The Live Music Capital of the World.

It’s 2009, boys and girls. Happy new year. Smile pretty.

So it’s January 6, 2009.  I got this crazy idea about being an au pair on December 30, 2008.  17 or so emails, 6 phone calls, and 2 interviews later… and I’m flying to Austin, Texas this weekend to see if I’m the right fit for an amazing family. Crazy? Yes.

I’ve been job searching for 6 months now. I’ve got a few stipulations about what I will and won’t do… mostly, I’m not down with fast food, or any food, really. Waiting tables isn’t something that’s beneath me, don’t get me wrong, I love serving people. I just don’t want to work at a chain — you’re not gonna catch me with fifteen pieces of flair pinned to a miserably ill-fitting polyester vest, taking orders from snotty people for dishes with horribly cute names, wading through a crappy roach-infested kitchen where nothing is sanitary or even good… ugh. No way.

I’m not qualified for things I feel that I could easily handle, like secretarial work. I’ve got a GED, a 28 on my ACT, a typing speed of 70wpm, a firm handle on Microsoft Word, and a sparkling personality. But zero relevant job experience. All of that combined with the rubbish current job market puts me in the position I’m in. I’m qualified for jobs I don’t feel are worth the trouble, and I’m not qualified for the few jobs that are actually available… that’s rough, yeah?

I’ve been a babysitter since day one. I’ve got 5 brothers and sisters — 4 that are younger than me, 3 that I took a pretty active role in helping raise. I’ve been a one-off babysitter for countless families, and a regular babysitter for many. I’ve nannied for two wonderful families, had fantastic experiences with both of them — considered their children my own. I am a great babysitter. I’m brilliant with kids. This is something I know about myself — these are my skills. So I’ve been taking as many babysitting jobs as I’ve been able to get my hands on since moving back from England, but those are few and far between. I need something regular, something that pays well, with some great kids.

On a total whim, I decided to Google ‘au pair’. I came across a few different sites, but landed on one called GreatAuPair.com. It’s essentially eHarmony for nannies & families. An au pair/nanny posts a profile, families post their profiles, then the site allows them to search for each other. Within 2 hours of posting my profile, I saw an out of state area code on my caller ID — it was a prospective family calling to ask if I would be interested in working with them. I was shocked at how quickly everything seemed to be happening, but at the same time, hello ego boost! I went from underqualified to a hot commodity in less than 24 hours. Emails began to pour in as families added me to their ‘hot list’ — a list of nannies they were interested in learning more about. I received a couple of voicemails and personal emails from different families, all of which felt unreal. I still can’t believe how quickly this all materialized. What alternate universe did I step into? Suddenly, potential employers were flooding my inbox… and I hadn’t even talked to my parents or boyfriend about it. Talk about whiplash.

Got a call a few nights ago from a fantastic family in the heart of Texas. We clicked immediately (God is working overtime in my life) and after a long talk on the phone and another long talk with my dad, I’m flying to Austin this Saturday to meet them. I’m really looking forward to this weekend, you have no idea. A 4-year-old boy and 19-month-old twins… sounds like a dream, right? I’ve never worked with twins before, so I’m anticipating a challenge… but a really cute, cuddly challenge, y’know? I got the opportunity to chat with their former au pair, and she was so helpful in answering my questions. I still have yet to experience any real doubt or anxiety… it feels oddly like the month leading up to England. I’m running on the excitement of finding a job and potentially embarking on my next adventure… that allows me to casually ignore the worry that I should be consumed with and the unease I should be feeling about potentially moving 10 hours away for 6 months. I’m chalking this up to the peace that surpasses all understanding.

My parents are being incredibly supportive and Joe is being an angel. I’m so thankful for their flexibility and especially for their faith in me. I know that 6 months is a long time, but it’s not forever. There’s a concrete beginning and end. Long distance relationships are daunting, but not impossible, and I’m a firm believer in testing relationships. Time and distance are two major tests, and I know that Joe and I are ready for that kind of faith-building. Thank you, Joe Joe. You mean the world to me.

I’m excited about Austin. It’s the ‘Live Music Capital of the World’ — need I say more? I love adding cities to my list of ‘places I’ve lived and loved’. (I’ve got ‘Woke Up In A Car’ by Something Corporate stuck in my head now. Awesome.) I’m in love with picking up camp and starting over… this is an ideal way to do that. Hooray.

So there’s that. I’ll keep you filled in on how it’s going. This process is exhilarating, and so God-orchestrated. I love it.

In other news: I’ve received two letters from the University of Memphis.

Letter Number 1: CONGRATULATIONS – It is my privilege to inform you that you have been accepted to the University of Memphis for the Fall 2009 semester as an undergraduate student!

Letter Number 2: CONGRATULATIONS! I am pleased to inform you that because of your superior academic credentials the University of Memphis wishes to offer you the UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS PROVOST’S SCHOLARSHIP beginning in the 2009-2010 academic year. THE UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS PROVOST’S SCHOLARSHIP is a $5,500 per year award for four years. This award is in addition to any Tennessee HOPE Lottery Scholarship Award you may be eligible to receive.

How am I celebrating, you ask? Well, first, I’m laughing at my aforementioned ‘superior academic credentials‘. Wow. I mean, let’s be completely honest: there is NOTHING remotely ’superior’ about my academic credentials. Like… really. Dang.

Next, I’m crying, because I didn’t think I was going to be accepted to a 4-year university… but now I’m essentially being awarded a merit-based full ride? Whoa. To God be the glory, and y’all watch me as I show school who’s boss. Thank you, Jesus. This is insane.

So there’s my life for the past few weeks, minus my trip to Baton Rouge, which I’ll account for in a subsequent post.

For now, be good, smile pretty, and when you ask in earnest, be prepared to receive.

xxAimeeCait

That Deuce And A Quarter

Here is where I’ll apologize for my proper absence. My life has hit a new level of busy. I’ve got a boyfriend, my GED’s been sorted out, I’m actually gettin’ out of the house and doing things, haha. I’ll try to be better about posting more often… but no promises!

If you haven’t got a clue about the title of the post — Baton Rouge’s area code is 225. Thus, deuce & a quarter. Awesome. Right then: I’ve been home for nearly two weeks now… and it’s been incredible. It’s so good to be home. Baton Rouge looks so different… everything’s changed, I’ve met all sorts of new people, I’ve done so many new things… It’s been beautiful. I have so thoroughly enjoyed my time here.

The train journey in was an adventure in itself… I am officially a fan of Amtrak. More on that later.

While spending a gorgeous cloudless day in New Orleans, my mom called and asked me what the numbers 600, 680, 680, 800 & 800 meant to me. It took me a minute, but then as she began to explain, I realized that she was rifling off a list of my GED test scores. Oh. My. Goodness. I finished with a 704 average — so much better than I even thought was possible. I scored perfect on two sections of the test… I can’t even describe how happy that makes me. I’m so lookin’ forward to applying to school and getting into writing essays for admissions… I’m excited to finally get to this stage of life. I feel like I’m actually ready for it, haha. We’ll see how it turns out. I’ll keep you posted.

I miss the living daylights out of Joe and my family. I’m ready to get home and readjust to life in Memphis. Joe’s picking me up from the train station… I can’t wait to see him. If there’s anybody that makes me turn into jello, it’s that boy. Goodness.

Also — somebody named Aimee Cait turns twenty years old in a week. True story. I’m really looking forward to it, actually. Two decades on planet Earth. Pretty exciting stuff. I love birthdays, though. I’m excited to see what we might do to celebrate. It’ll be good.

I’m off to tan & be lovely.

xxAimeeCait

Photographic Evidence That I Lived In England

As you may have noticed, there hasn’t been an abundance of photographs of me in England, the reason being that I conveniently forgot my camera in the States over the Christmas holidays.

Fortunately, though, Nadalee insisted that we take photos while she was here. Thus, I present to you… photographic evidence of my time in England.

Hope these make you smile.
xxAimeeCait

Impromptu Midafternoon Naps = Alabama Dreaming

This time tomorrow, I’ll be deep in Wareagle country – layin’ my head to rest in Opelika, Alabama. Gotta love family weddings. 

The title of this blog mentions an impromptu midafternoon nap. I woke up about 2 hours ago after falling asleep around 4:30 this afternoon. My sleep since my return to the States has been the opposite of my sleep in England – I’m out of bed at 6:30 in the morning & absolutely dragging by 11 at night. My mom’s been amazing, helping me keep to a fairly regular schedule & keeping me constantly moving forward. One of the many reasons I feel that I was so up & down emotionally in England was my lack of a daily routine. Having a routine just helps me feel more stable. It’s lovely. 

Speaking of health – I’ve been so thrilled to be back in driving distance of a gym. It’s such a rubbish feeling watching yourself deteriorate and fall completely out of shape & not really be able to do much about it. I went with Cassidy yesterday to her ‘workout room orientation’ & learned how to use alllllll the scary-looking machines. The girl that showed us around was really sweet & funny. I’ll be excited to get all toned up & healthy… I’m not promising anything spectacular, but we’ll see.

I’m in a Neil Young mood tonight – so here’s somethin’ I found whilst fiddlin’ about on YouTube. 1971 – deliciously vintage Neil, man… it’s just so great. I love this song. 

 

So, on that note… I’m off to pack for the weekend. Memphis says “hey, y’all”. 

xx Aimee Cait 

Home Again, Home Again…

…jiggity jig.

Did your mum or gramma ever say that to you? I’m not even sure what it is. It’s just something she used to say when we were little upon return from the grocery store… “Home again, home again, jiggity jig…”

At any rate, I’m sure you’ve guessed by now what the subject of this post is:

I’m HOME.

So I’m back in Memphis after a six-month stay in the UK… I just can’t tell you how good it feels to be back on American soil. In Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam as I was making my connecting flight to Memphis, I suddenly heard a chorus of American accents… specifically Southern accents, cooing “y’all” & “golly”. I could have cried right then and there.

I’ve never hugged my daddy tighter than I did when I spotted him waiting for me in the Memphis International terminal. Six months of missing him led up to that moment. I just squeezed him. My dad’s a solid guy. Nothing better than hugging him. I can rest my head against his chest and just hold on to him for a good while.

Before I left that morning, Emile & Ali brought me to the airport. We sat for a while, I grabbed some breakfast (not so bad for a really tiny airport) and we made small talk. I was uncomfortable after a while. It was time for me to go get through security & wait in my terminal for my plane to arrive. But Emile asked me to sit back down (I was fairly anxious to be on time) so that he and Ali could pray for me. There is no sweeter prayer than that of a friend. As I listened to his prayer, tears flooded my eyes, threatening to stream down my cheeks. Somehow, though, I managed to put on a brave face before my mascara found its way to my chin. Emile was my best friend this year – we got each other through some pretty rough times, encouraging each other, but also never afraid to tell the other something they were doing was stupid. Emile is my brother, and I miss him.

It’s lightning outside. Like proper thunder & lightning. This is only the 2nd time in 6 months that I’ve had a proper rainstorm… it’s so nice. I love thunder & lightning… so nice to fall asleep to.

JP got here tonight – Gray gets here tomorrow… Then, we’ll all be in one place. One unit.

Even if I tried, y’know, genuinely gave it my all, I don’t know if I could adequately describe how amazing my family is. Simply put, I am blessed beyond belief to be apart of this extraordinary group of people. Getting back home to this piece of heaven that is our home in Memphis has been fantastic. I feel so loved, so cared for… I get a hug every ten minutes, an I love you every five… this is what I left behind, and now this is what I got to come back to. Thank you, Lord, for the family you’ve given me.

I’m crazy drowsy. Time to nod off – more good stuff tomorrow, hopefully.

Glad to be back…
xx Aimee Cait

Wanna go to London?

(Ah yes, Baton Rouge’s own U.S. Times… I wonder where this record has gone? I hummed ‘Wanna Go To London’ the entire time whilst on the train here.)

So yeah, I’m on the train back from London. This is going to be a quick post as I’ve got a SPLITTING sinus headache (thank you, London Underground air…) but I just wanted to let y’all know that Nadalee & I are alive and well.

Highlight of the trip? Well, apart from the Tate Modern, Avenue Q, the Waterloo Banksy street gallery…

WE LITERALLY BUMPED INTO THE JONAS BROTHERS.

Haha. Nadalee and I basically lost it. It was great. Sadly, we didn’t manage to get a picture or anything ’cause the teenage girls next to us kind of monopolized on their personal space, but hey. I’m not a proper fan, they were – it meant more to them to get to chat with them. Besides, what would we have even said: “My little sisters think you’re awesome!!!!” That’s what every teenybop rocker wants to hear, obviously. But yeah – there’s my one celebrity sighting whilst living in this country, and they weren’t even English. But yeah, good times. Fact: You never know who you’ll trip over whilst in Leicester Square.

Nadalee heads home on Friday & she’s helping me get myself sorted to start packing for my journey home, which, if you haven’t been paying attention, is only a week away. How ridiculous…

I’m starting to well up with these stupidly unpredictable tears again, so I’m going to have to leave it here.

What a long strange journey this has been.

xx Aimee Cait

Adventures in York

Right – solo adventure in York today. York is a lovely lovely place & I chose to go there today because

1. I refuse to sleep ’til 2 in the afternoon again
and
2. I haven’t really walked in a few days

So I figured out how to get from Emile’s house to the train station (Thornaby), stood in a MASSIVE queue for a ticket, and hopped on the 12:05PM bound for York.

Nodded off many times during this train journey. Don’t remember too much, really.

We pulled into the York train station and it makes my heart ache a bit. The last time I was in York, I was with Bubba & the Istrouma lot. I (as I’m sure I’ve mentioned numerous times) have been excessively homesick lately, and visiting a city that only carries memories of my mum? Not my best idea. But it was really neat to revisit it. I just set out exploring, and that was lovely. Remembered my way into the city centre (the signs miiight have helped – thank you, brilliant city planner people of York) and just began to wander.

York has some of the most amazing little stores… loads of fudge/toffee/confectionery places, lots of souvenir shops, an entire store devoted to whisky, even a bookstore called “The Little Apple”. (Ha – ha. Get it?) Also there are stacks of tea rooms. Stacks of ‘em. Flippin’ everywhere.

I wandered into this amaaaazing vintage clothing store (it puts Time Warp to shame on so many levels) and began to browse the racks of clothes. Then I noticed something odd.

Something sounded familiar.

Being the curious individual that I am, I had to ask. So, once the store cleared of customers, I asked…

Me: “Ma’am, who picks your soundtrack?”

Store lady: “My boss, actually. They’re his CDs. He’s kind of this 70’s punk rocker guy… so yeah.”

Me: “…Dr. John?”

Store lady: “It fits somehow…”

I explained where I was from, and how Dr. John was such an unexpected thing to hear in a vintage boutique in Northern England. She smiled and nodded appreciatively. There’s something nice about sharing stuff like that with strangers. A bit of a thrill, a warm feeling, this quiet understanding of someone on a really basic human level. I continued browsing.

As I was walking out, having not purchased anything (the store was crazy expensive), I did the typical “I haven’t bought anything even after we’ve bonded Walk of Shame” thing, but once she noticed I was walking out the door, she called out after me:

Store lady: “Hey, next time you’re homesick, come on by and I’ll play some Dr. John for you!”

Oh oh ohhh. I love people sometimes.

In the end, I bought a cute dress/tunic/thing from H&M.

xx Aimee Cait

1 way to make friends on trains…

I pull out my Mac on a train from Darlington to Thornaby, and this is what happens.

I miss nannying!

IKEA was magical today — I have super cute ice cube trays now. Hooray!

Hope you’ve had a brilliant day. All my love!

xx Aimee Cait

Right, so.

Monday, Monday… so good to me. (Lies!)

But, I digress… Haha. Man oh man, it’s good to be back in Durham, but I’m already missing my Stockton partners in crime. I love y’all so dearly. 

Woke up late late last night (early early this mornin’) with a hardcore stomachache. Long story short, I was grey & proper freezing/cold sweat for about 15 minutes. I mean, I felt like death, full flippin’ stop. That was just utterly rubbish. The last time I felt that terrible, I was in Uganda, and I was PROPERLY ill. I still managed to get some sleep, but not enough. Please pray that I don’t have another night like that – I really can’t afford it. I’ve got important things goin’ on in the morning! Hello, Valentine’s Day assembly at the Durham High School for Girls. Should be lovely, am really lookin’ forward to it. Get to dress a bit smarter, do a bit of public speaking, should be interesting, hey? Someone might wear proper shoes… you never know.

I’ll post more about that soon – give you a brief rundown on the chain of events, etc.

Right: coming soon this half term holiday – residential time away with Ben & Sophie’s youth! I’m stoked, goin’ to a youth hostel in Pickering…? Wherever that is. South. But from Durham, most things are south of here. Ha. Also, get to have lunch with Fiona next Tuesday, should be lovely. I love my life most days.

Also, working on planning 2 events in the lovely month of May. More on that note as things progress. Exciting things are happening with Durham YFC, I only wish you were here.

This Thursday is Valentine’s Day, and I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate love than by declaring a girly evening with my friend Katharine. There will be chocolate, ice cream, maybe some pizza, and best of all: Bridget Jones. (I know, right?) It’s that or Breakfast at Tiffany’s – either way, we’re indulging & it’s going to be brilliant. Who says you have to be dating someone to enjoy Valentine’s Day, yeah? Hannah put on a load of love songs today while we were working - it was so nice to just sing & laugh and revel in some of the greatest love songs ever. (Many were by The Beatles – fittingly so, considering Hannah is a certified Scouse. To die for accent, no lie.) But yeah – I’ll definitely be missing my family this Valentine’s Day. Every year, mom has always given us little samplers of chocolate with a little note saying I love you… man. I miss you, Bubba! I love you big! I’ll be thinking about you while I hang out with my friends and laugh at how love makes such a mess out of our lives… it’ll be lovely.

This Friday: REEL BIG FISH IN NEWCASTLE!!!!11!1!11111!!!
(I know, right?) I’m SO excited, I can scarcely breathe. It should be right wicked. I love going to shows & actually knowing all the words. I don’t enjoy not bein’ able to sing along. Naturally, I know most RBF songs… so this is the concert experience for me. Should be immense. Naturally, I’ll let you know afterwards. Aghhh Newcastle is lush. So excited!

Back to this Thursday afternoon… Exciting outreach events in Durham are my favorite. One of the main streets in the Centre of Durham is called North Road – it’s got loads of shops, restaurants & clubs lining it. Hundreds of people walk it everyday. Valentine’s Day is a day that can make some people feel fantastic, while it leaves others vacant and upset. Therefore, we’re sending out our youth in 2’s, armed with chocolate bars, smiles & the love of Christ. Should be awesome. I’m such a fan of the ‘random act of kindness’ approach. So appealing to my awkward social nature, haha. I don’t actually get to attend, I’m all tied up with my Thursday afternoon group, Super6, but it’ll be fine – sounds like we’ve got a good few coming, and that’ll be awesome. Let’s see how much love we can manage to spread in one sitting!!

Right, that’s all I can think of right now. I love you more than all things, I’m praying for you – please keep me in yours as you go throughout your week. Every word is appreciated.

xx Aimee Cait

Team America

I am stuck in Amsterdam for 24 hours.

Stuck with me (along with hundreds of other delayed fliers) are a Microsoft video game designer, a recently discharged Army tank maintainer, and another soldier on his way home for a 15-day leave.

I have affectionately (and appropriately) dubbed us Team America.

I’ll make it.