The one about Positive Thoughts

So lately it seems everything I touch turns to crap. My car and computer are a testament to that. The car is fixed (praise the Lord!) and hopefully my computer will be fixed too. I just have NO idea what is even wrong with it! Yesterday I called my mom and just bawled my eyes out because nothing is going anywhere. I can't even say nothing is going according to plan because it implies things are at least going in some direction, but they're not lol. But sometimes all you need is a good cry to be like, okay, got that out of my system, now I can focus on what I need to do. 

When everything in your life seems to be in disarray, the small glimmers of something good are actually like huge beacons of awesomeness. One of my favorite actors is Matthew Gray Gubler from Criminal Minds. Matthew is so awesome that this week he gave away T-shirts he designed himself to fans who wrote in what good deed they would do to improve the world. I was just amazed that someone (who isn't a boy scout or girl scout leader) would spend their time and money for the sole purpose of encouraging people to do good deeds- and I told him as much on his myspace page. I don't normally go around writing on celebrities myspace pages but he's different and I wholeheartedly believe that if you think a positive thought about someone, even if you don't know them, that you should tell them, because it can make someone's day (and they may really need that). Anyways, to get the whole story, I guess I have to show you what I wrote, so here is the comment I left him:

      
You're so awesome it's intimidating. If I ever saw you like randomly in real life I'm fairly certain I'd be too awe struck to do anything. Like who gives away free stuff to encourage people to do good deeds? Only really really awesome people, that's who. I like to think there are a lot of good hearted people like you in the world but we just don't know it because most of them aren't famous, ha, no offense if you have famous friends who are as equally awesome as yourself... I'm guessing if you're friends with them they are pretty rad. Anyways, I would say you give celebrities a good name but I feel like calling you a celebrity is like a down-grade because you're much more than that, you're a great person and I wish you ALL the happiness in the world and if you ever leave Criminal Minds, please give me fair warning so I can mentally prepare, especially if you die on the show ever I'll be in mourning cuz Dr. Spencer Reid kicks butt!

You can think I'm a nerd if you want, I am a nerd! I wasn't expecting a reply whatsoever, I honestly wasn't even sure if he'd read it because people are constantly leaving comments. So when I woke up this morning and saw in my email that I had a new comment to approve from MATTHEW GRAY GUBLER, I just about died, of happiness of course. 

Here is what he wrote (it's pretty much already framed on my wall, hahaha I AM kidding!):

thank you for the nicest compliment i have ever received.
you are too kind.
Happy end of September!

And that, my friends, makes my day and proves that it IS a good idea to tell all people, even random people you don't know, your positive thoughts about them haha. With that said, if I haven't complimented you lately, I'll work on it because each and every one of you have qualities in you that are admirable and amazing and extremely worth praise and I'd never want any of you to think otherwise or even doubt it for a second. On that note, I have to do some brainstorming for story ideas for a music video that I'm not officially working on and won't even be paid for if I do, but hey, it's a start. Wish me luck!

The one with my trip back to Disney

With my lack of a job and my car at the shop, the timing couldn't have been more perfect for a quick trip back to Disney World to have some fun and pick up a few shifts at the Emporium so I can keep my status as a seasonal cast member! Jon and Shanelle had been planning this trip for a while and were very gracious to invite me along for the fun.

Saturday morning, I had my job interview (for real this time!) and it really couldn't have gone much better. I haven't heard anything back yet, but I'm hoping! After my interview, Shanelle and I ran some errands then we got on the road to Orlando! We stopped the first night in Atlanta to see Shanelle's college-friend Nancy and drop off Jon and Shanelle's cat, Moses, who nancy would be watching for the week. 

Sunday, we arrived in Orlando and the first thing we did was meet up with Michelle (Shanelle and I's roommate from the first half of my College Program) then we headed off to the Magic Kingdom! All I can say is that it was SO NICE to be back. Somehow the Magic Kingdom feels like home away from home, afterall, I did spend at least 40 hours a week there for several months. We didn't stay too long because we were tired from the 10 hour drive that day, but it was definitely fun. 

Monday I got my snazzy new red seasonal ID with my actual picture on it and not just a picture of Mickey's Face where mine should be (the CP id). Most of my emporium friends didn't know I was coming back so it was fun to see the surprised looks on everyone's faces when they saw me back at work! My co-workers at the Emporium are some of the nicest and most fun people EVER and it was so nice to see them! 

Tuesday night was Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party at the Magic Kingdom which is the BEST party of all the parties. A very nice manager may or may not have let me go outside to see the Halloween Fireworks too and it may or may not have made my night! ;)  

It was fun to see some of the new College Programmers at the Emporium. I didn't get to know many of them but they were all very nice and most thought I was a new CP and tried to be welcoming haha. That's why I love Disney- everyone is so nice! 

Wednesday was reserved just for fun- Jon, Shanelle and I all had the day off and we were determined to hit all four disney parks in one day. We started off by taking a chance on seeing if we could get into "Chef Mickey's" at the Contemporary. That restaurant is harder to get into than ANY  fancy-shmancy LA club I'm sure. While I was in Florida on my CP, I tried for months to get a reservation with no luck and Shanelle had been trying for 3 months to get a reservation for this trip with no luck so we just decided to show up there around 7:30am and see if we could get seated and to our surprise- it worked! 

"Chef Mickey's" is so cool because not only is it at the Contemporary (the resort the monorail drives through) but because you get to meet the "Fab 5" all while eating the most amazing breakfast ever. (For you non-disney folk, the fab 5 is Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy and Donald.) It was quite possibly the best breakfast ever and definitely gave us the sugar rush we needed to get started with energy on our 4-park quest! 

It was fun to see things that had changed in the parks since I was last there. Most of them were little changes (like the new Pixar Light that comes out and does a little dance at Hollywood Studios) but some were big changes (like the Hall of Presidents that now features Obama). I took A TON of pictures of Toon Town and Fantasy Land because eventually Toon Town is going away and being transformed into something entirely different. (I'm most excited for Beast's Castle which will have a dining experience, think along the lines of the song "Be Our Guest") 

A trip to Disney is exactly what the doctor ordered. While not having a job can seem like a relaxing vacation to some, it's actually more stressful for me than any stress a job ever brought. One of my favorite things to do is read books and I can't enjoy reading right now because I'm always thinking I should be looking for jobs. So it was kind of nice, especially with the fiasco that is my car, to just escape for a few days. But now it's back to "work" finding work! On the up-side, my car is FIXED and she drives so smooth, let's just pray for no more car problems! 

Bonus Features:
1) On the drive down and back, the 3 of us played the license plate game and I think we ended up finding all but 7 states' plates! It was fun but stupid North and South Dakota just refused to show themselves! 
2) We learned that lack of sleep mixed with lots of sugar and rides makes Shanelle and I very loopy lol
3) Stitch (from Lilo and Stitch) cannot be trusted not to randomly feed grown men their eggs at breakfast hahahahaha 
4) If you feed your kids gummy bears for breakfast and they insist on using their fork and knife as toys, Mickey will in fact take your silverware away! lol

The one where my car died

The day was starting out GREAT. I was really excited for my first interview. I found the perfect 2nd job opportunity (actually in the music biz this time) on Craigslist and sent off my application right away. The box I sent myself with a bunch of pictures, books and DVDs arrived in the mail. My Disney name tag came in the mail as well so I don't have to use the generic "Chris from Orlando" name tag next week when I'm at the Emporium. All in all, it was starting out smooth.

I have 2 sets of directions to my interview location PLUS my GPS. It's raining and I notice that my wipers moving at a snail's pace. I start to worry because if the rain picks up and my wipers don't, I won't be able to see. Turns out, that was the least of my worries. My dashboard starts flashing. Every single light on my dash lights up. The clock and radio go out. I get my mom on the phone and the car starts jerking, somewhat similar to what happens when you run out of gas but a little more intense. I pull into the first driveway I see and am freaking out because it seems as though my car just had a seizure. I'm stalled in some random driveway then the car just turns itself off. So NOT what I needed on the way to my first job interview. I call the woman I am interviewing with and she could not have been more understanding and asks me to call her later to reschedule. Whew!

I'm not on my parents' AAA so I sign up for it and am told it'll be no longer a two hour wait. At this point I thought maybe the battery just died??? I am no car savant. Over 3 hours later, AAA shows up. The battery is not the problem. They called me a tow truck, said it would be another 2.5 hours and waved goodbye. I had already told the people whose driveway I am in the situation, so I go to tell them it'll be a bit longer. I honestly couldn't have broken down in a nicer woman's driveway. Her daughter was about 8 and thanked me for coming to say hi. haha. Shanelle (my hero) takes me to Sears. They think it's the alternator and said to bring it over. About 6pm (5 hours since breaking down), the tow truck shows up...we get it to Sears...turns out it's not the alternator and they can't fix it...of course it couldn't be that easy!

The guy at Sears was literally holding this big round piece that should have been in my car but had just "fallen out". Not good. At the end of the day, my car is safe and secure at Sears waiting to be towed to a new place tomorrow. It sounds like it's going to need some major work to get that round piece back to it's home.

On the upside, I have to be grateful that I was able to get the car off the road and out of danger. It could have been a lot worse since I was on a very windy road,in the rain no less. The wait would have been a lot worse too, but I actually really enjoyed the time being able to talk to Shanelle- she's a great friend. And I was able to reschedule my interview! Now let's just pray the repairs aren't too costly.

Nothing says "Welcome to Nashville" quite like this! I always try to find the upside in all situations but if the only good thing that comes of this is an interesting plot-twist when my blog gets made into a movie...well, then I think I would prefer if the blog never made it to the big screen! lol

(I seriously hope you got my sarcasm there, otherwise I just sound like a jerk who thinks their blog is movie worthy haha).

Thank you to everyone who sent me text messages, offered to help, did help or called to check on me throughout the day. It really made me worry a lot less. I was on the verge of tears but held it together only because I had Shanelle there to help and the kind messages of my friends across the country (seriously). Love you all =)

Unrelated Bonus Feature:
1) I am so glad they finally made the designers on Project Runway use a non-fabric material to make their outfits with! Cloth gets boring so far this season, they had NOTHING interesting like they had in previous seasons.
2) The One Tree Hill premier was WAY disappointing- except for the fact that the guy from "Lipstick Jungle" (Nathan's agent) is on there now!

The one where I got my first job interview

Yesterday was one of those days where it would be an overstatement to say I was mildly productive. I never left the house much less my pajamas. I think I needed one of those days to just soak in the reality of my new "home". My day consisted of being attacked by a cat named Chase who likes to attack my feet as I walk. I've never lived with cats before but Chase is too adorable not to love. He looks exactly like Salem on Sabrina the Teenage Witch - minus the talking, obviously!

Today though, I actually ventured out to Franklin, TN. Home of Jon and Shanelle (my friends I met while working at Disney World) AND Miley Cyrus (another close personal friend you've probably never heard of, pah!). Shanelle took me to Walgreens so I could be a greeting card for a friend's upcoming birthday and we stumbled upon the greatest cards EVER! You know how cards are usually categorized with things like "Girl's Birthday", "Thank you", "Encouragement", "Wedding" etc. Well today we found an entirely new card category called "Troubled Relationship". Shanelle and I enjoyed reading the extremely "poetic" cards to each other aloud. I mean, who wouldn't be won over with a card that says "This sucks. I hate being apart." We read about 4 cards and the lady looking at cards next to us says something along the lines of "Maybe their relationship wouldn't be troubled if they could actually talk to each other instead of using a card to do it" IT WAS SO PERFECT!!!

When I got home, I decided I should probably look at and/or apply for a few jobs (that IS the whole reason I moved here. That, and my hatred for winter) so I applied for an assistant position to a woman who owns a clothing and gift line and to my shock - I heard back right away! I interview tomorrow! It's a long commute (to Franklin) and only part-time and who knows what will come of it, if anything. But I haven't even been here a week and I have an interview and I have to believe that is a good sign!

The most exciting news of the week has to be the fact that I am going to Disney World on Sunday!! Jon and Shanelle invited me to join them on their trip so I am over the moon about going back. This past week or two has been such an emotional roller coaster- what with the excitement of my new adventure and sadness over saying goodbye- I could really really use some pure fun at Disney World to re-energize me. I'm going to work at least 1 shift while I'm there and most definitely have some fun. I have a shift on the night of a Halloween Party-which were ALWAYS my favorite. (Although half of the fun last year was watching my friend Murphy put together ridiculous outfits and sing and dance around the store since it was so slow during the parties-so I'll miss that but it'll still be fun!)

Anyhow, the "Wizards of Waverly Place Movie" is on and I'm a sucker for Disney Channel Orginal Movies but wish me luck on my interview tomorrow - let's just hope I don't get lost! I'm excited to check out downtown Franklin tomorrow, so hopefully I'll have some fun pics or stories to share! Night! -Allie

The one with my new place

Since I pictured where I would be living to be in the middle of the country with chickens and horses running around (all of my ideas of Nashville pretty much came from watching the Hannah Montana movie), I thought it'd be a good idea to show you guys where I live now (which is, indeed, chicken and horse free)!

This is my bedroom! It's not complete yet, still working on decorating a little bit but there it is! I love the pink and brown walls and am very grateful to Shanelle and Tami for welcoming me in!
This is probably my favorite part of my new room- the closets! There is so much space I don't even have enough stuff to fill it! When I get a job though and actually have money and need work clothes, I imagine that won't be a problem anymore!
Right across the hall from my room is the most adorably decorated bathroom.

This is the upstairs living area/party area, where I'm likely to be spending most of my time until I get a job...it also happens to be where I am writing this from! If you're looking closely and are curious, I am, in fact, watching Millionaire.
Eventually, I'll post a pic of the outside of the house, but seeing how I am in my pajamas still and I actually have neighbors now, I'll have to take the pic some other time!

The one with the road trip

As you can imagine, moving across many states is no easy feat. Packing for a semi-permanent move in a convertible is next to impossible.... So I thought! If there was a Nobel prize for the Science of packing the most stuff into a convertible, I'm fairly certain I would win.

I split my stuff into piles of stuff I couldn't live without and stuff I didn't want to live without. The rest of my things I just assumed there would be absolutely no room for. Well I got all of my "Can't live without" stuff in the car so I started piling in all of the "Don't want to live without" items.

At this point it was about 9:45am on Friday morning. We were supposed to leave 45 minutes ago but with a few small open spots left in the convertible (even after packing every item I thought I had room for), I ran to my room like a contestant on "Supermarket Sweep" (which is probably my favorite game show of all time) and grabbed anything and everything I thought would fit into the last few tiny spaces. My quick thinking and out-of-this-world packing ability scored me room for my Tinkerbell pillow (From Disney World's best store, the Emporium!!), 3 pictures in frames, a teddy bear (I swear I'm not 6), a photo memory board and a really cute pair of boots. After I was convinced I couldn't cram in one more thing into the car, it was time to go!

The weather was amazing for the majority of the trip. We never put the top up on the car the entire drive! We stopped the first night in Bloomington, Illinois. The most interesting part of Bloomington had to be the hotel front desk clerk who felt like telling us that he's going to visit his relatives next week who, despite where they live, are NOT hillbillies. The fact that he felt the need to tell us they aren't hillbillies most surely means they are.


The next day we got up bright and early to make the final 6 hour drive into Nashville. We got a little lost through the windy roads of Tennessee (the GPS sending us to a road that didn't exist sure didn't help anything!) but we had arrived!!!



This was my first view of downtown Nashville:
It is clearly not as big as Minneapolis in terms of sky scrapers and big buildings but the town of Nashville is actually pretty huge! I live on the west side of Nashville in an area called Bellevue. I'm definitely not used to being able to drive for 30 minutes and still technically being in the same town! You can get through Center City (my hometown) in about 30 seconds!

Saturday night, my mom and I went to a potluck w/ Shanelle (my friend here), Tami (her mom and also the person I'm living with) and Shanelle's boyfriend, Jon. It was a pretty fancy potluck if you ask me! MN potlucks most certainly involve beans, a hot dish or 10, maybe some sandwiches w/lunch meat or something. This potluck had lamb, grilled veggies and not a hot dish in sight! When I wasn't eating much, I was forced to reveal that my diet is pretty comparable to that of a 10-year-old's (think PB&J, chicken nuggets, pizza etc) haha.

After the potluck, my mom and I went to downtown Nashville. Broadway is the street that is LINED with bars-all of which have live music. We started at the "World Famous" Wild Horse Saloon. It was a pretty sweet place w/three stories and a huge dance floor complete w/ a TON of people line dancing. Despite my mom's efforts, I definitely did not line dance. Maybe some other time!


We went to a few other places, I was too tired from the drive that day to remember most of their names but I thought "The Stage On Broadway" was a pretty punny name and it was a pretty cool place too. My mom seemed to enjoy telling strangers that I was new in town and didn't have a job or any friends... because who wouldn't want to be friends with me when you put it like that, right!? lol

Anyways, the reality of the big move had finally start to sink in and I found myself wondering how mad my mom would be if I asked to just turn around and drive back. I know that being scared is a normal reaction and I know I'll stick it out and see what happens, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't overwhelmed with all these new and unfamiliar surroundings. This is an entirely new ballgame than when I moved to Florida. I had none of these feelings of being scared because not only did I know it was temporary but I had been there before (and who get's scared at Disney World?! No one! And they kept us so busy there was no time to be home sick!) On the trip down here I realized that in 2009, I will have lived in 3 different states! Pretty crazy and pretty sure that will never happen again!

The one where I didn't pack anything

It's roughly 1am on Thursday Morning. Just a little over a day away until I get in the car and drive to Nashville! Today was very productive in the sense that I was always doing something, not so productive in the packing sense. If only being mentally prepared counted as much as being physically packed. If that were the case, I'd be all set! I even skipped the premier of So You Think You Can Dance and Glee in an attempt to be responsible and pack. What did I do instead? Talked to my friend Emily on the phone and Ali on Facebook chat. And I wouldn't have it any other way, but still, my stuff isn't packing itself. I thought maybe, just maybe, my stuff would come to life like in "Beauty and the Beast" and totally pack itself (while singing and dancing no less) but I was sadly mistaken.

On the upside, I closed my bank account and opened a new one that has branches in Nashville! I felt like a shiny new penny when I told the bank teller I had just graduated (she didn't need to know that I spent a year in Disney World) and am off to Nashville to pursue my dreams! She was all "Good luck!" and smiled. That's when I knew I made the right choice in banks...even if she was laughing at my naivete as I walked away, but she seemed sincere enough.

I also happened to score many fun CDs from the library today including Matchbox Twenty, Needtobreathe, Daughtry and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Greatest Hits. That, my friends, is the start of an awesome road trip mix. Daughtry even has a song called "Tennessee Line".... which actually has nothing to do with my experience.... but made me smile none the less. My feelings about moving can most adequately be summed up by "Ready, Set, Don't Go"



Ironically enough, the song is about leaving Nashville to go to LA. But Nashville IS my LA, at least for now. Today I received the BEST tweet ever that made me smile. Rev Run said "soo many ppl want to be in movies, but aint even start to save for a plane ticket to hollywood yet... im just sayin." I think I was watching a Disney Channel Original Movie (Princess Projection Program, if you must know) when I realized that if I want to achieve my dreams, I have to be in a location that is conducive to them.

On a different note. I had to say goodbye to my little brothers and it was not easy. I love those little guys and wish we were closer in age so I could grow up with them. I actually think my little brother Luke is more wise than I am a lot of times. He makes me tear up when I see how selfless he is. They were trying on my sunglasses and mastered the "look away and don't smile" pose without me even telling them! Love them.Anyways, I am off to get some sleep so I can pack all day tomorrow and have a fun night out with friends. Just remember, it's not goodbye, it's see you later and MOST definitely text/tweet/or facebook you later ;) Thanks for reading. -Allie

The one with the explanation

If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me this summer "Why Nashville?" I would be a lot richer than I am now (which isn't a difficult feat)! In May of this year, I finished up a 9-month-long internship at Disney World. It was the most fun time of my life but it wasn't what I wanted to do my entire life either (Sorry, Mickey, I will always love you though). So I packed my bags and headed home to Minnesota to try to figure out my next step (and to clean my room, because seriously, I moved home from college in August 2008, dumped my stuff in my room and jetted off to Florida the next day).

The one thing I get more excited over than anything else in the world is music. I always thought about how amazing it would be to have a job in the music business but my practical side didn't allow for my hopes to get too high. Maybe it was watching the "Dreams Come True" parade on a daily basis (when the bosses weren't around, of course) for 9 months that changed mind but now I can't imagine NOT going for my dream job.

New York and LA, while HUGE in terms of music opportunities, are extremely out of my price range, so I considered Nashville even though I'm not the biggest country music fan. I expressed interest to a friend who lives in Nashville and long story short, I'm moving in with her mom!

Get a place to live? Check! The next hurdle is my car situation. My oh-so-giving parents lent my old but trustworthy Ford Contour to the French foreign exchange student they had living with them while I was traipsing about Disney World. Maybe cars don't overheat in France because she drove my light-blue baby numerous times ignoring the pillows of smoke that one would assume is a clear sign something is wrong. Needless to say, the car is dead. Her "smoke free air" window cling is sadly ironic now. But on the bright side, since I am moving south to a wonderful land of little to no snow, my mom is lending me her nice, white convertible for the sole purpose of allowing me to have my own mini-version of "The Hills" complete with a pink suitcase in the back seat and a ROCKIN' soundtrack. Get transportation? Check!

Get a job? Work in progress. Ideally, I would like a job working at a concert venue (I'd like own one someday!) or working at an artist management firm. At concerts, I'm constantly thinking of ways a venue could improve the concert experience and ways an artist could improve their image and interaction with fans. Unfortunately, the #1 way to get your foot in the door in the music biz seems to be getting an internship (that often leads to employment). The fact that I already have a degree pretty much closes that door. I've told a few artist management firms I'll work for free, but they used the term "slave labor" and something about it being illegal but "good luck" and all that fun stuff.

All and all, I'm very hopeful and excited for this new journey in my life. The way everything fell into place, I feel like Nashville is where I'm meant to go. I don't know the real big answer to why Nashville yet, but maybe I'll find out down the road.

Bonus Features (Like on a DVD, only better):
1.) I watched 10 seasons of Friends this summer (My job was only part-time....) and they've inspired me to name my posts like they named their episodes "The One With...." or "The One Where..." etc., you get the jist.
2.) In college, I wrote a weekly gossip column called "Allie B's Hollywood Hot Spot" if you knew that then you get the name of my blog!