A LOT on my mind

This past week and weekend have been packed full of things to do and not enough time to do them. After a full day of planning for our documentary, I decided to get into bed and read (Wicked). After I struggled to find a stopping point I realized that this time of night was the only time I actually had to do what I want. I get tricked into thinking I have a busy week, but it dawned on me that every week is a busy week. I never have time to go see a movie anymore. It takes me 2 months to read a book. I was due for an oil change 1,000 miles ago. I miss doctors’ appointments. I wash my clothes but forget to put them in the dryer. I can’t find my company ID.

The following is quite personal and deals with my personal beliefs so if this makes you uncomfortable I suggest you skip to the next paragraph. I usually have to work on Sundays, which keeps me from going to church. Now that the racing season is over my Sundays are free, but I find all I want to do is sit alone for a minute and just do absolutely nothing. On the other hand I know that I am slowing becoming more selfish and passive because I haven't been able to go to church in so long. The problem is finding a church in this city that isn't a singles club or a daycare. I've become passive about finding a home church and quite frankly stopped trying. That alone is enough to terrify me. I know how much peace, joy and mental grounding I have when I stay in the Word and go to church. I also realize that if I would get over myself and just find a church then I will start making friends here. I know all this, yet I have nothing in me to drive me to go. It's such a bizarre feeling. I need to refocus my top priority.

Love, it’s a word I’m so sick of hearing about. It seems as though moving to Charlotte has sparked some strange urge in everyone I know to fix my singleness. The problem is everyone's inconsistency. One day people (mostly my closest friends and my family) will tell me I'm much too young right now, focus on my career, have fun, travel. A few days later I will be asked by the same people if I'm interested in anyone right now and/or have they told me about their friend (fill in a guys name). I'm quite content being single right now and honestly don't know of any guy with the patience to deal with my busy schedule, but I'm not against meeting new people. Here's the problem, before I can even realize what I'm doing I turn down blind dates or group dates. I throw out some lame reason then go home and sit in confusion because I'm just as inconsistent as those who want me to find a significant other, get married, but also stay single and be successful. I am the pretty much the only friend left in my group that is not married or engaged yet or in a serious relationship. I feel as though this might be something that I've caused, I need to figure that out.

Lastly, and I am probably going to get some angry responses because of this, I'm thinking of ending my blog. Now before you start cursing my name, I have good reason (at least I think I do). I've never been a people pleaser, but the moment I moved to Charlotte I find myself trying to keep people happy and content. I don't necessarily want people to be happy with me, just happy in general. I don't know what it is about this place (Charlotte) but it's turning me into someone that I can't quite recognize. Here's how this applies to blogging. I basically started a blog because some people said I should. I'll skip a few days blogging because I become insanely busy, but get grief from fellow bloggers for not blogging. I'll feel bad and write up some lame post. No one will read it because I don’t' have time to comment on 20 blogs. Then, I'll feel bad for not commenting on other's blogs, because lets be honest, if someone doesn’t comment on your blog then you won't come and read theirs. The blog world is give and take; you got to earn your regular readers. This alone is just too much. I don’t' have the time to contribute to blogging and commenting and I don't have much to say, ever. Right now blogging is just another thing on my To Do list, and to be honest, there are much more things in my life that need my full attention right now (my best friend with a 2 year old, a job promotion, producing and directing a documentary in New York City, finding a church and getting my spiritual life back in order, getting back in shape, etc) I don't think I'm going to delete my blog, but I know that I will be taking a very, very long break from it. I'll still check in when I can. This is important, for those of you I've met here, I still hope that we can keep in touch through e-mail and phone.

Jailhouse Rock

1,500 plus CPDRC inmates of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center, Cebu, Philippines at practice! This is not the final routine, and definitely not a punishment! As I continued to look at more videos, this is something that this prison has been doing for a while. It is AMAZING!
Thriller

The Hustle

Walk it Out

If you would like to see the final routine for Thriller, just go to YouTube and type "At the Cebu Capitol" in the search bar. It should be the first video. Enjoy! I know I did!

Martian Child

A sci-fi author (John Cusack) who is still mourning the death of his wife tries to get his mind off of his grief by adopting a young boy (Bobby Coleman). But the kid's own emotional problems are compounded by the fact that he seems to be utterly convinced that he's from the planet Mars. David’s sister, Liz (Joan Cusack), his boss, the adoption agency and his agent (Oliver Platt) all try to talk David out of adopting a child because he’s lonely. As parenting takes over his life, his writing career comes to a slow stop and the lines between fantasy and reality become slightly blurred.
Martian Child is a deeply sincere and moving film. Coleman proved himself as more than a child actor. His performance was flawless leaving you questioning if he really was a martian child or just a child attempting to heal from a painful past. John Cusack also gave a great performance. (Much better than 1408.) Oliver Platt annoyed me some, but he always does.
This film was different from any film I’ve seen in awhile, which was greatly refreshing and probably one of the reasons I loved it so much. The idea, two different people learning to love each other and defeating the odds, is familiar. The delivery of the story and the characters is what makes the film seem not so familiar.
The film also has an underlying theme of the power of the imagination. Cusack’s character struggles with his imagination being conformed to what the mass wants and feel comfortable with after years of writing. When he meets Dennis, and his exocentric and relentless imagination, he learns that he’s diluted his imagination to please those who are threatened by it. In the end the two, David and Dennis, begin to balance their imaginations by still challenging normal thinking, but without being too out of this world in the extent of the imagination.
I’m a little late in writing this review, but for those of you who still haven’t seen it, if you are looking to see a heart warming and feel good movie, I strongly suggest Martian Child. It will leave you with a smile on your face.

Awkward Turtle

I house sitted this week for a family in Charlotte. I was in charge of not only the house but of two kids, 12 and 15, and two cats. The younger, Page, was very sweet and the older,Parker, was the happiest and most talkative emo kid I've ever met. But, the whole week was awkward. The guest room was super creepy (furnished with miniture victorian furniture and pictures and dolls). I was scared I would see things so I slept on the couch in the game room with the two cats. I usually hate cats, but one was like a dog, it just laid by the door and slept. The other one was a typical cat. It stalked you and pounced and hissed and meowed, etc. To do something different I decided to take the kids out for dinner. Wednesday night we went and ate fajitas. But, when our sizzling meal came out we had no tortillas. The three of us just sat there staring at eachother. The following conversation happened:
Page: No tortillas
Me: nope. Maybe they went to get them.
Parker: Soooo you like the salsa?
Me: yeah, it's good
A very long silence followed then I see Parker slowly lift his hands and peer at me through his jet black hair. All the sudden I see something very familiar. Some that Shea is known to do in awkward moments...That's right, Parker busted out the awkward turtle. The turtle worked his magic and I busted out laughing. The rest of the meal went by smoothly and silence free. Thank you awkward turtle.

Packing up and removing in?

This weekend I opted out of hiking due to lack of company and began to pack up my belongings for another move. I would like to say that I'm moving into a quaint home in Charlotte with oak tree lined streets where I can finally be close enough to visit with my friends. Unfortunately I'm moving about 30 feet away from my current living situation. Because I've decided not to rent, save up, and use my savings to purchase a home, I'm stuck living with my parents for the next year and maybe a little more. My parents picked up on my anxiousness to get out on my own again and decided to grant me the "ownership" of the bottom half of their house. So this weekend I cleaned and packed and picked out paint. I'll have my own enterance, living room and patio. I'll just have to share the kitchen if I want to cook anything. I feel this is a good deal for what I can get. Moving back in with my parents was tougher than I thought, but hopefully this "move" will make the next year go by much quicker.

Other exciting updates:
NCSU Wolfpack beat the UNC Tarheels - greatest game of my life, besides last season basketball when we beat the Tarholes and we rushed the court. I LOVE my Wolfpack and this game gets me excited for basketball season and March madness.
Corrine and Bradd are having a girl!
My old roommate and I are trying hook up two of our friends-helpful suggestions welcome

Quite Uninteresting

I have absolutely nothing to blog about. There is no new news, no exciting events to anticipate, no exciting boy gossip, no freakish or funny accidents, no drama, no nothing. The magic of a new place has worn off and life has left everyone I know too busy for quality random fun.
I guess the most interesting thing going on right now is that I'm in therapy for my neck injury from my car accident last week (thrilling isn't it?). I am a huge fan of the Samsung Juke phone commercial. Oh and I got a hang nail yesterday and my work computer crashed on me again today, and my company's Christmas party invites came out today.
Before I throw too much of a pity party, I have to admit that one interesting thing is going on. Tomorrow night my sister-in-law through marriage (my sister-in-law's brother's wife...got that?) is having a sex party. Now before your perverted minds start working. Corinne and Bradd are pregnant (funny how the guy is "pregnant" too..) They find out the sex of their baby on Thursday. So Wednesday we are having a sex party to celebrate the mystery news.
I need something exciting to happen, something to do with someone. I want to go to the mountains Saturday to hike, but I don't have anyone who will go with me. I'm beginning to bore myself with myself.

This is me on the left...This is my life's response on the right.

Luck's Joined the Dark Side

Since I've moved to Charlotte, Good Luck and I have been pretty good friends. Until last Tuesday at 4:06pm when Luck decided to join the dark side and start making my life hell. For the past two weeks I've been in a brawl with luck, who now goes by bad luck, and I'm getting my butt kicked.
Last Tuesday on my way home from work I was driving behind a plumbing truck when out of the blue a joint pipe about 18 inches long and 4 inches wide flies out of the truck and bee lines it for my front fender. Because traffic was so heavy, trying to avoid the possessed pipe would only cause a bigger accident. So I clenched my steering wheel and took the beating. After looking in my rear view mirror and seeing that the pipe was bouncing through the traffic behind me I picked up the pen in my cup holder, picked up my speed and began writing down the information on the truck. I picked up my phone and dialed out the numbers scribbled on my hand. The woman on the other line said she would call me back in an hour when the supervisor got into the office. I waited 2 hours, called them back and was told to wait 45 more minutes. I waited an hour then called back...no answer. I was not going to get screwed over. The next morning I left a message for them to call me by 10am or I was going to file the accident at the police department. To make a long story short I got the issue settled and they are going to pay for the damages (although surprisingly small, just a deep scratch in the shape of a perfect circle).
Next on the list, the blow below the belt at my dog Sadie. Thursday I let Chloie and Sadie out to play. About an hour later I open the door to let them back in. Sadie limps through the door (which is normal b/c she has arthritis), behind her is a very bloody trail. I freak out and run over to start checking paws. A small pool of blood was starting to form under Sadie's left front paw. I lift it up and a one inch gash had left her pad split almost in two. I call my mom and together we begin to doctor her up. She's getting better now but is sad that her play time has been limited.
On to Friday night, a good friend and I are on our way home from a local band's concert. Again, a stupid truck was driving in front of me and stuff starts flying out. Luckily no one else was on the road so I could dodge most of the debris, except for the white paint. I get home and check out the damage. White speckles of paint covered my hood and windshield (did I mention I have a black car?). Anyway, with some elbow grease I was able to take off most of it, but the rest is going to have to be taken care of by professionals.
Monday is the day that bad luck drew blood. On my morning commute to work, sitting in stopped traffic, a Honda driven by a woman on a cell phone and a hyper dog in the back seat plows into my car at 45 miles an hour. In disbelief I pull over to the safety lane and dial 911. Numbed from previous beatings by bad luck I was almost unmoved when the officer asked me if I was okay. I step out of the car and take a look at my broken bumper, then glance over at the woman’s front fender that was completely destroyed and thought, wow I guess that was a harder hit than I thought, then got back in my car and cranked up the radio and waited. After the officer handed me my Accident Report I headed off to work. I sat down at my desk where the adrenaline quickly wore off and the pain hit. Yep, whip lash. My neck and shoulder throbbed in stabbing pain and moving my head to look right was almost impossible.I decided to leave work an hour early to doctor myself up, a very very bad idea.
Apparently bad luck was on overtime because he was waiting for me in the parking lot. I start to leave my parking space, backing out slowly b/c I couldn't move my neck and then I heard the all to familiar noise. Another employee was in a hurry to get out of the parking lot so he picked up his speed to get by me. Apparently it wasn't fast enough b/c I backed right into him. Now furious, not at him but the whole day, I pound my fist on my gearshift (which really hurt) then get out of the car. I start to mumble choice words. The guy gets mad b/c he thinks they are directed at him. I quickly step back into reality and explain the past few days to him. The story ironically put him in a good mood and he said he would be okay handling the situation without the police or insurance company. Happy with that I profusely apologized, got in my car and let the floodgates open. Bad luck had won. This day had sucked and the following day I was going to avoid driving. So, I called my boss and told him that I was not coming into work b/c I was boycotting driving for a day. He laughed and granted me permission to sulk.
So here I am at home working, sulking, and avoiding my car at all costs. The good news is that my neck movement is slowly coming back, my car is getting fixed, Sadie's foot is healing up and my day off has given me time to finally blog.