shakori hills in th esky with diamonds

this photo from the movie Big Fish pretty much sums up where i spent the weekend. it was a three day music festival in chatham county, west virginia full of beautiful blue grass music – fiddles, mandolins, capture the flag, drum circles, homemade rootbeer, hulahoops, sweet sweet music, tents, peace paths through the woods, ticks, black cherry icecream and good company.

every once in a while i have to get out of the city. i have to sit in a car and roll down the windows, listen to stairway to heaven sing at the top of my lungs and watch the sunset over my city in the background. i feel open and new, refreshed and reminded as to why we’re all here, what we’re all looking for and how we connect. it’s about art, beauty and light. connecting to nature and eachother, using dance and our bodies and words to express ourselves sometimes well, sometimes not as well.

i had a specific thought this weekend, about taking charge of my life and making it what i want. there’s so much to do out there. so much to see and experience. i feel sometimes as though i am half-living. seeing these things and meeting this people…but more often not seeing these things and not meeting these people. i am ready to jump in feet first. to see my life as it is, and to see my life as i want it to be, and to combine those two. fear is real and powerful, but i want to live my own life and dreams – not my parents or the dreams that i believe i should want to be a part of.

oh, and i want to learn the violin

beautiful, rainy day. i dont know what it is about rainy days, but i love them. in fact, if i do not wake up on the day of my wedding and see a few clouds and some raindrops i will be a bit disappointed.

spain motivation

i need a bit of inspiration. im applying for an english-teaching program in spain for next year. the deadline is this wednesday – ive still got quite a bit of work left to do including writing a “letter of motivation.” instead, of course, im sitting here blogging about the anxiety of it all. the question im supposed to answer is why i want this position. the true answer is that i dont really know. all i know, is that the moment i left spain i knew i had to go back. i never felt so alive, so full of possibility as i did there. and i dont necessarily think that it was particular to the place. i think the important piece was being on my own, away from the expectations and cultural limitations of the united states.here, there is one path that i have grown up seeing – college, job, house, marriage, kids, better job, bigger house,etc etc. i cant imagine anything less appealing and my skin crawls as i feel myself going down that path. when i was away from here though, i felt opened up, completely free. i felt as if i could do anything or nothing and it would not matter, would not be judged because everyone else was trying to figure it all out with me. 

so i feel i have to go again. im getting stuck, glued into my life and expectations. i dont want this job because i am so passionate about teaching or sharing my culture. i am passionate about escaping it.

By now most of us know that global warming is a real issue, plastic bags are filling up our landfills and backyards, and natural resources are declining as the human population continues to grow.

At this year’s The BIGGEST Picture environmental film festival in May, we hope to take your knowledge a few steps farther.  Through TEN hand-picked movies, powerful speakers and original music we hope to share new information about: carbon emissions, better transportation alternatives, the availability of clean, fresh water and how to create better future for ourselves and our children.

stay tuned as our festival blogger writes about all things green in the weeks leading up to the festival. We’ll post interviews with festival guests, previews of films, and stories about everything from our musicians, to our talented speakers and staff.

By now most of us know that global warming is a real issue, plastic bags are filling up our landfills and backyards, and natural resources are declining as the human population continues to grow.

At this year’s The BIGGEST Picture environmental film festival in May, we hope to take your knowledge a few steps farther.  Through TEN hand-picked movies, powerful speakers and original music we hope to share new information about: carbon emissions, better transportation alternatives, the availability of clean, fresh water and how to create better future for ourselves and our children.

stay tuned as our festival blogger writes about all things green in the weeks leading up to the festival. We’ll post interviews with festival guests, previews of films, and stories about everything from our musicians, to our talented speakers and staff.

favorites

in no particular order:

rushmore

princess bride

i heart huckabees

the karate kid

skiing (what i like to call, gathering a collection of bruises)

so as it turns out, snowboarding is just as hard as it looks. after 45 minutes, 368 falls, tears, and three tailbone bashings that each had my life flashing before my eyes, allie and i finally made it down ONE hill to where we could relax (numb ourselves) with a newcastle. i promptly switched to skiing. 

other ski moments:

memory, commercials, jesse & shawn’s GREAT idea (involves peppermint alcohol plus mint gum YIKES), one broken wrist, birthday cupcake-cake, multiple cases of beast (still, really?), my first ski-jump!, fearless meredith and spending moments the best friends a person could ask for. 

al, meredith, sass and myself – up REALLY high

life of the party, as per ususal

every week like it’s birth week

i must say, 24 came and went much more smoothly than i had anticipated. in general, i meet each passing year with a slight sense of dread, of life moving too quickly and memories slipping away. but i just didnt feel that this time. maybe it’s because the past year and few months have been sadder and more painful for me than other years. im ready for them to be behind me, and i’m excited for the question marks that this year of my life is sure to bring. big question marks. the newness is scary, the openness is exhilarating. 

also onthe plus, i spent birthweek watching this AMAZING performer, with some blacksburg and richmond folks that make me laugh so hard it makes my sides hurt. and who knew, “a nervous tick motion of the head to the left” is a description of andrew bird himself and his body when he performs. violin, whistling, incredible talent! 

and the lovely master tolson and kip (legend in his own mind right)

take a picture of the BELLY!

went to dc this weekend (photos to come via slick-vic valenzuela) and had an amazing time – battling the wind, laughing over coffee with old friends, taking funny pictures ofour  shadows and various ridiculousness in front of all the monuments. also a mysterious event where we were flanked while photoing at the reflecting pool by a group of 10+ young dudes in dark suits. they came up from both sides in formation, completely still and silent and then moved in rows of two past us. naturally, we doubledog dared eachother to weave in and out of their perfect rows, rollarskate-style and yelling obscenities, but alas, ended up pretending we were harriet the spy and following them briefly (and obviously). the mystery remains!

last night, i got to partake a pre-birthday fiesta with the fam and friends at my parents in good ole mechanicsville. little ricky and hannah mae made it all worth it. especially in the following picture with hannah screaming in the back “take a picture of the belly, jenna!”

pretty music art

“i want to be thoroughly used up when i die” – what a brilliant quote from three cups of tea. and a perfect way to live. dont hold anything back, dont shy away from anything uncomfortable, dont choose silence when you could have spoken up and said what you thought/felt (ahh one of my struggles) dont forget to laugh and cry with equal passion and feeling.

and most importantly, savor every uniquely beautiful second