In Tennessee, you rake leaves. In Washington, you don't. And if you do rake leaves in Washington, then you are one of very few in the area who do so. Because Washington is called "The Evergreen State" and for a good reason: the evergreen trees. Fall in the Northwest cannot compare (as in, impossible) to the colors of the Great Smoky Mountains region. Whereas Seattle stays a rich green color all year round, my new residence shines brightly in red, orange, yellow, gold, and bronze.

Pictures will be posted by the end of this week. As Andy and I are taking a trip to Gatlinburg this Thursday to see something I have never seen before in my life. I promise I will have pictures (to wazoo!) and you will finally see exactly the new type of place I am now living. Much different from Seattle, let me assure you.

I'm noticing a common theme amongst Big Bloggers. Jason Kill went from Florida to Georgia. Sarah Hatter went from California to South Carolina. I have gone from Washington to Tennessee. Is it contagious or something??

Two nights ago, after Andy's car broke down and eating our fill of Fuddrucker burgers, we went to the local shops to have a looksee around.

We ended up running into a Seattle friend of mine, nicknamed "Kornbread," who apparently had also moved to Tennessee and started working at the Guitar Center there.

It was a truly Twilight Zone moment. Doo-do doo-do doo-do doo-do...

Sorry I haven't been around as much. As you've probably figured out already, I've been so busy settling into my new apartment, I haven't had a lot of time to sit down and think, "What profound things can I type out on this day?" As much as I'd like to, it's far more important for me to spend my computer time searching jobs than anything else. There isn't much listed online, though... Most job openings I have come across have been the "Apply Now!" signs I've seen while driving on the main street through town.

I laugh at myself sometimes. Why? Because at the moment, I have the strangest desire to start ranting about the spaghetti stain in my shirt and how much I'm looking forward to raging war against it at the laundromat. See how simple my mind works the majority of the time? It takes a lot of work for me to try to think of anything deep or magnanimous to write here! Because I highly doubt many of you would be interested in whether or not I'd win in a battle against a pasta stain. Am I right?

Okay, I'm going now.

(the) stupid girl syndrome.

NaNoWriMo cannot be resisted.

I am home in Tennessee. Weird, isn't it?

The next time you read here, it will be coming from the other side of the country. Maybe that doesn't excite you, but it sure excites me.

Goodbye for now.

The journey begins Thursday. Let me know if I'll be passing through your town, because I'll be sure to wave if I do.

I am chasing magic next week... And I will catch it! Haha.

There's a woman who rides my bus everyday on the way home who also happens to be irritated with everyone who currently lives on the planet. Her looks are deceiving, as she appears a person you might see playing a soccer mom on some WB sitcom.

I have always been curious about her. Everything annoys this lady. Her routine is to take up two seats and use her space to scribble illegibly on a note-pad and read her crime novel by Patricia Corwell. Should you disrupt this process in any way, she will certainly let you know. If your phone rings, she will grimace and write something furiously in her note-pad. If you make friendly conversation with the person next to you, she will stare hatefully at you until you both stop.

Finally, my curiousity got the best of me. My cell phone rang and the lady shot me a look. It was my mom on the phone asking me about something important. After I hung up, I stood and pushed into the seat next to her. Stunned, she jerked her head in my direction. No words came out of her mouth.

I spoke, "Why do you dislike everyone?"

She remained speechless.

"If you dislike people who talk and people who have cell phones that ring, why do you ride the bus?"

"Excuse me?" she finally let out.

"Okay, you're excused. If you hate people so much, then surely riding a bus is not the right environment for you."

Her mouth lay agape.

"Honestly, lady. If everything that everyone does irritates you so badly, why aren't you driving your car to work instead? Either start driving yourself to work or get an attitude adjustment, because no matter what, people are going to talk and their phones are going to ring. Get over it already."

Then the bus jerked to a stop, I woke up, and I hurried out. The lady's eyes followed me as I got off, note-pad and book in her hands, and I imagined her content sigh after watching me leave. How I wish I was as well-spoken in life as I am in my dreams.

This is about me.

She was never a girl who took the easiest route. That was simply who she was. Certain things may have appeared laziness on her part, like sleeping in until noon and never bothering to learn how to cook anything besides Ramen... But when it came to life and relationships, she aspired to be different in any way possible.

"I don't want to meet the man I'm supposed to be with in a coffee shop or in some biology class we both had to take in school... I want to meet him under extreme circumstances, when the possibility of meeting is slim to none."

Everyone thought she was naive to think this way. Family and friends worried that the right guy would come along and she would miss out on him simply because they didn't meet by the standard she had set. But the way she thought and the way they thought were completely different. Because she always believed in her heart that if she wanted something badly enough, God would know and would make her dreams come true.

They thought she'd grow out of it. They thought that after some time, reality would sink in and some local boy would sweep her off her feet. However, the local boys were not as inclined to woo as her friends and family hoped they'd be. Of course, there were times when the sparks were potentially strong, but something would fall through and she would be left, disappointed and single still.

All those who loved and cared for her worried for her, prayed for her, and hoped that she wouldn't get hurt. All they wanted was for a nice, kind, gentlemanly fellow to take her by the hand and guide her into a secure and pleasant future. At the same time, they hoped other things about him too - things that she didn't necessarily desire in a man. They all wanted what was best for her, but she knew what was best for her was not going to be what was best for most other girls. But this was very difficult for anyone else to see.

A deep thinker, a quiet observer, a good listener... These were the things that described the person she hoped to be matched with someday. She grew up with people who loved to talk and entertain, people who were educated and had big dreams - people who have always wanted to be different than anyone else who ever lived. And she was like them, and in many ways still is. Her desires in life have remained and will remain to have a mind that observes the world through a different sort of light. Because it's important to her to study things that are not typically described as "beautiful" and to find the magic that exists in everything there is. That is who she wanted to be growing up, and that is who she has become.

But the people who love her most will continue to worry and resent her stubborn nature because they know she's not going to change. All who care about her want, more than anything, for her to make the right choices. However, the "right choices" appear to be the wrong choices to her. What they see as right, she sees as far too easy. The hardest thing to do in life is to follow through what the heart speaks to us everyday and most people struggle to do so... People will call her ignorant, naive, stupid, silly, weird, vulnerable, at risk, and a fool, but nothing like that can steer her from the course that she has so aptly followed the majority of her life.

She has always known that their advice comes from good intentions and she loves them for the care and concern they express to her each day. There was a time when she would get angry and yell at anyone who told her how wrong she was for the choices she would make, but she has since given up on making everyone understand. Because how could they? It would not be fair to expect them to understand when she has tried so hard all her life to think differently than everyone around her.

As much as she wishes for people to trust and have faith in her, she knows it's not that simple. But of all the things she has come to believe, there is one thing she believes in most and that there are things in life that are greater than making mistakes, like helping a stranger, stopping the car to watch the sun go down, running through the snow barefoot, and moving across the country to be with someone you love.

"Love never fails." - 1 Corinthians 13:8

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