Monday, May 4, 2009

graduation letter

the first of my nieces/nephews is graduation high school and i feel that i want to do something for her besides throw money at her (not that i wont do that because come on, who doesn't want/expect cash flow for graduation? especially cause i'm the lame poor aunt who lives far away and lives the good life.. or odd life whatever). so i decided to write her a letter but who the hell knows what its going to say. heres a beginning attempt:


so high school came and went. i hope it was awesome. or as awesome as high school can be. but heres to the rest of your life! from here on out there are going to be a million possibilities.. and just as many disappointments. you are an amazing human with so many talents, and so pretty look at too. so many things have gone your way thus far. you are so incredibly lucky! you may not be aware of it yet, but one day you will realize the amazing gifts you have been given.

as you grow up, which you will do a shit ton of the next few years! oh man! anywho, do not, and i repeat DO NOT ever grow up. learn. learn as much as you can. about ANYTHING. ask questions, especially to people you do know and about things you know nothing about. even if you think you sound stupid. thats when its most important. but learn, learn, learn, and grow, grow, grow, but dont grow up. remember that chubby little child inside so excited to lick the beaters! remember how fun it was to run around the playground screaming with out a care in the world! remember laughing and laughing and laughing at the stupidest thing ever in the whole wide world (never ever quit doing that ever by the way)!

remember when you were a kidlet... what did you want to be when you grow up? there may have been a few different things, but those were what you were most passionate about because back then you weren't aware of limitations. remember those early dreams and make sure they come true one day. always follow your dreams even if they feel "stupid" or "unattainable" or "not sensible". as long as you are being as true to yourself as you possibly can, you can never go wrong. in any situation. if something doesn't feel right, it probably isn't, but thats not to say dont try it. sometimes we need to push the limits of our comfort zones in order to expand our knowledge and experience. most times actually. but trust your gut. if you get into a position /situation that doesn't feel right, calmly get yourself out.

i want you to do something for me: the next few years i want to you to meet as many people as possible and get to as much shit (adventures!!!) as possible. i only wish i had gotten into more. and sometimes its ok to do what youre "not supposed to". i worked very hard through school and had a great time but i got a lot more out of life once i didn't take it so seriously. which leads me back to my original point.. DONT EVER GROW UP. not for real.

grow. live. be.

i'm so incredibly honored to have you as my niece and couldn't have asked for a better one! please, please, please call me whenever you have a question about anything at all or if you ever are in need. there isn't a lot i haven't seen either personally or through my good homies these days so please dont hesitate to call for any reason at all. even if you are bored, or had one too many cocktails or its 3 am (im probably up, i keep weird hours) i dont care. i know i'm not the most conventional of aunts but i'm hoping that means we can have most unconventional relationship (those are always the best) as we continue down this yellow brick road together.

xoxo
auntie tine
ps you can follow my stupid blog at www.blogspot.com/auntietine and my lovely flickr at www.flickr.com/photos/auntietine

when it rains

the rain in this city is crazy. though it threatens rail most days, it doesn't always happen, and when it does, its mostly a chilly drizzle. rarely do you hear the rain pounding upon the windows. even then, its simply rain, unaccompanied by thunder (unless, perhaps, you are very lucky). the rain was heavy today. i car hear it just outside my tiny apartment... odd how it rains in this city.

enjoying an eve alone with some delicious wine and a spliff.. as i spend most evenings alone. was kind of in the mood to get into something but it seems as if nothing exciting is goings down so i will enjoy my solitude, as i so often do. not lonely or heavy today. its nice.

my neighbor to the east just coughed. i heard him through the tiny space which echos between my building and the one next to it. i saw him for the first time since i've lived here last week. since then there have been a variety of odd objects appearing in the hallway outside his apartment.. a jesus candle, large photographs in frames and tennis balls. lots and lots of tennis balls (its pouring now...). and for the first time i've noticed a light coming from that apartment reflecting on the wall outside and his window open. i even heard him talking the other day. so so odd. i wasn't even sure someone lived there except for the odd ups packages sitting outside the door for days at a time.