so well? It makes me a little sad. I should probably be more embarrassed than I am. Meanwhile, this sums up my weekend:
I love my life.
Stuff is starting to pull together for my move. Yay!! I don't know that I could be much more excited to be out of school. And um, I have fans. They made tee shirts. :-)
You wish you had kids that cool in your life. :-)
Meanwhile, it's raining. I feel like a 5 year old, staring out the window wishing it was sunny out. I'm having a Cat In The Hat moment right now... I'm envisioning Thing 1 and Thing 2 running around, being scolded by a goldfish while running through the office with kites.
The only thing to do on days like this is sit on the couch with a huge bowl of mac and cheese. With Lifetime on TV. And only Lifetime. From 7am when the Nanny comes on and kicks off my morning until she closes it out at 1:30 AM, with a little Golden Girls, Reba, Frasier, and Will and Grace in between.
Granted, in this scenario I will be passed out wayyyy before 1:30. Are you slightly distressed that I know Lifetime's programming schedule so well? It makes me a little sad. I should probably be more embarrassed than I am. Meanwhile, this sums up my weekend:
I love my life.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Crossroads? ,
So I spend an inordinate amount of time planning my future. My mom yells at me for this, because I'm sure it's exhausting. I have tossed around cities and jobs and general life plans endlessly, praying and thinking and trying to get the next chapter of my life mapped out.
So far, I've looked at NYC, Chicago, Nashville, Raleigh, and Austin as potential destinations.
Yes, I have even looked into Australia. (Which is not entirely out of the running, depending on the results of the election in November...)
I've come to the following conclusions:
Chicago: Entirely too cold. I don't do winter very well. I am not entirely sure I can grasp the concept that people actually function in single digit winter. I would probably not work from November to April. Snow on the ground is clearly God giving me permission to stay in bed.
New York: Falls under the entirely too cold for a southerner category as well. Not to mention the fact that I would die in the city. I like to drive and play outside too much. But B is there. And the job market is better.
Austin: I know I'd do well in Austin. I'd love it. It's warm, dry, and full of cowboys and live music. The issue? Proximity to ANYTHING I am familiar with. Which may not be altogether a bad thing.
Nashville: Still not completely out of the running. I'm pretty established here. I have great friends. It's a good place to live. Well, at least Williamson County is. But the job market here is pretty unfortunate, and I just don't think I can play this game forever.
Australia: Aussies are crazy. Although, I'm not entirely opposed to the idea of being a beach bum. And I might pick up a sweet accent.
Let's face it... I'm going to end up back in NC. So what the heck does that mean? What will I do there? Because once I get my $90,000 piece of paper I will not be waiting tables or changing diapers for strangers. The short story is that I have absolutely no idea what I'll do. Honestly, I'm not the best at making life plans. I change my mind daily. I'm emotional about it, I sometimes let my forthcoming freedom and my curiosity get the best of me. I get so excited about what I CAN do, and want to do ALL OF IT. RIGHT NOW.
Basically I try to do God's job, without asking him what His plans are.
A good friend of mine pointed out tonight that every time I go home, there is something different that seems to pull me back in that direction. A different opportunity, a different relationship - something new every trip. She's right. This pull I feel toward home isn't an accident.
I've got to go where I'm being led.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Why I'm moving to Raleigh this year...
http://hypebot.typepad.com/hypebot/2008/01/an-unlucky-13-t.html
1. Music sales continued their decline dropping another 15% or more over 2006. Sales were down 21% in the week before Christmas alone.
2. DRM is dead. Three of the four top label groups (EMI, Universal, and and last week WMG) stopped adding restrictive software to their downloads.
3.Amazon.com opened an all mp3 store where every track is playable on any brand of player and can be burned to a CD.
4. Amazon also rejected iTune's 99 cent/$9.99 pricing structure cutting them by 10%.
5. Social networking gained traction as a viral marketing media. Facebook's open platform and Google's Open Social promised to make SN even more marketer friendly in 2008.
6. Widgets were everywhere bringing music discovery and purchase to where ever fans are online.
7. Ringtone sales faltered, but music still went mobile. The release of the iPhone forced other phone makers to add more music features to all cell phones.
8. The competition among portable players finally heated up. iPods got cheaper with some models getting bigger hard drives. Microsofts' Zune gained traction as an iPod alternative.
The competition among portable players finally heated up. iPods got cheaper with some models getting bigger hard drives.
9. Microsofts' Zune gained traction as an iPod alternative. Internet radio had an uncertain year with ongoing royalty rate battles. Despite that 2007 saw the rise of personalized net radio. Pandora and Last.fm gained big audiences and others like Slacker launched.
10. A growing number of established artists including Radiohead, Madonna, The Eagles and Prince found new ways to release their music without traditional labels.
11. The RIAA continued its legal actions against fans who trade music on the net particularly targeting colleges. Despite these efforts Bit torrent and Limewire usage grew.
12. More record stores closed, but some great local retailers remained strong.
13. Overall concert revenues declined 20%. Are fans tired of high ticket prices and a mediocre concert experience?
Concert giant Live Nation fired Ticketmaster (known for high ticketing fees) and promised its own ticketing system by Jan 1st 2009.
1. Music sales continued their decline dropping another 15% or more over 2006. Sales were down 21% in the week before Christmas alone.
2. DRM is dead. Three of the four top label groups (EMI, Universal, and and last week WMG) stopped adding restrictive software to their downloads.
3.Amazon.com opened an all mp3 store where every track is playable on any brand of player and can be burned to a CD.
4. Amazon also rejected iTune's 99 cent/$9.99 pricing structure cutting them by 10%.
5. Social networking gained traction as a viral marketing media. Facebook's open platform and Google's Open Social promised to make SN even more marketer friendly in 2008.
6. Widgets were everywhere bringing music discovery and purchase to where ever fans are online.
7. Ringtone sales faltered, but music still went mobile. The release of the iPhone forced other phone makers to add more music features to all cell phones.
8. The competition among portable players finally heated up. iPods got cheaper with some models getting bigger hard drives. Microsofts' Zune gained traction as an iPod alternative.
The competition among portable players finally heated up. iPods got cheaper with some models getting bigger hard drives.
9. Microsofts' Zune gained traction as an iPod alternative. Internet radio had an uncertain year with ongoing royalty rate battles. Despite that 2007 saw the rise of personalized net radio. Pandora and Last.fm gained big audiences and others like Slacker launched.
10. A growing number of established artists including Radiohead, Madonna, The Eagles and Prince found new ways to release their music without traditional labels.
11. The RIAA continued its legal actions against fans who trade music on the net particularly targeting colleges. Despite these efforts Bit torrent and Limewire usage grew.
12. More record stores closed, but some great local retailers remained strong.
13. Overall concert revenues declined 20%. Are fans tired of high ticket prices and a mediocre concert experience?
Concert giant Live Nation fired Ticketmaster (known for high ticketing fees) and promised its own ticketing system by Jan 1st 2009.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
My trip.
So I pretty much got to see everyone I needed to see. Not everyone, of course, because that never happens, there are always a few people that I just can't seem to get together with. But this was so good. I am reminded every time I come back here that this is where my heart is. This is where my "family" is (biological and otherwise...), and it's hard for me to fathom wanting to be anywhere else at this point in my life. I need to finish up Belmont and get back here and start on the rest of my life. I'm newly motivated, and so rejuvenated by my time here. I don't want to leave tomorrow.
I get to get back to Belmont, start in on a new job, and buckle down for 8 more months. Then I'm done with college forever, and can FINALLY be on to next. Lately I have been struggling with feeling left behind by my friends. So many are moving on to the next chapter of their lives and I'm stuck in school, struggling to get by, taking any job I can. When I put it in perspective, I realize that I have had much more to do to survive than the average college student, and that it's okay that I have had to take time off every now and then. In the grand scheme of things, graduating at 24 is not a big deal. I always thought I'd be 22 like everyone else, but I also didn't plan on working full time and interning my entire way through college either. Such is life.
Life is good now. I'm ready to wrap up this chapter of my life. I love Nashville. My years there have been great. I wouldn't trade them for anything. But I don't think I belong there long term. I will miss my life there a lot, no question. But my life is here, and I don't see myself being anywhere else.
I get to get back to Belmont, start in on a new job, and buckle down for 8 more months. Then I'm done with college forever, and can FINALLY be on to next. Lately I have been struggling with feeling left behind by my friends. So many are moving on to the next chapter of their lives and I'm stuck in school, struggling to get by, taking any job I can. When I put it in perspective, I realize that I have had much more to do to survive than the average college student, and that it's okay that I have had to take time off every now and then. In the grand scheme of things, graduating at 24 is not a big deal. I always thought I'd be 22 like everyone else, but I also didn't plan on working full time and interning my entire way through college either. Such is life.
Life is good now. I'm ready to wrap up this chapter of my life. I love Nashville. My years there have been great. I wouldn't trade them for anything. But I don't think I belong there long term. I will miss my life there a lot, no question. But my life is here, and I don't see myself being anywhere else.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Home.
It's a strange year. My friends here have blurred the family line to a point that makes it seem silly to even try and distinguish. Friends are the family you choose, right? I'm sitting here on a friend's couch, and this couch is so much more familiar than my mother's couch at this point. I have a key here - I don't have a key to my mother's. So is this home? Is this town home? The state?
Or is home people?
I guess it doesn't really matter enough to spend time defining it. Home, in my world, has become where ever I am loved and cared for, and a place where I don't have to keep my guard up. Right now, that is this house. Is this a permanent home? Obviously not - I don't live here. Is it necessary to have a permanent "home" - a building to go back to that you're always welcome? Obviously not, because I haven't had one for a while. To me, home is people. Yes, in a larger sense it's this town, but this town is nothing but a maze of streets and buildings that are brought to life by the people in it... without them, it would mean nothing.
Without them, home is nothing.
Or is home people?
I guess it doesn't really matter enough to spend time defining it. Home, in my world, has become where ever I am loved and cared for, and a place where I don't have to keep my guard up. Right now, that is this house. Is this a permanent home? Obviously not - I don't live here. Is it necessary to have a permanent "home" - a building to go back to that you're always welcome? Obviously not, because I haven't had one for a while. To me, home is people. Yes, in a larger sense it's this town, but this town is nothing but a maze of streets and buildings that are brought to life by the people in it... without them, it would mean nothing.
Without them, home is nothing.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Christmastime.
What a weird year. For the first time in a long time I'm not going to Pennsylvania. Am I okay with this?
Yeah, pretty sure it's fine.
I just get so stressed out this time of year. I only have one part time job right now, and am honestly not sure how I'm going to afford to go home in two days. I am not sure when Christmas turned into a big ball of stress and money problems for me... but I know I'm not the only one in this situation.
The focus just seems so wrong to me. Instead of focusing on friends and family and Jesus, I'm focused on my bank account. What a stressful way to live.
My family is not exchanging gifts this year, and I can't say that I'm disappointed. It will be nice to spend time together and not focus on who got what for who.
This is also the first year I have had to split my time between both parents. I'm definitely not excited about it. My dad's new "family" is nothing but a bunch of strangers to me. I don't know them, and it's going to be weird spending part of my holiday with them. However, he is my dad, and I've just got to try and salvage what little relationship I do have with him - and try really hard to get through it with patience.
On that note, where do you draw the line between including someone in your family and keeping distance? My dad has been dating Jonnie for a year and a half. They live together. But I don't really know her. The extent of my knowledge is pretty much that she was the girl my dad cheated on my mom with. I don't have any reason to like her, and on some levels I feel lik I'm doing pretty well speaking to my dad at this point.
Becca will be coming to visit while I'm there, and I'm definitely pretty pumped about it. I haven't seen her since Nov. 14th and I miss her like crazy! It will be great to spend time with her and all my other friends there.
Yeah, pretty sure it's fine.
I just get so stressed out this time of year. I only have one part time job right now, and am honestly not sure how I'm going to afford to go home in two days. I am not sure when Christmas turned into a big ball of stress and money problems for me... but I know I'm not the only one in this situation.
The focus just seems so wrong to me. Instead of focusing on friends and family and Jesus, I'm focused on my bank account. What a stressful way to live.
My family is not exchanging gifts this year, and I can't say that I'm disappointed. It will be nice to spend time together and not focus on who got what for who.
This is also the first year I have had to split my time between both parents. I'm definitely not excited about it. My dad's new "family" is nothing but a bunch of strangers to me. I don't know them, and it's going to be weird spending part of my holiday with them. However, he is my dad, and I've just got to try and salvage what little relationship I do have with him - and try really hard to get through it with patience.
On that note, where do you draw the line between including someone in your family and keeping distance? My dad has been dating Jonnie for a year and a half. They live together. But I don't really know her. The extent of my knowledge is pretty much that she was the girl my dad cheated on my mom with. I don't have any reason to like her, and on some levels I feel lik I'm doing pretty well speaking to my dad at this point.
Becca will be coming to visit while I'm there, and I'm definitely pretty pumped about it. I haven't seen her since Nov. 14th and I miss her like crazy! It will be great to spend time with her and all my other friends there.
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