weekend update

it rained and rained.

i love to live in a place where there are many green things and grass and dirt, but the loveliness of my yard melts when it rains too much. i find myself sinking en route to my car, and making a giant leap over a mud bath, always hoping to land safely in my driver's seat. i haven't failed yet, but i dread the day.

though the rain dampened my spirits during these house-to-car trips (dampened, get it?), it was a good weekend.

friday, i worked both jobs. it was a long day, but the two workplaces are so very different, it was not tedious. hosting on a busy friday night does give one a sense of control amidst undeniable chaos. i like that.

after work, i had a handful of co-workers over for some drinks and some rock band. it was a good time.

saturday was la-hong (long). i woke up late, went to the raleigh farmers market for the first time. it was a pleasant trip, made more pleasant after my honey-stick purchase.

after the farmers market, i went to choir practice, then a worship-band rehearsal for a 'global impact celebration' youth service, then the service itself. then, i went home to get ready for the oscar begat show.

i always have a hard time figuring out what to wear to these things. i like to be all fun and rock-star, but my wardrobe is a little short on rock-star attire, so i have be creative. once i was relatively satisfied, i went to the venue.

whenever we have a show, there is always a big rush to get to the venue on time, and then we wait. marco and i were the last to arrive (about 9pm). we did basically nothing except eat our free food and drink our free drinks. we didn't play until about 11:30/12am. the opening band was on at 10, so we watched them (Brett Harris) and basically just hung out and talked about how many of the musicianny men around were definitely wearing pants smaller than mine. i tried to cope.

by the time we finally went on, a crowd of my fellow restauranteers had showed up. i was very excited to see them all there - being still kind of new to the area, i don't usually have a great 'katie section' at shows. i felt so loved and supported.

the show went relatively well. we were missing my dad (ronnie d) and so there were no guitar solos or lead guitar rifts. that was a bit sad, but the show went on. i played 'carey' by joni mitchell solo (as promised), and, after botching the first few lines and decidedly lowering expectations, pulled it off rather well, if i do say so myself. it was fun to have people to sing to :)

i needed to be at church the next morning at 8am. we didn't finish playing until 1:30am. this made for my second night in a row of getting to bed past 2am. i set my alarm for 7:30 and went to bed. to my chagrin, dismay and several other negative sentiments, i woke up at approximately 1:30pm. oh my. i slept through my alarm so long that it had apparently given up. unbelievable. i know that it went off because alisha later confirmed that she heard it from across the room. i quickly wrote an apologetic email to the choir director, for there was nothing else to be done.

despite the fact that i had slept through my rehearsal and both services, i felt wonderful. it seemed that i needed to rest.

i had lunch at the commune annex (marco and courtney's house) with them and mr. john bone. we had an interesting conversation about Godly decision-making, about whether or not there is always a right and a wrong answer. the more we talked, the more complicated the questions became - free will, perfect will, salvation, sanctification. soon we decided that it was always important to be sensitive to the leading of the Spirit, but beyond that, we were content to say 'i don't know'. well, at least i was. i don't have much of a problem leaving things at that. if i knew everything, then i would be God, but i'm not, so why pretend?

after lunch, the day progressed - cleaning, trader joe's, more cleaning, salad-making, more cleaning, clue (with suzanne on the webcam), prayers for a snow day, bubble bath, sleep.

this morning, i awoke to a bright, white north carolina. it's absolutely beautiful. i wasn't mad that the snow had weighed the bamboo plants so that they completely blocked the staircase from my room. i zipped up my fluffy white jacket and forced my way through the snowy jungle. i wasn't mad that my car was covered in snow, and me, late and without a brush/scraper. i wasn't made when i was driving to work, still essentially inside of a snowball, with limited vision - every lane-change an adventure. i was a little mad that it wasn't a snow day, but there's something ethereal about a snow-laden landscape, something that makes me smile.

all of this brings me to right now. i'm at my job, at my desk. i spent the morning drinking coffee and reading grapes of wrath. i intend to spent the afternoon the same way : )