My goodness! I just looked at my most recent blog entry since this one and it was way back in March!
I won't (for my own sake) go back that far, as I'm a bit exausted (as it is) as I write this!
However, let me reflect on the last few weeks, and touch on what came before those...
I no longer am working at Pier 1 Imports! Toward the end of March, I found that my hours were quickly turning into hours away from work rather than at! Therefore, I thought it was to seek a new investment of my time, one with perks, and pleasures, and noontime, leasures (okay I'm tired, wired and in need of much better humor, but bare with me a short while longer!)
Around April (the 1st to be precise), where fools are found (virtually) all around, only on April the 1st (tis the worst).... I began my first day (at Baristic pay) at Starbucks! Overall, it has been a success, a job where less has found more meaning, and I am more relaxed than I have been before, on the clock! Since I've been at Starbucks, I've been able to start performing some of my music (on two occassions thus far) and to my surprise and delight it has been quite successful! I am scheduled to start performing regularly every other week at my store. So if you happen to be in town stop by the Snyder Plaza Starbucks on Hillcrest and Milton on Wednesday nights!
I suppose the other great tale reflects on the picture which is included in this posting! I recently had the oppertunity to attend two old high school classmates' wedding a little over a week ago! It was quite an experience to say the least! The months, days, and weeks went by until I had but a day before to book a ticket to Knoxville, TN - on a greyhound!
It began the day before, I was in a hurry to head off to work and play my guitar there, but also had to book my tickets on the bus! I also was still last minute working out the details with the groom about who would pick me up and where I would stay, etc (not the most organized plan I can assure you). Well, at last I made it to the front of the line and when presenting my Military I.D. I expected (as I was told over the phone earlier by a greyhound customer service employee) that I would get the flat rate discount of $198! As it turned out, this proved to be more trouble than I had expected. The women there did not understand English so well and gave me leave to see her boss about it! Unfortunately, it was a similar case as before, and the gentlemen could not find the price I was giving to him. (This for me was frustraiting as I pointed out to the man that he could find these rates on the bus website) After a phone call and a bit more coaxing, the discovery was made that indeed, there was a flat rate of $198! And so I was on my way to Starbucks to begin another glorious day! The day following was quite early as I got off work late from Starbucks and had to pack all of my things and be ready to leave around eight in the morning! I made it there to the bus station with my backpack, lunch sack, (overpacked) garment bag, and my guitar! Yes, I was quite a sight!
I shall jump ahead a bit (for my own interest sake) to the arrival in Knoxville! I was a bit delayed by a couple hours, yet this proved successful as I would be waiting at the station originally for about 6 hours! The first glitch in the trip began here. I got off my bus, to find, no baggage or belongings to be found! Somehow, they were lost, and now I was left to make it to a wedding with a backback and one set of clothes (the ones I was wearing - shorts and a t-shirt)! I spoke with the customer service there (if such a thing can be found) and was told to wait (awhile) and to wait, until they could connect with the other bus stations on the way to Knoxville! Alas, the hours wore on till my ride arrived, and still no word on where my belongings were placed! (I must pause a moment to add that where boarding my bus in Dallas, I was not aware that I had to check my bags in. I was in a rush and desiring to avoid a long line, imagining that all I needed to do was tag my bags with my name, address, and contact number. Yet, this too was not so...)
And so, now I was reaping the benefits of this small misjudgement. Fortunately, upon arriving at the hotel, where the rest of the wedding party resided, there was a last minute cancelled reservation, that opened up a room for me there at the hotel! So at least I had my own room!
The next day, the day of the wedding, I continued to call the bus service, but with ill success! The ending verdict: I would have to borrow a suit from one of the family members, who had a spare and borrow (from the groom no less) a pair of dress shoes. I arrived in a white suit, and sneakers, and quickly, stole across the parkway to the groom's jeep, and switched out my sneakers with his dress shoes.
The wedding proved a success, and I was soon back on my way to Dallas the day after! Upon arriving, there was still no word on the location of my belongings! The day following my return, I happened to be near the bus station, and stopped by to see if anything had been found! To my surprise, I found my missing garment bag! However, I also quickly found, that it had shrunk severly in size! My dress blues (which were inside) and my suit and blouse, were all gone! My guitar (as of today) still is not here; and, I imagine I will not reaquire that again!
Needless to say, it was all a great lesson in patience and persistence. Yet, still I discovered that though many, things of mine which I might usually hold dear, I realized that in the end these things are quite trivial to the bare essentials!
I left the adventure thankful to have made it to the wedding "presentable" and captured some of the moments on film, and to have returned home!
As of now, I am quite tired and in need of rest, as I closed last night at my store and also opened this morning! So I retire for awhile to catch up on a little sleep!
