Where did July go?

Seriously. Where is it? How is it already the 20th? This is ridiculous. I've been back in the south for a little over a month now, and life has been pretty interesting. Definitely interesting in a different way than the previous 4 months, but interesting none-the-less.

I've really enjoyed my time in Huntsville and think it's been good for me to be a bit removed from friends and Birmingham so I can think without distraction. Of course I would love to move back to Birmingham to work and be close to all the people I love down there, but I'm just not sure it's time to return. I feel like there's more for me to pursue and obviously more for me to learn. That'll never change. Until I figure out where the Lord is leading I'm just gonna wait patiently here in Huntsville. At this point I still don't have enough money to move anywhere anyway, so that makes my decision easier.

I got a job at Bonefish Grill as a server, and I'm pretty excited/terrified about it. My previous "serving experience" includes the short stint I had with "The Kitchen" in Los Angeles (you know... that catering company), but I've always wanted to try out the whole server thing and feel this is the perfect time. I think I'll love the outgoing personality aspect of being a server, but I'm not sure how I'll do with the fast-paced, multi-tasking side of it. Things could get interesting to say the least. I'll be the first to admit that I'm pretty one track minded, so the idea of having to multi-task scares me a bit Hopefully I won't be miserable and I'll make a little money to save up! I guess we'll see.

I'll be training all this week, and then I think I'll be on my own after that! Crazy. I'm just glad it's a nice restaurant like Bonefish and the people working there seem pretty cool and helpful so far. Other than that I'm not sure what I'll be doing. Thank goodness I have a few friends left in this town to hang out with, or I might have gone crazy. My sister, nephew and her fiancee have been incredible, too. I've loved getting to spend time with them and pray they're not getting completely tired of me being around all the time. It's such a blessing to have this place to stay, and I'm unbelievably thankful.

I wish I had some funny stories, but I don't. Wait. Yes... yes I do. I was fortunate enough to be picked to dress as Maggie of Maggie Moos Ice Creamery (I love how I call it an "ice creamery" and thats not at all what they call it) this weekend for a charity event raising funds for a little girl with cancer. Great event and cause, but this is what I looked like:



Unfortunately (or fortunately), thats not a picture of me, but it's some other poor soul who had to be "Maggie" for a day. A picture of me in the costume would probably show me doing some heel click, swinging on a swing, or interacting with the petting zoo. Yeah. Apparently all you need these days to start a petting zoo are 3 kittens, some sickly bunnies, a goat, a chicken, and some ducks all packed into a kidnapper van. It was lovely. I was just thanking the Lord that it happened to be one of the coolest days of the summer, so I wasn't dying in that hot costume.

Alright. Time for bed. Glad I could update you on my thrilling life. Come see me at Bonefish Grill or Maggie Moos if you're in Huntsville!

Robby

The Waiting Game

I'm glad to announce that today I completed my 3rd day as a cake decorator/ ice cream server at Maggie Moos Ice Creamery, and it really has been a lot of fun. Sadly, I'm not sure how long I'll continue with this ice cream adventure considering I'm only getting paid $7/hour and working around 16 hours a week. My calculations show that even though I'm not currently paying for rent or utilities that amount of money still wouldn't be enough to cover my other bills. Being an adult is crap.

I really am thankful to my friend Andrea for giving me some sort of job, though, and it's been hilarious to work with her and the other incredible Maggie Moo employees. I'm planning to submit an application at a few restaurants to try and get a server job. Hopefully that will work out, or I'm not sure what I'll do. Trying to find a job is hard enough as it is right now, but it's even more difficult because I have no idea where I want to end up at this point. Nashville is still a very good possibility, but I've also been thinking about Birmingham, too. For right now I'll just wait right here in the middle of the two (in Huntsville) and pray that the Lord will guide me.

This past weekend all of my family met up at our lakehouse on Smith Lake, and it's got to be one of my favorite places on earth. Plus, it was the first time I'd gotten the chance to see my entire family together since I've been back from LA, and I loved being with all of them. Sadly, I was slightly under the weather all weekend long (still am), and I couldn't enjoy all the delicious food! Oh well.

Oh! Hilarious story. The day before I left for the lake I did something extremely random and never expected anything to come of it. Well... something has, and we'll just have to wait and see how far things go because of it! Let me explain...

Some of you may know that I worked for a photography company called A Bryan Photo the 6 months or so prior to me moving to Los Angeles, and I absolutely loved everything about my time there. The guys who work there are incredibly talented (check out their work www.abryanphoto.com), and I always thought a reality show following the guys and their work could be hilariously entertaining. A few days ago I decided to write an email pitching my idea to the production company that does the show "Say Yes To The Dress" on TLC never imagining that anything would come of it. The next day I get a response email saying that they would love to call me with some questions about ABP because they're very interested in the idea. Yeah. I'm serious. I talked to someone from their company yesterday, and in the midst of my 45 minute convo I was told that my email came at a very good time because they were currently in the process of trying to develop a new wedding related reality show. Are you freakin' kidding me?! After talking with me, the lady said she would love to talk with Bryan Johnson (the owner of ABP) to discuss the idea further. They talked today, and I haven't heard how the conversation went yet, but can you believe this?!!! How crazy! All the guys at ABP are just cracking up that they're actually going to have to meet and discuss the idea of having a show based around them. Keep in mind that the typical reality show format would not work at a place like ABP. There is very little drama or disunity in the company and to try and make it appear that way would come across very forced. Plus... those always just turn out depressing and frustrating. The guys would only agree to do something if it had a more "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" feel. You know. Something that's entertaining because it's encouraging and tells a good story. We'll just have to wait and see what happens. The fact that anything is happening is hilarious, though!

So... I have a lot to think about and a lot of trusting to do. God is gonna work something out. Hope to have some more stories soon, and I'll try to keep you all updated on the whole show thing. Haha! So random.

Holding down the fort in H'ville,
Robby