Sunday, September 12, 2010

California. Sunday. September 12.

This morning is a grey and somewhat chilly day in San Diego, but I don’t mind the lack of sunshine at all. In fact, in a weird way, it’s almost a relief to know that California weather isn’t actually perfect all the time. I think I’d really miss wearing sweatshirts if it were warm all the time… but now that I know it does get chilly, I don’t need to worry about that at all! Planes are flying overhead… quite loudly… but I can’t see them in the cloudy sky. I’m staying in Ocean Beach (OB) at a friend of a friend’s house. Thank goodness for friends. I would’ve most likely had to stay in a hotel had it not been for my friend Jay McCann being willing to pick me up from the airport and find a place for me to stay this weekend! It’s also so nice to see a friend before going into Monday. It helps me feel a lot less anxious. This morning I’m going to go to his church, Flood, with him…. I’m looking forward to it! So far my time in San Diego has been spent eating at a couple local places by the beach, going to an improv comedy show, figuring out car rental details, preparing for my interview, visiting the OB Jazz Festival, and watching Good Will Hunting curled up underneath multiple layers of blankets since I made the poor choice of not bringing a sweatshirt with me.



Well, tomorrow is the big day. Interview day. (insert dramatic sound effect)


I’d really appreciate your prayers going into this! I know that the competition for this job is probably pretty big… but I’m trying to stay positive and remind myself that they wouldn’t have had me fly all the way out from Indiana if I weren’t VERY qualified for this position. At least I would hope not! I’m so excited about this interview, but I also know not to get my hopes up. I want to go in with a positive attitude and show that I would work hard and would be very passionate about working in the position of Concert Hall Manager. I know I could do such a good job at this job if given the chance. Please pray for clear thinking & speaking, humble confidence, enthusiasm & positivity, and the ability to remember well and draw from past experiences both in the meeting with the committee members and while I’m working on the computer to complete whatever assignments they are having me complete in Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Word, or Publisher. Also, please pray that everything with the rental car works out and that I make it to MiraCosta without any major problems! Here’s my interview info:

Monday
September 13th
1:30 pm (California time)
4:30 pm (Indiana time)
Oceanside, CA at MiraCosta College
Position: Concert Hall Manager


Thanks again for your prayers and I will be sure to keep writing updates throughout these 2 weeks in California!


P.s. I am currently listening to a playlist my friend Val wanted me to make suggestions for based off of the song “They’re in Love, Where am I?” by the Weepies. The following songs are on that playlist:

1. They’re In Love, Where Am I? - Weepies
2. Around the Bend - Greg Laswell
3. Sitting, Wishing, Waiting - Jack Johnson
4. The Guy That Says Goodbye To You Is Out Of His Mind - Griffin House
5. Go Easy Little Doves, I’ll Be Fine - Brooke Waggoner
6. Wake Up Alone - Amy Winehouse
7. Much Afraid - Jars of Clay
8. I Miss You - Coldplay
9. All For Believing - Missy Higgins
10. Why Do They Leave? - Ryan Adams
11. Strange and Unprepared - Copeland
12. Alone Apart - Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova
13. Say You Miss Me - Wilco
14. It’s Alright - Ellery
15. Where In the World Are You - Great Lake Swimmers
16. Long Drive Home - Bjork Ostrom
17. Closer To Me - Future of Forestry




(OB Jazz Festival)

(On the pier at Ocean Beach)

Monday, September 6, 2010

Attaboy

I feel the need to say that I just found out that Avalon's manager stole the song "California" from a band called Attaboy from Huntington, IN.  I heard Attaboy's version yesterday and I think I actually like it better than Avalon's.... so.... let that be a lesson to all you music-stealers out there!  The originals are almost always better, and shame on you for trying to take the credit for it!

In other news, my portfolio is coming along slowly but surely.  I actually set my alarm on Labor Day so that I would wake up and get work done.  Wow.  I think this is the first time on record that I've done that.  It kinda seems anti-"holiday"-spirit to be working so hard on Labor Day... the day where nobody works (false:  lots of people still work, which I deem unfair).  Shouldn't I be at the lake jet skiing, playing volleyball, laying outside tanning, shopping, or going on a day-trip somewhere?  Well, not this year. 

Happy Labor Day friends.  Be sure you get to enjoy at least a little bit of relaxation today!  :)

Sunday, September 5, 2010

California.

If you had the chance to read my last post, you know that I'm flying out to California at the end of this week to interview for a job!  It's been a whirlwind and I find myself still very overwhelmed with anxiety, stress, awe, and excitement.  It's still hard for me to believe that I'm actually flying out there to take a chance on this job. 

As you know, music has always been a huge part of my life, and I am so thankful that music is something you can do quite literally from anywhere.  I might not be able to make a career out of music living anywhere, but I can always put the guitar over my shoulder and start strumming a familiar tune and I instantly feel more at home wherever I am.  Yesterday was a particularly rough day for me -- I haven't been sleeping well with all the various thoughts and emotions I'm dealing with, and so I was completely exhausted.  I had hoped to spend the whole, around 10-12 hours, working on my portfolio.  After a mere 4 hours of working on it, I was overwhelmed with exhaustion and collapsed on my bed for a 2-hour nap that I don't think anyone could've waken me from if they had tried!  I felt discouraged... How am I going to be able to prepare for this interview and journey out to California if I can't even keep myself focused and energized to do 4 hours of work?!  I knew I needed some form of encouragement... and I knew music would probably be able to cheer me up! 

I decided to peruse the Itunes store and search for songs having to do with California, Los Angeles, or San Diego... where I will be spending 2 weeks for this job interview and visiting friends & family.  I found a much larger selection of songs I actually like than I had anticipated finding!  One song in particular really caught my attention when I heard it, because it describes exactly where I am right now with this whole California thing, and just with life in general.  The song is "California" by Avalon (a band I don't actually typically like haha), and it talks about wanting to follow where God leads and to rebel against living a comfortable, stagnant life.... but instead to be the hands and feet of Christ, living outside of my comfort zone and to ask God to use me wherever I am.... whether that be here at home, in California, or somewhere else.  I definitely like the words better than the song as a whole, but either way it's a really great reminder to surrender everything to God and to His will.


I'm going to post the list of songs about California that I've been listening to that have helped me hold on to the excitement of this experience, and to maybe help relieve some of the stress I've been facing!  I've also posted a YouTube video below so you can hear the song by Avalon that has really encouraged me!  Here goes:






And here's the YouTube video of "California" by Avalon: