Act 16: Take a Segway Tour

This act was originally intended to get me out of my comfort zone on onto a dorky motorized vehicle to live out my Gob Bluth wanna-be fantasies.  However, as my 40 Acts fund balance dwindled, so did my grand ideas of tooling around on the human transport of the future.  I think it's all for the best.  I'm notoriously clumsy on two feet, so I think me on a Segway was a recipe for disaster.  Still, the Act had to be done, so I decided it was time to be resourceful.  I turned to the place all budget-minded adventurers go:  Groupon!

There weren't any exciting options in the Raleigh-Durham area at the moment, but I did find something called a Crazy Dash tour.  And there just so happened to be one available in Memphis!  Since I was headed there to see my best good friend, Sarah, I immediately purchased a voucher.  

We headed to downtown Memphis to set off on our tour.  This was not an easy feat because this just so happened to be the same day as the St. Jude's Children's Hospital Marathon.  Downtown was hopping!

Our Crazy Dash was basically a virtual scavenger hunt through downtown Memphis.  Along the way, we learned about the city while doing some pretty silly things.  Among them, counting (and posing) with the balls in front of FedEx Forum, performing an impromptu musical number for the (HUGE) crowd in from of Autozone Park, pretending to be escaped zoo animals, and showing affection to strangers and inanimate objects.  So, basically - Sarah and I doing what we usually do when we get together.  

Piggly Wiggly is very special to both of us.
We're big on the pig!

We started our dash on Beale St.

The task was to hug or kiss a random person or object.  It was
either this guy or the bouncer.  Fireball wins every time!

Fun fact: There are 11 basketballs in front of FedEx Forum

We chose "Sweet Caroline" in honor of Miss CallieRu.
We were disappointed that no one joined in!

Bottoms up from Court Square!

I wish the photo better captured how beautiful the light was right then.
Just lovely!

Escaped zoo animals were on the loose.  Here's Sarah Wolf being a wolf.

And me doing my best tiger impression

We are all looking good here!

Success!  We scored a 106/100 - because that's how we roll.

In all, it was a great experience.  We learned a thing or two, had a blast acting silly, and best of all - I didn't crash into anything.  One of these days, I will find a way to get on a Segway, but until then, this Act is going in the books!

Act 26: Travel Somewhere I Have Never Been Before

I had grand plans for this Act.  I actually got a form to renew my passport and everything!  However, life intervened and between a new job, a dwindling bank account, and other unexpected responsibilities, I found myself having to scale back on my grand plans.

Where did I want to go?  Finding a new place was tougher than it might seem!  I spent a good 15 years with The King of the Road Trip, so we had covered most of the interesting places that were within driving distance.  I've been fortunate that I've been to most of the major American cities:  New York, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas, Baltimore.  My heart is called toward the Pacific Northwest, but my bank account dissuaded me from heading that far, so I started looking regionally.

I thought that Nashville, TN might be a good choice.  My best, good friend Sarah had recently moved to Memphis, so I asked her if she'd be interested in meeting in Nashville for a weekend.  Unfortunately, that girl is even busier than me, so finding time for a getaway wasn't really possible.  So, in true Rhonda fashion, I got to thinking.  I really want to see Sarah.  I really need to travel somewhere...  I really need to limit my expenses...  Why not Memphis?  So, that's where I went.  Turns out, Memphis is a real gem!

Back in the day, if I was traveling somewhere, I would first make a pilgrimage to the library to check out the handy dandy Frommer's travel guide.  I would spend weeks learning about the place, making a list of things to do, places to eat, sights to see.  I'd meticulously plan out all the highlights of my trip.  This trip was a little different.  My planning went something like this.

Me: Hey!  You free Dec 3-5.

Sarah: Yep

Me: Cool.  Can I stay with you?

Sarah: My apartment is small, but sure.

Me.  Great!  Will you pick me up from the airport?

Sarah: Yes.  Text me when you get here.

I did do a tiny amount of advance planning.  I booked my flight, and then went to Groupon to find a cheap tour of the town for Act 16, but that's it.  I didn't even pack until the night before I left!  

That's not to say that there was no plan.  Sarah and I have traveled together before, and we have always had a nice dynamic.  We both like a moderate amount of tourist activity.  Nothing breakneck or crazy - but we get out to see the sights.  She's a good sport about my love for cheesy tours - we did a carriage tour in Charleston and a ghost tour in Asheville - and we have similar tastes in food (local, down home, nothing too fancy) and love beer.  Given that, Sarah did some asking around and had a few ideas for our visit.

First stop: The Cupboard for some amazing Southern cooking.  We were both so hungry that I didn't get any pictures of the food.  It was REALLY good.

From lunch we headed to the National Ornamental Metal Museum.  Right on the banks of the Mississippi River and only $6 to get into, this place was SO COOL!

As a bonus, there was a really creepy looking 1880s military hospital right next door.

I really wanted to climb the fence and go exploring, but the razor wire convinced me not to.

The view from the museum grounds.

Even the benches were cool!

I found some very interesting items in the blacksmith shop.  

Here's a sample of the things they were making in the metal casting workshop.

We showed up just in time to watch them pour some aluminium coasters.  

Sarah and I got a "behind the scenes" tour of some of the collection.
They even let us handle some pieces.

Check out the detail on this sword!

On the way to the Metal Museum, Sarah kept saying "I'm going to have to take you to the Bass Pro Shop."  Now, neither of us are particularly outdoorsy, so I was mystified at her insistence.  Until I saw this rising in the distance:

That is the 6th largest pyramid in the world.  And it's a Bass Pro Shop.  Really.

The inside really was quite something.  

We saw a family getting their professional Christmas photos taken.  At the Bass Pro Shop.

I think it needs more animal heads.

There were real bass ponds inside.  And an alligator, who
seemed slightly mortified to be associated with this operation.  Just sayin'.

I didn't think anything could top that outing, until Sarah got a text from a colleague of hers.  "She's offering me free tickets to a concert tonight.  Do you want to go?"  Heck yeah!  Let's do it.

Turns out, the concert was at 1034 Audubon Drive.  That's a house in a suburban neighborhood.  Strange place for a concert, until we found out the house used to belong to this guy:

Yes.  That's Elvis.  In front of the house we were going to.  WHAT?!

Turns out, we were attending the taping of an episode of "An Evening At Elvis'".  This series of concerts are sponsored by the Mike Curb Institute of Music at Rhodes College.  Not only did we get to hear some really great music in an intimate setting, but we got to hang out in Elvis' house.  (Actually this was doubly cool, because Elvis is a distant cousin of mine on my Mom's side.  My grandma's mama was a Presley.)  

That's me!  Sitting on Elvis' couch.

The house was bought for Elvis' parents with the profits from "Heartbreak Hotel."

This wallpaper was the height of cool in 1956.

And you can see where Elvis wrote his name on the wall!  

Here's the band: Mason Jar Fireflies

Free beer AND they fed us Gus's Fried Chicken - a Memphis fixture.  

Not too shabby for my first afternoon in Memphis.  I didn't think Sarah would be able to top that, but then the next day...

We hit downtown for a Crazy Dash tour of Memphis.  We ran all over that town!  (Read all about that in THIS post!)  

The Orpheum Theatre

Once we were finished dashing, we celebrated with a lovely beverage and decided to go check out Beale Street.  Turns out, the Memphis Christmas Parade was about to begin.  We snagged an outdoor table, ordered some appetizers and settled in for the parade.

We had prime seats!

We got lots of parade swag.

We even saw the man himself!

About halfway through the parade, we realized we were sitting a B.B. King's place.

There was no shortage of good music.  And great food!

Beale Street was so much fun!

After exploring Beale Street, Sarah and I decided to it was time to class it up a bit, so we headed to The Peabody.  While we missed the ducks, we did enjoy some highly sophisticated drinks in the extremely opulent bar.

After almost crashing an expensive-looking, but sadly lame office Christmas party, we made it to the roof!

The ducks have a nicer house than I do.

The view was quite lovely.

You can't take us anywhere...

After the swankiness of the Peabody, we headed to Ernestine & Hazel's, a former brothel turned dive bar. We were in dire need of food, so we ordered two Soul Burgers.  Oh my goodness, it was so good, and I was so hungry, I forgot to take a photo.

Clearly, I didn't enjoy my burger at all.

After our burgers, we wandered around the labyrinthine place.  We ended up in a tucked-away room upstairs where we found Nate the Bartender.  Nate was 71, had lived in Memphis most of his adult life, and was full of stories.

Nate's smile was infectious.

We ended the night on that high note and headed back to Sarah's to crash.

The next day, I accompanied Sarah to the church where she works in Young Adult ministry.  It was a grand and lovely church, with an extremely welcoming congregation.  Best of all, I got to see my dear friend in her element, doing her thing.  

The whole trip was full of all my favorite things: a great friend, ridiculously good food, amazing music, and unanticipated delights.  It was just what my heart needed, and I cannot WAIT to go back!

It's Not Me, It's You

For almost a year now, I've been writing about trusting my instincts and following my heart and being courageous.  But honestly, all that doesn't amount to a hill of beans if you're chasing something that isn't good for you.   For all that I've learned in the last year, I still struggle with knowing what's best for me versus something that I just want.  And even when I get an inkling that maaaaaybe something isn't right, I get all caught up in the "but I WANT it" mentality.  I never seem to be able to figure out when it's time to throw in the towel.

I hope one day, it won't take a heartbreaking, ego smashing event to get me to that point.  But, apparently today, it does.



Welcome to my pity party.

The cause and details aren't really important, but suffice to day that my poor little ego has taken quite a beating.  Part of it is my own fault.  I chose to ignore a pretty clear directive because I thought my heart was telling me, No.  This is meant to happen.  This is a minor setback, a bump in the road.  All you have to do is hang in there. Everything will be A-ok.    Bullshit.

So here I am, with irrefutable proof.  Nope.  That was most definitely not a minor setback, not a bump in the road, nor is it meant to happen.  And everything is definitely not a-ok.  So what do I do with that?

In the past, I would have told spun a narrative about how I'm just not good enough for the part I was hoping to play and that if I just try a little harder I can make it work.  I'd think: if I'm not what they want, give me a little bit.  I can turn into it!  I'd send the message: Just hang in there a little while longer, and I will become the person they want.  And then, I would diligently go about trying to anticipate what it was I needed to be, what I needed to do, how I needed to act to get what I thought I needed.  Alas, inevitably, after pouring all that time and effort into my quest, it would again become clear: it's not going to go my way.

Well, that's not happening today.

Instead of feeling sorry for myself, I am actually a little pissed.  I don't appreciate being toyed with - even inadvertently.  I have better things to do with my time.

And I'm tired of the pity party.  It's been done, and it's a waste of my time.   Today I write a new script.

If they are blind to all that I bring to the table, if they think they can find someone who is better at doing the job than I am, then that is not a flaw in my character.

Rejection doesn't have me doubting my worth; it has me doubting your sanity.  Honey, it's not me; it's you.