Strong Words, Softly Spoken

Well, I did it. I turned…thhhhhh………………………..hold on, give me a minute….. thhhhhhh………………………irrrrrrrrrrty. Thirty. There. I’ve written it, I’ve said it and it still doesn’t really feel real, but…it is. And so far, thirty hasn’t been as bad as I expected it to be. Like someone else told me, the idea of turning 30 is worse than actually turning 30. Plus, having a fantastic trip to Cali leading up to my birthday greatly helped soften the blow.

I still don’t feel like I should be this old though. When you’re 10 years old you think 30 is ancient and then when you hit it you think, but….but….but I still feel 18. I hope I feel this way at 40…and 50…and 60. People used to say your 20’s were the best years of your life but now it seems to be the 30’s. So, we’ll see.

But…………………if anyone asks……………………I’m still 23. Got it?

Two weeks ago I watched Julie & Julia with my mom and my aunt Linda and while I wasn’t overwhelmed with the film, I was indeed inspired. Watching Amy Adams play this woman who took on this task that inevitably turned her life around made me think “hmm….I can totally do that.” So here I am. I’m not doing anything crazy like cooking 536 Julia Child recipes in 365 days, but I am venturing out into this crazy world with my very own book review blog.

Introducing….Literary Reflections.

I just posted my first review and I’m looking for guest writers to do reviews of their own because my goal is to compile as many reviews as possible. E-mail me if you’re interested.

Today I had a huge slap in the face at how much things change without you even realizing it’s happening. I came to the beach this morning to spend some time with my mom and see some friends/family. After I got here, my mom wanted to get out of the house, so we got in the car to go to Target and ended up taking a little detour out to this small island in Gulf Shores where a few members of my family used to live. My step-dad’s family lived on this island for as long as I can remember. I recall being a small child, still young enough to stand up in the back of the car and not touch the roof, and coming to visit and asking my mom on the drive down how much longer until we saw Gracie, aka my cousin who used to live on the island. So, needless to say, this is a place I’ve been coming most of my life.

Back in 2004, Hurricane Ivan wiped out many of the houses on the island, including my step-dad’s mother’s house. The house was condemned and, since she passed away in the 90’s, all the kids decided to sell it since there was no longer a house to live in on the property. So they sold it, and I haven’t been out there since.

So, today, my mom and I drove out there and it was…depressing. I saw a piece of my childhood disappear before my eyes. Neither house that family members once occupied are there anymore and whoever purchased the land has done nothing with it, so there are trees and overgrowth where there used to be lawns. What was once a great piece of waterfront property now looks like nothing more than an overgrown jungle, with growth so high you can’t even see the water anymore.

I look back at my childhood and remember all the time I spent there….in the house that’s no longer there. On the shrimp boat that used to dock out back. And then I look at what that’s become and well, such is life I guess. You grow up, and you change, and everything around you changes…makes me wish I’d learn to use my camera a little more.

It’s been a long time since I’ve written. So much has happened to catch up on.

First off, life is good. Maybe it’s because it’s summer and the dreaded “seasonal depression” has vacated my body, or maybe it’s just because I’ve found a little inner peace. But life is good. I had an epiphany in May that I had honest to God lost track of myself and everything I ever stood for. So now I’m taking steps to remedy that and, day by day, I feel a little closer than I did the day before.

Part of this is due to some changes at work. I’ve always liked my job. Going to work there was the best decision I’ve made for myself in the last 2 years. It got me out of a job where I wasn’t be utilized and wasn’t working in my field and got me into a job in my field and I was happy. But last month, I began the trek into fully working on the production side of things and that’s made all the difference. I really love going to work now. My days are busy from start to finish. I thrive on deadlines, and, trust me, I’ve got plenty now. Because not only am I doing a new job, but continuing my old one as well…so I’m about 3 times as busy as I was. I. Love. It. It’s nice to be working more in something that I enjoy.

I also cut a voiceover demo last week. Call this step 2. I’m hoping to eventually get some voiceover work. I’m not quite sure how to go about marketing myself yet though. Still figuring that one out. If anyone has any suggestions, I’d love to hear them.

On a different note, Alex and I went to Indy last month to see Nine Inch Nails. It was probably one of the best trips we’ve ever taken together…not to mention some of the happiest times we’ve ever spent together. It’s a great feeling watching someone you love be genuinely happy…and meeting NIN made him so happy. Not to mention finding the used Criterion sale of the century in FYE. I know that 20 years from now, this trip will be one of my fondest memories.

Then 2 weekends ago, we went to Atlanta for Joe Walker’s 29th birthday party. His wife was nice enough to arrange a birthday party in his favorite city, so Alex and I went up for the day. Another really nice day away from Birmingham. I’m learning that these are vital to my happiness. Just a little escape…even if it is only for a day…and even if it is only Atlanta.

Let’s see…what else…OH…cut my hair off on Tuesday. Short, above my shoulders, short. I haven’t had my hair this short in YEAAAAAAAAAAAAARS. Today is the first day I actually like it. It’s definitely more work…and it’s been trial and error trying to get it right, but today I really like it. Not sure if I’ll keep it short. But, we’ll see. Alex loves it. But I still feel a little silly with short hair.

And that’s about that…for now anyway. Maybe this time I won’t stay away for so long.

I meant to write about this several days ago but am just getting around to it.

So remember how last weekend I decided to stay home from the beach? Well, my mom DID go down there last weekend and one night I get this call from her to tell me that she had run over…an alligator.

Yeah, no joke folks. She was driving down this long, dark road and she said she was right on it before the headlights caught it and she didn’t have time to swerve and just…hit it. Ran it right on over. An alligator.

She turned around and went back and saw that it was not moving…so she drove on and turned around again and it was still in the same position…not moving…so she just drove on home. She didn’t move it off the road or anything, but I mean, who can blame her? I certainly wouldn’t get out of my car to check and see if it was still breathing.

The funny thing is that the next day it wasn’t there anymore. I just imagine someone driving along and seeing a dead alligator on the side of the road and thought to themselves….DINNER!