Here vs. Then

Honolulu is much prettier than Lansing. A bicycle is less fun than a car, but living down the street from my girlfriend is better than living 80 miles from my girlfriend. Cooking fries at Chili's is only slightly worse than washing dishes at Jimmy's, and living alone in a small apartment isn't much different from living alone in a bigger apartment. In summary, I conclude that Here beats Then like apples beat oranges: you're not supposed to compare them, but I prefer the one I'm eating.

I miss my family and friends. My little brother is at Hillsdale College now, as I'm knocking Michigan's dust from my heels; my friends are getting married and having babies, graduating from college, and embarking on their lives. I am living an adventure in exotic lands with a beautiful woman, but oftentimes I just feel like an exile. Perhaps I am suffering from a deficeit of socialization.

More likely I am suffering from a lack of funds ... it'd be great if I could just fly home and visit. It'd be great if I could afford transportation to go places on the island beyond my neighborhood. I like mountains a lot, and I can see some from my street, but I can't really get to them. I'm not sure what I want to do with them. I can't put them in my pocket, or eat them. I just feel I want to be amongst them, and atop of them, overlooking the city and the ocean, and then I think I want to draw or paint or musicate.

I've been writing for several months. Not a novel or a play, but a story. A setting. Theories and philosophies and questions have flowed thru my pen incessantly, under the title "Lost Ground". My writing has slowed to a trickle in recent weeks, so I think it's time to return to the visual arts. What I'm struggling with is subject matter; I prefer to draw from actual source, rather than imagination or other reference (like paintings or photographs), but without transportation it's very difficult for me to get to any such "source" to regularly spend time honing my skills. Why is life such a struggle for me? Have no fear, however; I shall prevail, and when I resume graphic productivity, the fruits of my labor will be available for your enjoyment on the internets.

Until then, Happy Holidays! Hopefully I'm totally off base and Obama isn't the Antichrist after all.