neruda

"i have often maintained that the best poet is...the baker who does majestic and unpretentious work of kneading the dough, consigning it to the oven, baking it in golden colours and handing us our daily bread as a duty of fellowship." - pablo neruda (via sojourners)

frederick buechner

"in the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there will never be another one just like it again. today is the point to which all your yesterdays have been leading since the hour of your birth. it is the point from which all your tomorrows will proceed until the hour of your death. if you were aware of how precious today is, you could hardly live through it. unless you are aware of how precious it is, you can hardly be said to be living at all."

what if?

i had a challenging conversation last week with a good friend. what if i stopped believing in god? or maybe not god, but what if i decided that i didnt believe in the christian church/message anymore? it was the thought that if this happened, how would my life change? would my values and ideals change? would my lifestyle change?

the strangest thing was that in most cases it was no. things wouldnt changed that much. i was uneasily bothered by this. why would this not drastically alter my paradigm? i found this to be one of the most convicting thought processes. if my life wouldn't change that much, then how has the gospel changed my life right now? it's an odd thought. i felt a lack of direction. lack of guidance. where is my urgency? where is my hope in god's kingdom coming? but i couldn't help but wonder, what if?

(disclaimer's note: im not abandoning faith. i still absolutely believe in the story of the gospel and god's kingdom on this earth. i just took the conversation as convicting of my finite faith that continues to fail and my need for a bigger imagination.)

queenstown

i arrived in queenstown, new zealand today. the flight from auckland to queenstown was impressive. at first, the landscape was pretty bland across the south island. then monstrous peaks rose in the distance. ive never seen mountains like these before. it reminded me of flying over alaska, but i was amazed at the contrast between the flats and the mountains here. the lakes that lay in between the mountains were huge and looked like caribbean waters. the plane descended through fog and into queenstown. queenstown is surrounded by steep, snowcapped peaks and at the bottom, the town sits on a massive lake. i walked around the town today. it is absolutely breath taking.

heading up to the remarkables tomorrow. they were getting lots of snow last week, but it has been slowing down. i guess weather can change really quickly here, so more could be coming, but they never know more than a couple days out. i hope there is some fresh snow coming!

swedish singer

kyle, bo, chad-o and i went and saw the tallest man on earth a couple weeks ago. i love this song.

Tallest Man on Earth - The Gardener - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

seeking an adventure

every now and then i look back at my old posts and i miss the adventures of alaska and argentina. i miss the randomness and uncertainty of not knowing. after a bit over a year at my job, i recently decided that i needed to start thinking about some time off. my cubicle is getting swamped with papers. i dont think i get enough sleep. i have been all over the west coast for weddings and bachelor parties and as wonderful as each one has been, i have yet to wander for a time.

so, i started pondering last wednesday. i thought about a week in august that i would leave corporate life behind. where would i go? the possibilities were truly endless. maybe i should drive across the country. maybe ill backpack into the wilderness. maybe i want to leave the states. canada? mexico. i could spend a week in san francisco. no, that's too normal. well, not that normal, recently, but more of the same. i can fill my calendar with about 10 days with about any place i wanted to go.

soon, i started thinking about out of the country options. spain. that could be cool. maybe not quite what i am looking for. definitely at some point. europe wasnt the destination. i had always dreamed of snowboarding somewhere else in the world. new zealand has always been top of the list. the ultimate destination. probably too far and too expensive. maybe ill go back down to argentina. okay this is sounding like a plan.

i arrived at the office around quarter to seven last thursday and started browsing flights. flights to new zealand were about the same price as to chile and argentina. so i started thinking some more. i mean, not too much more. i sent two emails to brad. i gchatted with my dad.

me: im looking at flights to new zealand

dad: who's going?

me: just me

dad: alone?

me: sure. why not?

dad: i don't buy it

me: im gonna go

dad: well, im not available and i know that disappoints you.

it is amazing how simple it is to click away on the internet and then with that click, in a few weeks, you head off to new zealand. i have no idea where i am staying or who i will meet and i am incredibly excited.

outer space

i think space travel is so cool. something about it gets me. probably why there is an astronaut on my blog. we sent a shuttle into outer space to hook up with the international space station. i was mesmorized watching the liftoff. i watched probably five or so times. sometimes i wish my cubicle could lift off.