Wow. I can't believe that I'm actually typing this blog right now. It seems like it been ages since I've written anything on this thing -- and perhaps that's because it has.

Today was my 24th birthday -- DECEMBER 13, 2006. I'm in a new place, surrounded by new people, new ideologies, and I'm being met with entirely new challenges every single day. I'm still trying to decide how I feel about Nashville as a whole. I mean, I THINK I like it, but it may be too soon for me to say how I feel about living here. The slow, southern drivers on the road are driving me nuts, and I don't exactly fit in when it comes to the big stuff - politics, religion, lifestyle, and oh, not to mention the fact that I'm trying to survive as a vegetarian in a region where fried food and bbq'ed meat are staples. Still, it's rare to find a city where there is such a collective concentration on the music industry and the art of writing songs. Nashville has something over Los Angeles and New York City. Nashville is one of the last places on earth where people value the true artistry of songwriting.

It's taken me a while to train myself not to bring up politics in my day to day conversations, which has actually shown me just how political I really am. On a national level, the recent elections provided a bit of reassurance for me, however, within the state of Tennessee, I was reminded of how different it is here from the liberal bubble I had been in while living in Boston. Let's just pray that the balance in the U.S. Senate does not get forced to unfairly shift back to what it was with the news of Senator Tim Johnson's critical health condition. I could go on forever on how inequitable it is that our system would allow an entire democratic election to take place only to give one person the power to change the results of that election. Now, what had seemed like a beacon of light at the end of a very long and tumultuous tunnel could very well have been a mirage. Please. World... prove me wrong.

Onto a lighter note... Living as a young woman in the "real world" has only begun to set in, in my mind. It's hard to go to school for close to 20 years of your life and then suddenly experience a shift of responsibility. For instance, it's still hard for me to come home and just relax. I often feel like I should be doing some type of homework and a strange and unfounded feeling of guilt tends to develop. I'm sure that that feeling will pass fairly quickly. No homework = a happy Brie.

I COULD write more... about work, life, love, health, and the future, but this birthday girl is exhausted, so that will have to wait until next time (soon, don't worry). All of that will come in time, preferably not when I'm supposed to be sound asleep awaiting a new day of work. I guess that's my cue, folks. Good night and good luck.