Dream Big

I recently watched the Disney/Pixar movie Up! (no, not for the first time, but the first time in awhile, anyway), and I found myself caught by the adventure book that Carl and Ellie had made.

(Or I guess Ellie made it, but it was for both of them, so...)

I'm not much for scrap-booking, no, but like Carl and Ellie, I have a lot of dreams, a lot of crazy things I want to do, places I want to go...so I was thinking, to hold myself sort of accountable to those things, I might as well write them down...and share them with you, so you can remind me, too. :)

So here we go...

(In no particular order.)

1. I want to travel all over Europe.
   (And to Japan and Korea someday, too.)
2. I want a big fancy dress when I get married...but I want a wedding with just me, my fiance, a judge and a witness or two.
   (Though if he wants something bigger, I suppose I'll cave.)
3. I want a library of my own.
   (Think Beauty & the Beast or Gosick.)
4. I want to perform on stage.
   (Professionally, I mean, not just for an undergrad recital.)
5. I want five kids of my own.
   (And to adopt one or two older kids, as well.)
6. I want to be on the New York Times Best Seller list.
   (Several times.)
7. I want to write an opera or a musical.
   (That is, I want to finish writing them.)
8. I want to get a couple more degrees.
   (In writing, sociology, history, to name a few.)
9. I want to study in Paris.
   (Or Prague, either will do.)
10. I want to cook everything.
    (And eat it, too.)
11. I want to learn how to play the French horn or the trombone.
    (To play them well, that is.)
12. I want to celebrate Mardi Gras in Brazil.
    (Because New Orleans isn't good enough.)
13. I want to draw a comic book.
    (Even if I never publish it.)
14. I want two dogs and a cat.
    (A big dog, a little dog, and a female cat who will dominate the both of them.)
15. I want to go to some sort of convention.
    (Not music, but for nerds or otakus or what have you.)
16. I want to cosplay in public on a normal day.
    (Though should I go steam-punk or Holo the Wise Wolf?)
17. I want to rule the world.
    (In a 'peace on earth' sort of way, not Pinky & the Brain.)

So.

Romance

Adventure

Fame

Insanity

Dream big?

[Despite the fact that I'm obviously not sleeping at this delightful hour of the morning.]

Cheers.

Colder than a Witch's Tit...

Photo by Tiffany Personett, taken sometime in December,
but germane to the topic at hand anyway.

Sometimes I wonder where colloquial phrases like that come from...

But mostly, I'm bemoaning the fact that I for some unknown reason decided to stay in the northern part of these great United States instead of joining my family in their more southerly location.

25 degrees yesterday, 19 this morning...though fine, it's warmed up to 28 (I use the term 'warm' very loosely), and yes, I know, in places like Minnesota and Wisconsin it's even colder (currently -2°F and 1°F, respectively, and apparently feeling --because weather feels now?-- about twenty degrees less), so maybe I shouldn't complain.

But I'm cold.  And no matter how many layers I put on, it gets colder.  And though I pay several grand a semester for my room and board, we don't have a working heater in our apartment.  That is, it never gets warmer than the mid-fifties, which really isn't conducive to studying or sleeping well, let me tell you.

To keep this from being too whiny, though, I'm going to try and focus on the positives...

1. I have a roof over my head.
   I may have mentioned this previously but Billings has a really high percentage of homeless citizens, and though I joke that every bad thing that happens is good for my writing, I'll just thank God I haven't fallen that low and leave that bit of experience to my imagination.
2. The oven works beautifully.
   I haven't done it often because I feel wasteful, despite the fact that my rent covers all utilities and will not go up if I over-do it, but I have on occasion turned on the oven, opened the door, and just sat down in front of it, basking in that tiny bit of warmth...
3. I have a credit card for J.C. Penney's.
   Why is this relevant, you might wonder?  The other day, somehow I sensed there was going to be a drop in temperature, and so I went out and bought three new sweaters.  Yes, I still need layers, but I can be fashionable while I'm at it.  Plus I found some fuzzy socks on sale, and you really can't go wrong with fuzzy socks.
4. I have more tea than I know what to do with.
   Drinking tea not only warms the body, but it warms the soul as well.  Plus it's a nice reprieve from the chill in the air to have a hot mug in my hands.
5. The heat in the music building is working.
   Though I have to make the trek through the cold to get there, I can spend hours playing piano and let the heat permeate through me, which in turn gives me a warmer sound, since my fingers aren't frozen on the keys.

So it is colder than a witch's tit outside.
Should have figured, January in Montana, right?

Well, here's to staying warm.

Cheers.

New Year's Greetings and Odd Ponderings

So I'm back in Big Sky Country after an almost-month-long visit along with my family along the Gulf Coast, and I have to say...

I am so glad to be back.

Not to say I didn't have a good time, because I did; I had a great time.
But as I said in my last post, I'm a pretty big introvert, and even family is hard to deal with, especially when it's as big as mine, so I felt a little ragged trying to maintain my calm.
Plus, as much as I love my Grandma, there are just some things we will never see eye-to-eye on.  And that's totally okay, really.  Though I finally understand why some of my sisters like to argue so much...who knew that was something that could be passed on genetically?
But I did have a great time, those few hiccups aside, and I hope I can do it again soon.
The pool, the beach, the sunshine...
I could write odes to that glorious circle of fire in the sky, but I won't bore you with that drivel now.
Suffice to say, it was the heat that made my vacation as amazing as it was, and if I have on regret about coming home, it's that I have to pile on the layers once more.

But I am glad to be back home, and here are a couple reasons why...

1) My kitchen is mine.
   Yes, I have a roommate, and yes, sometimes she cooks, but the cleaning, the organizing, the bakings...that's all mine.  And while I did learn a few interesting things cooking with my Grandma, it's nice to have my own space again.

2) I have my own bed again.
   I guess, for the first week or so of my visit, I did have my own bed.  And then my sister came and we'd already agreed that she would bunk with me, and it's not like she kicks out or steals the covers or anything, so it should have been great.  Except she refuses to cuddle, and though that might be a silly thing to take issue with, if I'm going to have someone else in bed, I need to cuddle.  I can't sleep comfortably if I have to make certain there's at least six inches of space between us, because I'll be so focused on staying still, I'll wake up achy and sore the next morning and...well, now that I have my own bed again, I don't have to worry about that, so yay...

3) I have more than one kind of tea.
   My Grandpa actually looked at me weird when I asked if he could pick up some Earl Grey, not because he didn't know what it was, but because it was apparently ludicrous that I actually drank tea in the first place.  To each his own, I guess.  And though he did get it for me, it's nice to come home and see a box full of a million (or maybe just eight or nine) different kinds of tea

4) Two words: water pressure.
   There was an excellent water heater on the premises, and I was able to take forty-five minute or longer showers whenever I wanted...but the water pressure, at least in my bathroom, was really low.  I was too exhausted when I got home last night to do much more than unpack a few essentials and fall into bed, but when I got in the shower this morning, the difference was immediately evident, and I can't help but thank God that, even if living in dorm apartments is sub-par, at least the showers are amazing.

5) The school internet is surprisingly amazing.
   I say surprisingly because usually it's slow as all get out, but I currently have a full five bars, and though I know school doesn't start until Monday, I also know that the majority of students have returned already to prepare for that start, so I'm assuming they did something to boost the signal over break.  And it's not like there wasn't internet on the Gulf, no.  But I didn't want to haul my computer three rooms over just to get the signal when it started to flake out.  (This being why I didn't post another bit previous to this.)  So hopefully I can catch you up on other things that have been going on, too, if this keeps up.

6) People expect you to play piano at inopportune times.
   My grandparents have an amazing Steinway in the front parlor, a baby grand, and it's beautiful and so responsive and I just love it...but though I've discovered that everyone is on board with my musical talents, everyone is not so on board with me practicing whenever I want to.  Though I did a lot, but there were moments I could just feel the need to ask me to stop and wait until they were out running errands or something.  And then when I wanted to play through some of my pieces, someone would come up and demand that I play Christmas carols for awhile, and though it's good for my sight-reading, I could have used more time on the things I've actually been assigned...but now that I'm back, that won't be a problem.

7) I don't have to hold my tongue.
  Well, it's not like I wanted to call people every name in the book, but when you're around family, tensions are bound to rise, and sometimes I just wanted to scream or cry...sometimes I did cry.  Now, though, I can say whatever I want...or just put it behind me like a mature young adult, and be grateful that I even had the opportunity to fight, because it's hard to do that over the phone, you know?  And when I see everyone next, it'll just be a hazy memory, and if we fight again, we fight, and if not, then who cares?

So it's a new year, and between getting used to writing 2014 on everything and surviving another semester, here are a few of my New Year's Resolutions:

• Write to and/or call my far-away friends regularly.
• Keep up and even add to my exercise routine.
• Eat healthier and minimize my snacking.
• Get rid of the things that clutter up my life (literally and figuratively).
• Add to my savings, whether for a rainy day or so I can eventually buy a house or something.
• Work harder on my classes than I ever have before and make this year really count.

Some of that's simple, some of it's vague, some of it's just plain impossible...
     (Though I have recollections of someone telling me 'Nothing is impossible.')
But it's where I'm at, and what I need to do.

Hope this new year finds you well, and I hope you manage to survive the insanity that is life alongside me.

Cheers.