I hear people say sometimes that their life isn't interesting, like it's beyond their control. It frustrates me when people say that. For one, of course your life doesn't seem interesting to you, you see it everyday, and something you see everyday inevitably becomes uninteresting. For two--it's your life. It's as interesting as you make it. And you don't need to do something crazy like live in Italy to do it, that's something I've learned this semester. Things are as interesting as you are interested in them. I came across many people who were uninterested in living in Italy, who were bored and complainers and couldn't wait to go home. I wanted to slap them, but that's not what this is about. What I'm trying to say is that you are in control of you.

I was watching the America's Next Top Model marathon on VH1 this morning, and became bored. I wanted to be outside and walk around. So I did. I drove to Parr Park, journal in tow, and spent some time outside. It was a good idea. Today is beautiful. When I first got there a little white dog with no owner in sight followed me around. A man jogging asked me what kind of dog he was, and I said I don't know, he's not mine. Then the man jogged after the dog and said, "Snickers! Snickers?!" Apparently he suspected it was his neighbor's dog, but the dog didn't respond to Snickers and so the man gave up. I didn't see the dog again until 45 minutes later when I was leaving and I saw another man run up to "Snickers" and say, "Snickers!" with relief in his voice. He was the aforementioned neighbor and it was his dog. It's felt funny, like I was on a TV show or something, the way it happened that this dog framed my time at the park. When I got there he was a mystery, and when I left, the mystery was solved.

I thought about this whole "interesting" thing while I was at the park, about how going there made my day more interesting.

A song by Kimya Dawson (I found her on the Juno soundtrack)comes to mind (it's also one of her songs that is quoted above)

The flower said "I wish I was a tree"
The tree said "I wish I could be
a different kind of tree"
The cat wished that it was a bee
The turtle wished that it could fly
really high into the sky
Over rooftops and then dive
deep into the sea

And in the sea there is a fish
A fish that has a secret wish
A wish to be a big cactus
with a pink flower on it
And the flower would be its offering of love
To the desert
and the deserts so dry and lonely
That the creatures all appreciate the effort


And the rattlesnake said "I wish I had hands
So I could hug you like a man"
And then the cactus said "but don't you understand?
My skin is covered with sharp spikes
That'll stab you like a thousand knives
A hug would be nice but hug my flower with your eyes"
Till the flower said "I wish I was a tree"

Happy New Year. (The song is called Tree Hugger, by the way. And the song quoted in my heading is called Loose Lips)