"But why think about that when all the golden lands ahead of you and all kinds of unforeseen things wait lurking to surprise you and make you glad you're alive to see?"

--Jack Kerouac

If you listen to this, your day will immediately be better,

A simple reminder of how to be good.

Drift Away.

Looks like I graduated from college on Thursday,

so I had to celebrate somehow:

 

        

College is easy. 

Kerouac's hitchhiking trip from, On the Road.

This is the best thing ever.

Nature vs. Ezra

25 dollar camping spot in a refugee-style Woodstock field,
bloody head wounds needing15 staples,
and a fire pit surrounded by large clumps of dirt?
That's when you know you're having fun.

Coming home.

It's annual.

It's the third week in March. The third week in March is always tough, much like beef jerky, or taffy that's a little too old. I just get hit with this wave of complacency and the only solution I can ever come up with is to go on a trip.

So I'm sitting here researching options for this weekend. And when I get all researched out, I take a break and read a book that has nothing to do with school. And then I wander into the kitchen and eat whatever is sitting out on the counter, which right now is some 2-day-old brownies and some bananas. Then I think, "I wonder what would happen if I baked some bananas into some brownies." Then I think, "I'll probably never know." 

Then I convince myself that school really does matter and that I need to start working on my take-home test and maybe get a head start on those end-of-semester papers. But those aren't due until the end of the semester, so I think I'll go running now.  Just kidding. I think I'll buy a hammock.

Today.

Today. 

Duh mom.

Spring ahead.

I guess it shouldn't be a surprise that today

was the perfect day for a little spring skiing.

Cheers. 

Okay.

No time.

A beautiful weekend in the mountains.

It's never too cold to spend some time in the wilderness. So I did. Turns out, camping in 4 feet of snow is actually a lot of work. That same 4 feet of snow makes using the outdoor restroom challenging, but I'm a pretty firm believer in opposition in all things, so it worked.

I'm always reminded of how beautiful this world is when I make an effort to spend some time in it, and I wish I could live in the forest.

I thought about getting another job this summer, but this weekend I realized, why would I do that? Aside from all the important ones, having fun is my number one priority. Also, I hope I look back on my life and think, "Man, that was funny."

So here's to an upcoming summer of fun, and to a beautiful, sunny, snowy, sunburned weekend.

Speaking.

"I like the idea of our words being clear as a sunny sky, 

and full of grace." --Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Mountains.

Very well.

"I was within and without.

Simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life."

--F. Scott Fitzgerald

William "Buffalo Bill" Cody.

"He loved the trackless wilds, rolling plains, and mountain solitudes of our land far more than the bustle and turmoil, the busy life, and the joys of our cities." 

-- Prentiss Ingraham 

--Buffalo Bill Cody

Oh my gosh.

Henry David Thoreau.

Life rules (it rocks too).

I was taken in by the spotlight.

This song is pretty good, I'd say.

Judging by the number of times it's been played

in my itunes, I'd say it's actually one of my new favorites. 

Thankful.

Love and gratitude are synonymous,

and today is a beautiful day to just be grateful.

I'm thankful for loving friends and family,

and this wonderful world I am fortunate enough to

 experience with them. 

What else do you need?

We're part of something bigger.

"I sat by the fire until the sun came up,

and asked God to help me understand

the story of the forest, and what it meant

to be a tree in that story."

--Donald Miller