Pirates on the Coast

So here are some photos from our trip to Charleston a few weeks ago. There was this pirate statue, and Lord knows I love me some pirates, and then there were these 5 old ladies who ended up with the tablecloth bandannas on their heads like pirates, and it just got us thinkin'. And a few gin and tonics may have been involved too.


Ok that last one is more thug than pirate, but I had been trying to teach the old ladies how to spell BLOOD with their hands. Like the gang. Don't mess with me, I got thug in my veins.

Another Mystery

I'm still thinking about the wonder conversation I had with Nate the other day.

My junior year of college I spent much of my spare time at a house three doors down that was home to four of my girlfriends. Holly was a duel Physics/Philosophy major who probably had a headache 90% of the time—I mean, I would if I was trying to reconcile those two. We were out on the front porch one evening and she expressed the desire to keep wonder alive in her life—that, in spite of pursuit of understanding and insight, a sense of mystery was crucial. I couldn't agree more.

I've never been accused of being intentionally ignorant and hope to keep that fact for years to come. I have a Bachelor of Science degree—technically, I am a scientist. But there are many things in life that I don't want to know the science behind and I don't think that makes me “ignorant” I think that makes me selective. Creative processes, music, emotions, faith, touch: beautiful things made more beautiful by their mystery. I don't know why one person's touch can affect me more than anyone else's, I just know it does and in that it is a gift. I don't know why heartache can be literal, I just know what how it feels. There are things made predictable and safe by science—electricity, weather, seasons, gravity, chemicals—and then there are the muddled interactions that cannot be made predictable, that science only knows in shadow and theory. Often these are what make up what I love most in life.

Don't get me wrong—I love science. If you know me at all, you know this. But science and mystery are mutually crucial. Nate told me I was just holding onto childhood; I told him he was a condescending, cynical bastard. I'm not saying we should only live by our gut (Thank you, Stephen Colbert/George W. Bush for “truthiness”) but some mix of the two. Understand the place of science and the place of mystery.

There is a part in “Good Will Hunting” where Robin Williams' character rips into Will, saying, “So if I asked you about art, you'd probably give me the skinny on every art book ever written. Michelangelo, you know a lot about him. Life's work, political aspirations, him and the pope, sexual orientations, the whole works, right? But I'll bet you can't tell me what it smells like in the Sistine Chapel. You've never actually stood there and looked up at that beautiful ceiling; seen that." It's the difference right there; the science and the mystery. Places for both.

Song of the Day: “These Friends of Mine”--Rosie Thomas. I love this song more and more each day.

Also: Found someone to go see Erin McKeown's Grey Eagle show with me...guess who is also a huge Erin fan? Doug. Whoa. Here's to you, D.

Misc. Monday

* Friday night went and saw Chatham County Line (bluegrass) at Grey Eagle with fellow socialite Nate--the concert lasted til friggin' 12:45. We didn't leave there until, oh, 1:30 or so. Whoa. Great show, the banjo player looks like Kenneth from "30 Rock" but with a beard. Made me giggle the whole show.

* Saturday wrangled ropes for Windy Gap then sped home, packed in 5 minutes, picked up Andy (Katherine has a big gallery show next weekend and had to finish several prints so couldn't come) and headed to meet Nate out at Lake James for a camping adventure. I need to camp more. I love camping; it brings joy not much else brings. Simple joy.

* Note: don't pack for camping in 5 minutes. You forget a whole lot.

* Food Nate brought: bratwurst, bacon, lamb chops, corned beef hash, eggs, cheese, bread and some potatoes. Meatfest 2k7. No wonder my face keeps breaking out.

* Sunday we left camping and drove straight to the Beir Garden to watch the 'Skins KILL the Lions. I was in the same clothes I'd been wearing for two days, I smelled like campfire and I was sitting in a bar, watching football with three friends. Priorities people, priorities.

* Today is my little sister's 14th birthday. Having her in my life is the greatest blessing I could have ever imagined. If any boy hurts her I will kill him.

* Saturday night Nate and I had a "discussion" about the place of wonder in a world full of science. I said I love having things in my life that I don't know the science behind; he said that was voluntary ignorance. He's also an engineer. Sometimes science can suck the mystery out of an experience. I never want love to become just a combination of pheromones, situations and chemistry. I never want to lose the art that is the science of creation.

What the Broke Should Do

Is make a list of trips I'd love to take but currently can't afford. Clearly.

Trips I'd Like to Take Sometime in my Life:

• Paddle Boundary Waters

• Sail the coast of Maine

• Watch Sunrise at Acadia National Park

• Train around Europe

• Camel Ride in Egypt

• Rickshaw in Thailand

• Hike through Banff National Park

• Gondola in Venice

• Eat beignets at Cafe Du Monde in Jackson Square again

• Cattle drive in Montana

• Grand Canyon on a donkey

Job Searching for Dummies

* Why does every single job posting in Asheville involve "be your own boss!!!!!!" or a nursing position? Are we really a town of diseased entrepreneurs? I had no idea, I better catch up.
* Charleston, SC = Awesome.
* People really work 6pm-4am shifts? Who are these people?
* Hardee's still exists? Really?
*I hate this. It all makes me want to vomit.
* "There is no lapse in God's goodness." Thanks for that, Natabee.
*I could be a park ranger. I'd get a hat. That's awesome.