N is for...

New Experiences.

N was originally going to be for New Zealand, and I mean seriously, what else could N possibly be for?  Except that I don't really have much to post about New Zealand that I haven't already.  Basically it would just be a reminiscing blog and I don't want to do that.  So I will, instead, focus on new experiences and anyone interest in reading about my time in NZ can check out this post or this one. 

New Experiences!  I love doing new things.  Even if they turn out to be pretty suck-y, new things just give a little kick to life.  I've had a lot of new experiences in the past year, going to NZ, traveling around NZ, traveling around cities, abseiling, almost skydiving, etc.  All of those experiences are great memories to have.  Even little things like going to the Pennsylvania Renaissance Fair last fall or the 2012 Northeast Conclave of The Wildlife Society this past weekend (the reason I posted three blogs at once) are great to mix up the daily grind.

Yes, days off are always important.  Give yourself some time to relax, sure, but make sure you get out, too.   There is so must to do, so much to see, and so much fun to be had!  Why would you ever pass it up to sit on your couch and watch reruns on TV?  There are plenty of activities out there, both that require money and ones that don't.  There are plenty of parks around, even stopping by a playground while school is in session and spending some time reliving your childhood is a great way to step out of the ordinary.  Teach yourself to knit or go to a photography workshop.  Like the picture says, try something new! 

A reoccurring theme in one of the books I'm currently reading is the John Lennon quote, "Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans."  Don't let life go on without you because believe me, it's entirely too short to begin with.

F if for...

Ferdinand.

Whoops!  Where did that come from?  Sadly my topic is not that of King Ferdinand circa 1492, but rather Ferdinand the Eucalyptus circa 2011.  Ferdinand is a tree.  A eucalyptus tree that my roommate and I made last October for the Homecoming Parade on campus.  The theme of Homecoming was Bright Lights, Big City, so Animal Science Society chose Sydney as their city.  We then had to make a float with the Sydney theme for the parade.  I was given the task of creating a tree.  Keep in mind I'm a poor college student.  Soooo the backbone was made of cardboard from cereal boxes and such, and then it was wrapped and stuffed with newspaper, painted brown, and had green 'leaves' stapled on it.

Want to Experience the Best Night of Your Life? Well Now You CAN!!

So I realized today that I used to do some pretty fun, entertaining blogs about random topics I come across in life.  I also realized I don't do that anymore!  The reason is probably along the lines of me always chronicling my day or some adventure I've had.  And let's face it, it's just not as fun.  Even I don't like reading about my own life that much.  So in honor of myself and in the spirit of the upcoming A to Z challenge, I will be attempting to do more blogs about topics rather than experiences.  That's not to say that I won't do any experiential blogs, because I certainly will, only that they won't rule the Hootenenny any more.

So, to embark in this new endeavor I will begin with the topic of lucid dreaming!  So let's start with a definition.  A lucid dream is a dream in which you know you are dreaming.  Ever had one of those?  In all of my outrageous dreams (you can view some here) I never really came across this situation.  That is until about a month ago.

I happened to be dreaming about drum corps, as you do, and as with most of my other drum corps dreams, I was on the field performing a show, with no idea what the work or the drill was.  And so I figured I would follow the form, there wasn't much work to spin anyways.  The only thing was, the rest of my drill form didn't remember the end of the show!  So we marched straight off the end of the field while the rest of the corps was performing.  And then the visual caption head came running over to us demanding to know what was wrong, and why weren't we on the field finishing the show?!  The only thing I could say was I don't know.  It was then that I knew I was dreaming.  And I almost told him in the dream, except I didn't want to sound crazy.  But really, what other reason would I forget all of the work for a show.  It only ever happens in my dreams!