So I'll just start by saying I've got 'Airplanes' by B.o.B (ft. Haley Williams of Paramore) and 'Do you wanna know?' by Alkaline Trio on repeat. I'm not going to lie to you, I'm bouncing my head like I'm the one recording the song right now.

I honestly wish I had more funny stuff to blog about these days. It's not that funny stuff isn't happening. I'm just not comfortable blogging about a lot of my weekend activities (I drink, Oh my!!) and my weekday activities are pretty routine. I also promised myself to not blog too much about flying/hotels and related activities because it's not as glamorous as it sounds. I remember as a child my dad would go on business trips every month or two months. Usually just 1-2 days, but occasionally he'd be gone a few weeks. I remember he was gone for 2 weeks once to go to Japan, and I thought it was the longest time ever. I couldn't believe someone could be gone for long. Of course, in my mind, I'm thinking about family vacations and how we would see shows, museums, and sites, and thinking my dad was doing all that. As I got older he explained to me about how it's not as great as it sounds. I remember saying, "Well you get out of work at 5pm, there's gotta be things to do, sites to see in the area. "

Now that I'm doing this travel thing every week, it's not the glorious experience I thought it would be. Don't get me wrong, I got a very unique experience to see India for 6 weeks through work and that was amazing. But I'm in Texas every week, and unfortunately, just like Chicago, downtown shuts down at 5pm. Geez, I couldn't even go to the Aquarium this week because it closes at 5pm.

To set the record straight, having points for flights and hotels isn't that cool either. If you don't have points, I want you to close your eyes, picture yourself at the airport, and think of the business men who cut you off in line, give you dirty looks for having a bottle of water, and board the plane first while you wait patiently. Now I want you to think of a word to describe those people. Do you have your word? Was it "douchebag?" Well that's how I would describe most of those people. So everybody, when you hear that I'm traveling non-stop, or if you have another friend who's going to start traveling, don't say, "Ohhh man! You are gonna get so many points! That's going to be awesome!" no. don't do that. By doing that you are encouraging your friend (and myself) to become the douches we don't want to be. The worst part is, now that I'm there, I don't want to go back to what I was. I've tasted the forbidden fruit, and there's no going back. I'm forever unclean, and will remain so.

Anyway, since I have so much time on my hands, I've been watching a lot of MTV. Tonight was "Life of Jenks" and lots of previews for "The Buried Life" The second show makes me wonder about what else I want to do in life. I know I mentioned this a little in my last blog, but I really believe in experiencing as much as I can. So, with a little thought, here is my quick To-Do list.

-Get a tattoo
-Travel alone (doing this in 4 weeks, so it shouldn't really be on the list)
-Sing alone at karaoke (I think alcohol will have to be involved)
-Create something I'm truly proud of*
-Really see something through another person's eyes.
-Get back (or at least close) to my weight freshman year of college

*I actually used to be quite the artist. Back in High School i always took art classes as my electives, and while it might upset my parents, I made a conscious decision my senior year of high school that since I was so busy I had to choose between 2 of 3 AP/Honor classes. I chose AP Art and Pre-Calc over AP Chemistry. I still tried in Chemistry, but the majority of my efforts were devoted to the other classes. I had to work very hard at Pre-Calc because it did not come easy to me, and also create 40 pieces of art to choose from in one year (most people accomplish this in two year, and also choose from other pieces in their portfolio) and then break down my works to describe what was happening in each. I actually remember that in my theme project (multiple painting tied together) I made paintings that depicted my life w/ a joker mask representing me. After the third one, my mom asked, "When will you do something besides those masks?" I was actually sick of doing them too, but I had to create at least 4. I know some of you might think, "how hard is it to draw 40 pictures?" it's hard. I'm actually fortunate I got to see both sides of college work spectrum. Cramming hours for a test to get a good grade, and staying up until 4am drawing alone in a drafty room trying to get the shading right for a piece.

Art was a huge part of my life when I was younger. I used to just sketch for the fun of it, and put my thoughts visually on paper. I never was great at creating my own designs (like cartoons, or fictional pieces) but I could always draw what I could see. When I got to college, I was very seriously considering art as a major before getting discouraged from it (from a guidance counselor no less).

The point is, and I know I'm rambling, that I never really had to try to make much of my art. That sounds bad, but if you've ever met someone who is naturally good at playing sports, or just naturally has a beautiful voice, that's kind of how I was with art. I know it sounds like I'm bragging, but please let me preface that I started at drawing stick figures of my friends and making my parents drop off these drawings at my friends houses. How my parents tolerated me sometimes, I will never know. They say that at 10,000 hours you become a master of something. I wouldn't say I've completed 10,000 hours of art, but I easily have accumulated 5,000 at least. I did so much art in a 3-4 year time span, I think I just burnt myself out. Maybe I lose some secret muse, or maybe I just got tired. There could be any of a multitude of reasons I stopped, but I've not made a complete pieces in years.

Anyway though, I can only really think of one piece that I really put my heart into. That piece is currently in a state of shambles because a combination of sunlight and shotty materials faded the paint. I can think of pieces that I'm proud of. Pieces that make me smile. Pieces that I honestly believe are more talented, detailed, and accomplished than some I've seen created by students in my former classes. But besides one piece that now lays in ruins that I'm trying to repair (I've not looked at it for months to be honest), I can't think of a single work that I'd be willing to trade my hands for because they won't create anything that comes close to it. Or a piece that I'd be willing to go into a fire for to save because it's that important to me. That's what I want to create.

Wait......did you hear that? I'm switching gears. Fantasy football is upon us. I'm tired so I'll blog more about it later. It's safe to say though that I do the following....

-Talk about my team like I'm a real GM. Examples:
- Boy I wish Aaron Rogers has a great game, I can really use his help.
- Can you believe {insert opposing player}?!?! He put up 40pts against me! What an asshole! I can't believe what a dick that person is. Completely ruined my week.
- Can you please {insert my own player}?!?!?! He put up 40 pts to save me! Ohhh man I love him. I drafted him in the 7th round, did I tell you that?

-Incessantly watch games on Sundays. Actually not even the games, I watch the stat-tracker on Yahoo!

-Stress over my lineups to make sure I get the optimal performance from my team(s).

Until we meet again world, I leave you with this,

"Now it's up to me to wait, I need you to reciprocate..."