Rockin’ Out with Crimson Crowbar

        Yesterday I was invited to sing with some very talented musicians! Johnny Avila from Oingo Boingo, Dave Shelton, and Steve Distanislaos from Crosby, Stills, and Nash had me sing Fever as an intro to Dead Man’s Party! It was completely impromptu and I only knew the chorus to Fever, so I had to bring my iPhone with me to look at the lyrics for the second verse! I had such a fun time and am elated to have had the opportunity to sing with these guys! This experience is one I will remember for a lifetime. 

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_JIXuBTISo&feature=youtu.be       

  

Bonne Chance Fellow Travelers!

Lindsay

Another Chapter Written in My Life’s Novel

In regards to the last blog post on taking advantage of opportunities and living life to the fullest every day, I am elated to report that I have just finished my Master of Arts in Teaching at University of California, Irvine! I submitted my final exam via email and feel both relieved and accomplished to complete this chapter in my life. There were many times throughout this program, where I was the lost soul in the wilderness. My map had proven useless and I felt uneasy about the choice I had made to go back to school. However, from my current vantage point, it proved to be a worthwhile decision and just one more chapter in becoming who I want to be. 

At the age of 27, many people have their opinions on where they expect someone my age to be. According to them, I should be 4 years into a career and possibly married with a child. I must admit that at some point in my life, I agreed with them on that timeline. However, from where I stand now, I can’t imagine choosing my life to be any different. What I have experienced in my 27 years on this planet, most people have never experienced in a lifetime! I feel so blessed to have an adventurous spirit and the drive to live life to fullest. I am grateful for my eternal optimism and I hope that I am able to use that optimism to inspire others throughout my life.

Many people live for tomorrow and work hard today, hoping they will get the opportunity to enjoy the fruits of their labor in their latter years. I encourage people to work hard in achieving their dreams, but only if they truly enjoy doing so. So many times, people live miserably today in hopes of bettering tomorrow. I want to thoroughly enjoy my career and what I exchange my day for; Hence, my constant quest in achieving my dreams. Someone very close to me once encouraged me to watch the Stanford commencement speech given by Steve Jobs in 2005 and I encourage you to do the same. His speech inspired me and continues to give me guidance with the decisions I make and the path in life I continually choose. Here is his speech if you would like to watch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc

 I’ll end this blog post with a quote from Steve Jobs for thought and contemplation:

 “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else's life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most importantly, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” - Steve Jobs

Bonne Chance Fellow Travelers

 Lindsay

“This is your life. Are you who you want to be?”

My answer to this question is ‘yes’ and ‘in the process of.’ Those lyrics are from a Switchfoot song that resonates in my heart. The song explains that yesterday is dead and today is all we have. Today is the day to make decisions and become the person you envisioned when you were young. We all have choices in life in deciding who we want to be and it’s entirely up to us to make sure our dreams and ambitions come true.

In finding ourselves, the road isn’t always paved in cement with neon signs leading you to your next destination. Sometimes the road is a dirt one, with trees and bushes obstructing your view until it eventually disappears and you are left with an irrelevant map, feeling lost in the wilderness. You might curl up in the fetal position and cry for a while. You might feel defeated and confused and pray for someone to just SHOUT your life’s purpose. But in your moment of loneliness and confusion, you will hear the whisper of God in the breeze against your cheek and get the strength you need to stand again. And as you stand, you’ll gently fold up your physical map and begin to listen to the direction in your heart and soul. And move forward.

The choices we make in finding ourselves are not always easy. Many times, we must take a leap of faith and move forward without a map. We all make these choices everyday in becoming the person we want to be. At the time, these decisions might seem trivial and not important, but these small decisions add up throughout a lifetime and become us.

My desire for my life, like the desire of many others, is to be happy. And for me to be happy I want to LIVE, not merely exist. I feel the energy of life and the universe coursing through my veins and it’s the same energy within every one of us on earth. We are all alive and connected to one another and must stop occasionally throughout our day to recognize the choices we’re making and enjoy the little moments we’re given, because as Switchfoot says, “This is your life and today is all you’ve got now.”

“The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them.I shall use my time.” –Jack London (1876- 1916)

Bonne Chance Fellow Travelers

Lindsay

Ebb and Flow

 ‘A term used to describe the movement of water, often in relation to natural tides. It is commonly used metaphorically.’

 I awoke this morning to a mantra repeating over and over in my head, ebb and flow. I carried this mantra around for 30 minutes before becoming full conscious that my brain was saying this. Once clear, I realized that this idiom was an answer from within myself to the life changes I’ve been struggling with lately.

Life is like the movement of water. It’s cyclical and ever changing. The tides move in and out. Rivers can be calm and serene one moment, and violent and rough the next. And you never quite know what’s around the next bend. In one of my favorite books, Tuck Everlasting, the character Tuck has a conversation about life with the main character Winnie, in which he compares life to water.

 “You know what’s all around us, Winnie? Life. Moving, growing, changing, never the same two minutes together. This water, you look out at it every morning, and it looks the same, but it ain’t. All night it’s been moving, coming in through the stream back there to the west, slipping out through the stream down east here, always quiet, always new, moving on. You can’t hardly see the current, can you? And sometimes the wind makes it look like it’s going the other way. But it’s always there, the water’s always moving on, and someday, after a long while, it comes to the ocean.”

The answer I have found from my moment of clarity this morning is to flow through life like the ebb and flow of a river. Changes in life happen like changes in the tide. Accept those changes. Embrace the flow of life and continue down your path. Try not to fight the rapids, but glide over them in a state of grace and gratitude. Eventually, you will get to your ocean, but remember, even the water in the ocean is part of a cycle. After you reach your ocean, a new part in your journey will begin, just as the water evaporates back into the clouds and rains down into a new river that follows down to the ocean…

Bonne Chance Fellow Travelers

Lindsay

Change of Direction…

April 8th, 2010

Eight Days into living among the Parisians and we’re getting stir crazy and anxious to explore new places. How American are we? Only 8 days into our trip and we’re bored and ready to move on to the next town? We have walked around every corner of Paris and feel like we have seen it all. And as tourists, we have seen it all but as far as living day to day in another culture we have barely scratched the surface. Living in a different culture requires certain elements that we did not plan for on our trip. A person cannot merely go from café to café and expect to understand the French way of life. Yes, we have grasped a decent understanding of la vie francaise but without friends, family, school, activities, work and the daily trials of life, it’s considered visiting not living.

And so there’s been a change of plans. We’ve shortened our trip to two weeks in Paris and two weeks on the road traveling through Europe in a car. After being in a big city surrounded by people, smog and noise, we’re both eager to get on the open road. Growing up, family road trips were a yearly event. Each summer it was somewhere new; Oregon, Colorado, New Mexico and more. I remember the longest stretch of road in my life was just before reaching Albuquerque, I was about 12 years old. Against my parents advice, Lauren and I had drank too many sodas and really had to use the bathroom. That dirty Shell gas station felt like heaven once we arrived in Albuquerque. Many memories have been made on the road in Europe as well as the States. I remember sleeping overnight in our car in Spain. Pamplona is a small town in Northern Spain that hosts the running with the bulls festival every year in July. In 2007, we drove into the town knowing the festival was to begin the next day. We found that all the hotels in the city booked up almost a year in advance so we found a parking spot next to a green belt and camped there for the night. Apparently, everyone else in the city without accommodations brought their sleeping bags because they were camped out in the parks. Imagine, thousands of drunk Spaniards and American fraternity boys passed out in sleeping bags in this small town! Such a funny sight!

So a road trip it is. It’s very different from the original plan but part of life is making room for new opportunities that come your way. You have to be flexible and change your plans sometimes depending on where your heart is telling you to go. And our hearts are telling us to go East! The route begins and ends in Paris; starting with Strasbourg, Prague, Dresden, Berlin, Hanover, Amsterdam, Antwerp, Bruges, Brussels, and back to Paris with stops in every little town that looks nice on the way. On the road again… Au Revoir!

Bonne Chance Fellow Travelers

Lindsay

Montparnasse and Jardin Du Luxembourg

April 6th, 2010

Another Eiffel Tower run today. My pace was slightly slower than yesterday and my legs are worn out from all the running, walking, jogging and climbing (stairs) we have done recently. When we returned from our run we set our sights for the Montparnasse area of Paris. We have never explored there before and decided to take the long walk there, which I'm sure most Parisians haven't even done. The day was warm and unfortunately, I over dressed for it. The walk uphill on the long Boulevard was a labored one for me. I walked in the shade of the buildings every chance I was given. There were a lot of shoe and lingerie stores on this street and the smell of leather and perfume drifted through the air; stilettos and sex. At the top of the street we found a Starbucks and decided to go in for a cold drink, air conditioning and a shot of caffeine (which was much needed). The 30 minute break at Starbucks was relaxing and fun; our conversation was light and jovial. My head was positioned directly below the neon Starbucks sign and of course, the sign and my head came in contact with each other twice, which made both of us laugh. We reviewed our map, located the nearby cemetery and left Starbucks.

The cemetery was only a 10 minute walk away from our previous caffeinated dreamland. Upon entering the grounds, our conversation went from light and cheery to quiet and ponderous. What happens to us when we die? I refuse to believe that we just rot in the ground and become food for flowers. Yet, the idea of dancing down a street of gold to the sounds of trumpets in heaven seems far fetched too. Or is heaven just an eternal peace of mind? We will never know until our day comes. As I walked the streets of dirt in between memories made of stone, I tried to remember the people I've never met. Behind every tombstone is a life I've never know and a story I've never heard. One day I'll possess the knowledge of where exactly these people went but until that day, this quiet, peaceful refuge will serve as my silent reminder of how brief and precious our time on this earth is.

The sound of laughter immediately snapped me back to present time. Across from our bench were two children and their mother, eating lunch out of a paper bag. The small boy and his older sister noticed us watching and decided to ham it up a bit. The young boy began dancing around holding his sandwich in his hand while the older sister taunted him slightly. They didn't know but we took photographs of the kids dancing and playing. What a strange contrast between the innocence of youth dancing and the somber feel of the cemetery.

We left the cemetery and slowly walked towards the Jardin du Luxembourg. Our stroll took a while but was lovely. The birds were chirping and from the sounds of children playing in the distance, we knew we were heading in the right direction towards the park. Initially, the park was extremely crowded and families were everywhere but as we strolled further, the family park turned into the lover/ student park. The chairs near the fountain were filled with young couples kissing and young adults reading books; everyone was out today soaking up the Parisian sun.

Our relaxing day ended with a relaxing Italian meal at a restaurant across the street from our apartment. I ordered a glass of Bordeaux and a meat stuffed tortellini with a light creme sauce, while he ordered a beer and seafood pasta with red sauce. And for desert, we split a banana split. The meal was an amazing way to end our great day. Life is good.

BONNE CHANCE FELLOW TRAVELERS

Lindsay

Running and Endless Walking

April 5th, 2010

The morning began with a simple question. “Do you want to run to the Eiffel Tower?” I usually don’t like to say no to a challenge, so naturally my response was, “Sure, let’s do it.” We put on our running shoes, stretched and within minutes were outside in the brisk morning air. We crossed Rue de Rivoli and ran through the Louvre; the building is overwhelming and makes a person feel so small in comparison. In less than 5 minutes we were running along the River Seine with the Eiffel Tower in the distance. The wind was cold across my face but the beauty of the sun creating sparkles in the water distracted me. My lungs breathed in and out calmly, despite the morning traffic and cars honking. Il fait beau, it was beautiful weather. The run passed by quickly and before I knew it we were crossing the bridge towards to the Eiffel Tower on the left bank. Tourists were already waiting in line to ride the attraction, men were trying to sell rows of Eiffel Tower keychains and postcards on their arms, and big red buses with open tops were letting passengers off to visit the national monument. I was relieved to find that he wanted to walk back home instead of running. As we walked, the Parisian sun warmed my face and we practiced French vocabulary words all the way home.

After freshening up and having lunch in the apartment, we decided to explore the 5th and 6th arrondissements. We walked to the Tuileries garden and took many photos of the garden and the Louvre before crossing the river to the rive gauche (left bank). The small streets on the left bank were full of antique shops and real estate offices then the smalls streets gave way to a big street, Rue Saint Germain with famous shops like Cartier and Armani. We turned a corner and found an Irish pub called Corcorans and decided to go in for a pint. We talked to the bartender over a Magners and a Guinness and learned he was from Australia and married a French woman. He said his wife was constantly trying to teach him proper French but he still hadn't come close to mastering the language, even after living in Paris for two years. We finished our pints and continued on our way. Down the street from the pub, I found a great teal colored hat for 15 Euros. We explored Saint Germain a while longer before returning to our apartment. We ate a light dinner at home, curled up on the sofa and watched French television for a while before retiring early. Another beautiful day exploring the world's most majestic city.

BONNE CHANCE FELLOW TRAVELERS,

Lindsay