Inspiration Fridays: Putting It Together

I'm going to reference a musical.  I've done it before on this blog, and once again, it's that day.  I like musicals.  They're fun.  But, it's not just any musical.  It's a Sondheim musical.  And, it's not just any Sondheim musical.  It's "Sunday in the Park with George," which, in my opinion, is the best Sondheim musical. 

 Here's a picture of Mandy Patinkin playing the title role-

That's Bernadette Peters in the pinkish/ salmony/ reddish(?) dress.  With the parasol.

The story is that of Georges Seurat, and there is this glorious song in the play called "Putting it Together".  The opening stanza goes like this-

"Bit by bit, putting it together
Piece by piece, only way to make a work of art
Every moment makes a contribution
Every little detail plays a part
Having just a vision's no solution
Everything depends on execution
Putting it together (That's what counts)"

Each piece is a part of the puzzle.  But, it takes all of them to make one piece of art.  How cool is that?  Here's a Seurat painting to give you an idea of why/ how this makes sense.

Get it?  Got it?  Good.

 He used pointilism.  It's a bunch of little dots that make a picture.  Like pixels, but with paint, many years before pixels were an idea. Each dot is a little coloured dot in and of itself, but together, they form a beautiful, complete, cohesive whole.

This other verse, from much later in the song, expresses better where I'm attempting to take this idea...

"Beat by beat, losing inhibition
Head, hands, feet, trying to relax, but not too much
Trying to lay out the exposition
But without exposing it as such
Trying to perform but not audition
Trying to establish recognition"

Here's what I'm going through: 

Wow, that makes it sound as if my life is overwhelmingly difficult and unfortunate.  My life is rather great, just to let you know, but I am dealing with a concept.  I hesitate to call it a problem, because it isn't problematic.  I just can't name it. 

I'm fascinated.  

 I'm easily fascinated.  I like a lot of things, but, within the past six monthes, they have come together in my mind to form one conclusive concept.  I like yoga, voice, martial arts, acting, photography, writing... and it's the putting it together that seems to be tricky.  See what I did there?  I used the title of the song in my sentence.  Putting it together.  Writing.  I like it.  Anyway,  these are all decidedly independant interests, and I've spent a bit of time contemplating why exactly it is that all of them fascinate me- why I feel the desire to split my interest in so many different directions.  Because, that is a bunch of different directions.

I've determined why- 

It's the thread that connects all of them: understanding the human experience.  It's fascinating.  If I just got really broad or new-agey for you, take a few steps back with me, and if that made total sense, congratulations on getting what I mean faster than I initially got it.  Okay.  The human experience.  What it means to be alive.  Not that far... I'm not pretending I know the meaning of life.  Haha, no.  I'm young, and learning.  Making a claim like that is crazy, and I'm not, for a second, going to attempt to bluff that.  But, I know what it means to be alive.  I happen to be alive.  Of that, I'm certain.  This isn't the Matrix.  At least, I don't think it is.  My best guess is that you are alive too.  Just because of logic and stuff.  Being alive means that you think, feel, touch, taste, share, hide... often all at the same time.  We all do these things.  Every day.  Yes, maybe you are fasting, alright, blast me in the comments, but in general, we all do these things.  We share this.  We are alive, together, we all have minds, we all think, we all feel, we all understand.  This isn't rocket science, or anything new.

 

Yet...

 How often do we truly analyze our own selves?  Our own true selves?  Or, even more importantly, the minds, feelings, tastes, touches of others?  I don't mean by caressing them, though that is very nice, and I do recommend it.  I mean by thinking like them.  Empathy.  Really putting yourself in their shoes.  Seeing things in a different, new way because it is something you, as a human are not only capable of, but programmed to do.  Culturally, we are shut down from our ability to do this.  We go, "me, me, me!".  Science backs me up on this though- that's not how we are born.  During the first few monthes when we are a helpless baby, yes, but soon after, we become pack animals.  We attempt to understand each other.

Then, we STOP understanding each other.  

And we stop understanding ourselves. Why?  Why would we do that?  Is it culture?  Is it pre-programmed?  I have no idea.  I just am fairly certain that it happens. We get wrapped up in the things swirling around in our minds- our fears, our concepts of right and wrong, our misconceptions... and they skew our view of the world.  They are not us, and they are not ultimate truths.  They can be changed.  We exist in a world of grey. We can start again.  Most of us would never think of it.  I have. I don't know why, but, I have. And, I've changed.  It's very exciting, and has increased the amount of happiness I feel about the world, myself, and you know, life in general.  Which is nice.  I'm at a point in my life where I am physically fit, healthy, confident, and overall happy.  Yeah, I have bad days, but I relish them, knowing that other days will be better.  Bad days are a gift to remind you that the happy times are impermanent, but so are the bad times.  You know?  It seems so clear to me now.

SO...  What are you getting at?

I know.  I have to be going somewhere with this.  Bear with me.  You should win a medal for this.

How does this apply to yoga, voice, martial arts, acting, photography and writing?  Well, which one of those things doesn't need a sense of empathy and understanding of the self?  Let's go through.

1. Yoga

It prepares the body and mind for meditation.  Yoga includes stretching, strengthening, improving breathing, improving awareness, and eventually teaching mind and body control in order to reveal the real self.  Well, yeah.  That clearly fits.


2. Voice

 Voice work in a nutshell...releasing tension, un-inhibiting the connection between your brain and your sound, teaching the most open and resonant way to release sound so that your thoughts, needs, and understandings are clearly communicated to others and the world through language, working with the text of others...  Yup.  That fits too.


3. Photography

 Anyone can take a photograph of something, but if you put 20 different people in a room, and ask them to take photographs of the same thing, you will get 20 different pictures, because they will all see the subject differently.  They all have different perceptions of the world that they can share with one another, and through the lens of a photographer, we are exposed to their unique sensitivities and worldview.  It's almost voyeuristic.  You get a glimpse into the soul of the artist.  Yeah.  Once again, this fits.


4. Martial Arts

 I mentioned confidence, and nothing boosts your confidence like knowing martial arts.  You feel like a badass, capable of defending and taking care of yourself, and those you love.  Those inhibitions in your mind, which are there for so many reasons, start to disintegrate because, no, you know what?  I can do this  I can do this.   Guys, I'm starting to see a pattern.


5. Writing

 This one is similar to what I said about photography- no one person is going to write the same way as another person.  We all have our own cadences, our unique connections to language, our personal favourite words, expressions, and beyond that, topic choices.  Through our writing we reveal ourselves and our humanity. We see another person's world through their eyes, and are sucked in.  I'm taking a class with Def Poetry Jam's Lemon Anderson, and he said something freaking brilliant last night-  "Bring them to a place nobody knows, then remind them that they've been there".  Brilliance.  This fits.


6. Acting

The mother of all of them.  This combines everything I've said up above.  Your body has to be free.  Your voice has to be connected and free.  Your mind has to be free.  You have to have a creative opinion and confidence.  AND... this is why it's the mother... you have to have extraordinary empathy.  Meryl Streep, who I think everyone can agree is an exceptional actor, said, "The great gift of human beings is that we have the power of empathy".  Susan Sarandon, who I think is also pretty fantastic, said, "I think I'm an actor because I have very strong imagination and empathy".  I didn't make this up, is what I'm saying.  People smarter and older than me have said this, and I'm just putting it into my own words.

THUS...

I am appreciative and thankful to have come to this conclusion, realization, epiphany, enlightenment, whatever you want to call it, and I want to share it.  It has brought me a lot of inner peace, and hopefully, it can bring other people inner peace as well.  I want to teach people.  I want to learn how to teach people to feel empathy for themselves and one another, to comprehend not only their own mind and power, but that of others.  I'm putting together how to do this.  It's through Voice that I most excel, and frankly, it's what I care the most about.  It seems like a good way to reach people.  I want to make them good actors, and good people, and the same time.  The school at which I am a priviledged, lucky, happy, thrilled lady to work has this as their mission statement- "Growth as an actor and as a human being are synonymous".  And damnit, they are so right.  That concept has changed my life, and made me need to change the lives of others with it. 

THAT is what I want.

That.  That is what I want.  I want to learn to be an inspirational teacher.  I want to learn how make the future brighter for other people through my love of voice, acting, text, and them.  I want to learn everything I can so that I can do this as well as possible.  Every one of these hobbies is opening my eyes to more facets of this concept, and then I can apply it to the techniques I'm learning from the beautiful teachers who are allowing me to shadow their classes, as well as other instructors I've had along the way.  I'm not pretending that I've got it figured out, or that I've mastered this.  I'm a student.  I always will be.  Which, is thrilling.  There is so much to learn.  I'm so young, and still so stupid.  There is so much out there...




I AM SO EXCITED!

Happy Friday!

Inspiration Friday: On Life Without Coffee, and Why Pain Is Not Necessarily Gain

I love coffee.  I mean, I really, really love coffee.  Like, a lot.  Coffee is probably the magical fruit liquid of the gods, as well as their sweat and tears.  I have this theory that coffee was passed down to us from higher beings because they love us.  Benjamin Franklin said that about beer, that god sent it because he wanted to make us happy, but in my opinion, coffee is way better.  This also may be because I don't drink, so there is that, but really, everyone.  Coffee.  Yum.  Oh my god.  Yum.

Now, my friends, I shall contradict everything that I just said with what, for me, is an utterly shocking statement- I have not drunk a cup of coffee in almost three days.  Guys, I'm bugging out.  Nearly three rotations of the earth have occurred since I last enjoyed a steaming, or iced, cup of java.  Three.  That hasn't happened since... I don't even know... I was in middle school?  This is crazy.  Insane, to be honest. Some small symptoms of withdrawal have been noticed, which to be honest, freaked me out a little bit, but were not completely unexpected.

Why am I doing this, you may ask?  Is it out of some vicious, maniacal desire to thrust myself into the fires of torture?  No.  I'm trying to reset my body.

Over the past year, I have been sick a lot.  This may be because I work in an indoor office with no windows.  It may also be because I work at a desk shared by many other people, most of whom, including myself, eat whilst sitting here.  It may also be, though, because I eat a lot of processed foods.  Because, I do.  I love frozen chicken patties, macaroni and cheese, bacon, chips ahoy, chef boyardee, udon noodles, fish sticks, and all kinds of other things that really aren't that bad for you health-wise, but have a lot of preservatives and such.  

 

 

 

 

I also eat lunch and dinner, and sometimes breakfast as well, out.  Wayyyy too many of my meals are bought instead of made at home, and this little "reset" is forcing me to reconsider this.  Not only does eating out cost bagillions of dollars over the course of a lifetime, it's also, generally, far less healthy.  My goal is to be healthier, so I'm trying to be more careful about this.  For the past three days, I haven't eaten any "processed" foods, aka canned, boxed, and anything with preservatives or crap tons of salt. 

Along with this, I'm taking a week off from coffee.  Coffee is actually quite good for you in small quantities, but I haven't been drinking small quantities.  A day with less than 3 cups, most of which were far larger than the serving size of 8oz, was a weird day for me.  Generally I was knocking back 3-4.  That is way too much.  And, too much of a good thing can be a bad thing.  So, I'm taking this week and just drinking tea, so I at least get some caffeine and my body doesn't flip a gasket.  Next week, I am going to begin drinking just one cup of coffee in the morning.  Hopefully, I will be able to sleep better, and have more legitimate, rather than drugged energy.

Yoga and martial arts have been making me consider these things.  I need and want the energy to be able to do what I need to do in a day.  On top of this, I am becoming more obsessed with overall health and injury prevention- as someone who has a longtime injury, tendonitis in my ankle, this is important to me, and I wish that it were more important to the other people I train with.  It is to some people- that isn't meant to be a cut, but I've seen a lot of really brilliant athletes injure themselves because they pushed too hard through something that hurt.

 

 

 

 

 I've been pondering the phrase "No pain, no gain" a lot lately.  It's thrown around surprisingly often at martial arts, and I totally disagree with it.  It's misleading.  Pain in the form of a stretch is good.  Pain in the form of pushing yourself to the limit can be good.  Pain in the form of confidence, or strengthening can be good.  Pain in the form of shooting pain, bleeding, or injury is bad.  It doesn't make you gain anything- it makes you have to take time off.  I have  had to take time off due to stuff like that so many times in my athletic career and, frankly, I'm sick of it.  I'd rather train sustainably, in a way in which I can train til I am 100 than train in a way that takes me out of doing what I love every other week.  

 

 

 

 

Screw that!  That doesn't work.  That causes bodily harm, stress, and an abnormal schedule for your body.  You end up in and out of training, constantly struggling to regain lost ground instead of climbing a steady upward slope.  And that, my friends, is stupid.  That helps no one, and it definitely doesn't help you.  It' hurts you.  That's not gain- that's loss.  That seems so obvious now.

I don't know why it took me so long to come to this conclusion.  Maybe it's because I get punched in the face (and everywhere else) for fun.  That might be it.  But, I'm glad I'm here, because I'm going to use this knowledge to, hopefully, not have to miss class anymore.  I'm done with feeling broken, unhealthy, and exhausted sometimes.  I'm ready to feel vital, healthy, and put together as much as humanly possible.  Because, this is my body, and my outlook.  I can control it!

In conclusion- be kind to yourself.  Be kind to your body.  Be kind to your mind.  You'll last longer.  Push, but not too hard.  

 

 

 

 

In the words of one of my brilliant yoga teaching instructors, Sarah Bell- "When you have a bunch of voices saying different things to you in your head, your true voice is the one that is kindest to you".

Happy Friday!

Inspiration Fridays: On Diet and Exercise

I don't talk too much about this on here, but I work out.  I work out a lot.  In an ideal world, in which I am never sick, never injured, and don't have to do to many other things outside of work, I would love to work out at least ten hours a week.  Most of the time, I live in this ideal world.

I like being healthy.  Healthy is good.  When you're being "healthy," you have more energy.  The world looks prettier.  Your outlook is better.  Food is tastier.  Colors are brighter.  Air is sweeter in your lungs, and you get more of it.  You stand straighter.  You feel better.  

 

At certain points in my life, I've been better about this healthy um, thing, than others, but right now, it's going very well.  So, hooray for that.  Thank someone for the small victories. I eat a lot of whole fruits and veggies, lean meats, and whole grains.  These things taste good, and they're cheaper than cookies.  Water.  Water is good.  You should drink water.  18 cups a day is generally my minimum- I use the bathroom like  a pregnant lady, but it's worth it.  I almost never feel dehydrated.   I try to sleep 6-9 hours a night, and generally wake up feeling great.  Sometimes I get insomnia but hey, who doesn't?  Everyone gets those nights where your brain is buzzing and there's nothing you can do except stare at the ceiling and wonder why the sleep gods hate you. 

NOW.  Before I come across as one of those people who says, "Well, I've got this down... why don't you?"- hear me out.  That type of approach works for some people, and I am one of those people, but, I'm also extremely aware that for many people, this approach makes them resentful.  Angry.  Basically, it has the exact opposite effect.  Thus, here's some empathy.  There are many times of my life during which I have not been successful at being healthy.  Hell, during my sophomore year of college, I gained thirty pounds by not exercising, and eating late night burgers, pizza, and philly cheesesteaks.  It was bad.  Being healthy can seem really hard.  I know that.  As I said, I've been there.  And let me tell you- it's all just a freaking mind trick.  Being healthy is not only easier than being unhealthy, it's also more pleasant. 

Here's partially why... look at how pretty healthy food is!  Look at all the pretty colors!  They are so nice!  Like a rainbow!  Who doesn't like rainbows?  I do.  Salads.  They are tasty and filling and also coloured like a rainbow if you do it right.  Sandwiches and pasta/ noodle dishes can be the same way. 

 

 

 As I said, healthy food also seems to be cheaper.  Where I am, a box of strawberries is about $1-2, a head of lettuce is generally way less than $1, a bag of apples is usually $2, and a can of beans ranges from $.75-1.50 depending on the bean type.  Bags of veggies are $3 or less.  Protein-rich greek yogurts are about $1 each.  Bundles of scallions are $.25.  Whole wheat pasta is about $1-2.50 a box, and 5lb bags of brown rice for like $7. Eggs are generally $1.29-1.99 a carton, depending on whether or not they are free range.  Corn torillas are often less than $2 for a stack of 20-30.

 

Compare this to a $5 box of poptarts or chips ahoy, or a $4 bag of Doritos, and it seems pretty easy. 

that

vs

maybe all of this

Just look at that rainbow!  There's green! And red that isn't made of fake!

Look, though, guys- Doritos are delicious.  So are Chips Ahoy and Poptarts.  I eat all of these things.  Who are we kidding.  I admire people who have cleansed their diet of "fake" stuff, and only eat organic, or only eat unprocessed foods, or foods they cook themselves.  More power to them.  That's awesome.  I am not them.  I eat cookies, and pre-processed crap.  It tastes good, and yeah, it's not so great for me, but I work out a lot and I need a lot of calories sometimes.  I like moderation.  One giant cookie a day is enough for me.  I don't need six.

 

Okay....I'll eat six sometimes, but only sometimes.  Those are special days....

  Six small ones, however?  Let's be real.  This happens way more often than I should admit.  Danny and I can tear through a box of Chips Ahoy  in one night.  Seriously.  Gross, maybe.  BUT when we do this... we have usually worked out.  For like, 3-5 hours.  That day.  Doing martial arts.  Which, coincidentally, burns like 600-1,300 calories an hour.  So... I don't really feel bad.  Actually, I feel great.  Because, I'm fit and full of cookies.  Bam.

But, there's also raspberries.  

 

They are tasty, and good for you.

Thus- it's all about choices.  Yeah, I might eat a pile of cookies, but I'm going to go fight people for three hours.  Balance.  These things even out.

Back to fighting, though.  As I said, I work out a lot.  If you had asked younger me about this, I would have scoffed, and laughed, and told you the same thing I say now- working out is fun.  If you asked college-age me about this, I would have scoffed and laughed, and called you crazy.  "Working out is awful," I might have said.  "It isn't fun," I might have said.  "You're a liar," I might have said.  However, I'm not a liar.  I was just not really understanding how to work out in a fun way at that point in my  life.

When I was in high school, I danced.  That was my predominant, and, well, only form of workout.  I danced hours and hours a week, and loved it.  Why?  I wasn't working out to work out.  I was working out while dancing.  Dance was the focus.  Dance made me feel pretty.  Dance made me feel important.  Dance made me feel good.  

During college, I tried to do things like the stairmaster.  If you've never been on a stairmaster, I'd say that using it is akin to climbing forever whilst embodied in the flames of the deepest circle of hell.  You will never get that rock up the mountain because there is always more mountain.  It's a stinking circle.  There will always be more steps. 

 

Really, do any of these people look like they are having a nice time? You tell me.

 

 

 Nope.  No one.

 I also tried the lovely elliptical, which also sucks.  You can run forever on an elliptical, and you know where you will get?  NOWHERE.  Ever.  You're still on that same freaking elliptical, moving your arms.  It sucks.  Working out because, OMG I should work out because beach bikini OMG MUST LOOK GOOD ALMOST NAKED... it never works for me, because it's not fun. 

 Pictured below- how no one has ever actually felt on an elliptical ever.

 

 

Now, I do martial arts and yoga.  These are VERY fun for me.  Why?  I feel like a badass.  I feel like a total, utter, ass-kicking badass.  WHY?  Because I am becoming one.  Like, actually.  Yoga?  It makes my moves precise, and my mind calm.  The muscles of my body are focused and strong, and my vision and train of thought are clear. 

 

 

 Due to martial arts, I can kick and punch people. Not only that, but it happens all of the time.  If you asked me how many times I have punched a dude three times my size in the face, I would have no idea.  How cool is that?  It's so cool.  

 

 

The above photograph is almost accurate.  I don't wear a helmet, but other than that, it's pretty good.

 

How many times have I choked these big men out?  Unsure.  A lot.  Pardon me, but if I say at the end of the day, "I have to go choke a bitch now," I might not be lying.  I go to jiu jitsu 2-3 days a week, during which, generally, people are choked.  Sometimes these choked individuals are women, and no, women aren't all bitches, but damn, it feels good to be a gangster.  

 

 

I feel empowered, truly, really empowered for the first time in my life.

I know I'm cursing a lot, so excuse it, but seriously, doing martial arts is so cool.  All.  of. the. time.  I get to feel like a ninja, because I'm becoming proficient at doing ninja things.  I used this ninja things to stop a kid from stealing my phone on the subway one day.  I was just sitting there, on the 2 train in Brooklyn, listening to some pop music and reading my BBC news, and some kid, who, if he was over 14 I wouldn't believe it, grabbed my phone and ran off the train.  I disarmed the phone, and when he tried to punch me, I hit him in the hand with my phone so hard that I cracked the phone, while also firing a blow to his bicep, which made his arm crumble.  Phone retrieved.  I was shaken up because, well, someone just tried to steal my stuff, and not only someone, a kid smaller than me.  But, I was also a ninja that day.  

 

 

Also, I just got my JKD ORANGE BELT YESTERDAY!  WOO!!!  I feel so happy.

 

Oh, and this martial arts thing tends to be a good workout, so that's cool. 

In conclusion- find things that taste good.  Find things that are fun. Figure out what you like, then just do it.

Just do it as often as possible!

Inspiration Fridays: When I Have Money

I came to a rather harrowing realization this morning- I am close to broke.  (Sorry mom, dad, grammy and grampop...)  Now, close is a relative term- I am not in debt, I am paying rent successfully, I'm not starving, I have a gym membership and am in school again.  So, yeah.  Not really broke.  But, I have a small enough amount of money that all of those attempts at "watching it" I've been making lately have suddenly become absolute necessity.  Honestly, this has been going well.  I've been watching it, and saving some dough.  At this point, I have to.

This post was originally intended to be a "stuff I will buy when I get money" inspiration post.  A lot of bloggers I know do this- they post about things they want, and are working towards owning.  Clothes they wish for, necklaces they found on Etsy.  Frankly, it's usually clothes or cameras or random crafty stuff they found on Etsy.  I tried to compile that post.  I did.  I'm just not materialistic enough to do it.  I have barely been clothes shopping lately, and god knows I need some new socks.  This should be done.  However, I own such a ridiculous number of clothing items that I can't justify it; not to mention that I have no particular desires at the moment style-wise.  My closet is pretty great.  There are quite a number of nifty pieces in there, and everything I own matches in some bizarre way to equal one closet full to the brim with semi-gothy outfits.  Only semi, because they manage to look within  the general bounds of normal 99% of the time.  That one percent day is the one where I allow it to shine and, you know, wear pirate stockings.  Which, I may have bought as an impulse buy on Etsy.  Okay- I might be materialistic.

What I really desire, and crave is experience.  Learning.  Living.  Going.  Doing.  I want to move and I need to see.  Talking.  Listening.  Giving.  Receiving.  THAT is what I plan to do with future money acquisitions.  Save, and then spend those hard-earned dollars on travel, or eating a nice meal out with a friend, seeing a show, taking a class, what have you.  I own too much stuff.  Too much.  I think it's a disease, buying crap.  Then, you're stuck with it, and feel like you should attempt to sell it- but it's so much work!  Organizing a yard sale takes forever, and carting massive bags of stuff to Buffalo Exchange almost requires a day off from work it's so tedious.  There are two of said massive bags of clothing in my storage closet from our last move that I keep meaning to get rid of, but I haven't yet.  They are sitting there.  Inhabiting space that I could be using for something, you know, useful.  That'd be cool.

In any case, guys, I have a wanderlust and a need for adventure.  This may be why I am an actor, why I do martial arts, and why I do yoga.   I like to have experiences that most people will never have.  Fighting.  How many people have legitimately been in a fight?  Like, one that lasted beyond the initial punch?  I fight multiple times a week, something I certainly thought I would never say.  It's in a controlled environment, yes, but when you're working against a guy who is a foot taller than you, and weighs 100 pounds more than you, or when you are fighting against a woman smaller than you who has been training for 20 years, it doesn't feel fake.  It's not.  Before I started, the idea of legitimately hitting someone blew my mind.  You know what?  It's one of the most exhilarating things that I have ever experienced.


Everyone should try this.  Everyone.  I get to feel like a bleeping ninja multiple days a week, not because of an avatar on the screen, but because my actual, physical body, those muscles and bones that are me, are really doing ninja shit.  It's freaking awesome.  

So, these are some things I want to do when I have enough money.  They are not things I want to have.  They are things I want to do.

Yoga teacher training

(in progress!  YES!!!)

New Element Yoga

Work with Andrew Wade for a full week next week!

(okay, this is free for me, but holy cow, is it awesome and going to be the most fulfilling)

Backstage

Savate Seminar with Nicolas Saignac at my martial arts school!

(this is in two weeks.  note to self: pay for this on Monday.  French kickboxing.  Yes.)

 UCLA

Go along with Danny when he might have to go to Los Angeles

(soonest!  must save so fast!  I've never been there...)

 

 Public Domain Photos

Get up to Maine to visit my grandparents at their house on the lake

(it's been a year and a half, and it's time.  also, it's so peaceful there.  so much nature)

 Millsaps

 Get down to Texas again sometime in the near future.

(because I just love Austin.  seriously,  such an amazing town.  also, it makes Danny the happiest.)

Last City Standing

Visit my sister when she studies abroad in The Netherlands next spring

(saving now, this is soon!  love her a lot, but this is also a great excuse to go back there)

 Trip extras

 

Get a Masters in Voice at the Central School of Speech and Drama

(this is in the 10 year plan... preferably the 5 year, but we'll see.  Post- Danny black belt...)

Eye Magazine

Before attending grad school, tour Europe.

(this is the big one.  all of the saving ever must happen.)

Mr. VPN

During said tour, explore more of Wales

(liked it, need more than just one day in Cardiff.  was not enough)

Teenager Break

I have the exact same feeling about Scotland

(one day in Edinburgh- one of my favourite days during my entire time in Europe!  I need more)

Explore the "mystical" towns/ cities in England

(though I love this stuff, I ignored Glastonbury, Avebury and Salisbury last time.  must be remedied)

Wikimedia

Sit in a cafe for hours in Provence, France.  Preferably outdoors.

(because, yes.  this is what I want from life, basically)

Wikimedia

Rome, Italy.

(yeah.  haven't been there yet.  this must be remedied.)

Venere

Barcelona, Spain.

(Barcelona or bust! I know so many people who have been, and they have raved.)

Travel Destination Info

Paris, France.

(I just can't get enough.  been there twice.  not enough.)

Fruhling in Paris

 

Helsinki, Finland.

(most popular clothing style is "cyber alien" and their top selling band is Nightwish.  I need to see this place)

Go Finland

Oslo, Norway

(must connect Danny to his Viking heritage.)

Iguguo

Augsburg, Germany

(I want to eat a pretzel and sausage in the town square, and see the cathedral.  my dad loves this place and raves about it, and I want to see it.)

Travel Pod

Study Kali/ Panatuken in the Phillippines with Danny

(yes, really.  this would be for like a month before Europe in an ideal world... and would be so cool!)

Allfight

SO.  There is my life plan for the next five years.  

Yup, plan.  Expensive?  Yes.  Very optimistic?  Yes.  Possible?  With some penny pinching, planning etc, yes.  Absolutely.  Especially if we do it cheaply.