Memphis

Nancy and I went to Memphis several weeks ago and had a fabulous time.

On Thursday night, we went out on Beale Street, ready to party.


Unfortunately, it was all college kids. Some of them even looked younger than that. And the whole scene just seemed kind of lame- go get a cup of beer and stand on the street drinking it. Not very exciting. After one drink, we decided we were too old for this scene and would have more fun at the TGI Fridays in our hotel lobby. (This is so embarrassing to admit; the only reason I'm doing so is because it's important to the rest of the story.)

So we're drinking margaritas and Nancy comments that the waiter seems into me. We ask him how old he is, and he's only 22. But I think, hmm, the whole Mrs. Robinson thing could be fun. (I'm pretty drunk at this point.) At the end of the evening, he tells me he'll be working room service the next night, and I should order a drink if I want to hang out. Perfect.

The next morning we went to Graceland, which I really wish I had pictures of, but I forgot my camera in my car. It was so hilariously tacky. The 70's were a very unfortunate time for decorating, and this was extreme 70's decor. What really cracked me up was Elvis's motto: TCB with a lightning bolt. (There was one room that was navy blue and had that painted in yellow on the walls.) The audio tour went on and on about what a nice guy Elvis was, but with a motto like "Taking care of business," he had to have been a douche. I also thought it was funny that the graves were so close to the swimming pool. Just complete tackiness.

Nancy and I then headed to the nearest Sonic, where we realized you can combine different flavors in your milkshake. She had chocolate strawberry and I had chocolate peanut butter. Heavenly. This was followed by several hours of hardcore shopping at Dillards.

(This is Nancy about to lick the straw that had just been up her nose.)

We decided to give Beale Street another chance that night and headed to B.B. King's Blues Club. It was everything we'd been hoping for. We feasted on fried green tomatoes, mac 'n' cheese, hush puppies, and strawberry shortcake. The band was great, although towards the end they weren't playing blues anymore.


Then we headed back to our hotel, and it was time to put my Mrs. Robinson make-out plan into action. Nancy hung out in the lobby while I ordered a margarita. The boy brought it, then sat and watched CNN with me for a while and didn't make a move despite my flirting. I realized that the whole Mrs. Robinson thing is really not that exciting; this was a boy, not a man. A man would've made a move. A man would've realized that if a girl invites you up to her hotel room, it's not to watch CNN. Finally, I texted Nancy and told her to come back. The boy gave me a hug and asked for my number, which I reluctantly gave only because he wasn't on Facebook. He informed me that he'd be in Chicago in September. A few minutes after he left, he starts texting and saying how attractive I am, blah blah blah. I was like, "You should've made a move." He was all mad at himself, and I was like, "Coulda woulda shoulda." Hopefully he learned something that will help him in the future. But the story doesn't end there. He was like, "I'll be in Chicago in September, and until then, there's always texting." What did he think this was, the beginning of a relationship??? At first I responded to some of his texts because Nancy told me I had to be nice, but I stopped after a few days. It was non-stop texting, and I was trying to write a paper. Also, I didn't want to lead him on. Seriously, what did he think was going to come of this? So annoying. I haven't heard from him in like, a week, but I'm guessing I'll probably hear from him in September. Ugh.

On the way home on Saturday, we stopped in Carbondale to go hiking at Garden of the Gods. I forgot how far off the highway it was (like 50 miles), and I think Nancy was ready to stab me. All that driving for a half hour of hiking in terrible heat and humidity. I didn't realize until we got there that Nancy is not a huge fan of nature, so it was not worth it to her. I felt really bad. But it was beautiful. I love the view; it's hard to believe you're in Illinois.




After our hike we had a delicious dinner at Quatro's, one of my favorite pizza places. Then we had the long drive home, during with the rest area hilarity occurred.

So, Memphis was lots of fun. However, I would not recommend it as a destination city. It's definitely a good place to stop if you're passing through, but two nights and one full day there was plenty.

I love to read random people's blogs, and I particularly love this girl Azucar's blog. I love this post she wrote a few weeks ago. If you don't feel like clicking on the link (which you really should, because it's a great story and well-written), she writes about an encounter she has with teenage bullies who are harassing people from their car. I love it because she does what I would have done and gets to see justice served. But I also love her sympathy for the goth kid. I hate when people are made to feel like outsiders.

There was a really sweet moment tonight at DC's (the place where I go line dancing) that reminded me of her post. A guy was there who looked really out of place; his friends had probably dragged him there. He was wearing the baggy black jeans with lots of chains (and he was actually really cute). The band members often shout things at the dancers and make jokes, and tonight one of the guys singled out this alternative-looking guy. I was a little nervous for him, but the band member basically welcomed him to DC's, said he was glad he was here since this didn't seem like a place he would typically hang out, gave him a free DC's shirt, and told him to get his redneck on.

It was just a small moment, but it really made me happy. I hope the boy described in Azucar's post finds himself in situations where he is made to feel included as well. Also, I hope that it's okay that I'm posting links to her blog, since she doesn't even know me. :)

Progress

So far this summer, I have:

- Gone four-wheeling
- Made a friend in a rural area
- Been to a rodeo
- Gone hiking
- Been to Devil's Lake
- Been to Memphis
- Eaten a blue sno-cone
- Gone for a motorcycle ride (inspired by Bella in New Moon)
- Eaten raspberries right off the bushes
- Climbed a tree

I have plans to:
- Go on the Weird Chicago tour (tonight!)
- Play in a waterfall
- Go on a road trip
- Go on the architectural tour

I still need to:
- Learn guitar
- Go ghost hunting
- Read a Georgette Heyer book
- Play baseball at the Field of Dreams field
- Go whitewater rafting
- Have a water balloon fight
- Nap in a hammock
- Get a badminton set for Mom & Dad's yard
- Finish the quilt with Grandma
- Make vegan Rice Krispie treats
- Swim in my parents' pool
- Get married in Vegas
- Make chalk drawings on the sidewalk in front of my apartment
- Go on a neighborhood tour
- Go to an observatory and look through a telescope
- Go tubing
- Slip 'n' Slide
- Go to where the Mississippi starts and jump across it
- Achieve self-actualization
- Gangster tour
- Batting cages
- Waterpark
- Storm chasing
- Make out at a drive-in theater

Iowa

I got to spend the weekend in Iowa visiting my college roommate, Paula. She lives in Portland now, but was home visiting her family. She is one of my favorite people in the world, someone I am just totally comfortable being with. Hanging out with her does not require effort.

She knows I have a list of things to do this summer, so we were very busy trying to accomplish things. On Friday night we went to a rodeo, my first one.


I have "Go to a rodeo and make out with a cowboy" on my list. Paula's friend's husband, Adam, was determined to make this happen. He found me three cowboys and introduced me to them. I was fascinated, because they were real cowboys and grew up on ranches. The one in the middle looked really young (but still cute), but I was checking out one of his friends. However, I think both Adam and the young cowboy's friends had the same agenda for us, because they left us alone pretty quickly. I was just enjoying talking to the boy, but he looked scared of me. Afterwards, I realized it was because of the obscene gestures Adam was making behind me. Great. But Paula still managed to get a few pictures of the cowboy before he was scared off.


I know the second one is blurry, but at least you can see the hat. Proof that I am not making this up. I wish he hadn't been too scared to make a move. If we had hung around later, something interesting may have happened, either with him or this other guy I was talking to. But it was getting late, I was a little drunk, and Paula was tired, since she was the sober one.

The next morning we went four-wheeling. It was also my first time doing that. My list says "Go four-wheeling with paintball guns," but I think the paintball guns may have been a little too much for my first time. But I loved it; when I got going really fast, I just screamed with the joy of it.



Then we got ready to go to the Rodeo Days parade in Edgewood. Paula's parents were going to be on a float. Paula did my hair in adorable braids.


The parade was fun, but the best part was just sitting and socializing. I really like Paula's friends Amanda and Adam, and their kids are adorable, too. I also liked the topless guy riding a horse.


After the parade, Paula's parents drove us around Amish country, and I got to go in an Amish lady's house to buy cookies. Then, Saturday night we went to a dueling piano bar in Cedar Falls with some of Rachel's (Paula's sister) friends.

Sunday was spent on Rachel's land. She and her husband purchased some land and are starting to build on it. Paula and Abra (her daughter) and I went out to see it, and Paula found me the perfect tree for climbing so I could check that off my list.


Abra helped by offering words of encouragement and trying to hand me a branch to hold onto. She is hilarious. It cracks me up when she calls Paula "mother."


Then, sadly, it was time to go home. I really did not want to leave. Tonight they were all going out on a boat, and there was a guy Paula wanted me to meet. Oh well, maybe next time. I love Iowa so much, I would seriously consider moving there. If Paula lived there, I really might. I miss that girl so much! It was great to spend a whole weekend with her. I wish it could have lasted longer, but I'm off to Florida tomorrow morning. Time for more adventures in another state.

2nd Annual All-Night Lockout

It sounds fun, doesn't it? It's not. At least, not without Nina. Last year, our adventure took place in Daytona. This year, I was alone.

At 11:00, I stepped outside to call Sarah because my phone often drops calls in my apartment. I locked myself out. At first, it was no big deal because Sarah has a spare. I felt bad about inconveniencing her, but that was it. Well, her key didn't work. So we went to Nina's to get her spare, and that one didn't work either. They were both like, "Didn't you try out the keys after you had them made???" This never even occurred to me. Seriously, sometimes I wonder how I manage to function at all in the adult world.

So then I decided to call a locksmith. It would be expensive, but I desperately wanted a shower. And my allergy medicine. And my latest Sookie Stackhouse novel. And most of all, my own bed. The dispatcher said she'd send someone right away, so I insisted that Sarah leave me. At this point, it was 1:00 and she had to be up early for work. She left reluctantly, ordering me to take a cab to her place if no one had shown up within an hour. After an hour, I called the place back, and the dispatcher apologized profusely, saying someone was coming. At 2:30 I called again with the same result. After another similar phone call at 3:00, I decided to find another locksmith. I probably wouldv'e done it earlier, but of course my phone was about to die, and I didn't want to waste the battery looking for other guys when one was supposedly coming. Also, I figured at the worst, I could sleep in my car and wait for my landlord to get up and let me in. Luckily, the other locksmith showed up around 3:45. $180 and 2 minutes later, I was back in my place.

Those three and a half hours were awful. I learned that there are some very creepy men who walk around my neighborhood late at night. There were lots of bugs, and it was really hot and humid. But I was thankful for several things:

1. I had the money to pay the locksmith.
2. I was wearing a bra. (I had on my pajama top and capris and almost didn't wear a bra.)
3. I had reading material. My awesome friend Anne gave me a box of romance novels as a gift for singing at her wedding. (More on that later.) Thank goodness I'd left it in my car. I read an entire Harlequin while waiting.
4. It was a warm night.
5. I didn't have to pee.

It could have been worse. But it still seriously sucked. FML.

Worth It

Tonight I received a text from one of my students. I've gotten a few of these in the past, and I don't respond, because I feel it's inappropriate. But this came from his mom's phone (which was in my phone book, since I had to call her often), so I figured it was okay. Anyway, this student was not one of my best. Great kid, very smart, but his main priority at school was hitting on girls. I was always on his case about talking and throwing crayons. But for some reason, he was very interested in my environmental science unit. When I lectured about alternative energy sources, he was quiet and attentive.

He sent me the following text:

"Hey Ms. B, this is D. I just saw a house with solar panels on it. It was raw and my little brother said hi."

This made my night. At an age when kids are too cool for school, he was so eager to text and tell me about this. If he is learning to care about the environment as a result of my class, this whole year was worth it.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day, Dad!

Here are some things I love about you.

1. When I was doing really stupid things in high school, you knew I was lying to you and cared enough to do everything you could to stop me. Unfortunately, I get my stubbornness from you, and I was going to do what I wanted to do.

2. You love me when you understand me, and you love me when you don't understand me. Either one is hard, given our differences in personalities.

3. You love the Cubs so much. Even when they win, you get upset over missed opportunities, saying they could have played better. One time I invited you to a night game, and you said you didn't want to go because you just couldn't get used to the lights at Wrigley... but I think you were joking. Sometimes I can't tell.

4. You tell really great stories about your childhood and our family.

5. You always say, "Goddammit, Erin!"

6. You used to call me Munch.

7. You were really good at your job, but never talked about it (which I wish you would have!). I was so proud to tell people you worked at the E.P.A., saving the world. And you never brought work home with you or worked crazy hours, which I'm beginning to realize is rare.

8. You and Mom sacrificed financial gain so Mom could be a stay-at-home mom.

9. You took us to church every Sunday.

10. You are very logical and a good problem-solver.

11. You don't get caught up in drama. I'm thinking specifically of the drama at our old church, when everyone was freaking out about the pastor, and you refused to get involved in gossip and accusations.

12. You are REALLY funny. I especially love it when you tease Katie at family gatherings. And I love hearing about the silly stuff you did in college.

13. You are soft-hearted, even though you don't usually show it. When I was little, if there was something I really wanted, you'd get it for me. Like that time at Sea World I really wanted that big stuffed turtle. Even now, if there's something I really need, I know you'll help me out.

14. You are patient with Andy and Grandma.

15. You don't put pressure on me to do certain things with my life. A lot of my friends' parents tried to push them into high-paying professions, but you don't have a problem with me teaching. (You did, however, have a problem when I said I was going to Juilliard to be a vocal performance major.) You don't understand why I want to live in the city, but you don't pressure me to move out to the suburbs. You don't lecture me on saving money to buy a condo, or continuously ask when I'm going to get married and have kids.

16. You always apologize after you get angry with me.

17. You have a great singing voice; I always loved hearing you in church.

18. You are awesome at building/fixing things. I'm spoiled now; whoever I marry will be have to good at those things as well.

19. You don't give into the whole "keeping up with the Jones's" thing... you and Mom do what makes you happy. And you wouldn't let me and Andy grow up to be yuppies.

20. You took us on great road trips, even if it did mean putting up with your Songs of the Civil War cd. (That is still so hilarious to me that you listened to that.) Sorry me and Andy were such brats, especially on that D.C. trip.

I love you so much. I'm so glad that God chose you to be my dad.

Nancy Silliness

Background info: One time Nancy and I were driving home from Florida, and I was getting a little grouchy after more than 12 hours in the car. Nancy turned on Celine Dion's "It's All Coming Back to Me Now," and insisted that I sing along. It was a very dramatic interpretation, and she had me laughing so hard we could barely sing.

So tonight we're walking into a rest area, and Nancy commented that she was getting grouchy. As we entered the washroom, I said, "So maybe we'll have to turn on some Celine Dion?" My question was met with silence, and a weird look from the girl who was already in the washroom. Nancy and I went into stalls, and she was still silent. "Nancy? You don't like the idea?...... Are you ignoring me? .... Are you trying to make me look like an idiot? .... Fine, I'll just keep talking to myself." So I did feel like a complete idiot, because to that other girl in the washroom, it appeared that Nancy didn't even know me and was ignoring me. We come out of the stalls and I see that Nancy is soundlessly laughing so hard she can't breathe. I thought she was just trying to embarrass me, like she does on a regular basis. But it turned out that the Celine Dion comment cracked her up, and then she tried to answer in one of her silly voices but she was laughing too hard to talk, and then she realized how funny it was that it sounded like she was ignoring me, so she went with it. And we realized what a great joke that would be to play on somebody. We also decided that she needs to sing that song somewhere for karaoke. Can you imagine? She is very serious and dramatic when she sings it... it would be great if she could do it without laughing. People would think she's nuts. And on top of it, that song is like, 8 minutes long... it would go on forever.

If you ever want to laugh so hard you can't breathe, hang out with Nancy.

Coordination

When my birthmom was pregnant with her youngest and didn't know what the sex of the baby was, we had a discussion about names. We agreed that we liked Grace, but then Kathy pointed out that obviously our coordination problems were hereditary, and wouldn't that be a cruel joke to play? I'd been doing pretty well for a while, but those coordination problems have come back with a vengeance in the past few days.

On Sunday, I was walking up the steps to the church. My hand was reaching out, about to shake hands with the pastor, when my flip flop caught on something and I went flying. I was wearing a skirt with no nylons, so I skinned my knee pretty bad. My leg was all bloody, and everyone was rushing over to see if I was all right. I made a joke about making an entrance, but I wanted to die, especially because I'm new at this church and don't really know anyone.

The second incident occurred yesterday at the gym. I was climbing off the machine that works your inner thighs. My sweat pants were capris, and one leg somehow got caught on something. So when I tried to get off, I ended up on the floor.

Tonight I showed up at class wearing my new Christian Louboutin shoes. I need to break them in for the wedding I'm going to on Saturday. I wasn't going to say anything about them, because I didn't want to seem pretentious (I wasn't trying to show off, and I'm not rich or anything- it was an irresponsible purchase), but my friend commented on the fact that I was wearing heels to class. Someone else noticed the red bottoms, and then everyone was talking about them. Later on, we were all working in small groups, and I got up to get something. My friend across the room said, "Let me see your shoes!" I held up a foot, lost my balance, and fell on my butt. I guess that's what I get for being a show-off.

So I've had three humiliations in the past four days. Let's hope I'm done for a while. Or at the very least, let's hope my aunt is there the next time I fall. She has this thing about laughing at people who fall, and that would be a lot better than the "Oh my gosh, are you okay?!" So embarrassing.

Survey

Imagine a guy comes to pick you up for a date. He seems pretty cute and normal. You see that he drives a nice new pickup, but then you see that the back window is covered in a painting of wolves.


Deal breaker?

I surveyed my friends via text, and here were their responses.

Rachel: Nope, especially not for you. That is a very good ole boy, very American boy. He would go to a line dancing bar with you. :)

Nina: Absolutely. Unless maybe I lived in South Dakota where this would be my best bet. At least it wasn't Jesus on a cross or a Confederate flag. Wow, I hope I never have to utter that sentence again.

Nancy: Not a deep breaker (deep is Nanbonics for "deal")

Sarah: Deal breaker

Stephanie: Really close. He best have some other amazing qualities.

Paula: Close. Remember, Rich (her husband) looked like a used car salesman (when she met him)

Gloria: Absolutely. It's like having a guy pick you up with the Virgin Mary painted on the back window. Erin, is there some pseudo-cowboy pursuing you and you kindly obliging?

I'm not sure if it would be a deal breaker for me. I definitely wouldn't want to be seen in that truck.

Something else to ponder: what if it was deer instead of wolves?

I got a little out of control...

I started my end of the year celebration a day early with margaritas at Lalo's. Unfortunately, since I don't drink very often, they affected me pretty quickly. I knocked my fork onto the sidewalk.



Nancy (with her 80's hair) pretended not to know me.


Nina gave me this look.


Good times, good times.

40 more minutes of school, and then I am FREE!!!!!

Epiphany

So I had this huge epiphany last night: Dating right now would be a really bad idea.

I know this sounds crazy, so let me explain.

I have big dreams for my life. Right now, I'm dwelling in a world of possibilities. As soon as I get this master's program out of the way, my career will be exactly where I want it. I can go wherever I want and do what I want. And at this point, it's looking like that will involve a big change. There are so many things I want to do in my life. Most of those things do not involve staying in Chicago.

So it would be stupid of me to date someone seriously here, because that would just keep me in Chicago. God has big things in store for me. I know I will eventually get married and have kids. But if I meet the guy here, here is where I will stay.

It just makes sense that I won't meet the guy until I'm done incubating here and have moved on. So I'm done worrying about dating and meeting someone. The guy I'm meant to be with is out there somewhere, busy owning a ranch out west, being a business tycoon in Brazil, or putting out fires and saving lives in Friendsville, Maryland. In the meantime, I'm going to continue loving my life here and try to decide on which one of the aforementioned possibilities I want to pursue.

Church at Willow

This morning I went to church at Willow Creek because I couldn't get my butt out of bed early enough to go to my usual Lutheran church. Also, I start to miss contemporary worship if I haven't done it in a while. I got a lot out of church this morning. The sermon was about hearing God speak to you through scripture. And that's exactly how it is with me. I don't hear God's voice very often, and I know it's my fault because I'm so bad about prayer and that kind of thing. But when I do hear from God, it's almost always through a Bible verse popping into my head. So I've always thought that I need to be better at memorizing more Bible verses. We had lots of memory work to do for confirmation class and also in college, but I've neglected it since then. Today was a great reminder about what I need to be doing. I now have post-it notes of Bible verses plastered to my bathroom mirror to help me with my memorization.

I also fell in love with a song that a soloist did at church this morning. She sang a Sara Groves song called "He's Always Been Faithful." She sounded just like Sara Groves and it was absolutely gorgeous. I wanted to post a video of her singing it, but all I could find on YouTube was this lame video of rainbow pics. So listen to the song and ignore the video. :)