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.

Top five lists

Top Five Things I love about Las Vegas
1) Unabashed Gaudiness: If you're gonna do it, do it big.
2) Great hairdays: No humidity!
3) Infused Margaritas at Taqueria Canonita in The Venetian
4) The ease with which you can meet new people!
5) Being able to travel all over the world (Manhattan, Paris, Venice, etc) on a two-mile strip of road

Top Five Things I'm thankful for now that I'm back in Georgia
1) Modesty and Classiness
2) Moisture! Everything was SO dry; we were parched the entire weekend.
3) Sweet Tea
4) The color green: trees, grass, and flowers!
5) Being able to sleep an entire night without feeling like a loser :)

Viva Las Vegas!

Four days and a very little amount of sleep later, I'm back home in Macon. What a great trip! We got there at around 9 pm Pacific time, but, after Ben's luggage got lost (Elizabeth and I didn't check anything) and we had a fiasco with the rental car, it was after 11 before we arrived at our hotel. Not bad, right? Well, considering the time difference, it felt like 2 am. We were absolutely exhausted. Who knew that it could take SO long to get across the country? Ben went straight to bed, but Elizabeth and I walked around the Aladdin (our hotel) a bit before crashing for the night.

We got an early start the next morning, so we had a chance to sit out by the pool. Nothing like lounging in the sun on the roof of a fancy hotel with the Eiffel Tower on one side and the Manhattan skyline on the other! We then left for a lunch of flatbread pizza at a place called Olives in the Bellagio across the street. Delicious! Here's the view from the front of our hotel.



Saturday afternoon, Elizabeth and I toured around the different hotels and casinos, plus we got our picture with the Las Vegas icon, Elvis. Seriously ... what's Vegas without him?



Saturday night was the highlight of our trip. On my sister Beth's recommendation, we went to a little Mexican Soul Food restaurant called Taqueria Canonita (in the Venetian) in order to get what she had dubbed "The World's Best Alcoholic Beverage EVER". It was the Infused Margarita, and it was made with tequila infused with pineapple and vanilla beans. Oh. My. Goodness. It was delicious. I ate some barbeque pork dish that was cooked in a banana leaf. Our particularly charming waiter (nod to Justin) stressed that it was the best thing on the menu even after I skeptically mentioned that we were from Georgia and knew a thing or two about good bbq pork. Definitely glad I took his recommendation. So yummy, and SO not like the bbq here.



Sunday morning, Elizabeth and I went over to the Paris hotel next door and had a champagne brunch buffet, complete with mimosas. Unfortunately, we ate a little too much and had to remain seated for a couple of hours of complete misery. haha! Sunday night, we went to see a show at The Rio called "Tony and Tina's Wedding". I have to say that it was the most unusual thing I've ever seen! Basically, you're a guest at this white trash Italian couple's wedding. There's the drunken minister, the pregnant maid of honor, the gay brother of the bride, and the ever-popular bridesmaid catfight. We ate the wedding buffet and wedding cake, danced with the father of the groom (Angelo), did the limbo, and participated in the wedding party toasts. It was a blast! Ben, unfortunately, didn't last very long. We did get a chance to take this shot right before he left to answer the call of the poker room in the casino outside. What a good sport!



For the rest of the evening, Elizabeth and I finished up seeing the hotels that we hadn't yet seen, then returned to The Aladdin for a deceptive 2-hour nap before leaving for the airport at 5 am. The flight home was just as long as the one there, and I was SO glad to be back in my own bed early last night for a full night's sleep.

So, my suitcase is now unpacked and put back in the closet where it will remain until its next big adventure. Where will it go? I have no idea, but I can't wait to find out.

I'm so money.

You wanna know one of my favorite things to do? Packing a suitcase. Why? Because it means I'm going somewhere. Anywhere. I could be packing to housesit for a friend a few doors down, and I'm still excited. I've become a packing expert of sorts, figuring out all the tiny little nooks and crannies of my bag in order to most efficiently use every inch of space available. For a person who hates to organize, I'm ridiculously proud of my packing abilities. It's a gift, I swear.

So I'm writing about this talent of mine because I'm currently making good use of it as I prepare to leave for Las Vegas tomorrow morning. My friend Elizabeth and I are heading out there with another friend, Ben. We're staying at a 4-star hotel on The Strip. I've booked a ticket to see Mama Mia at Mandalay Bay Theatre. We're doing it all: impersonator shows, the fountains at the Bellagio, vanilla-pineapple margaritas (my sister swears they're the best) at the Venetian. You name it, it'll be done. I can't wait.

Perhaps I like traveling so much because of what it's done for me in the past. My life was changed by a trip to Europe when I was 21. I know that sounds so cliche, but it's true, and maybe one day -- when I'm lacking sleep and inhibition -- I'll explain why. Reasons aren't important. The fact is that going to the airport, boarding a plane, stepping off a few hours later in a strange land where *something* will be different from the world I know (be it something as simple as a West Coast accent or as complicated as a Czech language), eating and sleeping and living this strange way for a few days or weeks or months, and, finally, coming back home to The Familiar is exhilarating to me. It gives me a taste and an appreciation of another way of life of which I formerly knew nothing, and it allows me to more fully love Home and all of its comfortable comforts.

Perhaps I'll write about my trip when I get back on Monday. Then again, if "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas," perhaps I won't.

Movement

I did it. I'm moving. Officially. So it's just across town, but it's still big. To fully grasp the magnitude of this step, you have to understand a little about me and how I live. I'm a pack rat of sorts. I have enough *things* to fill a full-sized house, yet I've never lived in anything bigger than a one-bedroom apartment. Moving, for me, is an ordeal. A huge one. First of all, I have to find boys who are willing to move me. After I complete that task (easier said than done), I have to try not to scare them away when I warn them to take their allergy meds because I have cats. Cats who shed. and, after two years of living in one place, that nasty stuff accumulates behind couches and chairs and under beds, only to be discovered when one of the nice young gentlemen who have so wonderfully agreed to give up a Saturday to help me moves that particular piece of furniture. It's quite humbling, really, having friendsthatareboys seeing into such a personal, private part of my life. Oh, and I'm ridiculously and stubbornly and pridefully independent, so the whole time I'm apologizing profusely for having to ask for anyone's help in the first place. Did I mention that this is an ordeal?

The saddest part about leaving, this time, will be saying goodbye to the family under whom I live. I'm in a basement apartment, and over the past few years this particular family has really taken me in as a friend, rather than as a tenant. They were the first people I met in Macon. My first friends. They have two beautiful little girls who love me and call me Mirs and ask for my cats immediately upon seeing me walk in the room. I was around when one of them was born. Sure, I'll see them at church and at work, but it won't be the same.

Still, I'm pleased. The place where I'm moving, although not any cooler or more charming than the place I'm in now, is at least half the distance to work. Plus, it's in the neighborhood where 95% of my friends live. I'll be saving on gas, and I'll feel more in touch with everyone else. It's a good thing. Really.

If any of you young men are in the Macon area on June 25 of this year, feel free to stop on by and move a couch for me. Just remember to take your Allegra.

Lost

Is anything out there better than the television show Lost? I don't think there is. I've just finished watching the season finale with some friends of mine, and I've gotta say that those writers are absolutely and amazingly creative. Certainly two hours of great entertainment.

I'm so tired I can barely stay awake to type. The good news is that I don't have to be at work until 9:15 tomorrow, which is just the start of a wonderfully lazy summer! I'm going to Las Vegas on Friday, and I'm so excited. I've never been before. Will I gamble? Hmmm. We'll see. I could certainly use a multiplication of my finances, but I'm afraid it'd end up being more divisive. I wish that I were more of a risk taker. I'm working on it. My friend Charlie says that I need to be more aggressive and stop apologizing about everything; cussing someone out every now and then can be a good thing, he says in a not-so-delicate way. Then again, he also thinks I need to learn to swoon in order to stop being "one of the guys". I therefore think I should take all that he says with a grain of salt. Charlie -- you know we love you.

Hello as well to my new friend Anson, who discovered tonight that I'm attempting this blog thing. Read my first post; it'll tell you more what to expect, or, I should say, what not to expect.

'night.

A Technical Wonder

I dedicate this blog to my friend Rebecca, who has walked me through the process to get my profile picture posted exactly where I wanted it. Thank you, friend. You have now not only given me countless extra hours of fun in the United Kingdom (that's another whole blog topic in and of itself), but you have also increased my technical prowess tenfold. I bow to your genius.

I can't post any more at the moment. I have 20 or so singletons from my church awaiting my arrival at a pizza party across town. May not be across town soon, though ... just today,I have looked into another apartment that is right in the center of things here in Macon. That statement, of course, begs the following questions: Is there a center of things in Macon? Are there even things in Macon?

And on those perplexing thoughts, I'll leave you. Ta. And hats off to Reba.