I have been traveling more in the last two months than I have all year. Of course there are many stories...but likely if you're reading this you already know me and have probably heard them at least 6 times.
Instead I'm gonna talk about a few things I've been thinking about recently.
1st off...St. Paul, MN. This place just feels like home for me. Of course, I've never been there in January...and if you know me...you know how I feel about cold weather...not sure how that would work out...but I guess you adapt. St. Paul is a really small town...for being a big city. There's a feeling of community there that you don't even see so much in small cities these days. This city has many of the things that are important to me in choosing a place to live...good record stores, a great 24 hour Diner, nice parks to walk in, lakes and rivers, good Public Radio, history, Jazz, and a fairly low cost of living on top of everything. Of course, the downside being that it's 60 below for 4 months out of the year. Don't be surprised if I just up and move there one day...cause I just might.
2nd...People worrying about what they're gonna do. This intrigues me...probably because I skipped over that stage in life. Ya know...the whole...OK, I'm out of college (or high school)...I don't really have enough experience to get a job doing what I went to school for...or maybe it turns out I don't really like doing what I went to school for...or maybe I didn't goto school...and I've got to figure out what I'm doing with the rest of my life...right now...or I'm not complete. I think that's rubbish...what you do doesn't define who you are. I heard someone say earlier that they weren't interested in a relationship right now...because they hadn't figured out what they're gonna do with their life. That's a scary place to be I think...letting what you do define who you are. While I'm sure that's not exactly what the person meant...it got my wheels turning. Relationships are hard to come by...at least in my experience. To paraphrase The Normals...it's a lonely world...and you gotta grab what you can get...but at the same time...don't settle for less than love. I guess I come from a different perspective...since I was 16 I've always had a job...doing something I enjoy...whether it's photography, engineering, music, whatever...so I have a hard time relating. It's just that I think people shouldn't get quite so uptite about thinking their life hasn't started because they don't have a "career" or a job in the field they're supposed to be in. Relax...if you're supposed to be in that particular field...your time will come. If not, then maybe you were meant to do something else. In the mean time, don't put your entire life on hold because you don't think it has even started yet...your life is RIGHT NOW. Enjoy.
Lastly, I have a correction to make. For a year and a half now, I've been saying that I gave up on April 10, 2007. Let me elaborate. I read the following story in the news one morning:
Not many people can top David Brown's tale of how he met his wife.
Five years ago, the British man dreamed of a cell-phone number, the U.K. Daily Mail reports. He decided to text it, thinking it might have belonged to someone he met the night before.
It didn't. Instead Brown's message reached Michelle Kitson, a 17-year-old whom he had never met.
"It was really weird but I was absolutely hooked," Kitson told the paper. "My mum and dad kept saying, 'But he could be an axe murderer', but I knew there was something special about it. I hadn't had a boyfriend before. Those first text messages were a real adrenaline rush."
The pair exchanged phone calls and letters and Brown eventually moved 60 miles to be closer to his dream lover.
"She really is the girl of my dreams," said Brown, now 24, from Harefield, North-West London.
Kitson felt the same way about Brown. The happy couple just returned from their honeymoon.
So...I couldn't get a date if the lives of all of Canada depended on it...and this guy...he dreams a daggum cell number...texts it...and GETS MARRIED!!! BTW...I did try that...texting a random number...it came back..."message undeliverable...reason: number does not exsist". How's that for irony?
Anyways...I've been saying for years that I gave up...but it was pointed out to me tonite that I in fact have not given up...since I was not wearing sweat pants. Apparently, that's the true sign.
So, I guess for now...I'm back in the game. If anyone sees me in sweat pants...they'll know I'm truely finished.
Enough Jibber Jabber...here's some photos.
Downtown St. Paul at nite from across the river. Ever seen anything finer?
Mickey's Diner...probably my favorite restaurant ever.
Garrison Keillor assuring me that I've come to the right place.
That's about all I've got at the moment. I have a feeling that it's gonna be a good week. Maybe it's just because I had such a good day today...slept late (haven't done that in a long time), played some music with my friends, had some good Waffle House with some more friends, watched the Wilco film, hung out with Lakin types, etc. Not too bad for a Saturday.
One last thing...I'm thinking of shaving...would like to take a poll. For or Against?
-chall
