Where do I begin?

I suppose the purpose of this blog started back in 2002 with my then boyfriend (now husband) taking a college course on Elvis Presley. Since we were not attending the same school I was ineligible to take the course so I persuaded him to with the promise that I would help write the only assignment for him. We procrastinated terribly on the 24 page final paper and a few days before it was due at the end of the semester we were both living and breathing Elvis. After reading every book imaginable on the King we were armed with loads of knowledge but still no thesis. Around 3am two nights before the paper was due I stumbled across a picture of Elvis with his childhood girlfriend who was quite interestingly named Magdeline and our thesis was born-- Elvis as Christ. After that the paper practically wrote itself as correlations betwixt the King of Rock and Roll and the King of Kings started popping out all over the place, ranging from the obvious (12 Disciples/Memphis Mafia) to the not so obvious (both prophecised their own deaths.) The paper earned him an A+, the grade for the entire class and cemented our love for each other (and ol' E.)

Several years later we found ourselves with complimentary plane tickets and we headed to the home of Elvis Presley. While Graceland was quite the emotional experience for us, the city itself was something we never could have expected. I am not even going to attempt to put my feelings into words at this point, because frankly they could do no justice. To understand Memphis one must feel Memphis. Not just see Memphis, nor read about all the unfavorable things naysayers like to write about it or even the favorable things those who truly understand the city have written. You must feel it.

In December 2008, Z and I were both laid off. When I lost my job we thought it was devastating. When he lost his a week later it was almost laughable as fate was obviously telling us to stop following our current paths. We had spent the first five years of our marriage in the Midwest College Town where we had both attended school, in the state we had both grown up in. As we outgrew this town and state we did our best to curb our unhappiness by traveling extensively, primarily to the Southeastern portion of this here United States. (You know something's awry when as a 27 year old Midwesterner you have stayed at 3 out of Southern Living's Top Ten Resorts, and eaten at half of their top restaurants, all within the past few years.) Losing our jobs was the proverbial kick in the ass we needed to get ourselves out of here. And get ourselves out of here we will. Welcome to our journey to 38103.