Well, I did it. After an entire night of people encouraging me and telling me to get up and sing and play at Kofenya, I finally did it. I think there was more to it than me just getting up there.....I don't know. Seems like more was tied into it than just me singing and playing.....like stuff to do with fears and everything. Kara and a couple others even said they were praying for me. It was great. Here's how it went.

Alright, all these other people played before me, and I was extremely nervous and kept telling myself I wasn't going to play, and finally, it was 12:30. Nicole asked if anyone else wanted to play....no one responded. And she had talked to me a few minutes earlier, and so she said "Alright, Kim's going to come up and play a song. She's really nervous so don't look at her or really listen to her." hahaha Like THAT was going to work! But it was funny and helped ease my nerves a little. So I got up there, and people are still kind of talking and stuff, and then I start to play "Ohio." Just as I start, I see Doug walk in. :) Then, after just a couple lines of the song, everyone was like dead silent for the rest of the song. It was crazy. And after I finished, there seemed to be a roar of clapping. I think a lot of it was just people clapping for me because I overcame something that was really hard for me to do, but it was awesome. And then I really didn't know what to do with myself.....it was awkward.....haha....so I just kind of walked around and went in the back and waited for people to stop clapping. And then people LINED UP to tell me I did well. Lots of hugs and such. It was AMAZING. And then a bunch of people cleared out, so I agreed to play a couple more songs. That was much more relaxed because there were mostly just employees left. Oh, and I sang "Changes" with the "f" word in it, which was weird but cool......I gave a disclaimer first to explain why I felt it was important to use the "f" word. It turned out ok....just kind of weird to cuss in front of a bunch of people, but it's a little different when you are singing I guess. Then I just packed it up and headed out for the nite.

It was pretty awesome. I mean, I really feel like I faced some fears tonight, and I'm really really thankful to all my friends who kept encouraging me to play. I don't know that I will ever do it again, but it was a good experience. :) Oh, and sorry to anyone I didn't call to say I was singing.....it was mostly because I wasn't really sure if I would, or when I would, so I didn't want you to come all the way up there and then me not play. And also, thanks for the people who came to watch me play. You are amazing.

So I just found out that Kara and I are in a documentary about the Appalachian Trail. I was watching a DVD documentary about the trail hikers, and then there I was. Yep. I couldn't stop laughing. I had no idea, and then all of a sudden, I'm on the tv screen. And then Kara. And then a bunch of people I met on the trail. haha It was fantastic.

Well, today is the big TWO FIVE for Jason. Yep, my big brother is 25. Pretty sweet. Trying to reminisce: like the time he spun me around and threw me into the couch and broke my collar bone, or all the good times riding around on an intertube tied to his 4-wheeler in the winter, pulling the glass out from underneath while my dad was pouring him apple juice, when we used to spend entire days down at the creek (exploring, catching crawdads, building forts, and having "wars"), when he and Rusty pounded on a mustard bottle and splattered mustard all over the wall, when he used to tell me stories about Rusty's older brother burping so loud that it shook the house, playing "hot box" for hours on end in the front yard with "Lil Pfeif" and Spen on the slip and slide, when he got slammed into a bleacher during an auditorium event in high school when he got jumped by 3-4 seniors (I heard his head slam into the bleachers from where I was sitting), when he hit his first homerun in high school, when he would stick up for me in high school even though that probably wasn't a very cool thing for an older brother to do (cool for me, not for him), his old "do" that was the same hair cut from 2nd grade to probably 3rd or 4th year of college, how he loved me so much during a really hard time in high school....and even wrote me a 5-page letter, when he helped baptise me, when he used to lead worship, when he married the most amazing woman ever, and finally, when he got a ping pong table....haha. I'm sure if I sat here longer, I could think of many many more things, but I need to get off my rear. Anyway, he just got a ping pong table for his b-day, so here are a couple pics. Let me tell you, these are some intense games. INTENSE. And before the pics, let me end with saying I love my brother, and he's been a role model for me for a long time....someone I look up to because he is amazing. Couldn't ask for a better sib. :)

So, there’s some cool stuff going on in my life lately. Here’s an update:

-Erica is coming to Oxford from Iowa for 4 days and is staying here with Spen and I from Thurs-Sunday. YAY!!!!!!! I can't wait. :)

-After a conversation with Joe (a Kofenya co-worker), my desire to hike the AT and/or the PCT has been rekindled. And now...the way my life is, I can actually do it if I wanted to, since I haven’t found a full-time, salaried, benefited position (and haven’t really been looking right now). If I do it, I’ll probably leave in March. I might start looking into it. I’ll need to save a lot of $$ for gear, supplies, and information books. It probably won't happen, but I'm considering at the moment.

-I’ve currently picked up the hobby of reading Doug’s old livejournals. It’s great. I love it.

-Today is Kara’s b-day. She’s a quarter of a century old. That’s so awesome. :) I love her a whole lot. Lots and lots.

-I’m moving up in the world. I guess since I am a manager and have been working at the theater for so long, Doug has now granted me permission to bring up to 10 people on the Thursday nite showings of movies. He just popped it on me yesterday out of no where. You have no idea how excited I am. But, I also don’t want to take advantage of it. I’ll probably still try to stick to one person for the most part.

-I have recently become infatuated with the piano again. It was kind of lost to me for a while as I got into guitar, but now the fire is being rebuilt, and I love just hanging out here and playing songs, learning new ones, listening to CDs and figuring out the piano parts, etc. It’s wonderful.

-This Friday at 10pm, Kofenya is having an open mic night. I’ve been contemplating playing...maybe..I don’t know! It makes me nervous just thinking about it. But Nicole keeps telling me I should play, and I think it’d be a good stretch for me. I’m going to keep thinking about it.

-I bought another Over the Rhine CD today. That makes 5 OTR CDs total, and yet I own: zero. Interesting. Lol Well, besides a burnt one from a friend that I am trying to rid myself of.....oh, but it's so hard!!! :)

-Joe, Kathryn, and I are studying “Mere Christianity,” and the topic of evolution has come up a lot. So, I think I am going to do some research on evolution vs. creationism. If anyone has an resources or good input, let me know!

-I feel good today....that doesn’t happen very often lately. So, cool.

Highlight of my day: Getting off work at Kofenya and then going over to the theater to say hi to Doug, during which I got to watch Doug go crazy on our 8-foot cardboard posters as he punched Orlando Bloom in the face, knocked Kirsten Dunst for a loop and then stepped all over her, and ripped Cameron Diaz to pieces. It was one of the funniest 7 minutes of my life. Where was my camera when I needed it most? You really don't know Doug until you've experienced him having it out with one of our standees. I don't know too many bosses who jump, rip, punch, and fall all over cardboard posters at 2 in the morning. I feel priveledged. :)

Well, it's been a while since a real blog, so I will make an attempt at one. The last couple weeks have been crazy! I have finally started substitute teaching, which has been amazing! I really like it, especially subbing for gym class. Great fun! :) Makes me consider being a gym teacher. I think I have found a love for the middle school age group as well, so maybe down the road I will get a Masters in edu. But I'll have to take that dreaded test first if I want to do that....we'll see how things work out.

I also had my first official "performance" as far as music goes at a wedding this past weekend. Oh, I was sooooo nervous!!! I don't know if I will ever do that again, but I'm glad I did it. It was a good experience overall, but I just don't know if my nerves could take it. It was aweosme, though, afterward, because more than one person said something to the effect of "You sing so well! I could have listened to you all night long!" and then I also had several people ask me to play at the reception instead of listening to the music that was on. haha I didn't play, but it helped my confidence a little bit. By the way, here's a pic of what I wore to the wedding......


I actually WENT SHOPPING for the outfit, which I HATE and only happens about once every 10 years (ok...that's exaggerated a bit) because I have to buy such bigger clothes than I used to, and I can never seem to find anything that I like, and plus I am horrible at being fashionable, but it ended up ok, and the outfit was very comfortable so I didn't have that to distract me from thinking about playing and singing. Oh, and I got to hear Miss Christi play on the cello for the wedding, too, which is always such a treat. I think if we can find time, we might try to put together a couple songs to play for an open mic sometime at Kofenya. Christi, you need to hold me to this! ;)

Other things going on right now: I have a huge zit on my face which is making me totally self-conscious. lol But I'm dealing. I'm thinking a little more about my fiture and what I want/God wants me to to. I am buying a computer from a friend really soon, so I will finally have a lap top that is actually a lap top and not one that uses a computer monitor and so totally defeats the purpose of a lap top. This means I will be able to travel to Kofenya and get on the internet. YAY!!! I am now talking to a friend I haven't really talked to for a bit, and that's really cool. I'm reading Mere Christianity with two other people from work. It's going to be awesome.

OK, that's the fast update on my life. Oh, and lots of cool peeps have visited me at Kofenya, which makes me feel really happy. And I've been able to see Cathy and Andrea at the elementary, which is awesome. I forgot to tell Cathy how much I liked spending time in her classroom a couple weeks ago.

Alright, I need sleep. I'll try to post more often, and I hope to maybe start writing more songs and stuff.....maybe I will post those here if I feel up to it.