168th and 77th

Some people call this place home,
Others, just another street.
The name itself is certainly nothing special,
but it is always the first to greet.

It is lined with colored camouflaged trees,
those that seem to be reaching to touch a treasured face.
What a complexion it must have been,
to have accepted to be eternally frozen in place.

Lively voices of little ones sound from the topmost window,
towards their father who just came home.
There it is, a moment savored,
as he will soon be holding his very own flesh and bone.

Turning the corner, I silently bid farewell to 168th and 77th.
I won't walk another path as unselfish as you.
To the open-minded you ceaselessly provide
and even in unkempt shambles, stay true.

At War with Inconsistency

      There are things I absolutely hate about going back to college but then there are things I don't mind returning to. Trying to explain the feelings that flow through me when I meet my, tight knit, couple of friends is very difficult. It's just us four guys. We have known each other since our orientation three years ago and I still have a vague memory of the first time I met each of them. If you're not someone that I talk to on a daily basis, I most likely won't be able to recognize you the second time I see you. Not even if we talk for two hours the night before. Don't expect me to know your name, it won't happen. If you understand that then you'll know how important still having a memory of how we all started out is to me. These guys bring me to a place of peace, no effort involved. When we're together there's this sense of fullness that I get and it's a feeling that I want to have for a long time.
      Unfortunately, you have to take the good with the bad. You can't bribe reality. To me, going back to school means more half-hearted all-nighters and motivational videos to narrowly get me by. To find success this year in school, I have to be a new person with a new way of thinking. I can't take things lightly anymore and I have to be mentally rejuvenated. My discipline is as structured and polished as one of a fourteen month old baby. That has to change and it is changing as we speak. Playing keep up this semester is key because of the heavy course load and fleeting time. It'll be too easy for me to be left behind. Guess what? A total of three classes has passed me by and I have went to all of them. Thank you. Thank you. What's more? I didn't go to sleep yesterday until I finished reviewing the lectures that I had the "pleasure" of attending. First day of school and already attaining herb status? But this is what's going to happen every night for the next year and a half. This is what better happen.
      As of yesterday, I'm officially at war with my problems with consistency. I will be on top of my classes this semester and I will break this vicious cycle of mine. I have no other choice. At the rate I've been going, I've been acting like I could wing it and make it to the finish line. It's not going to happen this time like it did many times before. I might just get kicked out of the program if I don't rid myself of that attitude. It's time to grow up and show up.

"The Getaway" Photos!

         The Picsio strikes again and this time nature held nothing back. I still believe that all the little aesthetic things that emotionally bound me to this place were purposely placed where I found them. The administrative personnel must have known that there were suckers, like myself, arriving so they placed things here and there to grab at our simple minds. How else can a place like this contain so much "unintended" beauty? These people, I tell you, are geniuses of manipulation. These are some photos that I look at to relive those recent yet distant memories.

I would have loved this photo even more if the damn pump wasn't in the way. Nonetheless, my mind begged my body to fetch the camera just to take its picture. There was no way I was going to leave without taking a little piece of this back with me. 

 This was one of my favorite photos of this whole trip. The clouds, the pine tree branches, and the position of the white beach chairs just worked at that precise moment. At this point, I was laying down on a reclining bench ready to catch some well needed sleep. Couldn't feel better.

While I was about to give in to the lulls of the moving pine needles above me, one of the younger youth found me. I then convinced myself to take him canoeing. In the middle of this very shallow lake there was an small island. While canoeing, motivation immediately struck. I needed to find out what was hidden by those trees. 

The shoreline wasn't the best part about this place. It's the way that nature just carved itself into generously into the area. The well, I thought, was a very tasteful addition to this photo.

You must be joking. I was very excited to take this photo that I took many of them just to get one right. 

I proved that my fearless side was still intact while taking this photo. I stepped into the thick forest-life, which was filled with life draining flies by the way, just to get this shot.

 Don't you just want to take flight right off this dock and immerse yourself into the cool water below? Bad idea, if you did that, you might just end up breaking something or injuring yourself. The lake was as shallow as your bathroom floor when your toilet is clogged. Nice little mental image for you there.

Remember that little island that I made a reference to earlier? Within its caresses there was a solitary structure waiting for me to discover it. As I walked up the steps, I slowly began to realize that I wasn't the only one to come by this place. Here, I saw the names of many people that passed by etched into the wood. I tried to scratch in my own name but my key wasn't a good enough tool to do it. But I do have a nice area of incoherence and chipped away wood in its place.

                Hmmm...Something to ponder about as I go back to my beloved beach chair. 

An unusual gateway that I believed should have been brown but I'll just let this one slide...

 "Nature paves the way for those who know where they are going." This was the quote on a poster that I have up in my room. In a sense, this is true or frankly this photo wouldn't be possible.

White Benches and Shallow Lakes: Part 1

       Hey, I'm back from a pretty sweet weekend in Manchester Township, New Jersey. Every summer, the church folk go on an outing for a night or two to strengthen their fellowship with each other. For me, it was the chance for me to get away. It was my last chance to shed life's problems and bask, uninterrupted, under the sun before the beast that is school devours my time.
       As we pulled up, my eyes were set on auto-lock to one thing, the shoreline. Filled with white benches and inviting docks, the beach was just what I needed. I pictured myself lying down on a reclining bench under the shades of a tree either reading a book or watching the treeline till my eyelids get heavy. Right away, I realized that a different type of peace inhabited this place. It wasn't the manipulated peace that I receive when I enter the confines of my room but it was a stubborn kind of peace. You have no choice but to let it surround you when it wants to.
       My life seemed to be slowing down by the minute. No more running, it just turned into a slow pace. I started to observe those around me. I haven't seen my church members in a while, some of those who I grew up with almost seem unfamiliar. My work schedule coincided with church and it used to be a problem for me. Guilt usually weighed on me every Sunday I failed to show up but not anymore. I don't feel the same way about church as I once did, something has faded.
       But there I was, in this place where the winds were unpredictable and the thunder was roaring through the sky. However, there was no sign of rain. There was a sense of secrecy within this place. I didn't know what it was trying to hide from me and what I'll be leaving with.
       To my surprise, I met a good friend who I haven't seen in a long time. So much for a quiet trip. I've known her through the years but it seems as if our relationship hasn't changed much since we were kids. We still interact with each other the same way we did in the fourth grade. Through my Sunday School years, I believed that she was the smartest girl I knew. She wouldn't come some Sundays but I do remember being happy when she did. Now, she can't stop making fun of me. It's amusing actually.
        As we got further into the night, the darker and heavier clouds started to bully the worn out sun behind them. A campfire was lit, the marshmallow bag was ripped open, and the festivities started. I'll let you in on a small tradition that we do when standing around a campfire. The parents tending the campfire will actually cook with its flames. They place plantains and yams within the smoldering wood and set it there until they are warm and soft. All this is totally normal to us and I personally love it.
        The winds were unpredictable that night and there was a slight drizzle. They started to carry the smoke and vapor straight into my eyes causing them to sting and well up. Getting the point, I then walked toward the shoreline where I entered into a conversation of reminiscence and memories. Sometimes, to reignite latent friendships one has poke at memories that reside in the stuffing in your brain, somewhere in there. Pop the right one and you won't stop laughing until morning. A good laugh is all it takes to wake up a sleeping relationship.
     
     

Surprise Surprise

       Today morning, before heading for a another day of work, I sat down and started reading my friend Will's blog at www.weallwantsomeone.org. This is the go to site if you are passionate and curious about music. I believe Will has great insight and his love for music is apparent in every entry that he posts. Mondays and Tuesdays are pretty much our worst days of the week when it comes to work so I had to take the necessary measures. I needed my mind to be calm and ready and the best way for me to do that is to listen to music. It can't be just any song, for me it has to be the right one. To me the obvious path of action was to find that song on his site.

       
        What I found was Dusk Warrior. An up and coming local band that is just bursting at the seams with talent. To tell you the truth when I think of local bands and singers, I think of attempts that just can't compete with the mainstream. I think of bands that lack that special something that sets them apart and above. I was very wrong. This band is something else. I love music that send chills pulsing through my body and emotions to uncharted heights. This is exactly what was given to me through their new album, Overdrive Sunrise. Finding refuge in this album is the type of instrumental music I would play in my car with the volume cranked up and the windows down. I'm proud to have a band such Dusk Warrior just a few miles away from my humble abode. It makes me think that even I could succeed in making other people feel good. With all those feelings in my mind, I set off for work with my mind at peace and my determination reset.
       If you want to listen to or download their album, below is a link to Will's post. Take a look!
       http://www.weallwantsomeone.org/2011/08/15/dusk-warrior-overdrive-sunrise-free-album-download/