Exactly one week ago, Ryan and I were in or near Tennessee, about to stop for dinner. A few hours later we arrived in Greenville where we've been throwing papers and possessions around, trying to resurrect a semblance of our home. We now have each room in livable conditions with the guest bedroom as the last of true chaos. But even that eclectic explosion of belongings is coming to order.
In the past week, I've learned many seemingly small things at the time that are actually pretty huge. One is that I'm a passable freestyle singer. On Tuesday night I auditioned for a performance of 60s and 70s singing that will start rehearsals in March. It was clear right away that this wasn't your standard, "Ok, here's the tempo, now follow it as composed." I've never been good at following beats on my own to begin with, so just winging it with the piano was a challenge to my straightforward experience with singing. Anyway, as I was staring at the wall with undoubtedly crazed eyes, I just thought, "Hey, this man doesn't even know me and I CAN sing, even if I mess up a lot. So just go for it. What's the worst that can happen? Nothing. That's right. The worst that can happen is nothing happens. You don't get a part and so what?"
So I just followed along with "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire" and "Silver Bells." While I don't think I'll ever be comfortable with freestyle solos, I did fine and it was actually fun.
The night before that, I went to my first improv class for Alchemy Comedy and really enjoyed it. There were 14 people, along with the instructor, Wendy. Most of the class focused on the basics of improv, such as saying "yes" to each person's contribution to the scene and then giving an "and" to go with that person's line. We even had a whole scene where we had to literally say, "Yes (repeat person's line). And (add something to the scene)." This is a surprisingly hard exercise because, as with most in my generation, I often miss what someone is saying because I'm thinking of what I want to say! So, being forced to listen and watch someone else ironically makes it easier to contribute something, but first you have to overcome that egotistical turning of your mind that focuses everything on what YOU have to say.
Not to mention the difficulty of saying "and" instead of "BUT." It's surprising to find out there's so much negation in our regular lives. "Yes, you are going to the store to buy walnuts, BUT there's a terrible walnut epidemic on the rise..." instead of "Yes, you are going to the store to buy walnuts AND I'm afraid for your life because there's a terrible walnut epidemic on the rise." A small difference, but it shows a lot about language.
Then, for the first time since getting to Greenville, I just hung out with people. About half the class went to Barley's for pizza and drinks. It felt nice just to be out doing something with new acquaintances.
Another small/huge thing I've learned is that you will find so many lost items when you unpack thoroughly. Ryan's credit card went missing several months ago and while I was going through a random mesh bag, it just tumbled onto the carpet. Hooray! And going through Ryan's old birthday cards from years ago? Money! Which was funny timing, because just yesterday Canterbury took our security deposit because of stains my candles left on our old bathroom floor.
Last night, Ryan and I visited Second Presbyterian Church for a community meal and prayer meeting. I enjoyed it and will probably try out the women's group on Tuesday morning. If only we could have just packed up Northeast Christian and moved everyone with us...not that we've even been church-hopping long, but as someone who's only switched churches once, it becomes tiring quickly. I WILL say, though, that the two we've visited had intensely friendly and welcoming people, so that's encouraging.
Reading over what I've written, it could easily sound like I'm just championing this move and floating on clouds of new adventure, but really there's a lot of dead time where I have to force myself to get out (or up) and do things. Today was a little better, though, since I tried yoga for the first time and the movement helped snap my mind off of being bored. I'm far from addicted to yoga, but it's definitely a workout when done that intensely and I'll have the balance of a tight-roper if I stick with it like some of the people in my class.
Three other lessons from this past week: don't put orange peels in the garbage disposal, gluten-free bread is actually really good, and roads designed in curvy semi-circles are of the devil.
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