Funny Thing, Time.

I am amazed at how juxtaposing time can be. On one hand, I can feel like it moves so slowly; I sometimes feel as though it inches along and that I've been in one place for ages. On the other hand, there are times that the days seem a blur and I am surprised to look back on an event and realize how long ago it occurred. For example, I have been in Lexington merely two weeks almost to the day and even that has been divided by two brief trips to Nashville and yet my days are so colored with the same things that I feel like I've been here long enough - especially to not have but a handful of friends to spend my time with (time that is so short with them because they have normal people jobs and have families to go home to at night). Now, mom's cooking and time with the parents are great, but even then, I would rather be out doing something in the evening than sitting in the house - especially when I've been around the house most of the day. I suppose the simple solution to this is to get out of the house during the day so that I'm not tired of it by the evening. Well, I do usually get out for a bit, but there is only so much one can do in Lexington when you are not trying to spend much if any money and there is no one to do it with. I keep busy though, which is good.

What makes time seem like it moves quickly though are the more memorable events that have taken place in the past 3 or 4 months that have made time feel very quick and compressed. The exciting news for this year is that, even though I got laid off from my gig in Pigeon Forge 2 weeks early, I have work lined up for the next year! Not only do I get a change of job, but I get a HUGE change of scenery! A change that I've been praying and hoping for over a year now. In September I took a vacation to New York to audition, see friends, and generally get away from work and Pigeon Forge. I went to the Tokyo Disney audition (for the 3rd time) prepared for what they asked for in the detailed break-down of the job description. I was the 1st to audition and when I finished singing all I got was "thank you." No callback or anything! I was disappointed, not because I thought I deserved a callback, but because every other time I had auditioned I had been called back. Well, the day didn't seem to be off to the best start, but I also had the Universal Studios Osaka (that's in Japan, too) audition in the afternoon. I went back to the apartment and freshened up and changed into something a little more "me." I went to the audition and nailed it. I made it through the whole day! I felt really good about it, but even making it through the day, though promising, is no guarantee of a job. I waited and did some other auditions. Even had a cruise gig in the works, but finally on December 8th, I received a call offering me the gig in Japan. I was ecstatic! (and took it, obviously). So with communicating with them and getting everything taken care of for the job, preparing to pack, wrapping things up and moving from Pigeon Forge to Lexington, all mixed in with the holidays, the past month and a half has FLOWN by.

Amidst all of this business and finally getting some true rest from working, I have found it very difficult to focus on doing one thing - i.e. writing in this blog. Whether it be lack of focus, motivation, or material I just can't seem to find anything worth blogging about at the moment. That will very shortly change as, for the next year, I intend to communicate and share my experiences in the "far east" mainly via this blog. All of my updates, some pictures, hopefully videos, and even day to day occurrences will appear on here. I'm stoked to have the opportunity to travel again to far off places and have completely new experiences. I have no idea what the next year is going to be like, but at the end of it all I hope to have a decent grasp on the Japanese culture and have shared enough of it with you all to make it seem more familiar than foreign. That's all for now, stay tuned though. Shortly I will be adding my first Japanese related post - learning the language (and possibly a plug for Rosetta Stone.) Sayounara!