The Escapist

My sister Camilla told me that I am an escapist a week or two ago.

What is an escapist you ask? And Escapist is a person that always wishes they were somewhere else, living out fantasies and adventures. They wish they could do the impossible. (See figure 1.1 to see the typical escapist's photo manipulation/expression of identity.)

Here is a list of my manifestations of escapism:

1. Preferring ambient music or movie soundtracks.(see figure 1.2)
2. Attraction to theme parks, such as Disneyland.
3. Frequent daydreaming; in fact, enjoying daydreaming so much that time is set aside just for that purpose.
4. Frequent reading of fantasy novels. (or watching of fantasy movies)
5. Dressing or decorating with a costume-or-scenery-like mindset.
6. Making up fantastic stories about myself. (Secret Agent, please!)
7. Constantly wanting to do a large variety of things. (trying to live out daydreams to the best of my ability)
8. Being easily swept away in movies, events, or books. (this explains my horrible fear in horror movies, and why I cry in Disney movies)
9. Passion for travel.
10. Passion for themed parties

Why being an escapist is good:

a. Abundant creativity
b. A drive for a full life and richer experiences

Why it sucks:

c. The realization and occasional reminders that a few of my greatest dreams can never be carried out.
d. Crying in Disney movies.

So I wonder. Who of my friends is an escapist? Does any of this apply to anyone else enough for them to consider themselves a full-on escapist? And, if so, would you like to make an escapist club?

I think that everyone has at least a little bit of escapist in them. Why else would people want to go on vacation?

One last thought:
"It's much easier to talk about something once you name it" ~(Don't know where I heard it, actually)

figure 1.1: A typical escapist illustration and manifestation. Notice the bright colors, and the distant look on the escapist's face.


Figure 1.2 A favorite music choice among escapists. The movie is a good escapist movie too!

You Don't Know Me

This is one of those videos I find myself watching on nights when I feel pitiful and lonely with no reason why.

Yeah, it is one of those nights.

p.s. watch out for the expletives...

My Job.

As I sit here, procrastinating english homework, I am listening the soundtrack of The Village. You know, I have heard a lot of people say how dissappointed they were when they saw that movie, but I love it. I love the tragic beauty of it. If you are expecting a horror movie, then don't watch it. But if you want to think, then it's a good one!



Anyway, I thought I'd share my very surreal experience with "the village"

I worked up at the haunted village this year for halloween, and it was really fun! But it was also very dark. Not like a negative dark, but at night up there with all those really old homes that people lived in years ago, it was...surreal. Ghost hunters say that much of the park really is haunted.

Several of the nights I worked, I was stationed in the Jewkes home. My job was to scream and throw plates at passers-by. On slow nights, I would go sit on the porch of this old pioneer home, and listen to the Village soundtrack playing through speakers hidden up and down the street. This music is beautiful and creepy on its own, but sitting there, in pioneer costume, with blowing leaves and distant screams, and that Inn staring at me from across the street, I felt very swept away.

Anyway, here is a picture of my very creepy makeup:

I tried to do handstands for you...

October is over! It was really a hard month. Here is why:
1. I worked tuesdays and thursdays. It just made getting all my homework done a lot more stressful, because I couldn't do any on tuesdays and thursdays all of a sudden! I went from school to piano lessons to work.
2. Craig's car needed a lot of repairs, which usually had to happen during lunch...which meant I had to eat alone sometimes.
3. Can anyone say midterms?

Besides those 3 big reasons were all the little ones about self doubt, worry, and those little things, those little concerns, that keep me awake at night..and sometimes concerns much bigger than myself. I am just an overly concerned person.

But there is one thing that somehow makes things right. Last monday I was feeling especially down, especially worried, when I noticed how sunny and warm it was. So I decided to take my dogs on a walk. We have this beautiful nature trail nearby that I practically grew up on. So I drove the dogs over to it, and we walked.

It was refreshing to see how excited they were. If I paused for even a second, they would turn around and look right at me and make thier excited noises. Miss Stacey actually would do a little dance and look into my eyes and do a combination between a whine and a bark, even when we weren't paused. My dogs reminded me that my whole life I have been anxious to have an adventure, and here I was, having one, and I was turning away from it, trying to sleep it off.

As we walked down the sunny trail I couldn't help but feel like this park is an old friend, one of the best ones I've got. It's always been around, with it's grassy smell and winding trails. I can't help but think that this little bit of nature in the middle of the city is like a temple, a refuge I can go to whenever I need it. Of course the real temple is even better, but I love being able to walk my dogs or ride my bike and just think or not think as much as i want.

"Nothing starts until you take action! If you have time to worry, then run!" -Sonic The Hedgehog
(Ok I know it's dorky, but think about it. It's a good quote and if I had paired it with Winston Churchill you would have bought it.)

P.S. Halloween was good, and it was really fun scaring people at my job. I love creating chaos like that. For halloween, I was a scottish wench, with my scotsman of course! We had lots of fun at the mocktail party!

Another perfect day...

Today was a really good day. It wasn't terribly different from other days, but things just went so right.

First, I finally finished my robot earrings that I made for my jewelry making class! They turned out way better than i thought they would.

Today for lunch, I had 5 mini cupcakes, an apple, and an egg, sausage, and cheese hot pocket. Those are 3 of my favorite things to eat!

Also, my man was ultra sweet today. As usual.

The really amazing thing about today was that I got 100% on my math test! 100%! I have never done that. It's really amazing for me, because I really am horrible at math. And I guessed on two of the questions on the test. I guess I am a lucky guesser.

To top it all off, I got to play the part at the Haunted Village that I have really been wanting to try. I screamed at people and threw dishes! It was very fun and exciting.

Right now I am listening to the Jonas Brother's new song, Love Bug. I can't deny it, I love this song. Yeah, I know, it's the Jonas Brothers. But it sounds good nontheless!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KDcDW8IoHA This is the music video. It's very cute, even though it doesn't really match the style of the song.

Another dumb thing I like...High School Musical! I can't wait to see HSM 3. I just can't deny it.

Tagged.

Whitney tagged me in that one "tag a person to list 6 quirks about them" game....so here goes!
6 quirks about me:
1. I still cant step on a crack. It's out of habit and me being OCD. Also, I have to step on every leaf that I see fallen on the sidewalk. I just get so excited for crunching it under my shoe.
2. I am addicted to mascara. If I don't put it on ASAP every morning, it pretty much ruins my day.
3. I love Nancy Drew books, and I want to collect all the original Carolyn Keene ones.
4. I've spent a fair amount of my life in costume...from historical interpreting, to theatre, to just wanting to wear a Barney the Dinosaur costume.
5. I hate being called "Brynnie". It drives me nuts! It feels like I am being talked down to every time I hear it. I'd prefer to be called be called Brynners
6. Once I wore black and brown together, and my sister told me I can't wear that, it's breaking one of the biggest rules of fashion. Since then I haven't been able to wear black and brown together, and it I hate seeing it.

Ok, I am tagging Cate, Lili, Jena, Jill, Miche, and....Bryan. :D

In other news, I got to see some old friends I haven't seen for a few months tonight! That was nice. And everyone is planning on going dancing tommorrow. I seriously got invited by 3 people today to come with thier group and go dancing. That means like over half of my friends are going dancing! At the same place! And i am (most likely) not. For 3 reasons:
1. Dance partner is off camping/hunting, and I don't want to go and have to fight off wanna-be suitors (and I will just end up missing my man more!).
2. Strapped for cash.
3. I really need to work on my math skills.

It'll be sad to miss it, but not that sad. I just wish schedules matched up more often.

I am pretty happy, nonetheless. :D

mechanics and art.

This entry is probably going to sound...a little argumentative and maybe a little self-righteous.
Oh well.

I am sitting here procrastinating english homework. I just don't like Intermediate writing. Anyway, I have a pressing issue on my mind that I just have to make an argument about! And, that is: know-it-alls!

I just can't stand them. For example...people that study and know the all the mechanics about things like music or art..yet they don't do either of these things. Then they proceed to lecture me about it...the person who actually has experience in music or art. There are some things you just can't know about unless you have hands-on experience and talent for them. For example, there are a lot of songs I have played on piano that, if you haven't gained a sense of rhythm and timing from experience, you probably couldn't make it sound good. The First Arabesque by Debussy feature this beautiful theme with a 2 against 3 timing. When i was learning this, my teacher said the best way I could do it is just to practice over and over again and not think about how i am supposed to count it. I just had to let my senses do the work for me. That is just something you have to learn from practice and not thinking about it too hard. I tell my students this all the time. You just gotta let it settle in on it's own. And sometimes you just have to listen to another's perspective (someone who has also had a lot of experience). If I have learned anything from teaching, that is it. Once I started teaching piano I realized how glad I am to have had good teachers! And now I wish I was still being taught piano.

Art is another thing that I don't understand how people just learn the mechanics to do it...but then again, maybe that's why i am not going to be an art major. I dunno...when I do art, at first I focus on the step by step process, but then my right brain takes over and before you know it, I am hardly aware of my surroundings and I start working really fast. And then I get all hyper and start yelling random stuff...how embarrassing. I stopped drawing a lot in church because one sunday I almost lost control. That would've been bad. Hahaha I think the only person that really knows what I am talking about is Zach on this one...we sat across the table from each other in art class for almost 2 years...and I would always end up really loud and by the last third of class I couldn't even draw anymore because I was so riled up! I would end up making up the wierdest jokes.

Wow, so i don't think I have made my arguments about...what was it? Oh, Smart-aleks! Yeah! Some people always act like such an authority on everything! It sucks! Really...how can you know that much about every little random thing? And another thing that bothers me is when people try too beef up obvious statments with terms and lingo that isn't really needed. bleh. And, I don't need advice on every subject! I learned how to make my owns decisions starting when I was 5! It's a standard part of a child's development, and trust me, that part of my development was not botched up.

In other news, I am really enjoying the people in my classes. There is a girl in Astronomy that has the same shopping tastes as me. Mike and Garret are both friends I already knew before this semster that make math great. Actually, i am really enjoying math! I actually get it and my teacher is hilarious! And the students in classes below college algebra are always so funny and nice. My whole Jewelry Making class is becoming it's own support group (because we are all accidently melting our pieces of silver and such). My classmates in english are awesome. It's just too bad the class isn't.

Well, this has been an erratic post. But it feels good to get that all out.