Here Comes Summer!

It is Saturday afternoon and I am having a really hard time relaxing. Don't get me wrong, I am in major need of relaxation after this week. Its like after you've been sprinting on a tread mill for days, your legs still feel like their moving when you get off. However, today I have given "relaxation" my best effort. I slept in till 10, watched I Love Lucy, leisurely got ready, and then headed over to my new apartment. Since then I have been doing laundry, reading, working out, all enjoyable things but today it has seemed more like torture. I have been so used to working all day on Saturdays, free-Saturdays are still kind of foreign to me, but I am sure in time I will come to enjoy them.

Let me just start by saying that my internship in Production is awesome. I feel so much more in my element now at CMT. On Tuesday we had a live at Studio 330 session, which is primarily what our department is in charge of. A very talented, very famous singer/songwriter came in for the session and it was amazing. I grew up listening to her music, but I had no idea how talented she was until I saw her live. I got to sit in the production room with my head set on, watching the concert and writing down time codes. I also got to stand around during all of the excitement and look important. I found it very entertaining that people from the artist's record label and her publicists introduced themselves to me like I actually mattered. Not to say that I don't matter, but lets face it, I am an intern.

The rest of the week was spent learning the tasks that I will be in charge of including transcribing interviews. I spent the whole day yesterday, 9:30-6:00, listening to every word of two different interviews and typing out what they said word for word. Lets just say I know both of the artists interviewed very well now. I was staring at their faces for so long, at the end I felt like I had adapted some of their mannerisms. Weird. Anyways, all in all it was a great first week.

My sister and my mom will be arriving tomorrow night after a 12 hour drive from Texas. One reason why I hardly ever go home. My mom is going to help us get the new apartment ready. This week, once again I have been a vagabond because my apartment has a bed with no bedding, a shower with no shower curtain, a kitchen with no glasses or plates, and the list goes on. She will be here for a week, and when she leaves I hope that my sister and I will have a place that we can call home, at least for the summer. Luckily, the condo I am moving into in August is completely furnished by my friend/future-roommate, and looks like it was decorated by an interior decorator.

Things are going to be alot different with my sister here, but I am excited. It will be nice to have a partner-in-crime for the summer, and to introduce her to all of the people and places that make up Nashville for me. Between that and my internship, it should be a memorable summer!

I Can See The Light

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Just two more days and school is out for the semester! I am so pumped. After Tuesday, I will have nothing to do until the following Monday when I start my internship at CMT in Production. I don't think I have had that much free time since I moved to Nashville in August.


This week has been a blurr. Their was a lot of early morning studying, deadlines and the added stress of what I like to call being a "vagabond." I am so ready to just be settled in to my own apartment where I can completely relax and call it my own. This week my roommates were painting the condo because they are going to sell it and buy a house. Therefore, the condo has smelled of heavy paint fumes the last few days and has been in a general state of disarray. So, I have been carting my trusty Vera Bradley overnight bag and my books back and forth to my Aunt's in Brentwood.

My Aunt Sharon's house was paint-fume free, but not loud, screaming children free. My cousin and her husband have been staying there the last couple of nights as well with their very enthusiastic 2 and 4 year olds. They are absolutely adorable. So adorable that even though I was trying to study for my finals, I couldn't help but smile when I would hear their feet scampering across the wood floors and their high-pitched voices screaming "Rachel!" at 6:00 in the morning. This morning as I was leaving, the two of them sat on the front porch waving goodbye to me as I pulled out of the drive way.

I left early this morning to meet my two cousins (roommate's brothers) for breakfast who came in town for the weekend. I couldn't help but think this afternoon after I got off the phone with my Aunt Prissy, "wow, I sure do spend allot of time with my family!" It is so funny because growing up, we really didn't spend that much time with the extended-family other than the holidays. Since Ive moved here, it seems as if Nashville is the heart of our family and I am completely consumed in it now. I think it must have all been a part of God's plan to bring me to Nashville, because I feel like my life has been so enriched by the relationships I have made with family.

Right now I am studying, but their is allot to look forward to. A week with no responsibilities or plans, and then I am moving into my new apartment next weekend! The following week my cousin is coming up to stay with me, and then my mom is bringing my sister up to stay for the rest of the summer! Once again, spending so much time with my family. Ha ha oh well! Goodnight.

I'm the Lucky One

It is Friday! This week was completely insane. Regardless, all I have to say is God is so good. I have been freaking out about who I was going to live with in the Fall for months now, and yesterday it all worked out. One of my new friends here has a condo that is right down the street from my condo now, and her roommate is moving out. It is still in Green Hills which I love, and I really love my friend. I think she will be a great roommate, and a really good influence on me.

I am still going to live in an apartment with my sister this summer, but then I will move into my new condo in August. I will have to sign a one year lease, and so that means...I am staying in Nashville after graduation. I had a feeling that would end of being the case, but now it is confirmed.

It is a really crazy feeling when you realize that God has you right where he wants you to be. At least it seems that way to me. I feel like when doors are opening left and right, you are on the right path. I came to Nashville to finish school, try out the music industry scene, and see how I liked it. Almost a year later, I have one internship at CMT under my belt, and I am looking forward to the next one. I have had the most amazing experiences, and met the greatest people. I feel very "in my element" here, and I really think I want to pursue something in the music industry.

Their have been some challenges moving to a new city. However, I wouldn't trade the experiences I have had for anything. Moving away to a new city and leaving your friends and family behind is tough, I am not going to lie. But if you can make it through the tough times, it is a growing experience and it makes you a better person in the end. What better time than your twenties, when you are not tied down, to explore and try out everything you ever dreamed of? I no longer have to write in my blog, but I think I will keep it up. It is fun to look back at previous entries and see how much has happened in just one semester.

Interesting article on the Quarter Life Crisis

What Just Happened?

What a whirl-wind of a weekend! It all began Saturday morning when I picked up my friend Ellen from the airport. She came in town for a fun-filled weekend in Nashville, and to attend the CMT Awards Monday night.

We went straight from the airport to her favorite restaurant in Nashville, The Puffy Muffin. We have a joke that every time she comes in town, everything goes our way. Nashville did not let us down when we received a full box of the most delicious cookies for the price of one. The lady there at the Puffy Muffin thought it was necessary that we try them all. After a full stomach of cookies, ginger tea and chicken salad I went to work for the rest of the afternoon and Ellen took a nap back at the condo. That evening, we went out to my Aunt Sharon's and watched SNL, and I took a bubble bath in my Aunt's Jacuzzi tub. It was very relaxing and just what I needed.

Sunday morning, we met some friends at 4th Avenue Church out in Franklin. The preacher gave a wonderful sermon about how important community is and how we are all a part of the same body in Christ. He talked about how we all have our own gifts and talents, and that we should love each other as we love ourselves because we are all apart of that same body. I thought it was such a great message, and it reminded me how much I need to appreciate my christian friends. After church we headed to Puckett's for a great lunch, and then we enjoyed pedicures, some time at the book store, and some leisurely shopping around the Hill Center. Sunday night, we picked up my friend Liz and all headed back out to Sharon's for movies and pizza.

Monday, we started out by going to the Pancake Pantry and then I took Ellen to see where I work at CMT. She was totally impressed considering she is a huge country fan, and watches CMT all the time. We met up with my cousin and his friends for lunch that afternoon, and then started getting ready for the CMT Awards! My sweet friend Hannah escorted her to the awards show because I couldn't go. I borrowed the greatest coat from one of my friends which thank goodness was not only stylish, but very warm. It was freezing outside the night of the Post Party, but my adrenaline also kept me pretty warm.

I knew that I was going to be "a clicker" which entails clicking a device every time someone walks into the venue. However, I did not know that I would be clicking right next to the red carpet at the VIP entrance. I got there at 9, and by the time I left at midnight I felt as if I had just had an out of body experience. I was standing there inside of the velvet rope, next to five security guys, headset on and being passed by all of the biggest stars in county music. What a dream. At one point, I took a bathroom break and went inside the party. As I walked through the crowds of executives and celebrities, I had an overwhelming feeling of "What am I doing here?! This is insane." It was insane in a good way though. I will never forget the experience, and I am so thankful that God opened the doors for me to have these awesome experiences.

This morning at CMT, I shadowed the girl who interned in Production this Spring. I got to sit in the control room, and watch a live 330 session. It was amazing, and I am so excited about this summer. As you can probably tell, this weekend was a little exhausting and I am still recovering. I love Nashville!

Unglamorous

It is Friday once again. The weather does not reflect the mood here in the building at CMT today. Outside it is dreary, rainy and melancholy. In here their is excitement, anticipation, and a bustling energy because the CMT Awards is Monday night!

I just received my duties for the Post Party after the awards show. The information sheet says "We encourage all staff to wear comfortable shoes. No heels or sandals." "There is no drinking of alcoholic beverages or participating in the party while you are working." Okay, so it doesn't sound that glamorous, but I get to stand outside and watch every celebrity walk through the doors to get their party on. That sounds pretty exciting to me!

This week is a blurr to me because it was filled with one deadline and responsibility after another. All in one week I have secured an apartment for the summer, and scheduled my classes for the summer and my last semester of school. Plus, school is really picking up because it is the end of the semester, and I have many assignments due including a 25 page paper for my Capstone in Communication class.

I plan on tackling some of that tonight, but once my friend from home arrives tomorrow morning, I am taking a break from this madness until she leaves Tuesday. It will be great. She already has a list of places she wants to go eat, and we are house sitting for my Aunt Sharon all weekend, so it should be a great time. I cant wait to tell you about Monday night! Until then, have a great weekend!

Spring Is Here

The wheather the last couple of days has been wonderful. Yesterday, you could feel the excitement in the air as everyone basked in the sunshine. Spring around here is unlike anything you could see in Texas. Their are these beautiful trees with white blossoms that billow like clouds in the wind. Streets are lined with these vibrant yellow bushes that I have never seen before in my life. Tulips that look fake decorate the front lawns of houses, and the green that covers the hills just makes you smile. Okay, I will stop with the corniness but it kind of takes your breath away and makes you say "I love Nashville!"

I got to enjoy the outdoors yesterday with a trip down to Franklin to meet some friends at 4th Avenue Church, which I love. I love the energy that church has. Their is allot of commotion through out the service, but it is not offensive. It just gives you the idea that everyone is excited to be there to come together and worship. Most of the service is singing, and they have a time where people in the congregation can gather and pray together. I was watching a group of people huddled together in front of me, and a few of the people were consoling this one lady. I was in awe of how close they all seemed, and how sincerely concerned they were about this woman. One of the women was saying "Ive been there.." and being very understanding and humble with the lady. I thought to myself that this is what church should be like. No one putting up fronts or being judgmental, people just coming together joyfully and being there for each other. I will get off my soap box now.

After church, we headed down the street to Puckett's. We ate green beans, sweet potato casserole, chicken with Cajun cream sauce, sweet potato fries and squash casserole. After that, I walked the Crop Hunger Walk with a friend at Centennial Park. She is always looking for things to get involved in to help people and causes. I really respect that about her. She found out about the walk on a website called Cool People Care. The website lets you know about good causes to get involved in in Nashville.

Today at CMT, we had the big reveal of the 4th floor lobby. It looks amazing, and my department should be very proud. It feels like you are walking into a day spa with its warm color scheme and low-lighting. I heard one of the employees who walked through say "I feel like I should be able to book a massage here." People are so busy with the awards show coming up next Monday, they should be able to book massages to de-stress. It is going to be a great show though. One of my friends from back home is going to come up this weekend and take my ticket to the show, since I have to work the Post Party. Poor me, ha ha just kidding. I will talk to you at the end of the week! :)

Oh Nashville

I woke up this morning and remembered...I never wrote in my blog! We are supposed to add new entries every Tuesday and Friday, and with all I had going on last week-I completely forgot. I hope that my professor will forgive me.

Last night a couple of the interns and I trudged through the damp Nashville wheather to eat at Jackson's downtown, and then we headed to a place called Station Inn to see one of the intern's friends sing. It was a singer/songwriter night, my favorite. Their were four women who all had wonderful voices, and all had an amazing talent for songwriting. The music was acoustic, and was kind of a mix between folk and country. The Station Inn is a little whole in the wall place, very "down home" Nashville with its intimate seating and old concert posters plastered all over the walls. The stage was very modest, and their was a bar in the back that served sodas, beer, and popcorn out of an old-fashioned looking pop-corn maker. The room was filled mostly with the singer's family and friends, so it was a very cozy show.

I found out yesterday that I am going to get to work the CMT Awards Show Post Party next Monday night! I am so pumped. I knew I was going to get two tickets to the Awards Show, but I really wanted to have an experience that I could only have as an intern. I contacted my friend who interns for Special Events at CMT, and she said "If you can handle not being starstruck, and can be well...(a b word), you can make sure people are on the guest list. It will be such great experience for me to see how a party of that magnitude is set up. I'm just going to have to make sure I don't have another tongue tied moment in front of famous people.

Right now I am working at Katie's Hallmark, and when I get off I am going to see my cousin in Lipscomb's Singarama. I hope everyone is having a great weekend, and I will talk to you soon!! :)