Finally, I have some direction.

Okay, so this weekend, I was poking around online, and came across Steve Job's Harvard Commencement address. It made a lot of sense to me. I think I've read it before, but this time around something clicked (haha, no pun intended). The whole bit about, "Don't settle, you'll know when something [a job] is a good fit when you find it."

And that got me thinking about going back to school again. I've been considering it for several months, but options are limited as it is cost-prohibitive and also really not feasible with a full-time job.

So I (re)decided that I needed to go to Oberlin. I've been making changes around the house, cleaning up, cheering up, moving on, and I guess it sparked something.

I've wanted to go to the Conservatory at Oberlin for about seven years or so. I talked myself out of it when I gave up the dream of pursuing music. But music never really left me. I wanted to double major at Wesleyan, after they told me I could, and then when the time came and I was all enrolled, I got laughed at. "You can't double major in Theatre and Music," they jeered. "Why not just get a Musical Theatre degree and be done with it. Or just choose Theatre, b/c the Music Department is stupid."

I spent my time there wishing -- quite often -- that I'd either switched schools or majored in music.

Now I'm two years out of school and ready to go back. But I have to wait. Oberlin is even more expensive that IWU. More expensive than Northwestern. At least it's still a steal compared to University of Chicago (where I wanted to go, but they didn't have any suitable majors for me)...
So I'm going to try and take one course per semester while I'm still down South and then test out of those Foreign Languages when (if?) I get to Oberlin.

The big deal with getting in there is that it's the oldest conservatory program in the country, and it's really, really hard to get accepted there (I think). I have no idea how my talent would stack up to all these other people's talents. And the audition basically determines whether you are in or not.

I've got less than a year to do the following:

- get a voice instructor to work with
-improve my keyboard skills
-make my sightreading unbelievably awesome
-learn guitar
-then learn mandolin
-then i could have violin as a secondary instrument, as violins and mandolins have the same tuning

It's a lot to do. But I feel better now that I've got a plan. And I can (hopefully) take German this semester, b/c it comes in very handy when singing opera, especially Mozart. I'd like to take Italian, but there isn't Italian 101 for spring semester, so I'll take what I can get.

There. Now I have a sort of to-do list of goals. Yay.

And then i waited another 6 months to write

*sigh* I guess I'll just have to accept the fact that I'll never be a loyal blogger. It's not going to happen.
In case there's anybody out there reading this that I don't see on a regular basis, here is a summary:

March - raise at work. yay. found an apartment, but unable to move until mid-May
April - happy. started planning for moving from downtown to my own place
May- got my own apartment. soooo nice.
June - painted the walls a lovely spring green. Just the bottom 38 inches.
July - saw my beloved Lauren (yay! friend from jr. high) Saw my folks and my sister! started doing yoga every night before bed.
August - stung by a jellyfish. got the sweetest birthday card ever. it was hand-drawn!
Sept - Hmmm, I guess that's now. I just got a cute little bob the other day, and dyed it so it's a uniform color -- no more blonde on the tips. I have MBTs (shoes) and they are pink and white and awesome. I drove downtown to walk on the Battery in my fantastic MBTs.

I'm either visiting my family in December, or if I'm not allowed to, I'll go to the American Lindy Hop Championships. I've wanted to go to the ALHC since I started dancing eight years ago (geez, i got old!!), but I think I just might go to use a $25 off Airtran tix coupon. I'm out of practice, but I'd be in Heaven to be with all those dancers! All the greats! And Frankie Manning!

I still miss home. I miss the seasons, and I miss resources. I miss watching the leaves change and the snow fall. Snow is sucky to drive in, but it's beautiful and magical if you're simply watching it. I'm not leaving Charleston immediately -- don't know where I'd go -- but I don't think I'll stay forever... There are many more places to explore, and I intend to see them someday.

That's quite enough blogging for now. I don't want to overtax myself with all this sudden, strenuous blogging. See you in six months!

So it's been awhile. A long while. like 6 months

Yep, I figured I'm finally going to blog again. I can break the drought and then blog more often.

I was at Enter The Blues in Atlanta this weekend and it rocked. Rosie, my host, was super-sweet and we got along famously. It was sooo nice to finally get to dance again. I hadn't danced since November, and really blues dancing?.... probably fall 2005 in Chicago or Champaign-Urbana. Not a lot here in the South. I doubt the blues really made it much past St. Louis. or maybe Memphis...

I was a Lindy Ho (bluesho?)and danced w/ dozens of men and it was fantastic. I saw Tristan again (I'd danced w/ him in Charlotte. he reminds me a lot of Jim...maybe that's why i like him so much?) and he is a wonderful dancer. I danced w/ Jeff, who is from St. Louis. Fun times. Midwesterners dance differently, I think. They're more relaxed, which is counter-intuitive... We played darts too. I have improved since my inaugural dart adventure at Gene's with Jim and Sally and Dave.

Unfortunately, at some point, I caught strep... not surprising, I'm estimating there were 80-100 people there. Through contact of whoever I was dancing with, I probably got germs from everyone there... There was no Purell at this exchange, unlike WCLX7. I will suggest that if I remember. So now I am sick. It sucks.

Oh, and on the way to Atlanta, b/c I had to drive through Columbia anyway, I dropped by the Art Garage and visited w/ Jim. That was nice. I hadn't seen him since mid-February. And I got to play with an *adorable* little girl. We played w/ hula hoops, and swung around the pole in the room, and carried a "cake" around. And we played ring-around-the-rosie -- fantastic!! I haven't played that since, um, college. (Okay, so winter 2005 a bunch of us went outside and played in the snow, an obligatory part of which involves that particular game. and snow angels. but I digress...)

So now I'm debating which other exchanges I want to do: Ryan and Jenny - end of March, Natalie and Yuval (i think that's her name) in April, ATLX in April or May, Blues Shout St. Louis sometime soon.... there's a lot. that's to say nothing of Chex... I will be surprised if anyone goes to that. who's going to want to drive to Charleston, there's no swing dance scene here!? Maybe my Charlotte friends will visit.

I think that's a good restarting the blog post. I'm *blahhhh* b/c I'm sick and I want to sleep. So that's what I shall do, although it is but a quarter 'til 11. (hey, don't laugh, i fell asleep at 4:30 or 5 saturday night post dancing)

Hooray for restarting things!

Improvements! Hooray!

Yay! I am finally feeling like myself again! Getting done w/ being sick.

Things are improving in other ways too:

I get more hours at work by working at the Mt. P. store-- so I'm actually approaching 30 hrs a week. Score! Not sure how long it will last. Mulling over other part time job options too. Do I want to work at the Earth Fare Juice Bar? Hrmmmmm....

I will likely get benefits by New Years or so. Thank God! :)

I've been chillin w/ my gals a lot. O'Hara and Flynn's, Bain Mattox, Sermets, and various wandering around town-ness. I love Bain. I just cannot get over that voice of his. Geez. And he remembered me from the Cumberlands craziness post-DockStreet. I was honored and impressed.

Jim is gone for the moment (Tennessee -- I swear that was not on the myspace. I would've noticed it. unless that was the TBA...) but will be back soon. Hooray!! He'll be gone for a couple of weeks at least in November, but we've got some time before then. Some. *sigh* Oh those musicians. They don't stay in one place very long!!

I found a dear friend from high school on myspace: Stephers!! Yay stephers! I missed that girl. For all you folks down in Charleston -- think around the lines of Cary Ann. That's similar to how steph sings, but there's something more to it. (also, steph is a bitty little thing too, even more so that C.A.) I love Cary, but Stephers has God in her voice. Seriously. We did a duet back in the days of showchoir, and it was so fun. We blended well...
I miss singing. and I miss singing w/ ppl who really, really, love it with all their souls. I keep coming back to music. It happens quite frequently. Perhaps I will do something about this soon. I've been listening to the Secret Garden for the past few days, which is strange b/c it still kind of reminds me of Charles, but mostly reminds me of senior year driving to Hammond for rehearsal with the Guild. I sang all morning at work when I was dusting before we opened. I'm getting back to where I was before I got to college and Marcia all but beat the music out of me, and I got so busy and discouraged (plus the back problems) I stopped singing incessantly. But that's come back, as Taylor and Mary Ann (and anyone at work) can attest...

But the sad thing about finding ppl from school is that they're all still up North, so I won't get to see them. Prolly not going home until Spring Break time-ish, b/c my mom will be off school, my sister may be off, and it won't be so cold (compared to the option of going home for the holidays).

Off work until Wednesday. Will continue working around the house. Got a deco fan I need to check up on, and a Halloween costume to finish. And... potential roommates (2!) never showed up this weekend. Hmmm. Maybe ppl are hesitant to live in the ghetto? Just a thought, b/c the price is certainly right.

Going to try and sleep b/c it's 3. Goodness, i am big on the late night posting!

Yep, I'm still awake.

Gahhhh, I can't sleep anymore. I've been kind of sick since August or late July, and really sick for the past month. Apparently this is what happens to people with severe allergies who live in Charleston... and they run out of medication.

I am finally getting better. But not enough that I can sleep at night. I can't breathe. So between that and stressing out about never getting benefits at work, I have developed an odd case of insomnia. The kind that when I finally fall asleep (4-5, usually) I"ll sleep for 10-14 hrs. Not cool. I'm definitely still sick if I can sleep like that and not wake up.

But it sucks. There's nobody home, so I suppose I could clean or sew or do laundry. I'm a bit miffed that I have to be home (instead of at the doctor's) to let the floor guys in tomorrow morning. I probably shouldn't be driving anyhow, though, it's supposed to flood downtown. With my luck, I'd come back from Mt. P. and have no way to reach my house b/c the Crosstown would be flooded or something.

Work hours have dwindled to about 10-15 hours a week. Which is very bad, b/c this is my only job. I"m hanging on for the time when I get benefits and thusly more hours, but for now this is ridiculous. Or I'd totally be cool working at Starbucks b/c they have benefits & stock options. I'm gonna go nuts w/ all this time on my hands. I'm still trying to get to a point where I can make money off my art or busking or something. I don't know what I"m waiting for. Maybe when I can live in an organized environment? I don't know!! It's impossible to find what I'm looking for in terms of furniture, so I can have storage and a clean room and a clear head. Boooo.

I'm complaining a lot. Life isn't bad. It's not really bad at all. I've got fantastic friends, a job I enjoy, a hot and amazing boyfriend, and I live in a beautiful city. I just feel stuck. Stuck w/ not enough work and not enough storage and not enough allergy medication to function as a human. Sounds like much of this would be remedied by the benefits at work: more hours, more money to afford nice furniture, and allergy meds! I suppose it'll happen eventually. My mom thinks I should hold on and not look for another job, b/c who's to say that at the next job they won't be like, "Sure, you can have benefits," and then turn around and be like, "Welllll, we can't do it right now.... but someday. we don't know when," like the current situation. and this is true. I must learn to be patient and not be such a pathetic example of the typical American who wants instant gratification.

But some cool things have happened via Myspaceness (www.myspace.com/eponinelisette): I talked to Nicci, who I haven't talked to in years. We were friends in high school, and haven't really talked since then. She was a senior when I was a freshman, but we got along well. So that was awesome to talk to her. I've found other ppl from high school too, the few folks I actually liked...(And sadly, Mike from IWU doesn't email me back anymore. I hope he's okay. I sent him and his brother a "happy birthday" email, too, but nothing back. ) I found Charles and Joy and Cecil myspace too. Rock.

Oooooh, and I totally got checked out at O'Hara and Flynn's on Saturday. I wasn't even dressed cool. I was wearing my Talbots black cardigan and black pants and gym shoes, all tied together with a scarf that has skulls and hearts on it. (Thank you Taylor!) It was an ego boost, b/c I've been feeling unattractive and blob-like (probably b/c I feel sick. You know how that goes.)

Well, it's four o'clock in the morning. I'll try and sleep, but most likely end up just doing something around the house, b/c I'm very awake right now. Boo.

good day. + random encounters on city streets.

Yep, I put in my two weeks last week. So almost done. Not happy there and highly allergic to bad things growing there...

Rocked it at work today. One thousand dollar sale (1184, thankyouverymuch, that should've been an additional 288 had the woman remembered to buy the coat initially). Boss says perhaps parking and benefits soon? That would be so nice!

It was a good day. i got free food:

I met a random dude from New Orleans. the reason i met that guy is b/c there was a "dusty rose" (specific, eh?) stepladder outside of Talbots and it was decided it was free for the taking b/c it was just leaned up outside the building. so i took it and was carrying it the two blocks to my car. the dude commented on the ladder and we got to talking, went for coffee. I got a free coffee and chicken wrap out of the deal. Is that wrong? I knew I was just going for food, and he was cool to talk to, but I was quite uninterested in him as I *heart* my current boyfriend. So yeah, the old Port City Java = mondo expensive new place. $10 for the wrap/chips (why?) What? It's crazy. That's why they don't post their prices... oh, and as I was within sighting distance of my car, he was like, "are you sure you don't want to go out for drinks?"

yes, i'm sure. i've told you that several times. I also insisted upon coffee and not dinner. and mentioned my adorable boyfriend several times, too.

"are you sure you don't want me to walk you [the 50 ft] to the car?"

yes, i'm sure. right, it's that dangerous in new orleans that i need an escort... Hell, NO! I"m not that stupid. There will be no non-open spaces w/ you buddy. No car. He didn't send out creepy vibes, but he was rather insistent all the same. no, no drinks. Fortunately, Taylor called about which Harry Potter house I was in, so that was a welcome distraction and made it clear that I'm a big dork, and thusly [i hoped] less attractive. i didn't know how else to say i was not interested aside from, "I have a boyfriend. I am not going out for drinks or dinner [with ANY other men]. No."

don't know if i'd even ask for hotel info if i finally ever made it to new orleans... i might. i'm only going there if it's w/ the bf or w/ my gals -- certainly not alone, b/c that's just plain stupid -- and he seems nice. he gave me his card. he said he knows of good deals on hotels things b/c of work. but i'm not going there anywhere in the near future. i don't even have paid vacations yet.

I was in it for a quick conversation and a free meal. I don't usually do that. but the opportunity presented itself -- and hey, that meant i didn't have to cook. rock. so i went home and he went away. yay.

also, when wandering downtown w/ the gals, we were passed on king by a creepy man who said in an odd annoyed tone, "y'all are in my way!" or something. I felt it necessary to apologize, so I said, "Sorry, man..." as we went single file. Unfortunately, he decided that was an invitation to start talking at us. Not to us. At us. "Haha, I was just kidding! I didn't mean it....Where y'all from?"
"Here." we answered flatly and without emotion. asked stupid crap. creepy. He was all *ewwww* and actually put an arm around taylor and addressed her as "redhead." We all looked at each other and turned and walked the other way. It was not cool, but we also possessed silly string, street smarts, sarcasm, car keys w/ a razor blade/nail file, and a gal w/ a black belt in our posse, yo, so we could've kicked some if we needed to.

and then i searched out a sunday paper at one in the morning b/c i need coupons b/c i'm not making that much money. and i'm ocd about sales. wafflehouse has papers, score! HT on Folly does not. haha, yeahhhh, i'm cool like that. but, in comfort, that's why one of the nice cashiers at HT gets the paper too. We had a silly bonding moment over coupons.

that's enough for now, i think.

So many shows... so much trivia...

Okay:

past few weeks: new job -- mehhh? not loving it. still not sure if i'll stay. however, having the parking spot is mighty nice... still considering sermet's b/c i'd be happier, but make $1/hr less...

trivia two weeks ago: 2nd place! Team "Snapes on a plane": me, Taylor, Maddog, Mary Ann, and Jim.

trivia last week: ohhhhh, we won! (me, Taylor, Maddog, Mary Ann, and Sermet's Sarah- Team "education + tragedy = happiness" or something) and we beat the rival team of Bill Carson, Nathan Koci, and co. ("dutch oven muppet experiment") That was the real victory, especially b/c I'd caught Bill at the door and asked if he wanted to join our team. He'd politely refused and said they were meeting friends and would be on that team. Final score: E+T=H : 1st place, $50 bar tab. DOME: 5th place, $0 bar tab. Oh yeah. Beat them on the last question.

Friday night: David Mead show at the vt. it was pretty sweet. but the opener guy soon lapsed into christian rock, so Kaminsky's Sarah bought us (m, T, MA) appropriate shots ("the blood of christ" hahahaha) to deaden the pain. DM was just adorable. He was dressed very 1950s, with a red pomp, button down shirt, and cuffed jeans. Johnny Gray played w/him too, and that of course was fun. I didn't see much of the circular strumming I'd heard so much about, but i did get to see a pbr in a can spilled on a ukelele. ("the uke took a hit! the uke is down!"). fun show.

saturday: flea marketness. oh yes, this is a supreme flea market. wow. scored a serger, a 1914 sewing machine (too heavy for me to get it out of my car. i need a boy for that.), and an amber globe light that's real similar to the one in my room back home. I went swing dancing briefly, and convinced only one person to trek on over to O'Hara and Flynn's for the requisite weekly music/wine (or mineral water, as was the case last night for me) enjoyment. Nobody blues dances here. it sucks. I balboa-ed ("bal"ed. to "revolution is eternal") with the guy who came with, and it was fun. he wasn't real happy with the whole atmosphere, i don't think. perhaps he's not into that type of music, or felt out of place b/c everyone in the wineshop was friends and we had a certain rapport. taylor came and hung out. good times for everyone except random bal boy.
I missed Jim a lot, b/c he would've dug the impromptu jams going down, and even known the words to that one verse of "Rocky Raccoon."

sunday. lazy sunday. violent femmes show tonight with taylor.

(last weekend was bill/nathan/flynn/kaler at redux, then "athens night" with the modern skirts at cumberlands... i do go out a lot, non?)