Tag: charlottesville

lately.

Posted in thoughtsTagged , , , , , 1 Comment

Things have settled into a rhythm of relative normalcy lately. Work, church, pick Daniel up from school, thrift, eat, clean. It’s not bad, but I don’t want to get stuck. We still have a lot to see and do in Charlottesville and we need to prioritize exploring over sleeping in, I think.

We’ve become regular church-goers again after a year long hiatus. I had little hope of finding a church full of friendly people with which I could be open and honest about my beliefs, doubts, and criticisms. In Tallahassee, we seemed to find one or the other, but not both. Or it’d be a Goldilocks situation: we were too liberal for many churches (theologically and politically) and too conservative for others. Here, so far, we feel just right. The members in our age group are almost all Religious Studies nerds, too, so we have a lot to talk about. Charlottesville is a well-educated city, which makes for a positive daily environment and promotes many thoughtful conversations. Thomas Jefferson would be proud.

September here apparently signals an almost immediate turn to fall. Although a few more days in the low 80s have been forecast for the month, summer is clearly departing. I’m excited, as the season change is supposed to be incredibly beautiful. And my new boots should be arriving any day now.

I’ve been working hard to make my online store a success, and I’m seeing positive results so far. I really like where I am in terms of work. The coffee shop atmosphere is a positive one and working for myself on the side is empowering.

I also signed up for adult ballet classes at the local Rec center! One of my short term goals was to start taking ballet. I’m surprised that it actually happened. I tend to make plans and then excuse myself from them.

Life is good here. I have days of loneliness and doubt, moments of sadness, but I can see and appreciate all the blessings. Moving has been good to us.

one month in C-Ville

Posted in thoughts, UncategorizedTagged , , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

Yesterday marked the one month-iversary of our new life in Charlottesville. It’s incredible how quickly time has flown already. In most ways, Charlottesville already feels like home. But there are still loose ends to tie: settling into a church, unpacking and organizing the final traces of our move, finding a consistent group of friends to hang out with, and switching over my license and registration.

Jennifer (my old neighbor) and I reunited

In one month, I (and sometimes Daniel):

  • traveled over 12, stressful hours on rural streets and highways
  • visited every grocery store chain in town (and still can’t find one as delightful as Publix)
  • perused at least 7 antique shops
  • bought an armchair and a vintage mirror
  • bought a dozen or so books from local stores
  • ate at Bodo’s Bagels 4 times
  • interviewed for four jobs
  • changed my mind about my immediate career goals
  • got a job I love (for once)
  • visited UVA
  • felt consistently nauseous (it’s finally subsiding)
  • stretched fabric across a canvas and made two photo canvases and three pillow cases
  • bought pet rats (Surprise! I haven’t told very many people yet)
  • watched the meteor shower on a farm while listening to acoustic improvisation
  • assembled book cases
  • celebrated a birthday (Daniel’s)
  • saw a Bluegrass legend in concert
  • ate lots of delicious food
  • visited three churches
  • freaked out, a lot
  • revamped my vintage store
  • made some friends
  • toured the neighborhood
  • saw Obama in person
  • visited with a friend I haven’t seen since high school

I know – and fear – that as time inches along, I’ll stop caring about the little accomplishments, struggles, and tasks I experience each month; they’ll be compacted into a small blurb on the timeline of my life. But, looking over this list, I feel quite proud of how far we’ve come in one month. Moving, especially hundreds of miles away from your previous life, brings uncertainty – about identity, financial security, relationships. But I’ve reflected lately that moving away from an identity that is created for you over days and months and years creates a space for renewed liberty, a wider sphere of choice. I have a chance here to present myself and identify myself based upon who I am and what I believe and what interests me now without fear of rattling someone’s preconceived notions of who I am. I can take pride in what I have achieved. I can say to myself, “You are good enough,” for the first time in a year. The challenge will be to push toward that level of freedom and self-understanding as we scatter presuppositions and misunderstandings along our path in Charlottesville. What I’ve learned here in the last month is that we do have the power to change our lives. In fact, the daily task of life is simply making choices and living with them.

Obama in Charlottesville

Posted in news, UncategorizedTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , 3 Comments

a.k.a., the most thrilling day of my existence. 

Regardless of how you feel about Obama or the party he represents, if you had been in downtown Charlottesville yesterday, your veins would have been coursing with the tangible, electric, energy of thousands of people, first awaiting Obama’s arrival and then crowding in around a perimeter secured by Secret Service agents outside the local campaign office to catch a glimpse of him, snap a picture, shake his hand.

a man serenades the line with jazz

I had to work at 1, so I took the bus downtown around 11 am to avoid the anxiety of limited parking due to road closures. Once there, I meandered the Downtown Mall, camera in hand, to take in the crowds. It was important to me to capture the overall feeling and sense of anticipation rather than just a couple shots of Obama. People started lining up before I got there even though the gates weren’t set to open until 1:00. By 12:30, the line extended back several blocks from the Pavilion, from one end of the mall to the other (some report that it actually extended past the pedestrian mall in the final minutes before the line began to inch forward). It took an entire hour to herd all attendees through the gate; my coworker and I watched them move forward in line from the shop’s large window.

Crowds extended to the end of the Downtown Mall

I didn’t get to attend the event due to work, but my boss, a local small business owner, had a VIP ticket which allowed her to stand at the front of the auditorium. She took some great pictures and got to shake Obama’s hand.

After the speech ended, the coffee shop was overwhelmed by customers eagerly awaiting smoothies and other cold drinks after several hours in the late summer heat. As the final customers trickled in at the end of the rush, we noticed that a crowd had started to gather outside of the shop. Someone shouted, “Obama’s coming!,” and my manager and I immediately ran outside. The area was secured by a dozen or more Secret Service agents. After 15 minutes of waiting, we heard cheering as a caravan of black cars drove down 4th street. Within seconds, the cheering escalated, and there he was! I was maybe 100 feet from the President of the United States: an international figure, a fixture of American politics, a talking point of every American household! I held my camera above my head to try to get some usable shots. It was exciting to see what I had managed to capture at the end of the day’s events.

People crowd in to catch a glimpse of the President

Obama visited the campaign office and brightened the day of many hard working volunteers and staff members. A girl at the restaurant next door shook his hand and her coworkers all high-fived it, as if the thrill of her experience would rub off on them.

As we began our closing tasks at the shop, two girls sat at separate tables, crying. One had been an active campaign volunteer who couldn’t get past the Secret Service to shake Obama’s hand. The other was at the front of the crowd as he arrived, and she, much to her surprise and joy, had shaken his hand. That image summed up the spirit and passion, the sheer emotion – impossible to interpret at times –  of the day for me.

a church, a chapel, and pigeons

Posted in life in photosTagged , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Yesterday evening was beautiful. I love the way the harsh, setting sun streaks across the images below and hyper-pigments the blue sky. We took a quick tour of UVA’s chapel before partaking in an evening service at the Episcopal church nearby. Thomas Jefferson was opposed to mixing religion with public higher education and never would have approved of a chapel on the Grounds. The structure was built in 1885, decades after his passing.

I took the photo of the pigeons earlier today after work. They perch there together quite frequently.

the neighborhood

Posted in life in photosTagged , , , , , , , , , , , 3 Comments

I decided to take a walk around my new neighborhood to get a sense of the community. Since most of the homes in this area were built in the 1960s, most of our neighbors are elderly; at least, I assume they’ve lived in the same home for 50 years. It’s a pleasant change to live in a duplex instead of a student-oriented apartment building, but the rowdy children who always sound like they’re pole-vaulting or roller-blading above us are about as annoying as drunk college students yelling obscenities by the apartment pool in the middle of the night.

Fun fact: my next door neighbors have a defunct toilet in their driveway.

surprise bluegrass

Posted in life in photos, UncategorizedTagged , , , , , Leave a comment

Yesterday we antique window-shopped then headed to The Corner by campus for a bite to eat at Bodo’s and some used bookstore perusing. In the evening, we decided to check out the local Target. We were quite pleasantly surprised to find, upon our arrival, that a bluegrass band was performing in the parking lot!

I literally shed tears of joy.

When I thought about what Charlottesville would be like, I hoped for mountain views and bluegrass music. From the Target parking lot alone, we could experience both at once. Man, this place is like Leah and Daniel Wise Heaven.

uva

Posted in life in photosTagged , , , , , , 1 Comment

Today we went over to UVA so that Daniel could turn in some paperwork and get his student ID. I enjoyed the view immensely (besides all the insane construction – the middle of the grounds looks post-apocalyptic). The building where his department is housed is in a beautiful, modern style. After we completed his student duties, we journeyed to the downtown mall to visit Daedalus Books, a used bookstore with three stories and over 100,000 used books. We also poked around a stored called Artifacts, where we got to pet an adorable Pomeranian.

Follow on Bloglovin

exploring

Posted in thoughtsTagged , , , , , , , 2 Comments

Today, after a successful meeting with possible employers at a local shop, Daniel and I headed out for an afternoon of exploring Charlottesville.

Our first stop was Bodo’s Bagels, a local favorite, where Daniel had the lox and I had tuna salad on a garlic bagel. It was delicious and both of our meals combined were $10.00.

A woman from the shop this morning recommended an antique store called Circa, which turned out to be full of gems. Despite the fact that they had hundreds of items, it was well curated (and well priced). We bought a nice vinyl arm chair and then headed out to explore the surrounding shops (reluctantly – if we could have, we would have bought the place out).

We happened upon a shop called Carpe Donut and bought a donut and an iced cider to share. Since the donut she gave us was small, she voluntarily gave us a second one for free! People are so nice around here!

After having a wonderful chat with the owner of the local Wild Birds Unlimited, we went to The Bookroom, a local used bookstore, to check out their stock. By the time we got home, our armchair was being delivered by two deceptively strong women from the antique shop.

I’m so thankful that my mom helped me get the duplex in shape yesterday so that I can feel a bit more at ease in my new home. Knowing I can come home to artwork on the walls, food in the fridge, and clothes properly placed in the closet helps me get motivated to explore. Charlottesville is pretty great so far.

recollections

Posted in thoughtsTagged , , , , Leave a comment

We move in a week.

Daniel and I both feel a sort of stagnant anxiety. The move is inevitable. It is approaching quickly. We have a lot to do.

I’ve lived in Florida for almost 14 years – that’s most of my life. I never didn’t like it, but I’ve grown to love it – particularly its nature – passionately, especially within the past few years. There is so much beauty here. A hummingbird just came to our porch! A baby manatee was less than 5 feet away from me at Wakulla Springs yesterday. I used to see otters play in the lake by our house. Tallahassee is full of quiet canopy roads and hidden parks. The Florida Caverns are some of the most ornate caves in the United States. Torreya State Park boasts a view that makes you feel like you’re in the foothills of a mountain range.

I have always felt most at peace when I look out to appreciate natural beauty. I know Charlottesville has it, too, and it will probably overwhelm me. The beauty of Tallahassee and of Florida in general have served as a daily reminder that I am blessed, that the world holds wonder still.

Tallahassee has changed me more than any other location, mostly because it held my growing-up years. I was just reflecting with a friend that when you go off to college you don’t realize, at least not on an emotional level, that you will never return to home life as it was. Tallahassee became more than just the place I attended college, it became my home. I’ve lived here 5 years. Within that time, I lived alone for the first time, navigated classes and roads, led student organizations, lost and made friends, lost faith and gained it, had my first kiss, cried deeply, laughed heartily, got married, rented an apartment, graduated, saw my friends fall in love, worked odd jobs, learned custom framing, and experienced the heaviness of post-grad life. I was challenged. I failed and succeeded. I learned compassion and forgiveness and pain. These have been hard years and wonderful years.

A quiet excitement is beginning to surface. I never intended to spend my whole life here. If I’m going to move, I’m glad it’s Charlottesville, a place consistently rated as one of the best places to live in the United States. I’m happy to live near the Blue Ridge mountains. I’m happy that Daniel and I get to go together. I’m happy for another starting-over point – a time for reinvention and introspection and speculation about things to come.

I think we need to be woken up by landmark life changes. I needed to know that the move was coming to realize how much I have, and how much I’ll miss. In the past few months, I have finally gotten around to re-visiting people and places I love, to exploring places I hadn’t yet worked up the energy to visit. I’m grateful for the deadline that tells me I only have a few more moments to squeeze out what Florida has to offer.

I’m happy that amid the chaos of packing and uncertainty and early 20s crisis, I can find so many things to be happy about.