A mild obsession

I have a mild obsession with National Public Radio. I know what you are thinking. "Oh you're one of those people." No I, most certainly, am not! I just like learning about the world around me. And the world not-so-much around me. I find this happens a lot when I listen to NPR. Okay? If I send you a link about a program or a story from NPR that reminded me of you, it is basically my way of saying "I love you. Want to learn with me?" So click on that link and come learn with me!

These were happy times.

I may or may not have a crush on this man.

Below is a list of some of my favorite radio shows, and NPR blogs for your enjoyment. These sorts of things are particularly nice if you sit at boring desk job all day and crave a little more humanity in your life.

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/

http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/

http://radiowest.kuer.org/

http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/

Homie Mo

Me: Let's go to Ikea while we are down here.
Monika: I've never been to Ikea.What is so special about it?
Me: Really? I guess people just like that things are so cheap there. The last time I went I took my friend from Africa, she loved Ikea!
Monika: How can anyone love a store? It doesn't love you back.

This conversation is one of the many reasons why I love my friend Monika. That and the fact that every time we have a conversation, we always quote Mulan. Being silly just comes naturally when I am around her. It is so easy to make her laugh. And then I laugh. And then we laugh together in the loudest most obnoxious way possible. And more laughter ensues. What a friend.

I feel it again.

About every other month or so I ache. I ache to live in another place. To change my environment. To be surrounded by strangers. I ache for the self-reflection and discovery that comes from defining oneself in a new element. I ache for the learning that can not be bought or understood from the study of a textbook. I yearn for an understanding about where I fit in the universe. I feel it again. 

Coast.

I have to move to the coast. East or west, north or south is negotiable, but the coast is in my sights. I want to live on the edge of humanity in a place where the most rugged of people settled. I want to eat fresh seafood ALL the time. I want to feel sand under my finger nails and between my toes. I want to kiss on the beach and taste the salt on both of our lips. I want to feel the salt coat my skin. I want to smell. I want to hear the waves. I want to be friends with the sea. 

Water

Ever since I can remember I have been enamored by water. I want to live by a river. Some place where everything has been dusted in green. When I was 10 I asked for a little water fountain for Christmas. I kept it in my room and turned it on while I was reading. I put rocks in there and arranged them in patterns. I loved having that artificial connection to something living. I love the way light dances on the surface of water at night. I love beautiful bridges. Big bridges where cars can drive over big rivers. I want to bike to the middle of the bridge at night and stare at the city lights on the water for hours pondering where I belong in this world. I want to sit in a makeshift boat. When I start to feel lonely I will suddenly jump off it's side, with all my clothes on, and be embraced by the water around me.

Reading

I can't wait to read again. Read whatever I want. Read in a coffee shop on a rainy day, on the beach, in a park under a large tree. Befriend characters who have felt the same way as me. Who are so different and strange to me. I want to learn new words, imagine new places. And feel so human. I want new thoughts to be provoked. I want to think about something more than my immediate needs and desires. I want to ponder.

I graduate in May.

A few thousand words about summer