"Good 'ol Rocky Top..."

So... lots of states have unofficial theme songs.

New York- "New York, New York"
Alabama- "Sweet Home Alabama"
Texas- "Deep In The Heart Of Texas"

California's been serenaded by everyone from Tupac to Phantom Planet. One of Ohio's odes got remixed by the entire cast of the Drew Carey show... there are all kinds of unofficial theme songs. They get played at football games, sometimes at concerts too.

I wasn't even aware Tennessee had an Unofficial Theme Song until I moved here and everyone knew the words but me. It was like my first ACU Chapel all over again!

Tennessee's U.T.S. is "Rocky Top"-- and because I haven't heard it my whole life-- I think it's adorable. It's so catchy! And I still find it really novel because I'm fairly sure everyone in Nashville knows the song except me.

UT (TN, not TX-- even though they're both orange and represented by big T's.) uses it as their fight song, and at any major city events, the folks in charge end up playing it over a loudspeaker. The Franklin cloggers practice dancing to it on the steps of city hall, artists cover it at concerts, and anywhere it makes an appearance, *a sing-along ensues.

And I secretly love it. :) Know why?

Eecause every time it comes on, life turns into a musical. Everyone knows the words, and everyone sings along. (Of course after visiting the dueling piano bar this weekend, I've realized that the same thing tends to happen with "Ice Ice Baby" and also any hits by Michael Jackson or Bon Jovi... but Rocky Top still has sort of a wider appeal... in TN at least.)

Anyway, I'm happy my new state at least has a catchy U.T.S.... "Music City" oughta know a thing or two about writing a hook.

*This is not the best or most complete version of the song... but it's how it usually sounds when I hear it. :)

Si, Bailar!!!

Yesterday was no ordinary Jueves.

After Bible study, I put on a swishy black skirt. I pulled my hair up and put on sparkly earrings. I put on my silver heels, which happen to be the tallest heels I own... I think. (And it was okay because the friend I was headed out with is like 6'3 or so.) And I went to get my salsa on.

Not like Mexican cuisine. No, this was Ibiza, a local salsa dancing joint.

It was amazing. So many people there were great dancers! It was slightly intimidating, but I'm infatuated, and I want to be muy bueno at it! We'll see how it goes... I think they give free lessons on Thursday, Friday & Saturday nights... :)

And I made a new friend! Santana. Named after Carlos. He was a fabulous dancer. And he works for WorldVision. And likes switchfoot. Amigos? I think so!

I worked all day today. It was aight.

But at Bible study, I also found out that tomorrow, I get to go school supply shopping, for an unnamed local immigrated *baby who can't afford a proper Trapper Keeper or the 96 Box of Crayolas. I am SO excited. This kind of shopping trip comes in second only to shopping for my annual **Shoebox Baby.

So it's been a good week, I suppose! Hopefully this pattern will continue.
And now, some tiny, random movie reviews.

Pirates 3
While a big part of me loved the ridiculous inconvience of the Swann/Turner nuptials, the ending of this movie is ridiculous. There is no way I'd be cool, chillin out on an island for 10 years, raising a kid by myself, waitin on his Daddy to show back up. And where's little 9 year old Liam gonna go when Daddy gets back?! How do you split one day between the love of your life and the child you've never met?! No thank you. It stresses me out just thinking about it.

The Fountain
If you really, truly, genuinely loved this movie-- I wish you'd tell me why. Really. Especially if it changed your life. I'd like to know how. Because it didn't do anything for me. Not one thing. Sorry. I've heard rave reviews for the soundtrack, and I can get behind that. But the film itself, while sort of pretty at parts, mostly struck me as a forced, despe...(read more)rate, somewhat esoteric attempt to be tragically romantic and intensely meaningful/profound. I can't recommend it. Go watch the sun rise (or set) from the top of a mountain or very large hill... or maybe a lake. It's a better use of your time...

And that is all. For now. :)



*I call nearly everyone a baby who's more than two years my junior. Two years or less, and you're a kid. And I mean it all in the most affectionate way. :)

** Angel Tree Child that you adopt from church or the mall at Christmastime.

And I Didn't Put On Makeup All Day.

Eventful couple of days...

Following my double shift, I partied with, not like, a rockstar... or two. Cary Barlowe's 25th birthday extravaganza was also the perfect excuse for me to try to rock a mohawk, similar to one I'd seen on Shear Genius. I wore a casual/semi-formal black & white dress with black plastic earrings and Chucks. And my hair in a pretendalmost mohawk. It was really fun. :)

Today? I ate cereal. And I mowed the lawn. Sure did. It looked a hot mess. Not to mention we were finally forced to do something about it because-- well, wait, let me back up.

To Clint. Clint (my next door neighbor who I prayed with in the flowerbed) is doing well, all things considered. Remember how I wasn't sure he'd even remember our exchange? Well, he did, and he wrote me a letter from jail, thanking me for encouraging him. It was wonderful. He asked if I'd write to him, so of course, I have. If you want to know more about this, talk to me. But whatever you do, don't worry. I'm not crazy and I know how and when to be careful. :)

But basically through the course of our correspondence, I told him about the epic disaster that was our front lawn, and joked that the Homeowners Assoc. was going to evict us if we didn't get it under control soon.

Thursday morning, the Homeowners Assoc telephoned Holly to tell her that we had till Thursday to get that under control-- or get fined. Yikes. Calling of several lawn companies ensued (some for the second or third time!), but no one could get here as quickly as we needed them. So Kish & I decided that tomorrow, since we're off most of the day, we'd go ask our neighbor Leah (Clint's grandma) to borrow her mower.

Lo and behold, an hour after Kish left for work, Leah shows up at our front door. She thanks me for writing/encouraging Clint and said that if we ever needed to borrow her mower, it was all ours. She also mentioned that it was Clint who told her we were gonna get kicked out if we didn't mow soon, and also he who suggested that she volunteer her mower.

God is so cool. :)

So we (Heather & I, at the time) borrow this pretty incredible "push" mower that turns on with a key and rolls itself. I mowed the front and the back and we chopped up all kinds of weeds and hedges. Our yard is no longer a sordid and unkempt. It actually looks rather fabulous now, if i do say so myself. :)

Not to mention, we got to hang out and talk with Leah for the hour and a half or so that we worked outside. Leah is 65 and beautiful, standing in her yard, watering her grass in her shorts while drinking her glass of white wine. :) Love it. She helped us pull weeds and when we were done, she let me take Mojo for a walk! He was a very good boy, and Leah said I could walk him anytime I wanted. Leah's a sweet woman, very strong too. So interesting, the way God is weaving these various stories together.

Also just wanted to mention that I have not one, but three very fabulous roommates. I just adore them all so much. They're wonderful.

It was a very nice day. :)

That Song's Annoying, But Oh, So True.

It blows my mind how small this town is. The whole LOST/Seven Degrees of Separation thing is entirely possible. Especially here.

Let me tell you a very windy story. Bear with me.

The very first time I toyed with the idea of moving to Nashville was after the first time I worked the merch table at a Jeremy Camp concert in Abilene, TX. I made friends with Danny L., the merch guy, and ended up helping him with several shows over the next few years.

Danny L. was my first show, Dayna was my fourth. She was the WorldVision rep at a Nichole Nordeman show. Very sweet girl, passionate about Africa, and at the time, she was about to begin managing a new artist; a friend of hers named Harrison Hudson. She was also a resident of Nashvegas. Everyone I ever spoke to about moving to this place made it seem like the place to be. Talking with Dayna also inspired me to seek out an internship with WorldVision—which would have taken me to Federal Way, Washington rather than Nashville. Nevertheless, I started researching the interview process.

But then there B-Haley. He was my fifth or sixth show… I think. B-Haley is Tobymac's drummer. After hangin out with him and Jesus after WinterWonderSlam in 2005, I was re-convinced I needed to at least visit Tennessee.

So I did. On Spring Break, B-Haley took Kish, Holly & I by the studio—where we met Toby, David Mullen and a new artist named Nate Huss (who's album was later produced by my friend Jamie Moore). After hearing from David two weeks before graduation, I terminated my application with WorldVision to jump in to life at the Co-Op Studio, which is where I ended up spending the vast majority of last summer.

(On that Spring Break trip, at the Flying Saucer, the girls & I met a guy named Steven. He and Kish exchanged numbers and we bumped into him several times after moving here, nearly six months later. Two weeks ago (at a Luna Halo show, where we were out supporting our boy Barlowe), we ran into him again and he was able to get Kisha into the venue even though it was packed AND we were out of cash. Crazy.)

Now that I've been here a year, things have evolved. I've sorta kept up with Danny L. and I ran into him at the Flying Saucer about a month ago; he and Jeremy Camp recently parted ways and Danny L. now does merch for Switchfoot (my favorite!). A guy named Adam, who used to frequent my Starbucks and also used to work at a different Starbucks in town (alongside a friend of mine (Daniel Allen) from the MLBC youth group), is now doing merch for Jeremy Camp.

Adam is also friends with my Aussie mate, Swanny, who hangs out with my girl Stephanie Smith (who is signed with Gotee and sings the song "Superstar" that was on my myspace profile forever). That song was also produced by Jamie Moore, who runs in the same crowd with a guy named Kadar, who I met at a different Luna Halo show.

So last night while I was out with Kish, Holly, Swanny & Stephanie, I ran into Kadar & his friend Danny (NOT Danny L.) at the Flying Saucer, only to find that Kadar is on tour drumming for Nate Huss and Danny is a guitar tech for Relient K (who are also Gotee kids, AND about to go on tour with-- guess who? Switchfoot. Of course. :) ) P.S. Danny also guitar tech-ed for Casting Crowns when they came to ACU with Nichole Nordeman in 2005. I was working the merch table at that show too.

So last night at the Saucer while talking to Kadar and Danny, the conversation turned to my future aspirations. I mentioned my heart for writing, for Spanish and for impoverished children. Mentioned that I almost moved to Washington to work for WorldVision, inspired by a girl I met on the concert circuit in Abilene.

While I was talking to Danny & Kadar, a guy came up and sat down to talk to Kadar. Shortly after, a girl came up to say hi to the guys, and I started thinking-- she looks really familiar. It takes me a minute, but it clicks.

It's Dayna. From WorldVision. And the guy with her, talking to Kadar? Harrison Hudson.

I'd talked to her on myspace since I met her in Abilene, but never consistently. But when I reminded her, she totally remembered and was shocked and gave me a huge hug and introduced me to Harrison.

Unbelievable. :) I love stuff like that!

Not to mention it makes those LOST connections seem a lot more probable. :)

In short:
The world is tiny.
Shows are a great place to network.
And if you spend enough time at the Saucer, you will run into everyone you've ever met.

"How bout the Big Tippers?"

"I like it!" :)

Remember that "prowling grounds for an untamed tongue" bit? Well, it's not gonna be that bad. But here comes a big ol' sudsy soapbox. Get ready, I haven't been here in awhile.

Okay. You won't find this explicitly in any scripture, but since becoming a waitress, I have recently reached the conclusion that we, as followers of Christ are called to be many things—one of which is good tippers.

That's right. Yes, it depends on the restaurant and the level of service, but as an adult, you know the difference between good service and bad service—and good tips and bad tips. I understand that the amount of the tip should match the quality of service, but there is a bottom line, and as a current "professional server", I'd like to make you aware of it.

I'm not saying you have to be an extravagant tipper, (unless of course you want to be. That's a calling in itself and a tremendous blessing if you are willing and able.) but when you go out, especially to a fine dining establishment, you need to factor in at least a 20% tip when you're deciding how much you can spend.

As believers, I think we have a real opportunity to be blessed and to be a blessing every time we venture out to eat. God calls us to be cheerful givers. Your pastor probably reminds you of that every Sunday. But, it's really true. You might not really think about it, but when you've received gourmet food and quality service, I think the amount on your tip line is directly correlated to your level of common sense AND your level of faith. Clearly, if you're not financially stable, you don't need to throw your dough away (or be blowing it at fine dining establishments). But think about how much money you burn in a week's times on superfluous, impulse buys. God provides you with money for stuff like that. And we all take it for granted. But add that stuff up and divide it by the number of times you eat out at places where you're required to tip in a week? You've got more than a couple of very nice tips. Give or take $5, chances are, you're not even going to miss it.

I'm not saying this so much for me. I always give my best to my customers, and if I have a crappy section, or a bad night, I don't flip out and curse humankind. That's just how the business goes. Regardless of how much I have to tip out the bartenders and the server's assistants (even when it does hurt), I know that God's going to use the people at my tables to provide for my ALL needs. He always has, and I don't believe He's going to stop now.

But unbelievers are a different story. My point is simply this: Beloved, every time you tip, you have an opportunity to be a very tangible blessing and an encouragement. And if you are blatantly Christian (i.e. praying over your food) AND stingy, I can PROMISE you, you are being judged. And the image of Christ is being judged right along with you. The church has a bad enough rep already. As a server who is also a believer, I entreat you to seek to break these stereotypes, encourage unbelievers and, honestly, just brighten someone's day. If you've ever served before, you understand how one unexpected generous tip can turn your whole day around.

Speaking of judging, let me throw out a couple of rather unscientific facts…

Stereotypically, senior citizens, women, teenagers and church goers are the worse tippers. Any career server will tell you that.

With seniors, sometimes you expect it a because they come from a time when things were a lot cheaper and tipping ten percent was the norm. Then again, sometimes, they totally surprise you. (That goes for all these groups, really. There are always exceptions.)

Women often come in (occasionally in larger groups) spending money that their husbands/boyfriends have given them, (i.e. they don't want to spend too much of it and get in trouble) so they skimp on the tip at the end of the meal because they don't think it's that big a deal and somebody else will cover the majority of it because after all, they are just one person and they only had water with lemon and a salad!

Ahem... sorry. This happens most often at lunchtime.

Teenagers sort of have an excuse too. They don't know about money, they don't understand finances, and they generally don't have any bills to pay. Unless they're servers too or they have brothers and sisters who are servers, they'll probably throw soy sauce or ketchup all over the table and they'll ask for 25 lemons and more bread and ranch dressing and extra pickles and then probably leave you $20 on a $18.73 tab. Just like babies throwing food on the floor, it's sort of to be expected. (Which is why we encourage teens to dine in groups and thank the Lord for auto gratuity.

But church goers? We don't have an excuse. It's just pure unadulterated cheapness. It's bad enough that servers have to skip church to work on Sunday morning to make ends meet, but then you leave an 8% tip after we had to clean up your child's urine TWICE?!?! (That was an extreme circumstance that one of my friends had to deal with on a Sunday morning.) That doesn't even make sense. If anything, our servers should know we are Christians by our love, our patience, and our generosity. Granted, your server has a responsibility to be timely, polite and to answer have any questions you may have while you're dining, but there's nothing quite like being monetarily rewarded for your efforts.

However, for the non-church going or non-Christian servers reading, lemme spit a bit of ugly truth atcha; Honestly, the majority of church-goers eating at your table on Sunday afternoons don't tithe either. If they're not cool with giving God 10%, they're probably not gonna leave you 20%.

(Christians: Burn. I know. But it's true. Trust issues, much, people of God? (Myself included!!!) But think about it… has He ever really left you hangin' with nothing? I doubt it. Jesus is definitely faithful enough to be worthy of 10%. And that's a LOT more important than my 20% tip. You might need to pray about that. Not tryin to be funny or judgmental… just sayin'…)


Also, this notice to Nashvillians:

If you work for a Christian record label, or are in anyway affiliated with a Christian artist, or if you are even seriously involved in a relationship (business or pleasure!) with someone who is affiliated with a Christian record label or artist—you are dubbed/assumed to be a Christian. And therefore a representative of Christ. Non-believers in the food service industry look at you and your bad tips and go "Those damn Christian/church-going people are so freaking cheap!" I promise that's what they say. I hear it multiple times a week. And many times, they are entirely validated. (My friend who had to clean up the pee? Twice?! And then got shafted?!? They were "church people". It was Sunday lunch, so it was more obvious. Fortunately, he's a true Christ-follower himself (not to mention a father), which was probably the only reason he dealt with the situation as well as he did.

So I know that's a lot… but keep that in mind, Theophilus? Next time you're fillin' out that tip line. It means more than you think it does. Thanks for listening...