Anticipation

The passport was renewed two years ago, the application was sent out four months ago, in November I drove down to Chicago to apply for my student visa at the Spanish consulate, now come the scrutinizing details that precede the actual departure. The lingering fear of forgetting crucial items, miscalculating important departure and arrival times, arriving and having an incredible brain freeze in front of the customs agent while my mind cannot remember how to sort through the years of dismissed Spanish vocabulary; all of these are guaranteed to happen in small ways in the next week en route to San Sebastian. But this is what makes life fun, right? This is exactly what I signed up for when I picked International Business as my major, these are the types of trivial life errors that lead to great stories. Reviewing and rechecking my to do list before I go is acceptable to a certain extent, but the rest is up to fate, and I think I'm satisfied with that for now. Let the moment come when I realize I've made a small mistake and the great lengths I must go to fix it, for with these moments come memories worth laughing about many times over.

Mattress Surfing

After a long four day week sitting at a desk reviewing other people's finances, I have decided to indulge myself in a full day excursion in bed. In today's modern world we have the technology to control most of our lives through this little device that I am now working through, the computer, and more specifically my laptop. It sounds as if I am only furthering my tiring week into my Saturday as I continue to rely on a screen to connect me to my "world," however, I shall pursue this bedside adventure throughout the day for no better reason than because its more comfy, plus John and Yoko did it for an entire week. Albeit the computer, I have a few other of my favorite things in the whole wide world to keep me company, one being my guitar, and the other being "The Adventures of Tintin," the greatest graphic series to ever be printed. These three items in my bed, all encompassed by many fluffy blankets, are a perfect balance of where I want my life at this point in time. As I get older I am beginning to take on new responsibilities that I am learning cannot be ignored for very long. It can be an unfortunate burden at times, but there is also a feeling of satisfaction that goes along with responsibility when you know that other people are relying on your own decisions. So for part of my day I will spend on my computer preparing to hit the ground running for when I get back to school come August and have more pertinent things to get done. Spreading my day out a little, I am also preparing to for a recording session tomorrow, which is why I am accompanied in bed today with my six steel strings. Right now I am trying to finish up learning the Eddie Vedder song, Guaranteed, which come to think of it is extremely fitting for this blog's focus on experiencing life. Along with this I hope to write another song of my own today; we'll see how creative I'm feeling. Lastly, in the midst of my strides forward in work and in music, it is nice to fall back to my youthful imagination through the pages of Tintin. A big thanks to Belgian creator, Herge, your work has inspired many boys to take on the world. In fact his work will inspire many more once the movie comes out this fall. Anyway, time to get back to my own adventures right here between the sheets. Wish me luck, it shall be quite the comfy day!

And We Danced

College is an amazing time in most people's lives, but amidst the four years of constant activity, it can feel extremely monotonous and every once in a while we need to switch it up a bit. The long trail of winter has taken its tole this year and I feel that the promise of spring has led me along like a carrot in front of a donkey to the point where I am too exhausted to go any further. Alas, with the help of my trusty roommate, Dave, I was able to snap out of the frigid winter funk with a spontaneous Wednesday excursion out of the great city of Milwaukee, and over yonder to Madison, Wisconsin. There we went to see the up and coming hip hop artist Macklemore perform at a small venue on a street mainly frequented by ink and iron population. The space available for the audience was small, about the size of a high school class room, but it was fully utilized by both the performers and everyone in attendance. There couldn't have been more than 150 people there, but every single one of them knew how special the performer was, almost like we were all in on a secret that we couldn't believe hadn't gotten out yet. Before he performed one of his best stage songs, And We Danced, he made a point stressing the importance of expressing the soul. The ego is the enemy and it tells us to stand up against the wall with our cell phones out, not used as a social tool, but as a metaphysical barrier to keep others out. The soul is all the good in you that is surpressed by the ego, but that night we were told we had to forget our ego was there and let our soul expoliate all those pent up feelings. Dance like no one is watching, that is finding life at its fullest. If there ever was a way to look deep inside of yourself it would be to do it in front of everyone. This is best for two reasons. One, because you are doing it with others who are also releasing their own soulful vibes and so there is no shame in doing it together. Secondly, because once your true feelings have been revealed there sould never be an excuse to keep them hidden. So next time you feel your soul rattling inside trying to get out, tell your ego to take a backseat and shake a leg.

Creation

  The creation of anything may or may not begin with a fundamental purpose. Certain things such as the birth of a human may not have clear purposes at first, aside from the immediate instinctual survival, however as we grow we develop a refined idea of what we feel our goals and purposes here on earth are. The philosophy I have come to live by in recent years is always strive to understand life through direct experience. Immersion into the unknown, like jumping into a glassy morning lake, is the freshest and most invigorating introduction to life's many facets.  John Muir, the famous naturalist, once said that the best way to get to know a tree was to climb to the top and and ride it in a storm. The type of tree Mr. Muir climbed was not your average deciduous standing at thirty or forty feet, the man climbed towering redwoods that came to a teetering pinnacle hundreds of feet above ground. A more intimate moment is hard to come by than the one between man, tree, and nature as the three swayed and struggled to find equilibrium with one another, all just for one insightful glance into the others' existence. The purpose of this blog is to continue on with the tradition of finding that brink of reality, the point where we fully realize how powerful life can be. Taking a second glance, not all trials in life have to be so elaborate and romantic, as long as we go into the experience ready to become humbled by what it has to offer. To fully understand is to fully embrace, leaving out all predispositions and biases that currently cast large shadows on the many undervalued or over-hyped. Here's to exploring the world as if we were new to it again, away from all of the aggressive influence that hit us so hard the first time around. Here's to our new creation.