Chilling in the Suburbs

(Arcade Fire once again manifesting my inner thoughts and psyche)

Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains):

They heard me singing and they told me to stop
Quit these pretentious things and just punch the clock
These days my life, I feel it has no purpose
But late at night the feelings swim to the surface

'Cause on the surface the city lights shine
They're calling at me, come and find your kind
Sometimes I wonder if the World's so small
That we can never get away from the sprawl
Living in the sprawl
Dead shopping malls rise like mountains beyond mountains
And there's no end in sight
I need the darkness, someone please cut the lights

We rode our bikes to the nearest park
Sat under the swings and kissed in the dark
We shield our eyes from the police lights
We run away, but we don't know why


On the black river, the city lights shine
They're screaming at us, we don't need your kind
Sometimes I wonder if the world's so small
That we can never get away from the sprawl
Living in the sprawl
Dead shopping malls rise like mountains beyond mountains
And there's no end in sight
I need the darkness, someone please cut the lights

They heard me singing and they told me to stop
Quit these pretentious things and just punch the clock
Sometimes I wonder if the world's so small
Can we ever get away from the sprawl?
Living in the sprawl
Dead shopping malls rise like mountains beyond mountains
And there's no end in sight
I need the darkness, someone please cut the lights

  - Arcade Fire, The Suburbs (2010)  http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-suburbs/id382340814 

Tik tok on the clock...

So seeing as I officially only have approximately 28 days, 8 hours and 4 minutes until I leave (but hey whose counting) I suppose it is due time for a post to document my full realization that in 28 days, 8 hours, and 3 minutes, I will be flying to another country which I will call home for an entire year.

It seems to me that this whole process is very much like flying on an airplane for the first time*:

Buying the plane ticket: Totally stoked
Driving to the airport at 5 am: Totally tired
Going through the gate: Oh wait, what? This is actually happening..?
Waiting in your seat: Totally freakin out
The plane starts to move: oh shit , oh shit
Fast : mental back peddling- faster- holy shit, I take it back, I don't wanna  go- faster- Regret! 
  

Take off                                        -                       HOLY FUCK

"We have now reached our cruising altitude"
        - oh hey, this isn't that bad at all. Neato.

                                                                                    

                                               *Incidentally, this is both a metaphor for my Summer and  literally what I expect my reaction on the plane will be like

Right now I guess I am in the 'totally tired' phase, where I foresee the mountain of stress looming in the distance shrouded in a fog of anxiety. I would rather not have to deal with packing and tying up the remaining loose ends before I leave, but alas.. .

 I also already foresee me mentally back peddling, digging my heels in the ground as my rationality grabs me by the wrists and drags me to the airport and the new home that awaits.

             (This has very much already started- I have three weekends left in Seattle,  I have to be all packed before I leave for Montana on the 27th, and now friends are returning to Seattle- these are ingredients for a big ol' piece of reality that is extremely hard to fully digest)

BUT, I do also realize that once I am on that plane at cruising altitude - gnoshing on free snacks while perusing the Skymall catalog for their newest line of lifesize Anubis statues  - I will breathe, calm down, and eventually fall into a Tylenol PM induced slumber with dreams of my adventures yet to come*. . . 

                                                   * Incidentally these adventures will probably include something about robots, t.v. show characters, and/or the apocalypse*

                                                  *Source: Every other dream I have

Slow down you are out of control. . .

Well, I knew this day would come....the day I started a blog.

You see, I have generally understood blogs as outlets for whining, narcissism, or actually doing something rad, hence why it has taken me running off to a foreign country for a year to justify actually starting one ( I mean...my family has to know what's going on? right? yeahhh, that's it.)

At any rate, as I now stand on the very brink of my first blogging experience I am coming to realize the awesome creative potential that blogging allows, both graphically and in writing.

( Unfortunately I don't know shit about html and my writing is debatable (though boy, if you want a paper on Medieval Hungary, I got that shit down) )

So, I guess with that I'm going to preface a few things about this blog for anyone who is going to care to follow:

1. This is ostensibly meant to be a travel blog for my year long study abroad in Budapest
(1a. I use the word ostensibly a lot)
(1b. I can already foresee my blog peppered with inside jokes so be warned)

2. While many would attest to my ability to talk and rant I feel as though I remain a fairly personal person, and thus writing what is on my mind to a potential audience is going to feel really weird to me; I am really excited for that.

3. I cuss a lot. For my dear family readers I apologize for that, and I do not mean to be crude or compromise my vocabulary. Rather, I personally feel like there are certain situations that can only be properly expressed with particular words, even if vulgar. . . annnddd it has become quite a habit at this point....Also I rant a lot so that really just exacerbates the whole habit (especially if I'm tired..oh boy).

4. I REALLY apologize if my blog sounds like an academic paper. That just sort of happens the second I start to write (hence the 'ostensibly' and 'thus'es)...add in some Radiohead and I am gone. I will try to tone it down though and refrain from digressing (obviously not right now haha)

Okay, well that is it.
I will actually start writing about travel stuff laters.
Until then, watch this video: