Deck the Halls

Okay, so don't laugh. The first thing that went up in my apartment was the Christmas tree. I have no furniture...but I have a tree! Forgive me, but I love Christmas more than anything and so I made sure I brought my Christmas Stuff with me in the car. My dad is bringing my things over to Pensacola tonight...and an old friend of mine from Mobile is helping me move in. Thanks a bunch, Jeff. So, I will finally start getting settled. Did you know Nationwide won't give renters insurance in Florida anymore? I had to switch companies and go to Allstate because NAtionwide is afraid of Hurricanes. And I got my bank account changed to Florida. Now, I have to get a florida driver's license and car tag...and it will be official. Hope everyone is doing well. THings at work are getting better. I was on my own for the last three days and had great shows each day. Happy Holidays!

Not Quite Settled

Hello Everyone!
Well, I am back in Huntsville for the weekend to get my stuff. My dad is moving me this weekend, so I didn't have to rent a truck. It will save me a couple hundred dollars...but I am so tired!
My new job is going well. I have been completely stressed, since I am learning a completely different program...and the guy that's training me isn't helping matters at all! He is so lazy and doesn't know much of anything...but he keeps reminding me how much experience he actually has in this business. And he won't really teach me, either. Every time I have a question, he gets mad because I am bothering him. SO, I had a talk with my boss today and hopefully things will get better soon. I didn't want to get the guy in trouble...but I am on probation for the first 90 days and if he doesn't teach me right, I could lose my job.
Good News! I did find an apartment. It's not the apartment I would have picked for myself...it doesn't have a dishwasher and it's only 600 square feet...but it is only five minutes from work and it was the ONLY apartment in Pensacola available now. I found several that had openings at the end of December and in January...but nothing now. When I showed up in the office of my apartment complex and she told me she had one opening, I about cried. It was a joyous occasion. So, thank you to all of you who prayed that I would find a place to live. And I am about five minutes from Brownsville Assembly of God, so I plan to visit soon.
Well, I will talk some more in the next couple of weeks. :)

Beach Bound

Today is my last day at WAFF and it's kind of bittersweet. I am so happy that I am getting my own show and I get to move on. I am also glad that I get to move to a new city. I always look at moving as an adventure. But I am sad because I do have to leave behind so many wonderful co-workers. I love our morning crew. The folks that work on the morning show at WAFF are like family and I will miss them greatly. So, just a shout-out to Tracy, Denise, Jade, Jeff C., Jeff G., Sony, Lee, Will, Brian, Madison, Chris, D.J., Brandon, O'Harold, and Andrew...and I can't forget Rachad, who just recently left our morning show for a job in the evenings. You guys have made my time at WAFF great and most of you were always supportive of me while I was trying to learn...even if I made severe mistakes on-air. And for that, I thank you! I couldn't have done it without you! I can only hope my crew at WEAR will be as great as all of you. If any of you are ever in Pensacola, look me up!

When I came into work this morning at 2:30 a.m., I was so hungry because I don't have any food in my house since I am moving and restaurants are not open at that time of day. But I got to work, my wonderful co-workers had krispy kreme doughnuts waiting for me on my desk! I think they are trying to make me fat! But who cares? I was so happy that I had something to eat! You don't want to know how many I actually ate!

For my last day, I am celebrating by getting my very first flu shot. Fun! This is a big deal, because I HATE needles and who knows? My co-workers may get to see my cry today :) . My job is offering the shot here at work and I thought it would be a good idea, since I won't get sick days for three months at my new job...and I am moving in the middle of flu season. I don't want to risk it. I just hope that I don't get sick from the shot and I hope that my arm isn't sore afterwards. I do have to drive five and a half hours today.

I was hoping to make it out of the Tennessee Valley before any severe weather hit this month. (November is the worst month for severe weather here) and a bit of trivia for you...did you know Huntsville and Oklahoma City go back and forth each year as being the number one city to get tornadoes? Anyway, yesterday was the 16th anniversary of the 1989 tornado, which ripped through Huntsville, killing several people...and lo and behold...on the 16th anniversary of that terrible storm, we had severe weather again! So, yesterday, everyone waited for the weather. Most of it went north of us, hitting parts of Tennessee. I don't wish bad weather on anyone, but I am terrified of tornadoes, so I was happy I didn't have to deal with that yesterday...just some thunder and lightning and lots of rain. I will have to deal with hurricanes once I'm living on the Gulf Coast, but to me, that's not as bad as a tornado. At least, you know the hurricane is coming days in advance, so you have time to prepare.

I still don't have an apartment in Pensacola. I will be looking for one tomorrow and Friday. PLease pray that I will find one that I like, one that is safe, and one that I can easily afford. I don't want to spend my extra money I will be making in this job on my apartment. I want to actually be able to buy some new clothes for myself and maybe even a new car eventually. Right now, I keep fixing the car I have and I dress like a pauper because I can't afford anything else.

So, I am off to Florida! Bare with me for a few days while I'm moving. I won't be near a computer to post anything...but as soon as I'm settled, I will give you a full report.

And Jade, just so you know...it's really cold here (high of 48 today), but in Pensacola, it's going to be in the 60s and 70s this week! Have fun heading to the snow in Philly. And good luck to you! (Jade is a reporter at WAFF and is heading to a job at the end of the month in Philadelphia).

No Room in the Inn

Okay...so it's not really an inn, but same concept! Can I sound-off for a minute? I am moving tomorrow and I still don't have a place to live in Pensacola! This is so crazy! I got on the phone yesterday and I started calling apartments...all listed in my apartment guide. But no one seems to have any available apartments! I've been told that because of the hurricanes, people are living in apartments because their homes were destroyed. Okay...so the two or three apartments I did find went way up on their prices! Talk about price gouging! One of them told me it was going to cost me $1,000 just to have my dog! ($500 for deposit, $500 for pet fee). In the book, it's listed as $200 pet fee! That's price gouging if you ask me! So, I have no idea what I'm going to do! I am hoping that I will get to Pensacola and find several apartments not listed in the apartment guide that have available units at an affordable price. If not, I may be forced to commute from Mobile where my grandmother lives. That's more than an hour away! Please pray for me!

My Last Huntsvegas Weekend

Well, I have three days until my time in Huntsville will come to an end and I will say good-bye to WAFF. I will work Wednesday and then I will get in the car and head South. And trust me, I won't look back. No offense to any of my friends in North Alabama, because all of you will stay dear to my heart...
Last weekend was my last weekend in the "Heart of the Valley." And if nothing else...I ate good! I went to St. Thomas Episcopal church for Lobsterfest...and man, was it good! It had been a long time since I had Lobster, so thanks Denise, for the generous gift!
I spent the rest of the weekend packing up my apartment and getting ready to leave. I packed all my clothes...except what I need to wear this week. Do you know how hard it is to pick out what your going to wear four days in advance?
So, come Wednesday, I will be Florida bound! I'll be working on the beach...man, I'll tell ya...suffering for Jesus! hehe.
This will be my third tv station since I graduated college, but it's the first time I get to do what I really want to do...produce a newscast full-time. It's going to be so great. So, if anyone is ever in the Mobile-Pensacola area, turn on WEAR, channel 3 for your morning news! :)

Why Summer Rain?

So, this is my first post. I named by blog "Summer Rain" because that is one of my favorite things in the whole world. You know, the kind of rain that soaks everything and cools the air...and the kind of rain that you can play in, without having to worry about getting struck by lightning. But, I guess my favorite thing about a summer rain is the way it smells. Everything smells so clean after a good summer rain.