why hello there, LJ world
I have a million and one things to do, thus it is obviously time for an update!
I said I would update on Mariah's visit here, so I will start with that:
It was awesome. I feel soooo lucky to have her still be a part of my life and one of my closest friends even though I left SMU. So the first night she was here, I had an EP gig (btw, EP is amazing, but I'll get to that in a minute!) and Bryce was cool and picked her up at the airport for me, and then I met them down in Santa Cruz for... let's not lie, a very ridiculous night. I'd tell you about it, but I don't actually remember much. WHOOPS! Then, the next morning, we got up and went to the Mystery Spot with Josh (Bryce's best friend) and it was INCREDIBLE! If any of y'all ever get an opportunity to go there, DO IT! It was really fun, although I totally threw off my equilibrium and kind of made me sickish, but totally worth it. Things like that remind me that there is a 'force/power/eternal being/however you want to put it' that is more powerful than all of us. It makes me think that God has a sense of humor and likes to confuse scientists! Anywho, after that, we went to the beach, although it was a pretty gross day. We walked down the boardwalk and ate and whatnot, then headed back to PA to shower and get ready for San Fran. So it was all foggy and misty when we were driving into SF, and I was thinking, "Ugh, Mariah would come when the weather is gross! Now she'll never want to move here!" And so we were freezing in line waiting for our sunset Alcatraz tour, which felt pointless since the sun wasn't out. And so we got on the boat and low and behold, as we got closer to Alcatraz, the sun started peaking out and when we got there, the city was covered in light and was just so incredibly breathtaking I couldn't believe it! If you ever get the chance to do the sunset Alcatraz tour, DO IT! It was so beautiful. So anyway, from that point on, the weather was incredible and Mariah and I both took it as a sign that it is just meant to be for her to move out here! I'll bullet point the rest of the night:
-Alcatraz was amazing, clearly.
-We went to Pier 39 and had dinner - always a fun place to go.
-We had planned to go to Ghirardelli, but were so tired from Santa Cruz and so cold that we decided to postpone it to the next night.
So the next day we got up and discovered Hobee's in Palo Alto. WOW! Amazing breakfasts! Then we proceeded to the city, where we drove around for a very long time and went the most roundabout way ever to get to the Golden Gate Bridge, but it was worth it because Mariah got to see a lot of the city!
-Golden Gate was AMAZING! We walked all the way across and back. There was a Navy Air Show because it was Fleet Week, which we weren't planning on, and we got to see the whole thing from the bridge - another sign! (Although, at first I thought we were under attack! I was like, 'OH GOD TERRORISTS ARE ATTACKING THE GOLDEN GATE!' haha, I am amazing.)
-Anyway, then because there were so many people out, it took us forever to get back into the city. We met Bryce for dinner at Pier 39, looked at the Sea Lions, and generally had a good time.
-Walked t Ghirardelli, only to find that the line was a million miles long to get in AND to ride a Trolly. :o( Those were the two things on our list we never did, but it's cool because Mariah will move here soon!
-So then we drove around SF for a while and went up to Coit Tower, which had an amazing view. And where Mariah totally got asked out by a creepy dude. hahaha. "Damn girl, you so fine." hahaha.
-We drove down Lombard Street, which is the curviest street in the world.
-Went to Ocean Beach and felt small standing in front of the ocean, another reminder that there is something bigger out there than myself.
And that was the end of day two.
It was really awesome to see Mariah fall in love with the city, because it made me remember the first time I fell in love with it. It made me remember what all I've gone through to get here and how lucky I actually am and really just made me feel so happy with my life now.
The third day, I had lots to do, so Mariah mostly hung out with Bryce, but we did squeeze in:
-Another breakfast at Hobees - yes, Mariah and I like brunch, what can I say?
-We went to Stanford and looked at MemChu - AH SO BEAUTIFUL! (I showed Mariah where she will be standing for the wedding. haha) And we discussed how my colors are going to be burgandy and pink to match my style AND the beauty of the church.
-We went up in Hoover Tower at Stanford, and consequently learned a lot about Herbert Hoover and his totally amazing wife! She was a really cool woman. If you get a chance to go over to that museum, you should. But from the tower, we could see all the way to the city. REALLY COOL! And Stanford is freaking GINORMOUS! No wonder I still can't figure out my way around! But yeah, it was totally beautiful and inspiring (again, a sign).
My mind is drawing a blank on what we did Monday during the day.
-We went to see Last Kiss (umm, wicked depressing.)
-We watched the Goonies because Mariah had never seen it (somewhat made up for the other movie).
Tuesday was her last day and we basically just went into the city and, once again missed the Trolly because the lines were too long. But it was beautiful, and we just sat and looked at the ocean and whatnot for a while. Mariah was feeling very sad that she had to leave, and I was feeling very sad as well. I had been feeling very lonely without any really close friends out here (other than Bryce, who I never see).
Mariah being here really helped me ground myself and reminded me how lucky I am and how happy I really am right now.
So with that all said, Mariah now has TWO interviews in San Francisco for jobs, and I'm sure she'll be getting more very soon! YAYAYAYAY!!!!
So other than that, school has been... well school. It's stressful, you know... Same ole same ole.
EP... wow. Where do I even start? Such a blessing in my life! I think I might have fooled them into thinking I was good enough for the group still, but I think it's more that God really knew I needed this in my life - I was at a point where I was questioning what I am doing here and if I was on the right path. I was desperate for music in my life and hurting for a Stanford family, and now I have it. We had retreat this weekend, and I can't even begin to recap because... well most of it shouldn't be posted on the internet anyway. hahaha... JUST KIDDING! Well, sort of... But suffice it to say that my heart is overflowing, and as stressed out as I am now (4 papers, a presentation and a midterm all this week - I'm screwed!), I have never felt more content in my life... At least not in a really long time. The kids (I call them kids because I am freaking OLD) are just so amazing, I just feel completely worthless.. I mean, not really because I know there are a lot of things that I can give them with my maturity level, training and just my general loving, maternal nature. I don't mean that in a conceited way, just that... I feel like they all give me a lot of perspective and just amaze me with their stories, and my gift to them will be as a more sort of... caretaker figure, if you will. That still sounds wrong. Basically what I'm trying to say is that I can offer them unconditional loving and acceptance, even though our lives are so different. Hopefully that makes sense and doesn't make me sound like a jerk! And what's funny is that, in return, they give to me what I need to be happy and take care of myself. I think there is something, too, about making music with people that brings you to another level of closeness. Like PEA Concert Choir... Even though I hardly talked to half of the people who were at our reunion last spring, I was still so happy and felt so connected when I saw them and sang with them again. And I feel that same connection with In Essence (we're still supporting each other after all these years) and Essence.
Anyway, this was the longest post in the history of the world ever, but let's be honest, I probably won't write in here again until like finals week because we know I only write in this thing to procrastinate. haha. Actually, in all seriousness, I really wanted to let y'all know how content I am in life right now and just how happy and joyful my heart feels. And I wish the same for all of y'all avid LJ readers. ;o)
I said I would update on Mariah's visit here, so I will start with that:
It was awesome. I feel soooo lucky to have her still be a part of my life and one of my closest friends even though I left SMU. So the first night she was here, I had an EP gig (btw, EP is amazing, but I'll get to that in a minute!) and Bryce was cool and picked her up at the airport for me, and then I met them down in Santa Cruz for... let's not lie, a very ridiculous night. I'd tell you about it, but I don't actually remember much. WHOOPS! Then, the next morning, we got up and went to the Mystery Spot with Josh (Bryce's best friend) and it was INCREDIBLE! If any of y'all ever get an opportunity to go there, DO IT! It was really fun, although I totally threw off my equilibrium and kind of made me sickish, but totally worth it. Things like that remind me that there is a 'force/power/eternal being/however you want to put it' that is more powerful than all of us. It makes me think that God has a sense of humor and likes to confuse scientists! Anywho, after that, we went to the beach, although it was a pretty gross day. We walked down the boardwalk and ate and whatnot, then headed back to PA to shower and get ready for San Fran. So it was all foggy and misty when we were driving into SF, and I was thinking, "Ugh, Mariah would come when the weather is gross! Now she'll never want to move here!" And so we were freezing in line waiting for our sunset Alcatraz tour, which felt pointless since the sun wasn't out. And so we got on the boat and low and behold, as we got closer to Alcatraz, the sun started peaking out and when we got there, the city was covered in light and was just so incredibly breathtaking I couldn't believe it! If you ever get the chance to do the sunset Alcatraz tour, DO IT! It was so beautiful. So anyway, from that point on, the weather was incredible and Mariah and I both took it as a sign that it is just meant to be for her to move out here! I'll bullet point the rest of the night:
-Alcatraz was amazing, clearly.
-We went to Pier 39 and had dinner - always a fun place to go.
-We had planned to go to Ghirardelli, but were so tired from Santa Cruz and so cold that we decided to postpone it to the next night.
So the next day we got up and discovered Hobee's in Palo Alto. WOW! Amazing breakfasts! Then we proceeded to the city, where we drove around for a very long time and went the most roundabout way ever to get to the Golden Gate Bridge, but it was worth it because Mariah got to see a lot of the city!
-Golden Gate was AMAZING! We walked all the way across and back. There was a Navy Air Show because it was Fleet Week, which we weren't planning on, and we got to see the whole thing from the bridge - another sign! (Although, at first I thought we were under attack! I was like, 'OH GOD TERRORISTS ARE ATTACKING THE GOLDEN GATE!' haha, I am amazing.)
-Anyway, then because there were so many people out, it took us forever to get back into the city. We met Bryce for dinner at Pier 39, looked at the Sea Lions, and generally had a good time.
-Walked t Ghirardelli, only to find that the line was a million miles long to get in AND to ride a Trolly. :o( Those were the two things on our list we never did, but it's cool because Mariah will move here soon!
-So then we drove around SF for a while and went up to Coit Tower, which had an amazing view. And where Mariah totally got asked out by a creepy dude. hahaha. "Damn girl, you so fine." hahaha.
-We drove down Lombard Street, which is the curviest street in the world.
-Went to Ocean Beach and felt small standing in front of the ocean, another reminder that there is something bigger out there than myself.
And that was the end of day two.
It was really awesome to see Mariah fall in love with the city, because it made me remember the first time I fell in love with it. It made me remember what all I've gone through to get here and how lucky I actually am and really just made me feel so happy with my life now.
The third day, I had lots to do, so Mariah mostly hung out with Bryce, but we did squeeze in:
-Another breakfast at Hobees - yes, Mariah and I like brunch, what can I say?
-We went to Stanford and looked at MemChu - AH SO BEAUTIFUL! (I showed Mariah where she will be standing for the wedding. haha) And we discussed how my colors are going to be burgandy and pink to match my style AND the beauty of the church.
-We went up in Hoover Tower at Stanford, and consequently learned a lot about Herbert Hoover and his totally amazing wife! She was a really cool woman. If you get a chance to go over to that museum, you should. But from the tower, we could see all the way to the city. REALLY COOL! And Stanford is freaking GINORMOUS! No wonder I still can't figure out my way around! But yeah, it was totally beautiful and inspiring (again, a sign).
My mind is drawing a blank on what we did Monday during the day.
-We went to see Last Kiss (umm, wicked depressing.)
-We watched the Goonies because Mariah had never seen it (somewhat made up for the other movie).
Tuesday was her last day and we basically just went into the city and, once again missed the Trolly because the lines were too long. But it was beautiful, and we just sat and looked at the ocean and whatnot for a while. Mariah was feeling very sad that she had to leave, and I was feeling very sad as well. I had been feeling very lonely without any really close friends out here (other than Bryce, who I never see).
Mariah being here really helped me ground myself and reminded me how lucky I am and how happy I really am right now.
So with that all said, Mariah now has TWO interviews in San Francisco for jobs, and I'm sure she'll be getting more very soon! YAYAYAYAY!!!!
So other than that, school has been... well school. It's stressful, you know... Same ole same ole.
EP... wow. Where do I even start? Such a blessing in my life! I think I might have fooled them into thinking I was good enough for the group still, but I think it's more that God really knew I needed this in my life - I was at a point where I was questioning what I am doing here and if I was on the right path. I was desperate for music in my life and hurting for a Stanford family, and now I have it. We had retreat this weekend, and I can't even begin to recap because... well most of it shouldn't be posted on the internet anyway. hahaha... JUST KIDDING! Well, sort of... But suffice it to say that my heart is overflowing, and as stressed out as I am now (4 papers, a presentation and a midterm all this week - I'm screwed!), I have never felt more content in my life... At least not in a really long time. The kids (I call them kids because I am freaking OLD) are just so amazing, I just feel completely worthless.. I mean, not really because I know there are a lot of things that I can give them with my maturity level, training and just my general loving, maternal nature. I don't mean that in a conceited way, just that... I feel like they all give me a lot of perspective and just amaze me with their stories, and my gift to them will be as a more sort of... caretaker figure, if you will. That still sounds wrong. Basically what I'm trying to say is that I can offer them unconditional loving and acceptance, even though our lives are so different. Hopefully that makes sense and doesn't make me sound like a jerk! And what's funny is that, in return, they give to me what I need to be happy and take care of myself. I think there is something, too, about making music with people that brings you to another level of closeness. Like PEA Concert Choir... Even though I hardly talked to half of the people who were at our reunion last spring, I was still so happy and felt so connected when I saw them and sang with them again. And I feel that same connection with In Essence (we're still supporting each other after all these years) and Essence.
Anyway, this was the longest post in the history of the world ever, but let's be honest, I probably won't write in here again until like finals week because we know I only write in this thing to procrastinate. haha. Actually, in all seriousness, I really wanted to let y'all know how content I am in life right now and just how happy and joyful my heart feels. And I wish the same for all of y'all avid LJ readers. ;o)