5 benefits of jail

A very interesting thing was presented to me tonight...the idea that being put in prison could actually be a good thing. This got me thinking...what benefits could I gain from being in prison for a year?
1) Reading...I would read as many books as they'd be willing to give me
2) Working out...I'd be in the best shape of my life
3) Meditation...I've always been fascinated by the ability to sit and literally not think...it is something that seems pretty much impossible to me but I'd much like to try
4) (i'm stealing this idea from Isaac, the creator of this topic...) Language...being placed in a room w/a foreigner and therefore learning another language
5) The opposite of being alone...I'm not only good at being alone, but also enjoy nights and/or days by myself, which are clearly NOT an option in prison unless you get put in solitary confinement (perhaps a reward to myself versus a punishment to others?)

I suppose that is a veritable "silver lining" train of thought to the idea of jail.

Oh, and if there was TV and DVD available, I'd watch all the classic movies I've never seen...my list is quite extensive.

Judging, watching.

I landed at Speeder and Earl's at approximately 6:05 today and the next thing I knew it, it was 9:45 and I was on a bench across from Speeders...a good 2 hours into people watching. We somehow were bouncing between stories, anecdotes, random topics and confessions to pointing out a particular character, child or dog and analyzing their movement, companions, clothes, mannerisms. Sometimes not necessarily the nicest comments, others quite comical (one little toddler girl appeared to be drunk). It made me think about people like Ghandi and Mother Theresa...how, or did they truly, never judge people? Now, it is rare for me to think very malicious or horrible things about people, but I do internally (or in this case externally) comment on things such as the combination of a man with long, girl like hair, a belly shirt and mis-matched companion or the crazy man's ever shifting eye patch. Do these count against karma? Am I gradually causing myself one of those days where "nothing goes right" or is it one of those things that is truly natural and not included in your daily "star earning" score?

During these few hours of observation, a confession was made to me about an observation made about me which was not necessarily positive, but after hearing it, didn't seem so bad. But then again, I felt bad that it had caused a lack of communication and interest between two people that clearly get along well. So with that in mind, and amid the people watching that was going on, I have to remind myself that although it may be easy to judge someone as they stroll by, but to be sure that, if a one-on-one circumstance arises with that same person, to give them a fair chance. Apparently upon being given a chance at "redemption", I passed the test, so I suppose it can be true of others. Granted, I try to avoid shifting an eye patch and/or cross dressing without assuming some stereotypes will be given to me.

To judge and be judged...I suppose it goes on daily and will continue to go on forever. Is the answer to it really to just find a place where you truly don't care what others think, or is that, in reality, an unattainable goal? Do we ever really not care what at least one other person thinks?

Distractions

When I started this blog and was talking to Penelope about it, and my desire to keep it travel oriented, she warned me that it would be hard to focus on one specific topic. I was in denial. The more I write on here, the more I want to write and about various and random things. Part of it is because travel holds such an intimate place in my heart, it is hard for me to verbalize a lot of my thoughts. The other part is that it is just inspiring to write! So, in this sense, I am distracted by the plethora of other experiences, sights, sounds, smells I come across daily and therefore feel the need to expand my blogging horizons.

If I were a blood hound, or hunting beagle, I would be put out to pasture. I cannot stay on one scent for very long and find myself constantly wandering off the path, following some rustling bushes, auditory glimpses of a brook or stream, rays of sunlight through the trees, a scampering bunny. Mind you, that is metaphorical for things such as walking up Church St. to pick up a book and finding myself in the camera shop buying film and paper, or the home goods store looking at various kitchen accoutrement. I am the same way at work, yet somehow have never missed a deadline. I bounce from budgets and emails to google and ebay and travel websites.

Sometimes I am distracted by what I picture as a future life (not as in reincarnation, but in the sense of down the road a few months or years). The other day I was on Gumtree (link on the right of my blog), looking through apartment sublets available, choosing which one I liked best. Then I started looking through bar and restaurant jobs and which would fit best. I toyed with the Au Pair idea as well amidst my "job search". Next was the Rideshare link and planning a weekend away to visit friends in Perth or Brisbane. The cars-for-sale link beckoned me for a bit...would I want my own car or depend on public transport and enjoy the unfamiliarity of the coastal bus and/or rideshares for weekend trips? I think I will go without a car for only the 2nd time in my life (the first was my summer in London). I do love to live away from my life, at least mentally, for a few minutes, hours every few days or weeks.

J.R.R. Tolken wrote one of my favorite sayings - "All who wander are not lost." I suppose this can be true of mental wanderings as well.

Random Musing - Summer is in Swing

Farmers Market. A myriad of colors and smells, textures and shapes, edible and art. The Farmers Market is one of my favorite parts about summer. Sometimes I leave it with a single cucumber but it is so much more for me then just a place to pick up fresh veggies, fruit and more. Somehow it always seems to be sunny on Saturday mornings (knock on wood), birds are chirping, dogs are everywhere, the smells of the samosas and hibiscus tea fill the air. It's hard not to enjoy every second of the Farmers Market. Without fail, I always pick up my greens for the week - spinach and baby lettuce. I love it when a beautiful swirled orange and green heirloom tomato is staring at me, daring me to buy it and finally use that recipe I have been lusting over. Often times Becky and I will meet up and enjoy the Market together. We end it with Becky and her Tamale and me with a samosa or eggroll. It's the perfect way to start the weekend. It makes me think that I'm in Europe, strolling with the locals, enjoying the day.

BBQ-ing. There are two things that a BBQ reminds me of most - my dad's amazing charcoal grill and many Florida nights tending to various yummy treats on it, and Emma and Kevin's perfect flatbread sized round grill and flatbread nights. This, like the Farmers Market, has become synonymous with Burlington summers. Christina is great on the grill...always removing the items when they are done to perfection, still juicy and moist but with the perfect amount of external BBQ crispness. I have yet to test my skills on the grill.

Flowers. It is an absolute necessity for me to have at least one vase of fresh flowers in my house at all times, especially during the summer. Lately I have been noticing beautiful, random flowers popping up amongst the weeds in the empty lot beside my house. I am not sure who owns that little piece of land, but that doesn't stop me from sneaking into the weeds and snipping some lovely iris', lilies and various unknown other flowers. I enjoy knowing that these flowers don't grow and bloom and die amongst the weeds, hidden from public view by the bushes. They are loved and enjoyed by me, even if just through my window while their friends hang out in my living room. I recently planted some wildflowers in front of my house and eagerly await their arrival. They too will be fully enjoyed in various arrangements in my house.

Dirty Dancing

Although I have lived in New England for over 2 years, I have not done much traveling within and explored much more then my somewhat close surroundings. I have driven through many of the nearby states, but very rarely actually stopped and explored.

This past weekend I ventured 1.5 hours away to New London, NH and Little Lake Sunapee where a friend has a lake house. The drive there was amazing...through the mountains and lush green acres of Vermont and New Hampshire, past little cottages with rusty tractors and stray cats, brooks and streams, locals walking their dog and waving to all passersby, little stores and delis.

We rolled up to the house in the early afternoon. Now, I have to quickly back-up to about .5 miles before the house...this is where "Dirty Dancing" comes in. My friend's house is within a place called "Twin Lake Village" and as you turn in, you pass the golf course, the main hall, tennis courts, shuffle board, little golf shop and other cabins. TLV officially opens in 2 weeks and when it does, it is full-on Dirty Dancing. Families have essentially time-shares at the cabins and come the same week every summer. My friends family has owned their house for 2 generations and are just at the edge of the village so can come any time they want. TLV vacationers enjoy the variety of outdoor activities including lawn games, shuffleboard and tennis, golf, nature walks, the dock and all the lake has to offer as well as visiting with their neighbors. Every evening a different cabin hosts cocktail hour prior to the dining hall ringing the dinner bell. Dinner includes mandatory dress-up and arriving on-time. There are themed parties and dances all summer long. Loves are formed, memories made, generation after generation summer there. The history behind it is not only adorable, but steeped in tradition. My friend's parents actually met there while working there one summer. We flipped through photo books at her house and laughed over photos of her parents and grandparents at various theme parties, dances, and sunny afternoons at TLV. There was something magical about that place.

It is no wonder why so many people have summer homes in New England. It really is "gods country".

Slacking and reorganizing

I recently realized that I have not posted on here in quite some time, and I'm still new at it! I don't want the honeymoon phase to dwindle, so as with everything, I must remind myself and continue to work at it. The funny thing is, I have so many thoughts every day and a good 50% of them are related to travel, so why am I not blogging more! Perhaps it is that I have stopped bringing my laptop home weeknights to avoid staying locked on my keyboard, searching pointless things, looking at random articles. I have replaced nighttime computer use with reading and cooking and laundry and relaxing. I need to either set aside 10 minutes at the end of each or every other work day and do a little blogging, or jot down notes each day and enter blogs at the end of the week.

With that in mind, I have been reorganizing my thoughts and way about each day. I am seeking a more peaceful unified existence. I have picked up my old books on Buddhism again, have been enjoying tea and reading at night, cooking and relaxing, and spending at least part of the weekends retreating to the country and avoiding the hustle and bustle of the "big city" and the bar scene.

It seems that at some point every year I hit a sort of plateau and get a bit listless, a bit lonely, a bit melancholy. I truly enjoy my single life and the freedom it affords me although it can be rough when may close friends are in serious relationships and do a lot of "couple" activities with other coupled friends. I try to not let this deter me from venturing out there or tagging along. I have hit that place recently and find myself doing a lot of soul searching, hence my quest for a more peaceful unified way of being.

How does all this relate to travel though? Although I find myself in a similar place at some point each year, the place I'm at now is familiar in a different way. It is the way I have felt before taking a new leap. I felt this before moving to London. I felt this when I was seriously considering my first, then second, move to Vermont. It is a shirt in my psyche...a quest for answers that cannot be provided by my current surroundings but by some new, untouched territory.

I have been mentally planning a big change, and this feeling of late is telling me that I am finally in the right place and time to do this, after a few years of consideration. The mental plans are often the hardest as you have to physically begin to remove yourself and prepare yourself for change. This big change will involve packing my things, storing them either at my parents or a storage place, either selling my car or taking it to Florida, and moving to a new land for a few months, then reassessing my situation and either coming back to the states, or continuing my journey to another new land where an opportunity already awaits. I have made a mental timeline that ranges from 5 months to one year. I am hesitant to divulge the intricacies as I like to have some solid, in hands proof before sharing it to the world...it's like suspecting you will get a promotion but not sharing it with your friends until you are positive...you don't want disappointment if something goes wrong.

I do truly feel that, although I had considered this same change 2 times in the past year, I feel the timing is finally right. 2008 is looking to begin with new scenery.