A Sappy Ode to Friendship

I complain about my fair city a lot, but I think that sitting in hours and hours of gridlock because of every concert, sporting event, or marathon as well as enduring people who drive 50 MPH in the fast lane or turn left off of Ponce during rush hour for thirty plus years entitles me to this Atlanta rite of passage. While some aspects of this city are positively maddening, I will always love this booming metropolis and my small suburb to the east, but by far my favorite thing about Atlanta/Decatur is the friendships I have made here. I love each of you girls, and am so glad to have have funny, smart, and supportive women in my life for 26, 23, 22, 20, and 7 years respectively. I enjoy birthday dinners, school memories, and celebrating life milestones, but I also appreciate shoulders to cry on in extreme crisis, friendly ears for blowing off emotional steam, and uplifting and loving thoughts whenever they are needed. As we all know, Cathy is having her second surgery on Tuesday, and I think there is no better time than now to say how grateful I am for her strength, health, and friendship.  We will all be praying for you and loving you, Kitty Kat!

Freelance at Last

I am thoroughly grateful for my very first freelance writing assignment today. My cousin is a sustainable artist in California, and she offered me the task of writing a short bio for her upcoming art show in Asheville, North Carolina. I have been bogged down with monotonous, technical writing for my upcoming English degree, and I welcomed this refreshing change that allowed me to be creative instead of merely accurate. Julie takes plastic bags, now illegal in her San Francisco suburb, and turns the trash into glass sculptures and eerie photographic images.  While she is talented and creative in her mediums of choice, Julie needed help putting her ideas into paragraph form, and I have never enjoyed anything more than taking her rough information and transforming it into words that capture the essence and importance of her art.  I cannot wait to see what this new avenue has in store for me, and I think, at the tender age of 31, that I have finally figured out what I want to be when I grow up.  

NPR: Not Prozac Related

At one point I believed NPR to be a radio station where perpetually depressed people went to hear other perpetually depressed people speak in hushed tones over the strains of classical music; however, as with my philosophy on puppies and sunshine, I have had a change of heart in recent years, and I've come to welcome NPR into my life with gusto. I began listening to 90.1 WABE Atlanta in response to a lack of cable news in my house and quality music during my commute.  As I am somewhat old fashioned, I have a disdain for listening to phone music while driving, and I prefer a little something on a more traditional digital tuner. After a few months of listening to morning news with a blissful tinge of liberal bias, I even branched out and tuned in on my evening commute! Not only does NPR broadcast informative news with few capitalistic commercial interruptions, but they also have game shows, essayists, and even an interview with the infamous rappers, Eightball and MJG! Call me a nerd, but my new favorite thing to do on Fridays after work is listen to a ridiculously geeky show, "Ask Me Another," in my car. They play music, puzzles, and word games in front of a live audience, and it reminds me of watching Lawrence Welk with my parents and Grandmother in the eighties. Lastly, I credit all of my deep conversations with strangers to my new-found love of NPR, and I have gained at least ten IQ points under it's tutelage.  Y'all give it a listen: you'll be grateful!  

These New Balances Were Made For Walking

I must admit I love gifts, but I especially appreciate presents when they are spontaneous and uncalled for.  Today I went to my Dad's house to wait for his housekeeper as April is his busy work season and he doesn't have his usual Wednesday morning off. To my extreme delight, I was greeted by a shiny, flourecsent pair of New Balances. I mentioned my need of new running/walking shoes to Walt, and when he saw the ones I'd looked at on his computer he ordered them for me without my knowledge. After the maids left and I worked on my other blog for a while, I wanted to test out my new kicks, so I laced up and moseyed on down to the Decatur square. I also took my phone with me so I could test out my new pedometer app that is inspired my Cathy's use of FitBit! I had a great walk, and got to notice all the beauty of Decatur flora and fauna. My Mom always used to say how Decatur looks like a fairyland in the Spring and she was right.  Yellow daffodils (or jonquils!), fluffy dogwoods, and sprays of whatever tiny, purple flower grow close to the ground were everywhere, making my walk that much more fun. While I don't actually live in Decatur (yet), I am grateful to be in a beautiful place with fabulous new shoes and a Dad I love who stills spoils me at the tender age of 31.    

Pomp and Circumstance

Well, after all the teasing I have committed about lovely ladies not blogging on the regular, I seem to have missed the first two days of my week, which has so far been more hectic than most! Occasionally, when I am not sleeping at night, missing my Mama, and in need of five extra hours in my days, I can be a bit crabby and ungrateful. I had a perfect weekend seeing Cathy before her surgery (as well as all you girls) and celebrating Emily's daughter-in-the-making, but Monday seemed to kick my proverbial tail. Having said that, I think a sub par beginning to a week calls for extra gratitude, so I shall make my remaining four blog posts count!

Today I am grateful for my newly acquired cap and gown! I cannot wait to finally have a tassel to accompany all this hassle. I started my college journey thirteen years ago (gosh I feel old), and I am thrilled but a little apprehensive to finally matriculate. After five whole years of wasting college time and resources and five years of working hard for the money and an Associate's degree, I was able to fully devote my time to learning and finishing these past few years, and I've enjoyed nothing more.  Although I have been busier than ever and fended off some very hard emotional times during my tenure at CSU I hold a soft place in my heart for the Southern Crescent and all its suburban, country charm.