Monthly Archives: July 2008

Goddamn

Written by serene. Posted on July 30, 2008. Filed under Culture Club. 4 Comments.

I curse all of you who knew about these awesome Prince performances from the Super Bowl and never told me about them.  I should’ve watched this ages ago, but instead I had to find out about it tonight. Thankfully someone rad out there has my back and told me to watch it, because my life feels a little richer for seeing his version of “Proud Mary.” I do love me some sweet marching band action.

Arrived

Written by serene. Posted on July 29, 2008. Filed under Uncategorized. 2 Comments.

I finally have my Danish visa. I guess this means I can start freaking out a bit.

I can officially say I’ll be leaving for Copenhagen on August 27 at 1:15 pm. I’ll catch you all on the flip-side back here in Seattle on December 19.

Since all of you are worldly, jet-setting types, any advice on phones in Europe? I don’t have a phone that uses a SIM card, so that’s not the cheapest alternative for me. I know about Skype too, but I figured the more enterprising people out there may have something better. I’m suddenly in a position where the thought of not being able to call my people makes my chin quiver, which is totally unbearable.

Thanks Mom

Written by serene. Posted on July 27, 2008. Filed under I am a sap, I am awesome. Tagged . 5 Comments.

I somehow made it through my first 10k. The 6.2 miles were BRUTAL, with some gnarly hills around north Capitol Hill. Running the tight uphill curves around Interlaken almost made me toss my cookies, but thinking about my Mom and her ovarian cancer got me pissed off enough to barrel through.

Here is to hoping that more little girls don’t have to grow up without their moms. And tell someone that you love them today. I sure did. <3

Complicated to uncomplicated in three easy steps

Written by serene. Posted on July 22, 2008. Filed under Uncategorized. 1 Comment.

My SFO visit became more of an East Bay visit, which is perfectly fine by me. Effectively hunkering down, a dramatic and complicated 29th birthday in Seattle transformed itself into a wonderful, healing weekend with the most amazing people surrounding me. It’s unforgettable and special in many ways, and I’m biting my tongue to stop the cheesy sentiment from disrupting your screen and initiating your upchuck reflex – let’s just say that my friends are the greatest and I’m lucky to have them in my life.

Oh, and The Dark Knight?  HOT DAMN. Best movie I’ve seen of the year, no doubt.

The Great Birthday Escape

Written by serene. Posted on July 14, 2008. Filed under Uncategorized. 5 Comments.

On Saturday I’ll be high in the air San Francisco bound. As a birthday gift to myself, I bought a ticket to see some of nearest and dearest before I head to Denmark. So consider yourself warned, SFO. You better start warning your strippers now, getting your Guitar Hero tuned, and dusting off your dancing shoes, cause I’m-a-headed your way.

I’m sure I’ll do a very navel-gazing post about what turning 29 means and bid 28 a proper adieu, but I’ll save that for later.

Home

Written by serene. Posted on July 1, 2008. Filed under I am a sap, Nerdy. 4 Comments.

I’ve once again fallen in love with my head.

I suppose I should backtrack a bit. Yes, my head and I had a bit of a falling out. My thoughts and worries and concerns piled atop each other in the weird little crannies in my head. These little malignant fuckers joined forces with a new quarter at school, which caused me to care about things I don’t really care about. This faux care filled the space that my idiosyncratic tendencies did not. My heavy mind started to become my downfall. There were many nights when I spent hours staring at screens filled with psychoanalytic babble, trying to figure out what was wrong with my head and why I was so damn unhappy.

But thankfully June came and went and the critical mass alert I heard ringing through the dark crevasses in my cranium faded. Once my stress level went down, some of the Tetris Stacked Piles of Panic and Doom just sort of puffed away into non-existence. Then I started balancing my life out by spending time with friends and being outside and started seriously running. Finally, the Sisyphean task of keeping my mind functional disappeared.

Taking the place of worry and concern is my latest obsession with a place called home: What is it? What does it look like? How does it make me feel? Who is invited in? Where is this mythical place even at?

While I may not know the answers to these questions, it is a fun thing to think about. Knowing that I will be homeless in a few months is most definitely the catalyst, but by no means the only reason why this is ballooning in importance. At the end of August, I’ll be shoving all my piece-of-shit, hand-me-down possessions into a dank and smelly storage unit, giving up my apartment, and moving to Denmark for three and a half months. Upon my return to the wintery and dark Seattle, I’ll have to find a new home. Or “home,” rather.

The dilemma is that I’m not sure I have a home, even when I have a roof over my head. I don’t have the luxury of having all the people I love in one area. Instead, they are cast across the land like wildflower seeds. I don’t ABSOLUTELY ORGASMICALLY LOVE a single city. I find myself happily floating around wherever I have landed in the last ten years (Portland, Northern California, etc.). And since it looks like I’ll be graduating next year, I can even entertain the idea of leaving Seattle.

So what does it take to call a place home? Can you get those butterflies for an area like you get when you kiss someone, with your body telling you to pay attention because this particular city is really awesome? Or is it more like a bus stop, where you get off at the closest place that is convenient, without emotion or feelings entering the picture?

All I know is that my feet are getting a little weary and my heart is growing a bit long. It feels like it is time to find home.