Post #557

In other news... Blogger finally fixed their post counting feature in the Dashboard. I'm pretty excited. Can't you tell?

On another note, I'm pretty excited about the upcoming year. My work calendar is filling up nicely. I already have booked a couple gigs in Atlanta, GA, again. Another one or two for good ole' Jenny Wiley, and doing the Edge Conference again for my friend Ben Stewart.

In the "off" time, I'll be taking correspondance or internet classes from school, interning at my church, and working part-time at Starbucks. This, of course, is if all goes according to plan.

Bombings Hit Close to Home

I woke up on Thursday morning without a care in the world, sat down in the livingroom where one of my roommates was already watching a 24-hour news channel. As the sleep began to slowly leave my eyes, I focused on the television. There were news reports of bombings in London subways.

I quickly woke up. I knew people in London. What's worse, as I kept watching, I recognized names of places that one particular person I knew passed through everyday. All emotion left me for the next 45 minutes as I tried to call the two London phone numbers of the person I knew over there.

"All circuits are busy at this moment, please try your call later" was the cold voice that came across the line. "LATER IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH," kept screaming in my head. All I could do was alternate between the two numbers I knew to call... and watch the news of the attack. I became more and more numb, doing nothing but dialing the phone and glancing at the television screen hoping to NOT see my friend being wheeled away on a gurney.

Finally I got through on a number. My friend left a message with her boyfriend to let me know she was alright. She had missed the bombing by 10 minutes. She was fine. Relief. So much relief. Thank you. Oh God, thank you!!!

I hung up the phone, with a great weight lifted off my shoulders.. then all the emotion and everything that I had apparently kept under check during those 45 minutes of uncertainty - I cried. I sobbed. I balled like a baby.

The next day I got to talk to her - it felt like one of the best phone conversations I've ever had. And I was so excited to speak with her. She's my best friend. I'm very grateful she's okay. I'd miss her terribly.

Independance Day

Question: What do you get when you mix a pitcher of Margaritas, a dart board, a pool, lots of friends, and fireworks?

Answer: Fourth of July, 2005!!!

This year was a lot of fun. I woke up around noon-ish, my friend from here, Dana, mixed up a batch of home-made margaritas, and we started the day. A couple of games of darts later, I walked to the community pool for a swim. Upon returning from the swim, a small group of people from my cabin drove to Archer Park in Prestonsburg to watch the fireworks. It seems pretty simple, but all-in-all, it was an awesome, fun, and very relaxing day!

Thank God.