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!! ;)