What am I dippity doing?

OPERATION: Avoid Eating Out

2011-11-14T11:19:00.000-06:00

OPERATION Get All My Friends to Live in Kansas City

2011-04-23T12:25:00.014-05:00

Three years ago, I emigrated from Oklahoma City to Kansas City. Graduation left me at a crossroads, deciding if I should make a drastic change like moving to NYC or Chicago for a few years before returning closer to family, stay in OKC where I had job security and friends, pursue a career in pr for the music industry in Nashville or go somewhere different-yet-appealing like Denver or Kansas City. After tons of praying and job searching, I landed here. And what a perfect decision that was. I quickly (as in, within a week), confirmed that this city is my cup of tea (or coffee). I was having a blast living the single life, exploring all the unique neighborhoods here and decorating my apartment. Then…in the midst of my “single” state of mind, I met a guy with a magnetic personality and kind way about him. And now we’re getting married! Soon, I’ll get to experience this vibrant town as a newlywed.

Who doesn't want all of their friends and family to live near them? Well, some might exclude the second group of my previous statement. For me, friends and family are a blurry line, so I want them all as close as possible. However, when I decided to leave Oklahoma for new territory up north, I thought I was giving up that dream.

So this brings me to the purpose of this post. Through several conversations with my best friends, I've found that hope remains. Below, I will give my list of potential immigrants and a few extra tidbits. I have my work cut out for me, but I think by 2016, Kansas City will be filled with a Who’s Who of Rachel’s favorite people.
Timeline, current location and what needs to happen before they can move.

1 year – Loren & Penelope O’Laughlin

Jonesboro, AR
structural design job for Loren and ESL or refugee program position for Penelope

1.5 years – Tara McComas (and her bf Kevin Heeney)

Tulsa, OK
finish med school, apply & select residency program in Kansas City, find job for Kevin

2 years – Kevin & Whitney [Pettyjohn for now] Sterling

Brooklyn, NY
wed one another, get their fill of Brooklyn, graphic design job for Kevin and pr job for Whitney (non-profit preferred)

2 years – Ryan Yeakley (brother)

Wichita, KS
Find a job in IT/computer software

2-3 years - Julia Kaissling

Chicago, IL
get her fill of Chicago (not rushing this one too much, because I love that she lives there right now), then find a teaching or other equally fitting job here

3 years – Anna Vinzant (cousin)

Searcy, AR
Graduate with a degree in interior design & find rock star position in KC

3-5 years – Adrian & Katherine [Roland for now] Milton

Houston, TX
Gain valuable experience at respective law firms in Houston before finding positions in Kansas City pre-babies

side note--this one is going to be harder to wait patiently, but the pay-off will be worth it

5+ years – Mark & Kimberlee Yeakley

Wichita, KS
Realize life will be incomplete unless they live next door to their grandchildren. Oh, and find a way to make money here.

• Undetermined timeline:

Stephanie Mester – after she’s gathered some speech therapy experience in Amarillo.
Jennifer Pekrul – after I find her a job here
Lyndsay Suttles (soon-to-be Davis) and her hubs, Andy

If you’d like to register with the RRP (Rachel Relocation Program) or know of open positions that would be a good fit for any of the above names, please email rachel.yeakley@gmail.com.

Update on cold deliciousness for the summer

2010-07-25T18:41:00.008-05:00

(mango passion fruit + lemon blackberry sorbet)

As a follow-up to my snow cone post, let's talk briefly about ice cream. If you've known me any time at all past 2004 (when I discovered gelato), you know I'm not much of an ice cream person. HOWEVER--one man has changed that. His name is Christopher Elbow, and if you haven't heard that name before, come to Kansas City and let me introduce you.

Mr. Elbow is known around here (and across the country) as one of the best artisan chocolatiers. I could spend paragraphs on the Caramel Fleur de Sel alone. *sigh*

A couple months ago, Mr. Elbow opened an artisan ICE CREAM shop. Believe it or not, he has somehow managed (magic, perhaps?) to translate his amazing chocolates into frozen deliciousness. The aforementioned favorite chocolate of mine is now my favorite ice cream treat. Caramel ice cream (with a hint of salt) plus hot fudge drizzled on top.

Zach (the boyfriend) who is not usually a dessert person has even come over to the dark side. His favorite flavor is Vietnamese Cinnamon.

I want to make this short, so in summary--get in your car (buses go right past the shop, too), and visit Glacé Artisan Ice Cream (just south of the Plaza Library).

P.S. It's pronounced "Gla-say." :)

Oooh--in other exciting news, a Red Mango (fabulous frozen yogurt) just opened on 50th & Oak!

Snow cones are the new cupcakes

2010-06-16T10:34:00.009-05:00

Okay, not really. Nothing, no matter how trendy, can replace the deliciousness of a Bella Nutella from Cupcake a la Mode. Or my recent discovery during the chocolate tour of Chicago that Katherine took me on (really, it's an official tour) -- More Cupcakes. Mmm.

Despite that tangent, however, I've noticed that snow cones (or sno cones, shaved ice, etc.) have risen in popularity lately.

A few examples:

Fresher Than Fresh snow cones (in Kansas City) are ALL NATURAL. Yes, all natural. This is a far cry from when I worked at Sun 'n Fun Water Park's snow cone shack in '03. Ha! Blue Coconut and Tiger's Blood were about as far from natural or organic as you can get. They might have even been radioactive.

Here is a video and article to get you excited about this trend sweeping the nation. Other trends to watch: macarons (more on that later).

Fox 4 Kansas City news story on Fresher Than Fresh:
Who is that strange girl at the end? ;) Oh, and here is the article where FTF is mentioned...hooray local businesses!

New York Times - The Snow Cone Grows Up

Happy summer, everyone!

no more trips to Walgreens for toothpaste!

2010-03-17T14:38:00.003-05:00

Let me start by saying I am NOT an employee of Alice.com, nor are they my client. I'm just a really happy customer! Although I love grocery shopping, I'm not thrilled by random and annoying trips to the store just for little things I run out of (i.e. toilet paper, soap, etc). Enter: Alice.com (as in--Everyone needs their own Alice, or the maid from The Brady Bunch).

If you're like me and you don't have a Wal-Mart with everyday low prices within a 20-minute radius or you're morally opposed to shopping there, this is the perfect solution! The prices might not always be as low as WallyWorld, but they're quite close. And it's a million times more convenient. It took me about three orders to finally accept that there isn't a catch. Here's what you should know:

* you always have to order at least 6 items
* BUT--then shipping is free
* the selection isn't perfect, but it's better than you'd think
* you can search by what coupons are available
* they ship your order in a pretty blue box to your office or home in a couple of days

Now--be SURE that if you're ever going to use this service, you sign up using this link or by clicking the banner to the left.
<---that one

If you do, then you'll get $10 automatically plopped into your account (but only if you've been referred). They don't give it to you until you prove your loyalty by spending your first $50. This just happened with me, and I guess they trust me now!

Have fun exploring and shopping!

Farmer's Market

2010-02-12T09:00:00.007-06:00

This has been the harshest winter I've lived through (keep in mind I lived in sunny Oklahoma for 22 years and mostly dealt with ice and wind). I don't say that to complain--it's definitely been a snowy adventure this year, but to say how much I am longing for the sweet, warm spring! Spring is my favorite season (with autumn coming in a very, very close second). Mostly, I've had the open air farmer's market on my mind. I've loved going there on Saturdays in the spring, summer and fall, but have missed it desperately lately since I've been trying to eat healthier foods. It's not as fun to buy apples from Wal-Mart when you know you're not supporting your local farmers AND you're eating who-knows-what kind of disease-causing preservatives. Plus, I can save a lot of money there. :)

I need to compile some yummy recipes in anticipation of all the produce I'll be able to buy. Feel free to share your favorites with me. Specifically ones that involve in-season produce. I also buy eggs, Shatto milk and Bread of Life nutty bread from the market. Oh, and I'm super excited about my tomatoes from a young farmer with a super long beard who has a really cute little boy that I let pick out the tomatoes for me. There's nothing like a home-grown tomato. And since I failed at my attempt to grow my own on my balcony, I will stick to the experts.

That's all my dreaming for now--time to get back to work.

bad blogger

2010-02-02T23:03:00.002-06:00

Wow, someone needs blogging inspiration. -->me

Looks like I'm back to my goal of not letting a year go by without writing. Yikes!

*********update

Oh yes, here's a little something to say: I just finished "New York, I Love You" (finally). Has anyone seen the 2 deleted stories? I'm no Kevin Bacon fan, but the Vagabond Shoes vignette just warmed me up on this frigidly cold night. I have newfound respect for Scarlett Johannsen who I saw wrote and directed it. AND for Natalie Portman who did an excellent job on one of my other favorite parts (with the dad/dancer and little girl). I don't want to give away the Kevin Bacon story in case you want to watch it, BUT...I will say I started thinking, "Why am I watching something so depressing?" Not so at the end! :)

warning in a math formula

2009-09-20T22:06:00.005-05:00

Warning to all females who are tempted to wear high heels and do not live and work on the first floor. Take it from a 3rd floor apartment resident and 3rd floor office worker...

+ =

(photo taken more than 1 week after the traumatic slip...the pictured shoes have not been worn since the incident)

cheap + quality entertainment

2009-07-01T13:47:00.004-05:00

I love shout-outs to ye olden days when I get to attend a concert for less than $15 that are still top notch. Case study: Mat Kearney at the Beaumont Club. I only paid $10 TOTAL for two tickets from a woman who won them on the radio. Apparently, there are still plenty of non-psychos left to be found on Craigslist. Hooray!

<--his song "Closer to Love" is really good.

Slowly coming out of hibernation!

2009-06-08T22:36:00.012-05:00

A quick check of my profile tells me two sobering things: Number one: I didn't think anyone clicked onto this not-updated-enough blog, but I'm somewhat wrong. Number two: I'm 24! I have been for 3 months, but it hasn't sunk in yet.

I know 24 is still in the youngish category. But the older I get, the more likely I am to forget I'm this old! I was at CVS yesterday, and my total came to $19.89. The check-out guy informed me that was his birth year (we decided this was a good sign for him). And he didn't look like a baby. But people born in 1989 are supposed to be kids, right? Wrong. They are 20. I don't know who my audience is here, but surely most of you can relate to this.

I'm going to nip this "time flies" rant in the bud before it turns into multiple-paragraph rambling.

This isn't a news update blog, but I will share a bit of info anyway. My balcony has just been completely redone. Much to my happiness, they kept the old, Victorian columns, but put in a brand new wooden floor and updated all the paint and trimming. Now the trouble is stopping at the correct apartment instead of accidentally passing its unrecognizable exterior. I think I'll take a photo the next time I'm walking up to my building and show you all.

In other news, I just paid $3.90 to eat a DELECTABLE fish of some sort (just looked it up...Arctic Char). No exaggeration: it was 3 times better than the $29 wild salmon I had at Bristol last weekend. And at my downtown grocery store (Cosentino's), they steam and season it for you! I love fine dining on a budget. Especially when that fine dining requires no effort. :) I also love discovering a new dish. I'm often hesitant with seafood, but I'm getting better.

Twittering has gotten me so accustomed to thinking in hyperlinks and @usernames that I keep wanting to put links along with my shout-outs. That is the very reason I should deTwitter myself and focus more on big girl writing/macroblogging where you rely on your own descriptions. Writing news releases at work is also something I haven't done in ages. My superior (Marc) is nice and doesn't force me to help him with releases when I get busy, which is all the time now. So it's time to re-prioritize and start practicing one of my favorite aspects of public relations.

This update feels so short, but that's probably because I'm "talkative"<--what's the word for that when you're writing? Anyway, I will cut myself off and try to save my blogging energies for sooner instead of my usual later.

If for some reason you woke up today and thought, "My, I haven't heard any new, good music lately," look no further. Here is a VERY short list of recent discoveries/favorites. (Actually do look further...because I'm certainly no music guru.)

* French music -- is that a genre? This is not a rhetorical question. I love the style in the following clip, but I don't know what the genre is called. I believe this is from Amelie, which I haven't seen. The song is called "Guilty"

* The Way I Am -- excellent lyrics and catchy tune! By Ingrid Michaelson...I'm only endorsing this one song though. It's a must-hear.

***edit*** Do not confuse this song with Timbaland's The Way I Are.

* All of Brett Dennen's stuff, but especially this one--> Ain't No Reason -- I actually want you to watch the video with this one (usually it kind of distracts from the song...but not in this case) -- thank you Tara for this discovery

* You Are the Best Thing by Ray LaMontagne -- Tara gets ALL the credit for this one. I can't get enough of it. It's romantic, cheerful and soulful all wrapped up into 3ish minutes.

* the band Little Joy -- not ready to recommend them yet, as I just heard of them tonight
--however: Guy from Coldplay is currently at their concert, so they can't be bad, they have a good initial sound, and I love their name

* Lift My Eyes -- I rarely buy music, but I caved for this one. By Bebo Norman. You have to be talented if your name is Bebo to make up for being named Bebo.

one year as a grown up

2009-04-12T23:31:00.002-05:00

My goal is to write a true update before I hit the one-year-inactive mark on this blog. So if any of you are out there who still check this...please stay tuned.

Keeping up with Facebook, learning Twitter, etc. has caused me to neglect dear-old blog (which I was never very faithful to in the first place).

I do have many reflections regarding my first year in Kansas City, however. So more to come.

Now I'm going to start reading Surprised by Joy. I love C.S. Lewis, joy and surprises...so this is sure to be a winner.

Word of the Day

2008-06-24T17:11:00.005-05:00

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't a dictionary supposed to provide synonyms in order to HELP you figure out what the word means?

Today's word:
--scathing
(adjective) Bitterly denunciatory; harshly critical.
Synonyms: vituperative

Pretty sure I already knew what scathing meant, and have never used vituperative in my life. They need to reverse their Word of the Day, in my humble opinion. This will teach me not to use thefreedictionary.com when I should be using dictionary.com. Words matter.

act of weather, not terrorism

2008-06-05T12:59:00.007-05:00

This happened Tuesday night...fortunately I saw it on the news before driving home from Shannon and Brad's apartment in Lawrence. And fortunately, I also saw it from the highway on my way home. Otherwise, when I saw the monstrous, dark cloud of smoke billowing into the sky just west of downtown on my way to work the next morning, I would've been positive that terrorists had struck.

Lightning caused this petroleum tank to catch on fire.

Tornadic weather in store tonight, perhaps. I think I missed my calling to be a storm chaser.

NPR dreams

2008-05-29T21:56:00.003-05:00

Every morning, I wake up to my radio playing NPR. This is all well and good, and a less-harsh way to rouse a night owl out of bed.

But here is where it gets interesting...I've been having "NPR dreams." I'm bad about snoozing for quite a while, so I usually go back to sleep as the radio is blaring and dream about whatever news I'm hearing. Then, when I'm finally awake, it's hard to distinguish reality from my dreams.

For example, the other day, as I was driving to work, it dawned on me that Jane Seymour is not, in fact, running against Hillary Clinton for president. This morning, I dreamed I was President Bush's press secretary, and we were having a conversation inside his limo.

So don't ask me to tell you about current events, because I'll give you false reports.

speech! speech!

2008-05-23T23:50:00.003-05:00

Since I've been remiss in blogging lately, and since I need to go to bed early due to an early-morning airport pick-up (Tara's coming!!!), I decided to sort of blog-cheat. I'm going to post the little speech I gave at our baccalaureate lunch at graduation in December.

I hereby dedicate this to all recent graduates:

I try hard not to say, "I can't wait." A few years ago I realized how precious life is and how quickly it passes and so I decided to stop using the words, "can't wait." I used to say, "I can't wait for Christmas" or "I can't wait for summer break." But the truth is, I CAN wait for anything. Instead, I now say, "I'm looking forward to.....being gainfully employed."

There is an old French story called The Magic Thread about a little boy, Peter, who was very impatient. Peter had trouble enjoying the present, because he longed for the future. One day, an old woman approached Peter in the woods and offered him a strange gift, a silver ball from which a golden thread dangled. She explained that if he gave the thread a little tug, an hour would pass like a second. Peter gladly accepted the gift.

The next day, when he was bored in school, he pulled the thread a tiny bit, and found to his delight, that the teacher was dismissing class for the day. So every day, he pulled the thread to speed up all the slow parts of the day. Eventually, he decided to skip schooling altogether and hurry on to his career. I am sure you guessed what happened next.

He rushed through his engagement so he could be married to his childhood sweetheart. He rushed through his children's illnesses and all other unpleasant events in his life. Before he knew it, his mother had died and his children had grown up and moved away.

One day when he was an old man, he went on a walk in the same woods he used to walk in when he was a boy. He saw the same old woman who had given him the magic thread. She asked if he had lived a good life. "I'm not sure," he replied. "Your magic ball is a wonderful thing. I've never had to suffer or wait for anything. And yet it has all passed so quickly. I haven't had time to take in what's happened to me, neither the good things nor the bad. Now, there's so little time left."

The old woman gave Peter one final wish. With that wish he chose to live his life over without the magic thread, to take life as it came. He woke to find his young mother waking him to go to school.

William Bennett said, "Too often people want what they want right now. (Or what they think they want, which is usually happiness.) The irony of their impatience is that only by learning to wait, and by a willingness to accept the bad with the good, do we usually attain those things that are truly worthwhile."

I can relate to Peter. As much as I want to be patient, there were many times when I was writing a research paper at 4 a.m. and wishing I had a Magic Thread of my own that would fast forward me to Spring Break. I am still not over my aversion to IHOP after spending an entire night there drinking from the "bottomless coffee pot" while writing a paper for Dr. McBride.

But, you know, other times I am the one who already sounds like an old woman sitting on her front porch musing about how quickly time passes. When I visited the freshmen dorms in August, I felt as though I were the one who should be moving in, not all of those kids!

My point is this--we need a balance in our lives. We need to cherish the present while looking forward to the future.

As I approached high school graduation, the advice I heard the most was, "This is the best time of your life; enjoy it while it lasts." I loved high school, but I remember thinking, "I hope this isn't the peak of my existence!" And sure enough, college was even better.

I believe if we continue seeking God's will for our lives, the best is still to come. Each stage of our life will be wonderful, and we can even learn to appreciate those times when we are refined by fire.

As with Peter's story, if we don't take the bad times with the good, we won't enjoy our lives to the fullest. If I had chosen not to go to OC just because I hate research papers, I would have missed out on an amazing 4 1/2 year adventure. The same will be true for my future. If I don't take risks with my career, I will miss out on great opportunities.

I am trying hard not to use clichés. I am not going to throw out all those "dance like no one is watching" quotations at you. But I do want to encourage all of us to get excited about all that life has to offer in the next eighty years or so. When life is going exceptionally well for you, pause and soak it all in. Tuck those good memories away and pull them out when the trials come so that you know the hard times won't last forever.

And above all else, trust that God has incredible plans for that will surprise us and make us wonder why we ever thought college was going to be the best time of our lives.

Congratulations everyone!

art & life imitating each other

2008-04-20T16:21:00.021-05:00

"Life imitates art far more than art imitates Life." --Oscar Wilde

I can't seem to figure out my opinion on this matter. I used to have the same sentiments as Meg Ryan's character in You've Got Mail -- "So much of what I see reminds me of something I read in a book, when shouldn't it be the other way around?" But lately, I'm pleased to announce I don't feel that way as much anymore.

Instead of moping around yesterday because Tara Lynne had to cancel her trip to visit me, the day was instead filled with all things good: farmers' market in the morning, French cafe for afternoon coffee, library, 2 hours at a wonderful park and gorgeous spring weather...and finally, my first visit to the art museum here.

There were several reasons why I enjoyed the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art so much: the grounds are beautiful, the collections much better than I thought they'd be, the low cost for admission (free) and the fact I can go any time I want since I'm not just here on vacation.

And now I will tell you why art imitates life...illustrated in a few selections from the European exhibit:

Pisarro's Market at Pontoise -- because I just went to the market.

Cassat's At the Theater -- because I just went to my first opera

The Approaching Storm -- because I recently took these photos from my balcony the other night

Piazza del Popolo, Rome -- PRECISELY where my book is taking place right now...and I was having difficulty picturing it, thank you Giovanni Paolo Panini for painting this in 1741 for me. =)

And the best example...

Ingres's Portrait of the Sculptor Paul Lemoyne -- because it's used on the cover of the previously-mentioned book I'm currently reading.

Here's my proof: I bought this book in New York at the Heath Ledger bookstore (I call it that because Whitney talked to him there in October). Little did I know that the cover was taken from a painting hanging in a museum in my town! I love stuff like this.

As if I needed more reason to love the museum, look at the quotes on the outside of the building (by one of my favorite authors, Victor Hugo, I might add):

"The soul has greater need of the ideal than of the real. It is by the real that we exist. It is by the ideal that we live."

Well said, Victor.

Things I've learned so far...

2008-04-07T22:27:00.001-05:00

· NEVER go to an animal shelter if you’re not prepared to adopt...it's hard to leave.
· Wooden floors are very squeaky (but fabulous).
· You really can tune out sirens when you’re trying to sleep.
· Sometimes you assume a dining room table will be delivered already assembled, but sometimes you’re wrong.
· How to put together a dining room table.
· Fear of pepper spray and alarm systems is more real than the intruders they are meant to protect me from.
· Zicam is effective at shortening your cold, but apparently can kill your senses of taste and smell FOREVER! (I was lucky though, it only killed my cold)
· Les Misérables is coming to Kansas City in September!
· No one can go to the DMV and accomplish everything in one trip.
· Kansas City has enough diverse coffee shops to keep me happy for years.
· I had no idea what Palestinian food would be like until trying out the Jerusalem Café, and it’s similar to Turkish (which makes sense)…delicious

More to come!

The times, they are a changin'

2008-03-11T23:40:00.003-05:00

Well, off I go into the brave new world of Kansas City, Missouri.

I'm starting a job next week at a mid-sized integrated marketing agency in downtown KC. Such adventure ahead of me! I promise to do a better job at updating this blog...or try anyway.

Stay tuned for what is to come as I chart new territory in my life!

nothing in particular

2008-02-25T23:49:00.005-06:00

It is quite windy. I hope my subconscious doesn't hear the wind and cause me to have yet another dream about tornadoes. (4 and counting, all starting in December...3 have occurred the night before actual tornadic events.)

Isn't it odd how we praise God for controlling the weather, but we don't blame him for natural disasters? Don't worry about me being struck by lightning for that...I'm just musing.

After looking at, but not filling, my giant, 21-section picture frame for 7 months, I finally ordered new prints and filled it with people I know! (Instead of all those fake people.) It brought such color and vibrancy to my room!

Lastly (because I feel the need to be more obscure), this is my "Why is the world ridiculous?" example of the week:

First of all, this short-sleeved sweater is on "sale" for the great bargain of $198 (originally $390). Okay, I recognize there is a difference in quality between Dollar General and Banana Republic, for example. But once you hit $100, you're just being ridiculous. And I appreciate the argument about fashion being wearable art. But a black sweater is not art by any definition. It's just rich people paying too much so they feel worth it. Secondly, stand up straight and quit pretending to be high fashion!

I miss my house in Ponca City with the door that would "moo" when it was windy.

Observations

2008-01-14T21:43:00.000-06:00

Since change is the topic of the day lately, I've decided that is not what I want to discuss. Instead, I will list a few observations to get myself back into the swing of blogging.

Observation #1 -- My dear, dear friend Whitney Pettyjohn hates crowds more than most people I know. Despite this, she adores concerts and worked incredibly hard to fulfill her dream of moving to...Manhattan (the densest city in America with 66,000 people in every square mile...compared with Oklahoma City at a whopping 325 people per square mile). But I love her for it.

Observation #2 -- Complements are better than compliments. (Don't get me wrong, I'm not asking you to quit giving me the latter.)

Observation #3 -- Despite my pickiness when it comes to new authors, if my mother ever wrote a novel, it would be amazing. She wouldn't think so (even after winning a Pulitzer), but it would be.

Observation #3.5 -- I never thought much about who Mr. Pulitzer or Mr. Nobel were. All I know about Nobel is that he invented dynamite and then felt guilty about it. I stumbled upon a book about Joseph Pulitzer in a wonderful bookstore in SoHo, so as soon as I get to it on my very long list of books to read, I won't have to wonder anymore.

my passion

2007-11-10T17:30:00.000-06:00

Nothing in this world beats the experience of a good concert. Nothing.

Chest vibrating from the booming bass, sore ear drums, the smell of the smoke machine, feeling the sweltering heat from being smashed together with hundreds of strangers. Maybe it doesn't sound fun to you, but when you match all that with hearing and literally FEELING your favorite songs, it quickly becomes an experience of a lifetime. It's sensory overload…but in a good way.

I've been to 21 "real" concerts. My definition of a real concert is one in which there is standing room only and the crowd isn't afraid of a little movement. The approximately 30 non-real concerts I've been to were also quite wonderful, but were different musical styles, venues and audiences, making them really good shows, as opposed to really good experiences.

My first big concert was February 23, 1995. Amy Grant's House of Love tour. Penelope still makes fun of me for remembering the date, and I don't blame her. I still remember when my mom surprised me with the tickets, what I wore to the concert (a green dress and brown boots), how far away we were (and how much I didn't care because I was having the time of my life), and even what I ate the next day at the mall for lunch. Until I got a CD player the following year, Amy Grant was the only music I listened to (besides Acapella with the family and the occasional Mariah Carey, Ace of Base and All 4 One with friends). But I digress.

Now, I could no sooner choose a favorite band than choose a favorite star in the sky. I also can't choose a favorite concert experience. There are a few highlights though I suppose….seeing the Newsboys for the first time in their "airdome," getting on stage with Audio Adrenaline during my favorite song of theirs, almost getting trampled to death in my first mosh pit, and the list goes on and on.

Last night, I saw Mute Math in Tulsa. I only recently discovered them (thank you Kim and Whitney), but I had seen two of the members in a former band. So I knew they'd be pretty crazy. Which they were. Crazy and amazing. I love Cain's Ballroom because the wood floor is bouncy, so you really feel it move when people start jumping around. And you can feel the bass in your feet. Love it, love it, love it.

I went through a dry spell for a while where I hardly ever went to a concert. But this fall, I've gone to three. It really renewed/confirmed my desire to work in the music industry. I had forgotten one of my original reasons for majoring in public relations, which was wanting to work for a rock band. It was just a far-off dream a few years ago. And then I pushed my "unrealistic" dream aside as I got more and more excited about the profession of public relations in general. I realized how much I would enjoy working for a pr agency where I'd have multiple and diverse clients. I still think I'd like doing that, and maybe I will. But like I said, I've renewed my passion for the music industry, so maybe I'll end up there someday after all. I'm in no rush. It might be 5 or 10 years from now. But I think I can do it if I decide it's what I want.

I know concerts aren't everyone's "thing," but if you haven't done what you're passionate about in a while, I recommend doing it soon. It'll energize you and be well worth it.

Best new excuse for being late

2007-11-07T13:12:00.000-06:00

Today on my way to class there was a HOUSE coming down the road. Yes, a house. We've all seen them on the highway, but this was a little side road next to the university. I kept plowing down the street thinking my eyes were playing tricks on me. Sure enough, though, the house was taking up the ENTIRE road. Thus, I turned around and drove around the entire circumference of the campus. And I was late.

Fine, I'll start a blog.

2007-11-05T19:18:00.000-06:00

My countdown calendar tells me 39 days remain until I graduate college. The flexibility of my degree, public relations, is both liberating and frightening. One of the many reasons I chose pr was because of its broad scope. Now that it is time to find a job, however, it is proving difficult for a person who shudders at the thought of making a big decision. Add to that...I also want to do 30 things in 30 different directions, all having equal pull.

On a brighter note, I'm incredibly excited about what the future holds. The nakedness on my left ring finger will allow me to go wherever and do whatever I want. Although I've done an enormous amount of self-discovery in the last few years, I think I will do exponentially more in the next couple of years. That will hopefully make me that much more prepared for Mr. Right.

I avoided starting a blog for some time now. I was faithful to Xanga for a while, but I don't know if that really counts. I have a problem with believing that anyone besides my mother cares to read about what happens in my life. Yes, I have plenty of opinions which I readily share in face-to-face conversations, but I fail to see why anyone would take time to read them. However, since I need to work on my writing skills, I decided it was high time to give this a try.

Stay tuned for my next post which will be devoted to the joys of attending concerts (and I don't mean orchestral).