Life is Good!

I should be in bed right now because I need to be at work super early tomorrow. However, I am so excited about life right now that I wouldn't be able to sleep anyway. So why try? Why am I so excited? Let me count the ways.... My brother is dating a girl I love. He's happy which makes me even happier. I have awesome friends. Spring is here! The last couple of weeks have brought with them fun trips. Like the National Aquarium in Baltimore and the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. I have a new job! Great money and I can ride my bike there!! I'm finally leaving the corporate world - hopefully for good. I'm driving across country with one of my best friends as she relocates to the west coast. We get to go camping together across the U.S. and get a very personal extended good-bye. Simon continues to fill the four-legged companion void in my life. My Mom has come out of winter hibernation and we have started weekly dates. I spoiled myself today with a mini shopping spree. I'm getting my first tattoo. I'm living in a city that isn't perfect but that I have carved a life out in and I love. I can take a two minute walk to the water and see amazing sights like this. I'm attending an outdoor leadership course with Outward Bound in the fall where I will be certified to start trip leading. It is a huge step towards reaching my goal of entering a new career as an outdoor educator. Yay! After visiting Washington, D.C. and seeing the flags at half-mass firsthand, I helped my company raise thousands of dollars for the VT tragedy memorial fund last week. It left me with the feeling that I had made a contribution to the healing of the students, faculty and families involved. I'm sure there is so much more if I sat and gave it more thought. But I do need to get to bed. It is just so awesome how so many things are coming together! Yay!! What is something great going on in your life?

Body Modification

Orginially posted on 100 Things, Friday, December 02, 2005: If you think about it, nearly everyone has modified their body in some way. Perhaps it is something permanent like a tattoo or something temporary like makeup or hair color. It can be something simple like an ear piercing or something major requiring surgery. I believe each modification, whether major or subtle, says something about the person. For me it is piercing. I have three piercings in each ear, with an additional cartilage piercing in one. I also have my belly button pierced. To the relief of my family, I have no plans to get anything else pierced. I am content expressing myself through the piercings I have. In what ways have you modified your body? Does it serve as a form of expression? What does it say about you? If you haven't made any body modifications, are you considering any? What does it say about you? New Addition: Ink I never thought I'd get a tattoo. I have nothing against them, don't think they look trashy, don't find them a violation of "God's temple", and don't find the fact that a tattoo is relatively permanent intimidating. Afterall, life is short and having something permanently on my skin is not on my list of things to be preoccupied with. Besides, tattoos are no longer permanent with modern laser treatments. I just never thought of anything I'd want inked on my skin. That is until I was watching an episode of Miami Ink with my roommate one evening. (This is why I don't watch TV, I don't need anymore great ideas...) Watching the show made me see how tattoos can be an incredibly powerful form of self expression. It can go far beyond the pretty butterfly so many people have tattooed without giving it much thought. Tattoos can honor a loved one, symbolize a turning point in one's life, have religious or cultural significance - the list goes on.... Watching Miami Ink showed me that a well thought out and executed tattoo is in fact, a work of art. At the very instant I came to this realization, this image popped into my mind: I'm getting my first tattoo. I want a single zebra running with the woman in the zebra suit riding it. I am going to see a well-known tattoo artist in the area for a consultation in the upcoming week. Any guesses as to the meaning of the tattoo I want???