Adventure For Another Time

I started this group and have changed the tone of this blog to focus on the motorcycle trip that is planned for April. After figuring out my finances, I’ve realized I can’t afford to take the trip at this time. I know full-well that it will happen, but for now, I need to save up some money, and do my thing.

I hate not following through with my ideas, and my goal is to complete this trip at some point, but for now, the trip is on hold.

On another note, I’m moving in with Wayne Feaser. In two days. In Parkesburg.

Work is going well, I’m working towards getting a promotion in the near future, and I graduate in May. Things are progressing.

So Far, But So Close

Forewarning: My goal is not to make these posts sound whiny, but I’m in a really whiny mood. If you would not like to read my whining, these are not the droids you’re looking for, move along.

I’m stuck. I feel tons of pressure to prep for this trip, complete a megaton worth of schoolwork, and then once all of that is said and done, take the trip and then find a job that I can turn into a career without slaving away in retail until I’m 40. (Sorry, the idea of STILL working weekends when I’m well into my 40’s just does NOT appeal to me).

I was already contemplating moving on from Target and going to a temp agency or something (my hours have neither been consistent or close to large enough to what I was hoping) but when I saw my new schedule gave me only 21 hours for the week and had me scheduled off from Monday until Friday, I was more than a little perturbed. I’ve been begging for hours at work and my most recent paycheck was on the level I was hoping. I had 70 hours for 2 weeks. This is about what I need at my current pay rate to save up for my trip in time. But one week of 26 hours and another of 21 just doesn’t cut it.

I think it may be time to move on to the next thing, which is absolutely terrifying. I have this nice, safe retail bubble and backup plan that has been created by Target over the last 3 years and 3 months. They have been great to me in relation to school and have provided the best retail company I have ever worked for. But it’s still retail. I can do it, I don’t mind it, but I don’t love it. I want to do something I love.

This trip isn’t going to be cheap. I did the math as a rough estimate and I am going to need at least $650 just for gas. Granted, it is 7000 miles, so I’m not surprised (anymore). When I first did the math I was blown away that my biggest expense will just be for the ability to be on the motorcycle. I don’t have a huge gas tank on the bike, so I know I’ll be spending a lot of time gassing up. You’d think I’d be afraid of running out of gas, but I’m more excited than anything. I view every single piece of this trip as an adventure.

I’m not sure if I said this officially on here yet or not, but even if I blow out both tires AND run out of gas at the same time, I’m still going to be having the time of my life. Shouldn’t this always be our attitudes? Viewing “mishaps” or “struggles” as adventures and learning experiences instead of life either “defeating” or “ruining” us? I know I’m going to learn a lot from this trip, but I can’t wait to share my experiences and stories with everyone once I get back. I’m gonna owe a lot of people coffee.

So, This Is Art?

A friend of mine posted a challenge on Facebook. Without copying and pasting word for word, here’s how it went: Comment on my status saying “I want in!” and I’ll send you some form of art. The only catch is that you must post the same text to your profile and the first ten people that want in, you must send them the art. After a few seconds of hesitation and thinking, “What the FUCK kind of art can I make?,” (I never warned this would be a PG Blog) I realized I did in fact have an idea.

Adding to this idea I realized my “art” will be a little awkward to mail, so I added that I will hand-deliver my “art.” Quick, mind-blowing question: Isn’t this what life is supposed to be about? Making stupid crafts and catching up with people that have affected your past?

Time For an Adventure

I have a tentative plan lined up for my future trip. I’m starting to make arrangements and plans are actually starting to take shape. In the last two weeks I have realized one big thing: I hate working in retail. Don’t get me wrong, I do my job, I get my things done. But it is definitely not something I would like to do in the future. I do not want to be 45 and still have to work nights and weekends.

With plans taking shape, I’m realizing this is a BIG trip. It’s going to take a lot of stamina. Almost 7000 miles and 105 hours. If I do an average of 10 hours of driving a day, that’s 10.5 days of driving. And the plan is to do this in 3 weeks or a month. It’s gonna be a ton of driving.

Also, the plan is to get a GoPro to record my journey. I can’t even imagine the amazing viewpoints I’m going to have and the amount of times I’m going to wish I could capture it. I’ve budgeted to get rid of all my debt (except student loans) before my trip and will be coming back with a fresh start.

This. Is. Happening.

I’m going to try to update this more

I made it a point to stop by my dad’s grave site today, and it put my thinking wheels in motion.

It’s Christmas and the holidays. It’s the time that we celebrate the friends, family, and fellowship we have in our lives.

This year’s Christmas was different. Although it was the last time having Christmas in the house I grew up in, it was not the same. I’m at a point in life of moving on and making decisions. Both ideas sound terrifying.

In three months, I don’t have a place to live. I have no “home” to come back to. I’ll have real bills to pay, rent to take care of, and have to find a place to put all my shit.

Due to recent events, I’m finding out who my real friends are. I never thought I would have to say anything as petty as that. I guess some people grow up at different speeds.

Annnnnd, if you haven’t heard by now, I have a three bedroom house to myself if anyone needs somewhere to crash in the southeastern PA area.

Current Goings-On

I moved home yesterday. I was supposed to graduate this week.

I should be job-searching like a mofo right now, but instead, I’m going to be working full-time at Target for the time being. Don’t get me wrong, this fits my 4-month plan perfectly, I am just very ready to move on from my hometown.

I’m taking a motorcycle trip somewhere between mid-March and April and it would be rude to have a real job for 3 months and say, “Oooooooh yeah, thanks for the job and all, I know you had a bunch of applicants, but is it totally cool if I disappear for 2-3 weeks to take this trip I planned a year ago? Thanks, you’re the best.” I really don’t think that will go over well. The plan is to head towards California, but take a detour up around the Great Lakes and spread my dad’s ashes, make it to California, come back to Atlanta, and then eventually make it back to PA.

My life has become way too simple now. It consists of work, work, and work, and that is all. I’m in a house by myself, not content where I am with life, but understand it fits my goals for now.

Here’s to moving up, moving on, and trying to pretend to be a grownup.

Random Lake

I took a bike ride yesterday. Here’s a link to where I went: http://www.strava.com/activities/80339411 From that map, you can see the random lake I found. After looking at the map myself, I found out it’s called Lake Artemesia.

I thought yesterday would just be a normal bike ride but what I realized is none of my bike rides have had any type of “normal.” Anyway, I was biking along a trail that me and my roommate had walked on for about 1.5 miles the other day and next thing I know, I’m at some random park and have gone 5 miles already. Time goes quick when you’re on a bike.

So after the park, I just kept following the trail. I wish I would have gotten a picture of it, but the trail kept going to the right and on a sharp left there was a fence on both sides of a paved trail. I HAD to go up there. Enter picture number 2. I come to the top of the little hill I’m on and blindsided by a huge lake just chilling there that no one in the area probably even knows about. I biked around the edge and biked on back, but here’s what I learned.

As I biked around the lake, I ended up finding that one part of the trail that I ignored went straight to the lake. But my “secret” fence-on-both-sides area also got me to the lake. It doesn’t matter what trail you take in life, you’re gonna end up somewhere beautiful. The point is to actually be on some trail, not to make a crazy destination. Destinations are nice, but forward progress is incredible!

Thanks. Bye!

Hope for the Homeless

This is Ralph. He sat down one park bench down from me and I started talking to him. He’s homeless but an honest, great guy that struggled with drugs and alcohol and now lives on the street. We talked about everything and nothing and it was incredible. I gave him $30 and a hug and wished him the best. He’s usually hanging out in front of the air and space museum by the food trucks. If you see him, stop by and chat. You won’t regret it.

Ralph taught me a valuable lesson today. Appreciate what you have, but even more so, appreciate those around you. It doesn’t matter if you’re white, black, or Asian, no one gives a flying fuck. I learned this a long time ago, but just realized it again today: people love to talk. And especially, people love to talk about themselves. This isn’t some way of me saying that people are selfish, but that people thrive on relationships. If I can be affected so much by one person in a span of about half an hour, I can’t imagine what it did for Ralph.

I realized that after listening to Ralph, I asked what I find to be an extremely weighted and honest question: “So, how can I help you?” To someone homeless like Ralph or to almost anyone on the street, I feel that question isn’t asked even remotely often enough. I don’t have class on Thursdays and have no obligations as of yet, so here’s the plan: Go to DC every Thursday, strike up a conversation, and ask them “How can I help you?” And then fucking do it. If they say they’re struggling financially, give them some cash. If they say they’re hungry, buy them whatever they want for lunch. If they say they’re an emotional wreck, listen to them for another 2 hours, or 2 days, whatever. It’s not up to me to deny someone help.

During my chat with Ralph, he politely let me know that he could use (if I could afford it, and if I can’t, that’s ok too) $20 to afford money for the shelter for the week. Why the hell wouldn’t I give him that?! If someone has the humility to ask for help from a “stranger,” then they deserve any and everything they ask.

I’d like to apologize if I post too often or you get bored with this, but I’m not going to. I’ve learned that this semester is for me to improve myself spiritually, emotionally, and physically. I already told a friend this and she asked, “So what kind of things are you going to do to reach that goal? More so focusing on the spiritual/emotional aspect?” My response: “I’m noticing by focusing on the physical my mind is more open to the spiritual/emotional.”

I found a hobby. I started biking around DC/Hyattsville area. (Shout out to Nate Blevins for providing me with the bike for an amount a college student can afford!) The first 10 minutes suck and I hate it and I dread every moment that I even think about it. But after that, after your heart rate drops a little bit, your legs get used to the constant movement, and you just accept the fact that you’re going to be dripping sweat from head to toe, *insert some exclamation here (holy crap and oh my goodness don’t do it justice)* it is fucking awesome. More details later, but I love it.

Side note, I hate endings, so in the future, most of these will just trail off. Thanks for reading!

Friends, Fire, and Stars

I haven’t had the time to actually think of anything creative to say, but I have a bunch of old posts from forever ago I’ll be posting every week or so.

This one is from February 10, 2008.

I don’t know what was wrong with me, but for the longest time I gave up on everything I believed in.

It’s not that I hated God or didn’t want him to be part of my life, I just didn’t care for his help or guidance and said, “hold up, this is me, this is my life, and I can handle it.”

But lately I haven’t been able to handle it.  I wasn’t created to handle it, I was created to do something with it.

Anyway, tonight we (me, ben and josh) made a fire just like every other sat. night, and hung out, just like every other saturday night, and did some stupid stuff, just like every other night:-p, but tonight was different.  I didn’t want to sleep outside tonight just because I am cold enough inside as it is. But I was walking back down, and I looked up, and the sky was a deep blue, a dark luminescent blue that doesn’t have a brightness to it, but doesn’t keep you in the pitch black darkness.  And to my left was almost a sunset.  The sky had that orange hue to it that just made everything perfect.  And there were sounds, oh the sounds.  There was the breeze, just gentle enough to nip the tip of your nose.  And my feet made noises, a steady moving, a constant moving.  The grass below them crunched with a sound somewhere between leaves in autumn and a fresh twig being snapped.  Then as I neared the house, I could hear water in the distance.  It wasn’t rushing, it was just flowing, moving, pressing onward towards it’s destination.  It doesn’t know where it’s going, it doesn’t care to, it just goes to where the rocks lead it.  And my footsteps changed their tune, there was no crunch, but it wasn’t quite a stomp, the sound of the dirt beneath my feet just loving being appreciated.

It was just a beautiful eye-opening night.  And God rushed in to scream this in my face without even whispering a word.

First Impressions

Oftentimes, we get so focused on first impressions, we don’t give people a chance.

Within the past 10 minutes, it’s been glaringly obvious how big of a problem this is. I was sitting outside and was just observing people. (I do this normally, is that weird?) I noticed some people and automatically jumped to conclusions about who they were, where they were from, or how they lived their lives. I then read a friend’s blog post which was basically talking about the same thing, and read yet another blog talking about a similar subject. Lo and behold, I open up my English book, and there’s an essay I’m supposed to read about the same topic.€

But that got me thinking, do people do the same thing with me? Do they see a short 19-year-old guy and assume that he doesn’t know anything. How do they really view me?

So how do we prevent these first impressions from transforming how we view people? The answer is simple in theory but sometimes hard to apply: Get to know them. In a recent discussion with a friend, we reached the conclusion that we can help people the most by simply initiating conversations, remembering names, and praying.

For example, have you ever been in a public place and worried to talk to someone because you thought they wouldn’t want to talk to you? The exact same thing is probably going through their mind at that time, and they just want to talk.

I am one of the worst people with remembering names, but will remember if I constantly repeat the name I just heard in my head until I have it down. And I make it a point to let them know I remember their name the next time.

I’m not sure where I was headed with this, but it all boils down to one thing: Love. We are put on this earth to love God and love others. How can you love others if you can’t even ignite the opportunity to listen to them?