" a half-year gone "

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you're gone; the first half of this year. bye bye and adieu.

i'll never see you again, unless in photographs and memory. i'll think of you most fondly, and focus on those, our fleeting beautiful moments.

you were cold to the touch earlier this year, with your fierce snowy entrance and your piercing embrace. it was a long period, but i'm glad we got through it.

you warmed up to me, and we made it through. optimism overwhelms my entire being, and while i look forward eagerly to the many adventures ahead, i will not forget our time together.

it was a time.

it most definitely was a time.

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mai 30:


mai 31:


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" who knows what goes on between these four walls? "

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i just spent about 8 minutes in my kitchen threading this oversized rubber band-type thing into the lid of a chinatown tupperware, before thinking to myself,"what the hell are you doing...who cares about this crappy lid?"

but as always, after finishing the menial slightly frustrating task, i felt an immense sense of self-satisfaction. i looked at it for a moment, proud and calm, then fitted it back on the box portion of the tupperware and placed it back into the refrigerator.

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" the neverending story is rad "

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how many people will know you in this lifetime?

how many times will you hug someone and mean it?

how can you sleep knowing that someone you love is out there alone?

how will you say hello tomorrow?

how different is your inner Self than your outer Self?

how will you love?

how will you hold?

how will you live your life?

how how how how how?

how will you know what the right thing to do is, at the right time?

how will i find you when you need me most?

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mai 26:


mai 27:


mai 28:


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" sunnier days "

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you can never take it back.
you can never move forward.

you can always call me anytime.
you can always tell it's store-bought.

you can come with me if you want to.
you can stay home if you feel like it.

you can miss me forever if you need to.
you can stand alone with a shawl in a ditch.

you can leap.
you can soar.

you can dream.
you can kiss this.

you can go on a bike ride with me if you'll stop lying.
you can lay with me, no harm in trying.

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" blithely walking into it "

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nothing short of amazing. this is the category of the immediate present, and the ever-looming future times.

nothing short of spectacular, of optimism, of presence and grace and eloquence and love and desires, and all things that are good.

yesterday was perhaps one of the most beautiful rewarding days of the spring yet. delightful weather + farmer's market wanderings. post-hipster parents with puppies and babies searching through the stalls for fresh-baked loaves of grain breads, fresh strawberries, leafy greens, waxy vegetables, and artisinal cheeses.

went with an old friend, met up with a new one, and invited a passerby old neighbor over; never again the familiar stranger. you never know how rewarding just listening to someone is, until you see how alike and complex we all are in our thoughts, actions, wants, and heartaches.

we want to be held, we want to be strong, we want magic and mystery and challenges and romance. we want quality and substance. we should demand this from everyone that we choose freely to be in the company of.'we are all in this together,' is a term that comes to mind.

we talked, lounged in the grasses in the shade of a tree, while kites floated above and whispers of poetry murmured about below. it was a beautiful day, and times were had.

tonight's homework:

think hard about what things you want in your life; think about what energies you want to hold within and around you, people you want to interact and fumble around with, foods to consume and sustain you. think about all of these things, and then completely and honestly implement those qualities into your life with no compromise. homework for life.

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mai 20:


mai 21:


mai 22:


mai 23:


mai 24:


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" dead air "

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sometimes there are no words left to describe the state of your being.

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mai 16:


mai 17:



mai 18:


mai 19:


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" oh brave new world "

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there is so much to be said about the need to travel the world. to see the people who live in other places, and to have the opportunity to not only observe, but interact and reflect.

for my young years, i've had great opportunities to see a lot of the world, to live in at least one other country, and because of my love of different cultures, by default become an amateur foodie (at least the love of eating part, sans snobbery).

get thee to the wide world then! there are a great many wondrous things to see and do yet.

as promised, here are the daily photos from the second half of my travels.

tonight's homework:

make a short list of places you are interested in traveling to. for exploration, for culture, for outdoors activities, for leisure, for pleasure, for life, for love, for just because. make that list, and then seek out the how, when, and where of it. maybe i'll meet you there.

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avril 16:


morning mist forms and looms, clutching against the distant mountains along the train route between the northern city of lecco and the fashion capital of milan, lecco(near lake como/lombardi region) to milano-milan

avril 17:


an older couple look on as the red M1 red line stops at the loreto station, milano-milan

avril 18:


million dollar yachts line the harbor in the south of france along the mediterranean, cannes

avril 19:


one of the shops lining the 'cours saleya' flower market in the old city part of nice; the sign reads "south-east fish store," nice-ville

avril 20:


coins of offerings laid upon point zero, better known as the "belly-button" of paris, which rests in front of the notre dame cathedral, paris

avril 21:


onlookers and forever mourners flock to the grave-site of jim morrison at the cimetière du père lachaise, paris

avril 22:


a view towards the plaça d'espanya from the steps of the national museum of the art of catalunya, parc de montjuïc-barcelona

avril 23:


a couple sits along the backside of the maremagnum (a mall) located in the port vell (old port) area, barcelona

avril 24:


ice particles form a crystalline structure on the outer window of a swiss airline airplane, en routefrom geneva, switzerland to NYC

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" spring pollen is a cock "

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it's too breezy to just let the window open, yet it must be done as i have a small room. pollens and springtime floaties make their way into my mouth and eyes, into my nostrils and down my throat.

the eyes water, the throat dries and rasps. the head feels as if inside a vice and the sinus pinches. the neck and how tight is is. the respiratory system and how failed it becomes.

springtime is so pretty, but it has made me lesser than, albeit in one of the more beautiful displays of nature.

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mai 14:


mai 15:


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" the most beautiful blur "

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can't do more than i can.
can't please more than i please.

can't be less hurt when i am.
can't help but to release.

can't run.
can't fight.

when you're wrong.
and when you're right.

and when it's all over,
what will we have
left to say?

---

mai 11:


mai 12:


mai 13:


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" the new sunrise "

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yesterday i started drinking socially at around 3pm in the coney island area. there was a lot of walking, an art show in lower manhattan replete with wine and bodies, a subterranean dance club/bar, and long adventurous meandering around the lower east side.

i ended up finishing my "night" at around 6:45am this morning with the last sip of my out-of-town roommate's young's chocolate stout on the roof of my building, the newly born sun rising through a thin clutch of egg-shaped clouds; they held a radiant deep red-orange tone throughout the length of its pliant long bodies.

nothing horrible happened, i wasn't hungover terribly, and i never felt sad or uncomfortable (aside from the club part with so too many dudes and me with my over-sized camera-filled bag in the way).

i spent the day in prospect park taking photos and eating veggie burgers and laughing with friends.

this weekend has tottered along fairly amazingly.

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mai 09:


mai 10:


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" the light through the trees "

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there's nothing wrong with looking through the trees. nothing wrong with being optimistic. nothing wrong with sleeping late, getting up early, rampaging the city amidst a rainstorm, then repeating.

there's nothing wrong with loving science fiction. nothing wrong with loving travel (or time travel), and walking and bike lanes and sweets. nothing wrong with loving.

there's nothing wrong with hugs between friends and familiar strangers. nothing wrong with drinking 4-5 mcsorley beers in rapidfire succession. nothing wrong with singing to yourself out loud or daydreaming.

there's nothing wrong with handmade planners and making checklists. nothing wrong with indulging in meticulous crafts. nothing wrong with hobbies or passion, or wishing for beautiful things to happen.

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mai 06:


mai 07:


mai 08:


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" temporary shelf-life "

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you never know what is going to happen in the future, near or far, so it's always best to treat every moment as if it's the final one.

things shift and change. people fall in and out of favor. your food tastes develop. your sense of musical wants differ and wane with time. nothing is permanent, and it has always been this way.

so what then can you do with the innate immediacy of the now?

you love to the best of your ability; take care your hearts and others. you revel in the songs which fuel your motivation; accept nothing but those tunes which touch you all over your insides in that awesome way.

you exercise or not. you eat that piece of chocolate or not. you indulge, you ravage, you entice and respond with fervor, or you remain silent.

it's not ultimately up to us when the future turns the present into the past, but you can always attempt to maintain a level of quality to your everyday which will solidify a sense of fulfillment. it's not about control, rather directing elements of chaos into desired outcomes.

no matter how it all turns out, at least you'll have given it your best shot.

your best shot.

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avril 25:


avril 26:


avril 27:


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mai 03:


mai 04:


mai 05:


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" the world is growing smaller and smaller "

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now that i'm back in the states, now that i'm behind in my posts and photos, now that the weather had both turned for the better then the wetter, now that all my daytime is spent editing photos from this last trip and night times spent dreaming of travel...


here are some glimpses of the first half, in order of days of travel, into the images which haunt of my every moment since returning.

tonight's homework:

finish that first project you've been working on, while keeping the other 12 projects juggled and pseudo-organized in the middle-back of your mind.

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avril 07:


killing time at the washington/dulles airport during a fidgety 6-hour layover, washington d.c.

avril 08:


an outercity metro station at night, roma-rome

avril 09:


a roman manhole cover littered with springtime blossoms, roma-rome

avril 10:


a holy spade, brickpiece, and hammer displayed at the musei vaticani, vatican city

avril 11:


a child looks out at the campo dei miracoli, cattedrale di santa maria assunta & torre di pisa from the upper level of the battistero at the opera dellaprimaziale pisana, pisa

avril 12:


a downwardly look down at the gulf of la spezia (an arm of the ligurian sea in the mediterranean) along 'lover's lane,' a cliffside trail which connects the villages of manorola with riomaggiore, cinque terre

avril 13:


a japanese tourist takes in the breathtaking 360° view of firenze's iconic red-tiled rooftops from atop the duomo, firenze-florence

avril 14:


my mom and i take a moment to document the actuality of our existence in a different place on the planet together, even if only in a reflection, venezia-venice

avril 15:


a man relaxes in the park while the tulips bloom in the foreground, in the city made famous by the fictitious star-crossed lovers romeo & juliet, verona

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