Breaking Through to the Other Side

From a recent Braves/Yankees game in here in Atlanta

One year ago almost to this day I found the home of my dreams. The dream machine, the veggie bus. It took me through a cold winter rent free and kept me nice and humble as I continued to work and save. In that time I paid off all of my debt and geared myself for the next big step in my life. It wasn't until I received a call from my oldest brother Luke while I was taking my trash out at the trailer park in February that I decided it was time to buy. He went on to tell me that the government is going to give away $8000 to any and every person out there who buys their first home in the next 10 months or whatever. I had already known about the interest free loan, but straight cash? Come on, this is never gonna happen again, and if it does I'm not waiting around for it. So, I continued down el cheapo road for the next 6 months as I held onto my job and waited patiently for the year and a half mark at my job to arrive (late June was that point) so that I could be approved for a mortgage.

Late May I received a call from the (best) mortgage guy, Brian Redmond, reminding me that now is the time. He set me up with a great realtor named Gin Willis who got me right on the horse searching for homes. Long story short, I looked at a gazillion homes in that short 3 week period and ended up purchasing the first home I was taken to. On June 20th at 1:30am I jumped out of my bed and wrote the 'What I want to do' e-mail to Gin. Not even 3 weeks later Brian pulled off a loan and I closed on my new home July 10th, 2009. It all happened in magical time and fluidity, from the offers to the rest of the communication. I thank God alone for the team of people I was set up to work with. I don't believe it could have happened more naturally.

Here I sit, here I sit in the journey home where I write you all of what dreams have come, a year and a half from the time I was broke as a joke, in debt, and fresh off the road from the journeys of 2007. What a sweet time it is.

I have a roommate lined up to move in on July 30th and another possibly early to mid August.

I will be sending out an eVite shortly for the housewarming party, which will take place the evening of August 1st...

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Robot Music for those of you who may find yourself mistaken or feeling like a robot at work and/or in life... enjoy.





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NEWS!!!

First off, my Mama is getting married on September 12th to Mr. Steven Thompson! This is huge news for me. All the brothers and their families will be up in Ohio for it... a very rare occurrence.
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I recently went to Ohio for the Dawes Family Reunion at the Dawes Arboretum in Newark, Ohio. I got the following pic from across the pond in England from a long lost relative, James Dawes.


Here is my immediate family pic (cousins, grandmother holding my nephew, Dad next to me, brother Dustin & his family.)



My Nephew & me (Daddy Dustin on left)! He's almost one now.


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What else, I played for a couple of Weddings. One was for a friend of another client who's Wedding I did 7-7-07 (see pic to right for '07 Wedding.) This was in Charlotte. Here is a pic from it. Then the next day I drove to Cleveland, Georgia, which is in the mountains, to play for Ben Jelen's Wedding. Ben is a musician who is trying to make it big in New York. Here is his music video for "Wreckage." Some of you I know have already heard of him.



This is one of the pics he sent me from before Rich's Wedding (Rich left, David right.)



... and below is one from Ben Jelen's Wedding.


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Lastly, I have been summoned to play in Las Vegas for Operation Save America's Pro Life Memorial Service. I played right down Fremont Street. That was yesterday, July 20th. I am back in Atlanta now... flew back today. I did a gig for them last year in Atlanta and they asked me back this year.
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Oh, one more thing. I played for Lanelle Babbage-Torres ("a minority within a minority") for a Mother's Day Pro Life gig too. Here it is:



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"Better to be hated than to be loved for what you're not" so go ahead, I dare you to "break on through to the other side."



Signing off,


~ Nate