It’s the Little Things in Life

Everyone has those moments where they see, hear, smell, touch or simply experience something that makes them smile.  I just wanted to share a quick story that may make some of you smile.

Commuting

The other day as I was sitting in the living room, ticking away on my computer, trying to figure out how in the world to convert my word documents to other formats so that my classmates could open my assignments online (grrr..) and I hear a low, gravelly rumbling outside the window.  My boyfriend exclaims, “Dang! Is someone dragging their trashcan down the street?!? What the heck?” (Ok, that’s my interpretation of what he said…I don’t remember exactly.  but he did wonder if it was a trashcan being dragged across pavement) We’re both peering out the window with intense curiosity, when the true culprit comes into view.  .  First, we see a boy, not more than 4 years old, driving one of those battery powered cars down the sidewalk, concentrating very hard on the route in front of him.  Following closely behind was his father, carrying a backpack and walking at what looks to be a healthy pace.  We both watch them make their way out of site, and just burst into laughter.  Trashcan?? Pish posh.  The best part is glancing out of the window 10 minutes later to see a car bobbing up and down behind the neighbor’s hedges.  It was the dad carrying the commuting vehicle back to its resting place. 

The Lake the Exemplifies My Way of Explaining Life……long drawn out detail:)

Lake Chargoggagoggmanchuagguagoggchaubunagungamaugg

This is the Native American name of a lake that was a within the geologic area termed Avalonia; an area along the northeast coast where continental plates began piecing together what we see as New England today.  The name means “You fish on your side of the lake, I fish on my side, nobody fishes in the middle-no trouble”*.

I have been reading like a mad-woman over the past two weeks and tend to enjoy the reading despite the volume, but I laughed until I cried after reading about this particular lake… who said reading couldn’t be fun!

** Raymo, Chet and Maureen E. ‘Written in Stone: A Geological History of the Northeastern United States’.  The Globe Pequot Press: 1989. [71]

I wish you all lots of smiles.

train wholeheartedly

This was the name of the chapter in a book that the meditation group here in town was discussing last night.  (Pema Chodron- “Start Where you Are”) You can take it to mean whatever you would like, as your application is just as good as mine.  As I delve into a new chapter of my life here in Keene, I’m absorbing as much from my experiences as possible, starting with, but definitely not limited to, meditation, classes at Antioch, conversations I have with folks in town, bike rides to the local parks, grocery shopping…you name it.  My theory is that if I’m going to be an effective teacher, I need to become a student again; not just at school this fall, but with life as a whole.  If you think back to being 2 or 3 years old, you may remember trying to get your hands into everything, experimenting with the unknown, asking LOTS of questions and ultimately being a curious being with no built-in concept of limits.  The limits are generally set by parents, people around us, “the man”…either way, its time to revert back to that driving curiosity that makes learning so much fun.  Try this out:  as you go about your daily schedules, consciously think to learn from, respond to, interact with and experience your activities wholeheartedly.  Feel as though your fully invested in everything you do, even if it seems like something you don’t want to be doing, and let me know what happens.   Peace my friends

keen on Keene

I’ve been in Keene almost a week now, and feel its time for a quick review: 

•  Along with my arrival came a spell of beautiful, autumn-like weather …70-80 degrees, sparsely cloudy with low humidity, the smell of freshness in the air, and mornings cool enough to wear a hat or long sleeve shirt. 
• It is certainly bike-able:  If the grocery store, post office, bank and coffee shops are within 15 min. of each other by bike I know I’m in a good place.  
• There are an assortment of ponds, lakes, hiking trails, biking trails and parks all within walking/biking distance.  
• There are two great health food stores/restaurants downtown
• Traffic actually yields to pedestrians!!  Even at round-abouts!!  
• There are two colleges/universities in this little town
• The meditation center has sittings 4 times a week
• The local brewpub (along with many other restaurants) buys most of their supplies from local farmers and make delicious, homemade creations
• Most of the houses downtown look as though they could house close to 20 people (and some of them do since many of them are split up into apartments)
• People smile and say hello in response to my smiles and greetings
• Folks are willing to go out of their way to help you out (example:  At the ‘Blueberry Fields’ market this afternoon, I was checking out and the cashier looked at the snow peas I had selected and asked if I was sure I had gotten my money’s worth in peas and that I may want to check a few other tubs to see if there were any with more peas.  haha..) 
• There is a bounty of music festivals/performances in and close to town
• No matter who I talk to, everyone asks whether I’ve heard of the Keene Pumpkin Festival.  Its that good!  

I love my new home and hope that any and all of you will stop through one of these days.  Peace and be well~~ 

Moving on and up…north that is

Hello folks.I know its been awhile since I’ve set fingers to my keyboard, but with a laptop computer at my disposal now, I thought it was time to try my luck with keeping in touch again.  For those of you that I haven’t spoken/written to over the past few months, here’s a quick synopsis… I arrived home from my journey out west and landed back in Fredericksburg, VA.  I spent some time reflecting on my life, working , volunteering and enjoying the down time presented to me by working two very part time jobs.  Woo!  I was happy to develop a more ‘at-home’ relationship with ‘the ‘burg’ and the people in it.   Amidst all of that, I did some more serious research on graduate programs (which I had done in the fall, but nothing materialized since I took the job in Montana).  I knew I wanted to get a certification to teach science, but didn’t want to settle for a cookie-cutter program that focused mainly on SOL testing and lecture based learning, even if a school system would pay for my education while teaching.  That’s how I came across Antioch University New England.  A co-worker of mine from Adventure Links had attended this school a few years back and as it turns out, had completed the same program I was applying for.  The specific degree that ended up on my application was a Master’s in Environmental Studies with a Science Teacher Certification (Biology).  Since I began the application process at the end of April/beginning of May, I had no time to waste.  I made the necessary phone calls, sent in the numerous forms, and before I knew it, I was scheduled for an interview with the head of the Education Department in Keene, New Hampshire. *..is this really happening!?!* After all the talk of not wanting to go back to grad school, I surprised myself with how determined I was to attend this school. I drove 12 hours up to New Hampshire with my boyfriend Brian, interviewed, ate lunch, then drove 12 hours home.  Hello-goodbye! Despite the very brief visit, I immediately fell in love with Keene and the feel of a small, New England town.  After returning to VA, I figured I’d be playing the waiting game, as we so often do in life, especially when it comes to good things, but NO!  I received a call a few days later from Admissions welcoming me to the program.  lkjasl;dkjl;ajksdfl;kjl;k jasdflfkj;lkajdsfl;kjasdfkkl;jasdf;lkjkl;ka sddfl;kja sdlflkjjl;k….yeah, that’s how excited I was.  Although, my excitement was a little more organized.  I started the process of planning a move….for real this time.  :)  Brian expressed interest in coming with me, so of course, the excitement only got better.   But just as a sugar high is followed with an unpleasant crash, the excitement would wane into a puddle of worries; where are we going to live?  work?  will we still have a vehicle to survive the bitter cold of a New England winter?  After a good bit of effort, the housing search became a game of cat and mouse since I couldn’t afford another trip up to NH before the beginning of classes.  So, we’d just have to wait.  Despite not finding a place to live right off the bat, I made some great contacts and got some great tips about Keene and the surrounding area.  Folks were fairly open to helping out where they could, even if they couldn’t provide us with a place to live.  That made the efforts worth the time and frustration.  Work would also have to wait unless a visit was to be planned, so I left VA knowing that I wasn’t sure where I would be living or what I would be doing to pay the bills.  All good challenges…After tying up loose ends in the ‘burg and saying goodbye to friends, I hit the road again on the 17th of Aug.  **as a side note, my car had been in the shop since the beginning of July due to a failed distributor assembly, sucking $450 bucks out of my wallet. I had only driven it a week or so before leaving on journey** I stopped in SilverSpring, MD to visit with my aunt and uncle, along with their friend that was visiting from Italy.  On the 18th, I headed out of the city toward Zanesville, OH where my mom and brother(along with grandfather and partner) are located for a quick visit before heading north.  I made it to Cumberland MD when my car started overheating.  It was off and on and I wasn’t sure whether I was experiencing a similar problem to what happened on my trip home from Tennessee a few months earlier (my radiator cap had broken).  I made it over the next mountain and I knew it wasn’t something that would pass.  I made it into Frostburg, MD and was pointed in the direction of an auto shop that *may* take my car the next day (as it was 5:30 and whole lot of nothing was open).  It took me about a half an hour to fight back the tears, but once the urge had passed, I realized I had everything I needed to have a good night in a town I had never visited before, even if my initial travels were on hold.  I took my bike off the back of my trouble-maker Honda and found my way to the public library where I could do a bit of research on what my options were.  #1: where am I going to sleep tonight?  #2: what am I going to do if I can’t fix my car and #3:  what the heck am I going to do with my car!#1:  Hotels are far too expensive, so that’s out of the question.  No couch surfers in town that I can find online…bummer.  Camping?  I love my hammock for the sheer fact that I can set it up just about anywhere.  I ended up landing on the Trail Inn and Cafe, located approx. 1/4 of a mile down the road from where I was sitting with my computer.  $30 a night for a dorm room set-up, access to a bath house with fresh linens, soap, etc., wireless internet access, a cafe on site, the Allegany Highlands Trail of MD across the RR tracks…um, yes please.  I’ll worry about my car later:)  The Inn managers, that also ran the cafe (Linn’s Pizza) checked me in and I spent my Allegany sunset hours chatting with them, overlooking the RR Depot and mountains beyond.  Beautiful.  I gave them a loaf of banana bread (of course) and hit the sac.  To make the best of my time there, I awoke with the sun and hit the trail to explore and find the 900 ft. tunnel a few miles north.  A good hour on the trail prepped me for my visit to the auto shop.  #2:  The bay doors opened at 7:45 am and I was in the door 20 sec. later.  The guy at the front desk wasn’t sure whether he would even have time to look at my car that day, much less fix it if there is anything wrong.  Without meaning to, I gave a deep sigh and was like what the heck am I gonna do??? I explained my situation to him while scratching my head…and he asked where my car was.  YESSSSSS!!  My relief lasted for, hmmm, about 3 minutes.  His diagnosis is a broken/warped head or head gasket and thought it would cost at least $1000 to fix.  haha.    hahahahaha….hahahahahaha.  Ok, now to my next concern.  #3:  ”Would you be willing to buy my car for parts??” Yeah, for $75.  Good to know.  I headed back to the Inn to do a bit more research.  I made a few calls to local auto body shops/used car dealerships and was finally referred to a friend of a friend that might buy the car.  He drove an hour to Frostburg, with the disappointing news that he wouldn’t be able to take the car.  My angel was listening over my shoulder and sent a whisper through the window of the Inn, and the manager came out on the porch inquiring about my meeting with the mechanic.  I explained to him what may be wrong, the price he quoted to fix it, and he asked if he could look at the car.  Whoa…really?  An hour later, it was decided that he would buy my car from me.  With my mom on the way from Ohio to pick me up, I decided to do the first thing that came to mind. RELAX, continue knitting, and help my new friends out by bussing tables at lunch time.  I had a wonderful visit to Frostburg, and when my mom finally arrived at 1:30, we had lunch at Linn’s and bit them a warm farewell.  **Linn’s Pizza is an excellent, privately owned business that is run by two very hard-working individuals.  I recommend visiting them if passing through the area.  The Allegany Highlands Trail is an extension of the C&O Canal path, extending from Cumberland MD to Pittsburg, PA.  They were very good to me when I needed a hand, so my request to all of you reading this entry, stop in if and when you’re in that area, support their cafe and pay it forward.  Bus a table if its busy.  Offer to take out the trash.  Leave them a thank you note or note of appreciation.  Tell them a friend sent you.  :):):)On the road again, this time in my mom’s mini-van heading back to Ohio, we discussed our hopes and dreams for wholesome community living and touched on religious beliefs (my mom has recently been ordained a Presbyterian Minister).  I love getting into long discussions with my mom about lifestyle decisions.  She is an excellently smart woman, that despite the adversities she has had to overcome in her life, she has held onto what makes her happy and does her best to create an open, working community where ever she goes.  We are far more alike than I ever could have imagined, and I treasure our time together, despite how limited it may be.  During my Ohio pit-stop, I had to decide how I was going to get to Ohio, how I was going to pay for it, and what my estimated time of arrival would be so that I could plan for a place to stay until I could find an apt.  Again, my angel could hear my inner thoughts, and I was blessed with all the help I needed via friends and family.  Within two days, my grandfather’s partner had offered to drive me all the way to Keene, then drive back the next day (12 hours from Zanesville to Keene), my mom had already picked me up from MD, which was a 3 hr drive each way, I had a few offers from family members to help cover expenses until I could get my feet on the ground, AND a friend whose family still lives in Keene put me in touch with her parents who offered to house me as long as need be.  The emotions that accompany experiences like these is hard to explain.  I’ll leave it this:  keeping a positive attitude, no matter the situation, and accepting what comes your way will overrule any doubts you may have about life.  In almost exactly 12 hrs, I arrived in Keene to open arms, open hearts, and a feeling of well-being that I have only felt a few times in my life.  My first experiences here in Keene have been memorable and those details will have to wait.   Until next time…. Take care, be well, and love thy neighbor as thy brother/sister.  ~*~The Lady Jess~*~ 

The Four Agreements

A book by Don Miguel Ruiz: “A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom”1. Be impeccable with your word.2. Don’t take anything personally.3. Don’t make assumptions.4. Always do your best.If you’re anything like me in that you enjoy people watching and you like trying to figure out why YOU react the way you do to certain people, situations, etc, then it makes sense to learn more about yourself.  I read this book sophomore year in college (’03) and am rereading it now.  Don Miguel has some great perspectives on how to improve your perceptions of yourself, your relations with other people, and our physical existence as a whole.  These guiding principles have put a lot of things into perspective for me that gave me grief for years.  Its been nice finding a balance in life that sustains a peaceful state of mind.I recommend this book to anyone that is curious about life, about happiness, and about finding a lifestyle that is right for you.~namaste~check these out:http://www.miguelruiz.com/fouragreements.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namaste

Domesticating the ‘wild’

Domestic:

• of concern to or concerning the internal affairs of a nation
• of or relating to the home
• of or involving the home or family
• converted or adapted to domestic use
• a servant who is paid to perform menial tasks around the household
• produced in a particular country

Its funny to actually look up the [MANY] definitions of a word we hear in classes, passing conversation, or maybe just in our heads. For me anyway, the definition doesn’t always give me the meaning I am looking for. Or perhaps the meaning I have given the word has been derived from my own personal experience and has a creative twist on it so that the word revolves around my particular world. Independent thought is a wonderful thing. When I was growing up and tried conceptualizing where I saw myself in the future, it was always an unclear vision with no real parameters. I wasn’t sure where I wanted to go, what I wanted to do, but who doesn’t think that way? At least to some degree. Its funny that the thought of settling down in one place, especially somewhere in Virginia, never crossed my mind.  Settling down meant that I would be passing up so many other opportunities, opportunities that may never be available again! (insert frantic irritability and biting of nails here)…the grass is always greener, right?  After my 5800 mile drive with innumerable hours spent alone driving, I came to some new conclusions.  I crave having a home base.  Not just a friend that will offer up their couch with the option of making it my permanent home address(thanks to all of you anyway!!!!), or a free place to stay at a parent’s house, but a place to call my own.  ‘Place’ is a liberal term.  I would honestly be happy right now with a plot of land with trees, water and a place to set up a platform tent or hang my hammock. I don’t ask too much.  If I could pay all of my bills on time because I receive the statements in the mail, or the automatic withdraw I set up works, I would probably lose a few gray hairs.  So, where does this put me?  It leaves me with the desire to hammer out a 5 year plan with this in mind and make this dream a reality.  (very interesting concept, dreams vs. reality…we can talk about that later) For the time being, this may mean not traveling so much…boo!, possibly settling into a more full time job that will allow me so save a few duckets, and creating a positive mind set that isn’t just “sucking it up” to get through this period in my life but looking ahead to see what I could possibly learn next!  I feel happy with the choices I’ve made thus far and am hoping that the facets of life I’ve been tapping into will lead me in the right direction.  My wild nature may have settled down for the moment, but I will always remain wild at heart.

Road Trip in Review

Miles travelled: ~ 5800Gallons of gas used: ~ 200 (ahhhh!!!!)Longest distance driven in one state:  498 miles (Tennessee)States passed through: 20 (VA, MD, WV, PA, OH, IL, IN, MO, KS, CO, WY, ID, UT, AZ, NM, TX, OK, AR, TN, NC)Capital cities seen: Columbus, Indianapolis, Denver, Cheyenne, Salt Lake City, OK City, Little Rock, Nashville, RichmondLong stretches of interstate driven: I-70 from Cumberland, Maryland to Denver, ColoradoI-40 from Flagstaff, Arizona(woo!) to Greensboro, North CarolinaState parks visited: Wayne Nat’l Forst (Old Man Cave) OH, Rocky Mtn Nat’l Park, CO, Kaibab Nat’l Forst/Sedona AZ, Grand Canyon NP AZ, Great Smoky Mtns NC Couch surfing fun:  2 cities; Oklahoma City and Memphis (thanks ladies!!)Hotels: Super 8(Nephi, UT) and Salina Inn(Salina, KS)…booFriends and family along the way:  a priceless addition to an amazing journey***********************************************************************************************************What in life keeps our sanity pieced together?  How do we know we’re headed in the right direction after toiling over decisions for days, months…or even years!?   Well in this case, it was a compillation of people and events that brought me full circle back to the Old Dominion.  I packed up my civic and peaced out on the 10th of January with the expectation of arriving in Kalispell, Montana a few weeks earlier than my job started to meet folks, find a place to live, and adjust to the arctic weather(ok, not quite, but I have yet to make a buckskin outfit, so the idea of freezing my little buns off was a little daunting).  I stopped off in Zanesville, OH where my mom and her dad have planted themselves, and really enjoyed lazy hang out time and slumped my shoulders a bit when I thought of all the ’stuff’ I needed to sort through mom’s basement.  I’ve moved 4 times in the past 2 years, and give props to anyone that can keep their wits about themselves through this process.  Every move elicited a sense of happiness, fear, relief, and sorrow-none of which work very well together when being emitted at the same time.  On the other hand, I have met so many amazing people along my journey and have worked out enough kinks in my mental clarity, that when reflecting upon each move, all of them had their purpose and  have led me closer to my goal of simplifying my life.  I have donated most of my wardrobe to the Goodwill or other various organizations, sold all of my furniture, distributed knick knacks among friends, and still have a good two carloads worth of stuff between Fredericksburg and Zanesville.  Amazing really.I left my mom’s with a sense of direction, but no real idea how this trip would evolve.  I convinced my brother Ray to come with me to Dayton to stay with family there.  My stomach always reels after visits with them from laughing so hard.  Good, hearty “family” time doesn’t come around very often these days and I’m determined to change that, even if it means cross country road trips!:)  From Dayton, I headed as far west as my numb bum could take:  approximately 12 hours to Salina, Kansas.  Some noteworthy sites from this ride were the wind farms I passed through out Kansas, Monsato corn fields ( thumbs down) the arch in St. Louis, and the early morning drive after leaving Salina.  It felt early morning due to the time change in Illinois the day before anyway.  The wind gusts were blowing somewhere in the range of 20-45 miles and hour, but the cold air kept a bluish/purple haze on the horizon for hours!  Despite the distance driven on completely uneventful landscape, it was not such a drab experience.  I will say it was relieving to catch the tips of rocky mountain peaks in the distance when heading into Denver.  I can’t tell you how many times I caught myself thinking, ‘DANG! We live in an amazingly beautiful country!’.Colorado truly calmed my trip anxiety after meeting up with a distant cousin, Lee Skinner, his wife Betsy, and their friend Jo.  We chatted about family connections, exchanged life stories, and became instant friends.  Within a day, I felt as though I had known them for ages!  They showed me around their town of Allenspark, population 300, hidden beneath the shadow of mountain peaks 14,000 feet tall, and gave me a regional tour the second day of my stay.  Estes Park had a very ‘chateau’ feel to it.  As we drove down into the valley, Betsy and I came across one of the many migrating herds of elk meandering through the roads.  She took me to the local thrift stores, we made conversation with folks in line at the grocery, then we topped it off with a visit to the Stanley Hotel where ‘The Shining’ was filmed.  The scenery was beautiful, the town was quaint(despite the tourism industry present in the area), but my favorite part about my stay…the people I met and the warm welcomes I received.  ‘Home is where the heart is’ resounded this whole trip as I saw myself living in any number of the places that I visited, and this was definitely one of them.  Praise be to science for good people in the world.My long haul to Twin Falls, ID was kicked off with a family breakfast a the Skinner household, and a herd of bighorn sheep enjoying the sunshine and road salt as I winded my way back down out of the mountains…sad.  My heart jumped out of my chest a few times while driving in blowing snow on I-80 just past Cheyenne as trucks were flying by me and I couldn’t see more than 20 feet ahead!  While driving through a snow storm in S. Idaho, I heard my friend’s voices in my head laughing, “Ha!  you’re driving out to Montana…in January…?”.  No worries…I made it through to my dad’s house with my wits and enough energy to say hello, shower, and PASS OUT.  Living in a tent is great fun and my hammock has treated me well, but sometimes, a warm, firm bed just hits the spot.   This was one of those times.  I spent a few days at my dad’s cooking yummy, experimental meals, reading, watching movies, taking bike rides, and touring around Twin Falls, while thinking about how I was going to make it up to Kalispell as winter storms approached and highways closed. This is where my path takes a sharp turn.  My dad and I have a unique relationship, most of it being based on a long distance correspondence.  He is a smart, connected and curious individual that is very supportive of my life decisions and pushes me to follow my heart.  The voice in the back of my tends to be louder when I’m with him, and during this particular visit, the voice was screaming.  My dad doesn’t hesitate to express his opinion and sometimes listening to him feels more like a chore, and a strong opinion feels more like a personal attack that takes a sword and slashes all of your preconceived forms of reality and leaves them in a little pile on the floor for you to sort through.   In this particular instance, the pieces of my reality that had been ripped to shreds almost immediately formed into a picture of picture of my ‘home’ in Virginia.  Some of this could have been attributed to dealing with sadness, frustration and confusion without anyone close by to confide in, but as I went over scenarios in my head, the desire to pursue the path I was developing in Virginia became overwhelmingly strong.  New love, old and new friends, close proximity to family members and a stronger sense of direction in my field of work(for once) is worth sticking around Virginia a bit longer.Once my mind was made up, my dad and I made amends, and I started the trek back east.  I landed in Flagstaff, AZ, a dormant volcano, to catch up with Elena, a good friend and past co-worker, which was a feat in and of itself. :)  I hit the thrift stores with her roommate Katie, ate late-night hot dogs, took a driving tour of Sedona and the surrounding red rocks, was blown away by the Grand Canyon, and worked on puzzles until my eyes bugged out of my head.  Amen!  Before I was fully convinced to get a job and stay for a few more days….or years, I thanked my hosts with loaves of pumpkin bread and hit the road again in hopes of making it at least to Oklahoma before the days end.  I did in fact make it to OK City where my friend Tim had found a couch surfer that would host me.  After 14 hours of driving, I wasn’t very social, but enjoyed hearing about all of the fun things to do in the city, if I chose to stay for more than a night.  If anyone heads down that way, ask locals about a 30 story indoor slide!!  Another surfer in Memphis gladly took me in and again, made me feel as though the world is my home.   We ate at a local bbq for dinner (oooooo…a taste of the south), the civil rights museum (the hotel where Martin Luther King Jr. was shot), met a crew of other couch surfers/hosts in town, and winded down the evening playing guitar and chatting about life….the story goes on.Bell Buckle TN is a unique place on the globe.  No matter where you go, it always seems to be on your way!  It may also be the magnetic force that Tim Hetrick has, or the smell of freshly baked pizza, or the distilleries just down the road.  Whatever the draw was, I’m glad I stopped in, and anyone reading this should consider visiting.  Really.  Then there was Ashville…oh Ashville.  Good beers, good laughs and time with Spooner..always priceless.  I was restless that night and ended up hitting the road super early, but found myself smiling as I drove across the Virginia border.  After all was said and done, I felt home just crossing the state line.I have always told myself that I’m missing something by not living in another state, or that I’m limiting myself by committing to one field of work or one job.   Being frustrated by the limitations I set for myself,  I dug deeper into the cosmos, connected with myself and my surroundings on a deeper, more meaningful level, and have adopted a sense of appreciation for the people and places around me that is hard to express in tangible ways.   My heart brought me home and I look forward to seeing where it takes me from here.

Changes and new beginnings

Who knew…when I caved in and joined myspace, I figured, well hey, I’ll get to see what people are up to on a more regular basis, I can keep people updated with pics and such, and that’s that. Then this fall, along came facebook, and yet again, I figured I could keep up with the people that didn’t use myspace very often… and I was bored one night, what can I say. All is well thus far. I have done my best to keep up with both sites, updating my status, adding new pics, and sending messages to folks whenever I can and have actually had a lot of fun with it. The newest addition to my online family is this blog. I really never thought the day would come. It happened on a snowy day while I was visiting some friends in Flagstaff Arizona. I gave my good friend Tim a call to let him know I was traveling back to VA on an intuition I had and would be passing through Tennessee…who knew! (For those that know Tim, Bell Buckle, TN is on the way to anywhere in the world:) )I didn’t have a place to crash and was going to suck it up and pay a little $$ to stay at a local inn along the way, but while I was doing lots of thinking, Tim was busy creating me a second couch surfing profile (since I couldn’t remember the login info for mine) and found me a place to stay not only in OK City, but in Memphis, TN as well. Woo hoo! Along with creating me this profile, he plunged me keyboard first into my first ever blog. Here we go!