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!