Letting Go of Then

Remember when I consolidated three old notebooks into one new Word doc? That was such a refreshing experience, I decided to go through all my pre-2000 notebooks, pluck out the best items, and put them into a three-ring binder. I also created Word docs for my favorite quotes (from others) and my favorite fragments/musings (from myself), so the binder is surprisingly thin.

I can remember times when I looked at those old notebooks and thought, What if something happens to them? Fire, flood, tornado? I couldn’t stand to lose them! But when I actually read through them this week, I couldn’t wait to lose them. There was way too much complaining in those journals, which I suppose I thought would make for more dramatic reading later, or maybe I got therapeutic value from. Either way, I needed to grow up and get over myself.

Now that I’ve grown up, gotten over myself, and finished my consolidation project, I have only two notebooks. One is a small journal I began in 2003, and the other is my main notebook. I think every writer needs notebooks, but we don’t necessarily need to keep everything in them for twenty years.

One New (Temp) Job

Yep, I’m working. It’s intermittent temp work, and it doesn't pay a lot, but it’s work. I’m thrilled. Also, it’s in the communication/publishing industry, so I’m even more thrilled.

In fact, intermittent work seems like a good bridge into fulltime work, considering I’ve been out of work for 18 months. Of course I’ve kept my days structured (no daytime TV addictions here), but my structure at home is no match for a 40-hour week in an office... as I discovered this week. I’m tired, but it’s a good kind of tired, and I’m lucky to be working.

Jingle Bell Brrr

On Black Friday, my friend TJ came from Atlanta to visit me and to see Augusta. We'd planned to do the Jingle Bell Jaunt, which was a scavenger hunt of sorts, throughout downtown, but the cold weather changed our minds. We instead drove across town to browse a bookstore, eat lunch, and watch Julie & Julia.

At the movie, one of my favorite parts was when Julia Child tries the food in France for the first time. At the bookstore, TJ bought a DVD and puzzle for her son, and I checked the Personal Growth section to see if my book idea has any competition. I didn’t see any, yay! Oh, wait, shouldn't there be at least one or two similar books?

Anyway, our treasure hunt that day ended up being in a comfy, cozy bookstore instead of in the boreal, brrr-y outdoors — and the treasure was a fun day spent with a friend.

One New Interview

I'd planned to check out the Falling for Fashion event at Sky City on Saturday, but I decided to skip it because, along with fashion, fall also means flu season. From what I’m hearing, this season's flu is no picnic, and I don’t like flu vaccinations, so my anti-flu strategy is mainly to avoid crowds and to avoid touching my face. (Just FYI, it’s wise to avoid touching your face in general, since the eyes, nose, and mouth are primo germ portals.)

Although I spent most of the weekend at home, doing comfy, cozy, homey things, my week was not without new things. On Tuesday, I had an in-person job interview in Charlotte, NC. On my way home from that, I stopped in Rock Hill, SC, and saw the award-winning Glencairn Garden. What a well-designed, well-maintained garden! I also liked their Main Street and downtown area, which is known as Old Town.

Exploring Columbia, SC

This past Sunday, I went to South Carolina's capital city, Columbia.

My self-guided tour began at Finlay Park, where I saw a gorgeous fountain (shown below) with the city skyline as its backdrop (not exactly shown below). Across from the park, I saw the lovely Governor's Mansion and gardens — but through the fence, since the grounds were closed that day.

On my way through the historic district to the Columbia Museum of Art, I saw Blue Sky's Busted Plug Plaza art installation. At forty feet high, it's believed to be the world’s largest fire hydrant (shown at left).

After visiting the museum, I walked around USC’s Horseshoe area, which looked surreal in the late afternoon sun, then enjoyed a snack by the canal at Riverfront Park.

One New Resume

I did see a couple of new exhibits on Sunday at the Morris, but most of my weekend was spent completely redoing my resume. I was in perfectionist mode, laboring over every word, trying to concisely include as much as possible. Not so much that I overwhelm, but enough that I hold interest. I even researched my old performance reviews to get specific achievements and numbers. I'm happy with it now, and relieved to have it polished and posted and, I hope, working for me on various job sites.

First Friday and Fourth Fireworks

Since this was my first Independence Day weekend in Augusta, I got to experience several new things. The fun started with First Friday. Then Saturday brought more fun events, followed by a nighttime fireworks show at the Fifth Street Bridge. My photos of the show were blurry, so that’s why the Cotton Exchange and Imperial Theatre photos are here instead. If you ever catch the show yourself, I think something they include every year is the "waterfall" of white lights cascading into the Savannah River. Definitely look for that — it's spectacular.