Clearing out the Cobwebs

I am fantastic. That is a proven fact and books have been published on the subject. However, even though I'm fantastic, I've felt myself a bit boring lately. Despite my travels this year, where I take up residence has me a bit down and bored. Inevitably, that leads to being boring. I don't like being boring and I don't like myself when I am as such.

What to do about said boredom? Well, like most other things, it has involved spending money. *grin* Buddy and I took 22 of our favourite pictures from vacations this year and printed them out in sizes ranging from 4x6 to 18x24. Luckily, I did them all at my store so I got a good discount on it ... that 30% can come in handy. But, they look gorgeous. I've got pictures from Toronto, Houston, Las Vegas and Hawai'i.

Our next step was to go to Hobby Lobby with all of these pictures in mind and get frames for them. I thought this would be the really expensive part because Buddy said "I don't want cheap looking frames." I knew what he meant, but usually when he says something like that it means I shouldn't look at the checking account when he's done. Anyway, we found a very nice assortment of frames. They're not all the same, but there are some of similar styles. That's going to make it easier later on to add to the assortment when we go on vacations.

Anyway, we picked out the type of glass we wanted and had the framers take care of the three 18x24's. I picked them up on Saturday and we hung them all up. The result is a fantastic homage to our adventures this year. Since they've been hung, I find myself looking up and staring, almost longingly. It is definitely enjoyable to have those short little mental holidays every time I look at the wall. I invite you all over to see. It's beautiful.

BUT! You could very well be asking yourself how displaying these printed snapshots of my life outside of the Valley decrease the boredom I incite in myself. The answer is simple ... it won't. The process of going through the pictures and thinking about the fantastic places that I've been this year inspired me to do more traveling. Granted, I don't really have the funds to go on a long trip at the moment, but I still want to. Well, that desire led me to ponder what it is that I enjoy about travel. There are some places I go because of who I'm going to see; Houston is home to most of my family and friends while Toronto is home to two of my two best friends (besides Buddy). I began thinking back to my trip to Europe while in college. Outside of my group, I didn't know anyone there, so what was it that I liked? It boils down to the culture and history. Language, architecture, music, art, literature, food ... these things truly define a society beyond where the lie on a map.

That bit of self-discovery of my own feelings of the matter has led me to a solution for myself. I will take one country or culture per year and I will study it. I will study the basics of the language, the architecture, the music, the art, the literature, and when I can, the food. I'm enrolling myself in my own self-taught school. I will look up social groups/clubs of people who are a part of my culture of choice and do my best to interact with them. Will I get tire of my country/culture of choice? Perhaps, but the simple fact that it is MY choice will allow it to hold my interest far longer than it would if it were a class I'd picked in school on a whim. I am excited about this, and as you might have guessed, have already begun my first year-long journey.

"Well he lives in Mexico (practically) so he must have picked Spain or Mexico for his first adventure. That would be the only logical choice." First, I think those are two very distinct cultures. I wouldn't study England to learn about America and so I will not study Spain to learn about Mexico. True, there is a language commonality; however there are great differences in that as well. One of those two would be the logical choice. However, because I feel like I am being pressured by my situation and the expectations of the society in which I live, I have rebelled against the choices of Spain or Mexico.

Instead, I have picked a culture about which I have been fascinated for quite some time. Glenn, my favourite roommate in college was a Russian major and I have always had a particular liking for composers such as Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich, Rachmaninov, Stravinsky, Mussorgsky and the like. So, I choose Russian. I bought a book called "Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia" as well as a book on beginner's Russian. I was at Starbucks reading the other day and Nikki a friend of ours sat down next to me and asked what I was reading. I showed her and she said "oh, that's SUCH a Starbucks type of book." LOL

So, wish me luck in my new studies. I think knowledge and the activation of neurons is a surefire cure for boredom. I just have to ensure I don't use that as a replacement for my time at the gym!