Pictures and procrastination

I have been requested by my cousin to post some of my "amazing" pictures. I'm not sure about amazing, but here are some of my faves that I've taken recently (just for you, Trish =]) :

The Botanic Gardens in Fort Worth are a really great place to escape to if you just need to get away. I plan on making frequent trips there once the weather is more consistantly warm. :]

Me with Mika, my best friend's boyfriend's dog. They ended up having to sell her, but she's still precious. :]

Sunset on Lake Travis on New Year's Eve Day (what a mouthful!)

My parents sent me flowers for my birthday :]

They drove out to Fort Worth with my Mimi and we all went out to a really nice dinner to celebrate (my mom and I have the same birthday). This was my desert -- baked cinnamon apples. Mmmm :]

Some neat looking violins at the TMEA (Texas Music Educators Association) convention in San Antonio

This is probably my favorite part of San Antonio. I always know where I am when I'm at the Big Orange Thing! =P

And a miscellaneous macro pic... just because. :]

So there's that. In retrospect, I guess I shouldn't say that they're my favorite ones that I've taken recently, since they go all the way back to November. (They're all in chronological order, by the way.) I really do need to go do all this homework I've been putting off, though, so here's a quote to hold you over til next time:

“Just living is not enough. One much have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.” – Hans Christian Anderson

Ta!

Rest in peace, Jeffrey

July 1, 1989 - February 15, 2009

You left way too soon... I still can't belive you're gone. I'm sorry that we lost touch after high school. Keep writing music up there in heaven. Rest in peace.

I hate my life

Ok, I don't really, but I do hate this music history project. I also hate the fact that I left it for the last minute, and the fact that I didn't really have much other choice because I had so much other crap to do before that.


CAN I PLEASE JUST HAVE A BREAK?! Is that really so much to ask???



I mean, really.... I can't remember the last time I went to bed before midnight, and each time I've stayed up it's been because I've had something to do.


I really don't know how I'm going to manage to finish this by tomorrow. Or today. What day is it again? Anyway, I'm going to go back to trying to do this project while still maintaining my sanity. Wish me luck.

Escape

I recently had a conversation with one of my professors about backpacking across Europe after grad school, and that idea has turned into a thought that I can't seem to get out of my head.

For the past two weeks, I've felt increasingly trapped in my life here. I feel like I'm in a cage, like I'm tied down and can't go anywhere else. What started as something to daydream about has turned into an obsession that is putting some rather surprising thoughts into my head. I want to pack up some essentials, my laptop, and my camera, get in my car, and just drive away. I want to work odd jobs here and there, just enough to earn some gas money, and keep on going. I want to go everywhere; I want to see everything. I want to meet people. I want to fall in love. I want to stay on the move and never ever settle down until I meet someone who's willing to come chase after me.

Before now, the plan has been simple: go to college, go to grad school, come back to Plano and teach. The end. Now, the thought of completing that goal is terrifying. If I stick to that plan, my chance to explore the world will be over in four years. Four years!! There's too much I want to do, too much I want to see to be settling in one place so soon.

No, I'm going to go to grad school in the northeast and study something interesting. Maybe music. Maybe not. I've always found other cultures fascinating, so maybe I'll study anthropology instead. After that, who knows? Maybe I'll stay up north and work in a book store. Maybe I'll take some night classes so I can finally learn all those languages I've been dying to learn. I'll save up some money and buy a one-way ticket to London. I'll start there and work my way around Western Europe. Maybe I'll go to Eastern Europe, too. Maybe I'll fall in love with someone there and decide to stay. Or maybe I'll just get burned out and come home, instead. Maybe I'll do all of it. Maybe I'll do none of it.

Maybe my life will be over in four years, after all.

(I can't even begin to tell you how frightening that prospect is.)

The uncertainty of the future the scariest thing I face right now. For now, I'll just concentrate on the tasks set before me and hope my life doesn't end before I want it to.

I'm just an escapist who wants to get away and never look back.