My My

Have you ever gotten the urge to sell everything you own, throw your cell phone into a lake and just drive off to nowhere in particular? Well for the past two weeks....I have. I was with my friend Brittany last week and we were driving around Nashville. I hadn't seen her literally all summer because she had been away at camp. It was a beautiful night. We had just spent a good two and a half hours at Climb Nashville and we were enjoying the cool night air streaming through the open windows. She told me that after practically living outside so much during the summer, she wanted to continue doing it. I told her I wanted to win the lottery. "What would you do with a million dollars?" I asked her. "I would move from place to place," she said. "Each time I would give away everything I owned, I would only keep the clothes I was wearing, and then I would start over." I thought she was completely insane at first. But then I couldn't help but admire her. By this time we were sitting in a Thai restaurant talking about our futures. I told her I was scared because I couldn't picture mine. I feel like I haven't started living yet. I said I felt like since I was born, my whole life has been constructed for me by parents, teachers, friends, employers; basically almost everyone I've ever come in contact with. She told me that's sad. The rest of the summer she is planning on hopping on a Greyhound bus and going all over the place. I asked her if her parents were ok with her doing that. She said she was her own person, she did what she wanted. At that instant I felt incredibly jealous and sad at the same time. I could never ever get away with what she was planning on doing............ or could I?

jigsaw falling into place

My aspirations of updating this blog daily seemed to have gone down the drain along with everything else I had planned for this summer.
I guess more than anything I'm just frustrated with myself for never finishing anything I start.
I was working on a puzzle at the beginning of the summer and it was really testing my patience. It's a beautiful picture of The Dolomites, a section of the Alps in Italy. On the box it says 1000 pieces, ages 12+. What it doesn't say is "Hey this puzzle you're about to tackle will drive you up the freakin wall." While I was trying to put this sucker together, I had nothing else to do but reflect on life. Then I came to the conclusion that this puzzle is like my life. The box it comes in is so small and simple, the picture on the front beautiful and perfect. But as soon as you dump out the contents, it's a complete mess. I started with the outer edge but it feels impossible to fill in the middle. And I feel like there has to be missing pieces, I swear I've looked at every piece more than once. Then I got paranoid and thought what if the maker of this puzzle gave me pieces that don't even fit? Or even worse, they took some pieces out just to drive me crazy? I used to do that to my sister when we were younger. She would spend ages putting together this puzzle of whales and I would always hide one piece just to annoy her. It was so mean, I'm not sure why I did it.
It's stupid, but I felt like the more of this puzzle I completed, the more things would start making sense. Or maybe not necessarily make sense....the overall picture would just become clearer. And then tragedy struck and my mom told me my puzzle was taking over the dining room table and that the dog kept trying to eat the pieces, could I please put it away? I was pissed. I threw the pieces in the box and put it in my room, and immediately regreted doing that because I knew I wasn't going to touch it again. I had worked so hard on that silly puzzle, why start over?
The box of puzzle pieces is sitting in the corner of my room and it makes me wonder what happened to my motivation. What happened to me wanting to learn how to play the harmonica this summer? Or going to the library and reading for hours? Running a mile everyday? Updating this blog? Have I let too much summer slip by to finish what I started? I guess only I myself know the answers to my own puzzling questions.

Did I just hear banjo music?

Is it possible to get cabin fever after being in one for only three days? It's gotten to the point where my sister and I are so bored, we have started playing "let's see who can scare the crap out of each other the most." I, of course, am the reigning champion, but Katie is definitely giving me a run for my money. This morning I walked down the stairs only to be greeted by her popping out from around the corner, producing a high pitched scream from me. It really wasn't fair, I had just woken up and wasn't in the zone. But I got her back later this afternoon while we were on the deck by pointing at the glass door behind her and making a terrified face, as if a spider the size of a small dog was waiting to launch itself at her head. She screamed and danced around the deck going "GET IT OFF GET IT OFF" while I basked in the glory of my victory.
We went to a little town not too far away called Little Switzerland and the trip there nearly made me vomit in the car. We went up and down winding roads and I had to close my eyes because seeing all the greenery whip past made me so dizzy. But every now and then there were breaks in the trees and the view was beautiful. The mountains were covered in mist but looking down into the valleys below was breathtaking. The little town was filled with gift shops and one really sweet used bookstore. I got separated from the group in there but came across an entire collection of Charles Dickens books. After buying some books the cashier told me I could get some free ice cream, so score! I got A Tale of Two Cities AND a Klondike Bar. My sister got a sweet sweatshirt even though I begged her to get a shirt that said "If you start hearing banjo music, paddle faster."
Katie and I went for a walk later in the evening on some trails near the river next to the cabin. We encountered a random man who, after walking passed us yelled "Watch out for dem bears!!" Then we walked passed a cabin with banjo music blasting from the inside. There were three little girls dancing on the deck, but as soon as they saw us, they immediately froze and just stared as we walked past. It was bizarre. Needless to say we decided it was time to turn around.
We are heading back home tomorrow. It was nice to get away for the weekend, but I miss technology.......and people for that matter.

Do Over!

I was getting frustrated with Wordpress...so I switched to Blogger. It also gave me an excuse to come up with a cooler banner and blog title.
What makes this blog better than my old one? Absolutely nothing. The only thing I've decided to do differently with this one was to make sure I don't continue to write a plethora of whiney blogs because, well let's be serious, no one likes reading those.
With that said....
A few weeks ago I went to the Death Cab for Cutie concert at The Ryman and it was spectacular. Not only did I get to see my favorite band, but Ra Ra Riot opened for them, along with Matt Costa. Seeing Ra Ra Riot made me want to pick up cello lessons big time. Matt Costa reminds me of a grasshopper because his legs are so long and skinny. Both acts were astounding, but I was a little disappointed with the crowd. These looked like people who listened to awesome music, but no one seemed that enthused with the bands. Not until Death Cab took the stage, of course. They finished their encore set with Transatlanticism which I had been waiting for all night.
Last week I saw Billy Joel and Elton John's Face 2 Face Tour at the Sommet Center and that was a great show too. I've never seen so many drunk adults in one space. Our seats were by no means that great, but it didn't matter because it was still an enjoyable show. They both came out on dueling pianos, Elton clad in his trademark sequin-covered jacket and sunglasses. The couples on our row must have squeezed past us to go to the bathroom at least six or seven times. I could have sworn by the end they were just placing bets on who could make everyone stand up in our row the most.
The most recent concert I attended last week was Coldplay. Jason and I swapped our original tickets for the show in Nashville for better ones at a venue in Alabama. We didn't realize the venue was outside until we got there, thank goodness I had a sweatshirt because it was freezing. We also didn't know that Pete Yorn was opening for them so that was an added bonus. The show blew my mind. The two teeny boppers sitting in front of us blew my eardrums. They were screaming long before the show even started and they continued to scream until they left. The girl sitting next to me got so excited she stepped in, no not on, in my purse. But Chris Martin joked around with the audience and made everyone fall in love with the band even more. At one point butterfly confetti rained from the sky and before the show ended, Chris announced that everyone would be receiving a free copy of their new live album, LeftRightLeftRightLeft. It's arguably one of the best shows I've ever attended. Getting out of the parking lot, however, was like playing Traffic Jam, and shady guys selling knock-off merch took advantage of this. But, I did get a $5 shirt out of the 25 minute wait, so I can't complain.
I'm currently in a cabin somewhere near Burnsville, North Carolina. Is so beautiful out here, but also in the middle of nowhere. As we got closer to our destination, I watched the bars of service disappear from my cell. Now my phone won't even tell the time, as if it just gave up functioning altogether. The good news is there is ample wi-fi, which is odd, but I won't question it's existence.