Happy 4th of July!
Happy 4th of July! I hope everyone had a nice holiday. I just kind of bummed around because it was pretty dreary today, until it was time to go to Kennywood to play in the East Winds Symphonic Band concert. It's really good to have a band concert be part of my holiday again, and it's funny how this band reminds me so much of Lititz Community Band... I mean, it's not all that surprising that they both play the Sousa marches and the patriotic stuff and the show tunes medleys, but little things like lame jokes and being smashed on a small stage on the 4th of July.
And I can finally say that I've been to Kennywood, although I didn't go on any rides because it was crowded and I was lugging around this huge alto clarinet, hah. And I got totally lost because I followed someone from the band in and THEN got a map, and nothing on the map looked *anything* like what I was looking at. Boo. Further proof that my navigation-by-instinct method that serves me so well in the city *surprisingly* doesn't work in unfamiliar areas, much like I discovered in London. Segue to a mention of London being an especially high point this year (thank you Laura!!!)
Yeah, this year there were a lot of ups and downs. Reading over my past introspective 4th of July entries (see memories here, they're all friends only now though so nyah nyah if you're not on my friends list), last year I just wanted everything to be settled so badly that I settled for a few of the wrong things. I guess I thought everything would be smooth sailing after I did that, but people never stop changing, and especially not me. I'm currently in the process of trying to make decisions because they're healthy for *me*, not anyone else or society or what's easiest.
Politically, I've discovered that I think local politics is the place for me. It's not as frustrating-- *I personally* helped Patrick Dowd win a city council seat (it was only by 80some votes, so each one of us volunteers was absolutely integral). And I've kind of lost hope at this point that anyone will really be held accountable for anything at the national level even though a large majority of the general public thinks what the administration is doing is wrong. But we can build a progressive enclave here in Pittsburgh, or at the very least a less corrupt and worthless one (I'm probably going to vote for DeSantis, the Republican, for mayor because he actually sounds like he knows how to run a city unlike Mr. Tiger-Woods-Fanboy Ravenstahl).
So yeah, I'm in a good place this year, and I think it's setting me up to be in a good place for a long time. I don't feel like I have a comfort zone like I did last year, and I don't feel transient like I did in 2005. Instead, I know I am standing on my own two feet and I have a direction that *I* want for *my* life. I don't know precisely where that direction will be going by this time next year, but I know it'll be someplace I want to go, because if I try a path that isn't, I'll try another one. And maybe that's what life is all about :D
Happy 4th of July!
And I can finally say that I've been to Kennywood, although I didn't go on any rides because it was crowded and I was lugging around this huge alto clarinet, hah. And I got totally lost because I followed someone from the band in and THEN got a map, and nothing on the map looked *anything* like what I was looking at. Boo. Further proof that my navigation-by-instinct method that serves me so well in the city *surprisingly* doesn't work in unfamiliar areas, much like I discovered in London. Segue to a mention of London being an especially high point this year (thank you Laura!!!)
Yeah, this year there were a lot of ups and downs. Reading over my past introspective 4th of July entries (see memories here, they're all friends only now though so nyah nyah if you're not on my friends list), last year I just wanted everything to be settled so badly that I settled for a few of the wrong things. I guess I thought everything would be smooth sailing after I did that, but people never stop changing, and especially not me. I'm currently in the process of trying to make decisions because they're healthy for *me*, not anyone else or society or what's easiest.
Politically, I've discovered that I think local politics is the place for me. It's not as frustrating-- *I personally* helped Patrick Dowd win a city council seat (it was only by 80some votes, so each one of us volunteers was absolutely integral). And I've kind of lost hope at this point that anyone will really be held accountable for anything at the national level even though a large majority of the general public thinks what the administration is doing is wrong. But we can build a progressive enclave here in Pittsburgh, or at the very least a less corrupt and worthless one (I'm probably going to vote for DeSantis, the Republican, for mayor because he actually sounds like he knows how to run a city unlike Mr. Tiger-Woods-Fanboy Ravenstahl).
So yeah, I'm in a good place this year, and I think it's setting me up to be in a good place for a long time. I don't feel like I have a comfort zone like I did last year, and I don't feel transient like I did in 2005. Instead, I know I am standing on my own two feet and I have a direction that *I* want for *my* life. I don't know precisely where that direction will be going by this time next year, but I know it'll be someplace I want to go, because if I try a path that isn't, I'll try another one. And maybe that's what life is all about :D
Happy 4th of July!