I have fallen in love with the west-side. By the "west-side", I mean the area we call home located right off of IH-10 and Hildebrand. (I would actually argue that it is not truly the west side. It is the west-side to those of us that have grown up in the northwest suburbs of San Antonio). One block to the east of us is Section 8 housing, a few blocks west of us you will find million dollar homes built in the early 20th century. Our initial plan for finding our first place was to find a home, that we could afford, in a "decent" part of town. Josh and I fell in love with the house the first time we stumbled upon it a few months before we got married. I was not so sure of the neighborhood, although it did not scare or concern me like it did our parents.
Since that time, I have come to love those things that give our neighborhood tons of character. Some friends of ours have joked about making sure their doors are locked and all valuables are out of sight when they park in front of our home, the booming rap music at 10am or 10pm gives them wide eyes, and the fireworks heard on New Year's Eve just may be a drive-by shooting. While I have come accustomed to these things, it is the people that we have met that have made me love this area. If I may introduce one of the characters in our "west-side":
"Angelica". Angelica is more of Nya's friend than Josh's or mine, as we have both regrettably forgotten her name. I call her this because even though we have only shared a few conversations, she is probably the sweetest person I have ever met. Every evening at about 5pm, we can expect Angelica to walk by our back-yard, cane in hand. Walking seems to be a challenge for her, as she is about 150 pounds overweight. But, this does not stop her from her daily walk or from stopping by our backyard to play with Nya. Anyone who has met Nya can attest to her hyper-activeness and excitement around other people. Nya seems to take on a whole new demeanor when Angelica comes around. If our gate is open, Angelica will come in and toss the ball with our dog for a good 15 minutes. If the gate is closed, Nya runs along the fence as Angelica whistles along with her and reaches her hand over to say hello. She is also a grandmother of 2 boys, as she has brought them by to play with Nya.
We have come to love the good with the not-so-good but would not have chosen to live anywhere else, even if we could.
1.06.2007
1.03.2007
Chapter 1
I never thought I would be a "blogger". I have had thoughts of starting one for a while and have come very close several times. I get to the step where you have to name your blog and give up. I become overwhelmed with the idea of having to define myself and somehow come up with something witty that would express a theme of my writing. I settled on a title and thought it would be a work in progress. Actually, I think my inability to name my blog goes much deeper than just that.
The reason I have the time to finally start a blog is because the photography studio I work for is closed for 2 weeks for the holidays. This sounds great, I know, except for the fact that it is unpaid, and it is done not so much to give us a break but to save the boss money. This is a good introduction to my boss whom I will be writing about often. I have worked for a photography studio for a about a year and a half. During this year and a half, I have almost quit about 5 different times. About the last 4 times have been because of the boss, but this time there is a lot more to it. I feel that I am at a huge transition in my life. I talked to my dear friend, Rachel, this morning who shares this same struggle that I do: we feel the deep desire and need to find out who we are, who we are created to be, how we can use that person to serve and love through a vocation. She said it very well that we are at this awkward st(age) in life. We are realizing the need to define who are spiritually, make it our own, and redefine all of those things growing up that made us who we are today. I am not saying that none of that was good, but that it wasn't necessarily our own. I have become unsatisfied with not only my boss but also my line of work. Since working is a fact of life, I want to use my time and energy for something Good. It is almost like I am starting all over, rediscovering who I am created to be and what I am supposed to be doing.
So I find myself at Chapter 1 of what I hope to be a great journey. My ex co-worker turned friend also finds herself in the same place that I do (only she has had the courage to quit :)). She has shared something in her blog that spoke to me, and I feel is worth quoting:
All the directions I feel pulled towards doesn't mean I'm
severly undecisive, it perhaps means, that God is revealing
parts of his long term plan for me and all I need to focus is on
the next step. I may not understand the next step or see how it leads
to the end, but it's a step I will have to take to get there.
The reason I have the time to finally start a blog is because the photography studio I work for is closed for 2 weeks for the holidays. This sounds great, I know, except for the fact that it is unpaid, and it is done not so much to give us a break but to save the boss money. This is a good introduction to my boss whom I will be writing about often. I have worked for a photography studio for a about a year and a half. During this year and a half, I have almost quit about 5 different times. About the last 4 times have been because of the boss, but this time there is a lot more to it. I feel that I am at a huge transition in my life. I talked to my dear friend, Rachel, this morning who shares this same struggle that I do: we feel the deep desire and need to find out who we are, who we are created to be, how we can use that person to serve and love through a vocation. She said it very well that we are at this awkward st(age) in life. We are realizing the need to define who are spiritually, make it our own, and redefine all of those things growing up that made us who we are today. I am not saying that none of that was good, but that it wasn't necessarily our own. I have become unsatisfied with not only my boss but also my line of work. Since working is a fact of life, I want to use my time and energy for something Good. It is almost like I am starting all over, rediscovering who I am created to be and what I am supposed to be doing.
So I find myself at Chapter 1 of what I hope to be a great journey. My ex co-worker turned friend also finds herself in the same place that I do (only she has had the courage to quit :)). She has shared something in her blog that spoke to me, and I feel is worth quoting:
All the directions I feel pulled towards doesn't mean I'm
severly undecisive, it perhaps means, that God is revealing
parts of his long term plan for me and all I need to focus is on
the next step. I may not understand the next step or see how it leads
to the end, but it's a step I will have to take to get there.
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