3.13.2012

The Secretest of Road Trips...

... and how I became obsessed with Steam Punk.

In 3 short days (world, don't you dare throw some long days at me because I mentioned that the next three will be short and if you give me one more long day, it's quite possible that I'll disown you for the remainder of the days... which will hopefully stretch beyond December 21, but I digress) I'll be shutting down the work computer, disabling work emails on my phone, and heading off on the secretest of road trips with the Sweet Boy. I'd like to think that keeping the road trip location a secret will allow us to actually escape for some much needed rest and relaxation... and perhaps the consumption of a frosty beverage or two... and maybe head to the zoo and go on a picnic. It is a vacation after all.

The hardest part of a super secret road trip is not checking in on Facebook or Foursquare to any of the cool places we're going. If anything, it will allow me to be more in the moment and less on my phone. I will keep up with words with friends, however, a few of you are going down... and you know who you are!

Other than planning the secretest of road trips, I've been falling in love with all things Steampunk. I've known about the genre for the past few years - actually, maybe longer than that. Thanks to Etsy, no pop-culture genre gets away with coasting under the radar. And yes, I called it pop-culture. I'm sorry if any diehard Steampunk junkies disagree, but it's pop-culture, end of discussion.

Since when have I taken such an interest into the world of cosplay? Walton Arts Center is hosting a Steampunk night while we have Circus Oz in house later this month. Being the type A personality that I am, I never do anything half way. If someone is coming to work wearing a brown trench coat and motorcycle goggles for this one day out of the year, you bet your bottom dollar I'm going to make sure I have the same thing PLUS striped bloomers and a way fabulous laser gun set to "stun them with awesome". Sure, it's all cliche - but knowing me, I'll only be interested in it for a few months, so I can get away with cliche.

Then, it's on to something else.

But I promise you this, I'm going to blow you away with the most awesome Steampunk costume to ever set foot inside of the Walton Arts Center lobby.

Just you wait...

just you wait.

3.06.2012

How to start at the beginning

I've been having trouble lately. Trouble finding sleep until the wee hours of the morning. Trouble finding time to read a book. Trouble finding some downtime to just unwind and be myself.

I'm also having trouble pinpointing what it is I want to do tomorrow.

It's the most unsettled I've felt in quite some time... actually, it's probably the most unsettled I've ever felt.

A large, very large, part of me is ready to find my next big step in life. I'm 31 and have been itching to move. I want a change in scenery. I want a change in finances. I want a change in what I do 10-12 hours a day. I recently met with someone to talk about this and left the meeting in tears. I was more confused than I was when I went in to talk.

What scared me was how easy it was to talk me out of wanting a change.

What scared me was how obvious it was to me that I have no earthly idea of what I want.

What scared me was how I don't seem to have any true convictions as to what I want to do next.

So I cried.

After gulp crying (think about it... you know the type) to my sister on the phone for longer than I care to admit, she came up with the idea of me writing a personal mission statement. YES, a mission statement, that was what I needed. A self written road map helping me decide which direction to go on almost every life decision. It's really quite brilliant.

It would be even more brilliant if I could get it started. I've read website after website after blog after website explaining to me what it is and how I should go about starting it. In the end, however (or am I still at the beginning) I'm left not knowing how to start the thing.

So maybe that's my problem... it isn't about defining direction or purpose but about figuring out how to get at the beginning of my trail in life. How do I start the course if I'm not sure where the start is? How do I find the beginning to my next story?

I have to answer that before I take my next step.

I owe it to myself.