Crash course

I'm pretty sure higher education isn't for me. However in this upset economy, are you expected to sacrifice what you love for stability? And will it even matter in 10 years?
Sure, most people could go to school and get a bullshit degree in something they don't love. You could find a job and make enough to keep plugging away at the American dream even as the world crumbles around you. But perhaps we should take this as a sign that we're doing things wrong and it's time to re-evaluate our needs.
As the budding adults of tomorrow people my age need to take a hard look at what they are willing to sacrifice for wealth and stability. Is giving up your personal freedom worth a SUV? Is that vacation to Disney World worth missing out on your friend's lives? Do we even need most of the crap we work so hard to get?

Vitamins!

Remember to take them everyday.

Have imagination, will travel.

I could totally give Anthony Bourdain a run for his money. I could have a show called "Fat Girl, Small World". I could eat my way though this entire planet. I was talking to a friend of mine yesterday and she suggested we make our own travel show, which as she discussed ideas I realized was mainly me eating odd foods, taking strange drugs, and doing things that put my mind and body in harms way.
But if someone else was paying for it, hey why not?

It seems to me so many people in this world want to travel far and wide to see everything this wide, crazy world has to offer. It seems a shame so few of us will ever get to see these things in reality. If you are a human and want to explore the dangerous terra, is that not some kind of birthright? It seems better than sitting in a cubical all day staring at the computer, or gazing out a window at the Bennigan's across the street.

I think it is completely possible to travel strange places, with strange people, with nothing more than a few dollars and a personality to get you by. I know, I've done it. I've met people who scared me so bad I feared for my life, but I have also met people so nice it changed my belief in humanity. Sure it takes some of that Gonzo grit, but if you have the will to forget everything, and embrace the chaos that is the world and all it's peoples and places, you can find the most coveted jewels tucked away in the spirits of places. There is a beauty to eating stolen apples by a fountain in Greece with local ruffians who sleep in dilapidated churches older than the city around them, that a 5 star hotel could never reach. Then again being slathered in hot oil and having every inch of your body rubbed and kneaded into bliss while overlooking the beaches is quite desirable, too.
There is too much to enjoy in life to sit around worrying about mortgage payments and soccer practice. I just hope I never forget it.

Time waster

Break out the rabbit's feet.

I may be going to Seattle after all. We leave in 5 days, let's keep our fingers crossed.

NIN BTW!!

I love the band Nine Inch Nails, and this is one of the better sites related to them. Plus it's very funny.

Seattle trip

So I went to a party last night at the house of the people who I am going to Seattle with. We were all imbibing alcohol and such, and my friend mentioned that we need to plan our activities before we leave. Which of course I love. I'm a planner, it's what I do.

Originally it was going to be T, K, and myself going to Seattle to stay with K's parents, hanging out for a week and attending Pride. However T and K recently broke up and they both just bicker and complain about each other to no end. I'm of the opinion that they need to get back together because their relationship was holding my faith in love together. However since they broke up, T no longer wants to go to Seattle, because it would be weird to stay in her ex-girlfriend's parents house (understandable). So now it's just K and myself. I'm kind of embarrassed to go now, since I have never met K's family and I'm not like best friends with her or anything. I mean we get along okay, but I always feel like I'm going to say the wrong thing or maybe I'm a little to over dramatic and outgoing for her. Plus I had to quit my job recently for a family emergency and I haven't had a chance to save up as much money as I had hoped, so I'm not going to have much money to go around and do things with. And I don't want to keep them from doing activities or going places that they would like to because I'm broke. But I had planned on going, and I want to go. It's going to be my first Pride and my first major trip of the year, plus I have never been that far north before. So far I've gone west to San Diego, north to Chicago, south and east to Florida, plus an assortment of places in between. It's not much in the grand scope of travel, but it's more than most people get a chance to see.

Seattle always kind of stood for the origins of punk culture in America to me. And I don't mean in the historical sense, I mean in the ability for the outcasts and misunderstood to thrive in society. I live in a place where the most culture you receive is from TV, movies, books, magazines, music, and most importantly, the internet (blag o' tubes). I feel like all I have heard of Seattle is this kind of mass of weird people, troubled musicians, and coffee. But I'm looking forward to seeing what it is in reality.

If I do go, I know we probably won't get a chance to see and do everything important. However, I would like to see as much of the city as possible, regardless of what we do. I know we are going to a Major League Ball game, and I've never been to an actual game before. I want to buy $8 beer and a foam finger. I know we were talking about going to the Sci-fi museum and the Experience Music Project, however those look expensive. We are going to the beach one day, which means I must once again face the agony of wearing a bathing suit in public. And of course Pride, omg it's going to be incredible.

Planning out activities makes me feel like I'm doing something constructive, as well as building the excitement of the trip. However I'm convinced I'm cursed and every time I get excited the universe (or something) seeks to destroy me. (partially kidding)

Also, wit

xkcd is one of my favorite blago' sphere (interblag) haunts. It's a very warming mix of love, poetry, science, math, pop culture, not-so pop culture, and humor. So go on over there and read a couple hundred funny comics.

Art

Interesting

Vacation

So I'm going to PrideFest in Seattle in June. I'm going with two friends of mine, one of whom used to live in Seattle. I am hoping to get some really great video and pictures of all the events. From what I've seen online Seattle Pride isn't as big as it used to be, nor does it have an overwhelming amount of activities. But for me, I'm just excited to get to go and be there. I might be riding with a friend from Seattle to N.Y. after the festival is over, to spend a few days with him in N.Y., which I've also never been to. I hope I get to go because a cross country road trip, getting to go to my first Pride, getting to see Seattle and New York for the first time all in the same two weeks would be awesome.

I view traveling as an opportunity to expand your knowledge not only about the word around you but about yourself as well. It's all the stories you have when you get back, and all the memories you make that are important. You see people and places you have never seen before, and learn things you may have never learned otherwise.