movement & repose

A Beautiful Day Today-
Today I feel God's Grace within me.


Newly sawed bullhorn handlebars, a bike ride, and Goodwill.

Things I bought:

Three little red frames: plastic, lacquered and shabbily stained wood.
Books: Eat, Pray, Love; Eats, Shoots & Leaves; Colleges That Change Lives; One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Listened to 2 new mewithoutYou songs. Glorious, and exactly what I hoped for.
it's all crazy! it's all false! it's all a dream! it's alright------Out May 19th.

Going to get a ticket now at Dave's Music Mine, and might come back and possibly paint my green bag: "movement & repose"--> Also a possible tattoo?

I'm glad I wrote on this again. I move in two weeks. In three days I go on a motorcycle trip to New Orleans with my dad. I hope to write about it for my upcoming Creative Nonfiction Workshop at Duquesne in the Fall of 09.

Good Reads...

Good reads is another blog-style activity that I have found incredibly interesting and amusing for the past few months. I suggest anyone and everyone who has ever read a handful of books that they feel like reviewing and sharing, hit this site up! www.goodreads.com.

Here are some reviews of late:

The Holistic Herbal Directory: A Directory of Herbal Remedies for Everyday Health Problems by Penelope Ody

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
I'm really starting to dive into herbal teas as a form of healing and promoting a healthy lifestyle. This book is really helpful and well organized (tabs for circulatory system, digestion, anxiety, etc.). It's been exciting and thus far seemingly beneficial buying, brewing, and experimenting with herbal remedies. Good book.


View all my reviews.

Good Company: A Tramp Life by Douglas Harper

My review

This book is really good so far. Doug Harper is a professor at Duquesne University. I currently have him for Global Sociology which is a highly informative class on essential aspects of different cultures around the world. We just read about Japan and I learned tons about the culture- Very intimidating as it is a highly group oriented society, where I believe I'd be considered an outsider. Also, I am reading Good Company for a sociology class, Person & Society, which thus far is pretty interesting. The book consists of a journalistic account of Harper's experiences hopping freight trains with hobos in the 1970s. Really well written with astute observations of the hobo culture. Harper is to come to our class and talk about his book soon. I can't wait.


View all my reviews.

Simplicity & Enlightenment

As it has been a (long) while, I feel I should explain my terribly lacking inconsistency (practical nonexistence) of my blog. I have quite the trouble with committing to any sort of journaling aspect, unless it's a note here, a scribble there, a few quotes, and an idea or two... which usually end up in margins of notebooks and within my pocket moleskins.. But, as the new year has begun, I have decided to drastically alter/enhance my lifestyle based on ideologies that have been brewing in the back of my mind for a long time, which can basically be summarized with two words: Simplicity & Enlightenment. That being said, I have decided to transition to a vegetarian (eventually vegan) diet; I have begun practicing yoga (painful, but persistent); I have been researching my effects on the environment and have learned some scary facts (Instantaneous motivation to simplify my life); I want to become more sociable and join groups (there are a few in the works, which seem to be working out nicely); and most important, I want to explore/embrace my spiritual life and realize my importance in this world-- Hence, I will be focusing on prayer, meditation, charity, and indulging in my future plans to start an alternative, democratic school (like The Circle School- www.thecircleschool.org and Sudbury Valley- www.sudval.org)... only my hope is to start this type of school in the predominantly urban setting of Pittsburgh, as these types of schools are typically set in rural/suburban areas. I think an urban democratic school could have a great effect on the students as well as the community. Essentially, these are my goals, and I have taken a headfirst plunge into self-discipline, determination, and exlporation. I think this just might work... Wish me luck.

Langhorne Luxary

So.. Not only do I love this guy's music, but his sense of style is definitely one that I would love to mimic. (And I think I'm already on my way. Thank you, thrift stores.)

p.s. Beth, he has an anchor tattoo on his shoulder. Envious?

Brown Corduroy. Snazzy.

Okay. Not quite me... but try to imagine me in that suit. With or without the kryptonite.

Que un fin de semana!

Wow, what a weekend.

A list!

Friday:
1. Dogfishhead and Chili/Coleslaw dog at D's
2. Film: City Lights, Charlie Chaplain. (Silent film narrated by a fellow patron sitting in the seat behind Beth and myself).
3. Milkshake at Eat n Park
4. Watching ludicrous home movies at Emily and Jason's (debut directing of a scene...very brief) Followed by three grown men wrestling.
5. Fun in Beth's basement (haircut and reliving Beth's childhood through her pictures, art, and clothes. A smile creeping across my face the entire time.)

Saturday:
1. Superb breakfast of tuna melts, pierogies, cous cous, and OJ.
2. Wonderful conversation with Col about college life and house fires...
3. Abandoned house excursion... found a neat moth-ridden felt hat (now in the garbage) Beth found a nifty table with a built in rack, and happy people smiling in polaroids. Eery but beautiful.

THRIFT STORE EXTRAVAGANZA!
A. Thrift Store #1: Good Samaritan- Found a neat hobo/camping cooking pot for future journeys.
B. Thrift Store #2: Salvation Army- Jackpot! Oh, what treasures... sweaters, cardigan, $10 three-piece suit!, and a pair of pants (and an appreciation for Beth's new thermals and hand-knit baby blue wool vest. Good show, my dear.)
C. Thrift Store #3: Goodwill- 3 Ties. Nice ties.

4. Rivertowne Pub. Two St. Pauli Girls. And a shared meal of fried cod and fried salmon and a bucket o' fries. Delicious. (Ate the last of Beth's cod without permission... I was supposed to eat the salmon.)
5. Back to my house with Beth to drink, reminisce, and bullshit with a drunken brother Adam with a lame foot. Followed by mess ups and mistakes, followed by forgiveness and happy thoughts. Followed by a wonderful sleep.

Sunday:
1. Lounging.
2. Benny and Joon.
3. Hot gingerbread cocoa for a sick Beth
4. Superbowl
5. Tom Petty
6. Journey back to the South Side
7. Rest of the Superbowl- Cheers to the underdogs.
8. Pick out new clothes to observe class in for the next day.
9. Sleep. 12:30 am
10. 1:30 am- Awakened by piping hot water streaming from the furnace in my room. Why?
11. Sleep again, this time on the couch.

Did I forget anything...

THINGS: Thinking Out Loud?

Okay. So. This is my first blog ever. And I'm feeling inspired after a few gulps of Southern Comfort... so bear with me. Please. (And never judge...)

I've been feeling creative of late. Inspired. Astonished. In general pretty alive. I think about places I am not. Places I'd like to be. Things I'd like to do. And I'm working towards those... things. Journeys. I'm somewhat crawling out of my skin. I go to Duquesne. In Pittsburgh. Junior year. Secondary English Education major. And I can't help but to always be thinking "If I knew then what I know now..." But I know that's ridiculous, because I'm where I am because of paths I've taken...obviously.

I've read books about enlightment. Being in tune with the world around me. And I find myself wanting to follow suit. Lately, I've been on a Kerouac Kick. Sometimes I just want to do as he did. Leave behind things that don't matter to me at this moment, and take on journeys that will teach me more. Catch a ride by my thumb. Or be like Huckleberry Finn, and float down the river. Life is beautiful, sad, and I hope I can make a difference in it. Small or Large. Hopefully the small will be large enough. I get passionate about things. Wanting to dig up roots that have long since poisoned the soil. Making people aware. Loving those people going down the wrong path. "Hey! Where are you going?"

I just hope that with God's help this life I'm leading will be led the way it is supposed to be. And that will be enough to do something that has made a difference in the world we live in. I'm an idealist. Let's leave it at that. But I'm proud to be one. I'm left-handed. I think too much. I like stories that make me feel like I should have known that and I will change because of that. I love the people I know. And am open to loving the people I don't know... so PLEASE bring it on. I'm in love. And I am going to push for joy. I am joyful. And sad. But sad because I love this world, and don't want it to go down the toilet. So, I think I'll stop there before I get too sappy. And I will talk later.

"Hail Hobo Ego!"
-Jack Kerouac from The Vanishing American Hobo
Read it?