reasons to smile.

i am in Winchester for the day, and i thought i would make my weekly visit to Panera.

a guy that looked exactly like Jamie from To Write Love On Her Arms ( www.twloha.com ) just walked in to pick up a smoothie - i literally sat here staring with my mouth wide open. haha. that was crazy..

there is a man to my left with a broken left arm. someone asked if he was "the photographer", but he said no -  he was "the conductor" :). he explained to the table that his left arm is his conducting arm and that the orchestra has just recently finished a show. i'm still not quite sure how it got broken. a man from across the room came to introduce himself and prayed for a moment with the conductor. that made me smile - i felt like i was at home for a minute.

the conductor's wife looks terribly familiar, but i have no idea how i would know her..

there is also a lady with a hat on to cover her head with no hair. the hat is pink, as is most of her outfit. she makes me smile, too.

there are times that i wish i were home so badly. i do not feel alone here, but i feel that there are a lot of opportunities i am missing out on at home. not that God hasn't thrown about a million opportunities to me while i'm here.. i realize that you can't depend too much on people here, but you CAN try to make a difference.

i feel like i have a lot on my plate right now. i have an entire wedding to edit, work 5 days a week, an album that is long overdue, and a possibly broken air conditioner :(

i think it will waste my time to dwell on the bad stuff, so i will just have to work (and pray) really hard to get these thing done/fixed.

before i forget, i take a back road all the way to Winchester, which is conveniently named Back Creek Road. there is a monastery on the road, and i often see monks when i'm driving. they wear large orange robes and some have walking sticks. if i didn't know where they were coming from, i'm sure i would have freaked the first time i saw them. it's not quite what i would have pictured to find in the mountains and hidden roads of West Virginia. they always smile and wave. i saw a lady and a little bit farther down the road i saw a very dark tan man. i cannot place where exactly (in the world) he is from, but i am dying for a picture of him. he walks with a huge stick and places his arm out when i pass as a wave. i wonder if that is weird to ask for a picture..? hmm, we'll see.

in recent new:

- the Kenners are coming to Capon on Sunday!! finally - familiar faces. and it means that my family will be here the week after the Kenner family gets here. oh happy day. i will have a couple days off to chill with the family and spend time with friends again. i'm excited :)

- also, The Dark Knight was one of the best movies i have seen in about 5 years. good lighting, good actors, good EVERYTHING. i think Batman might be my new favorite superhero..

well, i think i will head to Petsmart at some point today. last time i was in there, a lot of people brought in their German Shepherds for some little class or meeting. i love seeing the little dog stuff. i am hopefully getting a Westie when i head back to Savannah. a Siberian Husky is my dream, but i can't imagine inflicting southern heat on that poor snow dog.