Now that winter break is nearing it’s unfortunate finale, I am left to
reflect and appreciate the wonderful recess I had away from school. I won’t go
as far as to say I was busy, but I was definitely never bored because I applied
myself to so many hobbies and crafts. I usually make a checklist comprised of
activities and projects I want to accomplish during a given break, but this
time I just sat back and let the hobbies come to me.
And it was great.
This was the first time in a long time that I finished a novel. It was
exciting to be so involved in a book that I didn’t want to put it down. What
book was this, you may ask? Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton of course! I am a
steadfast fan of the author, especially because he paints vivid pictures with
his description and writes about biology-based subjects. I like being able to
relate on an academic level while enjoying the story line as well.
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| Handmade, aww yeah |
I’ve also been crocheting. Yes, like a grandma would. It all started when
I became curious about what kind of monsters have been dwelling under my bed
while I’ve been off at college. I hesitantly extended my arm into the depths of
darkness between my ancient box spring and the dusty carpet. If you’ve ever
stared straight at the sun while doing the thizz face, then you’ve probably
been wearing an expression similar to the one I was displaying as my fingers
curled around the first object I pulled out from under my bed. As my fingers
nervously grazed this furry object, my mind painted a vague representation of a
dead animal about the size of a rabbit. I erased the image once my analytical
brain decided that it wasn’t methane I was smelling but sooty dust, so I pulled
the object out of it’s dark hiding place into the light of my room. It was
Furby. Now the disgusted face I sported when I first touched the object creeped
back as I sifted through memories of the damn toy and how freaking annoying it
was, hence the reason it has been squirreled away under my bed for a decade. If
you have had a Furby, I’m sure you understand; if not, I won’t torture you with
a description of the nightmare of a toy it was. I stuck my hand back into the
darkness and pulled out a few filled shoe boxes: one was full of notes and
letters, which I figured could age a couple more years before I read through
all of them. I did open a few letters out of curiosity, one from my first
boyfriend and another from a friend who I haven’t heard from in four years. I
wondered if they remember writing those notes or if they ever think back on the
good times and struggles we had. It reminded me of how quickly we move on from
events and feelings that seemed so significant at the time. Finally I pulled
out the golden box (it wasn’t literally golden) and it revived an old chapter
of my life. I opened it up and scanned its contents: vibrant fuzzy thread,
aluminum hooked needles, and how-to manuals sparked my interest immediately. Crocheting
made it’s cordial comeback into my life. I’ve made a beanie and a chalk bag so
far, two projects I instill a great amount of pride in, mostly because they
took so long and turned out pretty impressive looking. I’m currently working on
a hobo bag, and I think it’s going to turn out really well.
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| Chalk Bag |
Now, I’ve been woolgathering a lot about where I will be in five years.
One vision that I keep building on is that after graduation, I sell everything
I have that I don’t essentially need (which is a LOT of stuff) and hit the road
in a dusty old pop-top Vanagon, camping in the cheapest campgrounds around the
western U.S. and selling various handmade crafts (crocheted doodads, hemp
bracelets, photography, dream catchers, etc.) and also playing small guitar
gigs. I’ll hike and rock climb and simply enjoy the outdoors and the company of
vagabonds I’ll meet on the way. I understand that there is a three percent
chance that this fantasy will become reality, but it doesn’t hurt to dream,
right? Anyway, in my preparation for the awesome future I will pursue, I have
been sharpening my guitar mastery. I have quite the repertoire of songs after a
month of practice and I’m excited to have callused my fingertips enough so it’s
not at all painful to play for hours at a time. Playing guitar is my favorite
hobby because it combines feelings with melody to present a liberating mode of
expression. I’ve even started to write my own songs. To add to my musical
career, I got a ukulele for Christmas!
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| Ian jumping rocks in Joshua Tree |
I’ve been fairly active the last month, as expected. Running has had its
ups and downs. It started out great while I hit 70 miles and 80 miles the first
two weeks of break, but I was pretty flat afterword and had to decrease mileage
last week and this week. I was running with my brother and friend Ian but they
both got a tad bit injured so I’ve been running alone lately. I can’t wait to
reunite with my team, running is so much better with friends. It’s still really
early in the season so I’m not stressing speed, but am putting a lot of energy
into abs, drills, Foundation, and miles. Enjoying the outdoors has been
gratifying during this break as well. I visited the Palm Springs Tram, which is
a large revolving gondola that transports people from the desert up to the
summit above Idyllwild. For all the years I’ve lived in Idyllwild, I’ve never
been on the tram, so it was exciting to check that off the bucket list. It was
so cold at the top, with two feet of snow and chilling winds. Another trip I
went on was a New Years camping trip in Joshua Tree. The whole family was back
together since Jenn and Matt came down from Portland for a week, and we spent
three days scrambling, hiking, sunbathing on massive rocks, and celebrating the
arrival of the new year out in the middle of the desert.
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| Joshua trees and one of the popular rock piles |
The rest of my break consisted mostly of making homemade Christmas cards,
listening to music, and taking photographs. I recently inherited an old film
camera from my uncle but it has its glitches so I’m having a hard time being
consistent with using it. I’ve also invested some time into my guilty pleasure…
watching the show The Bachelor! I’m a real sucker for dating shows, and I made
the mistake of watching the first episode of this season, so now I’m hooked.
The website I’m currently addicted to: Pinterest. Check it out! It’s perfect for dreamers.
I head back to school tomorrow, and I’m excited for a change of pace yet
bummed to be putting my hobbies on hold for the sake of getting good grades and
getting really fit for this coming track season.
