.JPG)
Day Thirty-Five (Thursday, March 18)
I'm really into simple gestures that make me happy. So, when a friend of mine and I were texting back and forth about St. Patrick's Day when I was at work, it made the day that much better.
After work, I wanted to just get some things done, so I went to Borders for awhile. A friend of mine and I talked about an upcoming dance event. Afterwards, I decided to ask him if he were good with one-on-ones with the opposite sex. LOL and no, I was not asking him out in my own special way, but am just on a mission to befriend guys here. It's all very platonic. I had recently decided there were a few guys who I wanted to get to know here, and so I took action.
I used to have a lot of good guy friends in college who I did the one-on-one thing with and I loved it. I had previously written off that possibility post-college. But then I realized it was up to me and that it WAS possible after all. I know I'm not the only person who wants those kinds of friendships. Haha, hopefully I won't learn an all important lesson wherein I learn that it was a bad idea. I don't think so though.
Day Thirty-Six (Friday, March 19)
There's a girl who I need to get to know better. Her name is Emma and she is a sweetheart. I posted on my facebook that I wanted prayer for an upcoming interview. She was the first to jump on that and said she definitely would be praying. Not only am I way too into facebook, but whenever people comment on my posts, it makes me that much happier. Weirdly, it makes me feel loved lol. Sad but true. So yes, she made my day by that.
Day Thirty-Seven (Saturday, March 20)
The day I'd been waiting for finally came. I went to my Peach Publishing event and was hired! It doesn't start for awhile because Michelle, my new employer, has a lot going on. (She does way more than any one person should be able to!) But the point is that I get to be a book editor!!!! Thank you Emma (and everyone else of course) for the prayers!
Another reason I was so excited about the day was because of the shopping trip I had after my Peach Publishing event. On facebook, my friend Jim had asked for suggestions for what kind of clothes to get. I basically jumped on that and one thing led to another wherein he and I agreed to do a "makeover" shopping trip. LOL it made my day right there. I later suggested having our friend Andrea come along for the trip. And I'm glad I did because the 3 of us had a blast and there was a lot of success! Jim got some amazing pieces of his wardrobe and it was a blast hanging out all together. I hope another guy friend or two of mine wants help so I can do this kind of thing again! It was sooooo fun!
Sidenote: Shortly after Andrea arrived to Banana Republic, she and I talked about a recent conflict we'd had. It wasn't a HUGE one or anything, but I said something insensitive without knowing it and hurt her. But she and I talked it out and resolved it in the store while Jim was trying on some threads. (He got some REALLY good items! It was such a fun time.)
Afterwards, Jim invited us to go with him to a barbecue at Eric's house. We all drove in Andrea's car and were there til about 11pm or midnight. Oh yeah, and in the car, when my (newish) earring broke, Jim fixed it for me. Yay! It was so great being there and some of my favorite people were there! It was really chill and a great way to end the day.
Day Thirty-Eight (Sunday, March 21)
I did not expect to see Pete in church when I walked down an aisle I usually don't go to. I got to sit by him and enjoy a beautiful service with him. It really is nice to be able to sit with friends for church. He seemed to really like the church too, which is an added bonus.
I met a cute guy named Kyle after the service was over. I didn't get to talk long with him though and he seemed somewhat shy, but I remember hoping he'd come back, even if he does live and go to church in Delray.
I enjoyed a great day "in the office" at Deerfield Beach with my photographer employer Monica for a family portrait beach shoot. It was with a mother, daughter, and dog and there were some good shots, even though the lighting was tricky. Afterwards, I got to finally connect with my college roommate for our phone date, which we had been trying to make happen for almost a month! Ay. But it was totally worth it and I had a good time giggling, catching up, and feeling that much better about my day. What a great woman. I miss her so much! I hope we get to actually hang out again soon. I still remember and cherish the days when we'd spend literally everyday together in our dorm, with our common friends, and at our job. She helped shaped my college experience into the positive one it was. Thank God for the people God brings our way.
Afterwards, I went to Barnes and Noble and just enjoyed myself. There's something soothing and inspiring about bookstores. Maybe that's just me though.
Day Thirty-Nine (Monday, March 22)
There was a lot that went on. For one, I posted a note entitled "Help Wanted" wherein I asked my friends (once again lol) for job leads. Here's what I wrote:
"About a month ago, I decided to take charge of my life. I'm getting ready to quit my job in Boca Raton, and need another job. (My boss is computer illiterate, don't worry.)
Here's the deal though: I already have 2 freelance type jobs going on, which I am incredibly excited about, but they're not going to provide a consistent paycheck, which is what I need. I'm thinking of seeing if Barnes and Noble has an opening that I can take advantage of, but I need a Plan B and C. I'm thinking a morning job would be perfect, but yeah, taking ideas. (Asking for help via these notes has always proven helpful in the past.)"
I got 13 comments from that note, a few of which (from the same person), helped me get a direct job lead. In other words, she actually passed on my resume (that she had from before) to someone she knew needed someone. Even if nothing comes of it, I really appreciate caring friends like that. I also enjoyed exchanging a few messages from an old college friend named Jordan, because of that note. He and I have the habit of providing updates every few months about our ambition to be writers/editors. I love having that contact with him and hearing how things are going back home in Illinois.
On top of that set of nice happenings, I enjoyed a REALLY good Book club session. This was our second meeting and it was really impacting. I got really convicted about how important it is that we are accountable to people in our lives. I mean wow, it really impacted me. The main thing that stuck out for me was the following:
"It's easier to see logs in other people's eyes than our own."
That's why it's so important that we welcome and encourage others to tell us when we need to fix things in our lives. I don't really think it's enough for family members to do that, but we need our friends to do that for us too. Gently of course...but sometimes maybe not! That really hit me and I hope to encourage this sort of action in my life. (This sort of delicate balance can be tricky...I've had these sorts of situations go really wrong though, so it does require a certain amount of delicacy, balance, and trust to really work out.)
After book club, the same friend who said she would pass it along told me that she had! Oh yeah, and I also got back my green jacket that I had given up hope on ever finding again! It was in her trunk the whole time! Yay! It was my only real jacket here in Florida!
I also really enjoyed a conversation with my friend who didn't make it to group that night. We talked on the phone and she told me about the hard stuff going on in her family with her grandparents. I mention this because she endeared herself to me by her willingness and desire to be there for them when no one else really could. I think grandparents are so important and it brought back flashes of my own Grandfather's time in the nursing home from 2004-2007. I admire people who do what this friend is.
It was a very full, satisfying day. I know I can't have days like this ALL the time, but I'm so thankful for the times that I do.
Day Forty (Tuesday, March 23)
I have a weird character trait: I tend not to want to go ANYWHERE. I don't care how fun I know it will be in theory (and reality) or how good I know it will be for me, I just never want to go. That's how I feel almost everytime before I meet up with friends, before I go dancing, and before I go to Bible study. It's how I felt those 2 times before going to EE (Evangelism Explosion) and then later led 2 people to the Lord. The lesson? My feelings can't play a part in my decision process to go to things I agree to beforehand!! So, even though there have been times when my feelings won out in this department, they usually don't.
Thankfully, they didn't win when they told me not to go to Bible study that night. It was a really good night and I was actually excited when we went around in a circle and told each other what God had been teaching us lately. The leader "apologized" for playing the cliche card and asking us this question, but I was thrilled! People all seemed to take to this idea because we all told each other some really cool things going on in our lives. I loved it! It was so...vulnerable! I love that kind of thing!
The study was just great overall. We studied Galatians 3:1-9 and had a great discussion about Paul's intensity in his letters. Some notes I took were as follows:
"[Paul] knows there's a lot at stake with God's church who represents Him to onlookers. He knows the purity of the Gospel is at stake." (Which is why he's so intense.)
Shortly after, I returned a friend's text message by calling him up. Pete and I planned to meet up the next day for a one-on-one. (I had decided - I don't remember if I shared this already or not - to "recruit" some guys to become one-on-one friends...More on the development of that later...)
Day Forty-One (Wednesday, March 24)
After work, I met up with Pete for my "Thai food education" because he's honestly more Asian than me lol. He loves spicy food and is a major fan of Thai food in particular. We had fun eating some great calamari and pad thai (without the spicy factor) outside. One of the things I love about my new friend is how often he laughs and is overall just a positive guy. It's so refreshing to see in general. (Not that I don't have a lot of great friends who are also very positive, but you know what I mean.)
I forgot to mute my phone, so during dinner, I got a text message from my friend Jim asking if I had dinner plans. Obviously that didn't work out, but later on I found out he has a couple friends in town and he wanted them to meet some of his friends.
After Pete and I parted ways, I later decided to take him up on his offer and I met up in downtown Fort Lauderdale to meet and hang out with his friend Ben. (I later met Brock but he wasn't around as much.) Andrea soon joined us, as did Liz later on when we all decided to go dancing in 2 spots. It was really fun, especially when we went to the (small) salsa club. Ben is a really good dancer, and I, not being as good at following partners the way I would like to be, had to learn a few things from him. But I love it when guys are sweet about helping their partner become better. After that we went to The Great Outdoors and Liz even won tickets to go see Naughty By Nature which I guess was a pretty big deal group back in the day. She won 4 tickets to go see them the next day.
Jim and I were the only ones who had to get up early to work the next day, so when it hit 1:30am or so, I nudged him to see if he wanted to go back. (He rode with me.) We all did end up leaving right around then. And I appreciated when he paid the parking fee on our way out. He's a true Southern gentleman.
Day Forty-Two (Thursday, March 25)
LOL it's funny how we get the things we want when we don't want them. For instance, just as I was running out of texts, everyone decided, "Hey! Let's text Laura! No, RIGHT now!" (I only get 400 texts per month on my t-mobile phone plan.) I got 3 texts from a girl who has never texted me before lol. That was early in the morning when she sweetly invited me to a concert for later that weekend. Then I got a bunch from other people as well. When I got to meet up with her later that night, Liz suggested I just upgrade to the unlimited plan. I checked it out and finally stepped into the 21st Century by adding it to my plan.
This sounds silly, but I was touched when my childhood friend Karl posted something on my facebook wall. He doesn't believe in "flaunting" friendships on facebook, which is why he never does. But he finally did because I teased him about it once more. Small, yes, but it still made me happy.
Shortly after work, I met up with my new friend Allison to help her put her resume together. I had been hanging out in another corner of Starbucks before she arrived, and in my haste to go over to her, I left my phone behind. Then, while with Ally, I thought I heard my ringtone (that I haven't really heard anyone else have), so I looked in my bag for it, but couldn't find it. So I had her call my phone and then talked to an older man who picked up. He was taking messages for me LOL. He was just across the way and I went to go get it. Whew, thank goodness I found out where I'd misplaced it before leaving. (And thank you Young-Jin for calling me so I heard my phone!)
Liz later joined Ally and me at Tijuana Flats so we could discuss living together. It was really fun and we all got along really well! I love when friends meet up and click like that! (Allison and Liz hadn't really hung out together before then, at least not on an extended basis.) We had to leave so we could go meet back up at Jim's townhouse before the Naughty By Nature concert at 8pm.
Originally, we had 5 people who were there when Liz won the tickets. We had thought Ben and Brock would be in South Beach while we went to the concert but it turned out their plans changed. I felt bad that someone would have to be left behind, so I volunteered just to go home so Ben and Brock could both go. (Jim had decided not to go so there was another opening besides mine.) As it turned out, no one went because the concert really started at 11pm LOL. So instead, we rented "The Hangover" and hung out. Before then though, I got into a really great conversation with Brock about God. I won't go into details, but I honestly felt like God appointed it that he and I should talk about the things we did. It's so nice when fellow believers can talk about important things that have to do with the Spirit and what the Spirit is convicting us about.
That's what I've got so far. I will continue to catch up in the following blogs. It's good to be back!
No comments:
Post a Comment