The Song Remains The Same....

The other day, I was at the hairdresser getting my haircut when a Garth Brooks song came on.  I laughed a little, since I hadn't heard it in so long, and proceeded to reminisce about a memory it had triggered.  It was like I had gotten sucked back to 1997 and nights at the Palomino Club, dancing with good friends and debating if a bread bowl from Perkins really was enough sustenance at 2am.  It was a good memory and it made me miss those wonderful people who shared that part of my life with me.

Somehow we got to talking about Randy Travis during that time to.  Randy Travis was my first concert back in the 80's.  When everyone else was trying to get into a New Kids on the Block show, my mom and I were waiting in line for Randy Travis tickets.  I'll admit it, Randy Travis reminds me of my very first boyfriend (if that's what you call those things at the age of 9 or 10).  Frank Carr, to me, will always be associated with songs by Randy Travis.  They had the same lanky build and the same deep voice and it brings a smile to my face, every time I hear a song.  I get taken back to our little neighborhood and the times we spent down at the lake, fishing, falling in, trying to blow up GI Joe figurines, a first kiss.  You just get a hint of that cool crisp air and everything is right with the world.

I guess you can say that, from that point on, i was primed to hear and remember things.  They came in waves; at work, in the car, from my ipod.  The best part of it was, and is, completely random and yet all at the right time.  It brings back laughter and tears.  It reminds me of my broken heart and hearts I've broken.  It reminds me that I'm human and for all the ups and downs over the past 'almost' 35 years, I've been dealt a pretty decent hand.  

Here's a few that I wanted to share.  I wanted to remember and write down these moments because they really do bring me happiness, even if I haven't heard from the people I associate them with in years.

Stairway to Heaven - I remember being at some 'dance' at the Hanover Seaside Club when this came on.  I can distinctly remember Brett Riggs in his smart ass, sarcastic, why do I have to tolerate this insanity tone (which I'm sure he still possesses to this day, because he wouldn't be Brett without it) saying - and I don't remember if it was to me or just in general - "Look at all those dorks out there dancing thinking this is going to be a slow song.  Wait till it gets to the guitar riff, then what are they going to do?"

Don't Speak (No Doubt) - They play this song all the darn time and yet every time, I'm sucked back into that little yellow house across from Norwich.  We're at a party and Hemlick has shaved half of his face and left the other with a nice beard and stasche.  I'm sitting with Joey on a couch (or overturned footlocker, I can't remember) belting it out.  I think we knew something was going to change then, even if we didn't exactly realize it at the time.  It makes me miss that friendship.

No Doubt (in general) reminds me of a great group of friends from High School.  You know who you are, and I'm pretty sure the feeling is mutual :)

Gangsta's Paradise - ALWAYS takes me back to WCU, 1995, and every freaking frat party I attended.  I giggle when thinking about dancing to it at the SigEp house one evening, falling down the hill while it was playing at the Pike house, someone's trying to ride a cow... yep, it gets pretty fuzzy, but it makes me miss those fun times of not caring, and being cared about.  

Bohemian Rhapsody - Well YEAH, Wayne and GARTH DUH!  It also takes me back to the fall of my junior year of High School.  I was dating someone out of state and this song and his opinion and thoughts and overall "I knew before everyone else knew" attitude, was a topic of many conversations.  On the flip side, it did get me addicted to Queen and I do still have a good stash of their music on my ipod.  The guy wasn't what I thought, but I thank him for the music :)

Led Zeppelin - Sucked right back into my Sophmore year at Laney.  Just know there was a lot of Zeppelin, a lot of driving around, a lot of, well, just good stuff.  It pulls random snapshots of watching Far and Away on a couch, parking in a deserted field in the middle of the night, backs on lockers, VCR's and a lot of laughter.

There really are so many and so many people that flood through when you turn the radio on.  Ace of Base reminds me of all my drives down to Southport and Bob Marley reminds me of sitting in the Sub Station waiting for a friend to get off work so we could go to the beach.  Sometimes there are a few songs that cover multiple times within my life.  Dave Matthews streams through so many parts of my life from Western, to Norwich, to meeting Tom.  'The Space Between' will always be our song.  

So many songs, so many memories, so many people.  I'd write them all down if I could because to me, they're all special and amazing and my life.  The Song Remains the Same...

Poke Poke

Testing. 1.2.3.  Testing.  Just feeling out the waters. 

2010

Yes, I’m a bit redundant.  It’s still January.  I’m allowed to ponder a new year.  A new year.  A new chance at new opportunities.  A new me.  A new you.  A  new look.  A new self. 

I think I look at New Years as a way to start fresh, but it’s really a new way to look at what you are, who you are and where you want to go from here.

This year I want to focus on bad habits.  I want to be healthier, mentally and physically.  I want to invite structure into my life and embrace it.  I want to set schedules and stick to them.  I want to learn to say No and not feel guilty.  I want to do more downsizing in my life.  Simpler.  Happier? 

I want to be the person I know I can be.  The person that I know I am.  The person that I’ve left behind while getting consumed with things that don’t really matter as much to me.  I need to get on the bandwagon and I need to be my priority.

What makes this year different from any other year?  Haven’t we all made similar statements at the beginning of every year, only to see a handful, but more realistically none, of them come to fruitation?  That’s why New Years Resolutions are such a vicious circle!  I want to make this year different.  I’ve noticed a change in me and the way that I view myself and feel about myself and quite frankly, I’m not happy with what I see.  If I’M not happy, well, obviously I’m not able to make others happy or enjoy things the way I want to.  Here and now, I’m going to change. 

I have 16 months until I finish my degree.  I have several presentations, choices and decisions that need to be made in the very near future and I want to go into them loving myself and feeling confident about myself and my decisions.  I’m going to make it happen.

SO, that being said, Happy New  Year.  Here’s to accepting that we repeat the cycle of crazy but at some point, we wake up and realize, it’s time to move on.

Hello 2010!

A new decade!  Wow!  I wanted to take a moment and put a few thoughts down about things that I want to accomplish this year.

By the end of this year, I’ll have 4 months remaining on my Bachelors degree.  Child Support will have stopped in May.  There are weddings to go to, trips to plan, languages to learn, goals to strive for.

For the first time I actually made a list New Years day.  I’ve made lots of lists over the years and they usually get lost within the first 5 minutes of putting the pen down.  I don’t want this to happen.  I want to live a better life.  I want to be a better person and my little list starts me out on that path.

Losing 40 pounds is a goal.  Learning to eat better and take better care of myself is going to be a life changing experience.

Budgeting and paying off debt is a goal.  The feeling of seeing my progress really happen is going to be one of the best feelings I’ve ever felt.  The sleeping well that will hopefully follow is going to be AMAZING.

Studying and focusing on school is a goal.  The feeling of getting straight A’s and increasing my GPA to “hopefully” a 3.9 overall and graduation with honors is going to be icing on the cake.  The celebration will be epic!

I’m going to write all the good things and the bad things of this year on here.  I’m going to be honest about my life and the fact is, not everything is always  peachy.  I have struggles.  I have issues.  I’m human.  I think I want everyone to know that there are people that just can’t always put on the “look at me aren’t I awesome” face.  It’s not me.  I’m not going to hide anymore. 

Hello World.  It’s me, Kimberly

I’m thinking about it….

Yes, I’m thinking about it.  What’s “it”?  I’m thinking about getting back to writing on my blog.  Maybe baby steps.  Once a week?  Every other week?

I haven’t felt like anything I have to say is relevant to anyone else but myself.  I can write blogs all day long in my head, but in the end, it’s only amusing to me.  Who reads my nonsense ramblings about how to get even with the Financial Aid department (it was a quite elaborate plan that possibly involved ninja’s and Chuck Norris) or my many irritations with daily life.  My lack of tolerance for people I don’t know in general could have a whole THESIS written out by now.

Skyler’s visiting for the summer.  I guess I could write about our adventures and how the preteen hormones of a 10 year old are starting to come out and OH.MY.GOD!!!  My dogs are insane and we won’t even start on my family, you know, since they read this :)

I’m thinking about it.  Sometimes I hope it can be witty and amusing and other times I KNOW it will be mundane and trivial and boring, but I guess it is a way to get some things out and secretly some of you can relate and nod your head :)

and then the dog was driving!

Somewhere outside of Topeka, things got a little bizarre!  Needless to say, Bo made his first trip up to the front of the car and thought he was MUCH smaller than he was.  This picture was after about 5 minutes when he figured out he was in the way and needed to go back to the safety of his own seat!

Let me start back at the beginning.  We left Mt Vernon around 7am.  Nothing truly eventful took place.  It rained most of the way until we got into Kansas and then thankfully, the sun opened up.  I'm pretty sure we're done with the rain from here on out!

I have learned that real estate law isn't as boring as one might think!  Who knew all the twists and turns of a soap opera were involved in some transactions?  Fascinating!

We again, didn't take many pictures, but there really wasn't much to see.  We did snap a few of the St. Louis Arc

It was pretty impressive to see!

Other than that, we made it into Salina, KS at 2pm (whatever time zone we're in now).  We took ourselves into town and ate at a lovely steak restaurant and filled ourselves full so we could enjoy a nice sleep!

I will say I've been very impressed with the Holiday Inn's we've been staying at.  I usually stay at Marriott, but I now feel I have 2 options.  The staff has been great, the rooms have been great and they treat the dogs wonderfully!  We have been asked several times while walking through the lobbies if there is a dog show going on in the area.  Needless to say, we obviously have 2 good looking dogs!  If only they'd behave as well!!!  :)  See you in Denver!

Driving and Jami and Rain, OH MY!

There should be pictures, but there aren't.  I did manage to take a picture of the Tennessee sign but then almost ran into a concrete barrier, so the camera was taken away from me.  Probably a good thing :)  Word to the wise, don't take pictures and drive boys and girls!

Today's drive was our longest.  We left around 9am and got into Mt. Vernon around 8:00pm EST.  The trip, for the most part, was uneventful.  We drove, there were trees, a lot of trucks, oh, and us.

We did get a chance to meet up with Ms Jami outside of Ft. Campbell for lunch at the Cracker Barrel.  It's always good to catch up and see her and hear all the fun and exciting things this Martha Stewart of Texas is doing.  She bakes, she sews, she raises 3 kids while living in a 5th wheel trailer.  Hey, I'm always impressed!

We hit rain a little bit outside of Ft. Campbell.  I was hoping we could make it into Illinois before it started, but no such luck.  Traffic was still flowing pretty well until about 5 miles before our exit for the hotel.  Unbeknownst to us, there was road work that took the road from 2 lanes to 1, right before our exit.  We figured out that we could make it to our exit about 3 miles out and proceeded to get into the far right hand lane.  Then, the one stupid truck driver decided to be cute and block the far right hand lane so no one could scoot around.  Now, I've always wanted to do this before  because it causes congestion right before lanes merge, however, when there is an EXIT coming up, why do this?  So basically, what should have taken me a minute to get to, took me 10 minutes because Mr. Trucker guy would only move forward when the right lane started forward.  Needless to say, my blood pressure rose, my horn honked and the thought did cross my mind to get out of my car and beat on his truck.  I refrained.  Aren't y'all proud :)

So, after close to 11 hours in the car, Suzannah knows my entire intestinal problems, my bowel movements and Jami's whole history on Fat March.  (I did squeeze in about 2 seconds of Jami's side just to be fair)  I am sure she is SO looking forward to the next 3 legs of this trip and what pops out of my mouth!

I will say the stress of the first day did get to me and Tom.  I think with all the driving and the adrenaline and the "Oh my god are we there yet!", by the time we finally DID make it here, we just lost it.  Tempers were high,  but after a hot shower, a glass of wine and some Grey's Anatomy, all is well.  Suzannah took a different hotel room though, just in case things started to fly before the hot shower calmed everyone down :)  I have faith tomorrow will be better.  All of our legs are much shorter than today and we know how long we can go and where we need to stop!

So, I'm going to sign off for now.  Tomorrow we go to Salina, KS.  We're going to try to leave a little earlier so we have longer daylight to drive in!  We'll  keep everyone posted!