All right, I've got nothing ...

Because my brain is teh fried with work, I can't possibly come up with intelligent things to blog about this week. So as a result, I leave you with some pictures of writer humor.

 

You know the following exchange has gone on in your head (Sure has in mine!).

 

Art in Words: Imagination

"Imagination is more important than knowledge"
--Albert Einstein


I almost just want to leave it at that. I don't really think I can say it more succintly than that. Memorizing every fact on the face of the planet will do you no good if you don't have the imagination to do something with it.

Sometimes I think we need help looking at the world in a less mundane, factual way. I have read that children see the world in a more symbolic sense before they reach age six.

Oh to be five again . . .

(Actually I think that's just proof I never grew up. People tell me things all the time and I want to shake them and scream "But what does it MEAN?" And never ask me to remember too many actual details --the color of the walls for example --but I can always remember how they made me feel and fill in details based on that-- pale, bright yellow. Happy but not to loud)

Staying young forever worked for Peter Pan but sometimes we need a little help nurtering our creative, metaphoric, abstract side. It's still there, it's just smothered in so much practical knowledge, survival instincts and the general cares of the world that we can forget to tap into it. Even when writing, something that should be all about creativity, we can get caught up in tecnique and word count and whether or not you will get done in time for the book to hit the stores before Christmas that we forget.

To listen to what our story is trying to say.

To be fearless.

To love our own work.

To give in to our inner child.

To imagine.

Dreams You Don't Tell People

I have a secret ....

SHH, don't tell anybody! But I've always harbored this foolish desire to be in a rock band and sing in front of a huge crowd. Just to see what it feels like. (And, of course, I want to sound awesome and look fabulous and have everyone screaming for me.)

This may be quite shocking for those who know me as the quiet, timid introvert that I usually am. Talking in front of a group, even a small one, fills my stomach with butterflies. The only place I'm even a tiny bit brave is with the written word.

I've never had a singing lesson, and the most practice I have with playing an instrument is Guitar Hero. But we all have these crazy dreams, right? We know we'll never get there, but we still have a tiny glimmer of hope that somehow we'll have our chance. These are the dreams you indulge while behind closed doors and deny having around others. Because we're serious people. Practical. Logical.

There's no real point to this post, to be honest. I just wanted to say that I'm a dreamer, and I hope that you're a dreamer too. These foolish desires fill us with hope. Make us feel young no matter how old we get.

So go ahead, put on a tutu and twirl around like you're in Swan Lake. Do a somersault on your bed and pretend you're an Olympic gymnast. It's okay, we all do it.

Dream on, my friends.

*This post was inspired by watching "Dirty Dancing" :)

Vacation Mode

I'm allllready in it.

Hubs and I are taking a little trip for our anniversary and I can't. wait. I love traveling, but we hardly ever get to go anywhere. And then when we do, we tend to go to the same places over and over again. I wish we could manage to leave the west coast for once, but alas, that's not to be anytime soon.

Still, I won't complain-- California is a beautiful state, and has a little bit of everything. This time, we're going somewhere new-- San Francisco-- as well as our old favorite haunts in Monterey and Big Sur.

I'm looking forward to clam chowder in sourdough bread bowls, sleeping right on the ocean, taking tours of kitschy places, camping under the redwoods, and driving down the gorgeous coast. It's strange how much I want to try something new, and yet, at the same time, I want to go with what I already know. Monterey and Big Sur are where my heart lives, I like to say. And it's true-- whenever the travel urge comes calling, my mind wants to visit those places first. So despite my desire to expand our travel horizons, it would have to be at the expense of a visit to my favorite place on earth.

Which of course leads to the conundrum of the fact that I might find a NEW favorite place on earth if only I'd go somewhere else.

Ah well. One step at a time! I will put on my fancy high heels just once during this trip to try something new, but then I'll slip right back into my old comfy shoes and relax somewhere that feels like a second home.

I still can't wait.

What's your travel style? Do you visit different locales or do you tend to gravitate toward the same spots? Have you ever had a clam chowder sourdough bread bowl in San Francisco, and if so, where is the best one?