Saturday, June 25, 2011
Homecoming
Of all the dances, this one really meant something to me. My father has been overseas more times than I can remember, I have friends from high school that have married servicemen, I babysat for a family whose father was overseas, and though my understanding may be of a small scale, I understand some glimmer of what it means to miss someone, to sacrifice for something bigger than yourself, and rejoice with homecoming.
6/24/11
Friday, June 24, 2011
Keep At It
I'm watching Master Class on OWN and the producer of Saturday Night Live is the focus. He talks about when he first got the idea for the show, how he pulled together what he thought would work, played it by ear and made it up as he went along. But his advice hits close to home for me: keep at it. It took him persistence and perseverance to make it all happen. I've had a lot of great ideas over the years, ideas that I've told people about, and everyone seems to be excited and on board, but when it gets hard and things start falling through, I let it go. It frightens me to look at successful people and see how they managed to hang onto their dreams and goals and never give up: how they had the ability to throw caution to the wind and make things up as they went along even when the magic was gone and popularity far from sight, when the fates weren't aligning and they were the only ones who cared whether or not a project blasted off to success or simply dropped off into nonexistence. Sometimes there comes a point when you're passionate about an idea, and the execution of that idea lies completely on your willpower alone and you know that you can take the easy route and let it go and move on with life with no changes, or you can make phone calls, show up in offices, have awkward conversations, make a fool of yourself, live in a state of confusion, anxiety, and insecurity, all for the unassured possibility of really doing something worth while. I value willpower and perseverance above many other things, and I'll finally admit that I am a lazy person. I take the easy road out. I need to take the advice of successful people that have come before me and keep at it. If I've learned anything from biking it's how to tackle a hill: it's how to keep at it. I know how. I just need to actually do it and stop living in fear. On the Master Class before this one, Simon Cowell threw out the comment that 17 year old's don't know everything. I am 20. I know and understand a lot. I do not know everything, I have faults, but still I refuse to live in shame and defeat, I will admit that I am a work in progress, and keep at it because I do see in myself a glimmer of what is in the successful leaders I look up to.
6/23/11
6/23/11
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Growin' Up
I stood stone-like at midnight suspended in my masquerade
I combed my hair till it was just right and commanded the night brigade
I was open to pain and crossed by the rain and I walked on a crooked crutch
I strolled all alone through a fallout zone and come out with my soul untouched
I hid in the clouded wrath of the crowd but when they said "Sit down," I stood up.
Ooh... growin’ up
The flag of piracy flew from my mast, my sails were set wing to wing
I had a jukebox graduate for first mate, she couldn’t sail but she sure could sing,
I pushed B-52 and bombed ’em with the blues with my gear set stubborn on standing
I broke all the rules, strafed my old high school, never once gave thought to landing,
I hid in the clouded warmth of the crowd but when they said, "Come down," I threw up,
Ooh... growin’ up.
I took month-long vacations in the stratosphere and you know it’s really hard to hold your breath.
I swear I lost everything I ever loved or feared, I was the cosmic kid in full costume dress,
Well, my feet they finally took root in the earth but I got me a nice little place in the stars
And I swear I found the key to the universe in the engine of an old parked car
I hid in the mother breast of the crowd but when they said, "Pull down," I pulled up
Ooh... growin’ up.
Ooh... growin’ up
"Growin' Up" Bruce Springsteen
6/22/11
That Summer
--There's never been another summer that I have ever learned so much.
This song is almost impossible to find. I've gone to post it hundreds of times and haven't: it's about time.
"That Summer" Garth Brooks
6/20/11
When I can't bike outside to train, I use the stationary bike in the garage and I play something on the TV. Alice In Wonderland was the perfect length one night when I had to bike but it was too late in the day to hit the trails. When this scene came on, I think I enjoyed it much more than the average person: I work at a greenhouse. This provided me with marvelous amounts of humor and joy. It's not in here, but I especially love when they kick her out of their garden because they believe she is some kind of foreign weed. Just a bit of greenhouse humor to lighten my evening.
6/15/11
Once
The line, "never gonna hold the hand of another guy" was what stood out to me the most when I first heard this song. It's that feeling that once is all there's supposed to be.
"Travelin' Soldier" Dixie Chicks
6/10/11
For the gift givingly challenged.
I find it difficult to buy people presents because I myself don't care much to receive presents. The present that means the most to me is food. This sounds like a joke, but I am in fact serious. When people are selfless enough to buy me food with their own money, or to take the time to prepare something for me, I feel as though they've really given of themselves. I rarely spend money on myself, and when it comes to food I rarely spend money at all: I'll always mooch off of my parents or the school cafeteria rather than spend indulgently. And because of this, when I buy myself food I hate to share and seldom do. So when people spend indulgently on me, I feel as though they're really going out on a limb for me: whether it's breakfast on a Sunday, a dove ice cream bar, a butterfly cookie or a shared lunch. The people I work with have caused me to be a much more giving person because they have given so much to me in this way. So apart from making people food, I don't know what to get them. But a commercial came on with the sentiment:
"Buy someone a present they would buy themselves."
I found this quite helpful. I tend to think: "what would I want or like?" But the real question is, "What would this person want for themselves?" This has greatly helped me in my quest to correctly execute gift giving during birthdays, holidays, and other gift giving appropriate times.
6/7/11
Call of the wild
I said, "I wanna touch the earth
I wanna break it in my hands
I wanna grow something
Wild and unruly"
I wanna sleep on the hard ground
In the comfort of your arms
On a pillow of blue bonnets
In a blanket made of stars
Oh it sounds good to me
I say, "Cowboy take me away
Fly this girl as high as you can
Into the wild blue"
Set me free oh I pray
Closer to Heaven above and
Closer to you, closer to you
I wanna walk and not run
I wanna skip and not fall
I wanna look at the horizon
And not see a building standing tall
I wanna be the only one
For miles and miles
Except for maybe you
And your simple smile
Oh it sounds good to me
Yes it sounds so good to me
Cowboy take me away
Fly this girl as high as you can
Into the wild blue
Set me free oh I pray
Closer to Heaven above and
Closer to you, closer to you
I said, "I wanna touch the earth
I wanna break it in my hands
I wanna grow something
Wild and unruly"
Oh it sounds so good to me
Cowboy take me away
Fly this girl as high as you can
Into the wild blue
Set me free oh I pray
Closer to Heaven above and
Closer to you, closer to you
Closer to you
Cowboy take me away
Closer to you
"Cowboy Take Me Away" Dixie Chicks
6/6/11
Equality
"I don't mind living in a man's world as long as I can be a woman in it."
-Marilyn Monroe
As long as I can be myself and be successful with the personality of a woman: to not have to try to change my persona to fit a success stereotype, I'll lay my weapons down. (I don't know how she meant it, but if she meant it the other way, I don't mind being a woman to a man either.)
6/5/11Don't be falling in love as she's walking away.
"As She's Walking Away" Zac Brown Band ft. Alan Jackson
6/4/11
Star Room
I used to play a Sims game where I would design my own house and decorate the rooms. I went through a phase where I would play that game and listen to this song over and over again. This song came on the radio and Sims came rushing back to me (especially my star room).
"Got my mind set on you" George Harrison
6/3/11
Friday, June 3, 2011
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)