What's next?

For the past 25 years of my life I have known what’s next. I went to school. I knew what grade I would be in the next year. I went through high school knowing I would start college. I did well so I would be able to get in. I went to Jackson Community College and once I knew I wanted to go to Michigan State I did everything possible to assure I would be accepted. When I realized I wanted to join the Peace Corps I dedicated all my being into making that dream happen. Once I got my dream of becoming a Peace Corps volunteer I lived it out knowing that I had gotten exactly what I wanted. 

Now that that dream has come and gone I feel like for the first time in my life I’m not sure what’s next. Yes I have a general idea of what my future looks like, we all do, but it’s less clear than the visions of my future I’ve had in my past. 

Being young and unattached I feel I can do anything. But anything leaves a lot of choices. Some choices could be good some could be bad. I guess that’s the gamble that we all take every day.

I haven’t lived in Jackson long term for five years. Now that I’m here and I can go for rides with my dad or pop in on my Aunt Marylynn anytime. When I think about staying I feel comfort. I do feel afraid of getting too comfortable and it might be harder and harder for me to get out and explore again. When I think about leaving, to be frank, I get a little scared. I’m not exactly sure what I’m scared of. Maybe scared of starting again, missing my family, or not liking the decision I made. 

I had the big idea of working on Mackinac Island for the summer. I believe it’s a good idea, but it’s not the only one. In just 24 hours of applying for a few hotels up there I got two emails back, one interview finished one scheduled, and one job offer.

If I want this dream, I’ve got it. But I toy with what exactly I want to be right now and where I want to go.  

I am a very goal driven person. As you have read before I’ve had some goal in recent years of my life that have guided me. Now I’m just not sure I have such as firm goal to attach myself to. In a way my life’s compass is a little broken at the moment. 

But maybe I should embrace this confusion and spend a little time stumbling around in the dark. I am bound to stumble over something worthwhile. 

When I feel distressed I like to use these words of wisdom from the movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. 

Here is the text of it in case you want to use it for yourself!

For what it's worth: it's never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There's no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you're proud of. If you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again.

 

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Item #75 week 5

I just started knitting with the new yarn that will make my stripe down the middle of my blanket. As I browsed the aisles of JoAnn Fabrics I was overwhelmed and excited at all the possibilities for projects made with the hundreds of kinds of yarn. My choices for this project were narrowed down some because I wanted to keep the yarn of a similar texture and I had a couple colors in mind.

That being said I ended up going with one that was inexpensive and a different color than I had originally envisioned. I am really happy with the yarn, it is a bit of a smoother texture that I was using before and so my knitting process is sped up a bit. I have seen a lot of progress in just a short amount of time.

22 inches now, goal 50!

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How I got a credit card and ended up in Louisville

I joined the ranks of credit holding citizens yesterday. I guess I learned the hard way and got the card out of sheer need. So here I am with my new black CP Federal Credit Union Visa, a $500 line of credit, in the great city of Louisville, KY.

So no I did not just end up here, I planned it. But my plan almost got thrown off course. I had been wanting to come down to Louisville for a while, over a year to be exact, and I just picked a weekend and planned all else around it. My only trouble is that I drive a 19-year-old car. I'm lucky to have a car and I'm not complaining, but my dad and I could both agree, that car might not make it.

I decided to get a rental. I found a great rate at Enterprise so on the morning of my departure I was all set and optimistic to go. I can't believe I let myself get into this pickle again but I was reminded of the fact that you can't rent a rental car with only a debit card the moment I was ready to embark in my journey. I needed two of three pieces of evidence that you could pay for the car if it was in an accident and I only had the possibility of getting one of them. So I quickly was realizing I was screwed to the max and my ride had just left. So what do I do, I call my dad.

I got back over to his shop and we thought about different ways we could make this work. Several plans were thought up and all led to either more expensive options or ones that were dead ends. My dad simply threw out the idea of seeing how long it would take CP Federal to get me a credit card. Enterprise wanted a credit card and I was going to get them one.

I found out I could be approved for one in as little as 30 minutes, so this was perfect. My dad and I had been talking about getting one for me to start establishing some good credit, but I kept putting it off on account of me thinking credit cards are the devil. Now I had a situation that forced me to get it, so I did.

I'm happy I got it, because I knew I needed to. But that's not the real story. The real story is that I'm in Louisville, or should I say Louavul. I think I've been here long enough to say that.

I'm here visiting an old friend of my aunt's. Elaine is incredibly nice and hospitable and is taking superb care of me. For starters she took me to a restaurant overlooking the Ohio River. It was really beautiful at night. Then we went to 4th Street Live, a local hotspot for bars and restaurants and when I passed the Makers Mark Bourbon House and Lounge I mentioned loving Makers so we immediately went in. We both had a drink, bourbon of course.

Stay tuned for more about my trip to Louisville.

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Item #75 week 4

As you can see I skipped last week but now I'm pretty far along. I need to go pick out some other yarn to make a stripe down the middle because the original yarn I bought is not enough. It's going to be a very eclectic blanket.

It's getting there!

18 inches strong and growing

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Jacksonopolis Launch Party

I've been holding off blogging about this. But now there's no better time. To keep this nice and simple and straightforward I'm inviting you all to the launch of Jackson's new website, Jacksonopolis. 

 What is Jacksonopolis? It is an online source for positive news and media about Jackson contributed to and organized by the community.

When is the launch party? Monday, February 6th, 2012 6-10pm.

Where? The Hub 1825 Spring Arbor Rd, Jackson, MI 49203 (in front of Spring Arbor Rd. Pollys)

Why come to the party? Come to learn about and celebrate this new site. Learn about all the sections that will be included in the site, mingle with community members, and meet those who make the site possible. Have some food, score some free Jacksonopolis swag, and find out what it would be like to contribute to the site.

Still unsure? Check out Jacksonopolis' facebook page for more info or the Jacksonopolis blog for more information.

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Going Above & Beyond

A sea of water was no where to be found. A sea of hands was there instead. No religious teachings were being said but music listeners seemed to be receiving religious messages.

 At my first ever trance show with Above & Beyond this is what I saw. Eagerly waiting on the floor at Necto in Ann Arbor I couldn't believe I was there to see the three member electronic group from England.

The crowed started off small but grew and grew. An opening act of yet another one of my favorite electronic artists Kenneth Thomas started by about 11pm. By midnight two of the three members of Above & Beyond were above us beginning to move our spirits with their moving beats.

 From start to finish I had an amazing and memorable time. I barely stopped dancing once. The music flowed through my veins just as natural as my blood and I couldn't take my eyes of the group whose music nourished me through lonely times in Morocco.

 Paavo Siljamäki, the Finnish member of the group was like an entertainer of sorts I had never seen before. It only takes on person to DJ at a time so between switching with his partner Jono Grant he grooved with a spirit that made it clear trance music was his life. With a constant smile and jolly blissful demeanor he helped the music feel like a liquid dose of pure happiness.

We never heard a word from either of the men but Paavo showed us messages he would type on his Mac that let us know we were all on the same page. He said things like thank you Ann Arbor and one that I couldn't agree with more, "life is made up of small moments like these."

Being at Above & Beyond's show was like being in a class where you understand all the material. It was finally being able to feel all the feelings I feel for trance in a supercharged room where I was not alone. Above & Beyond blends dynamic and soothing beats with passionate lyrics to achieve a result that is euphoric for me.


If you want to take a listen I'll leave you with my current favorite.

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