bullet points, etc...

I often find myself wanting to update this blog, but I get hung up on one detail: I think it is an arduous process to carefully select each word. Sure, I enjoy the end product and the contentment which comes from expressing myself genuinely. But the process of writing is slow for me, and I currently have enough slow writing to do for school alone. So maybe summer is going to give the blog a boost, who knows. Anyway, here's my life update in bullet points:

• I have started studying for the GRE. Even though I'm not sure I want to go back to school right away. Feeling a bit burnt out.
• My math skills have taken a nose-dive since high school. The good news is my verbal scores help me out a bit.
• My nanny family is having a big week, the two parents are tying the knot on Saturday! The bachelorette party this evening included crepes, pouring chocolate molds, and plenty of inappropriate humor.
• The groom is from England, so his sweet family flew from Birmingham for the event. And they are huggers! Loving every minute with them.
• Tonight I received perhaps my first complement ever on my legs. It was weird. That's never happened before.
• In two weeks, I'll be on the dock with my college pals, giggling!
• It is quite the daunting prospect to beginning looking at schools, cities, jobs, etc. all over again. Anyone up for a move?
• My mom bought me a Kindle, it arrived yesterday. It's still in the box, unfortunately. Gracias, end of semester assignments.

Off to bed, farewell for now!

the symphony...

One week ago today, after a week of busyness and exhaustion, I made an excellent decision. Frequently I realize I have fallen prey to a "routine," predictable and dull. For some reason, that Sunday evening I was convinced I needed inspiration and a night of leisure. Enter the North Carolina Symphony and Ben Folds.

Unhindered by the thought of going alone, I reserved one seat and anxiously anticipated Thursday evening. Another friend decided she would like to join me, and we arrived just in time to watch the sun drop beyond the patio of Meymandi Concert Hall at the Progress Center. The evening was perfectly spring, and the guests were a comforting visage of folk art simplicity.

Having listened to Ben Folds in high school and college, the first notes drew me back to moments of joy, driving down generic streets, singing along merrily to odd lyrics and playful melodies. The brilliance of the evening shone from the black suits and polished instruments to the very last row of the concert hall.

Occasionally there are moments in listening to live music when I am blessed with the novel sensation that I am hearing music for the first time. This evening was a first breath of winter air, the smell of salt air when stepping off a plane, a string of chords that sends chills up each note of my spine.

Mr. Folds offered tremendous praise for the symphony musicians and a gem of wisdom for the audience. In our society, he noted, there are few organizations left that consist of individuals who selflessly perform for the corporate good. Rather than a stage filled with fame-seeking pop stars, symphony musicians perfectly complement each other and glorify the whole.

For two hours my ears danced along with the strings, and I found it nearly impossible to resist the thought "I am the luckiest." Making time for substantive regeneration faithfully yields a lifetime of irreplaceable, keepsake memories.

well i was gonna...

sit down and write, do homework, read, work out...

and i just got called into work.

this is my life, right now. three jobs.