during the last few weeks, I've realized that my current living situation doesn't seem normal to people outside of it. I also realized that I never explained what my living situation is since I've moved to TN. Maybe if you knew what it is, then some of my other posts would make more sense. I will try to briefly explain...
The Redding Brothers have a friend who is also now their band manager, and she (I'll call her Lady Dee) is leasing a house here in the Nashville area. Its much too large just for her, even when her daughter stays with her. Lady Dee did this on purpose so that two of The Redding Brothers (Josiah & Gabriel) could also live here, including Josiah's wife (BarlowGirl) and kids. I had the pleasure of meeting Lady Dee in 2007 at Micah Redding's wedding, and we hit it off right away. Lady Dee is so full of energy, and has a very generous heart. When she heard that I was wanting to move here to TN, she immediately told me that I could stay at her house as long as I needed. So this is where I landed! I live in a 4 bedroom house with 6 other people, and I'm not related to any of them. However, I feel quite at home here. I think in a way its comforting to all of us to live in a full house. All of us, except Lady Dee, have grown up in families with several kids and are used to living with the noise of other people in the house. Its also interesting that with all these people in the house - I'm the only person who owns a PC and also the only person who eats meat (the rest are all vegetarians). Weird eh? Hopefully this lends you some insight into my environment. :)
Thursday, January 29, 2009
a new music interest...
I was catching up on some of my blog-reading, and saw this post at the Common Room. I really liked the music, so I looked up the artist - Lenka on iTunes and on YouTube. I found this other music video from Lenka, which I thought very creative. So I decided to share... unfortunately I can only post the link.
the song is The Show by Lenka.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
the song is The Show by Lenka.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
Sunday, January 25, 2009
The Country Music Hall of Fame
One of my friends heard on the radio the other day that the Country Music Hall of Fame was going to be open to the public for free on saturday. A group of us decided to go, since it was free why not right? I had been curious about the hall/museum since I got here in Nashville, but didn't want to pay the ticket price to go. Some of the old stage outfits from various famous country music singers were quite unusual and Elvis's solid gold cadillac and gold piano were something else. The Williams Family Legacy exhibit was interesting as I didn't know much about Hank Williams Jr. and even less about his father. It was neat to see the Hall of Fame room with all the plaques hanging on the wall in this round room where everyone has equal status. However, I'm glad I didn't pay the $20 it would have been on a normal day. here are a few pictures I took while there...
Funeral Processions
Last week, my best friend (I'll call her BarlowGirl or BG for short) and me were on our way to do a little shopping, just the two of us. It was nice to get out of the house for a bit, and we were chatting away as I was driving. All the sudden we saw two police cars with blue and green flashing lights coming toward us. I turned to BG and said "that was odd", and looked again and noticed a white hurse following the police cars and then a whole line of cars following the hurse. Ahead of us cars were stopped or pulled over, and I couldn't understand what was going on. Noticing my face, BG laughed and said "You think this is weird too right?". I looked at her, and replied "What is this? and why is everyone stopping?". BG then proceeded to explain that it was a funeral procession and that down here in the South people stop or pull over to show respect for the dead and the family. She also told me that the first time she saw this was in Alabama when her and her husband had first gotten married, she thought it was strange too. They just don't do that out West.
A couple days ago I was riding with one of my co-workers to lunch, and she was telling me about the day before when she went to the post office. There had been a funeral procession with police cars at the front, but none at the back and she got mixed up in the procession because she didn't know where it ended. I proceeded to share my funeral procession story, and how I thought it was strange. She was so shocked that I had never seen anything like that before (she was born and raised here in TN), she proceeded to ask me, "If they don't do that in WA, then how do the people get to the cemetery for the burial?". As if there was no other way! I told her that everyone just drives there... with no police escort. She was so flabbergasted by what I told her.
I do have to say, I'm glad BG was with me the first time I saw this funeral procession so that now I understand how to behave when I see another one.
A couple days ago I was riding with one of my co-workers to lunch, and she was telling me about the day before when she went to the post office. There had been a funeral procession with police cars at the front, but none at the back and she got mixed up in the procession because she didn't know where it ended. I proceeded to share my funeral procession story, and how I thought it was strange. She was so shocked that I had never seen anything like that before (she was born and raised here in TN), she proceeded to ask me, "If they don't do that in WA, then how do the people get to the cemetery for the burial?". As if there was no other way! I told her that everyone just drives there... with no police escort. She was so flabbergasted by what I told her.
I do have to say, I'm glad BG was with me the first time I saw this funeral procession so that now I understand how to behave when I see another one.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
some thoughts from TN...
On the way home from work this evening I was thinking about all the things I've seen and noticed since I've been here in TN, and got the idea that maybe I should share them with you.
Some of the differences I've noticed while I've been here have been slight, like the fact a shopping center in WA probably wouldn't ever be called "Colonial Park". As was expected, there are many stores and restaurants here in TN that aren't in WA. One of my new favorites is the local Super Target. Of course I was a Target-lover in WA, but now I've discovered something even better! I think maybe its because its the closest thing we have here to Fred Meyer (besides WalMart) that I feel at home shopping there. Most of the restaurants are different and I still haven't even made a dent in all the places I've never eaten. Some of the ones I have tried include Sonic, Chili's, Captain D's, Famous Dave's, Fizoli's (inexpensive somewhat fast-Italian food) and Ruby Tuesday. As far as Sonic goes - I can now understand why my southern friends who have been transplanted to WA crave Sonic. I have fallen in love with their onion rings and shakes. My intention is to try a wide variety of menu items but I keep going back to the onion rings. Captain D's is very similar to Skippers with the exception of offering Fried Okra as a sidedish, and every meal comes with a couple Hushpuppies. When I went there for lunch with one of my new co-workers, she was shocked I didn't know what a hushpuppy was, and that I don't remember ever eating one. So far I think Famous Dave's has been my favorite sit-down place to eat. They have some delicious BBQ burgers, cooked with special seasonings and different kinds of BBQ sauce slathered on them. They have like 6 different kinds of BBQ sauce at the table so you can dip your fries in some or coat your baked potato with one. There are a few familiar places to eat too, like Jack in the Box (which I was afraid they wouldn't have here), Red Robin, and places like Cheesecake Factory and Panera. Its nice to have some familiar things. :)
Some of the differences I've noticed while I've been here have been slight, like the fact a shopping center in WA probably wouldn't ever be called "Colonial Park". As was expected, there are many stores and restaurants here in TN that aren't in WA. One of my new favorites is the local Super Target. Of course I was a Target-lover in WA, but now I've discovered something even better! I think maybe its because its the closest thing we have here to Fred Meyer (besides WalMart) that I feel at home shopping there. Most of the restaurants are different and I still haven't even made a dent in all the places I've never eaten. Some of the ones I have tried include Sonic, Chili's, Captain D's, Famous Dave's, Fizoli's (inexpensive somewhat fast-Italian food) and Ruby Tuesday. As far as Sonic goes - I can now understand why my southern friends who have been transplanted to WA crave Sonic. I have fallen in love with their onion rings and shakes. My intention is to try a wide variety of menu items but I keep going back to the onion rings. Captain D's is very similar to Skippers with the exception of offering Fried Okra as a sidedish, and every meal comes with a couple Hushpuppies. When I went there for lunch with one of my new co-workers, she was shocked I didn't know what a hushpuppy was, and that I don't remember ever eating one. So far I think Famous Dave's has been my favorite sit-down place to eat. They have some delicious BBQ burgers, cooked with special seasonings and different kinds of BBQ sauce slathered on them. They have like 6 different kinds of BBQ sauce at the table so you can dip your fries in some or coat your baked potato with one. There are a few familiar places to eat too, like Jack in the Box (which I was afraid they wouldn't have here), Red Robin, and places like Cheesecake Factory and Panera. Its nice to have some familiar things. :)
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Book in Review: A Daughter of the Land
Since one of my goals is to finish reading all of Gene Stratton Porter's books, I decided to get started right away. My first book of 2009 was called A Daughter of the Land. Like many of Ms. Porter's books, this one takes place in rural Indiana. The story begins in the late 1800's with a young woman named Kate, at the age of 18. Kate is the youngest of a large family, and works hard for her parents on their large farm. She helps her mother in the house, with dishes, with meals, with the laundry, and in the potato patch so that her older sister can teach the local school. When it comes time for Kate to be able to go off to "Normal" to gain the knowledge she needs to be qualified to teach her parents refuse to assist her or even give her permission to leave the farm. One Sunday Kate hears a preacher encourage his congregation to "take the wings of morning". Unsure of what this meant, Kate considered this phrase in addition to her current situation. After pondering this, she realized that it must mean to take the opportunities life brings you and fly with them. Kate grabs ahold of that idea, and uses it to propel her to "Normal" and take charge of finding a school to teach at. For a while things seem to be progressing as smoothly as possible, but like is common in real life she finds herself in a few valleys. Life for all of us is filled with hills, where we feel nothing could harm us, and also valleys, where at times life seems to get the best of us. Kate's life in this story seems to have some of the lowest valleys. Most of the difficulties she has to go through during her life, people I know have never experienced and hope we never have to. However, somehow these difficulties only develop the best in Kate. She is better off for the valleys she has experienced, whereas some of her sisters are worse off for all the hilltops they have been on. Despite being estranged from her family, witnessing many deaths and disappointments she does find happiness and joy and love, especially during the end of her life. Though this is a fictional story, I think having a happy ending after living through such adversity is such a great example of what real life can be.
Once I started reading this book, I couldn't hardly put it down. During the middle of the story, I was starting to wonder if she would ever reap benefits from the adversity she faced. When I got to the end of the book I realized that this was one of the best stories I had read in a long time. How often do we read books about someones whole life? I'm not sure about you, but a lot of the books I have read (classics even!) end with the two favorite characters, who are usually from the younger generation, "hooking up" which suggests that they live "happily ever after". A Daughter of the Land was refreshing to me because even after Kate endured so much, she was able to get her "happily ever after" even if it was in her later years. In conclusion, I would highly recommend this to anyone to read, and especially those looking for something to make them appreciate their lack of valleys in life.
Once I started reading this book, I couldn't hardly put it down. During the middle of the story, I was starting to wonder if she would ever reap benefits from the adversity she faced. When I got to the end of the book I realized that this was one of the best stories I had read in a long time. How often do we read books about someones whole life? I'm not sure about you, but a lot of the books I have read (classics even!) end with the two favorite characters, who are usually from the younger generation, "hooking up" which suggests that they live "happily ever after". A Daughter of the Land was refreshing to me because even after Kate endured so much, she was able to get her "happily ever after" even if it was in her later years. In conclusion, I would highly recommend this to anyone to read, and especially those looking for something to make them appreciate their lack of valleys in life.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Evolution of Wedding Dance
I was catching up on some reading over at Beth Spera in Domino and found their post about this video called "Evolution of Wedding Dance" which is reminiscent of the famous YouTube video "Evolution of Dance". This video made me laugh so hard... I just had to share the link.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Life Goals, Resolutions and more
In August of 2007 I traveled east to visit my friends in Indiana [from the Common Room], and my friends in Tennessee. During my time in Indiana, my friend The Equuschick told me of something that she does which helped her in making some life decisions. She told me that several years ago she started a list of Life Goals. This concept was intriguing to me as I had never done something of that nature. Here is an excerpt from my journal about our conversation:
“She started telling me about things that were on her list of Life Goals. Things she wanted to accomplish or see before she dies. In the end I understood that her job at the Animal Shelter was a means to an end. She needs money to help her accomplish some of these things, and what she ultimately wants to make a living at isn’t ready yet. All her talk about goals & dreams, and plans of how to accomplish them, inspired me. I realized that I had nothing like [Equuschick’s] ‘list’ of goals. I’ve just been floating along since graduating [from college]. For 4 long years my goal was to finish school. Now that I’ve done that, I haven’t found anything to replace it.”
I was so inspired by Equuschick, that I wrote my own list of Life Goals on the airplane coming home. I broke up my list by periods of time I would like to accomplish these tasks, here is what I came up with:
1 yr goals:
Get my scrapbook up-to-date
Form habit of walking 3 mornings a week
Take Microsoft Office training and get certification
Attend a Photography class
Read Harry Potter book series
Finish “friendship” quilt
Get Business License [?] (not completely sure about this one)
5 yr goals:
Read all of Gene Stratton Porters books
Roadtrip down Oregon and California coasts
Go on a ‘We Care’ Campaign
Other goals:
Extended stay in United Kingdom
Live in a different state than WA
Visit New York City
Trip to East Coast (including New England and Florida)
If you’ve been keeping up with my blog, you will have already noticed that one of my goals can be crossed off due to a recent change in my living situation.
Earlier this week my friend Micah Redding (of The Redding Brothers) and his brother-in-law Ryan Hogan, started a list of New Years Resolutions. However, this list is not full of your typical New Years Resolutions, such as ‘lose weight’ ‘exercise more’ or ‘watch less tv’. They decided to come at it from a different angle and aim high instead of aiming low and not accomplishing anything. They told me that if we aim for the stars we might at least hit the moon. Their original list included such gems as “Get Bubble Tea with Barack Obama”, and “get accepted to Yale”, however, they asked each of us who went to the New Years Eve party at Micah’s house to add a couple ourselves. After we all added to the list Micah posted a blog about this new adventure called The Resolution Begins, with an organized version of the list. Hearing Micah and Ryan’s thoughts on this new year refreshed my interest in my Life Goals list, so yesterday I flipped through my journal to find it. I’ve done some updating, and I will probably do some more as I feel that I need a couple more big ones on it, but here is what I have so far:
1 yr goals:
See the Atlantic Ocean
Visit New York City
Find a church family to place membership with
Finish reading the Harry Potter book series (only 2 out of 7 left!)
Finish reading Gene Stratton Porter’s books
Read the Twilight book series
Finish a quilt
Refresh old friendships through new correspondence
5 yr goals:
Roadtrip down Oregon and California coasts
Go on a Mission Trip
Trip along East Coast (including New England and Florida)
Other goals:
Extended stay in United Kingdom
Start Landscape Design business
You will notice that some things got moved around as I now live closer to some of the places I wanted to visit. I’ve also changed some items completely. Anyway… maybe this will inspire you as Equuschick did me… or maybe not! Whatever your reaction, I hope your year is filled with love and joy and that you make a positive impact on the people around you. Happy 2009 everyone!
“She started telling me about things that were on her list of Life Goals. Things she wanted to accomplish or see before she dies. In the end I understood that her job at the Animal Shelter was a means to an end. She needs money to help her accomplish some of these things, and what she ultimately wants to make a living at isn’t ready yet. All her talk about goals & dreams, and plans of how to accomplish them, inspired me. I realized that I had nothing like [Equuschick’s] ‘list’ of goals. I’ve just been floating along since graduating [from college]. For 4 long years my goal was to finish school. Now that I’ve done that, I haven’t found anything to replace it.”
I was so inspired by Equuschick, that I wrote my own list of Life Goals on the airplane coming home. I broke up my list by periods of time I would like to accomplish these tasks, here is what I came up with:
1 yr goals:
Get my scrapbook up-to-date
Form habit of walking 3 mornings a week
Take Microsoft Office training and get certification
Attend a Photography class
Read Harry Potter book series
Finish “friendship” quilt
Get Business License [?] (not completely sure about this one)
5 yr goals:
Read all of Gene Stratton Porters books
Roadtrip down Oregon and California coasts
Go on a ‘We Care’ Campaign
Other goals:
Extended stay in United Kingdom
Live in a different state than WA
Visit New York City
Trip to East Coast (including New England and Florida)
If you’ve been keeping up with my blog, you will have already noticed that one of my goals can be crossed off due to a recent change in my living situation.
Earlier this week my friend Micah Redding (of The Redding Brothers) and his brother-in-law Ryan Hogan, started a list of New Years Resolutions. However, this list is not full of your typical New Years Resolutions, such as ‘lose weight’ ‘exercise more’ or ‘watch less tv’. They decided to come at it from a different angle and aim high instead of aiming low and not accomplishing anything. They told me that if we aim for the stars we might at least hit the moon. Their original list included such gems as “Get Bubble Tea with Barack Obama”, and “get accepted to Yale”, however, they asked each of us who went to the New Years Eve party at Micah’s house to add a couple ourselves. After we all added to the list Micah posted a blog about this new adventure called The Resolution Begins, with an organized version of the list. Hearing Micah and Ryan’s thoughts on this new year refreshed my interest in my Life Goals list, so yesterday I flipped through my journal to find it. I’ve done some updating, and I will probably do some more as I feel that I need a couple more big ones on it, but here is what I have so far:
1 yr goals:
See the Atlantic Ocean
Visit New York City
Find a church family to place membership with
Finish reading the Harry Potter book series (only 2 out of 7 left!)
Finish reading Gene Stratton Porter’s books
Read the Twilight book series
Finish a quilt
Refresh old friendships through new correspondence
5 yr goals:
Roadtrip down Oregon and California coasts
Go on a Mission Trip
Trip along East Coast (including New England and Florida)
Other goals:
Extended stay in United Kingdom
Start Landscape Design business
You will notice that some things got moved around as I now live closer to some of the places I wanted to visit. I’ve also changed some items completely. Anyway… maybe this will inspire you as Equuschick did me… or maybe not! Whatever your reaction, I hope your year is filled with love and joy and that you make a positive impact on the people around you. Happy 2009 everyone!
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