dreamers

"she's going to be bad for me because she's such a dreamer too"

-rena marie

Man I can relate to that. My best friend and I both happen to be a Gemini. This is what I use to put a name to a lot of oddities about myself, and sometimes it serves as a understanding to what makes Rena and I soulmate best friends. Anyway, according to this maybe made up/ maybe not thing called astrology, Gemini's tend to have wide and varied interests and innate curiosity has us chasing after 9 different outlets at time. Being home I have already faced..

craft projects 

sewing projects

   ^both left over from summer before I left for traveling

furniture projects

art projects

photo projects

a desire to learn Spanish

a desire to run a half marathon

a need to rock climb regularly

a need to make more weekend trips

a want to read books in cafes

a want to volunteer

.. ok that was 11 things.

So I decided to stop "spreading myself so thin". On Friday night I exited my empty house, took advantage of the holiday emptiness and camped out at Powells for 5 whole hours. I love those nights. I dabbled in the green room, rose room, purple room and then found myself in the red room and thats when a Gemini book caught my eye. I read the entire thing and now taking advice from a freakin astrology book to not "spread myself so thin "and concrete on two, maybe three interests. And what better time to start all this come January first?

SO

1. Lacey and I are training for a half marathon.

2. Rock climbing. I mean it's something I really can't not have in my life.

3. Attempt to learn Spanish.

boo yauh.

Alternative Christmas

This Christmas I was an orphan. 

Being that I was expecting to be in New Zealand for Christmas this year, I didn't have enough time to book a ticket home to California. So Christmas Eve was spent with my Jewish friends. Eating sushi, taking about weird things as well as the usual holiday bullshit of family and ex's. Consumption of whiskey and coffee followed and when that was finished I left for Christmas Eve part 2, featuring Sami Felgmaker and her lovely boyfriend, Bob. Their adorable apartment appropriately named Mustache Manor because of all the artsy, Portland like things that make and collect, really set the tone of my unexpected orphan Christmas in Portland. We drank hard cider, had D&M's about love and shared heartfelt secrets while watching the Family Stone. Being that I had indulged in all the different types of Christmas liquors I decided that I didn't need a DUI for Christmas and crashed at Sami's.
Christmas day I woke up in Sami's room mates room which offered a few hilarious sites including Robert Pattison that wore a perfect hand made mustache (courtesy of mustache manor) and glitter clothes pins that held picture after picture of Ryan Gosling. The giggles continued when the boyfriend called got me up to date on his Kentucky redneck Christmas. The giggles furthered for the rest of the day as Sami, Bob and I drank champagne, made fun of the pug, crafted and eavesdropped on talking to our weird families.
I'd say this Christmas didn't suck. It's always a weird time of year for me, as it is for plenty others. So now, as Santa is well on his way back to the North Pole, I sit here in my empty house, blogging, and watching Alice in Wonderland with the cats. And a quote from this childhood movie that is so relative to now, is as follows..

Portland: the place of committed non-committments

What's that? You're in back in Portland?

In a matter of days I canceled plane tickets and canceled hostels. Then in a matter weeks I signed a year lease and a year contract with a job. Woaaa. The idea of not going to New Zealand was expressed in the form of words in the cab on the way to the airport leaving Mexico. After the response from my new found best friend and travel companion for most of central America, the decision to stay in Portland was made moments later.

Drastic? Definitely. Typical me? Definitely.

Right now, I'm just listening to that little voice inside that never seems to let me down. I'm being true to myself, dismissing criticism, not letting go of the precious lessons learned from traveling and this time truly loving. There's a lot of reasons that I changed my mind. Only the actual action of staying in Portland will answer exactly why I made this last minute decision. I have a feeling Portland might offer just as much adventure as New Zealand would have..