Still No Place Like Home

PA is great – People seem generally educated and pleasant to be around. There's a lot of cool stuff going on here, and it's absolutely beautiful. I can't get over the post-card like settings of farms and trees. The craftsmanship and overall high level of maintenance seems to stem from the Amish influence. Overall – great time! Also, it's great to see Jesse, Karlin, Owen, and Eli!!

NYC – Absolutely Nuts, in a nut shell. It was a lot better once I peed after holding it for over an hour in a traffic jam through the Lincoln tunnel, Times square, and wrong GPS directions. There was never a quiet moment, and it was exciting for a long weekend, but I think that's about all I could do. It was cool to see the uniqueness of all the neighborhoods, but I would get exhausted just existing.

DC – Also very cool. Much more beautiful than NYC. I loved seeing all the neighborhoods there too, and everything was impeccably well kept. It better be for the nation's capital. Maryland was also well kept but a lot more realistic. After I learned how to maneuver a round-about, I felt a lot better. Driving wasn't necessarily the death wish I made it out to be. I also enjoyed that people were fit and active. I don't think I could keep up with the DC political yuppie social scene. I am just not the type to go out every night, but it sure was fun for a while. I totally dug all of the restaurants and the fact that you could get any type of food imaginable. I liked that people seemed to have it together there. I'm a big fan of competency if you couldn't tell.

Baltimore – Woah…. This place is sketch town, and amazing. Like Sarah said, it changes from block to block. This place was definitely real life… maybe a little too much like an episode of cops. All of the neighborhoods were cool though, in terms of having unique quality. People did not put up a front there, which I liked. I guess it's a good compromise for being close to both the DC and NYC scene without being submerged in the chaos. Baltimore seems like a place that desperately needs some love. Competency is in question here but I guess it could feel nice to be toward the top of the mental food chain… as long as I don't get arrogant about it. It would be a good place to live for a short amount of time. I guess the same could be said about all these east coast destinations.

Not sure what else I will see on the east coast… the sun is in question right now.

There's still no place like home. I left being willing to plant if God called me somewhere else, but right now nothing has tripped my trigger enough to pack up the Uhaul just yet. Time to get back to exploring Pennsylvania!

 

 

Own Up

Through a random series of events on this trip, one theme has become overwhelmingly clear to me. Things are the least complicated when you just tell the truth. The whole truth. The first time. I don't understand why it's so hard, yet I know I am not always the first to do it. Help me with this. Call me on it. When layers upon layers are built on shaky ground, it's inevitably going to come crashing down. You're just going to have to explain yourself later. It's far more mentally exhausting to think about the erroneous foundation you have laid and build upon it without contradicting it. Who wants to go to bed mentally exhausted? I know I don't like spending all day walking around on eggshells crafting something into something it isn't. If you just say it right the first time, you're done. It's like ripping off a band-aid. When the whole situation is explained, it's really not that bad anyway. What is the appeal to skirting around the issue? Sure it's easier now, but in the long run it's a disaster. Even if the other person is totally on board with your story, the person doesn't know it's a lie, so they are going to fix the fake issue and the real issue is still out there. Wow… progress? Not really? Excuse my blunt demeanor, but it's a waste of time. It all comes back to integrity – being integrated. One story. One character. People will like you more if they can like the WHOLE you. You will like yourself better if you only have to think about ONE you. Then, you can really LIVE.

Insomnia

I feel like I could do anything, and I lay awake at night thinking about everything. Yikes!

I have seen God do so many cool things while up in Wisconsin that proves that if you just let God handle it, He will do a much better job. I don't why I can't do the same thing.

Where to live?? Close to church, close to work, in the middle… Do I even keep that job? I like it but I really can't get ahead in the position I am in right now. I want to be close to friends. Are they more my friend than I am theirs and is this all worth it? These are the stupid things I worry about that I shouldn't.

So far I have observed lots of cool places, but none of them feel as much like home as going back to The Rock. Am I taking too much control? I asked about 8 times if I need to move to Wisconsin and the answer was the same. It'd be great but it's not necessary and they are doing fine, which they are.

I am so excited to get back that I am forgetting that I am on this awesome trip now. Help me to tell my mind to shut up and just enjoy it.

Just about every night… maybe I need to lay off the coffee and lighten up.