Daydream, I walk along on air

Posted on by Carla Jean Whitley

Somehow when I get in these daydreamy-romanticizing-life kinda moods, I find myself at Starbucks with $5 worth of food and drink before me. Never mind that I was on my way home to read a book and cuddle with my cat over a cup of coffee. I’ll probably still do that. But an iced toffee nut latte struck my fancy, and my stomach cried out for a scone. So here I am.

I have a notebook meant to be kept in my car for moments like this, when the urge strikes and I’ve got to transfer my thoughts to paper. It’s the perfect pad for this occasion—its cover proclaims “Chocolate, coffee, and men are so much better when they’re rich.” Alas, I sometimes carry that spiral bound to me inside to copy down the words I’ve inscribed, and inside my house is where it now resides. Today’s ramblings are just as at home on the back of my receipt.

I have nothing particular to say—that’s one of the drawbacks of unemployment. A quiet life split between the T.V., computer, crosswords and books doesn’t leave much to share. My pen moves now more from habit than need to communicate information.

Faith can answer Thy demands by pleading what my Lord has done

Posted on by Carla Jean Whitley

Yes, and I must, I will esteem
All things but loss for Jesus’ sake
Oh my soul be found in Him
And of His righteousness partake

I don’t cry a lot over other people’s relationships. In fact, I think I’ve only cried over two relationships besides my own (with the exception of weddings, of course–those don’t count). But on my way home tonight, I was definitely tearing up.

It’s a humbling thing to observe love between a man and a woman. I like to think it doesn’t really exist, though I know that’s not true. (I think the root of that is more in believing lies about myself than anything–but that’s an entirely different blog entry. Every once in a while, things aren’t about me.) It does me good to see that real men do exist, and though they sometimes make mistakes, there are men who are pursuing godliness.

I can’t tell you how much respect I have for that.

I’m all dressed up and ready to fall in love

Posted on by Carla Jean Whitley

It was 38 degrees out when I left for work this morning.

You know what that means. I grabbed my favorite wool coat, leather gloves (so I wouldn’t hurt my hands on the cold steering wheel) and walked out to brave the day. It was wonderful.

Better still… it means I need to buy new shoes. 🙂 How can I face the winter in pumps and slingbacks? I need some high heeled boots!

Sometimes I’m allowed to be frivolous and girly, okay? 🙂

Relevant is my blog

Posted on by Carla Jean Whitley

I’m in a hurry to get things done…

…and as a result, I probably won’t be updating here for at least a week.

In the meantime, here’s a few reads to keep you busy. See? I have been writing–just not for you. 😉

Read all about the joys and tribulations of my job search

Learn how Derek Webb created one of my favorite “Christian” CDs.

Celebrate my love of all things coffee (well, except mochas–yech!).

Enjoy my ranting and raving about college football (and overlook a small factual error… I’m so embarrassed. To my credit, I did look it up beforehand… I just did a crappy job of verifying. OOPS! Doesn’t change the point, though…)

Marks of unprofessionalism in the world

Posted on by Carla Jean Whitley

Dear Andrea,

Thank you for submitting for resume for our Copy Editor position with our magazines…

I ripped open this letter, assuming it would be a rejection from a job somewhere. What I didn’t expect was that they didn’t bother to update their form letter with my name–and that they clearly needed a copy editor to proof their correspondence!
____________________
In other unprofessional behavior news… so my car is gimp right now and I’ve had to drive 50 mph (or less) everywhere I go. The other night, I was cruising along in the far right lane on the interstate when an 18 wheeler pulled up behind me. Rather than simply going around (as there was plenty of room to do), the driver sat right up on my rear and turned his brights on.

Too bad I didn’t think to get the “How’s my driving?” 800 number when he finally passed me.

I’m a model, you know what I mean

Posted on by Carla Jean Whitley

and I do my little turn on the catwalk…

Oh, wait. There won’t be any catwalk involved–this is print modeling. But tomorrow will be my modeling debut (and probably my last experience as a model, as well!).

It’s not real modeling–no one picked me out of a crowd and demanded I pose for them. But the mag I work for needs another person to model fur coats for our December “In Style” section… so I’m it!

I figure it’ll be a fun new experience–and hey, something else I can put on my resume. 🙂

Don’t tip the boat over

Posted on by Carla Jean Whitley

It felt a little funny to cast my vote several weeks before election day arrived, but I did so with pleasure. I felt a small sense of pride as I raised the flag on my mailbox. Because I’m registered in Florida, not Alabama, I feel like my vote counts a bit extra.

Though I may stand a bit taller today because of the impact my vote can make, I’ll do so with my eyes lowered whenever I pass someone with an “I voted” sticker. Can’t they send a sticker in the mail with your absentee ballot? I did my duty; now I want my reward!

😉 It’s gonna be an interesting night.

It don’t matter if you’re black or white

Posted on by Carla Jean Whitley

I’m reading Pledged: The Secret Life of Sororities (Alexandra Robbins) right now, and it’s prompted thought on several different subjects. I’ll probably write more about those later, but I have a specific tidbit to share with you now.

It figures that the University of Alabama has to be mentioned in this book. As usual, it’s bad (but accurate!) press. The author interviewed Melody Twilley, a black girl who went through rush-twice-without receiving a bid. This was old news to me-it’s received extensive media coverage, both in the student paper and larger papers nationwide.

Alabama finally integrated by accepting a black girl into a traditionally white sorority in 2003. What shocked me was this: according to this book, we were the last university in the nation to do so.

I don’t know how accurate that is. It seems it’d be hard to verify that with every other university, given their ubiquity. But let’s assume that it’s accurate. That’s yet another reason to be embarrassed to attend the school I am otherwise so proud of.