I’m So Easily Distracted
Mar 12th, 2007 by Jennifer Lynn
A List of Aspirations
In the midst of my feverish cleaning (ahem), I stumbled across a forlorn journal abandoned years ago. Taking advantage of an opportunity to discontinue work for a moment, I plopped down onto some tattered pillows and curiously thumbed through its content. A particular entry I wrote in Copenhagen, Denmark caught my eye.
THURSDAY - 02.19.04
6:25 PM
Enjoying the beauty of Copenhagen immensely right now … and the company of these silly Danes.
I have also been thinking alot about some of my goals (practical and otherwise).
I definitely look forward to beginning university after the summer. I am hoping that I can keep myself motivated to dedicate 100% to my studies.
Before when I was in university, I put many things off and didn’t feel as if I gave my best effort. I still managed to pull off almost perfect grades, but I find it much more satisfying when I know that I really put my all into a project (instead of brushing it off until the very last minute, as I usually do).
I have also made some “fun” goals for myself, which will ideally be accomplished within the next 5 - 10 years. This list is continuously growing.
* I’ve always dreamed of visiting New Orleans (or shall I say New ‘Awlins) to visit all of the places I’ve read about in childhood novels.
Trent Reznor, Anne Rice, Poppy Z. Brite, VC Andrews and Gabriel Knight have all helped to bring the magic of this city alive for me. I would love to experience the Garden District, take a stroll down Bourbon Street, see Marie Laveau’s tomb in the St. Louis Cemetary, and visit a voodoo museum to encounter all the mojo, juju, hoodoo, gris-gris bags and zombies I’ve ever dreamed of!
Continuing on with my traveling goals …
* Walking on the Great Wall of China
* Learning how to belly dance in Istanbul
* Swimming with dolphinsAnd on a spiritual note …
* Climbing Mount Sinai* Oh yes, I would also like to know how it feels to be a millionaire. Judging from my traveling plans though, I am probably doomed to be a very poor woman.
Well, I’m feeling restless sitting in bed (I’m on my laptop) and I don’t have much else to add. I am going to close this entry for now and try to get something constructive accomplished today.
The last goal made me laugh, considering I’m now learning about personal financing and can (presumably) avoid the calamitous fate of remaining ‘a very poor woman’. I had absolutely no clue when this message was first scrawled three years ago that being a millionaire was even conceivable through wise financial planning.
I would still be thrilled to visit New Orleans, even in the tragic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. I’ve always felt a mysterious affinity toward the essence of this crumpled and nearly-forgotten city. My longing has not diminished over the years.
I’ve actually decided to rekindle this journal as a continuation of my personal goals. (A recent one I’ve scribbled on the list; to wander through the mountains of Kurdistan in search of ancient Sufi mystics).
Perhaps in another few years I’ll stumble on it again for further amusing revelations.
=^..^=
I LOVE Poppy!
New Orleans was something of a “crumbling and nearly-forgotten city” *before* Katrina…I’ve spent some time there over the years and always considered it to be arguably the most overrated city in the country. Before I got divorced I lived in Charleston, SC for a number of years. Even before Katrina, Charleston kicked ass on New Orleans. You had a similar history and vibe to the city, only without rampant crime, staggering drunks and the strong stench of urine. If you’re into spooky things there’s all kinds of ghosts haunting the city–and we’re talking cool ghosts like Confederate soldiers, Rhett Butler-type Antebellum cotton barons and pirates. There’s plenty of voodoo, hoodoo and similar there as well. It seems like a good town for vampires, though I never ran into any. And since I’m something of a gourmand I’ll let you in on a *big* secret–Charleston even has better restaurants than New Orleans. NOLA has big tourist trap places like Commander’s Palace and K-Paul’s, but “pound for pound” the dining in Charleston is better. While we’re at it, I might as well mention that IMO South Carolina has the best indigenous cuisine of any state in the country.
While I was living in Charleston I inadvertently “swam with dolphins” on a few occasions. Dolphins are kinda scary–and this coming from someone who’s not the least bit afraid of big critters (as the presence of my dearly departed rottweiler, Fitz, in the MyBlogLog avitar will confirm). The dolphins I encountered always acted like they wanted to eat my smaller dogs–sort of like aligators, only with a better PR person.
I was supposed to go swimming with the dolphins at the Mirage in Las Vegas once but I didn’t wake up in time…