Phew!
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Coming to a Close
My time living in Maine is coming to a close more quickly than I had realized! It's absolutely crazy to me how fast time passes sometimes. My last day of work is Christmas Eve, after which I will go home and pack up my car with as much stuff as I possibly can, and then drive to Massachusetts. I am planning on singing with my boyfriend and his family with their church choir on Christmas Eve, which I am very excited about! And I get the best of both worlds on Christmas Day - to be with my boyfriend and his family in the morning, then fly home to see my family that evening! I'll be home in NC for five days, then come back up north for the New Year. There will be one more trip up to Maine to pack up the rest of my things, and then I will have moved all my stuff down to Massachusetts! To say the least, I am very excited for all of this change! Many people ask if I'm okay with how fast things are moving, and without even having to think about it I can say, "No, it's been a long time coming. And it's finally here!!!" Yes, I'll be living with Scott and his parents. And yes, I am very much looking forward to it! I will miss the friends I have made in Maine, but I won't be too far away to come visit!
Sunday, November 28, 2010
November is almost over.
Life has sped up dramatically now that it's holiday season in the retail world. This is a world that I only plan to inhabit temporarily ... not a place I plan to stay for very long. And November is already almost over.
I survived Black Friday in Freeport with nothing major to report. It was busy, but I was stationed behind my favorite barrier: the register. I had people coming to me, eager to leave the hustle and bustle, waiting to find out how much the heap of clothing they passed to me was all going to cost them. "Does this include the extra 40% off clearance!?" "Are you sure that's the correct price for those silk camis!?" "That sweater was 25% off, did it ring up correctly!?" Yes. Yes. Yes. Just swipe your credit card and sign the pin pad and you can be on your merry way to the next shop. All in all though, it was a good day. I was in a great mood, and I was prepared for an onslaught of rudeness that - miraculously - never came.
Now it's Sunday. It's still the weekend. There will still be shoppers ravaging the piles of neatly folded clothes only to find that their size was at the top. And there will still be patient employees waiting to come behind them and make some sense of the pile, only for the next customer to do it again. Yes, retail is an interesting experience.
In a little over a month I will be moving to Massachusetts, away from clothing retail, away from a frigid house that never seems to fully warm up no matter how raging the fire is, away from friends that I have already made in such a short time, and into the arms of a warm and loving family. It's bittersweet, and I still have a month to enjoy here. And I plan to do so as thoroughly as possible. Yet I still find my mind coming back to the anticipation of moving, and I find myself quite excited. Only a little over a month left. And November is already almost over.
That being said, it is now time for me to get ready to go to work. Wish me luck!
Cheers.
I survived Black Friday in Freeport with nothing major to report. It was busy, but I was stationed behind my favorite barrier: the register. I had people coming to me, eager to leave the hustle and bustle, waiting to find out how much the heap of clothing they passed to me was all going to cost them. "Does this include the extra 40% off clearance!?" "Are you sure that's the correct price for those silk camis!?" "That sweater was 25% off, did it ring up correctly!?" Yes. Yes. Yes. Just swipe your credit card and sign the pin pad and you can be on your merry way to the next shop. All in all though, it was a good day. I was in a great mood, and I was prepared for an onslaught of rudeness that - miraculously - never came.
Now it's Sunday. It's still the weekend. There will still be shoppers ravaging the piles of neatly folded clothes only to find that their size was at the top. And there will still be patient employees waiting to come behind them and make some sense of the pile, only for the next customer to do it again. Yes, retail is an interesting experience.
In a little over a month I will be moving to Massachusetts, away from clothing retail, away from a frigid house that never seems to fully warm up no matter how raging the fire is, away from friends that I have already made in such a short time, and into the arms of a warm and loving family. It's bittersweet, and I still have a month to enjoy here. And I plan to do so as thoroughly as possible. Yet I still find my mind coming back to the anticipation of moving, and I find myself quite excited. Only a little over a month left. And November is already almost over.
That being said, it is now time for me to get ready to go to work. Wish me luck!
Cheers.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
regarding silence and alone.
The fire is crackling away in the wood stove, and the dogs are snoring ... so I suppose it's not all that quiet in here after all. But there's something about silence.
Sitting still, quietly, listening, alone. I seem to be doing this a lot lately. And you know, it's not so lonely in the end. It's hard to move to a new place where you don't know anyone, and even when you live with people, it can feel really lonely. All the people you know are far away, and it's hard to call them because the cell phone service out here is abysmal. And yet, if I sit still and listen to my breath, and focus on the fact that alone isn't a bad thing, then I don't feel quite so lonely.
"But lonely is a freedom that breathes easy and weightless, and lonely is healing if you make it." [Tanya Davis.]
I've been living in Maine for about six months now. Time goes by unbelievably fast. It's hard to believe that it was six months ago that I moved up here with the intention of working on a schooner until October. I still love boats. But I'm glad that I made the decision to leave that particular one. And I count my blessings as often as I remember to do so - which is reasonably often - that I had a place to stay while looking for a new home, and a job. And I count my blessings as often as I can that I found a nice place to live and a job that makes ends meet. Life isn't perfect, but it could be so much worse. I am really quite happy here. And I'm learning how to be alone. And that's important. Alone is important. Together isn't always an option. And sometimes alone is better anyway. Even if alone is with a warm fire and two dozing dogs.
"Cause if you're happy in your head then solitude is blessed and alone is okay." [Tanya Davis.]
In January I plan to move. To be with Scott. And in that case, together will more often be an option. But it is still important to be alone. Because alone is okay, and together is not always what we need. So that being said, I am very excited to be moving to live with Scott. And then in the not-so-distant future we hope to move again.
And that is what I have to look forward to. And that is what I must add to my blessings that will be counted as often as possible.
Cheers.
Sitting still, quietly, listening, alone. I seem to be doing this a lot lately. And you know, it's not so lonely in the end. It's hard to move to a new place where you don't know anyone, and even when you live with people, it can feel really lonely. All the people you know are far away, and it's hard to call them because the cell phone service out here is abysmal. And yet, if I sit still and listen to my breath, and focus on the fact that alone isn't a bad thing, then I don't feel quite so lonely.
"But lonely is a freedom that breathes easy and weightless, and lonely is healing if you make it." [Tanya Davis.]
I've been living in Maine for about six months now. Time goes by unbelievably fast. It's hard to believe that it was six months ago that I moved up here with the intention of working on a schooner until October. I still love boats. But I'm glad that I made the decision to leave that particular one. And I count my blessings as often as I remember to do so - which is reasonably often - that I had a place to stay while looking for a new home, and a job. And I count my blessings as often as I can that I found a nice place to live and a job that makes ends meet. Life isn't perfect, but it could be so much worse. I am really quite happy here. And I'm learning how to be alone. And that's important. Alone is important. Together isn't always an option. And sometimes alone is better anyway. Even if alone is with a warm fire and two dozing dogs.
"Cause if you're happy in your head then solitude is blessed and alone is okay." [Tanya Davis.]
In January I plan to move. To be with Scott. And in that case, together will more often be an option. But it is still important to be alone. Because alone is okay, and together is not always what we need. So that being said, I am very excited to be moving to live with Scott. And then in the not-so-distant future we hope to move again.
And that is what I have to look forward to. And that is what I must add to my blessings that will be counted as often as possible.
Cheers.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
when you find yourself
Find Yourself - Brad Paisley
Recently I've been feeling like I wish I had a little bit more direction in life. For my whole life - up until this past May - I have known exactly what was coming next. Summer would pass and I would go back to school for the next year to further my knowledge, so that I could then go home for the next summer and empty my brain, just to go back the following year to rinse and repeat.
Then I graduated. And now I have a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Warren Wilson College, with a minor in Spanish, and it's not doing much for me. Granted, if I wanted to I could have applied for graduate school and gone on to more education ... and I'm glad that I didn't do that right away, but now I'm feeling, well ... lost. I don't want a career ... I want a next adventure. I don't want to pick something that I have to do for the rest of my life. Luckily - I don't have to. But it would be nice to do something that's a bit more fulfilling than retail.
Teaching perhaps? I'd love to try it before I commit to it. Admission for a cool school up here in New England? I could do that. Admission representative for Warren Wilson in New England? Haha ... that I could definitely do. Cafe/bookstore that provided a place for creativity, relaxing, homework, etc? I could write a book I suppose ... but what to write about. Perhaps I will parallel my dad's book about being a gay parent and write a book about having gay dads. Could be interesting. Probably won't be very profitable for some years as it could/would take a while to write.
So in the mean time I am in search of a next adventure. I dream of traveling. I dream of being a photographer. Or a journalist. But those might be next-next adventures. After I have some more of this thing they call "life experience."
Can I just go back to school now? There are so many classes I wish I had had time to take - photography, ceramics, history, creative writing, english, biology, chemistry, astronomy ... the list could go on for ages. But as it assures me in the song by Brad Paisley:
"When you go through life
So sure of where you're headin'
And you wind up lost and it's
The best thing that could've happened
'Cause sometimes when you lose your way it's really just as well
Because you find yourself
Yeah that's when you find yourself."
Cheers to life. And the next adventure. Hopefully it'll fall in my lap here soon.
Recently I've been feeling like I wish I had a little bit more direction in life. For my whole life - up until this past May - I have known exactly what was coming next. Summer would pass and I would go back to school for the next year to further my knowledge, so that I could then go home for the next summer and empty my brain, just to go back the following year to rinse and repeat.
Then I graduated. And now I have a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Warren Wilson College, with a minor in Spanish, and it's not doing much for me. Granted, if I wanted to I could have applied for graduate school and gone on to more education ... and I'm glad that I didn't do that right away, but now I'm feeling, well ... lost. I don't want a career ... I want a next adventure. I don't want to pick something that I have to do for the rest of my life. Luckily - I don't have to. But it would be nice to do something that's a bit more fulfilling than retail.
Teaching perhaps? I'd love to try it before I commit to it. Admission for a cool school up here in New England? I could do that. Admission representative for Warren Wilson in New England? Haha ... that I could definitely do. Cafe/bookstore that provided a place for creativity, relaxing, homework, etc? I could write a book I suppose ... but what to write about. Perhaps I will parallel my dad's book about being a gay parent and write a book about having gay dads. Could be interesting. Probably won't be very profitable for some years as it could/would take a while to write.
So in the mean time I am in search of a next adventure. I dream of traveling. I dream of being a photographer. Or a journalist. But those might be next-next adventures. After I have some more of this thing they call "life experience."
Can I just go back to school now? There are so many classes I wish I had had time to take - photography, ceramics, history, creative writing, english, biology, chemistry, astronomy ... the list could go on for ages. But as it assures me in the song by Brad Paisley:
"When you go through life
So sure of where you're headin'
And you wind up lost and it's
The best thing that could've happened
'Cause sometimes when you lose your way it's really just as well
Because you find yourself
Yeah that's when you find yourself."
Cheers to life. And the next adventure. Hopefully it'll fall in my lap here soon.
Monday, September 13, 2010
fall, is that you? already!?
It was a bit cool today to say the least. As soon as September hit it got much cooler here in Maine. The temperatures were already dropping at night to the point where I was closing the windows and wanting to curl up under multiple layers of covers to stay cozy warm. And it still is, which I love.
Fall is here. Already. It's true. Tomorrow's high is 65. And that's probably about as warm as it will be again until spring next year. Wow. This is different! That's for sure. It's an abrupt adjustment seeing as what I'm used to is it being warm out until at least October in North Carolina! But I've moved to Maine, so I should stop expecting Carolina weather.
It's really beautiful though! And I still really love it! We have a wood stove at my house and I'm looking forward to the time when we'll have a cozy, crackling fire in it to keep us warm. But I can wait a little bit before I really want it to be that cold. It's about time for long pants and sweaters, scarves and fleece coats, puffer vests, hats, knitting, cups of hot cocoa, and snuggling under blankets. I adore this time of year. I absolutely love it!
Today Scott and I went on an adventure to Harpswell, Maine. There's not much there and it's really beautiful! We went out to Orr Island and Bailey Island - we drove until the roads ended. We got out and took in the utterly speechless beauty of the coast, with the waves gently rolling in onto broken-shell-littered beach, and the many shades of gray that danced across the sky as the sun crept behind the clouds. We decided we couldn't have asked for a much more perfect day.
Fall is here. Already. It's true. Tomorrow's high is 65. And that's probably about as warm as it will be again until spring next year. Wow. This is different! That's for sure. It's an abrupt adjustment seeing as what I'm used to is it being warm out until at least October in North Carolina! But I've moved to Maine, so I should stop expecting Carolina weather.
It's really beautiful though! And I still really love it! We have a wood stove at my house and I'm looking forward to the time when we'll have a cozy, crackling fire in it to keep us warm. But I can wait a little bit before I really want it to be that cold. It's about time for long pants and sweaters, scarves and fleece coats, puffer vests, hats, knitting, cups of hot cocoa, and snuggling under blankets. I adore this time of year. I absolutely love it!
Today Scott and I went on an adventure to Harpswell, Maine. There's not much there and it's really beautiful! We went out to Orr Island and Bailey Island - we drove until the roads ended. We got out and took in the utterly speechless beauty of the coast, with the waves gently rolling in onto broken-shell-littered beach, and the many shades of gray that danced across the sky as the sun crept behind the clouds. We decided we couldn't have asked for a much more perfect day.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
falling hard for maine
So to get right to the punch here ... I love Maine. I am so glad that I have moved here, it was an excellent decision. I thank the boat for getting me here, even though that didn't work out so well. And I am grateful every day that I found a wonderful home to move into with two amazing people and two great dogs, and a great place to work on top of all that in so little time!
Earlier this week, on Friday, I was reminded that I love Maine when I went for a hike up Bradbury Mountain (which is a very small mountain, but a lovely hike nonetheless) with my housemates' two dogs. 150ish pounds of dog on the end of a leash hiking through the woods is amazing. It was a gorgeous day and I couldn't stay inside. I had gone to explore Bradbury Mountain State Park with Scott earlier that week, and we loved it, and so decided to go again! And it can't be beat as it's about five minutes from my house! It was wonderful - great exercise, fun with the dogs, lovely trails, cool breeze through the trees, and some good ol' time outdoors. Then I went to the Community Market at LLBean to get some fresh veggies, local bacon, and early apples! Jackpot! Every Friday 3-7 there's a Farmers' Market on LLBean campus in Freeport. It's wonderful and so convenient! So that was Friday reminding me of how much I love Maine.
Today was yet another reminder of loving Maine. I went to church this morning to feel things out and see if I liked it - Unitarian Universalist Church Brunswick. The church was built in the late 1800s and is such a wonderful, warm, welcoming place. This was not only my first time to this particular church, but also my first time going to a UU church. I love it! The people were so sweet and so welcoming, the service was a healing service which turned out to be just what I needed, and the integration of so many different practices in a familiar service was perfect. And after the service there was a pot-luck party to celebrate a couple's 62nd wedding anniversary at their beautiful house in New Gloucester. I was invited to come along with a woman I met after the service, and I just kept meeting so many amazing people. The house is on about 30 acres and the original part of the house was built in the late 1700s. The "recent addition" was built about 100 years later! It was a beautiful deep red color, and I loved it instantly. It was a beautiful day out, a nice cool breeze blowing, and the company was great. I felt so at home with this group of people I had only really just met! Part of the celebration of this couple's anniversary was that they were giving away some of their books, which they had set up in a side room of the house for all of us to peruse and pick out anything we wanted to take. I picked up a copy of Naked by David Sedaris, which I've been wanted to read for some time. So exciting! The rest of the party was fantastic, I chatted with so many wonderful people, saw their gorgeous Celtic garden out back, and really felt so genuinely welcomed into the community. I just can't believe what a great day it was! What a perfect day to visit this church and meet some new people! Yet again, still, I love Maine! And the people here have (for the most part) been amazing! I feel so at home already.
My favorite part is when I tell people that I've just moved to Maine from North Carolina. And they ask why I moved to Maine? And I tell them that I wanted a new adventure! I've adventure some in Maine and found it to be a wonderful place, and so I took a chance and moved here! And I love it! My least favorite part about Maine is how stinkin' far away it is from my family in North Carolina. But that's what planes and trains and cars are for! And telephones and email!
Yay life!
Earlier this week, on Friday, I was reminded that I love Maine when I went for a hike up Bradbury Mountain (which is a very small mountain, but a lovely hike nonetheless) with my housemates' two dogs. 150ish pounds of dog on the end of a leash hiking through the woods is amazing. It was a gorgeous day and I couldn't stay inside. I had gone to explore Bradbury Mountain State Park with Scott earlier that week, and we loved it, and so decided to go again! And it can't be beat as it's about five minutes from my house! It was wonderful - great exercise, fun with the dogs, lovely trails, cool breeze through the trees, and some good ol' time outdoors. Then I went to the Community Market at LLBean to get some fresh veggies, local bacon, and early apples! Jackpot! Every Friday 3-7 there's a Farmers' Market on LLBean campus in Freeport. It's wonderful and so convenient! So that was Friday reminding me of how much I love Maine.
Today was yet another reminder of loving Maine. I went to church this morning to feel things out and see if I liked it - Unitarian Universalist Church Brunswick. The church was built in the late 1800s and is such a wonderful, warm, welcoming place. This was not only my first time to this particular church, but also my first time going to a UU church. I love it! The people were so sweet and so welcoming, the service was a healing service which turned out to be just what I needed, and the integration of so many different practices in a familiar service was perfect. And after the service there was a pot-luck party to celebrate a couple's 62nd wedding anniversary at their beautiful house in New Gloucester. I was invited to come along with a woman I met after the service, and I just kept meeting so many amazing people. The house is on about 30 acres and the original part of the house was built in the late 1700s. The "recent addition" was built about 100 years later! It was a beautiful deep red color, and I loved it instantly. It was a beautiful day out, a nice cool breeze blowing, and the company was great. I felt so at home with this group of people I had only really just met! Part of the celebration of this couple's anniversary was that they were giving away some of their books, which they had set up in a side room of the house for all of us to peruse and pick out anything we wanted to take. I picked up a copy of Naked by David Sedaris, which I've been wanted to read for some time. So exciting! The rest of the party was fantastic, I chatted with so many wonderful people, saw their gorgeous Celtic garden out back, and really felt so genuinely welcomed into the community. I just can't believe what a great day it was! What a perfect day to visit this church and meet some new people! Yet again, still, I love Maine! And the people here have (for the most part) been amazing! I feel so at home already.
My favorite part is when I tell people that I've just moved to Maine from North Carolina. And they ask why I moved to Maine? And I tell them that I wanted a new adventure! I've adventure some in Maine and found it to be a wonderful place, and so I took a chance and moved here! And I love it! My least favorite part about Maine is how stinkin' far away it is from my family in North Carolina. But that's what planes and trains and cars are for! And telephones and email!
Yay life!
Monday, July 26, 2010
six days straight
I worked six days straight last week - Monday through Saturday. Two days at J.Crew and four at The Body Shop. It was actually quite enjoyable. I like being busy during the day and feeling like I've accomplished lots. I'm also getting more in the swing of things with my two jobs. The schedules are actually meshing really nicely - I couldn't have asked for much better! I'm still working on meeting all of the people who work at J.Crew, but I'm not too worried about it because a lot of them are leaving in August to go back to school anyway, so then there will be fewer people to meet.
This weekend was busy - Scott came up, Leigh and her friend Leo came to Maine, and we all had a grand old time! They hung out while I was at work on Saturday, we all went to a fun pub in Portland on Saturday night, and took them around Freeport on Sunday! It was a whirl wind! Phew! (Wonderful to see you Leigh!!!)
Four more days of work and then I'm off for two weeks of vacation! The family trip out west has been planned for quite some time ... normally I wouldn't take two weeks off work so early. But I sure am excited to see my family! And before I leave Scott and I are going to Cirque du Soleil!!! On Sunday!!! I'm so excited!!!!!!!!
Life in Maine has been going smoothly. I'm getting into a routine of going to the YMCA in Freeport - it's a nice Y. And I'm running into people I know at the grocery store, which makes it feel like I live here. And I love the couple I'm living with ... they're so much fun! And it's been really easy to make this feel like home so quickly. Yay! Though I'm also excited to have an apartment of my own later this year! Hopefully in Portland!
Suppose that's about it for now ... Maine is wonderful! Summer here is amazing!
This weekend was busy - Scott came up, Leigh and her friend Leo came to Maine, and we all had a grand old time! They hung out while I was at work on Saturday, we all went to a fun pub in Portland on Saturday night, and took them around Freeport on Sunday! It was a whirl wind! Phew! (Wonderful to see you Leigh!!!)
 |
| Leo, Leigh, Scott, and me at Wolf's Neck Farm in Freeport. |
Four more days of work and then I'm off for two weeks of vacation! The family trip out west has been planned for quite some time ... normally I wouldn't take two weeks off work so early. But I sure am excited to see my family! And before I leave Scott and I are going to Cirque du Soleil!!! On Sunday!!! I'm so excited!!!!!!!!
Life in Maine has been going smoothly. I'm getting into a routine of going to the YMCA in Freeport - it's a nice Y. And I'm running into people I know at the grocery store, which makes it feel like I live here. And I love the couple I'm living with ... they're so much fun! And it's been really easy to make this feel like home so quickly. Yay! Though I'm also excited to have an apartment of my own later this year! Hopefully in Portland!
Suppose that's about it for now ... Maine is wonderful! Summer here is amazing!
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