I love the library.

I have spent my last two days, almost in their entirety, at the local library. I love the silence of mind, I love the company of so many brilliant minds, and most of all I love the whispered scheming and hushed dreams that bounce off every shelf and every hardback. I overheard two probably high-school aged boys planning their great escape to some tropical destination (most likely Los Angeles or New York or Miami or Chicago or at least I hope so for their sake). Then I remembered my initial achings for the coast. What took me there, how I got there, and I envied their youth. I was jealous of their naivete, and for the first time in my life I felt old.

How did I get here.

The byline is a question I ask myself frequently. With each passing day decisions are made which have inconsiderable implications on the rest of your life. I have since attempted to ask myself before any reasonable decision...how will this affect me one year from now? Five years from now? 10 years from now? Not that I will answer these questions even remotely accurately, but the magnitude of the power with which I am granted every waking hour is exhilarating and should be for you as well. Happy trails.

mb.

Inside of the New Year.

Rarely, does a day begin with a bang but no day in this global society starts (or ends like the preceding day) quite like the first of January. We drink, we celebrate, we tell people we love with whom we may not have seen for a year, and it is good. We are able to start afresh. For one night we are pure, clean, and happy. There is no debt, no sorrow, no stress, that is until we wake up on January 1st. Then life returns to normal and the rigors of the everyman awake with you. So to all of you out there, I hope you had the best New Year's Eve (or start to a New Year) you could have had.

Best wishes.
mb.