Home Sweet Home

As requested by my friend Carrie, I'm publishing some photos of my new place. At the moment, my bedroom is off limits (sorry, Boys) because Elizabeth has a date tomorrow night and she was just over trying on some of my clothes and I've left them strewn about the room to clean up later. I also did a little shopping earlier and my new things are out, too. So, the bedroom will come at a later date, along with the kitchen, which is not yet fully unpacked. Note Nicholas on the chair and Seth Cohen on the television. Not a big fan of The OC, but when you're a single girl with only two channels, watching the cuties on that show isn't a bad option. haha. Love the built-in bookshelves, as well. They were a huge selling point for the apartment! I never have enough book space, and, to the dismay of the guys who helped me move, I could still probably use even more! All in all I'm loving my new place. I'll leave you with a view from my bedroom looking into the living room. It's as much of a full view as I could get. Oh, and please keep in mind that the flash on the camera doesn't do a whole lot for the fun, soft lighting of the room. In other words, in person, it doesn't look like the flourescent waiting room of a sterile hospital, as these pictures make it appear. Wow, is my pride showing tonight, or what?!? Enjoy, Carrie!

Back to Normal ...

... or at least some semblance of it. Not only do I have DSL as of about 20 minutes ago (even earlier than they told me! I think they could tell on the phone the other day how frustrated I was), but the plumber just left after installing a brand-spanking-new toilet in my very tiny little bathroom. Hurrah! I can flush! For a while there, I had flashbacks to my brief time in Belize when a very primitive concrete hole in the ground was our only source of relief. Hey ... isn't that God's sovereignty at work? I was much better equipped to handle a broken toilet for a few days because, even with it's incredibly slow and weak flushing abilities, it was still The Hilton's Best Powder Room compared to what I had been subjected to the week before.

More good news ... the Vickerys (the folks who lived above me at the other place) have found a new renter as of yesterday, so that's a HUGE weight off my shoulders. I felt terrible moving out on them, and I'm very glad they've got a respectable young man from our church moving in to take my place. Not that anyone could really take my place, of course, but you know what I mean. haha.

There are still a couple of things on the list that need to be checked off. I'm heading over soon to check the dumps where I threw out my boxes, as I'm missing a very valuable piece of china that we're afraid got lost in the bunches of newspaper that fragile things were wrapped in. Also, I have to pay my car tag and registration fees. Late. Somehow, in the chaos that has been my life for the past month, the bill got pushed underneath my dish rack only to be discovered by my father the other day as we were packing things up. Great ... just my luck that it would be Dad to find it. That's the sort of thing I would normally kick myself about and then forever hide from my parents, lest they think I'm as irresponsible as I really am. Just kidding, I'm not that bad. Yeah.

Alright, so I'm off to take care of those things. Glad to be back! And sitting in my new "office" even. Oh, if only you all knew how funny that title for my current location really is. Perhaps I'll fill you in on the little joke next time.

Until then...

talk about trust!

This is Miriam's Mom! I can't believe she has given me the honor of filling you in on THE MOVE--from "the Hood" to "the Hub!" We survived to tell about it. But of course, no move is without it's hassles, DSL ranking high on that list. Hence, I'm blogging for Miriam. She won't have access until Fri; at least that is what she was told. Who knows? Her new apartment is great, decorated in style as only Miriam can. The dryer barely works; the toilet doesn't, but hey, the place looks wonderful and that's what counts...Right? Until DSL...

Moving Day Eve

What, exactly, is one supposed to call the night before Moving Day? I admit that my title is a stretch, but it's the best I could come up with. Were I feeling particularly creative, I'd write a poem plagiarising "Twas the Night Before Christmas". Something like,

Twas the night before moving and all through the house,
Boxes were stacked with no room for a mouse.
The dishes were wrapped with a whole lot of care,
Especially those wine glasses... none of those will I spare!

But it's late, and I have an early start tomorrow. The guys are showing up around 9, which isn't so bad, but in order for me to be completely ready for them I'll need to be up a couple of hours earlier. Considering my sleeping patterns of late, 7 am is gonna hurt. Big time.

Mom and Dad are picking up Krispy Kreme donuts on their way over here in the morning. That'll be good for the diet, huh? But the guys will love them. They got here around 2:30 this afternoon and were great about helping me pack up the kitchen. My older sister, Beth, got here around 4:30 or so. After dinner at Jim Shaw's Seafood, we took some of the boxes on over to my new place to give me a little bit of breathing room here tonight, as well as to help the guys better be able to move the furniture out the door in the morning. Janet, my new next door neighbor and close Maconite friend (one of the two!), brought us over some snacks and left me my first housewarming gift ... a little potted Lantana! She's so thoughtful.

Alright, I think it's time to try to get some sleep. I won't have a phone line (and therefore Internet access) until sometime Monday, so expect an update no earlier than then. Until that time, please keep me in your prayers!

Signing off for the last time from the neighborhood we affectionately called "The Hood",
miriam

Farewell, Becca!

This one's for Rebecca. Good luck in the Bohemianly wonderful world of Asheville. Congrats on the job. Scope out the schools up there for me. We love you and will miss you!

ps -- How cute are we?!?

Burial

Massive amounts of mess. Everywhere.

As soon as ...

... I get up tomorrow, I'll pack those boxes. Yes, I'm just getting home and it's 12:30 am. Went to the Shamrock (a little Irish pub) with some folks after Bible Study, then met up with some others for Trivia at El Azteca. That's right: Irish and Mexican all in one evening! It's so funny how my social life seems to work in Macon. One night, I celebrate my birthday with only two friends, and the next night I have to split myself between two different groups. Very strange. I guess that none of them are close enough friends for me to initiate an event, but I'm acquainted enough with them that, if I'm around when they're planning something, I'll be included. When does the time come when I move from one category to the other, more exclusive? That's what I'm trying to figure out. I hope it's coming soon.

The good news is that, after lots of pressure and guilt and begging at Bible Study tonight, I've come up with four guys who are going to help me move on Saturday morning. I sure hope they show up. I think that two of them at least are pretty reliable. And one of those might be able to get me a truck for free, which would mean that I could cancel the U-Haul rental! Nice. Added bonus: the truck guy works for a cabinet company and moves furniture for a living. Definitely an answer to prayer.

Okay, I'm gonna go eat a Weight Watchers Fudge bar and hopefully get a second wind. Boxes are ready and waiting for me to fill them!

Hello Again

I'm back. Half-covered in La Fonda Midnight paint color, buried neck-deep in boxes, and mosquito-bitten on 2/3 of my body, but I'm here. It's been a whirlwind couple of weeks, but they've been great. The trip to Belize was absolutely fantastic! We had such a great group of students that we were traveling with; all of the MTW missionaries commented on how amazing they were. No one complained, no one whined, no one fought. God answers prayers! This picture above was taken right after our team (all but four shown here) unloaded this flatbed truck of its former cargo: over 30 tons of 60 lb. cement blocks, all of which had to go up to the second floor of this school that was under construction. And it was on my birthday! hah!

So now I'm back, and it's moving time. I've spent the last two days over at my new place painting the kitchen a really pretty dark blue color, and it's 100% better than it was. It had some hideous border on it with fruit ... those of you who know me well know that I was NOT settling for fruit on my walls! The border is now gone, thanks to mom's miracle mixture of Downy fabric softener and water that took the adhesive right off. Go Mom!

We got home from the Atlanta airport around 3 am Sunday morning, and, after a quick Sunday of rest, I went to Athens Monday night for a going-away party for Rebecca, who's moving to Asheville. We all met at Mellow Mushroom in remembrance of our past Friday night ritual of winding down the week together eating pizza, having a beer, and acting goofy all around. We snapped this shot before we left.


I got home yesterday after lunch at the Bombay Cafe (yum!) with Bryan (the redhead in the front of the picture above) and started painting. My sister Amy helped, so it went much quicker. Last night, I went out to a local Italian restaurant with Elizabeth and Charlie to celebrate my birthday with them. Then, this morning, it was back to painting! I'm heading over to Bible Study now, then I MUST get started on the boxes as soon as I get back.

"As soon as" ... I've heard that before! Don't worry, Dad, it'll get done. It always does.

argh

Blog is choosing this minute, when I have no extra, to mess up. Just wrote a long journal about how I'm ready, where I'll be, etc, and it got lost when I tried to publish it. I'll fill you in when I'm home next Sunday.

Prayers are appreciated! I'm off for 4 hours of sleep.

Gender Studies

I stole this little quiz from my friend TJ's blog over at MySpace. Seems accurate from my vantage point (well, "sweet and considerate" may be a little much), but then again, TJ (a male) got the exact same score. Try it and see if it's rigged...

Your Brain is 66.67% Female, 33.33% Male

Your brain leans female You think with your heart, not your head Sweet and considerate, you are a giver But you're tough enough not to let anyone take advantage of you!

What Gender Is Your Brain?

Pride Cometh Before a Fall ...

... or so my mother used to tell me. It's a proverb that seems incredibly appropiate at this point. Remember when I boasted so proudly about my packing skills? Well, it seems I spoke to soon. Someone, please, tell me: How do I fit an air mattress, a pillow, a towel, sheets, toilet paper, a mosquito net, AND 3 changes of clothes PER DAY for a week's worth of time in a 3rd world country into one very small suitcase? That's not even mentioning various basic toiletries (soap, shampoo, toothbrush), insect repellant, sunscreen, a jar of peanut butter (!) and two boxes of granola bars (requirements for all of the team members), laundry detergent, and medical supplies. It's just physically impossible, I think. Glad mom's coming to see this humiliationafterthepride; she can help me get it all in there!

Did I mention that I'm really nervous about this trip? I think I did. Mostly about the sports clinic aspect of it, strangely enough. I can handle cold showers and only basic, if any, plumbing. I can even handle doing construction work in the heat. But leading hundreds of Belizean kids in sporting events every afternoon? That sounds absolutely and completely miserable. I mean, I'm the type of girl that all the boys look at and KNOW that they don't want me on their team. I was always picked last growing up in school. And I'm not good at sports for a reason more than that I'm not in shape; I don't LIKE them. Sure, I can sit through and even enjoy an entire baseball game. But here's the thing: watching a bunch of cute boys in uniforms for three hours is a little different than being out there playing with them. (Shhh... don't tell anyone. The fact that I like baseball is one of the reasons guys sometimes think I'm cool. We wouldn't want them to know my little secret, would we?)

So, I'm off to go try to perform a miracle. Or at least ask God to perform the miracle for me. If He could part the Red Sea and change water into wine, surely making my suitcase a bottomless one isn't too much to handle? Then again, maybe he's teaching me that little lesson on pride. Sigh.

ps -- I leave early Saturday morning, and I'll be back next Saturday. The 11th-18th. I'd sure appreciate your thoughts and prayers!

Transitions

Yes, the time stamp on this thing is correct. It is now officially 5:35 am, and I am not sleeping but, instead, alternating between writing on this thing and cleaning my apartment. I've been sleeping, but I woke up about an hour or so ago and couldn't go back, so I figured I'd do something useful instead of just lying in bed thinking about stuff.

I called Rebecca in Athens last night, and when she answered the phone, all I could hear was screaming. She and Thomas were over at Bryan's house, and they were all taking fun pictures and about to watch a movie. It made me sad. Sure, I'm meeting new friends in Macon. However, even after almost two years of being here, I know of only one person who would actually shout from excitement at seeing that I was calling, and that would only be if that person were in a crazy mood. My friends in Athens are those kinds of friends that I know will be there for me, even when I'm a complete and total dork. I can be myself around them because they're not going anywhere. For whatever reason, they like me. Here, I'm still working on that. I'm still very insecure about myself around my new friends. I don't have that confidence that they'll stick with me no matter what goofy thing I say or do. I miss it.

Still, Athens isn't the answer. I know that. Rebecca's moving to Asheville, and I don't think that Bryan will be there long, either. At least I hope not, for his sake. It's such a transitive place. Plus, I'm very well aware of the fact that my time in Athens was something that can't be recreated; I was in school, and the working world just isn't the same. If I went back there, I'm afraid that the idealistic picture that I have of it in my mind would be destroyed and replaced with one not quite so good. I know I'm where I should be right now, but tonight I'm just struggling with understanding it and being content.

I went over to my new apartment yesterday afternoon to paint the bedroom, so of course that's on my mind as well. You know, trying to figure out where certain favorite pieces of furniture will go, how to make it look as homey as possible for an impersonal apartment. It's strange ... my sister Beth used to live in the same place when she was in Macon. How weird is that? I went last week to get my driver's license renewed, and changed my address and all. So I guess it really is official. I also got a new picture and I appear to have the world's largest forehead. A lot like a picture of an unborn baby, or some sort of alien. How could I have been walking around this world for 27 years without knowing that I have a superlarge head? Or perhaps I have a receding hairline? Regardless, someone should've told me sooner so that I could've avoided the devastating blow in the middle of the DMV on a summer afternoon.

Mom called yesterday to tell me that she and Dad are coming up Wednesday night and Thursday to celebrate my birthday early. I'm so blessed with such great parents! They're staying at my sister Amy's house, since she and Matt have a guest room, and all day Thursday is mine for them to help me with whatever needs to be done with moving and with packing up for my trip to Belize. That's another really scary thing ... I leave in less than a week, and I've done nothing whatsoever to prepare. I have to start taking malaria pills this week, and I need to go get a tetanus shot at the health center sometime in the next few days. I think it's closed tomorrow, but maybe I'll go Tuesday. I'm nervous a lot about going: Will I be able to handle the living conditions while I'm there? Can I deal with a week of no "alone time" while I'm surrounded by 22 other folks, mainly highschool students? And a sports clinic? ... we all know how I am with athletics. I know it'll all work out, it just seems really scary right now.

So, perhaps I've given you a glimpse of why it is that I'm up at this hour when I should be taking advantage of yet another summer morning to sleep late. I'm sure I'll have no problem napping later ... try not to call, okay?

A Beginning

Perhaps this town is getting better after all. I just had a really fun evening with friends, and, as I sat at the booth in Macon's only Irish pub, I began to realize that I've come a long way in the last almost two years since I moved here. I've gone from not knowing anyone but my sister and brother-in-law to having a very fun group of friends that I can sit and chat with about anything. It was oh-so-close to the group of friends that I had in Athens that met every Friday night for drinks at Mellow Mushroom... the situation that I thought I'd never find again, especially in a small, conservative town in middle Georgia. I'm coming to see that my life is blessed even here, in Macon, where I thought I'd never fit or have folks to whom I could relate. It's nights like these that help me know why I've stayed here for as long as I have.

Quote of the night?
"Vegas is like Epcot, with booze." Thanks, Charlie!

Insomnia

Warning: Late night ramblings could become a common occurrence.

Summer has officially begun. How do I know? Perhaps because it's 1:30 am and I can't sleep. Even with the rain falling outside, which is usually a sure way to make me crash in an instant. Sure, my insomnia may be due in part to the jetlag I'm experiencing, but I think it's more because I've spent the day being absolutely and completely lazy. I remember this from last year; by the end of the summer, my sleep schedule was completely messed up, and I would sleep all day long and stay up all night. I was planning on not letting that happen again this year, but it appears that a trip to Las Vegas on my first weekend off was not a good idea if I wanted to actually hold to that resolution. Am I a bit tired? Not really. Great.

I spend all year looking forward to summer, but when it finally gets here, it's a bit of a letdown. The problem is that, since I live by myself, I don't see a soul that I know for several days out of the week. Most of them are working their normal hours, so by the time they get home in the evenings, they're too tired to get back out. I know the feeling, as I'm the same way 10 months out of the year. I do my normal, everyday things like grocery shopping, Walmart trips (I hate Walmart), and jogging, but those things don't enable me to get out enough energy to sleep well at night. And then I stay up so late that I sleep through the morning, only to start the cycle all over again. I should get a summer job, but that would mess up my travels ... the main reason why I'm teaching.

So, I'll spend the next two months alternating between really fun trips with bunches of friends (I'm going to Belize for a week next weekend!) and downtimes that are a little bit lonely. And, come August, I'll most likely be really ready to go back to the world of people. Work is a sort of forced socialization, I guess, and one that I need. Without it, I tend to become hermit-like.

And now you have more information than you ever wanted to know about my sleeping habits. This insomnia thing could be BAD for you. My apologies, in advance.