1) Sufjan Stevens. Of course he’s the first item on the list. Favorite musical artist. Of all time. I’ve said it before; I’ll say it again. The name of this blog (”Thinking Outrageously”) is in the lyrics of “The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades is Out to Get Us!”. He’s my homeboy. Ha, no, I wish. But I am convinced he is my musical soulmate, and never has a finer sound tickled my eardrums. Don’t ask me to pick a favorite song; I tried once. I came up with 69. Sufjan, you are incredible. I miss your sweet sound so.
2) Travel. I cannot express my desire to trod upon as much of the globe as I am able. I’m hoping it’s just a matter of time, 18 years is much too long to stay in one country, in my opinion. I just started making a list of places I want to go but realized it’s pointless; that is a list that gets too long too fast. Better just say I’d go anywhere and everywhere, and to me, the most appealing life is that of a vagabond.
3) Birds. Primates. Animals in general. (sometimes) Including People. I like living things. We’ll start with the birds. A fond childhood memory is doing the Point Reyes Bird Observatory Bird-a-Thon once a year with my good friend Austin. We were but eight, quietly looking at birds whilst flipping through the pages of a bird book, trying to match a name with the bird we were seeing. Then of course came the obsession with acquiring a pet bird of my very own. But alas, the father is allergic, no bird for my 11-year-old self. But I am still attached to the feathered creatures, often getting weird looks from passersby due to my abrupt stops to stare intently at the sky. On to primates: thanks to a Primatology course fall quarter, I have become a lil’ bit crazy about our closest relatives. The current question: do I want to become a Primatologist? Watching primates for days and days in the middle of African jungle? YES PLEASE. I’m sure I’ll touch on the peoplewatching in another post someday, so for now I’ll simply state: I do it, I do it A LOT.
4) Times to ma-self. Sometimes I just head downtown, take a trip by myself and do whatever I feel like…write in my book on the sidewalk, walk and walk and walk, see a movie. But I tell you, there’s nothin’ better than having an hour between classes to do whatever; lay in the sun in the quad and draw pictures, bike aimlessly, perch myself on a bench somewhere and watch the people go by (here I go already, with the peoplewatching)…or what I did today (too coooold for a wimp like myself to sit outside for too long): head into the bookstore, sit in a chair, and flip through a book I haven’t paid for! I’m a longtime PostSecret fan and I recently discovered something similar: Other People’s Love Letters: 150 Letters You Were Never Meant to See by Bill Shapiro. Essentially, exactly what it sounds like: a whole buncha love letters compiled into a book. Perfect for a nosy spy like myself!
5) Art. Seeing it, doing it. Photography, drawing, painting, sculpture, music, I dig it all. My artform of choice is simple pencil drawing, it’s what I do best. Been copying some of Hieronymus Bosch’s delightfully grotesque little characters. I’m of a fan of his.
6) San Francisco Giants. I can thank my younger sister Anna for this one. She’s the biggest fan I know, and it’s rubbed off on the rest of us. A devastating discovery was no FSN Bay Area station on our cable, meaning I can only watch a few games a month. But honestly, it’s not going to be a great season; maybe I’m saving myself some heartache. But we won tonight in the 13th inning. Good job boys!
