Shroomin

Yep, it's that time of year again... for morel mushrooms! One of my favorite times of year is in spring when  the wildflowers start to bloom in the woods, and the most delectable mushrooms start to push through the leaf cover on the ground. In past years, I would always go out with my family in May and look for morel mushrooms. This year with all the warm weather, they came up early and had I not been walking through the woods I probably would have missed out on them altogether.

                Morel mushrooms grow across the United States and are fairly abundant in Wisconsin, if you know where to look at least. They are one of a few wild edible mushrooms in the area, but in my (and most people's) opinion, they are the most delicious. In some areas they are nearly considered a delicacy, and people pay good money for them. Some places you can get nearly a hundred dollars for a pound, which is fantastic if you know a good spot to look. Around here some restaurants will buy them up for 30-60 dollars per pound depending on quality and quantity. In the past my family and I have just picked what we can find in our yard and made some goodies for our dinners, but this year we seem to have hit the motherload and have a good 5 pounds already in one day. With any luck I'd like to find more and look along the trails in the area and possibly sell off some of them.

                Hunting for morels is usually hit or miss. There are days that you'll go out and look for hours at a time and come back completely empty handed and on other days you find the right spots and can com back with hundreds. Either way, it's lots of fun to go out and search along the trails and a little competition among other lookers is always good too. There's nothing better than coming back after a long day of hiking to kick back, relax, and fry up your find of the day!

Heaven Beside You

Despite having a spectacularly shitty week, I feel that I may have gained just a tad bit of insight from it all. Being so busy these past couple weeks with school and work, I've found myself neglecting some things that I care about. My family, pets, and the little joys in life seemingly got pushed aside for a while and I've realized how important and taken for granted it all is. While money and socializing are unarguably fun and nice to have, they aren't the most important things.

                Life has really been good to me and I haven't had a whole lot to complain about... but the thing is, you don't realize that until something puts it into perspective. Now, I've never been one for sharing my feelings, but when you manage to find something good within a bad situation, it seems like something that is worth sharing or at least putting out there. Things have been pretty stressful in my life for a while now and it was just a matter of time before reality gave me a swift kick in the ass. I've made my fair share of stupid decisions, bitten off more than I can chew, and lost a good majority of friends (although some were for the best) recently but little did I know how minor those things were. This week one of the few people I talk to refuses to talk to me, I've messed up at work, gotten the flu, and then on Friday I got pulled over going 46mph in a 25. This could be a regular week for somebody else, but to me, this was really terrible. So on Saturday I came home to find my family outside and I was relieved to think that I'd finally have some time to relax and catch up, but then I saw their somber appearances and knew something was wrong. It turned out my grandfather had passed earlier that day. I've been lucky enough in the past that I haven't really dealt with death, so  admittedly, it hit me sort of hard. After some time to reflect, I realized it was probably the best possible outcome and that we should all be as lucky as to die in our sleep at age 94.

                For obvious reasons, this weekend could have gone a lot better, but given the fact that the situation wasn't changing anytime soon, all you can do is make the best. Life is fragile and what matters shouldn't be taken for granted. I'd been meaning to go out and visit my grandpa soon, and maybe had I not been so busy I would have. So things have been put into perspective for me this weekend, and I need to realize more often that the little things are unimportant. Getting yelled at by your boss, failing a quiz, getting pulled over...those are all things that will get better, and you'll probably forget next week. But a life isn't. Life can suck, but death definitely sucks more.

Service Industry

Happy Easter everyone.... Now that is the last time I will be saying that today! Recently I got a 2nd job at a restaurant and found one of the requirements to be helpful and cheery ALL the time. Now, this includes saying Happy Easter to every person I see and asking how their day was, and yes, even sitting there as they spew out what a great day they're having as they come for a nice lunch or dinner with their family. Occasionally I'm genuinely interested and happy for them but at 7 at night after I haven't been home yet to even say happy Easter to my own  family, the tables turn and all I want to do is leave. Getting this job I was fully aware that it wouldn't be fun, but after a couple weeks I've developed a great sense of respect for anybody in the service industry, especially waiting and bussing at restaurants.  To be honest, quite a bit of the night goes by quickly since most of the time you're busy and multitasking, leaving nearly no time to look at the clock and the money is also really good, but at the end of the night I find that myself and everybody else is both mentally and physically exhausted.  Bussing and hostessing have taught me a few things: one is to be extremely efficient and quick, a second to learn to multitask and focus on 10 things different waitresses shout out at you as you're walking by, and thirdly that despite the fact that some people are complete assholes, a smile always wins. Not only does it usually cause people to leave better tips, but when somebody's being difficult it's always secretly fun to see them get angrier when you kill 'em with kindness. This may seem spiteful, but from what I've seen, most people deserve it. Despite the fact that you are literally waiting on them hand and foot, some people seem to think it's fine to be rude and think that they're the only customers you should worry about. Oh well though, it's late and as I said, I am exhausted. At least I'm making some gas money. :)

Photography

Life is full of precious moments, so why let them slip away and be forgotten? I know that personally, even if I tell myself to remember something, it's quite unlikely that I'll be able to recall it easily. There's so much to learn and so many things to cherish in life that memories and written accounts hardly do justice.

            The phrase 'a picture is worth a thousand words' is something that I truly believe in and have tried to take up so I can remember all the beautiful places I've been and the amazing people I've met. That being said, you might guess that I travel a lot but the truth is I've only been out of state several times and mostly when I was much younger. Photography is about finding beauty in everything, even the most unusual of places. Sometimes it's not even the object or scene that is extraordinary, but the way that it's captured or the story that it portrays. Just like writing, drawing, sculpting, and much more, photography is no doubt an art. To capture what you want and possibly capture something somebody would want to buy takes time, practice, and effort.

            Right now photography is mostly a personal hobby that I take up in the summer and whenever I have free time, but if I get good and my future allows, I may like to get involved professionally. Photo shoots and getting hired for events doesn't sound very appealing, but I'd love to always have my camera on me and capture whatever I see around me. Nature and animals have always been my passion, and getting a good shot of a landscape or something going about its daily life is always rewarding. Getting pictures alone isn't always enough though it seems, and I've always had respect for the people who have the time and energy to scrapbook and organize their pictures and trips. Hopefully sometime I'll be able to do this or make a career or something of the sort out of it and go into photojournalism.

            So many choices. I'd just love to be one of those people who have made what they love into their career. If I'm not so fortunate, I still believe photography will have it's place in my life.

Live Music!!

Live Music!!

A gem in what I consider a somewhat boring city, Paradigm Coffee Shop provides a wonderful environment to relax while supporting local musicians and opening many minds. Being 45 minutes away from where I live, I don't get to Paradigm as often as I would like, but when I do it never disappoints. The drinks and scene are fantastic, but what I love about it is the music. Live music always seems to be able to bring people together, even the most unlikely people. I especially like the fact that they have some very talented musicians that come and play, many of whom return time and time again. I've found much of the music to be folky and mostly acoustic, which I think fits nicely there and provides a change from what a lot of people hear about their daily lives. I went this Saturday to see The Brothers Burn Mountain and was as impressed as I always am to see them play. The energy they create is like none other and they are definitely one of my favorite local bands that I always look forward to seeing. I would recommend going to see them to anybody and everybody, because even if you don't like they type of music that they play, the experience itself is like none other. The brothers perform amazingly well live and have some very intense 'bongo jams' throughout the performance. Along with the tried and true musicians that keep coming back, it seems that every couple weeks there will be a new band or performer that I haven't seen yet, which is always fun to check out something new. Unfortunately there aren't too many shops that host events like this, but if you're willing to travel to Port Washington, there are a couple places there in which you can find live music. Smith Brothers Coffee Shop as well as a restaurant on the lakefront have bands and open mic nights on occasion, which are always fun to check out. Getting out and supporting local musicians and artists is not only helpful, but it can be a wonderful experience. I find that there's hardly anything more relaxing than going out at the end of the week, or any day for that matter, and sitting back to enjoy some live music up close and personal, and meeting all sorts of great people. If you didn't know about these places, I suggest you look into them, and at least go check it out sometime, you won't be disappointed.

American Values

I had a writing promt from my American Literature class, so I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone and write it early and have my blog post done as well. It's not a very interesting read, but there were quite a few guidelines to meet that killed some of the freedom of writing it.

Unique but United

          When America won independence in 1776, its founding fathers believed in freedom, justice, rights, and hard work. These values are still alive today, and can be attributed to America's prosperity and strength. A new nation brought immigrants with different religions, beliefs, cultures, and languages all looking to build a life in this new land. Although there was much diversity, it was the united mentality of working to achieve something bigger that kept people together.

          There is no one right way to describe what an American is... they come in all shapes, sizes, and colors, with their own languages, religions, and morals. To try and label an American as one certain thing, is essentially, to contradict the true meaning of what it is to be an American. America is about being diverse, with the freedom to live as you choose so long as you respect the rights of others. It is this approach of living mostly in peace with one another that unites this country. An American is whatever they want to be... with hard work and determination, they determine how best to live up to their definition.

          American citizenship grants you a number of privileges that many people could only dream of. United States citizens have the right to speak as they wish, practice their religion, write, petition, bear arms, and organize a militia just to name a few. As these are the rights America was founded on, exercising these rights is essential to maintaining them. Without the initiative to put your rights to use, you may as well not have them at all. A large part of what it means to be an American is to acknowledge that your rights are privileges and to exercise them and stand up to anything that may compromise them.

          Your rights come with, not only a responsibility to take advantage of what you have, but to have a willingness to fight for them. Nationalism can have negative connotations, but when used in moderation and for the right reasons, it ultimately strengthens a country. Loyalty is what keeps a country united, and in order to have rights and freedoms, loyalty is indispensible. In order to preserve what we love, we must defend it.

          Americans cannot be defined by any basic characteristics, but by their actions and sense of unity. Without unity and the sense of duty to defend what we have, we never would have been able to make it this far. This country is a place of diversity and freedom, which shines through into the souls and values of the American citizen.

           

It's that time of year again...

This is my least favorite time of year, with nothing to look forward to except spring break, it's hard to keep motivated. To make matters worse, my spring break for high school isn't until April. It's the time of the year where all the students lose their motivation, me included, and the teachers pile on more than ever to keep on pace for the year. My freshman and sophomore year weren't all that bad and I kept busy all year round and kept my grades up, but now that I'm in the second semester of junior year I just can't seem to summon up the will power to do anything productive. This could just be due to the collective attitude of not wanting to do anything at school, but for me it's been due mainly to the fact that I've bitten off a bit more than I can chew. I have to juggle a full day at high school, then run up to UW Sheboygan which leaves me getting home around 9 o clock on Mondays and Wednesdays. That's a fourteen hour school day! In addition, on days that I don't have to go to the campus I go straight to work from school, leaving me with little time as well. I haven't had a day off in months, and quite honestly, it's taking a toll. This was a usual week, and I've been able to manage it well, as it keeps me busy but also gives me some time to do what I want. Unfortunately I've been hit with multiple other jobs to do lately as well. I've been house sitting for 10 days now and despite the fact that it's a gorgeous house, it's nearly impossible to get anything done. Taking care of all the animals and chores, and running back and forth from the house to my house, and to school and work has left me totally burnt out and putting ridiculous amounts into my gas tank each couple days. Not only that, but they have a computer that's too slow to do anything on so anytime I need to use the computer I have to drive 20 minutes and come home. It's just these little individual things that are really getting to me the past couple weeks,  and I think it's about time for a break.

Well, that seems like enough ranting for one day but now I have the blog post to check off my list of things to do and I can go run back to the other house. I suppose my  argument for this is that the time of transition between winter and spring is god-awful and that it's going to be hard to make it through this time around.