Alice came to a fork in the road. "Which road do I take?" she asked.
"Where do you want to go?" responded the Cheshire cat.
"I don't know," Alice answered.
"Then," said the cat, "it doesn't matter."

for now, until further inspiration...

www.travelswithchelsea.blogspot.com

the piano played on

the other night sleep could not find me, or i could not find it. my body did search for sleep, but it was hiding in a far away corner, deciding to avoid eye contact. sleep finally did come to me, but only after the piano.
Feb. 03, 2009:

the light is back on now, but only a moment ago, after i turned the little lamp off for only the second time, i heard music. laying in the dark guest bedroom, i could hear something. maybe it was a train or maybe a piano.
either could be possible. i rolled over the sound in my head like one would a piece of chewing gum in their mouth. the next door neighbor is a concert pianist, but the hour is much to late for a lady like herself to be awake, let alone tracing her fingers along a grand piano. could it be a train? it is true, we can hear the train whistle blow from inside the house occasionally - but it usually would not blow so faintly.
laying in the bed next to my dreaming dog, i made the decision to hear the piano. once the decision was made, there was no turning back, the piano was playing beautifully in my head as the faint musical sound i had heard early faded from the room. my piano played.
i wish i could write poetry like my dad did. compose lyrics to my own songs. i could sing them loud and would be proud to know they were my own.
i could even shout them or change tempo, or even style as my imaginary viewers gazed on.
it would be beautiful. and it would be something i could hold onto for some time.
and the piano would play.
now the light will go off for the third time and, in the dark, sleep will find my eyes just as music finds my ears.
and the piano played on.

runny nose blues

I have caught the runny nose blues. It is a mixture of allergies, the blues, and maybe a cold. I am denying the latter of the three and blaming the sneezing and snot on allergies, while listening to the blues brothers.
Since it is now close to mid-February... I decided to finally take down the Christmas lights today. We can no longer light up the neighborhood with Christmas cheer or give the neighbors something to complain about. Not that they have been complaining, or have even noticed (we have not actually turned on the Christmas lights since before Christmas day...)
So, I don't have a whole lot to say.
The date for departure is the 11th. Amanda, my travel buddy, decided to create a blog for our road trip. It will probably get a lot more attention than this one... We will both be writing on it and I will be posting photos. AND! There is an awesome map that will show you where we have been and another to show you where we plan on going. Check it out!
www.travelswithchelsea.blogspot.com

being home

since i have been home i have done a very poor job of keeping in contact with people. i have still not spoken with some of my family since i have returned from europe... let alone kept in contact with the people i found to be so fantastic while i was away.
so maybe i should revive the blog a bit?
just to make it a bit easier to keep in contact with people. my goal is still to send e-mails to each of my friends to see how they are doing, or just to say hello. but, maybe to make things a little easier, or to get the process started, i can write on here. it is no longer my "european adventure", but every day is an adventure of sorts. (not that i will write everyday, i am not that good.)
since i have been home life has slowed down quite a bit. i don't really have a routine of things i stick to every day, but i have some constants - monday night is glow bowling and a game of pool, tuesday night my brother and nephew come over... but that is pretty much all, leaving me with a lot of time. i am looking forward to starting school in august.
besides bowling, since i have been home i have also been working on the shed in my backyard. the first month i was home i worked on it tediously, now i just have a few side projects for improving and re-situating. while i was away, my mom and her fiance finished the inside of the shed - insulating and building a loft with stairs, doing a fantastic job. when i got home i painted and made shelves happen (thanks to my brother dagan) and moved in. i now live in a shed and it is fantastic. i will post photos soon... hopefully. i am really pleased with how it turned out. i have a kitchen, with an electric stove and a sink with a 2 gallon water jug for running water. the only down fall is i have to go inside the main house to use the toilet, but that is okay with me.
besides living in the shed, i have been planning... i got the taste of road trip stuck in my mouth and could not seem to get it out. so, i am heading west and north and south (but not so much east right now, unfortunately). my friend amanda and i will be going to everywhere from colorado to montana to arizona and mexico and back up to canada and california and everywhere in between. my boyfriend got an internship in california, so amanda and i will part ways there and jordan and i will travel back to the bible belt together. it will be epic, i will read a lot and find a really warm place to lay out in the sun and ignore the winter that would be happening at home.
travels with charlie.
i am excited for the thought of adventure, but i am having a hard time mentally preparing myself to leave. it is not leaving my home so much that i have trouble with, it is my dog. i just don't feel ready to leave her again, despite my desire to go. the date we have set to leave is in two weeks, and when that date approaches i will have no excuse to hold me at home. i will be off, on the road. i just started reading travels with charlie, steinbeck had the same issue - wanting to find an excuse to stay home, but finding none. the freedom of a car and only knowing you are westbound is exhilarating, i want to take this trip. but at the same time i find myself feeling sick thinking about my dog searching for me everyday only to find an empty room with an empty bed. she doesn't understand i will be home in a few months. i hate to put her through it again. but i will.
it will be my next big adventure to write about.
on the road.

home again, home again.

Reverse culture shock, who knew?
Coming home has not been as easy as I was expecting it to be. Luckily I have Fontella Bass and Aretha Franklin to help cheer me up... You sing it girl!

The French Alps

What did you do today?

Well, ya know... I just walked accross a glacier in the French Alps. Pretty standard.