2,836.38

About a year ago, I wrote:

"Right now I am on my deathbed looking back at a life that I know was good. I will surround myself with stories. I will live this life as well as I will one day remember it being."

I bring this up because a couple days ago I watched "Waking Life" again with the benefit of being old enough to understand what the hell it was about. Found it echoing with the mindset of the Occupy Movement, like the words of a prophet. It's a heavy movie to digest, chock full of philosophy and science and theory, but worth the effort. Anyway, there's this part where two characters are talking about dreams and death, and the woman discusses this feeling that she's an old woman in her deathbed looking back on her life. It was really neat to hear another person feel the same way as I do. And peculiar timing to come across that old excerpt just after encountering that very thought in an old film. 

The basic outline of my near future:

1. Complete ESL group project
2. Teach myself how to play backgammon
3. Finish research paper
4. Finish Munk cartoon
5. Get rid of all my stuff
6. Revise screenplay
7. Finish semester with good grades
8. New York?

I can't see much past Christmas, but I can see my flight leaving in early February for Istanbul and Jenny's flight arriving in Istanbul in April. Everything else remains unplanned and unforeseeable. I sense good things. I sense adventures I can't even imagine.

2,850.30

My main project these days is an animated Munk cartoon. With T-Day bringing me away from my desk for a while, I had to put the project on hold, but hopefully I'll get the fight scene animated before Monday. It's good to make imaginary deadlines, especially with all the time in the world. Anyway, it's a labor of love. Stay tuned.

The family is doing good. While Dallas and Green Bay won their respective football games, we ate the most delicious turkey ever baked by human hands. The weather was gloomy but we didn't mind. Mom's little house on the hillside stayed warm and jovial, despite one fight between the dogs and the unfortunate defeat of the Niners in Baltimore. My sister taught me a new word: Churlish, rude. 

Jenny and I are still split by an ocean, but connected more than ever. We've really done something wonderful by branching out into the world at such a peak in our relationship, enthralled now by our potential to keep traveling and loving and teaching and experiencing. She bought a two-week vacation in Istanbul come April, which means we have a date, and I received official acceptance confirmation from Bogazici University. Next: the orientation next Friday and continuing effort to get good grades. That whole plan is coming together smoothly. I can't wait to be in the same room as my girlfriend again. It's been almost two months since she left. It'll be seven months by the time we meet in Turkey and two months past our one-year. I'll also be 25 years old by then.

It was nice to see Sean again when he came up from San Diego for the holiday. We had beer at DeVere's with Lane, then met up with him again that night for the unofficial high school reunion in Auburn at Pistol Pete's. I feel bad because I ditched the scene. I expected something else, I guess. Also went into the night with unusually low self-esteem, which didn't help motivate me to mingle with my fellow Placer brethren. It was cool to see the Zobels again. Otherwise, I really just wanted our group to leave and hang out in someone's living room instead, since I don't like overly-crowded bars or yelling just to be heard. Anyway, sorry I ditched you, Sean.

This weekend I've got some homework to do, so I better get started now.

2,924.06

So Paul and I drove down to Tracy yesterday for a photo journey. That was the main motivation, at least, though we didn't seem to have any exact plan. Paul had some places he wanted to see specifically, but they were all on the way. We ate sandwiches in Stockton, spent time by a river, went to the top of the world, saw some elk and then watched the USC-Oregon game at his brother's house. I think Paul was just glad to be driving again. With the day off and no homework to worry about, I was happy to go, and these are the photos I came home with:

(click first photo to open slideshow)