Stumbling Block

wilwheaton:

seattlexwashington:

What he said.

Co-signed.

(via neil-gaiman)

Gotye - Save Me

Kind of addicted at the moment.  Liking the whole album, but this track has particular resonance.

Billy Bragg, Wilco and Natalie Merchant - Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key

crookedsheets:

usedtobe:

Beth/Rest (Solo Piano Version)-Bon Iver

Because everyone deserves a chance…

So, after one more performance tomorrow (and two essays that I am currently working on…slowly), I have basically completed my year at either the RSAMD or the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (basically depends on if I look at where I started or where I finished).  Here’s to all of you that have made this such an amazing year!

Olly Moss' "Paper Cuts"

Here is a blog with indivivual shots of each cutout.  Carmen Sandiego, the incarnations of Bond (took me a while to figure that one out), Rufio and  Vito Corleone are some of my favorites.  Still trying to figure out a bunch as well.

ollymoss:

My friend Craig Shimala put together this video about the show that is better than the actual show.

I would love to have seen this show.  The detail in some of the shadow cuts is just amazing.  A red tie for Peewee or doing Tobias’ one in blue instead of black are what make each one so interesting.  This and his minimalist movie posters are why I love Olly Moss

Fun at Thorpe Park….if it looks like we start out not swinging very hard, that is accurate.  I was lucky I didn’t fall off before I even got to the middle.  I won in the end, but Pamela fights dirty and was taking me down with her.

Many of us crucify ourselves between two thieves - regret for the past and fear of the future.

-Fulton Oursler

What Next?

I’ve been asking myself that a lot lately.  During the run-up to my thirtieth birthday, as my course flies by faster than I ever imagined, I’ve been grappling with these two words more than ever before.  Unfortunately, I am not sure I am anywhere near an answer - at least not the one I am looking for.  I have found a couple unexpected and helpful ones in the midst of all the searching, however.

I’ve never felt that I have been one to regret, but I do dwell and maybe the two concepts are close enough to be the same thing.  I play out “what if’s” and “why’s” like a pro.  I know I am the person I am and in the place I am because of the choices I made - good and bad - and I accept that fact.  It doesn’t stop me from wondering where I might have been had I not done something, what might have happened had I said something different. I don’t long to change the past, but am curious about alternate presents.  And these last few weeks have seen all new levels of that.

It’s not so much that I dreaded turning thirty.  People have asked me repeatedly over the last few weeks if I was looking forward to such a significant birthday, and honestly I felt very blasé about the whole affair.  I neither dreaded the end of my twenties nor was looking forward to my thirties.  It just was.  

Every time someone asked, however, I got to thinking about why I cared so little. It obviously wan’t because I accomplished everything I wanted to by this point - that’s just crazy.  That’s not to say that I haven’t done more than many my age and lived a full, varied and interesting life thus far - so I don’t feel cheated or as though I am missing anything either.  What I realized is that this lack of response is because I am not invested in me.  It’s not enough for me to be satisfied in who I am, I need to commit to this person and stop wondering about things I cannot change.  Dwelling just encourages floating aimlessly, avoiding connections.  It’s no wonder I can’t figure out where to go next.

The other realization that I came to is that I have never been in a better mental place than I have been these past several months.  I’m not sure if its the work I am doing, the place I am living, the people I am with or a combination of the three.  I am betting on the latter and can cite examples from each that have exceeded my wildest hopes, so now I need to figure out how to sustain that mix.  If I can answer that, maybe I can find an answer to those two simple words…