I’m having one of those “I’m so lucky to be alive, and I’m humbled by my very existence” moments. As cheesy as my glimmer moment might be, I think we could all use a little more of these beacons to help us trudge along with a smile. What so many of us often forget, while we’re consumed by the fleeting problems of “now,” is that life is a miracle.
I know, life is hard. Our days are filled with strife. We must make difficult decisions; we see death and destruction daily; greed and corruption are like YouTube videos gone viral…”everybody’s doing it”; innocent children who haven’t even had the chance at life die daily because of hunger. Then at home, we need to pay the bills, we need to make him/her happy, we need more money to put food on the table… Now don’t you think with all that crap in your over zealous head-organ (sometimes referred to as a “brain”), waking up today might be just a little harder than yesterday? Of course it is!
I took Astronomy by accident this semester, and I must say, it has been the most inspiring class I’ve taken — in an unconventional way, of course. When the universe was created, albeit I’m not concerned whether it was a mere coincidence or a man in a chair had cast a few spells, had one or two variables been, well, what they weren’t, life on earth would be impossible. A little farther from the sun, a slightly different axis, a bigger sun. The list goes on.
When I worked at Starbucks, some few years ago, I was passionate about my job. I was excited to be alive, and I owned my life like nobody’s business. Now, as I become more engaged in full-time life, the days blur together, I do enough work to get by, while ensuring that the boss is satisfied, I go about my daily routine with little variation. I’ve forgotten the Peter Pan essence of life.
All this begs the question, if I were to die tomorrow…would I be happy? Yes and no. Success has always been a theme in my life and I haven’t many problems there, but as far as living, hardcore straight up living…I would be sorely disappointed.
Life is a miracle and not embracing every moment with any less value would be a waste.
So when you get that late notice for your phone bill, or the dreadful overdraft letter on carbon paper from First Hawaiian, remember — life is a miracle. Rejoice, laugh, smile…then pay your bills.
Sarah Palin is a fucking joke. The fact that she has garnered so much support is a grave indicator as to how much trouble America really is in. While the rest of the world has, and continues to evolve, and while the rest of the world ponders globalization, unity, and the chaotic economic climate, Mrs. Palin insists that we need to carry guns openly at rallies. That we need to focus on a “right” granted in a completely different era, for completely different reasons. Palin, if you are elected in 2012, I will have lost all hope.
I’m finally on the final leg of my return journey from Europe, and I must say, I am exhausted. Three stops (one overnight) is not conducive to the overall sense of happiness expected from a (nearly) three week vacation.
I was fortunate to encounter a very diverse group of people during my travels — students, working professionals, a French hippie, Americans traveling abroad — which I think really broadened my horizons. Learning about America from an external perspective was quite fulfilling and certainly reminded that we are indeed one world. The “globalization” of the world is happening now. As ironic as that sounds, its true. Nations are working together (i.e., the recent birth of the EU) economically and with knowledge. Nurses from New Zealand go to China and the Philippines to share their skills. There are rising powers, and, unfortunately, America may not be the leader in any manner of speaking…for long. I am reminded that equality is a matter of perspective, and although we in America are not forced to, a duty to the state is owed if only for our survival.
I’ve also discovered the beauty behind language, culture, and the personal exploration/expansion of those things. There lies a world outside of America. And, more importantly, for my friends back home, there is a world outside of Hawaii. And it is beautiful. The diversity is so rich it could make you cry. Haha. Well…nearly.
More to come!!!
…will be another year. filled with joy, sadness, success, failure, tears, and smiles. in 2010 i have begun to realize how important my friends and family are. without you, i would not be here today. so to all of my friends, who are also my family, thank you for 2010. it was amazing and i look forward to seeing you in the new year. i wish you the best of luck in all of your endeavors, and though, for some of you we may never meet again, you have shaped me and built me up and made me into the person that i am today. while you may think otherwise, know that i will never forget that. i love each and every one of you from the bottom of my heart and when 2011 strikes, i will be sending love and light your way. happy new year.
love, reece
crazy night in London. drank a PITCHER of some type of raspberry lemonade martini. ate lebanese food, debated the effectiveness of U.S. foreign policy and the rise of China as a “world power.” one bottle of wine there. ended up at a gay club. met two lesbians (one from canada and the other from australia — they were both married, but not to each other) and their straight girl-friend who said “if you don’t fuck me, you can’t dance with me.” met three crazy guys from australia. found out the flatmate is gay, and is getting married to his lover from mexico. flatmate broke 2 wine glasses at the bar and spilled half a bottle of wine on a guy with a white polo. and now wicked in 4 hours.
kevynfong:
ATTN: You must read this with while listening to ultra synthesized techno dance electro computerized bleep bloop Euro music with sledge-hammering bass beats.
Or any Daft Punk song.
I saw Tron in 3D the day it came out and went to an earlybird screening with the other girls Rose,…
(via kevynfong-deactivated20111024)
So, as I understand it, the Parisians “celebrate” Christmas on Christmas Eve with a huge feast with family (and friends). And Christmas day is another French occasion of doing nothing.
It is becoming more apparent that the French love to do nothing! QT is essential and hardly an option. You never rush through your alone time, and taking a coffee to go is a sin. Paris has so far been a great experience in that I’ve needed some me time and the Parisian lifestyle reeks of taking time to yourself and letting work wait. Nevertheless, don’t get caught in the walking path of a Parisian, for they aren’t shy to run you over.
xx (kisses, no hugs), reece.
I’ve been on vacation for about five days now, and I’ve done nothing touristy. Just get drunk and make a fool. I suppose the time has come?
Tomorrow will be a tourist day. I’ll bust out my aloha shirt and polaroid. Kidding, it’s like 30 degrees outside.
Paris awaits!
the past 48 hours in paris have been quite interesting. while i spent about 24 of them sleeping, i’ve tried to squeeze in a lot of everything else in the other 24. thankfully, i have an old friend who lives in paris — which is most certainly a godsend.
i’m staying in a flat in the “Père-Lachaise” area, in the 20th district. its very small, and i barely fit in the shower, but it really is perfect for one. the district is somewhat older and bohemian. there are tonnes of food-shops and many families. i’ve been somewhat intimidated of the language barrier, so i’ve only managed to purchase “du croissant” for 2 euro.
the metro system here is quite fabulous and i managed to get in all the way from the airport to my flat all on my own (although my friend did assist me in purchasing the right ticket over the phone). the metro probably has somewhere between 15 and 20 lines which are craftily connected and allow you to get within a 15 minute walking distance of anything. i got a one week pass for 20 or so euro which will allow me unlimited rides in the first two “zones”.
i started my first real day (after sleeping for 12 hours) catching the metro to meet up with my friend (and his friend) to eat pho!!! while it might seem silly to eat pho in france, i will say that i’ve never actually eaten pho before!! and I really was scared to order on my own. the pho was delicious, and it was quite interesting to see asians speaking french. i think its obvious that they would, but to see it actually happen was definitely a little weird. even weirder — the asians even run the nail salons here! i thought they only came to the states to do that, but apparently they’re all over the world!
i’m sure all of you would expect one of my my first parisian adventures to start with “I was drinking and…” and you’re absolutely right. hah! after pho, we walked over to the gay district and started boozing it up at 17h. we walked around for a bit first though, and saw some interesting sights. at only 16h, the hookers were out!! unfortunately there was only one who wasn’t over 40. or maybe she was, but just didn’t look it. crazy thing, there was an elementary school in the middle of this seemingly red light district. aaand, if you want to pick from over 5,000 erotic videos it will only cost you 1 euro (which comes only in the form of a coin, not a bill).
our first stop was quite interesting. i believe it was called “open cafe”. it was very queer as folk, and, of course, all the bartenders were gay. although, my friend’s friend (rachel) had apparently slept with one of them!? a large glass of heineken ran me about 4,70 euro during happy hour. the bathrooms were downstairs and there was only one — boys and girls had to share. the urinal was quite interesting and basically looked like a lowered stainless steel sink. functional, i suppose. from there we went to another place and had long islands which were delicious. BUT…even better was the fact that the waitress/bartender spoke english!!! i was in heaven.
post-american bartender, we arrived at spaghetti bar(?) which was AMAZING. the drinks were delicious, the look and feel of the place was very marie antoinette. free food, and everyone was good looking. i will say, parisans are universally good looking. i don’t think i’ve ever been surrounded by so many gorgeous people! while there we had these vodka shots that were served in vials — similar to v in true blood. it was pretty good.
after that we went to “raidd bar” which is where a dancer/stripper guy takes a shower for the crowd!!! unfortunately, we were out on a tuesday and didn’t have the pleasure of enjoying such a show. we drank vodka+apple juice during our stay there. while it may sound weird, it really was quite delicious. haha. we were in and out a couple of times, i’m not sure why, and on our last entry the bouncer didn’t want to let me back in because he said i was a “trouble maker”?! not a fan of him. i talked to a bunch of people, but i don’t really remember the conversations, and they seemed to love the hawaii-american boy. i think most of the men trying to take me home had boyfriends. i suppose it is paris?
i don’t remember much of the night after that, but i did lose my scarf along the way. :\ sorry joette! at least it got lost in a cool city? i don’t even want to know how much i spent on drinks, i went through all my euro and busted out my card a few times! i woke up at about noon today, and it was nice to sleep in. while i feel like i should be “adventuring” — i keep reminding myself that i am on vacation, and doing nothing is permitted.
Currently stopped over in Phoenix. Unfortunately, INS was waiting for me at the gate, so I’m tumbling to you all from the back of a cattle truck. Kidding…mostly.
When I turned my phone on after landing, I got a voicemail from US Airways letting me know my Philadelphia to Heathrow flight was going to be delayed an hour. Better than being canceled. For now, anyway.
