Exodus VII: The Final Farewell

When I graduated from Ohio University and had to drive away from Athens, I sobbed like a baby on the car ride back to Toledo. I sobbed so hard, in fact, that I saw spots and felt like I was going to pass out. And I hadn’t cried a day before that day. When everyone [...]

Read Full Post »

Exodus VI: Call Me Phoenician

The other day, I bought one of those Frommer’s travel guides about Arizona. I’ve been trucking along through the 474 pages, writing little notes about things to do and places to see. The more notes I write, the more I realize—Arizona is FULL of crazy, exciting things to do. Now, I knew this already, because [...]

Read Full Post »

Exodus V: I’ll Never Be as Good as Matt Dobie

My little brother plays Neil Young the way Neil Young wishes he could play Neil Young, and I taught him everything he knows. Ha. Kidding. I attempted to become a guitar player when I was in junior high. I lasted a couple months. Then, Matt picked up my discarded acoustic guitar, and well, at the [...]

Read Full Post »

Exodus IV: Crazy Little Thing Called Love

If you wanna know the truth, Jake and I met purely by chance. And it almost didn’t happen. Per Exodus I, you know we met at Burn’s Alley and we ended up at Waffle House, but that’s not really how this started. This started with my roommate, Hannah. Hannah is a volleyball player. She’s built [...]

Read Full Post »

Exodus, Part III: My Jaws Phobia

The ocean is evil. Or so I thought. For twenty-five years. Having been raised in Ohio, all I knew about the ocean was based specifically on Jaws and Discovery Channel’s Shark Week. Roy Scheider’s “You’re gonna need a bigger boat” was enough to make me say uh-uh—that body of water is baaaad news—and I existed [...]

Read Full Post »

Exodus, Part II: A Charleston Top Ten List

Jake hit the road two hours ago. This morning, we packed his car full of stuff. He surprised me with tiger lilies, artfully arranged in an empty Macallan 12 bottle from his birthday. We shared a five minute hug. I cried melted, black mascara on his sweatshirt, and after a couple “I love you’s,” I [...]

Read Full Post »

Exodus, Part I: Moving to Arizona

There’s an old adage: “If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans.” Two years ago, I never planned to get a job in Charleston, SC. I didn’t plan to eventually hate/quit that job. I did not plan to meet a damn good lookin’ man one random Friday at Burn’s Alley. And I [...]

Read Full Post »