This week raced by quicker than a thoroughbred at the Derby.
Did that sound Southern enough?
Beautiful, isn’t it?
Monday was Memorial Day which I aptly took advantage of. About fifteen miles south of downtown Louisville is Jefferson Memorial Forest. It has numerous trails running through woods and hills and around lakes. I decided to hike the longest of the trails, the Siltstone Trail, which is 6.7 miles one way. However, I knew I wouldn’t be able to hike 13 miles, so I settled for seven, planning to go halfway and then turn back.
The hike was gorgeous, and boy was it a workout. The trail wound up and around a hilly landscape, hugging close to the forested slopes. My favorite parts were when I would come to the top of a hill: There it was sunnier and less dense. Sometimes, I swore it looked a bit like I was in the Enchanted Forest in a fairy tale (or Once Upon A Time). I was also acutely aware of birds and insects during my hike, wondering what the name of that bird is who was just calling and what kind of insect just flew past me. Frankly, I attribute this curiosity to my week in Nicaragua during spring break this past semester at MSU. There was both a bird enthusiast and entomology student on the trip, each of them rubbing off on me and resurfacing as I spotted green beetle-like bug and saw a bird hiding in the brush. In fact, the hike itself brought back vivd memories of Nicaragua and the red dirt trails and rainforests. Although Monday was probably just as hot temperature-wise as Nicaragua, the humidity and fact I was in shorts and a t-shirt versus pants and long-sleeved shirt was much nicer.
And frankly, I was glad I only hiked seven miles. I was hot and tired by the end. And sore for two days after. But it was absolutely stunning and was a reminder what a creative, beauty-loving God we have!
My very own desk!
In terms of Peake Media, it has really picked up. We have about a month now until the first issue of their second magazine called Box Pro launches, so it seems chaos is on the breach of taking over any minute. But I love it.
I’ve been writing stories, copyediting, taking care of social media, etc. However, for those of you who know me, I love videography. For those of you who don’t know me, I love videography. So we’re all on the same page now. Anyways, my assistant editor and two ladies from sales were heading to a new Orangetheory Fitness gym in town to try the workout. Seeing this as a good opportunity, I offered my camera services and was taken up on it. On Wednesday evening, I took footage of the entire hour workout, interviewing the owner, the trainer and a customer. My co-workers were great sports as I shot close ups of them sweating. The trainer did give me a hard time though, saying next time I would have to set down the camera and do the workout! Although I do love exercise, Orangetheory is intense. It’s one hour of nonstop movement broken into two segments: cardio and strength. I would like to try the rowers though; those looked fun, and they made a great shot for video.
By Friday morning, I had the piece cut and up. I am very thankful I was allowed this opportunity to go outside the box designated for me at Peake Media; I love doing stuff like this, and every time I do it, I yet again find confirmation that I am in the right field.
LOVE the sign!
That evening, I HAD PLANS WITH REAL LIVE PEOPLE! Several girls from bible study invited Carol (my housemate) and I out for dinner and a trolley hop (yes, you did read that right). Seriously though, I had plans with people. YES.
We went to El Mundo where the margaritas are delicious and the eating area is outside under a lean-to so close to a railroad track that when a train goes by your conversation must resort to yelling or silence, depending on your personal preference. After dinner, we hopped on the trolley. Louisville offers a free trolley that goes up and down a Frankfurt Street that has tons of shops, bars, food, etc. on the last Friday night of every month. We hopped off at an antique shop where, no joke, there was a box of old photos labeled “Instant Relatives.” An even greater find was a National Geographic Magazine from 1929 (unfortunately, I did not buy it)! It was fun walking around, laughing and talking with the ladies. To finish off the night, we went to Sweet Surrender, a cake/dessert shop where you must surrender yourself to the sweetness. And I did. I absolutely did.
On Saturday, I served for my second time at The Chocolate Bar and we were slammed. I forgot several things customers asked for, tied in a competition among the servers to sell the most martinis and ran around like a chicken with my head cut off. But I learned a lot, had fun and know I will do better next time.
Another fun fact about where I live: There are two malls five minutes from my house. And they are only a minute from one another. If an interstate wasn’t laying between them, they would literally be side by side. This is a new experience for a girl from Gaylord where the closet mall is an hour and a half away. So today when I went to the mall, it was strange only shopping for an hour. Before, the mall was an all-day experience, so it may take some time to wrap my head around.
Week three begins… wait for it… NOW. I cannot wait to see what the Lord has planned because I know it’ll be good. Peake Media is having their annual, company-wide meeting this week. I will potential being seeing some people I know from Gaylord. And I may or may not splurge and watch The Lego Movie tonight. Why?
Because everything is awesome.
Becoming 