A new story for a new city

Gabe’s Post: So here I am in Panera, punching in my first entry into the blog and finally realizing we aren’t in Misery…er…Missouri anymore. What touched off this revelation? The fact that when we asked for sweet tea we received blank stares and pointed toward a packet of Sweet’N Low. So on to my first post. While Kalene will post the more emotional and insightful things in our lives, I will post the stories. Anyone who knows me already recognizes my fondness for a good yarn. Also, I seem to attract the most unique situations. Needless to say we have many stories to tell already. One of my favorites will be first.

Apartment hunting was a challenge. We made enough laps around this city that Kalene and I, as directionally challenged as we are, know downtown like the back of our hand. Many landlords were nice, many were not, but only one offered me the secret to eternal life.  After being led into a decrypted apartment with wallpaper that watched the Carter presidency come and go, the landlord turned to us and said, “What do you think?” Trying to be nice, I looked for anything to compliment and made the mistake of opening the fridge. The whole thing was full of non-descript boxes. To my surprise he pulled out four-pound blocks of almond cheese. “I am 88 and this is why,” he said in broken English as he proceeded to show me the amazing properties of almond cheese. The man knew his dairy. We passed on that apartment and spent two more nerve-racking days searching for the perfect place in a city we had never even seen before.

God provided for us, and I am so thankful he did. I feel like maybe God let me have this opportunity in Pittsburgh and Los Angeles to prove that he can do anything, even give a boy from the Midwest the chance to touch lives through film.  Thank you for your support and keep us in your thoughts when you pray, that God will continue to provide for us in this great new place. Stay tuned for many more stories and pictures as we go coast to coast.

P.S. Thanks to Dustin, Levi, Nathan, Sam, and Josh for helping us pack. Also, both Kalene and I would like to thank our parents for being with us for our first week in Pittsburgh. Could not have done it without all of you.

The things we left behind and the things we took with us

We are now in Pittsburgh after a couple of weeks of hurried packing and last minute arrangements. Last week, Gabe and I (with the help of whom I’m convinced are five of the smartest and kindest guys to come out of Evangel) packed all of our belongings into a 6x7x8 cube that followed us to our destination in Pennsylvania.  Though the space in our storage unit seemed impossibly small at first, we only ended up leaving behind our couch and a small bookcase. It took me probably a whole week to face the realization that most of our books would also have to stay behind. Two large boxes of our books now sit in Gabe’s grandparent’s house in Springfield until we have the room or the money--whichever comes first--to take them with us.

Now, I sit on a new couch that we managed to pick up for free among our boxes of dishes, appliances, pictures, and books (I did manage to bring along a few that I “can’t live without”). After my dad left yesterday and Gabe’s parents left this morning, tonight is our first in Pittsburgh without our parents or anyone familiar.  Mostly, we feel disoriented, like something is missing. Gabe’s grandparents are not a mile down the road, and Kala is not working at the local Chick-fil-a. When we enter a grocery store or walk down the hallway of our apartment, we’re no longer greeted with a bright, Southern, “Hey, how ya doin’?” Instead, people seem to look past us or through us.

Of course, these are the unfamiliar things, the things that can be scary and make one yearn for home and family. There have been many good things about this past week, too. Getting our apartment was  one of them. We knew we were lucky to pay only $355 a month for our Springfield apartment, but we didn’t realize just how lucky until we looked at apartments here. Apartments not nearly as nice as our old apartment cost twice as much near CMU. We saw many apartments and had many interesting adventures along the way, whether it was meeting the local residents or finding our way through the maze of Pittsburgh’s signless streets. But in the midst of confusion and frustration, we found a complex in the middle of renovation. We were able to find an apartment nicer and larger than our Springfield apartment that was just within our price range.  After a few days of apartment searching, we started to feel that maybe our life in Springfield wasn’t so bad. At least we were comfortable. But despite our initial desperate rushing around the city, I think we will be able to make a comfortable living here as well.

We were so ready to leave Springfield, but certainly there are things about that city that we will miss. Gabe’s main regret is that we never had a last meal of the infamous Springfield cashew chicken. Though I can’t say I will particularly miss the cuisine, Springfield does hold memories for both of us. Of course, Gabe and I met in Springfield almost five years ago now. We’ve fostered many friendships in that city, many of which we will continue to keep in touch with from far away.

But, for now, we say a fond farewell to Springfield and welcome the new opportunities that Pittsburgh will bring. 

Pictures and more stories still to come!

On our way

As a lover of literary fiction, I have always been wary of blogs. But lately, it seems logical—and almost necessary—to have some medium for sharing our experiences. Before the end of the month, we will be leaving our home and our jobs to take on a new adventure.

In March, Gabe was accepted into Carnegie Mellon’s MEIM (master’s in entertainment industry management) program. This program first requires us to be in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His first year will include mostly business classes at CMU’s campus. Right now, I seem to be more excited about Gabe’s classes than he is, but he is looking forward to trip to Sundance Film Festival and three to four internships in major entertainment studios like Sony, Warner Brothers, and Lionsgate.

After two semesters of studying in Pittsburgh, we will be making another move across the country—to Los Angeles! Within two year’s time, we will have moved from the Midwest to the East coast to the West coast.

The scary part—and the exciting part—is that we have no idea where this move will take us next. We’ve had to face a lot of other scary things with this move. We don’t know anyone in Pittsburgh, and neither of us have ever been there. So, where do we live? How do we make money to live? How do we get all of our stuff from Missouri to Pittsburgh and then to LA? And most importantly, it seems at the moment, how do we pay for this “priceless” education?

We realize that in this time of economic hardship, not many people are attempting what we are. We realize that it’s going to be hard. But I think we also realize that if we don't take any risks now, we never will. And then we would be stuck in Springfield, Missouri, forever…or at least for a long time.

Along the way, we are planning to share with you our adventures, whether it’s finding a place to live or encountering new, unique people. We hope that sharing our experiences will bring us closer to all of you despite the physical distance between us.  Now, more than ever, we will need to know that our loved ones can “hear” us and respond to us.

We look forward to sharing our stories with you!