You may be aware that I have my first book in print coming out in December. If you don’t, shame on you, but now you know. The book is called Playing With Fire and, for the most part, takes place in the city of Savannah, GA. I myself am in Jacksonville, FL so I’ve been to Savannah a time or two with my family and then more recently on Saint Patrick’s Day for my friend Izzy’s bachelorette party. I love the city, it’s like New York – but you know with trees and nice people…okay so, not much like New York except for the architecture and layout of buildings – everything is built upwards instead of outwards the way it is around here. There are also at least three levels to most places, which is cool considering our proximity to sea level. My husband took me there this past weekend for my bday and we went by all these spots from my book. Overall it was an awesome trip. Our hotel was awful; damn near $400 a night and no pool, horrible beds, bland surroundings and rowdy neighbors. I wouldn’t recommend The Bohemian Hotel to anyone. As for the rest of the trip, I thought I’d share some of the memories with you, along with some excerpts from the story that go with them. Hope you enjoy.

 Chippewa Square

There are about 38438974398 squares in Savannah. They all have a statue of someone but my absolute favorite is the one in Chippewa.

There’s a statue in Savannah of some general from a war the humans fought a few hundred years ago. It stands high atop a concrete podium, surrounded by miniature lions and tucked neatly in the center of a cobblestone courtyard. Large oak trees grow, their branches hanging low creating a canopy of shade around him.  If you sat on the statue long enough, every soul in the city would pass by. Some living, some lost, all wandering in the general direction of their ultimate destination but allowing distractions to veer them off course.

Vic’s On the River

Fabulous restaurant that I have yet to eat at. It’s very lovely though, don’t you think?

On River Street there’s a restaurant called Vic’s. When I was younger I would wander the city, watching normal people go about their lives. Anytime I would pass by Vic’s, I always stopped to peer inside the windows at the pristine linen tablecloths and napkins. And the floors of course, they had beautiful hardwood floors.

River Street

Pretty much the hub of the city, there are so many shops and places to eat you could spend days on end here and not experience everything. You can also see the port from here. My dad (entire family) is a member of the ILA local 1593 and I used to go with him to District meetings in Savannah when I was little.

We were quiet for a while as we watched a container boat full to the brim approach the docks in the distance. The Longshoremen called to each other, moving like a well-oiled machine to tie it off once it docked. I enjoyed watching them work together to dominate the enormous vessel. Humans could do anything if they put their minds to it, they just so rarely bothered putting their minds to anything other than war or obtaining wealth. Sometimes I wondered if the Rogues had the right idea all along and we were the ones grasping at slippery straws.

S.C.A.D. (Savannah College of Art and Design)

Just because I love it and am completely jealous of anyone who actually knows what they want to be when they grow up right after high school.

He (Philip) taught a class at SCAD – that’s the Savannah College of Art and Design in case you’re wondering- and would be doing so throughout the duration of the summer and hoped to go full time with them at the conclusion of his temporary contract.

Last, but most certainly NOT least,

Mellow Mushroom

Lea’s favorite restaurant with her favorite pizza. We ate there and I’ll be damned if our waitress didn’t have silver hair. I asked her if it was okay if I took a pic with her. =)

Tinsley waited in a restaurant two blocks away that served my favorite pizza ever in the history of ever. She’d already ordered and the white margarita delicacy sat in the center of the table, delicious steam wafting into the air. 

While this isn’t in the book, I might have to work it in to the follow up. The Davenport House Ghost Cat was mentioned to me on the tour we took the night before we left so I begged my husband to take me there on our way home. I swear to you on my father’s life, as we were coming back in the house from the garden I heard a cat meow. I ended up buying Cameron this little beanie baby looking thing with ‘Davenport Ghost Cat’ embroidered on the side. Look, you can see me taking the pic in the mirror! lol I’m a sucker for stuff like that.

If you haven’t been, I suggest you do so. They have all sorts of historical and ghost tours (May I recommend the ‘America’s Most Haunted City’ walking tour? Ask for Carey.) you can take. Perhaps one day someone will say, “And here is where one of Christy Trujillo’s first books found its inspiration.” You never know, stranger things have happened. 

2012. You and I, well, it’s just not working out. I think it’s best if we just let each other go. I think we can both agree that things started off great, but then you couldn’t hide your true colors any longer and it just fell apart.

That’s how I feel; like I’m trying to recover from a bad relationship. I can’t put 2012 into a category. It wasn’t good, damn sure wasn’t good, but I can’t exactly say it was bad either.

We lost our house, but moved into a nicer house for less money and I have an office so…

I didn’t get any promotions at work, but I did get placed on a task force and introduce a program that now the entire North American Marketing department is going to use so… yeah.

See what I mean? Not good, not bad.

I am older and starting to not like that. Even when I turned 30 I was like, ‘Ehh, whateva.’ But now, 33 is making me unhappy. My heart…is a mixed up place. Always has been and always will be. I maintain that I’m ‘more’ than most people. I’m not normal, well, to those who have to be around me every day. I’m a very normal, even somewhat tame, writer, but I don’t have any other writers in my family so they all think I’m crazy. Really. I’m surprised someone hasn’t tried to have me committed yet. I feel like they all give me sideways glances when I’m buried in a notebook, taking notes on the thoughts that come pouring into my head, or have to refrain from asking me if I’m okay when I start mumbling to myself and shuffle off to my laptop, my story, my soul.

I’m trying to keep my expectations for 2013 pretty low. In fact, I don’t have any at all. All I can do is wake up each day and view it as a new chance to get something right, which at this point, would be a damn miracle.

• Save more money than you spend. Really. You don’t need that Coach purse.
• Keep your focus on who cooks your meals and pays your bills, the rest is just background noise.
• Try something new, go somewhere new, listen to something new…life’s too short for the continuation of the mundane.
• And finally, my personal favorite: It is never too late to become what you might have been.