bad dreams

I don't want to go to bed
'Cause all these voices in my head
Are clawing at me like a nightmare
Seems every time I close my eyes
I slowly start to realize
That these dreams will always be there

luxembourg - paris

A city of light
Doesn't seem right
At least not for someone like me
In darkness I hide
Holding my pride
And everything else setting free

Paris - Glasgow

Every place I go
Is fine for just a while
But there's one place I know
That's exactly my own style

I haven't been there often
But I always try my best
For it makes my heart soften
Faster than the rest

Every place I go
Is fine for just a while
But there's one place I know
That can always make me smile

I dream about it every night
Think about it through the day
Something about it just seems right
Oh how I long for a way

To stay forever
In my dreams
The land I love
Is far away it seems

How Quickly Daft Jumping Zebras Vex

A little smile is all I need
To get me through my day
No matter how bad it seems
It doesn't have to stay that way

I look around just breathe in
The world that's all around me
So much to see so much to do
So much that I could never be

Burden

どうしていつも　同じ問題がある
間違った時　思い出せない
それから　もっと危なくなる
一人だけ　忍びたい

この後を絶たない旅行
僕の放浪癖　エンドレスな夢
やめたいけど できないよ
永遠までの厄介はまた不明

I can't explain what it means to me
Only what it doesn't
I could only know what I meant to be
Even when I wasn't

History

Some people live for tomorrow
And some for yesterday
But I'm not the kind to ever
Look at things that way

The past defines who we were
Not who we are
And tomorrow is a dream away
So I'll keep on searching
For my star
Thinking only of today

Never look back
But remember the good things
It shouldn't be the bad times
For which the heart sings

"Pretty, Unique"

I was far away this morning
Thinking I'd never come back
But once again I find myself
Riding down this lonesome track

You can't stand to hear the things I say
Everything I do is always wrong
I'm not sure how I always manage
To stay with you so long

I swear I'm never coming back
Each time I head for that door
I try to find what it is I lack
But end up wanting so much more

You can't stand to hear the things I say
Everything I do is always wrong
I'm not sure how I always manage
To stay with you so long

I never know the right things
But I'll always try my best
I want to believe in my heart
And hope you can see the rest

You can't stand to hear the things I say
Everything I do is always wrong
I'm not sure how I always manage
To stay with you so long

InterCity Express

It came early spring had sprung
In comes Easter what has it brung
I could enquire but that's not my style
It came early so I'll sit for a while

Rolling backward toward a dream
It's funny how things always seem
To pull me away when I want to stay
I guess it's got to be that way

Moving on and on I see
That that's just how life is for me
Can't stay in one place for too long
I always sing a different song

Rolling backward toward a dream
It's funny how things always seem
To pull me away when I want to stay
I guess it's got to be that way

I'll never think I've seen too much
As place to place I always rush
But what I miss may be worth more
Than the wonders found on every shore

Rolling backward toward a dream
It's funny how things always seem
To pull me away when I want to stay
I guess it's got to be that way

Wien - Praha

It's been many years since I could
Ease my fears staring at the stars
Shed some tears wondering why
I'd lend my ears let someone else cry

On my shoulder while I kept mine
Dream of Boulder fading with time
As I grew older I never understood
Why people grew colder changing for good

So alone I'd wander looking for my star
Of travel growing fonder didn't matter how far
Sit and ponder lying on the grass

As my world falls apart around me

Switching tones
Switching sides
Changing moods
Changing minds

sonnet...sort of

"for my doctor"

each city that I visit
has a special song for me
and that's not shameful, is it
if music is all I see

the skylines stretching out
and churches made of stone
leave no shadow of a doubt
that I must walk alone

companions come and go
on this eternal earth
and few will ever know
the city of my birth

so my guide will be wanderlust
until my bones have turned to dust

when the rain comes, they run and hide their heads...

seventy degrees outside
yet in my room i still hide
it's beautiful today
but i won't go out of my way
a good time isn't worth it
so here alone i sit
lemonade and jaffa cakes
an unhealthy day makes

a limerick for st. patricks day

it is often my curse
that my thoughts are in verse
but i have found
if i write them down
they needn't come out so terse.

ventimiglia refrain

the waves envelop
draw me in
"come join us"
but I've thicker skin
I turn around
the mountains beckon
it's their song
that wins I'd reckon

A cheap-ass short term kitchen

One of the nicest things I've found here is the abundance of basic foodstuffs in glass jars. Now I know, they have glass jars back home, it's just usually reserved for the more expensive brands. Here all of my jam, nutella, mayo, coffee, and so on comes in glass, not plastic. This is good news in two ways: glass jars are less harmful to the environment, and glass jars make excellent reusable containers that I won't feel attached to at the end of my stay here and can then recycle. No need for tupperware, heck, some even make good tumblers for my juice. It's perfect. Good for me, good for the planet...
Now if only I can cut down on the junk food that keeps going in them (I'm looking at you, carton of crème anglaise...)

rhymes to annoy my sister

off the plane, signs say train
stick in my card, that's not too hard
victoria station, that'll be your location
then we get on the bus! go... us?

Living cheaply is harder when you don't have anything...

It's hard enough living and eating inexpensively when you have a full kitchen to make things in. Here in my dorm in France, I just have an electric range and a small refrigerator. I have only a frying pan to cook things in, and an electric kettle for boiling water (I drink a lot of tea). This however excludes the possibility of making certain things that are generally cheaper, such as noodles, since I don't have a sauce pan. So I've gotten creative with eggs and fried bread. Eggs with potatoes, tomatoes, onions, cheese, or any mixture of the above. Then there's grilled cheese, butter toast with jam or nutella, ham sandwiches, even french toast.
However, after my initial grocery run, things are slowly running out. I don't have money for anything else until I get my school refund, so I'm down to cheese and bread. I can get more bread relatively cheaply so I guess that's what I live on until then... *sigh*

Guys. The Grateful Dead played country music. Just saying.

I am not an activist. I just think I should make this as clear as possible. I do things for convenience, or because I like to. I don't try going around and changing other people's minds, because as far as I can tell it's a waste of time. No one listens, I don't have any sort of inspiring message to give, just hey, this is what I do.
That being said, I do try to make things better. Maybe I'm only doing it to make me feel better, but why should that bother me? Charity begins at home, so they say, and there isn't much else here. I'd rather have a happy conscience than a fat wallet, so if that means cutting out plastic stuff by buying slightly more expensive but greener things, that's good isn't it? Like twice as much on a stainless steel water bottle rather than getting a plastic one. Like buying a glass straw so I can stop using plastic ones. But how do I justify these to other people? Seems I simply say "oh, I hate the taste of plastic." Which is true, but how is that inspiring? Maybe : "I want this planet to exist for the rest of my life. Just mine though. I don't have/want any offspring, and no time lord has showed up to take me on a trip to the future or another planet. So as long as I'm stuck here it would be better if it doesn't all go to hell in a handbasket."

Hell yeah. Now THAT is inspiring.

absence makes something something

Making my life a little "greener" isn't always easy or convenient (just ask Kermit) but sometimes it actually can be.
While packing for my long séjour in France, an incident from my trip to Korea came to mind... Shampoo. Specifically exploding bottles of shampoo. You want to bring some because you don't know when you'll have a chance to buy any, but you can't put it in your carryon anymore because of the liquid rules and then who knows how safe it'll be in your checked luggage?
So I've found a solution. Shampoo bars. Like bars of soap, except for hair. They're a bit pricier, sure, but they are supposed to replace several bottles. Best of all, I can stick them in my carryon bag. Haven't tried it yet, since I figured I would use up my liquid stuff and save these for France. Hopefully it'll all work as promised, and if so, they may be a permanent replacement for the ridiculous amounts of plastic I waste on bottles of shampoo!
One step at a time. I'm going to try to make this trip as earth friendly as possible - it's the least I can do after all the earth's done for me!

it hits us all

it snowed
i took a walk
the river flowed
i heard it talk
please don't leave me
here alone
how you've loved me
how we've grown
together
piece by piece
forever
never cease
staring out the window
listening to the stream
gently falling wafting snow
shall in the sunrise gleam



Wish upon a snowflake
Can it feel my heart break?
Does it know how much I care?
Maybe it would be nice
If my heart were just ice
Reflecting the sun's cruel glare.

chotto dake, every day

I'm gradually becoming aware of just how much of an impact these little "greener" changes I've been making have. I started using my steel mug (only the lid is plastic) at coffee shops and for my tea. All the cups and plastic lids I avoid just make me smile a little - and I get a discount to boot. I've also been trying to use up all my teabags and switch back to looseleaf tea- just have to remember to bring paper bags or metal containers with when I buy it so it doesn't end up in plastic anyway! I have managed to bring paper bags for my bulk nuts and granola, which saves plastic but I have to remember to put it in something else when I get home. Maybe someday I'll be able to afford nice canvas sacks for that and my produce!
I've come up with a bold plan: it's hard for my to be as environmentally friendly as I'd like the way I live now, but in just two months I'll be on my own in France for a semester. I intend to use that time for an experiment: I'll try to cut out my plastic use as much as possible, reduce my impact. Expect to see plenty about that here starting in January!