August- month of the concerts!

It's official...I am unemployed yet again! By choice of course. I have had several interviews, but nothing to write home about. Hopefully something absolutely wonderful will just fall into my lap shortly. That's totally how it happens right?! For some reason I'm not freaking out just yet. Perhaps it's the reinforcement from my friends, family, and co-workers that I made the right decision. Or maybe it's just my body going into a temporary shock by my steadily depleting bank account. Anyways, I digress....The REAL topic of this post is finishing up this 2011 recap. I am slowly realizing that this might have been an overly ambitious project.


August was one of those "all over the place" months. For some reason I decided that I needed to attend EVERY single live concert performance in the DC metropolitan area. That was a responsible way to blow my graduation money...


First started off with the last minute Taylor Swift concert. I've seen Taylor in concert once before and couldn't pass up the opportunity to see her again. If you've never gone, or enjoy being surrounded by middle school aged screaming girls, I'd highly suggest it. Her concerts are SO theatrical, she sounds fabulous, and is so overly appreciative of her fan base that you can't help but love her more. 

The next weekend I jet-setted back to Tallahassee for the first time since college graduation. One of my favorite (and craziest) sorority sisters, Stacia, was tying the knot in Biloxi, MS. We decided to make a 4 day weekend out of it and relive our college lives one more time. Stacia moved to England after the wedding with her hubby Chris, so I was so happy to spend time with her before she left.

I got to see my little while in Tallahassee which is always an added plus! :)

All of the ladies outside of our lovely Elvis casino hotel in Biloxi before the wedding

Stacia was the most beautiful bride!

The next concert on the list was Brantley Gilbert. Brandon had invited me with a big group including my roommate. It was definitely nothing too serious and I wouldn't even call it date-worthy. Nevertheless, I was extremely hesitant about accepting his invitation. Things were headed in a great direction, we talked all the time, and I enjoyed getting to know him. Of course, the little known upcoming country artist just happened to be my ex-boyfriend's absolute favorite-of-all-favorite country singers. I really didn't want to run into him since he isn't exactly one of the most even tempered or easygoing guys in the world. (Don't judge me, we've all made at least one monumental lapse in judgement in the dating department.) The last thing I wanted to be responsible for was a real life redneck smack down in the middle of DC. Especially with heartwarming, loving tunes of encouragement such as this one:

Luckily, the 930 club was packed with enough camo wearing rednecks that we steered clear of each other if he was there. Brantley is a badass and the concert was a great time. He has some pretty good slow songs too, if you know what I mean. ;) 

Just 3 short days later, Amanda, Anna-Kate, and I went to the Tim McGraw concert. You can't complain about a summer night drinking beer on the concert lawn, and singing along to his million classics. "Red Rag Top" gets me every time.

As I said before, things were going surprisingly well in the past couple months with Brandon. But eventually things came to a bit of a standstill. I was so used to the guys in college who strung you along for their enjoyment, but when it came to the point of any type of commitment they jumped ship. I hate that weird in-between time, and no one wants to have that "What are we?" talk. I call it "relationship limbo." Considering the time we spent together was solely in group activities, I started to think this was another dead end. But that is the great thing about having a roommate who is best friends with the guy you're talking to. Sometimes guys are a bit clueless or just need a hint in the right direction. Miraculously, a week later, we went on our first real date. 

He was still living at home at this point, so he came up on his half day and we decided to go to a restaurant within walking distance from my place. Even though we'd been talking for the better part of two months, I was still super nervous. I couldn't remember the last time I went on an actual date. Even though this was everything I wanted from him, I suddenly wanted to call and cancel. Don't worry, I didn't. He came up that afternoon. If he was nervous he never showed it. He's a pretty low key guy, which is one of the reasons I really liked him. We went to Chevy's mexican restaurant, sat in the bar, and stayed from early happy hour through closing. Despite my fears, it was so far from awkward. We talked about any and everything. The only semi uncomfortable part was getting up to leave after he paid, and the walk home. Right when we got outside he grinned at me, squeezed my hand and said, "Aw, we just had our first date!," in a silly joking voice. He still has this weird ability to sense whenever I'm nervous and put me at ease. I knew from that point that I had nothing more to be worried about. 

To round out this month, and to add one more wacky thing to my resume, Danitte and I participated in a huge flashmob at a convention downtown. Don't ask me how I come across these things, but the dance was simple to Bon Jovi's "Living on a Prayer." Although it was slightly mortifying, and included fireworks and smoke machines while we were center stage, we got paid over $200 and had fun with it. 

I miss summer, and am finally starting to have the desire to go to concerts again. Hope you all are having a lovely, unseasonably warm February week!

XO,

T