Learned yesterday that New York is becoming the next state to legalize gay marriage. Yet another victory!
I don't have too many strong opinions on politically hot topics with exception to a couple. The first being environmental things and the second being LGBT rights.
I believe every citizen in the United States and world deserves equal rights. I think it is absolutely insane that not every one can get married. It's devastating to me to have so many friends who want to legally secure their unity, but they cannot, because people think it's wrong for people of the same gender to get married.
Oi! Anyways, the vote comes to Minnesota this fall. If they disappoint me, I may have to disown my home state.
In other news:
Life has been a bit of a roller coaster lately. Good things, good things almost slipping away, some not so good things. But, in all honesty, it has been mostly good.
Had an epic fun weekend last weekend. Wish all of them could be that way, but I've got to keep a big cap on any money spending and of course, all the things that fulfill my craving for fun and adventure cost money. Still trying to work out free forms of adventure, but the fact that gas is so expensive really makes me feel trapped.
I went kayaking last weekend. That was exciting. First time I've been in a kayak in almost two years and the first time I've paddled anything in equally as long. I've missed it. There's just something about being surrounded by water that makes you want to adventure onto it. Definitely miss having a job that required paddling weekly. Of course, most of it was in a big old canoe. We got to take the kayaks out infrequently and while some of the stuff seems similar, it's definitely a whole new ball game.
I'm anxious to take a class or two focusing on sea kayaking. I want to get out on the bay and ocean at some point, but I flat out refuse until I'm confident I know what I'm doing. The ocean, tides, and currents scare the bajeezus out of me, which is why I still have yet to swim in the Pacific even though I've lived here for nearly two years now.
Hmm, what else. This weekend was low key. It was really nice because plans kind of kept popping out of the woodwork. Got ask by a dorm mate to go to a campfire on Thursday. Decided to go for it. They had smores and some storytelling and demonstrations of the spanish discovery of SF area. Kind of neat, a bit awkward with re-enactors though, but still a good time. Ended up grabbing a drink with a couple other people after, still got to bed by 10ish!
Friday was looking to be boring, but a former dorm mate came into town and wanted to hike with me. So we did about an hour and then went to a food truck event thing in the city. That was pretty great because a bunch of former dorm mates and current ones were there and all the food was tasty and pretty inexpensive. Got home and went to sleep around 10ish.
Woke up this morning and was actually motivated to get things accomplished even though I ran out of coffee. Did all my chores and domestic duties and finished by 1Pm. Ended up taking a 3 hour nap out of boredom. Spent a couple hours cooking my epic dinner of pork chops, grilled veggies, and cornbread, and now am back to being bored and trying not to go to sleep.
Even with the lulls in activity, this weekend was pretty good. The only thing it lacked was fulfillment of my craving to go out to breakfast. I don't know why, but "Sundays" seem to make me want to eat breakfast somewhere and of course, the casual mention of it at work as a joke and the smell of bacon most mornings don't help the craving go away.
Also made me feel pretty awesome to have people want to hang out with me. Definitely a plus, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that this may attest to the fact that I am becoming less awkward as the days go by. Hopefully... :-P
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
Insight
Someone shared an interesting thought the other day.
It went something a bit like this: "the more security we gain, the more secure our prison is".
When this rationalized in my mind, I could help but do a double take. It's true if you start forgetting where the keys are.
Examples...we take a job that we like, but have the intent to keep moving to follow a goal or dream of some sort. This job, while it may aid in accomplishing that goal in some fashion, becomes comfortable. We find the pay rate reliable, it allows for us to do the things we like, it becomes routine and standard, and pretty soon it's been 10-15-20-etc. years and that goal we had way back when or that dream/passion we still foster, it's still there, but we can't free ourselves from the security we've created and then we become stuck.
I know people who are held captive by their stuff. They can't move it, they can't get rid of it because it's become a part of them, and therefore, they cannot get anywhere. The concept of physical possessions strikes a personal chord for me. I sold most everything I own, even sentimental items and use the proceeds to break free from my prison and start a new life.
It was probably the biggest and best thing I'd done. By ridding myself of things that emotionally held me back and then turning them into something that funded a move forward, I basically shifted an entire paradigm of thought and allowed myself to grow into the person I wanted to be.
Now, I can't blame the shift entirely on the fact that I sold my stuff and moved, that was about 1/4 of it. Physical possessions are just a small part.
I think relationships of all sorts play a role in forming our prisons as well, but that's another post for another time.
It went something a bit like this: "the more security we gain, the more secure our prison is".
When this rationalized in my mind, I could help but do a double take. It's true if you start forgetting where the keys are.
Examples...we take a job that we like, but have the intent to keep moving to follow a goal or dream of some sort. This job, while it may aid in accomplishing that goal in some fashion, becomes comfortable. We find the pay rate reliable, it allows for us to do the things we like, it becomes routine and standard, and pretty soon it's been 10-15-20-etc. years and that goal we had way back when or that dream/passion we still foster, it's still there, but we can't free ourselves from the security we've created and then we become stuck.
I know people who are held captive by their stuff. They can't move it, they can't get rid of it because it's become a part of them, and therefore, they cannot get anywhere. The concept of physical possessions strikes a personal chord for me. I sold most everything I own, even sentimental items and use the proceeds to break free from my prison and start a new life.
It was probably the biggest and best thing I'd done. By ridding myself of things that emotionally held me back and then turning them into something that funded a move forward, I basically shifted an entire paradigm of thought and allowed myself to grow into the person I wanted to be.
Now, I can't blame the shift entirely on the fact that I sold my stuff and moved, that was about 1/4 of it. Physical possessions are just a small part.
I think relationships of all sorts play a role in forming our prisons as well, but that's another post for another time.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Dreams
Dreams are something that have always fascinated me. You never know what will result as you fall asleep and once you wake, it's always a fun game to piece together where the contents of the dream came from.
I've always had very vivid dreams. Some so much so that it would take me a week or weeks to finally recognize that certain occurrences had really only happened in my dreams. I also find myself to be the host of some rather epic nightmares as well.
I woke yesterday morning and remembered the story line of the dream I had that night and every time it replays in my head, I cannot help but smile. The dream was not anything to write home about, but it's story was enough to make me happy.
So, let me preface this before I launch into what actually happened.
In the world, there are many different types of people when it comes to work. Some live to work, others work to live, some take their jobs home, some leave them at the door. I like to think of my work as being a part of who I am. I go to work as me, I come home as me and the only thing I really have to watch myself with is making sure I don't socialize my work day away and actually accomplish stuff.
That being said, I find it not strange, odd, or a sign of much to discover that the dream I had was very much work related.
The first part of it involved a rather intense storm. Sheets of rain falling, large waves on the bay, and the usual crew crossing over to the island to begin the work day. The only problem with all of this is that it was night. I think it was somewhere between late night/early morning as it was dark, but people had already been asleep.
Anyways, the first portion involves a rather harrowing boat ride, lots of huge waves, water pouring in the boat, and a quite fearful attempt at standing up. The boat arrives to the island, we pour off, and it suddenly becomes the atmosphere of preparation for a special event. On top of that, there has been a group of kids spending the night and for some reason, a fellow intern has been left on the island.
So, we go looking for him, end up in some odd labyrinth and have to pass through a bunch of small kids throwing basketballs around and playing kickball. We discover him in a corner curled out, out cold, and decide to have some fun. So, we poke this individual, and he wakes up, but not before we've run off laughing hysterically and then come running back yelling something so as to make him jump.
There is some pressing news that has to be told to him, which is the same news I actually had to give him in real life, but couldn't because I couldn't find him. (The mystery of why that portion of the dream unfolded as it did, has been solved).
The next part still remains a bit of a mystery to me.
So, some time passes and it cuts to being in a room that resembles a break room, but not one that exists anywhere at work. There was definitely a sink, fridge, etc. I think everyone was going to be sleeping over so there were sleeping bags and gear tossed every which way. Some mattresses strewn around and some kids around, which makes me think that most of the stuff was theirs, but at this point, the dream seemed to have shifted from going into morning to going into night, it was still totally dark.
Anyways, the kids are messing around and could've been entirely annoying. Except, various members of the staff started flinging things at each other. I believe there were dodgeballs and I remember tons of balloons and soon enough. Out broke an all out war in entirely good fun. The biggest part I remember was that everyone was laughing harder than imaginable and we were all having far too much fun. It seemed to last and last and then cut to another scene sometime later, which involved eating or sleeping or something, can't remember much beyond the fact that it was daylight.
Not super epic or as vivid or put together as most of my dreams are, but I keep thinking of this one and it makes me smile, because it's always fun to recall tons of laughter and fun and the image of people running and very dramatically hitting balloons and throwing them at people.
I've always had very vivid dreams. Some so much so that it would take me a week or weeks to finally recognize that certain occurrences had really only happened in my dreams. I also find myself to be the host of some rather epic nightmares as well.
I woke yesterday morning and remembered the story line of the dream I had that night and every time it replays in my head, I cannot help but smile. The dream was not anything to write home about, but it's story was enough to make me happy.
So, let me preface this before I launch into what actually happened.
In the world, there are many different types of people when it comes to work. Some live to work, others work to live, some take their jobs home, some leave them at the door. I like to think of my work as being a part of who I am. I go to work as me, I come home as me and the only thing I really have to watch myself with is making sure I don't socialize my work day away and actually accomplish stuff.
That being said, I find it not strange, odd, or a sign of much to discover that the dream I had was very much work related.
The first part of it involved a rather intense storm. Sheets of rain falling, large waves on the bay, and the usual crew crossing over to the island to begin the work day. The only problem with all of this is that it was night. I think it was somewhere between late night/early morning as it was dark, but people had already been asleep.
Anyways, the first portion involves a rather harrowing boat ride, lots of huge waves, water pouring in the boat, and a quite fearful attempt at standing up. The boat arrives to the island, we pour off, and it suddenly becomes the atmosphere of preparation for a special event. On top of that, there has been a group of kids spending the night and for some reason, a fellow intern has been left on the island.
So, we go looking for him, end up in some odd labyrinth and have to pass through a bunch of small kids throwing basketballs around and playing kickball. We discover him in a corner curled out, out cold, and decide to have some fun. So, we poke this individual, and he wakes up, but not before we've run off laughing hysterically and then come running back yelling something so as to make him jump.
There is some pressing news that has to be told to him, which is the same news I actually had to give him in real life, but couldn't because I couldn't find him. (The mystery of why that portion of the dream unfolded as it did, has been solved).
The next part still remains a bit of a mystery to me.
So, some time passes and it cuts to being in a room that resembles a break room, but not one that exists anywhere at work. There was definitely a sink, fridge, etc. I think everyone was going to be sleeping over so there were sleeping bags and gear tossed every which way. Some mattresses strewn around and some kids around, which makes me think that most of the stuff was theirs, but at this point, the dream seemed to have shifted from going into morning to going into night, it was still totally dark.
Anyways, the kids are messing around and could've been entirely annoying. Except, various members of the staff started flinging things at each other. I believe there were dodgeballs and I remember tons of balloons and soon enough. Out broke an all out war in entirely good fun. The biggest part I remember was that everyone was laughing harder than imaginable and we were all having far too much fun. It seemed to last and last and then cut to another scene sometime later, which involved eating or sleeping or something, can't remember much beyond the fact that it was daylight.
Not super epic or as vivid or put together as most of my dreams are, but I keep thinking of this one and it makes me smile, because it's always fun to recall tons of laughter and fun and the image of people running and very dramatically hitting balloons and throwing them at people.
Design Changes-Update
*Update, looks like they are mostly complete. Some minor tweaking here and there, but everything should be consistent. Click 'ramblings' to find this main blog page after visiting other tabs. Now, content addition can begin.
I am currently in the process of changing this thing around a bit. I decided that I wanted it to be possible to archive all my recipes, crafts, etc. in a blog type format, rather than having this archaic pages where you just keep compounding text and then everyone has to scroll through it just to find what they may be looking for.
So, I found a way to make it possible to have links and such to more blogs than one, which means that I am in the process of making tabs to link and then all of the tabs are separate blogs that have to be formatted and then there's a whole line of organization where you have to go to each individual blog and make sure that the tabs are in the right order to fit the scheme of the entire blog, etc., etc.
Basically, lots of organization and then more when I realize that I want to link back to the main blog, but can't keep the order right without changing up some of the tabs and such. Kind of a pain, but the explanation for why the front page of this looks ridiculous right now and why some of the blogs currently have no content whatsoever. It's getting there!
Other than that, there is not a whole lot happening in this world, except for the fact that for the first time in my entire life I ordered a burger at a restaurant that was not a burger place or fast food. For me, this is odd, because I find ordering a burger to be a waste when going to an italian place or a sit down restaurant and what not. But, that italian burger was very very tasty and I think I was full until dinner time the next day. So, it was totally worth it.
I am currently in the process of changing this thing around a bit. I decided that I wanted it to be possible to archive all my recipes, crafts, etc. in a blog type format, rather than having this archaic pages where you just keep compounding text and then everyone has to scroll through it just to find what they may be looking for.
So, I found a way to make it possible to have links and such to more blogs than one, which means that I am in the process of making tabs to link and then all of the tabs are separate blogs that have to be formatted and then there's a whole line of organization where you have to go to each individual blog and make sure that the tabs are in the right order to fit the scheme of the entire blog, etc., etc.
Basically, lots of organization and then more when I realize that I want to link back to the main blog, but can't keep the order right without changing up some of the tabs and such. Kind of a pain, but the explanation for why the front page of this looks ridiculous right now and why some of the blogs currently have no content whatsoever. It's getting there!
Other than that, there is not a whole lot happening in this world, except for the fact that for the first time in my entire life I ordered a burger at a restaurant that was not a burger place or fast food. For me, this is odd, because I find ordering a burger to be a waste when going to an italian place or a sit down restaurant and what not. But, that italian burger was very very tasty and I think I was full until dinner time the next day. So, it was totally worth it.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Social Media and Gulls
I've been attempting to figure out what sort of posts belong in a blog, what kind of blog I want this to be and what not. I've come to decide that as a random person, every blog will be different and all over the map.
On a slightly different note, I'm trying to sort out my thoughts about how "me" centered social media is. I have a blog, a twitter, and a facebook. I can post many many random thoughts in a day, and a long drawn out entry in a day, all about me. The problem is not thinking of things to post, but instead wondering "do I really need to think or let the world hear this much about me?" I find status updates to be fun and really love the interaction that happens when something good is posted, but even more, I love the self-focused posts of everyone else. It's nice to get a glimpse inside somebody's world and I thoroughly enjoy it when people talk all about themselves.
That being said, I feel rather guilty that I have so many outlets to talk about myself. Internet privacy reasons aside. I still find it weird and wonder if my addiction to social media has altered the way I think and has therefore assisted me in becoming more self focused rather than others focused. Is that even possible?
(Well, actually, I think it's less social media and more letting myself succumb to social media influence).
Anyway, the purpose of my banter is really to openly wonder if I drive people crazy with all my status updates, photos, and twitter posts OR if all those statuses and such are just a part of the joy people get out of using social media and fall within the general norm?
Or perhaps all this wondering is a cue to me that passing random thoughts do not always need to be shared.
By the way, I still wonder, what is worthy of facebook and what is worthy of twitter. They're two platforms, one seems to have evolved from the lack of the other, but where do you draw the line between a quality facebook post and something perfect for twitter?
Last for this post:Gull chicks have started hatching, they are heart melting adorable.
In other news, I am finally over the flu. It started with feeling like all my energy was being sucked away the morning after our big work event and spiraled down from there. Took 3 days off work and slept through my weekend. This was definitely a major bummer, but has actually brought some benefits. Caught up on a lot of much needed rest and now realize how wonderful it is to only have one job. I can do the job I love with more quality and I now no longer feel like I'm descending into madness. I've not fully ascended out of that descent, but should be back to my normal even keel oddball self soon.
And for goodness sake self, remind yourself to edit posts before you publish them. While the general intentions are good, grammar and idea development of previous entries (and probably this one) are ridiculously horrifying.
And, cue end of silly stream of conscious
On a slightly different note, I'm trying to sort out my thoughts about how "me" centered social media is. I have a blog, a twitter, and a facebook. I can post many many random thoughts in a day, and a long drawn out entry in a day, all about me. The problem is not thinking of things to post, but instead wondering "do I really need to think or let the world hear this much about me?" I find status updates to be fun and really love the interaction that happens when something good is posted, but even more, I love the self-focused posts of everyone else. It's nice to get a glimpse inside somebody's world and I thoroughly enjoy it when people talk all about themselves.
That being said, I feel rather guilty that I have so many outlets to talk about myself. Internet privacy reasons aside. I still find it weird and wonder if my addiction to social media has altered the way I think and has therefore assisted me in becoming more self focused rather than others focused. Is that even possible?
(Well, actually, I think it's less social media and more letting myself succumb to social media influence).
Anyway, the purpose of my banter is really to openly wonder if I drive people crazy with all my status updates, photos, and twitter posts OR if all those statuses and such are just a part of the joy people get out of using social media and fall within the general norm?
Or perhaps all this wondering is a cue to me that passing random thoughts do not always need to be shared.
By the way, I still wonder, what is worthy of facebook and what is worthy of twitter. They're two platforms, one seems to have evolved from the lack of the other, but where do you draw the line between a quality facebook post and something perfect for twitter?
Last for this post:Gull chicks have started hatching, they are heart melting adorable.
In other news, I am finally over the flu. It started with feeling like all my energy was being sucked away the morning after our big work event and spiraled down from there. Took 3 days off work and slept through my weekend. This was definitely a major bummer, but has actually brought some benefits. Caught up on a lot of much needed rest and now realize how wonderful it is to only have one job. I can do the job I love with more quality and I now no longer feel like I'm descending into madness. I've not fully ascended out of that descent, but should be back to my normal even keel oddball self soon.
And for goodness sake self, remind yourself to edit posts before you publish them. While the general intentions are good, grammar and idea development of previous entries (and probably this one) are ridiculously horrifying.
And, cue end of silly stream of conscious
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