Day 27: Nashville, TN

Today was another day spent in Tennessee. I must be going crazy because I am getting sort of used to the heat - what is wrong with me? Maybe I am becoming a southerner?

Woke up this morning, got ready, and drove into Nashville to meet Connor for brunch. Connor is my brother's best friend (Jamie's words), and he is louder, bigger, and more obnoxious than Jamie (my mom's word). He has been living in Nashville for the last two years after he got transferred for his sales job. I met him and his girlfriend Kathleen for brunch at Fido, a spot near Vanderbilt. Connor is very personable and hilarious, and so even though it had been two years since we had seen each other it was fun to catch up with him and see what Nashville life is like.

After brunch, I drove back to Murfreesboro and back to Amanda's apartment to help her get ready for the BBQ she was hosting in the afternoon. Several of Amanda's co-workers came over, and we ate food (a lot of food eaten today) and chatted and such. It is always fun to see a group of entry-level Housing professionals get together, as there are some commonalities and differences between the conversations and sociability. It was interesting hearing about the hierarchy at MTSU and also how some of their conversations have probably taken place at Gonzaga (and elsewhere). A fun group for sure!

After the BBQ, I headed out to Smyrna (a town in between Nashville and Murfreesboro) to meet up with Ann Schmidt for dinner (more food - I think I was actually sick of eating by that time) at Cheddar's. Ann was a year ahead of me in the Master's program at University of Dayton and she was a fellow ResLife GA. She moved to Nashville about two months ago to start a new job as an admissions counselor at Aquinas College, a small Dominican college in Nashville. She had been gone for the weekend at a wedding, so it was nice of her to come back and have dinner with me and it was good to catch up.

After that, headed back to Murfreesboro and hung out while Amanda and her coworker Darrell did some work - no rest for the wicked! Overall, my time in Tennessee has been fun. I don't know if I could ever live in the south, but it is a nice place to visit and it is great to see people who love living here.

On to New Orleans tomorrow! It is strange to think that my trip is half over, depending on how you look at it. In two weeks I will be back in Northern California with the parents and will be there for the rest of July, so even though I will still be technically "roadtripping" I will be in an area I am mostly familiar with. Anyway, I have gotten pretty used to spouting off my trip details to those who want to listen, and I realized today that my "cities/places I have already been to" list is now longer than the "rest of the places I am going" list - a sign that the trip is almost done! Better make sure to make the most of the rest of the time.

Good night!

Joey