Self Discovery as a Vagabond

“Live, travel, adventure, bless, and don't be sorry.” ~Jack Kerouac

We're all searching for ourselves in unique ways. Some dive headlong into careers believing that money will provide happiness and solve their issues. Others hibernate within their homes playing video games, desperately searching for distractions from reality in order to avoid growing up. I've chosen to search for myself on the roadways of America.
What thrust me onto the roads of America was discontent. I found that I wasn't happy with where I was and what I was doing with my life. I honestly felt like I was just wasting my time. For years I've been trying to function inside some manmade system that the world tried to convince me was the way I was supposed to live and the lie was that it'd bring happiness by following its formula. In high school, I ran cross country and track, at first because I enjoyed it, and then because it was expected of me. I then went to college because I was told one can't succeed in America without a degree. I then furthered this education by getting a Master's degree because the unwritten rule is that a better job with a higher salary will present itself. And what has this all done for me you might ask? Well, I'll tell you what it's done; it's turned me into an unemployment statistic. So much for trying to live within the confines of the system, right? Rather than it bringing happiness, I've seen the system pummel and almost crush people under a weight of misery (myself included). They became beaten and downtrodden, shells of their former selves until they decided to escape the tumult in order to follow their own dreams and definition of success. I've personally discovered that I've lived too long trying to live up to other people's definition of success. What is success anyway? There is no clear cut way to define it because it means something different to each person. And that's the problem with trying to live up to someone else's expectations; their expectations aren't the same as your expectations and your true self gets lost in the melee. Rather than enjoying life, you end up living in fear of failure. After listening to the song "Letdown" by The Glass Child, I knew I wasn't the only one who felt this way about going through this life in an empty fashion. This song is the epitome of trying to stay true to oneself while desperately trying to avoid failing others. I no longer wish to live this way and would rather discover myself outside the confines of other's expectations.
I don't know why I didn't discover this sooner. I've always channeled the first line of Romans 12:2, which warns against being conformed to the ways of the world. Looking back, I've always pushed back against the system in any way possible. In my running career, I refused to follow the coach's instruction to train in the winter. Instead, I took time off, which probably spared me from serious injury, although it caused some friction with the coach. In college, while I always strived to achieve good grades, I didn't do it at the expense of my social life. I've always felt that other people were more important than my personal goals and that we're meant to have fun outside the confines of work and trying to be the best at something. It's this living for other's that has helped shape me and gotten me to where I am today. Being unemployed has provided me with ample opportunities to wander and go on adventures that otherwise would have never come to fruition. It's on these adventures that I have had the ability to serve others. No longer am I the hopeless wanderer that Mumford and Sons speak of. Rather, I'm living my life with purpose, although some may not agree. What my detractors need to be aware of, though, is that "not all those who wander are lost," borrowing wise words from J.R.R Tolkien.
The adventure that really began to shape and mold me into my present self took place back in November. After Hurricane Sandy, I chose to volunteer for two weeks with Samaritan's Purse in Teterboro, NJ. This was life changing in many ways. It not only opened my eyes to the pain and suffering of the struggling lower class, it also helped me build another family. I was able to listen to those who needed to share their stories and I was able to assist in cleaning up storm damaged homes. I have to admit, those were the most rewarding weeks of 2012 for me, and I was functioning outside the confines of the system where one only works for money. It was a reminder that the most important things in life don't have a price tag on them, that we need to be aware of those around us, and that we must always be willing to give of ourselves to benefit others.
That trip to Teterboro opened a door for me into a world focused completely on serving others. It led me to volunteer for a day in Island Park, NY, with friends from North Carolina at the end of January. More importantly, feeling led by the Holy Spirit, my team leader from Teterboro and his wife chose to move into the trailer park where we served back in November in order to further serve the community that was in desperate need spiritually. I opted to move into their RV for three weeks in order to connect with those in the trailer park. I felt it was important to listen to all of their stories and learn about their lives. I can't think of any other situation where I could comfortably interact with alcoholics, recovering drug addicts, the lowly, and depressed and we could openly learn from each other. It brought to my attention the desperate situations that certain people are living in and how the systems of the world can truly fail people.
I opted to go home after three weeks in the trailer park to rest and recuperate since I was emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually exhausted. When I was in my parents house, though, I didn't feel like I was truly home. I felt like I was detached from my true purpose. After two days of being "home," I was restless and antsy to leave. It was a strange realization that being stationary at home was distressing, as opposed to relaxing. Now don't get me wrong, I love my parents very much, but I no longer felt like my time was being well spent on the couch of the living room as I struggled to find and apply for a "real job." What I opted to do instead was call Samaritan's Purse to see if they needed volunteers for tornado clean-up. I was told they did, so I applied online and got a phone call about two hours later to set up my trip. That led me to venture out on the road again and brought me to where I am currently, which specifically is a Barnes and Noble in Lewisburg, PA, where I sit passing my afternoon and sipping on a mocha frappucino (Yet another way to buck the system; drinking cold beverages in the winter, though it actually causes vasoconstriction of the blood vessels, reducing the loss of core body temperature and keeping one warm, so ha, I win!). I'm patiently waiting for some friends of mine to get out of work so we can enjoy some fun hours at the bounce-plex this evening followed by a seven mile trail race tomorrow afternoon. Then it'll be an early start Sunday to follow my calling down to the tornado ravaged area of Petal, MS.

Looking back, I'm very thankful that the system failed me so that I could rediscover myself on the road. Those original two weeks in Teterboro really helped to shape my life. In the process of discovering my purpose in life, I had to be willing to throw away my concept of success and completely redefine it from a different perspective. I also had to discard whatever I felt was my plan in life. A really catchy song I've fallen in love with that pretty much describes me is "And Run" by He is We. The lyrics really speak to me because they say, "I’m going to open my mind to all these, new found exciting possibilities. I’m making all my own plans, throwing all my old ones away. Gonna grow up, be someone. Draw a map, find a path. Take a breath and run." That's pretty much my life on the road. I follow the path I find on a map and just go for it and in the process, I'm creating a new life for myself by serving others and glorifying God. I can confidently say that I know I'm where I'm supposed to be and the people who matter the most to me, and understand what I'm doing, are proud of me. And in the words of the Glass Child, "This road is now my home." 

York

So I'm currently relaxing in a Starbucks in York, PA. I've been in travel mode the past two weeks because I became quite restless with the monotony of my life. All I would do was go to work, drive home, and search for jobs online in vain. I've sent out so many applications that I've lost track. I got a call a couple weeks ago asking me some pre-screening questions. I forget the name of the hospital, but I remember panicking in my mind when the woman said the name and I had no bloody clue where the hospital was. Thankfully part of her questioning was to determine if I was okay that the hospital was in Greenwood, Indiana, as opposed to Indianapolis.
But I digress. My mind has been wandering a lot, which goes along great with all of the actual wandering that I have been doing. If you've been keeping up with my latest posts, you'll know that I'm on a bit of a concert kick. I've seen four concerts in the past two weeks, ranging from popcore to jazz to hardcore. Tonight I am seeing yet another concert. This time I'm in York to see The Rocket Summer and Switchfoot play at the Pullo Performing Center at Penn State York. I'm pretty excited, though I'm sure nobody would be able to tell. I'm rather good at internalizing emotions such as excitement, but that's just because I have an all around mellow personality. I think seeing Icon for Hire the other night was the first time I really let loose and didn't really care what people thought. I jumped around, sang, and headbanged to all of the songs and had a blast. I guess my neon yellow shirt made me a bit noticeable because when I asked the members for a picture, they were like, "Oh yea we saw you out there singing along with us." Awesome! My goal in life isn't really to get noticed, but I'm glad that my enthusiasm was appreciated.
Tonight I doubt I'll be jumping around because unlike all of the other concerts I've been too, not counting the jazz at the bar, this concert has seating. I am in row J seat 4, which is actually a pretty decent spot. I feel like I've heard The Rocket Summer before somewhere, possibly at the Bamboozle way back in the day, and by that, I mean 2008. Scary how time flies by so fast! Regardless, it'll be cool to hear them open for Switchfoot. Last time I saw Switchfoot was November 2007 when I went to New York City with my brother. I'm really looking forward to hearing them play songs off of their new album, Vice Verses, because it is probably my favorite album that they have made. I can really relate to all of the songs, especially "War Inside," "Thrive," "Souvenirs," and "Where I Belong." Hopefully it's a good set all around so that I'm amped for my 2+ hr car ride back to the Burg tonight.

God's Not Dead Tour

Yesterday I went to the Pecksville Assembly of God in Blakely, PA, with Chrissy to go see the God's Not Dead Tour concert. The bands featured during this concert included Anthem Lights, Abandon, The City Harmonic, and The Newsboys. There was also a speaker, Bob Lenz, and we learned about different organizations including Compassion International and I Am Second. We were blessed with very good seats when the usher misunderstood what our tickets said and placed us in the second row right next to the stage. It wasn't until later that I realized that we weren't in the correct section, but I viewed it as like getting bumped up to first class from economy class on an airplane.
The first two bands to play were Anthem Lights and Abandon. We determined that Anthem Lights was the Christian version of a boy band, but they were still very entertaining. Abandon was also quite good and apparently they are from Texas. I was super excited to see The City Harmonic perform. They played "It Feels Like Home," "Yours," "Mountaintop," and "Manifesto." I think "Manifesto" was my favorite of their performances because I love the piano section, along with the fact that they sing the Lord's Prayer towards the end of the song.

Following The City Harmonic, Bob Lenz spoke. He was very entertaining, especially when he joked about if they made Bambi Part 3: Bambi Kills Thumper. The point of his message was about how we all have a purpose in life, even when it seems like people don't want us or appreciate us. Also, no matter what our past circumstances, if we accept Jesus into our hearts and repent, we will be forgiven. His slogan was, "If the world says no way, we say Yahweh." This was followed by a brief 15 minute intermission before The Newsboys. During intermission, I browsed the Compassion International table, along with the merchandise from the bands performing.
We were a little late getting back to our seats, so Chrissy and I had to crawl across the row of chairs since everybody was on their feet for The Newsboys. They put on a really good show, playing both old and new songs. The lead singer joked that we should sway back in forth during one song and then said it looked like a gospel choir in a land of white people. He also spoke about growing up in D.C. the youngest of 9 to a preacher who apparently took the command "to be fruitful and multiply" very seriously (his words, not mine). They closed with the song "God's Not Dead," which was quite fitting given the name of their tour, which I don't believe should be considered a world tour, considering all of the cities visited were in the United States, except for one trip into Canada.

After the concert, we browsed the tables for another brief couple of minutes. I bought a small The City Harmonic poster so that I could have the band sign it and Chrissy also got my picture with the band. All in all it was a good night of music that we followed up with a trip to Perkins for some french toast before going home. If you'd like to see some of the concert, click the link for God's Not Dead Tour.

Daylight Savings and My Role as Raggedy Ann

Before reading this post, it is essential for all readers of this blog to become acquainted with the above song by Chris Brown. Now in no capacity am I really a fan of him, but this song, Yeah 3x, is essential for this particular misadventure. I believe it might actually be, in my book, the epitome of any misadventure I have yet to experience.
Let me set the scene for you. Just for fun and to do a little people watching, Rhi, Seamus, and I decided to leave for Mount Airy Casino at 12:30 in the morning. We figured this would be a good source of free entertainment, but little did I know that I would eventually become part of that entertainment. We chose to start out the evening (well morning) by sitting at the bar and watching people play the slot machines. This was slightly dull, so we figured the night club we be our best bet for some good laughs and we were right. There were quite a few entertainers in the crowd this morning, which were great fun to watch. The one that really caught our eye was this guy who was about 40. The best description for him would be "dancing fool." He was tearing up the dance floor with so much energy that people weren't quite sure what to do with him. Eventually he tired out and sat for a bit.
The three of us danced on and off until the dance floor started clearing out. That was when the dancing fool, who was clearly doing some surveillance, came over and asked me to dance with him. Now anybody who knows me knows that I'm a very awkward dancer. I don't mind dancing, but I'm pretty bad at it, mainly because I refuse to relax unless I'm exhausted. Apparently the dancing fool felt I would be a good sport, so we did a couple spins on the dance floor. But soon, Chris Brown's, Yeah 3x came on and things became very entertaining for Seamus and Rhi and the few stragglers left in the club. After some slightly successful attempts to get me to finally relax in my dancing shoes, the dancing fool decided to take some initiative. During the chorus of "Put your hands in the air yeah, yeah, yeah," the dancing fool decided to transform me into Raggedy Ann by swinging Kayla into the air. Once I was back on the ground, I couldn't keep from laughing, and neither could my two companions. I did learn that the fellow's name was Dominic and that he moved here from Poland two years ago. It was definitely a memorable way to fall back for daylight savings time. I think for the rest of my life, every time I hear the song, Yeah 3x, I'm going to remember my 10 second casting as Raggedy Ann.

Jazz at the Deerhead Again and Mass Exodus from NYC

After a nice dinner at Elegante in Honesdale with my brother and Matt, we trekked down to the Delaware Water Gap to the Deerhead Inn to listen to some jazz. The quartet was made up of drummer, Drori Mondlak, alto saxophonist, Karolinna Strassmayer, bassist, Phil Palombi, and vibrophonist, Stefan Bauer. The waitress had suggested that I get a new dessert that had just been made that was a mocha mouse with chocolate chips. In my own words, it was fantastic! As was the jazz. The songs that were played included, "The Tragic Lives of Maximilian and Carlota," "After All," "If You Could See Me Now,"and "Look Up." After the first set, we all were chatting with Stefan Bauer. He is from a town along the Ruhr River in Germany and two days earlier, he had just played a gig in Hawley. He really likes the Water Gap area and could see himself living here one day. It was definitely a very chill evening and if you happen to like jazz, I would definitely recommend the Deerhead Inn.
As for the mass exodus, Hurricane Irene, is bearing down on the east coast and New York City Mayor Bloomberg ordered mandatory evacuations of parts of the city. This of course means that everybody is flooding into the Poconos at the moment, which has left Interstate 80 West at a near standstill since it is flooded with out of state cars. As much as I don't want anybody to get hurt, these evacuations better be worthwhile and not just a waste of people's time. I guess we will know more about that come Saturday night and Sunday.

New Orleans: Bike Tour, Jazz, Riverboat Cruise, and the Red Hat Society

On August 16, Chrissy and I were kindly driven to JFK airport by our friend, Oliver, at 2am. We arrived at JFK around 4:30am in order to catch our 6:45am flight to NOLA. We got through security easily and then had time to nap on and off before boarding our JetBlue flight, which happened to get delayed an hour.
We landed in NOLA at 9:30am and quickly found a cab to take us to the French Quarter. Upon arriving, we strolled through the French Market. We passed the Joan of Arc statue and continued our walk along the Mississippi River. Soon we found ourselves in front of a statue of Bienville, the founder of New Orleans, before wandering past the House of Blues. We chose to loop back towards Jackson Square, where we heard some decent street performers playing jazz. We scooted through Pirates Alley and then decided to rest and have beignets at Cafe du Monde. The atmosphere was very relaxed and the beignets were phenomenal! Some more street performers could be heard playing across the street as we ate, which just made the experience even better.
After sitting for about an hour, we continued to wander the French Quarter, poking around shops and taking in our surroundings until we decided to check into our hotel. We stayed at the Ambassador Hotel for our three nights. Apparently it used to be an old coffee warehouse, which makes for some very unique room setups. We had a glass door and window that opened into the hallway, along with 12-foot ceilings in our room. The hotel also happened to be right across from a fountain that was a part of the Italian Embassy on Tchoupitoulas Street. Chrissy and I chose to frolic in the fountain in an attempt to cool off in the hot weather. Soon, we found ourselves back along the Mississippi enjoying the Riverwalk and the breeze until we thought it was best to take a nap since sleep the night before did not exist.

Following our four hour nap, Chrissy and I went out to Huck Finn's Cafe for dinner. I chose a chicken sandwich while Chrissy settled for a pulled pork po-boy. It was a very relaxing evening and our waitress was quite pleasant. After dinner, the river was calling us so we sat along the banks of the Mississippi to absorb the peace that can only be found in the middle of the night with the breeze of the river against your face.
The next morning we awoke early in order to get some breakfast in the hotel before meeting with our tour guide, Bob, from Big Easy Bike Tours. We soon embarked on our epic 5 hour bike tour around the city. We began along the Mississippi River and checked out the Holocaust Memorial. Bob then explained how the highest elevation in the city could be found along the river's banks and that flood waters from Katrina actually came from Lake Pontchartrain, before entering the French Quarter. Bob explained all of the architecture to us and how the original houses only had side entrances when they were built and how they all had to be made of brick due to fires that had broke out in the city, though most of the brick had been covered in plaster and artisans had etched the plaster to look like large blocks. He also explained and pointed out the design of the original cobblestone streets in the city. Bob led us down Esplanade Avenue, continuing his thorough explanations of the architecture and the color schemes that could be found in particular neighborhoods. Eventually we found ourselves in a cemetery, which was full of mausoleums, the burial preference in New Orleans due to the sandy soil and water being found six feet down. Bob thoroughly described how the family plots were used and couldn't be reopened for a year and a day after somebody was placed inside the tomb. During times of yellow fever, rental tombs were utilized before the bodies were placed into the family tomb. Bob also explained that if one could not afford a family tomb that a society tomb was an option. There were Italian, Fisherman, and Nun tombs to name a few of the different societies. We continued on towards the New Orleans Museum of Art and into the park to look at the oak trees. We soon stopped so that we could have our picture taken next to a 600 year old tree before continuing on towards the Garden District after passing Tulane Medical Hospitals. Once in the Garden District, Bob pointed out some of the traditional mansions and architecture of the area, along with some homes that appeared out of place due to the paint choices on the exterior. We also went by some celebrity homes, which included Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, John Goodman, the home where Peyton and Eli Manning grew up (which had a car outside so Bob figured one of them was actually home), and Sandra Bullock. Bob then brought us to Tracey's for lunch. He told us how the po-boy got its name and shared how he got into the bike tour business. After lunch, we slowly pedaled back to our hotel for the completion of our tour.
Following our bike tour, we relaxed and discussed possible evening activities. We decided to wander the shops at the Riverwalk Marketplace before catching the ferry (on our third attempt) across the river to Old Algiers, which was on the west bank of the Mississppi River. There was a statue of Louis Armstrong erected near the ferry dock and a levee that we wandered along in the light summer drizzle before we crossed back across the Mississippi. We opted for fries at Huck Finn's Cafe before heading back to the hotel.
Thursday morning we hopped a streetcar on St. Charles Street in order to get to Tulane University so that Chrissy could explore the school she had always hoped to attend, but could also serve as a future place of employment. In our usual style, we made a beeline for the University Bookstore. After the bookstore, we found the Political Science building and were actually able to give a woman directions to the bookstore since we had just been there. We took the streetcar back towards Lafayette Square after circling Lee Circle, which has a statue of General Lee facing north because southerners believe he would never turn his back on the enemy.
After a brief stop at our hotel room, we wandered down to the Mississppi River to board the Steamboat Natchez for our 2 hour riverboat cruise up the river. We learned about the levees, the 9th ward, and the different boats that could be found on the river. We passed the Old US Mint and the Domino Sugar factory, along with a Navy Yard. Our boat turned around near St. Bernard Port, which was about 8 miles downriver, before heading back towards the Crescent City. Chrissy and I wandered aft so that we could take pictures of the paddlewheel that powered the steamboat. We also went through the gift shop and into the dining room to try and hear some jazz, but they only had a piano player.
Once we docked, we got beignets at Cafe du Monde and I bought a shirt at the Harley Davidson store before we decided to walk up Decatur Street to Frenchman Street in order to relax in Washington Square. We sprawled out in the grass so that we could relax after our long day. There happened to be a group of people doing yoga/practicing for their own mini version of Cirque du Soleil. I also enjoyed watching two dogs play fetch whilst being the supportive/corrupting friend that I am by having Chrissy start pondering her next tattoo seriously since we wandered past a tattoo shop on our way to Washington Square. On our way back to the hotel, we did make inquiries at the tattoo shop before making our way back through the French Quarter to the Ambassador Hotel. For dinner, we chose to eat at the Extreme Sports Bar and Grille that was next to our hotel. I settled for a burger and fries for fuel before we headed back out in search of some decent jazz on Frenchman Street.
After a bit of wandering, we chose to enter The Spotted Cat, which was definitely a great decision. Not only was the music amazing, but there were a handful of individuals who were dressed in 1920s garb and swing dancing like there was no tomorrow. I was so glad that we could finally witness some excellent jazz in the city where that style of music was born. Once we left The Spotted Cat, we walked down Bourbon Street before cutting across the French Quarter to sit by the river. Unfortunately some security officers kicked us off of the steps of the riverwalk, so we chose to just go back to the hotel to get some sleep.
On our last morning, we packed up our belongings and ate some cereal in the room for breakfast. We checked out and went to the Riverwalk Marketplace to do some last minute shopping. On our walk there, we saw a bunch of women decked out in purple shirts and red hats. This didn't come as a surprise to us considering every day we happened to run into a large group of these women almost everywhere we went. Apparently the Red Hat Society was having a convention in the Big Easy, which I found entertaining. Following our shopping, we opted for some free wine tasting at the NOLA Tropical Winery. The wine was made from blueberries, strawberries, mangos, oranges, and coffee. The woman who worked at the winery was very entertaining and kept giving us a wide variety of wines to taste. In order to avoid an early morning buzz at 10:30am, we hotfooted it to Pinkberry in order to fill up on frozen yogurt. We then decided to walk down Canal Street in order to loop up to Bourbon Street so that we could continue shopping. After about an hour, we made our way towards Cafe du Monde for some frozen cafe au lait and beignets. Along the way we stopped to watch and take pictures of some street performers. Unfortunately, we happened to come across a very aggressive street performer who started following me and demanding a tip because I had taken pictures. After escaping that situation, we were able to relax at Cafe du Monde, browse some more shops, and lay out in Jackson Square before fetching a cab on Toulouse Street. Our cabbie was quite entertaining as we listened to him give a friend relationship advice on the phone. We checked in and made it through security so that we could lounge at our gate for 2 hours. We then boarded our plane on time, but due to horrendous weather in New York City, we were grounded on the tarmac for two hours. Luckily they handed out snacks and beverages and we soon got cleared for takeoff. We landed at JFK at 12:15am and met up with Oliver who was kind enough to drive us home to East Stroudsburg. Now it's back to reality and the frantic job search continues.

Warped Tour and Harry Potter

I've been doing my best to try and have as much fun as possible this summer and keep it filled with random adventures. To ensure that my last day in the United States for the next two weeks was amazing, I decided to go to Warped Tour. As a whole, the tour was kind of lame this year, but the three bands that I did see were amazing. They included Relient K, Paramore, and Simple Plan. I also got autographs from the members of Relient K, which was pretty cool. The only negative was the fact that my head was probably not recuperated enough from paintball for all of the jumping, blaring music, and crowd surfers landing on my head (pitfall of being tall I guess).
While Chrissy and I were sitting around waiting for bands to play, we decided that we wanted to see a midnight showing of the new Harry Potter film. Unfortunately, all of the midnight showings were sold out, so we settled for a 3am show down in Easton, PA. We figured we might as well because it's not everyday that you can say that you went to a movie that started at 3am. We got home from Warped Tour around 9:45pm and napped before leaving at 2am for the movie theater. The movie was decent and worth the loss of sleep. Also, it's pretty cool to be leaving the movie theater at sunrise.
Well, I better go finish packing so that I can leave for the airport in a couple hours.

Relaxing Night of Jazz

My friend Matt is a jazz vibrophonist. He informed me that he would be in the Delaware Water Gap having a meal with a professor from ESU before playing in a jam session, so I decided to stop by. The jam session was at a place called the Deer Head Inn, which is apparently the jazz haven of eastern Pennsylvania. Upon my arrival, I made my way around the bar to say hi to Matt's parents and take a seat at a table right in front of the small stage. Matt was playing with Bill Goodwin and a bunch of other guys. I was excited because I knew the song, which happened to be "Night and Day" by Cole Porter. Once Matt completed the set, Bob Dorough came up to play "Happy Birthday" on the piano because it was the piano player's 40th birthday. For those of you who don't know, Bob Dorough happens to be the man who wrote the music for School House Rock. Professor Dorian then came over to say hi and I was surprised that he happened to remember me from when I had him for a class my sophomore year of college. In his words, I had a 106 average and probably took 125 credits with hardly a B (yes I had some don't worry). I was greatly amused by all of this. Professor Dorian took Matt around to meet a few of the jazz greats who happened to be in the room, including Bob Dorough, Phil Woods, and Dave Liebman. I actually got to hear Dave Liebman play, which was pretty cool. Professor Dorian was then kind enough to offer to buy me a drink, so I ordered a Coca Cola. Overall, it was a great evening full of great jazz and some really cool, laid back people. I would definitely like my future Thursday nights to be this entertaining and relaxing.

One Does Not Always Need to Travel Far From Home

Many people might feel that in order to have an adventure they must travel far from home. So far this weekend I have discovered that this is not necessarily the case. Following class Friday morning, I ate lunch and ran some errands before making the drive from East Stroudsburg to Galilee. I was trying to avoid the heavy traffic for the holiday weekend, so I booked it out of Eastburg without stopping for gas. I figured that I would get it in Wallenpaupack. As I made my way up 402, I ended up having to detour onto 84 due to some downed trees and power lines from the storms the previous evening. I found my way back on track as I was running low on gas but, unfortunately, I had forgotten that Wallenpaupack did not have electricity, and thus, no way to pump gas. I was getting nervous after the fourth gas station not being open, so I continued on towards Honesdale, where there happened to be one functioning gas station. I then went home to nap before my nightshift at Lander's River Trips in Skinners Falls.
Little did I know that work would be quite unusual. Skinners Falls got hit really hard by the storm, which caused trees/power lines to block the eastern entrance to the campground. On top of that, about 6 trees came down at the campground, some of which fell on a lean-to and trailer full of kayaks. Needless to say, there's no power at the campground except for some generators maintaining the well water, cash register, icecream freezer, and two lamps. To top this all off, it's Memorial Day Weekend and Bethel Woods is hosting a 3-night Phish concert, so you can imagine just how hectic the weekend has been, although entertaining as well. Phish Phans are much like modern day Dead Heads, which means the sweet aroma of marijuana wafts in anytime they walk in from the storm. Ironically they all seemed to be hungry at 2am after the buses came back from the show, which provided me with some entertainment in the otherwise quiet store. I thoroughly enjoyed their antics and how laid back they all were. Between that and some friends showing up randomly both nights I've worked so far, my night shifts haven't been too terrible. We'll see how tonight plays out. Read the attached article for some snippets about the weather and Phish Phans.
Phish and Weather

Day-trip to Cleveland and Oberlin

Back on February 19th, I made my way to Ohio for the day. My friend, Heather, from high school had her senior recital at the Oberlin Conservatory, so I thought I would explore Cleveland briefly before I went to Oberlin. I went into the lobby of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame just to say that I was there. I then wandered down to the airport and walked through the Women's International Aviation and Space Museum that was set-up in the terminal. I then made my way to Tower City before finding my car again, which I parked by the Cleveland Brown's Stadium. I then booked it to Oberlin and jogged over to the Conservatory just in time to slip inside for the recital before the doors were closed. Heather did an amazing job (as always) and we then went out for dinner and some coffee.