Call It a Bucket List

I am becoming more and more convinced that daydreaming is a telling thing in regard to where we are at certain points in our lives. I would go further; on second though, I will- our imagination and this idea of “things hoped for” is hard wired in our DNA. We are hope-based, unrealistic creatures. I am okay with that, and not worried; I like it. The reason I make this incoherent and borderline absurd claim is that today I had a day that most college students have semi-regularly. I was ready to pack it up and take it to the house. I am weary from the semester. It has been an incredible one with a few really fine things happening to this fortunate soul, but school might be the end of me. I sat at a window of the J.D. Williams library (Yes, Doug Williams’ Flash Rave location. I know you all were wondering about that) and stared out the window because Bon Iver and Physics don’t go well together. Bon Iver and daydreaming do. My mind wanders all the time. I have a lot of ridiculous ideas that I will never have the balls to actually pursue. I am scatter brained and discontent; my mind wanders to places to that are far from what my life entails presently in the blessed place of Oxford, MS,- especially today.

If I would just man up and “honor my wild” (Carver Morgan I hope you are reading this. And hell no that is not a John Eldridge reference) these are the places that I would go not just in the future, but right now.

Welcome to my world

1. “Cowboy Up”

If I were half the man Peter Hurt is and had half the girls drooling in a line for me, I would be pretty content, I’d say. I would love to head to Colorado, work on a ranch. Maybe do some farming, maybe hog tie a goat or two (no, not a camper), or maybe just live out there and look like I did all the above. There is something refreshing, manly, and straight up American about working on a dude ranch and appropriately wearing denim and not showering twice a day. Yeah…I would love to be a cowboy/farmer.

2. “I’m on a Boat”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3iFovzaDzg

While the above experience with T-Pain would be comical, I was thinking of a more isolated setting. Virgin Islands, live off the water, have a tan to the point to wear my skin is like leather, do a deck a day, and be by myself. I would take a journal, a record player, some divinely inspired book that fundamentalists read, and probably my chacos. I think it would be awesome to sail solo and enjoy the peace and quiet of that part of the world for several months. I might just disappear.

3. “This is not Outback Steakhouse”

Can we at least all agree on something? I am not clever or witty or indie- all the above I wish I was. Glad we got that straight. I want to have an Australian accent, dreads would be cool for a few months, I would love a pet kangaroo, I would love to be able to throw a boomerang, and the Australian Outback is near the top of my bucket list. Yeah, Australia. I would head over to New Zealand and have my own version of “Where the Wild Things Are” and “Lord of the Rings”. I gave that a trial run this past summer and I think some people referred to it as Sumner Camp? I guess it’s just one of those things.

4. “Sigur Ros”

Top 3 most religious experiences of my life is sitting through and being captivated by Sigur Ros’ documentary “Heima”. It is unreal. I have never seen such, and it is worth every second you put into it. I want to go to Iceland. Maybe I just want to get away into the mountains. That is what it is sounding like. I love everything about every type and kind of transition….

5. “The Mountain”

The ‘Pine is the greatest place on earth. When I think of Heaven, I think of Little River running through a piece of property that has three neighborhoods nestled in it, and is overrun by mini me’s in the summertime. It was the best thing that has ever happened to me. I want to go back. I wanted to go back badly this afternoon. I want to go back right now. I need Old Row. I need the dangle do. I need cross fit. I need porch time. I need community. I need the Alpine political and social gossip. I need a challenge. I need to be humbled. I need Jesus.

Daydreaming is powerful. Hoping for things is refreshing. The imagination is one of the best things that our creator gave to us. Maybe there is a purpose in school- to bring these things to the forefront of our minds. Hebrews 11:1. Frat. Herbody. See you all on the other side.

vinyl tickles my fancy, music tickles my soul

Little ridges are the music. a needle bobs up and down, plodding methodically along the grooves like a desert man riding his camel. camels have humps like a record. they also have ears, like me, the listener.

As I sit here in my burgundy, second-hand armchair I contemplate the invention of this record-playing technology. who was the first to hone in on this method of recording sound? Wikipedia would tell me that Thomas Edison was the first man to develop a sound device that could record and playback the music. it was called the phonograph. he patented the mechanism in 1878.

A lightbulb just popped up above my head. Edison invented the light bulb. the light bulb above the head is also a common illustration of a blooming idea. the idea is this:

Edison may have invented the phonograph, but he did not invent the music.

Why are we as humans (I will speak for myself, why am I) so fascinated, drawn toward, moved by music? sound waves tickle the tiny hairs of our inner ears and we feel an emotion. what a profound experience.

The title of this little rumination addresses my bias: vinyl kicks digital music in the rear end, hard. not only do the notes seem that much crisper, but the music has life to it, as though the Fleet Foxes are actually performing inside my speakers; little people harmonizing inside a wooden box. all of these melodies fill my 8x6 dorm room with the force of a tsunami and a speeding bullet train multiplied together. ok I exaggerated a bit, the room is 8x7.

Regardless, music makes me happy. it makes me sad. the fact that sounds so intricately formed together make me do anything is remarkable. music is the sign of something bigger than man and his fundamental limitations. of this, I am convinced

Uggs, The Rain Boots, Sambas, and the Human Condition

I have two sisters. And a mom. And some goldfish which might be female but could be asexual. What I'm trying to say is, I've had a fair amount of exposure to the fashions and interests of woman-dom.

That being said, there are some aspects that I don't understand, some that I don't ever wish to understand, and some that I need help with.

One that falls under category number three is...well, actually two things: UGGS and neon rain boots. We'll dissect them in order.

1) Uggs-

Uggs are kind of like Barack Obama: one day, no one had ever heard of them, and the next day, they're literally everywhere you look. Let's take the analogy further. Barack Obama's approval ratings have recently fallen, and so have my approval ratings of UGGS. Irrelevant, moving on......

Growing up in greater white Memphis suburbia, Uggs converged on my private school bubble like they were the eleventh plague. "And God decided to punish Egypt (get it? Memphis is a city in Egypt? no? okay just work with me) one more time by sending leather and suede boots that cover half of the leg and can't be THAT comfortable to every trendy online shopping website imaginable."

I feel like the Ugg phenomenon is a deeper issue...It might even be able to explain the human condition. Because here's the thing: You can't tell me that the utility value of Uggs (warmth, durability, etc.) is the reason they're so popular. You also can't tell me they look good. So, why do people wear them? The most common response is "They're SO comfortable, Jordan. I swear." To which I think: It would be really comfortable for me to make my pillows into shoes and walk around all day, but I don't...I have questions and I have hunches but I have no answers.

2) Rain boots

Today, and yesterday, it rained all day at Wake Forest. The umbrellas and North Face jackets were out in number, and so were the rain boots. You might be asking, "Jordan, what rain boots?" To which my response would be "THE rain boots". I don't know who makes these boots; maybe there is cool brand and not-so-cool brand and "Oh my gosh I've never even seen that brand but she's the only girl in class who's not wearing cool brand"-brand. Once again, I plead ignorance here.

But i do know this, the boots as far as I'm concerned come in two colors: loud lime green and not-so-pretty pink. I also believe the boots are a female cultural/fashion phenomenon. They might have more utility than Uggs, but they don't look any better...And they are taking my college by storm (pun intended).

Today, one of my suitmates made the following statement: "The rain boots" are literally the reason I hate it when it rains. I'm not going that far; I'm just raising a question.

I have a hypothesis, and it's probably politically incorrect. But I will state it nonetheless.

One day, some girl, somewhere, just decided that rain boots were cool and in fashion. She's a popular girl; people like her. Girl goes and buys rain boots, wears them to class the next day. The girls in her class see the boots and after thinking initially, "Those are kind of ugly and maybe a little obnox (abbreves)", she realizes it's cool girl that's wearing the boots.

Class ends. "Cool girl WHERE did you get those boots? LOVE them." "I got them at so-and-so store...aren't they uber-cute?" (Question: do they even know what uber means? Category: things I don't wish to understand. Back to the conversation, if you're still out there...)

"Yeah, girl. Totally love them" At this point, second coolest girl's afternoon agenda becomes "Get boots before next rainy day. Check forecast to see when next rainy day is. Next rainy day is tomorrow. Get boots tonight.)

She gets the boots, coolest girl is a little peeved but then kind of likes the fact that she's the trend-setter, trend is set, and the rest is history. Third-coolest girl gets boots, 4th coolest, yada. Off brands come out, off brands of that off brand come out, and they all look the same to casual observers like myself.

That's my hypothesis. I'm not trying to be anti-feminist; this article could have been written on Wallabies, or loud trucks, or Sambas--the Adidas indoor soccer shoes (I didn't play indoor soccer) that I seemingly couldn't live without in the 5th grade because all the cool guys had them.

I said the answers to my question might be able to point towards the human condition. We have an identity crisis, and we all want to fit in. It's that simple.

But there's something else that's pretty simple...Uggs just don't look that good.

Maybe I'll never understand.