into the light of the dark black night

picture by KatieAnnOwens

Maybe the first time an image has every embodied the ultimate goal of my life. Coffee, books, mountains, and a really cozy blanket. Probably something in the oven. At the moment, I can't figure out what is in there, a batch of cookies or a hearty meal. Here, we say "I love you back" instead of "I love you too" because it's better or maybe just because it's new. There's this moment in the song Blackbird that I get really concerned because it feels like the song is ending. Even though 1:36 is too short for a song to end, it seems like it could end there because that was a good 1 minute and 36 seconds. But you need just one more Blackbird singing in the dark of night to come after into the light of the dark black night. And when the music continues at 1:45, it's like, thank god. No matter how drowsy I am after playing the song over and over again before I go to bed, my breath catches a little bit at 1:36 and releases at 1:45.  (When I am too tired to read, I sleep on the right side of the bed and my computer sits on the left side, playing me Blackbird or Moon River). That's how I feel about the mountains.

lifetime of adventures

This is from Post Secret, where people send in their secrets on a postcard. I used to read this site every week when they updated on Sunday but fell out of the habit a few years ago. I'm glad I checked back in because this week is Valentine's-related secrets. This one was my favorite.

Bucket List #5: Send the Ultimate Package

When telling Saad about my as-of-yet in-progress Bucket List, I found myself saying, "I guess I already did that, but I want to do more of that" a lot. And in response, I heard "That is the worst Bucket List ever." Except with a more expletive-like word that "worst." And I realize that's true because you can't really have a Bucket List with already-complete tasks, but am I really to be penalized as having the worst Bucket List ever just because I did some things that were on an even less-official checklist in my head, just because I was late to the whole keeping-track-of-things game? I say no.

This is one of those things that I already kind of did a long time ago because most of my extended family lives in Taiwan and I would occasionally send some small packages of things to them. Also I have this weird desire to keep the US Postal Service alive, despite the fact that it is incredibly difficult for me to conveniently get to any post office near where I live and I ended up having to send this through UPS. My goal for this one was to end the Ultimate Package. I'm no longer five years old and know that you can't just wrap things up in a brown paper bag and throw it in your mailbox, but this is the packaging that went inside the box. It took me a month from when I decided I was going to send it to actually sending it. It also helped me realize that I really need to work on my response time. For everything.

I can't help but notice that everybody loves receiving packages and snail mail, if you will, and that's why I'm on this (personal) campaign to send more handwritten letters.
 
Avid burrito-eaters will know that the bottom package is a bag from Chipotle. Not only do I like the typography, but the Ultimate Package is environmentally-friendly, obviously. That reminds me, the twine is from the wrapping of Hoosier Mama Pie Company, the best pie shop in Chicago. But that's a whole other story.

#3 and #4: there's so much world to see

from here

I'm pretty much always thinking about going places, but recently some of my friends have begun planning their trip to Costa Rica in May/June. I was so close to going. We have contacts there and a purpose for going, although no rhyme or reason is really needed to go anywhere. I decided it wouldn't work out since I'm going to Poland in July and it would make more sense to save money for that experience. One major element I considered too was traveling with people. There are many advantages to traveling alone, with one other person, or a small/big group. My favorite is definitely traveling with one other person. It's the simplest. I like going places by myself too, but the one time I took a trip and felt the most alone (although I wasn't totally alone), I felt lonely. I kept wanting to poke the non-existent person next to me and say, "Hey! Isn't that cool?" I loved the feeling of being independent and getting to see whatever I wanted to, rather than having to navigate uncertain waters with other people to figure out what the less-than-optimal compromise might be for the day's plans. But I need someone to poke. Someone to be in awe with me. Someone to help me remember. Traveling with someone totally compatible with you is amazing and you build unique memories.

My dream is to take my mom somewhere. She is adventurous, but so incredibly selfless that she seems to always be helping me find tickets and doing research- but not going places herself. I used to think that, since she has never forced planned her own trip, that maybe she enjoyed the planning stages. I can't believe I ever thought that; how dense. She never wanted to impose herself on my plans and always thought too prudently about saving money to go somewhere on her own. My goal this summer is to change that. I've already invited her several times and plan to continue to do so. There is a good chance that she won't be able to get out of work, but if not this summer, then I do hope to someday be able to help her fulfill her travel bug.

My other dream is to go on a trip with someone I care about, travel the world, if you will. Most importantly, I want to take someone to Taiwan, specifically Penghu, where my parents grew up, and one of the most beautiful places I can imagine. I don't know who it will be yet and I think it'll be a long time away, but hopefully it's one of those things that when you know, you know.

inspiration

I want to do this! I don't know if it's very reasonable since I don't know what kind of training it involves. But I do know it looks pretty awesome. I'm not adding it to my bucket list yet, but it's one of those things that could inspire bucket list items, I think.

#2: Coffee in Bed

[images from here]

Bucket List #2: Coffee in bed. I think it'd be luxurious to have a cup of delicious coffee before having to be fully awake. I thought of this when I realized that I get through most of my day without coffee and end up drinking a cup at night, but then can stay up forever. Coffee mornings sound so much better. Don't know how I'd accomplish this one, but I'm not above a coffeemaker/espresso machine in the bedroom. Maybe I'm a little bit above that. Not sure.

#1: Northern Lights- Information

[image from here]

Just a note to myself to save this link Alex sent me with some information about the Aurora Borealis (when/where) for starting to look into seeing the northern lights as part of my bucket list. We're thinking Alaska.

#1 See the Northern Lights

After a conversation with Alex today, I started thinking about having some sort of bucket list. I sometimes feel nervous about having a checklist of things to do when I travel because it seems like it might take away from the exploration, adventure, and spontaneity. Sometimes, though, it can simply be used as a reminder of ideas. And I know that I could always use the reminder. Rather than try to sit down all at once and try to come up with a list, I've decided to blog things when I think of them.

I decided today that I would like to see the northern lights. I have a lot more to learn about the aurora borealis to figure out how to go about this.

[image from here]