Texting a stranger

Sometimes an opportunity falls into your lap that you just have to take.  Today presented one of these *special* opportunities.

Am I the only one who texts information to myself.  I use my texts as my notebook/reminders/funny things I don't want to forget.  Today I was walking an apartment that a prospective tenant had placed an application on to make sure it was ready for their move in and to note anything that maintenance had missed.  I texted a maintenance issue to myself, but quickly realized I had switched two numbers...and that is how I started a 2 1/2 hour texting session with a stranger.

Me: 14-101 rust in both tubs
Stranger: What the h3!/?
Me: Sorry,  I texted the wrong number!
Stranger: Who is this?!  You have the same number as me
Me: I'm one number off.  Sorry for the confusion.
Stranger: It's ok.  I thought maybe it was a future me and I perfected time travel and I was warning myself for something
Me: For sure a possibility.  :)
Stranger: Haha a definitely maybe your the future me (:
Me: Oooooogly Booooooogly!  Happy Halloween!
Stranger: Haah who is this tho?
Me: I'm the future you...remember?
Stranger: ok then answer me this then me.  Who is shea fowler
Me: Oh you mean shay shay????  Dat's my home guuuuurl.
Stranger:   Whats our name then me?
Me: Nick name or legal name???
Stranger: Both
Me: I just changed my legal name to Tobias Funke because I became REALLY obsessed with Arrested Development.  So now my friends call me Toby.
Might as well get used to it...because it will end up being your new name.
Stranger: d@!#, ok then answer me another question.  Do we end up with shea?
Haha I can deal with it, you didn't answer my question tho
Me: Shay shay and I (us) are still friends...but not as close as we used to be.  Sadness.
Well one thing I can tell you...I (we) started using the entire spelling of the word "though".
Stranger: D@!#, then I'll try and do things differently.  Because theres no way I'm gonna lose her
Me: I'm like your own personal "8 ball"
Stranger: Haha dually noted
D@!# right haha this is awesome
Me: Any other deep internal questions you need answered?
Stranger: yes how old are we when we get married?
Me: The first or second time?
Stranger: First
Me: Old enough to know I (we) was/were too young!!!
Stranger: Ok what about the second time
Me: Young enough to know I (we) was/were too old!!!
Stranger: the first we was too young and the second we was too old.

(((Hour and a half time lapse)))

Me: sorry, I'm at urgent care right now.  Just got back from traveling in Thailand and I just got diagnosed with a rare, yet fatal form of "bird flu"... I/we have 6mos to live.
Stranger: D@!#, how old are you?
Me: Time is of no relevance at this point......
Stranger: Then I won't go to Thailand, I will prevent all of this...
Me: Thailand??? Who said anything about Thailand???
Stranger: You said you got back from traveling in Thailand
Me: I've never been to Thailand.  A few years back had this weird conversation with myself in the future...in order to prevent my imminent death I vowed never to go to Thailand.
Stranger:  Well then were on the same page
Me:  I feel the need to thank you/me.  Thanks for preventing my travels to Thailand...who knows what diseases I could've contracted there?!?!?!?
Stranger: Your welcome, so if you've had this conversation before is it like this never ending loop hole.  That would be crazy.  What if one of us decides not to listen and goes there anyway?!
Me: It's like the craziest déjà but you can imagine!  Well, if you/I go to Thailand...wear a mask!
Stranger: Crazy
I'm not going but if I do go I shall wear a mask.
Me: well me of October past, have an excellent evening.  Be safe.  Be healthy.
Stranger: Done and done, you too.



You're welcome.

reflection.

this last week grady and i celebrated 8 years being married.  crazy.  a few days later we celebrated grady's final day of classes for trimester 5.  (((meaning: he is halfway through school)))  that afternoon we picked up grady's little sister hanna at the airport and have loved having her here for a few days.  as we've crazily been introducing her to our new home i've been thinking a lot about how much has changed for us in 8 years of marriage. 
if you asked either of us 5 years ago where we would be today, we would've told you dallas, tx attending parker chiropractic college.  while at byu-i, grady felt really strongly that he should attend logan chiropractic college here in st. louis.  i soon felt the same.  three and a half quick years and we were packing up all our things to live in the center of the united states. 
the first two months were miserable.  i think i cried 5 times a week.  (((pathetic)))  i felt so alone.  grady was busy with school and i felt like i wasn't really needed here.  it was the hardest two months of my life.  slowly we started making some really good friends at church, work and school.  i started to become busy with work and doing hair at night, grady quickly became engrossed in school.  things were picking up quickly for both of us. 
fast forward a year and a half.  this last month i found a really amazing job opportunity.  one i couldn't turn down.  our apartment complex bought out another complex within a half mile of my current apartment.  they were hiring an assistant manager.  one phone interview, six face to face interviews and a drug/background test, i signed a job offer and i start this upcoming monday, august 26th.
quitting my job at the dealership was sad.  for a year and a half they have been like family members to me.  i cried on my last day, don't judge.  i am really grateful for the friendships i made working there. 
this next job will be hard.  i'm going to learn a lot really fast, but i'm excited for the challenge.  grady and i will be moving to the new complex.  the timing is "tbd".  it's been a huge blessing for me to take this new job and i'm really grateful for it.

this adventure in st. louis has been almost a roller coaster.  although it started out really REALLY hard, it has become really REALLY happy.  i've really grown to love this city.  we have made some really great friends here and had some really fun experiences.  we have grown a lot and i'm enjoying our little life here.


ok no more drama, here's some pictures of the last little bit:

we celebrated our anniversary a few days earlier at a place called Kemolls downtown.  perfect view from the 40th floor of the whole city and great food.  although, i was more obsessed with the fact that there were spiders outside on the windows...40 floors up.  i couldn't handle it.  how did they get up there?  how long did it take?  what were there webs attached to?...it was all glass on the outside.  i just watched them shaking in their webs, 40 floors up.  still blows my mind.  moving on...

had to borrow grady's car one day this week.  the whole car was clean... but there was about 25 pens/pencils in a cubbie.  life of a student i guess.  some of my jay wolfe friends will recognize the auto beauty pen amongst the mechanical pencils (((whoops))).

 hanna came this week and we had some fun doing "st. louis" things.  hit up the zoo.

went to a cardinal's game. they won, obviously.  hanna and i spent most of the game watching a highly intoxicated attendee make a fool of himself.  singing at the top of his lungs EVERY song that came on over the speakers.  then he liked to tell absolute strangers how amazing the songs were.  we ate a world famous cardinal's stadium hot dog.  changed my life.

went to the arch.  (((i'm an excellent photographer.  had to get my finger in the picture))) 

we also ate at pi pizza, drove around forest park, went to the jewel box green house, ate at fitz bottling co. on delmar, drove past city museum (((way to tired to go in))), did a budweiser brewery tour, ate at bogarts bbq and hit up soulard farmers market.  tomorrow we are going to six flags for a bit and then they are off to the airport.  grady is going to go home to see his family and chat with some chiropractors out in phoenix.  he'll be gone ten days and i miss him already. 

here's to 58 more years.

still here.

4 1/2 months?  wow it's been a while.  grady is officially a tri 5.  meaning... we're about halfway.  happiness.  we're really getting into a groove here in st. lou.  me with work and hair at night, grady with school and studying at night.  our weekends tend to be jam-packed with grocery shopping, cleaning our house and spending time with friends.  we're both really happy for the warm weather. 

things i'm looking forward to this summer:

• fireflies
• city carnivals
• using our season pass to six flags
• garage sales/yard sales/rummage sales
• seeing my family

 things grady is looking forward to this summer:

• golfing
• using our season pass to six flags
• a visit from his little sis

 on my way home from a hair appointment this last saturday, i followed my thrifting gut and stopped by two estate sales.  now... typically my blood is too cheap for estate sales, BUT i hit the mother load.  the first sale i went to i found two hobnail milk glass planters.  2 for a quarter!!!  a QUARTER!!!  i couldn't believe it.

so now the cash i just scored from my hair appointment was burning a hole in my garage sale pocket...so i found a sign for another estate sale.  this one i found an even BETTER treasure.  i walked through the whole house.  this lady collected hobnail milk glass.  had tables and tables FULL of milk glass.  she had the white milk glass and then had a few other collectible pieces.  fenton turquoise opalescent hobnail milk glass.  ie: picture below:

highly collectible and quite expensive when you can find it.  i dug through all the tables, but everything was priced way too high.  i tried haggling with the estate sales workers and they weren't budging.  so i kept those tables on the back burner of my mind in case i couldn't find anything else worth buying, i'd go back and find one special piece.  THEN... i walked into the garage.  mostly garbage, but then i saw this absolute GEM in the corner. 

so how much did i pay for this bad boy???  well, it had a price tag of $45...which is dirt cheap to begin with.  BUT i'm all about getting a good deal.  so i offered $20.  isn't that terrible???  i figured, it's the end of the day, they've got 30 min to sell as much as possible, and there's no way they will sell this before they close.  WELL, he didn't take $20, but he countered with $25.  SOLD!  then came the hard part... how do i tell grady i just bought a second dresser...that needs work.....and to help me unload the beast out of our teeny car...and i know i'm taking on another project when i already have that mini armoire i need to refinish?  well, luckily he was half asleep when i got home so he only half understood what i had just done. 

so what am i going to do with it??? well, i can pretty much guarantee this sat in his garage for at least 10 years.  it's been painted baby pink and i'm guessing was his daughter's many years ago.  i love the keyholes in the top two drawers and the handles are super cute too. ((although i'm still debating throwing on some glass knobs...tbd)) it also has the cutest little casters on all the legs.  fun!  i'm pretty sure i'm going to paint it all white.  do A LOT of distressing.  finish it off with some hard wax.  i'm really excited!!!  if there are any other suggestions, they are welcome!

Trading up.

A little something on getting an education in a trade:

One of my biggest regrets in life is not going to Beauty School while in High School.  I have a friend (hi Shiloh!) who did this and I am sorta jealous.  I felt like if I didn't go to a University that people would think I wasn't smart enough, or that I gave up... Fast forward 3 years in College that's exactly what a lot of people thought.  After I dropped out of BYU-I to go to Beauty School, some of the responses I got were:

• "Really...?  Did you fail your classes?"
• "You're going to Beauty School?   That's it?"
• "So after that are you going to finish at a real school?"

Despite negative feedback, I felt that my decision was right.  It all boiled down to one night.  I remember laying in my bed thinking, "I don't even care about Broadcast/Journalism.  I spend 90% of class doodling or wondering when it's going to end.  Why am I here?  Will this even make me happy?  Am I even going to use this degree?"  It made me wonder what I really had a passion for.  Turns out my doodling was a clue.  I wanted an artistic outlet.  I spent countless nights doing roommate's and neighbor's hair for dances, or in Amber's case, for a normal day in class.  (Love you Amber, hope you still remember how to put your hair in a pony!)  I got up, hopped on the internet and was amazed that a Beauty School was literally 1 mile from my parent's house.  I started blocking out how I was going to pay for it all and decided I'd better see if I could at least get my Associates Degree.  Turns out the next day was the LAST day to apply for graduation.  I remember calling my dad the next day (scared to death) to tell him I was going to get my Associates Degree the following April (2 month from then) and move home to go to Beauty School.  I'm pretty sure he was a little lost for words.  My parents were supportive, but I'm sure still hesitant.  No one in my family had ever gone to a trade school.  What should they expect?  How much would it cost?  Would I make the money back with the job that would follow?  I worked hard all summer.  Saved every penny I could.  Come to find out it would cost me around $850 a month to go.  (this is where I covet Shiloh and her intuition to go to Beauty School in High School- it's like a $15000 difference in price)  I was able to hold two jobs and school full time for 13 months.  (*side note* my mom was YW Prez in our home ward and called me to Camp Director that year...and I got married 3 weeks after camp.  To this day I have no idea how i survived....)  One of my jobs was assisting in a salon.  I wanted to be the best hairdresser when I graduated and felt I needed to learn as much as possible in those short 13 months.  I learned more there for real world work than anywhere else.  Lucky for me I also have an incredibly supportive husband.  He spent our first 3 years of marriage allowing me to hone my art.  His career was on the back burner so i could learn.  I'm grateful for every day of those first 3 years.  I developed a love for hair, people and non-traditional education.  I finally found something that was 100% me and would forever bless Grady & I financially.

I have now held my cosmetology license for almost 8 years, and have been a hairdresser in 3 states.  I love what I do.  I know for me, College wasn't right.  I was smart enough.  But I was also smart enough to know that being in a program that ultimately wouldn't make me happy was wrong.  Right now my husband is in College.  We are 5 1/2 years into an 8 year program.  This is right for him.  He is happy.  He loves what he is learning.  I knew I had to support him in anything that he felt he would love doing because he had done the same for me.

Traditional College isn't for everyone.  For those who it is right for, I'm really happy for.  I'm happy that they are happy.  I just don't like the stigma that anything other than that is wrong, or is a sign that someone gave up.  Our society NEEDS trades.  I have a brother who is now a chef.  I work with 25 mechanics.  I'm going to go get a massage from a friend who is a massage therapist this week.   All of these trades have a place and are necessary.

Other than marrying Grady, I would say that going to Beauty School was the best decision I ever made.  I have supported Grady financially through school by doing hair.  It's been my creative outlet at night while he studies.  I know someday when we have kids and Grady works, I'll have a little side business doing hair.  It makes me happy to know that some critical thinking about the direction of my life in the middle of the night led me to a career that I really love. 

A few years ago I was cutting a teenage girl's hair and she expressed interest in becoming a hairdresser.  I encouraged it.  If she has a passion for something, she should follow that passion.  Her mom said (while I was cutting her hair...) "You're better than that."  Really?  She's better than finding a career that makes her happy?  Please don't become that parent.  I said, "That'll be $40 for the last hour I spent cutting her hair.  Not a bad job if you ask me."  I hope I opened her eyes...her daughter tried College to appease mom.  Beauty School was always on the back burner.  She is now enrolled at a Beauty School by her parent's house.

Please don't look down on those who choose a path different from yours.  Be happy for those who are happy doing something different.  Support your kid's passions.  Allow them to feel they can be anything they want, even if it doesn't mean going to a traditional College.  Your support may make all the difference.  I'm grateful for my parent's support despite negative commentary.  They stood up for my decision when others did not.  I am so grateful everyday for those who allow me to touch their lives for 2 hours at a time by making them feel good about themselves.  I like being a sounding board, an artist, a friend, and a day-maker.  I am grateful for all the guys and girls I have worked with who have made me a better hairdresser, a better person.  I am grateful for my boss Rose who took a chance on me.  She made me the hairdresser I am today.  I am forever indebted to her.  I am grateful for clients past, present and those who I will someday be their hairdresser.  Sharing their lives and experiences with me have made me better.  I am grateful for a husband who allowed the first part of our marriage to be about me and my career.  Putting his needs aside until the time was right.  I hope to someday be as supportive of him through the next few years as he was of me.  He is my greatest promoter and cheerleader. 

Cheers to "Trade"ing up!