So I've come to a conclusion of sorts about the past 3 weeks that I've been home.
Week 1: Quite similar to many other visits home- lots of CSI watching, a reunion or two with some of my closer high school friends, and a shit ton of cleaning, sleep and laziness.
Week 2: "What am I doing with my life?" moments. Will I be able to be a productive human being outside of the constructs of undergraduate life? Do I have a purpose? I actually really missed those sleepless nights in Mudd....for a hot second....but the moment was there ;)
Week 3: Finding some purpose. I started studying for the GRE 2-3 hours daily at the public library (which I love!), mailed some letters to people (staff, mentors and some friends in between) that I'd been meaning to send in Week 2, but was contemplating my state of non-job, non-college and total(-ish) freedom that time flew by and I forgot. I've also met up with a few Obies and high school friends which has kept me happy and reminds me, despite how much time passes, friends, real friends, will certainly be there when you come back from your journeys.
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So, the reason for the title of this post (besides its obvious TRUTH beyond all truth) is that I've (re)discovered how fucking amazing it is to have organic-hipster-hippie-biker crazies, cliffs dropping off into endless ocean water, farmer's markets, warm days and cool nights, hiking trails and flocks of youth confused and trying to figure out what to do to make the world better....over some fair trade coffee (or a cup of microbrewed beer) and a cigarette (thanks Sid and Penina...and Zeitgeist). I mentioned in my last post how I had missed the West Coast, but really, I'm remembering that about 4 years ago this was my home and I didn't really know it until I left. And now I'm back ready to bounce again, onto the next adventure...
Speaking of which, I finally acquired my ticket to Lima! I'm glad I finally have a concrete something to look forward to (25 days!) While despite being certain of my desire to get to Lima by the end of July, not actually having my ticket there kept me anxious. I've been waiting so long to see Alvaro again, and I'm absolutely ecstatic about my return to Lima (almost exactly a year from when I left).
I haven't yet mentioned the fabulous Eric Oeur yet in my posts, so I must here. Eric is living in my house for the summer and it really feels great to have an Obie around. While I feel kinda guilty every time he comes back, tired from sitting at his computer all day at work while I've usually slept in, gone running, showered, chatted with a friend, kicked it at the public library and played with my cats......I remember I put in my 4 years worth of work and I can still look at myself in the mirror without (too much) remorse :) Eric, my sister Lindsey, my brother Stephen and I have been watching Lost religiously (we've gotten through all of Season 1 and about half of Season 2 at this point....) and I have a few short thoughts:
Said is the shit, Sawyer is an asshole, but awesome (quite similar to my feelings towards a Dr. House- Lizzie!!! you know what I mean), I want to kick Jack, Charlie and Michael in the face for being idiots, and I really, really, really, really wish I'd won the lottery like Hugo. Dammit! All in all, I'm addicted and am glad I took to never watching T.V. at Oberlin as it takes up many hours of my evenings at this point and I probably would not be done with my college education had I decided to commit myself to T.V. series following (Lizzie, Obed, I don't know how you do it)
Goodnight friends!
R.I.P. MJ
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Updates from the Road Trip and Commencement Reflections
Hello again friends,
Okay, so I really have to get used to this internet thing. I haven't written much, nor have I uploaded promised pictures, but some day I'm sure I will. Soooo, since I last wrote a few things have happened. In a general note, I am going to be getting my wisdom teeth out the 2nd of July (booo!), my sister's Quince is now officially dated to be the 18th of July, and I've done most of the packing of my room pre-moving out to Lima...
Seattle was great. I got to see Kirsten Hansen-Day and Alice Manos for a lovely afternoon in Volunteer Park, munching on a delicious picnic lunch, laying out in the sun and walking through a bomb green house/conservatory with gorgeous plants. Andrew's family is awesome and they put me and my dad up before we headed out down the 101 to California. We explored Seattle, had some good foodie moments and enjoyed a nice dinner a really sweet Chinese restaurant on our last night.
The ride down was sweet, we went pretty fast, got home in 2 days. We stopped at Tilamook, Oregon and got some derricious (thanks Cheska) cheese and had some yummy huckleberry ice cream before we kept driving on. Day 2 we drove through and walked around the Avenue of the Giants. I forgot how amazing the West Coast is. Coming home, it just felt right, peaceful, serene, full of amazing places to get lost in. Ohio, you're awesome and all, but nothing compared to California. You could just feel the trees alive, knowing that the space I was in had many years of life in it, and I was just passing through. It's nice to pass through places though, I don't know if I like standing still.
We made it home a lot earlier than intended, although it was somewhat less exciting than I though. The house was empty save for my 2 cats and psycho pomeranian dog (who I love dearly despite his tiny size). Everyone was out doing their thing, as expected, but yeah, it was nice to be able to chill in my own room for a while, relax, think about the last time I was here this long. It was a break from commencement week, which was, to say the least insanity. I hadn't really sat down for more than 20 min ever since, well, since finals, and it felt quite surreal to be back in my old room, decorated almost exactly the same way when I left it 4 years ago.
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Commencement week: haven't really settled my mind on that yet, either. It was packed full of madness, and I really felt like it began during finals. The first 2 papers I sent off to my professors, I didn't get that "you're-doing-the-last-academic-thing" feeling. Just regular old, you're-done-with-one-thing-now-hurry-your-ass-up-and-get-on-to-the-next-thing feeling. But that last one, the final one, I really took my time on, let it sit and mull over in my mind (especially during that hour Lizzie, Jackie and I watched "House" in Mudd.....), and sent if off, finally achieving that you're-done moment.
I can't quite remember all the details of that week. It was filled with absolutely no sleep, goodbyes, I'll-see-you-laters, thank yous, Feve drinks, drives to the airport, last minute packing, delicious home cooked meals, long nights, last minute errands, 13 family members flying in from California, warm weather long overdue and plans for my last trip out of Oberlin.
All in all, I'd say it was good. I slept little, which means I made the most of my time while I had it. I think I'll miss Oberlin soon, but right now it still feels like just another summer. By the time September rolls around, however, I might be singing a different tune. As for now, I'll keep enjoying the comforts of little responsibility and try and the lovely California summertime.
Okay, so I really have to get used to this internet thing. I haven't written much, nor have I uploaded promised pictures, but some day I'm sure I will. Soooo, since I last wrote a few things have happened. In a general note, I am going to be getting my wisdom teeth out the 2nd of July (booo!), my sister's Quince is now officially dated to be the 18th of July, and I've done most of the packing of my room pre-moving out to Lima...
Seattle was great. I got to see Kirsten Hansen-Day and Alice Manos for a lovely afternoon in Volunteer Park, munching on a delicious picnic lunch, laying out in the sun and walking through a bomb green house/conservatory with gorgeous plants. Andrew's family is awesome and they put me and my dad up before we headed out down the 101 to California. We explored Seattle, had some good foodie moments and enjoyed a nice dinner a really sweet Chinese restaurant on our last night.
The ride down was sweet, we went pretty fast, got home in 2 days. We stopped at Tilamook, Oregon and got some derricious (thanks Cheska) cheese and had some yummy huckleberry ice cream before we kept driving on. Day 2 we drove through and walked around the Avenue of the Giants. I forgot how amazing the West Coast is. Coming home, it just felt right, peaceful, serene, full of amazing places to get lost in. Ohio, you're awesome and all, but nothing compared to California. You could just feel the trees alive, knowing that the space I was in had many years of life in it, and I was just passing through. It's nice to pass through places though, I don't know if I like standing still.
We made it home a lot earlier than intended, although it was somewhat less exciting than I though. The house was empty save for my 2 cats and psycho pomeranian dog (who I love dearly despite his tiny size). Everyone was out doing their thing, as expected, but yeah, it was nice to be able to chill in my own room for a while, relax, think about the last time I was here this long. It was a break from commencement week, which was, to say the least insanity. I hadn't really sat down for more than 20 min ever since, well, since finals, and it felt quite surreal to be back in my old room, decorated almost exactly the same way when I left it 4 years ago.
___________________________________________________________________
Commencement week: haven't really settled my mind on that yet, either. It was packed full of madness, and I really felt like it began during finals. The first 2 papers I sent off to my professors, I didn't get that "you're-doing-the-last-academic-thing" feeling. Just regular old, you're-done-with-one-thing-now-hurry-your-ass-up-and-get-on-to-the-next-thing feeling. But that last one, the final one, I really took my time on, let it sit and mull over in my mind (especially during that hour Lizzie, Jackie and I watched "House" in Mudd.....), and sent if off, finally achieving that you're-done moment.
I can't quite remember all the details of that week. It was filled with absolutely no sleep, goodbyes, I'll-see-you-laters, thank yous, Feve drinks, drives to the airport, last minute packing, delicious home cooked meals, long nights, last minute errands, 13 family members flying in from California, warm weather long overdue and plans for my last trip out of Oberlin.
All in all, I'd say it was good. I slept little, which means I made the most of my time while I had it. I think I'll miss Oberlin soon, but right now it still feels like just another summer. By the time September rolls around, however, I might be singing a different tune. As for now, I'll keep enjoying the comforts of little responsibility and try and the lovely California summertime.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
On the West Coast again
Hello friends,
Soooo, I've been incommunicado for quite some time now due to the fact that I have been traversing across the country in my '97 Volvo with Andrew Liang. We hit up Obed's house (complete with adorable kitty from the Ginko Gallery!) in the Chi, then Andrew's friend Eric's place in Minneapolis, spent a night in some random town in North Dakota and just got in to Seattle last night from a couple of GORGEOUS and AMAZING days at Glacier National Park in Northern Montana. We've seen some beautiful landscape and some boring shit too, such is life on highway 2.
With that introduction, I just want to say that I hope this blog allows people to skim though a bit of what I briefly write about my time post Oberlin. Keeping in touch is quite hardly my "thing", if you will, and I hope a blog is useful in maintaining some sense of contact with people. That being said, I will keep going with a couple of tidbits from our trek.
Given my inability to function with technology, I will see how I can upload some pictures, but as of right now I can only use my words to describe some of what I've seen. Sooo, we went through the great plains (much better than the view that the I-80 gave me and Cheska on our 2.5 day speedy trip from CA to Oberlin). Saw some antelope, a whole bunch of oil wells, a billion small towns that make Oberlin look like a big city, 2 Indian Reservations, and some breathtaking mountains, rivers and lakes.
In Glacier we stayed at a lovely hostel in the East side of the Park. We were practically the only people there, not just in the hostel but in the entire park. We arrived the day the that the main Lodge opened, which was pretty exciting because it meant we'd be hiking on almost empty trails. After growing up with trail filled people in Yosemite, walking around in the serene forests and mountains of Glacier would actually be calming and not filled with tons of tourists. This did mean, however, that some of the trails were closed and Logan Pass (the faster connection between East and West Glacier), which is supposed to be quite beautiful once the summer hits was not available to us.
We did a couple of great hikes though, nothing too hard, on the East side on Saturday and the West side on Sunday. We saw a small Glacier, and it made us really wonder how much longer it would actually be there. Recalling my trip to Alaska a few years back, thinking about the size of the glacier we saw out there, I got quite nervous at the thought of how small it might be now. Thanks global warming :( Aside from that sad moment, the views were so amazing. We didn't see too much wildlife, but a deer came surprising close to us on the trail and a chipmunk followed us around for a bit of a trail as well, he was quite the model, and came up right to my shoe. But yes, needless to say, the pictures should speak for themselves once I figure out how to make that happen.
Well, that's about all I have for now, Andrew and I are going to go figure out lunch plans for my first day in Seattle. More updates to come!
Soooo, I've been incommunicado for quite some time now due to the fact that I have been traversing across the country in my '97 Volvo with Andrew Liang. We hit up Obed's house (complete with adorable kitty from the Ginko Gallery!) in the Chi, then Andrew's friend Eric's place in Minneapolis, spent a night in some random town in North Dakota and just got in to Seattle last night from a couple of GORGEOUS and AMAZING days at Glacier National Park in Northern Montana. We've seen some beautiful landscape and some boring shit too, such is life on highway 2.
With that introduction, I just want to say that I hope this blog allows people to skim though a bit of what I briefly write about my time post Oberlin. Keeping in touch is quite hardly my "thing", if you will, and I hope a blog is useful in maintaining some sense of contact with people. That being said, I will keep going with a couple of tidbits from our trek.
Given my inability to function with technology, I will see how I can upload some pictures, but as of right now I can only use my words to describe some of what I've seen. Sooo, we went through the great plains (much better than the view that the I-80 gave me and Cheska on our 2.5 day speedy trip from CA to Oberlin). Saw some antelope, a whole bunch of oil wells, a billion small towns that make Oberlin look like a big city, 2 Indian Reservations, and some breathtaking mountains, rivers and lakes.
In Glacier we stayed at a lovely hostel in the East side of the Park. We were practically the only people there, not just in the hostel but in the entire park. We arrived the day the that the main Lodge opened, which was pretty exciting because it meant we'd be hiking on almost empty trails. After growing up with trail filled people in Yosemite, walking around in the serene forests and mountains of Glacier would actually be calming and not filled with tons of tourists. This did mean, however, that some of the trails were closed and Logan Pass (the faster connection between East and West Glacier), which is supposed to be quite beautiful once the summer hits was not available to us.
We did a couple of great hikes though, nothing too hard, on the East side on Saturday and the West side on Sunday. We saw a small Glacier, and it made us really wonder how much longer it would actually be there. Recalling my trip to Alaska a few years back, thinking about the size of the glacier we saw out there, I got quite nervous at the thought of how small it might be now. Thanks global warming :( Aside from that sad moment, the views were so amazing. We didn't see too much wildlife, but a deer came surprising close to us on the trail and a chipmunk followed us around for a bit of a trail as well, he was quite the model, and came up right to my shoe. But yes, needless to say, the pictures should speak for themselves once I figure out how to make that happen.
Well, that's about all I have for now, Andrew and I are going to go figure out lunch plans for my first day in Seattle. More updates to come!
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