On Friday afternoon, I ventured to Longwood to meet with my thesis advisor and then spent a few hours hanging out with my brother while he set up for his band to play a show later that night. It was warm and sunny and so good to see him.

Back in Charlottesville, it's cloudy and cold, but yesterday my mom came to visit for the night along with my childhood friend Patrick's mother, and we spent the evening eating and drinking and laughing. Rob has been super busy with end of the semester work, and it was so good to not spend the afternoon alone at the computer again for a change. My mom and I packed some things up after lunch and coffee, then reunited with Patrick, his mom, and his fiance for a nice dinner at one of our favorite places.

Who doesn't love spending time with great people? It's been a good few days.

[A jade plant, for luck, at my friend Tina's house, taken March 2012.]

I quit my job today.

Not in a "see you never, I'm leaving" sort of way, but I gave my notice. On May fifteenth I'll be closing the book on my coffee shop career. It has served me well, to be a barista while I was a student, but I'll not be a student for much longer, and it's time for something else. 

This summer is going to bring a lot of changes.

I'm moving back to the lake. Rob is going to China, then to live and work in northern Virginia for seven months. I am so proud of him for landing a great job that he's excited about. I am so excited to one day feel what it's like to be excited about a career. I feel lucky to be able to say that in all the uncertainty that clouds my future, he is one thing that I can always be sure of. So I'm going to live with my parents while he starts this new job.

Until then, I'm not sure what my plan is. I haven't found a job for myself in Roanoke, yet, but I feel good about it. I'm really learning to let go and trust in the universe/God's plan for me. There's really only so much you can do so far in advance. I know that there will be writing. There will be time with my family. There will be food. There will be love. 

And then, a permanent home together; time for me to finally start a career of my own; somewhere to put down roots. These are the things that await us.

I can wait another year.

"Without music, life would be a mistake."

--Friedrich Nietzsche

She was seventeen years old when she put headphones on and let a song change her.

It happened that winter of her senior year of high school as she sat on the couch, unsuccessfully trying to knit a scarf. She manipulated the needles through dark blue yarn, but there were knots and holes and she was getting frustrated. She was never very crafty, but she was trying to learn. She stopped to take a break and decided to play a song from an album she hadn't listened to yet.



She wasn't someone who knew how to knit. She wasn't sure yet, didn't know exactly what kind of person she was, but as she sat there in the dark, just listening, she could finally hear the kind of person that she had always wanted to be.

--

Less than two weeks until I finally get to see my favorite band play live.