Happy Birthday, Ruth

I've been listening to a lot of music lately. In fact, it's been one of the primary things on my mind. I've been discovering a lot of new artists. A lot of things that others have recommended to me, and a few that I've found on my own. I discovered a man named Thomas Dybdahl. He's had a lot of success in Europe - specifically Norway, but I haven't seen any of his albums here in the US. I've had to keep myself satisfied with what I can find online for now, but hopefully soon he'll break over to the US.

If you would like to see what I've been listening to, please visit www.audioscrobbler.com and find my profile. My name is Headphones_on

Another new find is Iron and Wine. Luckily his music is more available in the US, so I'll be stocking up on his catalog.

Happy Easter. It was a lovely day. The weather has been cold and gloomy in my neck of the woods for the past week, so it was nice to see the sunshine for a change :)

The 27th of March is a special day to me. It's the day I began my mission. In mission lingo, it's my birthday. I don't think I'll ever forget the day I said goodbye to my family, knowing that I would not be seeing them for a year and a half. I didn't cry. Most missionaries cry. I was sad, but the closest I came to crying was when I held my little nephew and said goodbye to him. That was hard. His little smiling face burned bright in my memory though, and he really kept me going when things got rough. I definitely missed him . . . a lot.
But, the 18 months flew by fast, and now here I am - 3 years later. Life is short.

It feels good to know that you've been loved. It feels good to know that life is enriching and beautiful. It feels good to have a good song to listen to. It feels good to take a break from work and go stand in the sun, eyes closed, feeling the warmth of life seep through your eyelids. It feels good to run along the beaches of california, unburdened by thin air. It feels good to sink your teeth into the first watermelon of the season. It feels good to sit in a shady back yard and talk about nothing, playing with the fresh green grass. It feels good to wake up in your sleeping bag and realize that you're surrounded by nothing but nature. It feels good to take a sunset drive, windows down, and run your fingers through the wind. Yes, life is good. If you were wondering, life is good.

-joga