No Memphis and an Epic Monsoon

So. Didn't go to Memphis with sister. And yes, I realize this was 3 weeks ago, but lay off, I've been busy. (Okay not really busy, just doing other stuff...like sleeping and such.)

As everyone hopefully knows, Nashville received record amounts of rainfall that weekend, causing a massive flood that has since become one of the most expensive natural disasters in the country's history. Even Kenny Chesney's house took on water!! GASP! NOOOO!

Anyhoo, things have finally dried out and are somewhat returning to normal. People are starting to rebuild and there is no longer a raging river across the street from our house. Thank the lord we live on a hill. A half block away was under water. :/

Excitement is currently in the air for me...as my wonderful boyfriend decided he needed to out do himself and surprise me with a plane ticket home for a long weekend...mostly to go to my BFF Amanda's baby shower for little Henry...but also to visit my family and friends. He schemed with sister and my parents and now I'm home bound on June 3rd! Wooooop! I cannot wait!

I've been doing lots of painting lately, which has been awesome for my sanity, and has helped to make our house colorful and more livable. J and I are pretty much living in our bedroom, since the rest of the frat house is a nasty pit from everyone else that we're sick of cleaning, and it's been rough trying to find our own space. But we're figuring it out. And are going to be so pumped to move into our own place in October! (Preferably on a hill, away from any type of river or creek that has flooding potential. Which I think is smart.)

We have also decided that it is our destiny to win the PowerBall (the big jackpot, of course), and we are excited to become multi-millionaires and quit our jobs. Don't worry-we will share the wealth with everyone who is deserving (including my 9 loyal blog followers..hehehe).

J's parents are coming to visit this Friday(which will be a 3 day weekend..thank you, Memorial Day!)...we have tons of activities planned for the time that they're going to be in town. Jack Daniels Museum, Tennessee Renaissance Festival (jousting!!), the Nashville Zoo, and his mom and I are going to get pedicures. Yayyyy some girl time! Then the day they leave, I fly home!

Ahhh Minnesota, how I miss thee.

Lay Offa' My Blue Suede Shoes!!!

Tomorrow is the day my sister begins her journey to come see me. AND I CANNOT WAIT!! I might kidnap her and make her stay here. But then I suppose I have to kidnap her hubby too...and then send for my nieces. Then my parents. Then all of my friends. Hmm. This could get tricky...

Nothing too exciting to report...sadly. Just workin' and livin'. Trying to get my feet on the ground.


Okay now its 2 days later...and I'm sitting at work watching the clock...waiting to go see my sis!!! They are at the Country Music Hall of Fame..and probably enjoying the gorgeous 80 degree day. Not like I would know or anything, as I'm stuck behind my desk for another hour and 28 minutes. ::sigh::

Tomorrow we're off to the wonderful city of Memphis (okay..it's not too wonderful...it's actually pret-ty freakin' ghetto, but we will have fun, dang it!) and we're gonna go to Graceland! Sister and I are bringing our fabulous blue suede shoes (heels...super cute!!) so we can pose all over Elvis' pad/yard/airplanes/car museum in tribute to The King. Woop! And we WILL sing "Walking in Memphis" while we are walking with our feet 10 feet off of Beale. :) We are so cheesy. Crap I better go do some work...still have an hour and 17 minutes left til I let loose for the weekend. Oooo 1 hour and 16 minutes! (But who's counting?)

Me, obviously. Okay bye.

A Bar of Jeer

The other night J and I went to a place called the Tin Roof where he was playing guitar for a friend's writer's round. I, as usual, was just a tag-a-long...a mere mortal in a sea of mythical...okay okay I'm being dramatic. Basically I was the only one not in the music business. Again. So when everyone asks what brought me to Nashville, am I a singer? Songwriter? Manager?? Anything??! No. I came here for my boyfriend. I can do nothing for you except maybe make you laugh. If you have even the slightest bit of personality and sense of humor. Oh, you don't?? Okay cool. In that case you have nothing to offer me either. ZING!! So after I played that whole scenario out in my mind (mostly after this girl came up to us and introduced herself like this: "Haaa. I'm Kelly Paaaige." ...the 'haaa' is supposed to be a 'hi' in an I'm-trying-to-be-a-southern-belle voice. And yeah. Everyone introduces themselves with their first and last names. Mmm hmm. YOU'RE NOT FAMOUS. Although I do remember her name. Crap.) anyway...after that, I decided I was having fun. Especially since this place serves their beer in jars. Yes, jars. For the low low price of $2, you get your tasty draft beer in a nice glass jar that I decided from the get-go I was going to steal. J was making fun of me, calling me a klepto, as I have been known to "acquire" random things from the bar. Like a stack of sweet shot glasses that were LEFT ON THE BAR. So while he was up on stage, and I was sitting by myself, I spent at least 10 minutes trying to swiftly stash the jar in my purse. Right after I did it, while I was still basking in the glow of my success, I learned that you're supposed to take them home. In fact, written on the side of the jar is the phrase; "Stolen from the Tin Roof."

J and I left that night with 5 jeer bars.


Today after work, J decided since it was so nice out it was a good day to sweep all the dead leaves off the driveway. I decided I would go outside and try to help. After I moved the garbage cans and my car, my part was done, as we only had one broom. But alas, I caught the itch. I wanted to do everything. I wanted to mow the grass and pick the weeds from the flower beds and plant more flowers and go buy a bird bath and build a koi pond and..yeah you get the idea. I decided picking the weeds was a good place to start. After an hour, I realized there are more weeds in our yard and flower bed than there are in the entire world. It looks a hell of a lot better than it did, but I had to force myself to stop or I would have gone on for days. Clearly I've bitten off more than I can chew, and I absolutely have to finish now that I've started. Bahhh I guess I know what I'm doing every night after work for the next 7 weeks. I'm so domestic.

Officially Un-Unemployed!

So yeah I know its been a bit since my last post. SORRY SISTER.

I've been busy re-joining society. I am now a proud member of corporate America and let me tell you...it feels...okay. I'm excited to have a paycheck again, that's for sure. And I get a pretty rockin' discount, so that's a plus. J and I are gonna deck out our pad with a bunch of fun electronics...that is, when we blow THIS popsicle stand. In October. Hey-it'll give us plenty of time to save up and figure out which HUGE t.v. we want. Hmmm maybe a home theater system and a new camera? Sounds good to me.

I can finally sleep at night because I'm on a schedule, which is amazing, and I can sort of get around without my GPS. We've had some good times, Tom(we had to relieve Mandy of her GPS duties...she just wasn't making the cut) but I think we need to spend some time apart. It's not you, it's me: I started paying attention. But I'm sure we'll be together again someday soon, don't worry. I work M-F from 8-5...wow, a real job?! FOR ME?! It feels nice to have one, I must say. And I don't hate having the weekends off. Don't hate it at all.

The roomies are still messy...J and I are the only ones that load and unload the dishwasher. EVER. Ugh. At least our room is nice. We actually clean it (and the bathroom! NO WAY!) on a regular basis, unlike the other housemates. I'm just glad we don't have to share a bathroom with anyone else. Eeeks.

The weather is amazing...it almost made it to 80 today! Its only getting better. :) I have a friend coming into town next weekend...then my sis & crew @ the end of April...then 2 girlfriends in July! I cannot WAIT to hang with some familiar people...ones that don't say ya'll. No offense to anyone that says that who might be reading. Ahem...J. But if I ever catch myself saying "ya'll" I will be oh so disappointed.


Some random things about Nashville:
~People can't drive. At all. I've almost been side swiped/rear-ended/backed into/run over at least 28 times.
~There are some pretty amazing mansions around here...its fun to drive around and see them all!
~The radio stations SUCK! You'd think they'd be awesome here, but no. Not even close.
~Everyone(strangers, that is...not people you're hanging out with or anything...hahaha) calls me ma'am. And it doesn't make me feel old like it used to...it's just the polite thing to say. Who woulda thunk?
~Most people don't take care of their yards...its weird.
~You have to drive 15 mph in school zones at certain times of the day. Even in highschool zones. And if you're speeding, the traffic monitor people blow obnoxiously loud whistles at you and point their fingers at you and scold you and make you feel bad.
~The hockey fans here are WEAK compared to the MN hockey fans. I was embarrassed for them at the game last night. *head shake*
~There is a little hot dog stand fashioned out of a yellow VW van from the 60's...and it's called I Dream of Weenie and its delicious.

Oh yeah...and the outside of our house is infested with those little Asian beetles...the ladybug impostors. They enjoy hanging out in the dining room window. I enjoy vacuuming them up. Thankfully they don't always get in...but they creep around on the screen and taunt me. This morning there was one on the bathroom mirror and it scared the heck outta me. J saved the day and flushed him down the toilet. Good thing he didn't make it into the bed to hide out...those things bite!!

Bitch. Shave Your Shit.

Over the weekend we discovered a fun new place to hang. It's an art gallery that has a little stage and you can rent out the place for parties and stuff. They even allow you to bring your own beverages. The first night we went there a friend was doing a writer's round. We met the owner and bartender and decided they were sweet and we maybe wanted to become friends with them. I also made my first girlfriend! Yayyyy me! She's younger, but her and her friend caught 2 of the roommates' eyes, so I thought I'd become friends with them so the boys could have it easy. We went there again the next night, as someone the girls knew was having a bday party. The boys and I got there and soon realized that we were the oldest people in there by a couple years. We were totally the weird old people in the corner that no one invited. But the beer was cheap and the people watchin' was good, so we stayed. The owner kept giving us free booze, so we decided that we for sure like him. There was a random crazy coke'd out girl that we couldn't stop staring at. She was a hot mess, and I heard thru the grapevine that no one knew who she was either. At one point we looked over and she was laying face down across 3 folding chairs, completely still. I sent the boys over to pose with her and started snapping pics, when her seemingly favorite song came on and she popped up, good as new, and started dancing again. There were lots of girls like her that night, and I saw too many butt cheeks for my liking. WEAR UNDERWEAR PEOPLE! That's all I'm saying! Anyway, the more the party fizzled out, the more drunk we got, and we ended up on the dance floor with a group of sweet black chicks who were trying to teach me how to shake it like them. They told me I had "flava", I just needed to find it. Whatever that means. On the drive home, one of the roomies puked out the car door...so all in all it was a good night.

We have since decided that the art gallery is our new favorite place to hang. We went again a few days ago, as there was a writer's round going on, and the owner told us that Monday nights were pretty fun. When we got there, we found out that a dude was playing that J had just discovered, and we were excited to hear him. Everyone that went before this dude, named Leroy btw, was pretty boring. Then, one guy gets up on stage, sings a few songs, & decides to give a long intro to his last tune. Here's is what he said: (this is not exact, as I was already 3 sheets to the wind and don't remember word-for-word) "This song, is about my uncle, and something that happened when I was 17. I'm 23 now. One day, he was at his house, getting ready for work. He was depressed." (By this time, people are getting quiet, and looking around wondering if they were the only one that was feeling super awkward. I was staring at J with wide eyes trying to avoid looking at the stage.) He continues: "My uncle was a good man, but he had some problems. So on this day, he went in his closet. Then he came out of the closet, took off all of his clothes except his underwear, layed on his bed, and blew his brains out. This is for you, uncle." At this time, the whole bar was silent, crickets were chirping, someone coughed, I heard myself blinking. It was way to much info, and so uncomfortable!! After him, Leroy came on, and we were hoping that he would brighten the mood a bit. Leroy gets on stage and sits on a chair, holding his guitar. I like him already, as he is wearing a horribly tacky dark brown suede jacket with fringes that is at least 2 sizes too big. His dark brown long ratty hair is in a low pony tail, hidden underneath a strange sort of small brimmed black cowboy hat. When he gets up to play, there's a little bit of hushed chatter going on in the bar and not everyone is paying attention. Leroy doesn't care, and he starts to play his first song...which starts off like this: (THIS is a direct quote, as even tho I was schwasted, I could never forget it.) ..."Bitch. Shave your shit." Everyone stops talking and directs their attention towards the stage. He goes on, "Bitch. Shave your pits." This guy is awesome. It was a really good song, and the whole place was cheering. He plays his other tune (he was only gonna play two) and after that one ends, the crowd erupts in the ol', "one more song!" chant. So he plays another, which is equally awesome, and goes on his way. We decide we like him, and are now official fans. I also decide this night, in my drunken stupar, that it is my goal to have my artwork displayed in this bar/gallery. Now that I'm on hugging terms with one of the owners, I feel this feat is reachable.

On a different note, we decided to not go with the cute little house which has been totally bumming me out. The roomies didn't take the idea of us subletting our room very well. They got pissed, to be more frank. They don't want some random moving into the house, which is completely understandable, but I like to think we wouldn't have just posted an ad on craigslist and let the first person move in. J had some people in mind that everyone knows, but we decided we would just tough it out til October. It's gonna be hard living here with 4 boys til then (yikes!), especially since I wanted to have a place for my friends and family to come stay. But our rent is gonna be super cheap, which is amazing, and the house is really nice. So that will help the stress factor, and I can save money to go on a trip, or come back home to visit! Woohoo!

Two of my friends just decided to come visit here in July, and I cannot wait! I've been thinking of fun things for us all to do, and even though I've got tons of time to plan, I'm too excited not to think about it.

Today is beautiful out, and J and I got up early (well, kinda early...we TRIED to get up early) and went to a bookstore, then to the Nashville Public Library which was awesome. Its in an old building downtown, and it was fun to go in there and poke around. Then he took me to check out the Bicentennial Mall, which is a little park that was built for Tennessee's bicentennial celebration. It was pretty cool...there were some sweet sculptures and an incredible view of the city. Now we are at a little coffee shop a few blocks away from home, enjoying the fresh air which is coming in thru the open windows. It's nice to be out and about and I cannot wait til it gets warmer!!! Its 53 right now, but still a bit chilly, so a jacket is necessary. Tonight we are finally gonna join society and go see Avatar. We're clearly a bit behind.

One final thought...I now have 9 followers. TAKE THAT, SISTER!! ;)

Just Another Thursday Night In Nashville

Tonight was a random good time. Went to some lofts (which were flippin' sweet) where J's friend was doing a set. I didn't really know what to expect...is it someones home? Is it a club? We got there and realized it was in someone's loft apt...this dude, who J & I decided is a closet wanna-be superstar musician, tricked out his pad with a ton of high class lights and set up a stage. He throws parties and invites a few select people to come and play. The dude who sang the song that goes, "this is the story of a girl, who cried a river and drowned the whole world", was there...and I gladly sang along. I don't remember his name, nor do I know the title of the song. It might be, "Story of A Girl". Yes, let's say that's what it is. At any rate, some other peeps sang some tunes and fun was had by all.

Next we went to the Bridge Bar, I think that's the name, where a few friends were schmoooooozing. Right when we walked into the bar, which is in a skyway btw and is pretty cool, we both felt gross and wanted to leave. Everyone was soooooooo fake and sleezy and it made me want to vomit. The women were fake and the men were creepsters, and it seemed as tho everyone was just out to kiss major butt. And if you couldn't do anything for them, they wanted nothing to do with ya. I have no idea who anyone was or what they did, and I did not give a crap. We literally said hi to the friends that were there and turned around and walked out without even saying bye. Hehehe that's one of the reasons I love J.

After venting about that joint the whole walk to the next bar, we were ready to let loose. (Not THAT loose tho...remember, we have to get up early to look at the house..) We walked up to the door of a place called Legends, and we were hit with the usual "HEY YA'LL!" by a chick sitting at the door. "hi, hi, yeah how are ya." We started walking past her when she whiped out her fancy clipboard and asked if we're on the guest list. No, BUT WE DIDN'T WANNA COME IN HERE ANYWAY!! :P So we proceeded to walk around the corner and noticed some tour buses outside the main lil' touristy bars so we went in a random one, which totally sucked, and we snuck out the back. We walked down the alley to The Stage, which we were at last week, and got right in. (The doorman always remembers J cause his driver's liscense picture is so funny...classic.) We walked in upstairs and J realized that Jamey Johnson is playing a free show! Shibby! He also noticed that half the people in the bar don't really give a crap cause they're too busy schmoooooozing. ::sigh:: so we decided to take advantage of this rare event and go down on the floor, where we ended up right in front. It was awesome. And totally free. I wished my sister could have been there to enjoy the rockin show. J & I tried to catch some guitar picks, but got trampled by some crazy drunk chicks. Ohh well, maybe next time.

P.S. The house is super cute and we're waiting til' Sunday to hear if we get to move in...which will be totally sweet, as the other 3 roomies seem to have banished us from their lives. I maintain that all of them need to get some lady friends to keep them entertained, but I think they fear change. If that's the case, they must be terrified of my presence.

Restless Leg Syndrome and Me

Tried to go to bed early again last night. But alas, we watched our new fave show, Ghost Adventures, until 3:30. Then my restless leg syndrome that I diagnosed myself kicked in and I was done for. I hardly got any sleep, and I'm sure I was driving J up the wall with my tossing and turning.

Today was pretty productive. We went and checked out some places to live and found a definite possibility...a cute little house in a sweet and happy part of town. We drove by and peeked in the windows like creepers and it looks promising. Nice wood floors and lots of character. And two extra bedrooms perfect for visitors!!! :) And I stepped in dog poo when we were checking out the huge backyard, so we decided that was a good omen. No clue why. Just roll with me on this one. We're meeting with the landlord dude tomorrow morning at 7:45. Yes, that's AM so we for sure better make it to bed at a decent time tonight. Which might be difficult as it is CRS week in Nashville. This means absolutely nothing to me, but it could somehow benefit J so we will prolly have to take advantage of it. CRS stands for Country Radio Seminar...and it's when lots of music industry peeps are in town and there are showcases and partaaayyyys everywhere so everyone can do their schmoooozing and networking. Maybe I should pose as J's manager so I can feel like I belong. Then again maybe not, cause I'd look like a deer in headlights if someone asked me anything. Maybe I'll be J's manager with a severe case of laryngitis. I think I could do that.

On a side note, whilst driving around aimlessly today looking for places to rent, we drove by an obnoxiously large and funny shaped building on top of a hill with a gate that read, Mt. Richmore. J thought maybe it belongs to John Rich from Big and Rich, cause he's heard that he's kind of a douche bag. We looked it up when we got home, and lo and behold, it belongs to him. His neighbors hate it cause it looks stupid on the hillside, and it has bright lights that annoy them. So they all banded together and pointed flashlights in his windows to prove a point. Amen to those people.