Sitting Between the Shifts

I'm presently trespassing and loitering on the back porch of a Holiday Inn that expressly asked me not to on a sign out front while I was clambering over it.

Not to much to report in my life. I'm working a double today and its not that bad. I did rather well last night, and I also beat adventure mode in Smash Bros.

I did get stuck in traffic today. Do you know what it was for. Not an accident or a wreck or livestock. A kind yet scruffy looking gentleman was changing a lightbulb above a Florida semi-truck trail. And that's it. A lightbulb.

Cliff stayed with me recently. He was away from home for an entire week and didn't pack any clothes. I let him borrow a shirt on his last day, but he was telling me about how he sat in traffic on I-275 for an hour and a half because a water truck was watering the grass. how about that. ehh?

I say that to say that when you are driving a car you forfeit the opportunity to look at your surroundings. If you wanna see it. stop. Let the rest of us get to work. Kids are waiting on balloons.

It's about to start coming down out here, so I think i'll go ahead back to the truck.

Cheers.

James Murphy and mewithoutYou

I just got back from Ybor and I saw mewithoutYou play. It was something very special. There really isn't a way to describe it. If you listen to mewithoutYou then you know how it might have been, but it was really great. I also saw a band called Maps and Atlases which did a great job playing.

James left the other day. I've been trying to get work since then. Work seems a bit scarce at the moment, but I'm trying to take shifts everyday. James said he had the greatest week ever here so that was good. I hope everyone else is doing well.

Pray for me for finances and my application to Edinburgh University which should be in it's last legs.

Cheers

Thank You Hope

I had to include this picture from Hope Mabry's blog because it made me chuckle for a while.

No More Apologies

My friend James, from Edinburgh, is flying in today. I'm super excited about spending time with him. He's a great chap. So that's who I'll be hanging with for the next few days. It's not the best picture of him, but it's all I've got.

Other than that I'm just making balloons and spending time with friends. I just moved into a new apartment. I did realise that I live a lonely life. I wake up and leave early for balloons. I work alone all day until about 11 then I come home and unless someone if free. I go to sleep. I'm happy with it, but I was just thinking about it.

The friends I do have here are really great though. I enjoy them a lot and we have great talks. Anyway this post is boring, so I'm out.

We're Back Where We Belong

Those words ring oh so untrue to me right now. I don't really wanna be here. I'm sick for Scotland at the moment. I miss all of my friends there. I miss just being there. Especially since the weather is probably so lovely right now.

So enough for my ranting. On to life, eh? God is good, whether we think so or not I've met some great folks here in Lakeland. I've been given two new friends, only to have one of them taken away so quickly. Josh Grace and Chris Abel (pictured) have been great friends to me since I've moved in with Josh. Chris has gone on to Guatemala and then to Massachusetts for the summer, so I'll probably not see him again, and Josh moved out of the apartment tonight. I'm sure I'll see Josh plenty, and I'm very happy about that. I've become good friends with him in the last few days. Enough of that sobbing too.

I'm starting balloons hardcore tomorrow. I'll be twisting 2 shifts a days for 5 days straight. Oh the stories I'll be able to tell.

I re-stringed my guitar tonight. I'm excited about playing it. The first song I'm attempting to play is Matt Good - Metal Airplanes. Clikc the play button to start it. It's a simple song with a lot of meaning to me, especially about Scotland.

Another song worthy of listening to is the entire new album by Sigur Ros. You can listen to it here. This is a way for you to hear what I've been listening to recently. A brilliant band. Just hit the big play button on the homepage.

In other news. The flat I'm staying in is now empty. I'm the sole occupant. Today the last of the flatmates moved out. In the move process, I lost a $100 bill. I don't know how it happened because these are, i think, good people, but nonetheless I'm down $100 now. it's funny though, because I think I heard God say to me today, while I was folding clothes in the closet, that it wasn't mine to begin with so why do I miss it so much. I guess He's got a point.

If I write anymore it'll start to be daunting to my readers. So I'll leave you with this picture from the revival in Lakeland, Florida. Tell me your thoughts. The board is on the side of the main road in Lakeland.

One more time

I'm feeling completely shattered at the moment after running 4.5 miles for the 2nd consecutive night in a row. It's funny how muscles that weren't there before seem to pop out of nowhere.

I'm getting settled in to life here in Florida....again. I sill do miss Edinburgh greatly as I imagine that it's the best time of year there.

God's really been looking out for me since I've been here. My balloon job has started off quite nicely. I've only had 2 shifts, but it's been great and I've already had so much fun.

I've also been graced with a place to crash for this week and the next for free with some really great guys. I've met a guy named Josh Grace who has gotten hooked on Smash Bros with me. I've also met another guy named Chris Abel. We have had a lot of great talks about humanity and theology. I wish that I had met these guys a lot sooner or either had a lot more time with them. They are both really great and I'll miss them. They've been great friends for this week and a half.

I'm off to bed now though. Balloons call again.

Cheers

Ian

Cashing in on the Inflatable Animal Craze.

So maybe it's not a craze, but it sure is Craze-Y. I just finished a double shift of balloon animals and it was okay. I'm severely knackered, but I don't feel that it is because of my career. It was dreadfully slow for lunch, but then I got a decent place in the evening. I don't have much else to say other than that. I have a feeling that a good portion of my summer is going to be devoted to these lighter than air (they are actually heavier than air or else they would float. You would have to use Helium to make them float seeing as the only thing lighter than Helium is Hydrogen. The air used to fill my balloons weighs the same as the air around it, but add the weight of the latex and it becomes to heavy to float.) creatures. I have a pounding headache, but I think I'm going to go running anyway. I need to lose some of these steak pies.

Cheers.

I'm Afraid I Have No Pictures To Show Because I Have No Camera

So I'm in Lakeland now, I'm semi-situated. It is very interesting showing up in a town that you have been absent from for so long and trying to get back in to it. Sure, I don't have the plethora of friends that I used to have, but I do have a handful and I am very thankful. 

I'm living on the floor of a mates room. It's not even a flat, it's just a room. and on top of that he's paying $400 (£220) for it. He's really getting screwed, but that's his thing. I'm have a weird time here so far. My mate Jon and I have had some really good talks that I think have been very productive. I also have been very productive and I blame it on the time difference. I can't really sleep much past 8 or 9 because it's 1 or 2 in my brain. So i have gotten a lot of things done. 

Well, Ian, what have you gotten done?

I'm glad you asked. I spent most of the day trying to find a place to stay, which is going great because I might be moving into a place tonight until the 14th and then I'll be moving into another house more permanent. which is all great. I need to look into getting a cycle now. Gas is about $4 a gallon here. Which is plenty. So I'll have to cut back on riding to almost nothing. So that's why I want a cycle. I also am going to go get a haircut today. I wanted to shave it, but then it will take forever to grow, so I'm just going to get it cut really short so it won't be like nothing is there. 

I'm really seeing God provide for me while I am here. He's bringing things together out of nothing. I still really miss Edinburgh. Things here aren't very pretty. there is nothing to look at. There are no hills or rivers or old buildings. 

I turned my £'s into $'s today and that was sad. I wanted to hold onto those. They gave me a rate of $1.86 to £1.00. Not as much as I wanted, but It'll do. At least I'll be able to spend it, right?

I also filled out an application for Starbucks. Now before you say anything, I didn't ask for it. They gave it to me. I was chatting up the girl at the till and she came over and handed me an application a bit later. I filled it out and they asked me to come back to their job fair on the 10th. So I have until then to find a better one. Or ANY other job that is not Starbucks. It's only for a day job anyway. I've got other things. I just want to make as much money as I can this summer because come Autumn there will be a few expenses on the table. 

That's my life at the moment. Hopefully there is something interesting in there. If not, thanks for reading anyway.

Florida, Oh Florda

This is my second post since I arrived back in the States. I spent a few days with my folks up in North Carolina. It was good to see them again. I felt a little bad for rushing away to Florida, but I've realised that I always feel weird when I leave them. So I've just had to get used to it.

I got to go see my small group from Discovery Church in Greenville, NC. If you live anywhere in NC, it is the church to go to. I've never experienced such community so quickly. I was gone for 3 months, but when I opened the door to the house where they were meeting everyone got so excited to see me and gave me great big hugs and where so happy for me to be there. They also had tons of questions for me, which was great. I like to talk about Scotland because I miss it so much. I really had a great time talking to them and seeing them again. I hate that I have to leave them so often. I really wish that I could go to that church, but I seemed to be called away by other things. I wonder if there is such a church here in Lakeland.

Well I'm not exactly in Lakeland right now. I was in Lakeland for about 2 hours and then I headed out to Tampa to hang out with my best mate, Cliff. I really miss this guy and he is one of the reasons that I'm here in Florida instead of Edinburgh, which I miss so severely.

It's very odd being here in Florida again. It's 9:30 and the sun has already been down for an hour. How Strange!! Also last night I was standing around with some of my mates eating ice cream and I started to itch on my legs. I didn't think anything of it and figured it would go away until it started to get worse. I went down to scratch and felt a small squished specimen under my finger. Mosquito. I had completely forgotten about them until I was being eaten by them. It was certainly not a good welcome back into town.

I have gotten tonnes of great and warm welcomes back into the city and I really appreciate that from my friends. It really helps when I'm in a place that I don't really to be.

This is all for now, I'll hopefully explain my trip down to florida in the next blog. talk to you soon folks.

Cheers
Ian