Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Look very close... :)

day 10... somewhere between Boonville, Missouri and Zanesville, Ohio (I drove about 18 hours this day :) I stopped to get a couple CD's, Avenged Sevenfold and Dane Cook, when I came across this "store". OK, maybe it's because I grew up in a beach community in California, but does this seem strange to anyone? Look close. The first thing that caught my eye was the gun signs, which I am not used to, but then what really struck me was the items for sale on the grass. I can get weaponry and pick up a baby stroller all at one convenient location. It's even called progress parkway plaza (progress? plaza?). It could just be my sense of humor but I think the whole thing is hilarious.

Monday, June 26, 2006

The Zoo


Day six through nine of my trip across country was spent in Denver, Colorado with my friend Ralphenia from Alaska. This is one of my favorite pictures from my trip because we are laughing so hard. We were outside the Denver zoo about to go in and we had a couple of guys take our picture. How many people do you know that will gladly go to the zoo with you? Ralphenia and I met while volunteering for the American red cross in Mississippi after hurricane katrina (I will go into more detail later :). Ral's the friend you call when you've blindly jumped into another life altering experience and the panic has set in. Or, the friend your not embarrassed to admit to that your having an extreme girlie melt down over some idiot... ladies, you know what I mean. There's never a hidden giggle or I told you so, only praise and encouragement. The picture shows it best...we had a blast in Denver. We went to the zoo, saw a comedy show, got lost, drank a little and laughed a lot. It was a great girls weekend.

Friday, June 23, 2006

Being a kid forever


my friend and I have been staying with his sister and her husband in Connecticut. This is their eldest son Timmy. Today he turned two years old. I have grown to just adore him and his brothers Liam and Patrick, who are 6 month old twin boys. (yes, it is a house full :) this is my first real day to day, hands on experience with children and it's been great. To see the sheer joy and amazement on there faces has been an eye opener. The last picture of Timmy was a day we all went to the park and if I remember right, Timmy has seen a bird. A bird... he was mesmerized. That same day we walked around the pond in the park and talked to bullfrogs. A reminder to stop, enjoy and don't take yourself too seriously. I try and remind myself of these things but it's easy to lose site. So here are some things that will help me... day dream out the window, swing, watch cartoons, play with toys, gather with friends and serve cupcakes, play in the rain, talk to people while upside down, try new foods, hug my friends and family, laugh so hard my feet fly straight in the air and be curious for life. Cheers to being a kid at heart forever.

Thursday, June 22, 2006

My Dylan

I figured since I mentioned my friend Dylan I would talk a little about him. This is him :) We met about 7 years ago when I was working at his fathers restaurant. He moved to the beach to help out with the business and we made quick friends. It's always hard to find someone that is a real free spirit and up for any adventure so when we met it was an instant connection. I'm pretty sure we hadn't even been friends a month when I invited him to go to Mexico with a couple of friends and I. At that time my friends and I would go to Mexico often because one of them had a condo that we stayed at for free. Him and I ended up leaving for Mexico earlier than anyone else and by the time we drove the 5 1/2 hours we were so comfortable that we stayed in the same room even though we were in a three bedroom, two story condo. Cut to years later and even though both of our lives have changes enormously we are still really close. He is one of 6 people and my only friend that I tell I love. When my grandmother died he's the only person I would talk to about it. I thought I was doing fine then suddenly a couple days after the funeral I called him sobbing, which I am not a crier, and all I could say was that I needed him. The very next day he packed a bag and rode the train up to be with me. That is just how he is. Through all the life changes he's helped me stay grounded and is always there with praise and reassurance. When he tells me I can do something I actually believe him. The one person that has never looked at me like I'm a little crazy :) He's always allowed me to be myself and encouraged my dreams. So this entry is for Dylan... my only hope is that I can be even a percentage of a friend that he is to me. I love my friend with all my heart.

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Day Six...


Day six of my trip... somewhere in Utah. This shot was taken out of my sunroof while driving through a tunnel. I really like the feel of the picture plus I think its funny how you can see the bugs on my car. This portion of the drive between Arizona and Utah was just beautiful. The colors were so amazing. I kept having to remind myself where I was and that it was all real.
when I started out of ca., after visiting my friend Dylan in Santa Barbara, I thought the drive to Denver, co. was going to take me about 15hours. In reality it took me closer to 25hours... :) I stopped more than usual (starbucks) and I took 58 out of ca... which I don't recommend doing at night... beautiful but slow and scary. The good thing was I decided in the beginning of my trip that it was not going to be a race so at no point was I stressed. I had the windows down, sunroof open, music blaring and sang the whole way (only because there was no one else in the car to cause physical and emotional scars :). Every night after I checked into a hotel I would email or call my friend so someone knew where I was... I thought that would be a good idea :). Ok... I'm going to stop a little blunt here because my friend is talking to me and I cannot think. ahhh! Sometimes I miss being on the road alone ;) ...kidding love my friends.

Sunday, June 18, 2006

aaahhhh!!!

Totally random comment... sometimes friends drive me crazy... :) I love my friends but sometimes I just want to strangle them... kidding of course. It seems to be a constant balancing act of give and take... but the problem is it doesn't always seem to be an equal trade. I'm sure a big part of it is perception, because no matter how we try to have empathy and put ourselves in other people's shoes we still are confined to our own head. The fact that we must interpret the "reality" of a situation in itself taints the outcome because we can only truly pull from our life experiences and what we took from those experiences. I've had this conversation with a friend and he told me that this is a pessimistic way of looking at people/life, but I think it is more about understanding that there is truly no such thing as perfection. Which to me is something we must stop searching for in order to truly appreciate each other and in turn ourselves, because that is the beauty of us... We are flawed. That's what makes us interesting and individual. WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Saturday, June 17, 2006

Alone...


Day five of my trip... somewhere in Arizona. I could see this small little beach from the road and decided it was time to take a pause. I put my $2 in the honor box and parked my car. There wasn't a person in sight... it was wonderful. As I stood there in the sand and listened to the water rushing by it really hit me... I was alone. Not alone in a bad way but in an empowering way. At that moment I was so proud of myself. I took this photo to remember that feeling because I knew there was going to be moments of self doubt. I love this photo... I will always love this photo.

Friday, June 16, 2006

Just Me


Santa Barbara, ca... My first stop. I, a life long Californian, am finally leaving. It's been my dream for a while to leave and the time has come. Many things have prompted this final jump, which I will surely cover later, but for now what matters is I'm going. My itinerary consists of meeting a friend in Denver, Co., who is in from Alaska (yes, I said Alaska) and then meeting a friend in Connecticut... from there, who knows? It's scary but what would be worse is never giving myself a chance. A chance to see what is out there for me. A chance to really find MYself, MY strength, MY passion, MY place. So at 29 the car is packed, cd's within reach and so many maps one would think it impossible to get lost... one would think.

Monday, June 12, 2006

Hello!

Well hello!
As this is my first attempt at blogging please be patient :)
I haven't yet decided how comfortable I am with sharing.
Sharing is something I learned as a child and as I headed through life I thought I was finished with that lesson. Then one day it hit me... sharing isn't all about taking turns on the swing set, which sucks because I am so good at that, but rather a test in trust. Do I trust this person with my thoughts? my weaknesses? my heart?
So for me this blog will be exactly that... a test. I will push my comfort level and see if I really did learn how to share.