I meant to write part of this post on December 15, the one year anniversary of this blog, of my departure from Kentucky for what was to become lands unknown and a year long journey that even now seems like a dream. Life got in the way, though, in the form of Thanksgiving surprises, new relationships, travel here and there and the holidays.
Fall 2011 − 2012 was a tornado of highs and lows. I still can’t believe I stood at Machu Picchu, the Taj Mahal, and Gyeongbok Palace. At the place where I lived as a baby, at an overpass where families lived and begged in New Delhi, in the slums of Lima, Peru. The strange child part of me that still gets excited when it sees a train remains gobsmacked. The depressive in me feels a bit hollow about it all. I said to a friend earlier, “All I do is wander around, buy crap and complain.” I’ve licked my wounds enough, though. All the trials in my life won’t mean much if I give nothing back so that’s one of a million goals for this year.
Thanks to everyone who’s kept up with this. My posts might be more sporadic in the future, but I intend to keep it going though my days will probably become less and less exciting as I doubt I’ll have another twelve months where I lose love, find it in new ways, drive a million miles and see the world.
So many of my friends have been struggling these last two years. Some say it’s astrological, others the law of averages. The bf has his Hopkins Theorem of Shit Equilibrium which states, “The level of shit has to be maintained. So, the better things are, the more shit there must be to compensate.” I still don’t know if the universe is neutral or guiding, though I tend to go for the former lately. Either way I hope these rough roads are coming to an end, but it seems like things don’t really work like that anymore. You take the good, you take the bad… something about the facts of life.
I guess all we can do is try to accept the down times, give thanks for the good, keep hope around. Listen to some dopey songs, be brave and forge ahead.
So here it is, The LP Mixtape vol. III. (Download here)
1. Charlie Parker - I'm From Barcelona. When the sky is a little too fed up with rain can I get on your little wings and fly away?
2. Right Back Where We Started From - Maxine Nightingale. Love is good, love can be strong.
3. Hold On Loosely - .38 Special. If you cling too tightly you're gonna lose control.
4. Totally Fucked - Jonathon Groff & the Cast of Spring Awakening. The weirdest shit is still to come.
5. Little Bird - Annie Lennox. Give me the strength to lay this burden down.
6. Paradise - Black Books. It's time to feel alright.
7. Starships - Nicki Minaj. Hands up and touch the sky.
8. Closer To The Heart - Rush. You can be the captain and I will draw the chart, sailing into destiny.
9. Dreams - Forest For The Trees. We are all here in the act of creation.
10. Any Way You Want It - Journey. She said hold on.
11. Float On - Modest Mouse. Good news will work its way to all them plans.
12. Here Comes The Sun - The Beatles. I feel that ice is slowly melting.
13. Life's A Happy Song - The Muppets. Nothing's stopping you, nothing that you can't do, that the world can throw at you.
