Ten

I found this list today from a little over a year ago:

1.) CALM down

2.) find a new job

3.) write letters and mail them

4.) change voice mailbox message

5.) apply for grants to Indonesia

6.) run

7.) climb

8.) finish videos for TedX conference

9.) visit Abbey Court

10.) taxes?

I love finding pieces of what life looked like last year and the years before. And the thing I love the most is knowing that i accomplished all of those pieces in time. I went on to get not one, but two new jobs, I went to Indonesia on a grant, ran a few miles, climbed with friends, went to Abbey Court, did videos for TedX, etc. and at the time, this little list of ten things was a challenge.

My list these days is sadly quite similar. I’m still trying to find grants to travel, I’m trying to keep the job I do have when I get back in the fall, I’m running, I’m wishing I was spending more time climbing, taxes still stress me out, and there is always a stack of letters by my bed waiting to be mailed. . .

This semester is getting so close to the END and I’m both excited and sad. The past few weeks have been great overall. So good in fact, I never want it to end.

Take for example this weekend. . .

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This weekend was epic. It all left my body feeling incredibly broken, sore, and used. My feet don’t really work, they’re cracked and still caked with mud.

That said, I also didn’t know it was possible to laugh as much as I did.

Sam came in town Friday with a basket of black lights and a massive speaker//sound system. The Tiger House hosted a fantastic Universe party! (Goal check) Glitter, good music, Ziggy Stardust-inspired face paint and even roller-blades! All I could ever ask for really.

On Saturday, I woke up at 5:45 and decided it was a good day to run the Chapel Hill ten-miler with Ora (*Almost exactly a year ago since the last big ten). Our last-minute decision was incredibly rewarding and actually quite fun (esp. the thrill of benefiting from a race without paying for it. Sorry world, I just wanted to see if it was possible). By that afternoon, I was volunteering in a tent painting little kiddo’s faces at Shakori grassroots festival and dancing around a fire to drums with Ora, Will, Jordan, Sarah and Cassie.

We danced, hula hooped, and then danced some more until the late hours. Everywhere we went we danced, we didn’t use our feet to walk, we just danced and floated through life.

It all left my whole being so incredibly happy.

A nice nap (*another goal) on Sunday was followed by a lovely dinner with Ma-Maw and Da-Dan and a lot of solo car time to think too. . .

I could have asked for nothing more this weekend.

It filled me.

[Photos: Shakori last time around. Fall festival days 2012. *Only brought my AE-1 this time around//Grace Farson]

Tuesday thoughts

+ How to spend my summer. . . It’s endless. . . overwhelming. . . exciting

+ List -> poetry

+ This puppeh. I’m in love

+ Asia.

+ America. Today in history. Voting.

+ Early morning coffee makes my whole being happy

+ I want to learn how to play chinloe.

+ The leaves fell too quickly this year

+ Found sounds // the sounds we hear everyday and think nothing of

+ People in cars. Andrew Bush’s brilliance.

+ I need to sweat more. I’m in cold weather hibernation mode these days – I store up food, wear socks and sleep (a lot)

+ This book makes me laugh

[Photo: Outside my door, Udaipur//Grace Farson]

some days

some days i just get so terribly overwhelmed and i don’t know what i should do.

most days i want to drop everything and just make art, plant things and fold my body in half.

today is just one of those lovely, lazy saturdays where you think a lot about the direction your life is going and what you’re doing about it . . .

i have so much to look forward to in the next few weeks, but all i want in life right now is for time to slow down.

whenever i feel confused, overwhelmed or inspired, i resort to list making.

my list making obsession is something i inherited from my amazingly efficient mother. she always encouraged us to set goals, make lists and carry around scrap paper.

today has been some kind of list making day.

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“lists help us manage the chaos of our lives—to impose order, if only for a moment. writing a list clears the mind. … once everything is written down, it’s easier to see which tasks are important and in what order to tackle them. tasks that seem overwhelming look easier when reduced to mere lines on paper.”

to-do list: from buying milk to finding a soul mate, what our lists reveal about us, sasha cagen

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also, 127 reasons why we’re fascinated by lists   . . . maybe one day i will share my own journal of lists . . . rarely do i let a day go by without making a long, colorful list.

& for mac users, growly notes is my new favorite way to make a list

i want to go run outside with my holga for a few hours. . . the sky has cleared and the sun is out again. chilly winter days can be beautiful when the clouds disappear and the sun comes out to play.

{fabulous resin painting by laura gurton}