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.

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.

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!

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!!!)

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!

in which that made my day. thrice. or four times.

Allow me to explain myself:

Today was a bit up and down, but it ended on just about the highest note it possibly could have. I went to the gym this morning, which is really just code for "I found a quiet place where no one would bother me to read Harry Potter, and was coincidentally exercising at the same time." So that was good. Then I went to work. I had just missed a call from Scott, who left a cute message just to tell me something that I had asked him about yesterday, which he couldn't recall, and that he had finally remembered! It was a rather insignificant piece of information that I had totally forgotten about, which made it that much better! So I got to work, which I am loving - I love entertaining and interacting with people all day! Most of today was good. And near the end of the day three women came in. They were just visiting Freeport and had just arrived from Ohio. They weren't looking for anything special but one of them bought something, which got us chatting. We were talking about the heat, and I said I'm used to it since I just moved up here from North Carolina. To which she responded, "My son lives down there!" "Where does he live?" "Oh you won't know of it, he lives in Carrboro." I just laughed at first and then said, "I just moved from there!" She was shocked! She told me who were son was, and it just so happens that I went to high school with her grandson! Gah! I LOVE SMALL WORLD MOMENTS!!!!!!!!!!!! They're my favorite. I couldn't stop smiling the rest of the afternoon. Then the server on the cash registers crashed - for the SECOND time today - while I was closing the store. That brought the day's score down a few points. HOWEVERRRRRR - as I opened the door to leave I heard bagpipe music playing in the distance! (Important to Note: I LOVE bagpipe music.) It didn't sound too far away, and as I was driving I saw the group behind the fire station! I stopped and listened for a while and it was absolutely perfect! It gave me goosebumps all over my body and I couldn't stop smiling! I must have looked like a crazy person! And even more so as I drove home, windows open, jamming away to celtic music!!! 

Ahh, the little things in life that make me so grateful for everything I have. It must be where the phrase "high on life" came from. 

just in cases

Hello!

Just in case there are still people reading my blog, I thought I'd update you a little. Things are going well up here in Maine. I am loving it! Maine is so beautiful. I've been to the beach with my housemates, who are awesome! We've also been playing Rock Band, which I never thought I would enjoy. It's a blast! And let me tell you, it's also a little addictive. For those of us with addictive personalities, this can be dangerous.

Work has also been going well. I finally had my first official day of work at J.Crew. I'm glad I started at The Body Shop first because the things I've learned there are definitely coming in handy. It's going to take a bit to get to know all of the people that work at J.Crew, as there are quite a few, but they all seem very nice! Those that I have met so far have been awesome. And I love the clothes, so that's dangerous. And The Body Shop is also going well. I'm really enjoying the people that I'm working with there too! They're super fun!

I've also been exploring here and there as I have had the chance and the itch to do so. I've been to the Brunswick Farmers' Market a couple of times. It's right off the main street, so it's super easy to find, and the people there are great! It's not a huge farmers' market, but they have great variety! Meat, veggies, cheese, fruit, plants, eggs, and so much more! I've also found the Target that's nearest to my house ... I love Target! I've been back down to Kennebunkport a few times, where Scott's grandparents live during the summer. I was there for the Fourth, which was a blast! Scott and I sat on the beach, went for lovely walks, went and saw the fireworks on the Fourth after a bee-yew-tee-fullll sunset! It was awesome! And Scott and I explored Portland some more this past weekend. It's a really neat city! There are lots of shops that remind me of Asheville, which I love! And it's right by the water, which I also love! It's neat to be so close to the coast - I've always lived several hours away so it was always a trip to go to the beach ... now I can go for an afternoon if I want to. It's awesome!

Needless to say, things are going well. I'm so glad I moved to Maine (as much as I wish NC were closer so I could see my family more often)! I suppose that's about it for right now.

Cheers!

Porcupines

In North Carolina we were always worried about copperheads when the dogs were out in the backyard. In Maine, as I learned yesterday, we are always worried about porcupines. Porcupines!? I've never even seen a porcupine in the wild before ... sure, I've seen them at the zoo before, but wow. This I was not prepared for. I'm still not prepared for skunks ... thank heavens the dogs didn't find a skunk! They did, however, find a porcupine. Apparently there is one that lives on the property here and one of the dogs has already had a prickly encounter with said little rascal.

Brody (Rotweiler-Chow mix) and Sox (Whippet-Lab mix) are sort of my new dogs. They're not actually mine, but I live with them. They belong to the couple that I am subletting from, and while they're out of town I'm taking care of them. We're bonding. And we really bonded yesterday when they came back from running off with porcupine quills in their faces. What a shock to see that! Not at all expecting that one. I learned that porcupine quills need to be removed asap because if they stay in they work their way deeper into the skin. Needless to say, we (two sad dogs, Scott, and me) made a trip to the Animal Emergency Hospital. Glad Scott was there to help! But bummed that we spent our morning at the AEH. They made quick work of the quills and gave us back two groggy drunk-looking dogs! Yay for nice vets! What an adventure!

Sad Sox

(He was a little nervous around Scott before we went, but after that adventure he and Scott are friends.)

Bummed Brody

(Not only in the side of his face, but one in his ear, and a couple in the roof of his mouth - poor guy!)

Two sleepy puppies!