flustered + frustration = flustration

how is it that i'm like this? i'm cool, calm, and collected. i'm a sheet of ice. i'm slippery opaque, until just the right moment when my words fail me and i'm reduced to a fragile stuttering pathetic creature. like my reflexes, my body, turn on me and leave me hesitant and anxious. well, that's nothing new. everyone's veneer has ripples and fissures.

photo here

weekend treat

check out these two incredibly inspiring photostreams i discovered yesterday:

• TWAINS, from what seems to be a kerouac-style adventure. sometimes i forget how beautiful america can be.

• marrakech, by sandra beijer. i'm so jealous of her trip, and the lovely saturated colors in her photos

lounging and stuff

i had a whole afternoon of activities i was going to do today, but it seems i've forsaken them to sit inside and search for inspiring room porn and drink coffee. maybe i'll get something constructive done. later on. for now, contemplate these

10 Commandments of Living Well (found on An Aesthete's Lament)

1. Do not fear colour; embrace it.
2. Learn to mix patterns and textures. It's a skill that gives a room animation, however subtly you choose to deploy it.
3. Your house should reflect only your taste, not your neighbor's.
4. Whatever your style—traditional, modern, eclectic, whimsical—physical comfort and visual delight are the ultimate goals.
5. Closely examine shelter magazines old and new for ideas but use them as springboards for your own creativity rather than as templates for mindless reproduction.
6. Understand that attentive housekeeping is more than daily drudgery; like regular automobile maintenance, it keeps your world in tiptop health.
7. Enliven your rooms with houseplants and cut flowers whenever possible.
8. Set a proper table at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Nothing fancy, just something pleasant.
9. Get organized. Few chores are so soul-satisfying as knowing everything is in its place.
10. Taking breakfast in bed is a luxury worth experiencing every now and again.

story of my life

the evolution of the hipster, from some magazine's website?...(copyright gods, please forgive me)

study of interiors

 

i move in a few days.

photos from selby and randoms on my computer

that feeling

signed the lease on paddock place. can't wait to set up house. love this selby kitchen.

the attitude is severe. these shots portray some of my conflict. that feeling when you'd rather go anywhere but home, but the home that isn't home is all you have to go to. when you know there's nowhere else, no one else. you try and tell yourself that you want to be alone, but it doesn't work.

i can have hope for other people, but not for myself. this disillusionment, this defeatism, has stealthily taken over somewhere inside, and i never even noticed.

images here and here

interim

i just feel like im trying to get back on my feet, somehow.
i get here and all the sudden like speeds up
fitting in workouts, social meetings, house showings, homework, jobhunting, class
studying guys and girls and stereotypes and where this whole distorted image of what we're supposed to look like/act like comes from
highlights: a good haul dumpster diving last week, cooking with corrie over the weekend, visiting a new church i really liked.
more updates when ive got them

cape coast: 2 days

we walked all over tarnation in cape coast. well, we walked all over everywhere, we never stopped, but in cape coast i think the heat started getting to me...worse than before, anyways. this city wasn't my favorite; naomi and i took our second day to relax, chill in a cool bookstore, and eat groundnut cake (what else?)

we also found this wonderful vegeterian/vegan restaurant which served fresh smoothies and juices.

at long last, the green turtle

um, yes. this place, a longtime respite for backpackers and folks seeking a no-frills eco-friendly spot to relax, came highly recommended to us by other kids we met in our international hostel. it did not disappoint! the weekend we spent at the green turtle lodge was my favorite part of free travel. we did not want to leave.

we treated ourselves to incredible food, and french-press coffee!

how perfect is that? we didn't check the time. we had no need. just reading, writing, walking. the days passed easily, washing over us with a gentle caress. we recharged.

we stayed in tents, right at the beach. all good except for the biting ants...

it was great.

beaches

still catching up from ghana, yes.this is patrick being mobbed by children in busia. he tried to buy them all bananas and groundnuts!

more busia. the further west we got, the more pristine the beaches became.

takoradi beach