Here we go again..

BLOG time! I didnt think i'd be keeping a blog this time around, but so far my experiences have been too incredible NOT to share. so consider this a favor. from me.

i graduated college a few weeks ago, said goodbye to all my friends, and felt a little displaced, as if my identity was taken from me. i tried not to think about it, because that only makes things worse. if you dont think about things, and just let them happen, they might actually work themselves out.

yesterday, i hopped on a plane that would eventually take me to minneapolis, minnesota. i planned on spending a few days here, but had yet to hear back from my couchsurfing hosts. luckily, right before my second flight i got an email. thanks smart phones! i called james and he said to take the light rail toward downtown minneapolis, get off at government plaza, and that he would be there in a red subaru.

relieved, i slept the whole flight. at the end of the flight, i finished donald miller's latest, "a thousand miles in a million years.' excellent. i really enjoyed it and it made me want to make the most of my life. but now i have to carry around this book for a month, haha.

i got off the light rail, called james, and he said he would be there to get me soon. did i mention everything i had with me was sitting on my shoulders? i wanted to die. the buckle for my waist strap went mia, so all the things i brought, i thought would be sitting on my waist, but in fact were on my shoulders. im still sore.

an old subaru comes and inside is a waving, smiling james. he gets out and gives me warm, welcoming hug, with my small backpack between us, because i had it on my front. he takes my huge bag and we pile into his car.. which is dirty as ever. but he never stopped smiling, and we drove through town with the windows down... its probably 72 degrees outside. so blissful! turns out, james works at rei and can fix my bag as well! i knew God put me where he wanted me, and was watching over me. he didnt want me to carry weight on my shoulders any longer!

i had heard of a show in town, so i asked james if he was interested in bluegrass. as soon as we got to his place and put my stuff down, we got right back in his car and headed for 'the cedar'. an excellent community venue. we get there a little late, and walk into a dark room full of chairs with old people in them. it was so soothing and the band (i forgot who they were) was incredible. during the band-change, we snuck up front to get the last 2 front row seats, then went and grabbed coffee at the front. we ended up seeing crooked still, an EXCELLENT bluegrass band. we adored every minute of their set. the banjo player acted like such a rock star, yet he resembled paulie shore, haha! it was definitely one of the best shows i had ever been to.

we headed back to james' place to find his girlfriend, sam, had already gone to bed. so we followed suit. goodnight beautiful minneapolis!