Officially a full-time Chattanoogan again. Getting used to that will take some time.

Yesterday, I woke up at 4:30 a.m. (after 4 hours of sleep) and left Montgomery County about an hour later. Next time I make the drive to DC, I’ll have to remember to leave super early. By noon, I was already back in Tennessee and able to drive over 65 mph. (Hate Virginia’s speed limit!)

Last week, a co-worker and I were joking that packing is little more than 3-D Tetris (Hi Justin!). Ummm…packing my car with essentials was a work of art. There was literally just enough space for me to sit. When I pulled into the driveway at the Parental’s abode, they were shocked at the amount of stuff crammed in my car and raced to get the camera. I doubt that I could have squeezed a tube of toothpaste in my Accord.

It’s incredibly odd to be back in my parents’ house. I’ve been on my own for so long that it’ll be interesting. However, I’m grateful for this opportunity since I’ll be able to save for a down payment much faster. The Chattanooga housing market doesn’t even compare to DC. You can buy a condo here for under $80,000! No, I’m not missing any digits in front of that. The cheapest condos that I ever found in DC were around $200,000 for a studio. Not only is housing more affordable, but there’s no income tax in Chattanooga!!!!! Just by moving here, I got a raise.

This morning, I attended services at Lookout Mountain Pres and then headed over to Embrace. I’ve followed the church plant for so long that it was awesome to attend. I was blown away. The leadership team has done an amazing job with few resources. However, the best part is seeing the dreams of Beka and Dana come true. Count this as the first of many plugs for Embrace. If you’re looking for a new church home in Chattanooga, come by for visit. At the very least, you’ll get a free breakfast and meet GFTS.

Embrace meets at Loose Cannon Art Gallery on the Southside. Another reason I love Chattanooga–urban renewal. Why did no one mention CreateHere to me? What a great concept! It almost makes me wish I had gone to art school like I planned for most of my life instead of pursuing communications and politics. Well, maybe not. I was never that good and a steady paycheck makes me happy. The field of watercolors isn’t that profitable. (Neither is politics but at least you win some campaigns).

Tomorrow, my career transitions from social media diva to nonprofit fundraising and communications. There’s still some social media involved, but I’ll be returning more to my communication roots. I may even need to pull out my AP Styleguide! Time to change from public health policy to bleeding-heart nonprofit. Anyone willing to pull out their checkbooks?

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 13th, 2008 at 3:38 pm and is filed under Back to Chatt, Embrace Church, Chattanooga. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.