beneath_the_leaves's Xanga

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Wed, 07 May 2008 09:55:48 GMT

*dusts off proverbial cobwebs* Hi Xanga. I'm back. But just to give you a link to the journal I actually use...lucky you. http://www.livejournal.com/~illusory_scenes

Ok, I guess that's all.

joanna

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Sun, 18 Nov 2007 15:17:47 GMT

Excuse me.

I am graduating from college in in 26 days. Twenty-six!!!!

I don't even believe how scary/exciting/reallyscary that is.

joanna

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Wed, 07 Nov 2007 20:50:43 GMT

The cold reminds me how fast I can walk

(and how silly I look with a red nose).

-j

i can see a lot of life in you

Sat, 03 Nov 2007 00:01:52 GMT

I have been learning so much this semester...I feel like my mind has grown like the Grinch's heart. Cheesy? Of course. True? Definitely. I have, especially, been learning about other religions, and it's seriously amazing and enlightening. I think it is easy to be afraid/critical of what other people believe instead of honestly checking out what they have to say. One can limit oneself so much by not learning about other people.

It is amazing how much beauty exists in all of these faiths (Hinduism, Buddhism...). Learning about the best of them (instead of the worst, which is what we usually hear and talk about--because isn't that easier?) has given me great perspective, and a lotlotlot to think about.

To get good at art, you should study great art/ists. You can't just trap yourself in a box and refuse to be subjected to what other people are doing around you. I think it's the same way with...well, everything. Life.

There's so much out there to learn from.

joanna

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 23:26:41 GMT

Kksajdddnmakfnawoirwans,fnsakfnj;asflsanmlkklasfjagisgklsa,smfagagadvmasvmamvmviworhwa

jrkalsfdslgklsfksljfsjfsajfsafigmmmuh.

There. Yeah, I said it.

joanna

leaf-strewn roads

Thu, 11 Oct 2007 13:03:03 GMT

This morning greeted me with lovely, cool air and blueblue skies. The Tennessee-ains are grumbling about the chill (currently 57 degrees), but it makes my soul happy. I want to don sweater and scarf, walk around hugging people, and then go home (home!) and drink hot chocolate and read--all curled up in a blanket.

It's not that I have nothing better to talk about than "the weather", but really... things like this get to me. Other aspects of life are stressful, disappointing, confusing... but nature has, once again, given me a reason to be Alive.

And of course you have, too. Happy Fall, everyone.

love,

joanna

if i could do just 1 near-perfect thing i'd be happy

Fri, 21 Sep 2007 00:07:36 GMT

I started a new job this week.

Being a newbie is quite a lesson in humility, let me tell you. I will have no idea what is going on. I will be overwhelmed, confused, slow, nervous, sheepish, stressed. I will make mistakes. And then eventually I will get the hang of it and be OK...but the process of getting to OK is not fun.

Still, it's a new experience, and these always have something good to offer. Sometimes you just have to dig around a little/lot to find it. But hey, I'll take it. Anything to avoid just getting by-dom.

love,

p.s. Latest favorite song: http://www.seeklyrics.com/lyrics/Belle-And-Sebastian/If-She-Wants-Me.html

anticipation

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 00:56:05 GMT

I could feel Fall in the air the second I stepped out of my apartment today.

These seemingly little things, like a hint of crispness in the breeze, the beginning of the unmistakeable golden light in the afternoons, the happy decision of either putting on a sweater or--finally--feeling a little chilly in the night air. ! Beautiful. Really... too much for words.

I've always lived for Fall, but Tennessee makes me appreciate it so much more. Because you really have to wait for it here. And then...well, it's always worth it.

Maybe that's true for other things, too.

love,

joanna

time, time, time, see what's become of me

Thu, 06 Sep 2007 00:58:40 GMT

I hate being busy.

I am often tempted to feel like I'm a loser unless I'm constantly going from one meeting to another, one place to the next. Full day from start to finish. But I am wondering if 80% of all my running to-and-fro & fretting over this & that is shockingly...meaningless. What good does it do, really?

There are so many things around that distract me from life. I want more time for silence, art, friends, for cultivation of the soul. Time. It's hard to come by... it's almost like you have to fight for it, and then defend yourself for having it.

When did busy-ness become a virtue?

joanna

Monday, August 27, 2007

Mon, 27 Aug 2007 21:23:37 GMT

i go to this window

just as day dissolves
when it is twilight(and
looking up in fear

i see the new moon
thinner than a hair)

making me feel
how myself has been coarse and dull
compared with you, silently who are
and cling
to my mind always

But now she sharpens and becomes crisper
until i smile with knowing
-and all about
herself

the sprouting largest final air

plunges
inward with hurled
downward thousands of enormous dreams

-e.e.cummings