To be Yourself

I came across this quote yesterday, and it is one that I have read many times. However, the last 15-18 hours it has really stuck out, about how I am being pulled away, just from the negative emotions that arise lately when I have to interact with certain things. I have been here before, just trying to remember how I pulled myself back and be the silly, happy, jerk I always am.

Anyways...the quote is “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ray Bradbury

I love the novel Fahrenheit 451, the author of this novel passed away a few days ago, I spent a little bit of time reviewing some of my favorite quotes by Ray:

"Everyone must leave something behind when he dies, my grandfather said. A child or a book or a painting or a house or a wall built or a pair of shoes made. Or a garden planted. Something your hand touched some way so your soul has somewhere to go when you die, and when people look at that tree or that flower you planted, you're there. It doesn't matter what you do, he said, so as long as you change something from the way it was before you touched it into something that's like you after you take your hands away." 


"Every morning I jump out of bed and step on a land mine. The land mine is me. After the explosion, I spent the rest of the day putting the pieces together." -Ray Bradbury


"You've got to jump off buildings every day, and build your wings on the way back down to solid ground." Adapted From Ray Bradbury

Today's obsession-Flightless Bird, American Mouth

Today I have really been into the song Flightless Bird, American Mouth by Iron and Wine

"Flightless Bird, American Mouth"

I was a quick-wit boy
Diving too deep for coins
All of your street light eyes
Wide on my plastic toys
Then when the cops closed the fair
I cut my long baby hair
Stole me a dog-eared map
And called for you everywhere

Have I found you?
Flightless bird, jealous, weeping
Or lost you?
American mouth
Big pill looming

Now I'm a fat house cat
Nursing my sore blunt tongue
Watching the warm poison rats
Curl through the wide fence cracks
Pissing on magazine photos
Those fishing lures thrown in the cold and clean
Blood of Christ mountain stream

Have I found you?
Flightless bird, grounded, bleeding
Or lost you?
American mouth
Big pill, stuck going down

May 12-13th

Well May is turning out to be a really good month, I have gotten to see a lot of my favorite people! On Friday evening I attended a music party at my friend's house, which had my favorite friends-Bob, Jimmi, Mike, and Marc. They played songs all night and we had a great time smoking cigars and drinking homemade wine! On Saturday Justin and I drove to Erie, PA to visit my family. My brother took us to a vintage toy shop, and I was in love! All the toys from when he and I were kids.

The store had so many cool things!

Then to be honest, I was lame, my nephew:

wanted to feed the ducks, and I wasn't able to stay awake, so i passed out. I slept about 16 hours straight. Sunday I got up, and did a bunch of work for my real job, and had coffee with my parents. Justin and I got ready to leave and headed to the beach with coffee and food, it was awesome.

It was a busy, good weekend. I am not looking forward to the next one though, I will be at drill. But in light of it all I get to see my bestest army friends, Marky mark, Luke, and Matty. Our day will be complete. That is something to look forward to...

Unearth-Letting Go

I have been really enjoying listening to this song, letting go-Unearth. I really have been digging music over TV anymore. I have so much to listen to, and there is so much more outthere.

Thought I knew you
But I was wronged
Waves of Torment
Drowning me, for far too long
Inhibitions speak - seems like now, and forever

You don't - You don't have to break me
I swear next time, I'll let you know
You won't - You won't get to break me
I swear next time, I'm letting go

Fear and guilt, they've help me down

Conscience breathing deep
Seeing light for the very first time
The tides they turn and push me down
Confrontation speaks - seems like now, not forever
And in my mind, I'm gaining ground

You don't - You don't have to break me
I swear next time, I'll let you know
You won't - You won't get to break me
I swear next time, I'm letting go

This wasted time
My troubled mind
I'll let you know - One Last Time

This broken hold
My fragile soul
I'm letting go - For the Last Time

For the Last time


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxZgSKWTNKw

Pushing yourself, a Half Marathon

On May 6, 2012 I ran 13.1 miles, well there was some walking involved to. I don't know what I was thinking, running hasn't been a pleasent experience for me, I've never had bursts of energy, gotten the so called running high either. However, during the last 4 months I have learned a lot about running, and how to train yourself to run further. I learned that every run counts, and that you do not need to do a ton of long runs every week, to achieve the distance. Actually my shorter runs that were focused on speed, pace, and hills did more for me than the long runs at the end of each week. These shorter runs helped me learn more about my weakness and strengths to focus on for the long run. Well after weeks of training, I did it.

Weekends

Weekends have really become a lifeline of getting through the week at work, except for the weekends I give to drill. But in the last handful of months i haven't been to concerned about giving them up. Well back to the point, this weekend was a great time, good food, a visit from an old friend, and doing something I have never done before. On saturday morning, I was able to read part of a book, eat a wonderful breakfast and relax. Around 1pm Justin and I decided to go out for lunch, we got in the car planing to head over to Shadeyside, well as soon as we get on liberty st. there is a band playing! We park and decide to go to the pleasure bar and sit outside. We hangout, have a nice lunch and enjoy the band playing called the armodillos, a pittsburgh band. They are a four piece band consisting of a guitar player, a mandolin player, an accordian player, and an upright bass player. We enjoyed them so much we bought the cd!

About 20 minutes after the band quit playing, my friend Brant and his girlfriend Ann, showed up to visit, this was planned! Justin and I showed the both of them two interesting places in the Alleghany cemetery, the winter crypt, and the Jaws shark grave stone, for Lester C. Madden.

. Then we stopped a cool store in Lawrenceville called Wild Card, and looked around! I found an awesome print of the state of PA, this store is so dangerous because I always spend 30-50 bucks on cool things, that I probably do not need. They had an amazing Pittsburgh T-shirt, it was a type writer, that said "Dear Pittsburgh, I love you." They didn't have a small or medium so I could pick one up.

Next stop was the Strip district-we stopped a book store, where I found the second and third book to the Hunger Games, score!

Then we found a distillery, called Wigle, that just opened. We were able to try their Rye and Wheat types of whiskey. Both Whiskeys are not aged in wood, so they are a bit smoother. The place was beautiful, and I walked away with a bottle of whiskey and a cool sign, that will have to eventually get framed.

Wigle let us look at the still equipment to-it was beautiful:

Then onto Primanti Brothers:

The we took a ride on the Incline to MT Washington and saw the view from every overlook:

Then we ended the day with the Duquesne Incline: