(image via Flickr)

We have been staying with our friend in Santa Monica for the past 10 days. Now, we are moving over to the Eastside of LA in Silver Lake. This whole city is new and exciting for us. So far, I am loving the weather/sunshine and being around some old and new friends.

Can’t wait to see where all of this leads…

In the mean time, I just watched this movie which left a lasting impression.

If you are in Austin for SXSW, check out the Monster Rally shows.

I think this is hilarious!

I saw this artist on the Colbert Report and I am still not sure how I feel about consumer art. What about you?

I read this story in the New York Times about a writer who lost his mother and all that happened in-between.

Happy Friday!

(Image found via Pinterest)

(image via here)

A few months ago I got a new wireless router; it came with a pre-set network name and password.   The network name was something boring but the password was set as: blackunicorn314.

I take so much pleasure in imagining the NetGear worker who chose my password to be blackunicorn314.  I mean, who is this guy?!  Anyway, I’ve wanted to mention this here for some time but resisted the urge to save it for today.  Pi Day.  Just to make it that much more…that.  Cheers.

I had no idea
what we were
trying to
do.

I think we were
just celebrating
being
alive.

-Bukowsi

*

After a week of road tripping and highs and lows I definitely have some more notes to add to my noteworthy posts.

– Never expect the worst

– If you approach people with openness and kindness, it is kind of hard for them not to return the favor.

– The Western part of the country starting from Denver on is fantastic.

– If you break down, don’t breakdown 😉

– I am lucky to have so much support in my life.

I met a stranger the other day who has a deep passion for elephants. We talked about all of our own experiences with elephants and how special and unique they were to us. She was obsessed. She wanted to know every detail about every elephant I have ever seen. She even told me that when she was little, she researched how much it would cost to have an elephant and tried to convince her parents to buy her one every year.

A day or so later, I came across this PBS program about Echo the Elephant. Echo lived for 65 years and recently died. She was the matriarch to a family of 34 elephants. Researchers believe this particular elephant to be special. She was full of patience, love and wisdom. How can you atribute these characteristics to an elephant you ask? Just watch this documentary and you too will find yourself in love with the species.

Starburst via Friends With You

In the end, only three things matter: how much you loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you.

I’ve been thinking about how fast the lessons from our great adventure faded. Every once and a while, I want to go back to the feeling of it all. I wrote this the night before we left for New York after 6 months of traveling. I am so glad I did, even though it might seem intense, these are my truths from the whole experience:

I’ve literally been around the world.

I have starved. I have been excessive.

I have been snobbish. I have been humbled.

I have been obsessed with the news. I have had to ban myself from the news. 

I have been ashamed of my country and embarrassed to be an American. 

I have felt pride in my home and dread to return to it. I have been miles from war zones, genocides, terror and imprisonment.

I have spent weeks meditating and hours watching tv in languages I do not know.

I have read books that made me cry, laugh, nauseous, yearn and lust.

I have been haunted and I have been completely exposed.

I have embellished and I have omitted.

I have faced my fears and I have gained more.

I have never slept worse and never slept better.

I have sobbed when saying goodbye to a stranger I met 30 minutes earlier and I have said hello to my family with serenity.

I have learned grace and I have learned age.

I have faced my truths and i have lied to myself.

I have brooded in tragedies and ignored the ones at the tables next to me.

I have been so alone and I have been so comforted.

I have had strangers weep their life stories to me within minutes of meeting. I have been cold to perfect strangers for no reason.

I have been jealous of others and I have flaunted.

My heart has pounded through my chest and at times. I have never felt so calm.

I have held on and I have let go.

I have been stubborn, childish, foolish and insecure.

I have been strong, mature, wise and proud.

At times I feel suffocated by the unbearable weight of the world and its complexities.

There are moments when I feel the answers are so simple.

I have felt sick, surprised, moved and annoyed.

I have had moments that I will cherish for as long as I live.

(image via here)

Earlier today I came across this video of a three-year old impeccably reciting “Litany” by Billy Collins. Besides just being impressive, it reminded me how much more powerful poetry is when it is spoken aloud. So instead of posting the poem for you to read, I decided to record it for you to listen to.  You can also watch Billy Collins speak about and read “Litany” here.

Pulling an Osho tarot card has been somewhat of an ongoing joke between Lauren and me as it used to be our mom’s suggested solution to any problem. Somehow, however, we have both slowly incorporated it into our lives.

If you are into it, just go to the Osho site and pick a card. For what it is worth, this is the one I picked this morning.

Commentary:

When the fruit is ripe, it drops from the tree by itself. One moment it hangs by a thread from the branches of the tree, bursting with juice. The next moment it falls–not because it has been forced to fall, or has made the effort to jump, but because the tree has recognized its ripeness and simply let it go. When this card appears in a reading it indicates that you are ready to share your inner riches, your ‘juice’. All you need to do is relax right where you are, and be willing for it to happen. This sharing of yourself, this expression of your creativity, can come in many ways–in your work, your relationships, your everyday life experiences. No special preparation or effort on your part is required. It is simply the right time.

(Quotes and image found here)