Get Away

We all need to get away from our hectic, normal, every-day lives. This weekend was one of those get-away weekends. Megan and I escaped from the student-teaching cycle and drove up to the lake, far away from Cortland.

I forget how serene and tranquil I feel when I come here. Just being in this setting makes me feel differently. It's funny how much an environment can control your mood or overall state of being. Being around my apartment doesn't provide as calming or relaxing of a setting than the lake does for me. It's not always positive, with the noise from police and fire engines racing down the block, loud beeping noises from the traffic crosser, loud cars and motorcycles blazing by, or trains that toot from a mile away. At least we hear the church bells every day--that always enlightens me and acts as background music that is actually quite soothing.

Anyway, it's good to get away and re-center yourself every so often. Where do you go when you need to get away? This is my place.

(Pictures courtesy of Kelly Law)

















And at night...

Just Imagine

Do you have a spare 4:18 in your day?

I promise it will be worth it.

I have this video in my favorites, and I was just thinking of it because I was thinking about my own artistic talent, which isn't very much if you ask me. I'm not that great of a sketcher, painter, sculptor, etc. even though I wish I had that talent to create, create, create. I feel like I have the mind, but I lack the hands to create it. It's frustrating and unfortunate at times.

Anyway, this video is called "Just Imagine," and it shows someone creating artwork right on the screen, of course accompanied by a light piano.

Let me know what you think. Enjoy.

The video.

Soul to Squeeze

Has the melody of a song ever encompassed how you're feeling at a specific time in your life? Right now, I feel "Soul to Squeeze" by The Red Hot Chili Peppers, perhaps an under-recognized song that was put out as a single years and years ago. It is truly amazing.

Sometimes I just fall in love with the sound of a song without really paying much attention to the words (unfortunately I will admit this, but I am being honest). I am not proud of it, but aren't we all victim of this?

Anyway, "Soul to Squeeze" has that slower, relaxed feeling that I feel lately. Starts off kind of slow but with an upbeat melody, just one person playing by himself, and then the rest of the band builds up to a relaxed, continuous beat. The melody is so calming--it gives this peaceful and happy overtone that I find quite easing.

Then, as I obssess over this song with myself, I check out the lyrics and find that they're not too far off. Maybe the song was speaking to me for a reason. I feel that this is a transition time for me, and I'm trying to figure out what's going on with me (as an individual) and my career (with student teaching). I think this song helps me figure out and explain my feelings.

Do you have songs like this?

I felt the need to share my song love with you all. Feel free to comment on the song or any song that is momentarily yours right now.

Here are the lyrics...

I've got a bad disease
But from my brain is where I bleed.
Insanity it seems
Has got me by my soul to squeeze.

Well all the love from thee
With all the dying trees I scream.
The angels in my dreams (yeah)
Have turned to demons of greed that's mean.

Chorus:
Where I go I just don't know
I got to got to gotta take it slow.
When I find my piece of mind
I'm gonna give you some of my good time.

Today love smiled on me.
It took away my face say please
All that you had to free
You gotta let it be oh yeah.

Chorus

Oh, so polite indeed
Well I got everything I need.
Oh make my days a breeze
And take away my self destruction.

It's bitter baby,
And it's very sweet.
I'm on a rollercoaster,
but I'm on my feet.
Take me to the river,
Let me on your shore.
I'll be coming back baby,
I'll be coming back for more.

Doo doo doo doo dingle zing a dong bone
Ba-di ba-da ba-zumba crunga cong gone bad

I could not forget
But I will not endeavor
Simple pleasures aren't as special
But I wont regret it never.

Chorus

Where I go I just don't know
I might end up somewhere in Mexico.
When I find my piece of mind
I'm gonna keep you for the end of time.

Pets

Personal opinion: Pets seem to correspond to the personality of their owner.

Through analyzation, one can understand why I am a cat-lover and an owner of cats. Cats are needy, they make you earn their affection and attention, they are territorial, they are cuddlers, they are particular, they are moody, etc. I think that a lot of my own personality traits mirror those of the cat, my pet.

Think about personality traits of the pet you have that correspond to yourself, even the specific qualities of the breed of animal. I think we all have certain animals for a reason, and you can analyze someone immediately if you see and know their pet.

Dogs are playful, animated, more independent, protective, goofy, etc. Think about snakes... my first impression is something sexual and patient, yet would attack at any minute. I have a couple friends who have snakes, and I think they're very telling.

My blog post was initiated because my roommate Jess and I just bought 2 fish (yellow : D'Artagnan and albino white: Pandora) and an albino frog (unnamed as of late). I never really thought of myself as being a fish-owner, nor do I really think I possess fish qualities. But maybe I do. Maybe I do this semester.

Specifically, my two fish are very energetic, always swimming everywhere in their tank. Pandora likes to swim in circles for hours, which is quite amusing to watch. They can actually be quite distracting when I need to make lesson plans or grade papers. The frog (formerly named Sir Arthur Templeton of Church) literally floats in a tense position for so long, unmoving, to the point where we think he's dead. Then he'll surprise you and start leaping to the top of the water for food. Sometimes he gets really excited and swims all over the place, I think because of the fish's influence. I don't really see yet how their personalities correspond to mine.

Can you think of how you or other's personalities correspond with your/their pet?

Have you ever thought about it before?

I find it fun to analyze. Give me some more insight. Also, I'll post pictures of my fish later, but I don't have any yet...

Touch the Stars

I've been meaning to post these pictures for a while. I feel inspired to do so today, perhaps because I've been thinking about my friends quite often as I drive around Cortland without them.

My inspiration today lies with the drive I just took out to TC3 (Tompkins-Cortland Community College). I drive around the parking lot with two new friends, Megan and TJ, aiming towards Marathon's soccer game--a completely different destination from where we headed a few years ago.

We used to just drive around as our night's activity. When we were bored, the road always provided something to do, something to look at, some place to get away from the everyday sights we always were stuck with.

We must have been sophomores in college... We drove out to TC3, stopped in the parking lot and looked at the stars. We selected another road behind TC3, which was better because we got away from the parking lot lights which took away from the view. Honestly, I've never felt so close to the stars before. The stars seemed right at our fingertips if we stuck our hands out in the air. Maybe it was the country setting, but I've never felt so surrounded by the sky.

I think my girls remember this experience. You can't forget experiences like that.

Anyway, I reminisce here, but the main reason I came was also to post the following pictures. I cannot post these without giving a shout out to Miss Jenna DeMayo, the rightful owner and photographer of these pictures. I love them. They're very artistic and unusual. But that's us--out of the ordinary. That's why I think we all came together to be friends. We each had bizarre and opposite qualities from one another, and we all compiled them to become probably more bizarre, but smarter from acquiring the knowledge we learned from one another. Jenna is Miss Creative, and I think you can take that away from these pictures.

Here's to senior year and my college years.

Inspiration

I haven't really been inspired to write as much as I normally do lately. I apologize for all who read and actually look at my blog every so often.

I've felt more comfort in physically writing in a journal than via computer; somehow it feels better to let my ideas flow through my hand onto paper. More fluid motions. Typing is punching. I don't like to punch ideas lately--more let them flow.

I'm curious. I have a question for the listeners, when the listeners are actually the readers. I guess I'd prefer to think of you as listening than reading in some way. Maybe it's both.

What inspires you?

Not only do I ask this for selfish purposes of curiosity, but I want to see what types of things inspire people. Inspire to do what, you might ask? Anything. Anything at all. I'm curious also for students. What is it that just inspires you to do anything... create, or just do something out of the ordinary?

Inspire me with something. Inspire intuition.

Looking Forward

What are you looking forward to?

Think about it. Think of your answer before you read my small response.

I like to ask this question to people because I am interested in how they will respond to it. Do they answer about tonight or tomorrow, living in the moment, living in the now? Or, do they answer about five years from now, about having children or moving into a new house, living in the future and not the moment?

So, without my skewing your answers, what are you looking forward to?

Prospect Mountain

I love finding new spots when you least expect it.

Before I came out here to Cortland for this semester, I discovered a new place where I could center myself, somewhere close to home where I could get away and really think. My dad randomly introduced me to the mountain, Prospect Mountain, in Lake George.

I have some excellent pictures that I hope capture how I was feeling.





We're standing on top of a mountain. It feels really cool to be up so high, looking down, thinking that no one else even imagines that you're up there looking down on them. I know this because I normally walk around down there, and you never think about who's really up there looking around at where you are, thinking that it's the most incredible sight that made their day.























Serene. Where do you like to go?

Ideal Life

What is your ideal life?

I talked about it with my friends today, and it's sort of difficult to imagine, but I think that deep down inside, you really know what it is you aspire to. It just might be very different from the life you currently live, but you're afraid to admit what it is because you didn't strive for it when you had a choice. We went for what is safe--didn't we?

Anyway, use this space to talk about what it would be for you. I almost feel bashful admitting mine, so I will leave it out for now. Maybe if I'm probed... but that's a story for a different day.

Enlighten me with your dream life.

Escaping from Noise

One thing I miss about this Central New York area is the beautiful outdoor hiking trails they offer. Now that I'm back for the semester, I decided that I needed to return to the woods to center myself. My good friend Megan and I went on a fun trip the other day to the upper part of Buttermilk Falls. It was really breathtaking and refreshing. We brought along her little puppy who really had some great adventures with herself.

One reason that I love hiking, the woods, and waterfalls is that they provide such a calming experience away from the noise associated with everyday life: cars, sirens, screaming, crosswalk beeping, etc. You really get a great chance to clear your mind and think, and you're not bothered by outside noise. Instead, you hear really cool noises of the outdoors, like running water, wind through the leaves, and sticks crunching under your shoes.

The atmosphere provides for great thinking and conversation. Megan and I really had a great chance to sit down and think outside the box at a beautiful clearing near the water. Everything does happen for a reason.

I am going to post an array of pictures from the experience. Feel free to comment on any picture or my above post on the calmness and thinking atmosphere of the woods. Where is your calming place?







Here's Megan and the puppy (adorable shot)











The swimming series (her first attempt at swimming!)













Check out the puppy posing for a portrait shot (minus the fact she was scared and partially crying/wimpering...)





Megan found a heart-shaped rock. She has a really good eye for finding really cool things...



Awesome shot of Megan--one of the best taken that day



This is the best picture though, by far. A good one to end on. This is what I love.