Baby, I'm bad news…

Pictures from my last day in Nashville. We decided to do breakfast, southern style, and drove to the Loveless Cafe for the true experience. Breakfast was amazing. I had an omelet, and the best biscuits you’ve ever tasted, with homemade preserves. It was a lot of fun. Then Richard bought a moonpie and an RC cola, which are apparently southern staples, and we drove out to this bridge on the Natchez Trace, or something to that affect. There were two couples there on vacation together, and they offered to take our picture. This one is my favorite.

Also, tonight we went to the Taste of Tacoma. Here’s a picture of Joe and I. I’m mainly blogging it because he said he looked like a dork. I think he looks quite cute.

Even though she is outrageously power crazy and kind of devious, hold the kind of, I kind of think she rocks. And when people try to bring her down, I’m like dude. That’s Anne Boleyn. No bueno, dudes. No bueno.

I don’t know why I like to watch movies about queens being beheaded. Weird.

So I liked this movie more than I thought I would. That is all.

Except that Jim Sturgess and Erik Bana are hot.

That’s all for reals. ;P

My word have I been irritable for the last 24 hours. It’s due to a combination of medication reasons, and hopefully won’t last much longer, but I’ve spent the day hiding out, so as not to alienate anyone more than I maybe already have!

It’s not been a bad thing, hiding out in the bedroom. I have quite a scratchy throat, the beginnings of some form of sick that I seem to have caught in Nashville. Yay… a souvenir. It’s been a lazy sort of sick day.

My mom is coming over tonight when she gets off work. I got the order form for my commencement pictures. I can’t afford to purchase any, but I wanted to give her the opportunity.

I am feeling positively girly, and am lying on the couch, in a mostly empty house (the “children” are here) watching The Other Boleyn Girl. Angela, I opened up the envelope because I hadn’t watched it yet. I’ll seal it when I’m done. Anyway, I’ve heard very mixed reviews from many people, and I’m not sure how I am going to feel about it. I heart Eric Bana.

My brain is bugging me today, and this movie might be making me angry.

I love vacations. They should last forever. I got home very early this morning, and I am tired, and it seems as if all the mundane crap that was going on has just intensified.

Things with a friend have gotten weird again. She came by the house today, and left pretty abruptly.

I’m discouraged at basically having to jump back in to the whole job search full force again. I got a phone call from the last woman I interviewed with, telling me that she was hiring someone else. So I have basically no prospects, and have to start from scratch. I hear that this is very common among new graduates, so I am trying not to be too stressed, while remaining motivated. Finding a job sucks.

I’m typing this up from my mom’s house in Gig Harbor, while I wait for a phone call. I got some disconcerting news earlier today, and I’m waiting for a phone call to resolve it. Sorry to be so vague, but I feel as if it is disrespectful to discuss the details here. Suffice it to say, though, I’m stressed and impatient. I have to work on that, I suppose. It’s all about the personal growth.

I have mixed feelings about being home. It’s good to see everyone. Joe is so excited that I am home. He and Chris are coming over for the night after I deal with the drama that needs dealing with. I don’t know what the plan is. The house needs cleaning, and I’m still really worn out, so it’s hard to match their excitement, but I am glad to see everyone. I miss Tennessee, though. It’s like nowhere else I’ve ever been. I loved it. I can’t wait to go back and see more. And, of course, I miss Richard.

I want a PS2. I want to bring my karaoke games over to the house, but I’d have nothing to play them on. Give me something to do while Angela’s at work.

Oh well, off to apply for some jobs online, and read some more of The Dharma Bums. I have pictures from the last two days of my trip, but I’ll probably post those tomorrow. I’m just too tired for words right now.

Today was such a relaxing day! Richard worked today from 7:30 I think to 4ish, and I stayed here at the apartment. I woke up at 9:30, and went down to the pool for a swim. There was no one there, which was awesome, as I was able to just relax. An older guy showed up eventually, and he was so much fun to talk with. He was giving me excellent ideas of free things to do in the area.

I also took Chloe for two walks, and let her loose in the dog play area. That was a lot of fun, both for me and her!

I watched some episodes of The Office and cleaned like crazy before taking a little nap.

When Richard got home we went out to Bosco’s, a restaurant where he goes every Monday to have drinks. We had some beer, and I met tons of his friends there, which was a lot of fun. Lol, there was a guy there who saw us come in together, and moved down a stool so we could sit together, but then while Richard was talking to the guy on his other side, this guy started trying to flirt with me. So strange….

Yesterday we drove past a White Castle, and I mentioned that I hadn’t realized they were real. I just thought it was a movie thing. Richard thought that was so hilarious, and made me go there for dinner tonight. I didn’t know what to get, so Richard explained to the coworkers I’d never been there, and I said I wanted fries and a drink, and they figured it all out for me. The boys working there were so cute. The food actually wasn’t terrible, for fast food. I think it’s because there’s hardly any meat on them! (Apparently it is impossible to be a vegetarian in the south, but I’m trying so hard!)

Then we drove out to Opryland, which is the hotel by the Grand Ole Opry. The atrium is gorgeous, full of plants, and a myriad of walkways with benches and waterfalls and restaurants. It would be a gorgeous place to stay! I got one good picture of one of the waterfalls.

Richard took a lot of other pictures, and some look like they’ll turn out pretty good!

The Office makes me uncomfortable. The British one. I’ve never seen the other one.

Well, there was a lot of drama this morning (not bad, just time consuming) that caused us to have to make a last minute change in plans. Instead of going to the Jack Daniels Distillery we stayed closer and did some hiking instead. We went to two different lakes and hiked a total of 4 miles.

The first lake we went to was Percy Priest Lake.

Then we went to Radnor Lake for the last part of our total of four miles hike.

I felt less like taking pictures at the second place. After we left Radnor Lake we went to a BBQ restaurant, where I certainly did not try any of Richard’s pulled pork, if you are reading this Angela! Actually, I had a bite of pork, but my dinner was black beans and grilled vegetables on rice. It was so good. There was so much food I had to bring most of it back. Then we drove to the dragon mosaic park.

This last picture was of the handicapped children’s swings at the park. I thought these were so sweet!

Now we are having a quiet evening at home, watching Pulp Fiction and eating ice cream sandwiches. Richard works tomorrow, so I am probably going to ride down town with him and then just walk around, kill time, listen to music, read some books, learn some countries and capitals while he works his 9 hour day. Depends on if I feel like waking up, lol.

I was so excited tonight to get out and explore part of the nightlife of Nashville. We went downtown, basically to the same places we went to yesterday. It was so pretty at night, though, and really vibrant with life. We met Richard’s friend at Big River rewing Company, a bar that brews it’s own beer. Apparently that is all that is necessary for Richard to be a fan of something! We had a couple of drinks, and then went for a walk down to Riverfront Park and we walked across the Shelby Street Bridge, which I posted a picture of awhile back.

Richard took this picture of the Nashville skyline

as well as this picture of Shelby Street Bridge.

We walked past the symphony hall, which was prettier at night, surrounded by all the fountains, and then said goodbye to his friends. I needed a restroom, so we walked across the street to the Hilton. We rode the glass elevators up to the tenth floor, and I apparently developed Vertigo as I leaned over the edge of the rails. Richard had to take this for me as well, because I was too big of a wuss to lean over and do it myself.

Then, while we were walking in the direction of the car, Richard pulled me into this small bar to hear a band that was playing. This band was AMAZING. They are called the Dempseys, and they are from Memphis, TN. I was so engaged. They were fantastic. Richard took some more pics for me, cause he’s taller. You can see, even in the pictures, how much energy they exuded!

The coolest thing, though, was that while we were watching the Dempseys, Richard noticed a minor celebrity weaving his way through the crowd. Who, you ask?

Only Abe Lincoln, former president and early leader of the civil rights movement! This guy was my hero.

Tomorrow we are driving down to Lynchburg, TN to take a tour of the Jack Daniels Distillery. That should be a lot of fun. We are also stopping at a “rustic” state park that I can not remember the name of. I am hoping for the chance to do more swimming!

Today was a much slower day than yesterday! We spent some time at the farmer’s market, and wandering around Whole Foods. There is this store next to Whole Foods that is all body stuff, and I got the most amazing soap. It smells like Mexican Lime and Bergamot. It was a bazillion degrees out, and we came back home after a couple of hours for lunch. After lunch, I did Richard’s hair, while he worked on his computer. It turned out rad:

Then I went for a walk while he finished computer stuff. I wanted to go swimming so badly today, and was super excited when I got a text message from Richard telling me to come back because he had a swimming idea. We drove out to a park with Chloe, Richard’s dog, and found a creek to play in.

Richard explained the idea behind swimming to Chloe

who eventually fell in love with it!

We went for a little bit of a drive, and came back for dinner, and now we are on our way out the door. Have a good night, y’all!

This day started with a trip to Dunn Brother’s Coffee, where I waited while Richard ran up to his office to fill out his time cards. It was really cool. Very quiet, but there was a duo playing music in the corner, and selling there own cds. Richard came to join me, and promptly spilled his coffee all over himself!

Poor guy burned his stomach, and looked like he peed himself. We walked on down to Riverfront Park so he could dry off, and I could see some of the sights. Here’s a picture of a pedestrian bridge, with some weird urban art in the background.

Richard and I make faces….

Also, I think it’s funny that the one street actually turns into the other.

As we kept walking, we found ourselves at the Capitol Building, which was so awesome to see.

We took a tour inside, and it was awesome to see portraits and busts of so many famous historical figures. Richard took this picture of me with Andrew Jackson. I always loved him as a kid, ’cause he had freaky hair.

I got to go into the Legislative Lounge, which used to be the old state library. In addition to more portraits and busts, it had this amazing staircase, and all these books that documented the senate sessions word for word. It was super cool.

Outside we saw the tomb for former president Andrew Polk. I always think stuff like this is so cool. Can you believe that the actual body (well, bones I guess) of Andrew Polk is in there?

Also, I just really like this picture of Richard. I was too tired to stand up when I took it.

We stopped for some icecream, and I totally got a kick out of this sign! We are in the South, after all.

Finally, Richard snagged this picture of me, because apparently THE touristy thing to do is wear a cowboy hat in Nashville!

There were some more pictures, but they are on Richard’s fancy camera, and are probably better than mine! When I get those I’ll post some. Now, though, I have to get changed to go out in a couple of hours.

So I still have a hard time believing that I am in Tennessee. It looks so totally different than Washington or California, but in a really subtle way. The heat is pretty difficult. All of you people from the south probably think I’m being a baby, but man. I am from Washington. It’s cold up there. It rained last week!

Anyway, I’m here now. We went to the Mall at Green Hills this morning, so I could see how the rich people live. I beelined for the Louis Vuitton store the minute we went inside, and found the most gorgeous purple purse. Richard is a good sport, and humored me in LV, and Coach also. I found the teal purse from the Coach store in Portland, and so that love affair was rekindled. I began to get very nauseous, disoriented and incredibly lethargic, and ended up calling Angela because I was worried about Lithium Toxicity. After much water though, I felt better.

We went to Richard’s apartment for lunch (PB&J), and then got ready to go out and do something. We went to Centennial Park to see the Parthenon and take some pictures.

This is the Parthenon in Nashville, Tennessee. It’s better than the real one, because it’s not broken. (I’m so kidding there.)

Richard takes pictures. It’s what he does.

Adina, it’s a fish por toi!

Finally, family, here I am. Proof that as of today at least, I am alive.