A Friendly Hello

Hello friends!

How have you been? Are you having a lovely summer? I'll be honest, I'm ready for the heat to abate some.  I'm just tired of sweating. It isn't ladylike. :)

Central Park at twilight

So, once again, I have let too much time lapse in between posts (I'm still blaming the fact that I don't have wireless internet at home. Would you ask Stephen King to write his next novel on his iPhone? Didn't think so.) This has been an insane summer for me. So much has happened and so much has changed.

In Which I Almost Became Homeless...

My boyfriend, James, came to visit me all the way from England

Long story short, my living situation got a bit tricky and I was trying frantically to find somewhere to go, only to end up... not moving. haha It was a little scary there for a while and I thought I might actually have to go to a shelter or something because I just wasn't sure how I was going to make it work. I am very thankful for my roommate and her generous hospitality in allowing me to be able to stay with her until I'm able to find another place for myself. (Hint: It shouldn't be too long)

In Which I Thought I Had Cancer...

I didn't really talk about this to that many people, but I found a small lump in my breast at the end of May, so this summer was a barrage of tests and doctor visits, as we tried to figure out what exactly was going on.  I'm very blessed to tell you that at this time, I do not have cancer.  My doctor wants to see me again in January as a follow-up, but he seemed to think that I had no reason for concern at this time. Thank the Lord!

One of my favorite places (and not just because it was in an episode of Doctor Who...)

In Which I Lost My Job... and Found a New One!

I got to have breakfast with The Bs and Angie!

So... I started working for S&P in January, with the idea that I'd be with them for at least a year's time.  I enjoyed working at S&P. I liked my co-workers. I love a challenge and this job was definitely challenging to me, so after months of training, I was finally on my own, when... my second half funding fell through. I was greatly disappointed. But God had another plan for me.  Only two days after I was put "on hold" at S&P, I was contacted by Sarabeth's Bakery to come in for an interview.  I interviewed with them the following day and was offered the job about two weeks later.  It was so much more than I had ever expected! When I moved to this city it took me months to find work initially and here I found something within days! God was so kind to provide for me that quickly.  It could have been so much worse. I've been at Sarabeth's for about a month now and I am enjoying it.  I have a great co-worker who I enjoy working with and working for Sarabeth is quite an adventure! She's lovely and so much fun!

Bonnie came to see me! Love that girl!

As for the rest of my life... I'm keeping fairly active with my church. Hanging out with friends, both old and new, and just trying to beat the heat! The humidity here is just awful. haha I miss my family and friends, but I am loving my life here and still can't believe that I'm living in the greatest city on earth! I spend a lot of time in Central Park. I finally visited The Met! and I'm walking all the time. Discovering new neighborhoods (or nabes as they refer to them here) and finding beauty in everything around me. I'm attaching some pics of my adventures for any who aren't on Facebook and want to see. :)

New friends and a trip to the Met's Rooftop Garden! Breathtaking!

Anyway, that's a basic life update. I'll try to update again soon. Just know that God is taking care of me and I am doing alright. Someday I'll have wifi and be able to update more easily and more often.

Much love,

♥ Rebekah xoxo

When Life Overwhelms You...

Hi friend!

Happy Wednesday. We've reached Hump Day. It's basically the END of Hump Day. We're halfway there! I don't know about you, but this last week and change has been a lot. I've felt pretty overwhelmed by life in general. 

I keep thinking "okay, God, let's be honest. I can't possibly handle anymore." And yet He keeps piling it on. Because I'm still not getting it. The fact that I'm saying "I" can't handle anymore means I'm still counting on myself to do it. And "I" can't. 

I know I'm not the only one who has a difficult time relinquishing control. It's not that I don't think God is able. It's just that I think I'm able, too, sometimes. That's when I get weary. That's when I become overwhelmed. Because you know what? I'm just not able. The only way I am is when I let Christ take the control. When I am weak, HE is strong. And I'm tired of being the strong one. Or, let's be real, TRYING to be the strong one. 

Tonight, I'm dwelling on these verses:

Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. (1 Peter 5:7 KJV)

But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows. (Luke 12:7 KJV)

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. (Psalms 91:1 KJV)

From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. (Psalms 61:2 KJV)

When I am struggling and life is uncertain, God is my certainty. He is my shelter and my refuge. He's brought me this far and He will not forsake me. ❤️

The One Where We Dyed Easter Eggs

You guys! My roommate and I dyed Easter eggs tonight! It's only amazing because I realized yesterday that I've never actually dyed eggs before. We always had them for Easter, but my mom always did them. (Thanks for doing that, Mama ❤️) So... It's time for me to be a grown up and dye my own Easter eggs! Hehe

First, I think I ought to confess to you that... I sorta cheated. Yes. It's true. I didn't do the traditional Easter eggs with so many drops of food coloring and the smell of vinegar permeating the entire apartment. I bought... Egg dye cups!

I found them at CVS for $1.99! They came with little dye tablets and cups for each color. Just add vinegar and tepid water. How cool are these?!

Plus, it came with a little egg dipper:

(Don't look at the egg. This one was cracked.)

The dye cups also came with a wax crayon that we could draw on the eggs with and make designs before dyeing the eggs.

Exhibit A: Roommate drawing on egg with aforementioned crayon.

Ready to see the finished product?

Tada!! I'd say my first forray into egg dying was an EGG-traordinary success! Too much? :)

Happy Easter everyone!!

Sights & Sounds

Hi!

I feel like I ought to introduce myself, considering how long it's been since I posted anything here. 

"I'm Rebekah. Welcome to my blog."

In all honesty, I really miss blogging. I could give you loads of reasons/excuses. But I won't. I will only ask your forgiveness, kind reader. Thank you ❤️

Today was a gorgeous day. I sat outside during my lunch hour. The air still has a chill to it, but the sun was out today. The kind of sun that soaks your skin and makes you feel warm all over. Almost like it's asking for your forgiveness for staying away so long and leaving you cold and grey. I am fairly reasonable, so I will consider it.

The river is alive today. I feel like alive is the only word that truly captures the essence of the river as it is. It sparkles with sunlight. It churns and chops as barges crawl past with their cargoes and boats go by brimming with passengers (read tourists). There is constant movement. The Brooklyn Bridge has its own glitter. Cars the size of my pinky nail trek across, going to and from Brooklyn. Glinting in the sun. From my office, later in the day, the Manhattan Bridge has a similar effect when the trains race below. A long streak of silver. 

The smells of this city are both new and familiar. It seems to be a heady combination of pizza, coffee, and street meat. And sometimes garbage. It all blends together to produce a scent that IS New York. Sometimes that's good. And sometimes that's bad. That's just the truth. 

As I sat by the river, watching the water and the tourists move past me with equal fluidity, I just enjoyed the moment. I let it wash over me like the sun and just let myself appreciate the unique beauty of this city and the beautiful gift of life and thanking God for allowing me to be a part of it. 

Happy New Year!

Hi friends! It's January 1! 1:17 a.m. as I type this, to be exact. I thought starting the year off with a blog post might be a good idea. 

How was everyone's Christmas? Merry and bright and all that? I hope so. Mine was sooo lovely. James Burling came across the pond to spend the holiday with me. We had a most fabulous time exploring the city and spotting all kinds of decorations. 

Grand Central Terminal (aka my happy place) on Christmas Day!

The most elaborate gingerbread creation I have EVER seen. 

Bryant Park. 

Macy's!

Larger than life decorations. :)

Manhattan Bridge in the morning sun. 

A Special Christmas train!

Lower East Side graffiti!

2014 was a difficult year for me--full of transitions; new people, new places, and new directions. But you know what? I'm ready to put 2014 behind me. I don't wanna look back. I want to move forward. I want to imagine better for myself and work towards that. 

I'm starting off on a good foot. For those who don't know, I was offered a year-long temp job that starts this month. I just got confirmation yesterday that all my background stuff came back fine (I wasn't worried. 😊) and now I'm waiting for the last approval. That should happen on Monday and then I'll start work middle of next week. I am SO excited!

As I've said, 2014 was really hard. But it's been a time of learning. I've learned a lot about myself and others. I've learned:

1. It's okay to ask for help.

2. Sometimes, no matter how much you don't want to, you just have to walk away. 

3. You don't have to attend every fight you're invited to. 

4. Forgiveness doesn't free the other person. It frees you. 

God has been so good to me. He's brought me this far, He'll bring me the rest of the way. It's been hard to let go and trust Him, but He hasn't failed me. I know He has my best interest at heart and there's a specific path waiting for me, even if I can't see what it is yet. The journey is bound to be amazing! 

Allons-y!

Three Months!

So, I've been in New York for three months (as of tomorrow).  Three months! The time has simultaneously flown and dragged by. Being here has been different than any other period of my life, for multiple reasons.

1. I'm living in an entirely different part of the country than I've ever lived in.  I grew up in Eastern Tennessee and spent the later part of my childhood in Southern Indiana, before moving to Florida for the blink of an eye, and then moving back to Indiana, to the Northwest corner.  The climate here is different.  The way people talk is different... 

2.  I'm nowhere near any of my family.  I think this is a good thing.  Not that I don't love my family.  I do.  But for the first time, I'm on my own. I'm making decisions for myself and I'm finding out where I stand for myself.  It's a time of self-discovery and a time of learning to depend more on God because the familiar people/things I relied on at home are nowhere around.

3.  I've been job hunting ever since I arrived.  Real talk: Job hunting is exhausting.  It's exhausting to look through tedious job postings.  It's exhausting to keep applying and not hear anything back.  It's exhausting to go to interviews and try and put your best foot forward and it's exhausting to hear back that they're "going in another direction".  I end up feeling like Anne Shirley.  Seriously.

"If I was very beautiful and had nut-brown hair, would you keep me?"

I know the right job is out there. Maybe it's the one I interviewed for onTuesday.  Maybe it's a different one. It's hard to wait, but it seems that's where I'm supposed to be right now. Waiting.

 

Anyway, these are my musings upon three months in the city that never sleeps.  My laptop is dying, so this is going to get wrapped up. :) Take care my friends!

Addendum: I'm using my phone app to wrap this up properly. Three months in the city. I'm still here, and things are different, but I'm okay! God is still good to me. Things could be so much worse. 

♥ Rebekah

Easy Come, Easy Go

Hi friends! I decided to try out the blogger app for my iPhone. We'll see how this works. 

I had a job interview today. Nowhere fancy; it was at Radio Shack. Hashtag a job is a job. But I digress.

Earlier this week, I went to quite a few local businesses inquiring about work, picking up applications, etc. I stopped in at Radio Shack. I asked to speak with the manager and when he came out, I handed him a copy of my resume and references and asked him if they were hiring. He asked me what experience I had and what I was looking for. I told him. He seemed interested in meeting with me. Yay! 

He asked me if I would fill out an application online, take a few tests, and call him on Wednesday. I said I would and left posthaste to head to a wifi spot, so I could tackle the application and tests. 

Wednesday rolled around and I called the number he gave me early in the afternoon. "Oh he's not here yet.  He doesn't come in until 4." Ooookay. I guess I'm calling back. So, when 4 rolled around, I called back and spoke with the manager again. I reminded him of who I was and that we had spoken. He seemed pleased when I told him I had finished the online process and asked if I would come and meet him at 4 on Friday afternoon. Sure!

Now we're at today. Today I got ready and headed down to Radio Shack. I got there twenty minutes early and loitered outside until just before 4.  I confidently walked in and asked for the manager by name. "Oh. He's not here." He isn't? "No.  He went home already." Umm what? Seriously?

Okay. Deep breath. No big deal. Except the manager who was there had no idea who I was and seemed less than thrilled to have me on his hands.

He decided to proceed with the interview   He asked me what I'd been doing since I moved to New York. I told him. I explained my reason for moving and gave him a copy of my resume. 

Then things took a downward turn. He asked me what I had to offer the store. I told him I'm outgoing and friendly, I am a fast learner, good with technology, and dependable. All qualities you would expect to find in someone who works at Radio Shack. He apparently didn't like my answer because he asked me the exact same question again and as I had already answered him, I had nothing new to say. Awk-ward...

Then he asked me what my vision for Radio Shack was. I'm sorry. But it's RADIO SHACK. I wouldn't be CURING LUPUS! No, I didn't have a vision for the company. I don't even remember what I said, only that I stumbled through it. 

Last question: Do you speak any other languages? We're looking for someone who speaks Greek. Strike three. No, I don't speak any other languages. Should I just show myself out, or...?

Honestly, this was the worst interview I've had since I came here. I'm not sure I wanna work for a store where the management aren't good at communicating with each other, or, you know, actually showing up for appointments. 

On the upside, I have an interview in the Financial District on Tuesday afternoon for a better job that would be in my field. It can't be any weirder than the one I had today. 

❤️ Rebekah