So find Dodge and then get out of it

That old restlessness is back, making my heart flutter like a caged bird.

Although perhaps that is more related to my cold than my wanderlust.

Less-than-eloquent Thoughts

I am not feeling very eloquent lately. Perhaps I only get a certain allotted amount of eloquence per month, and I used it all up on that maid of honour speech.


It's been a couple of days since I got home from a jaunt to Edmonton, and I am still struggling to get going. It has left me feeling profoundly unlike myself.


As much stress and constant running around was involved with the wedding last weekend, I kind of miss having one single thing to worry about. It was a nice change of pace.


Taking photos out of plane windows has possibly become one of my new favourite things.

A man consumed by wanderlust

wanderlust noun [mass noun]
a strong desire to travel: a man consumed by wanderlust
- ORIGIN late 19th cent.: German, literally 'wander year'.


I think wanderlust is one of my favourite words in the English language. It is just so perfect. It describes the longing to travel, to be elsewhere, in the most particular way. It's not a complicated word. It only has one meaning. But the connotations whisper of Romance and adventure to be found. It's quite delightful. I've been rather afflicted with this particular ailment for years now, but like many illnesses it flares up more strongly every so often. The past six months or so have been particularly bad for me. That longing to go somewhere and experience something new has been so strong. I'm trying to think of moving as the ultimate fulfillment of this desire; in fact, I think that my perpetual wanderlust is what has made me choose a school so far away. And when I'm successful in considering the move as a grand adventure it becomes far more exciting than it is terrifying.

Ten Things...Let's get out of this town

In general, my flight instinct is a lot stronger than my fight instinct. As soon as things get hard, I want out. Life gets stressful and I start dreaming about being anywhere else. This is only compounded by the fact that I really do love to travel. Consequently, I spend a good amount of time thinking about being other places. I daydream about what my life would be like if I lived somewhere else. This longing for other places often finds its way onto the blog. Here's ten posts that reflect a yearning to just get out of this town (and, yes, that is a reference to the Carrie Underwood song):

1. Wanderlust
2. I love the places I ain't ever been to
3. Sometimes I feel I've got to run away
4. Daydreams of Paris
5. The Siren Song of the City
6. The Power of Suggestion
7. Sunset on the Harbour
8. Getaway Car
9. When words fail
10. Fields

I love the places I ain't ever been to

Down in the Valley

The Head and the Heart

I wish a was a slave to an age-old trade

Like riding around on railcars

And working long days

Lord have mercy on my rough and rowdy ways

Lord have mercy on my rough and rowdy ways

Call it one drink to many

Call it pride of a man

It don't make no difference if you sit or you stand

They both end in trouble and start with a grin

They both end in trouble and start with a grin

We do it over and over and over again

We do it over and over and over again

Oh, oh

Oh, oh, oh, oh

Oh, oh

Oh, oh

Oh, oh, oh, oh

Oh, oh

Oh, oh

Oh, oh, oh, oh

Oh, oh

I know there's California, Oklahoma

And all of the places I ain't ever been to

But down in the valley

With whiskey rivers

These are the places you will find me hiding

These are the places I will always go

These are the places I will always go

I am on my way

I am on my way

I am on my way back to where I started

Oh, oh

Oh, oh, oh, oh

Oh, oh

One more for the stars and the eyes of the walls

I saw your face, I heard you calling out

Oh, oh

Oh, oh, oh, oh

Oh, oh

I saw your face in the crowd and you came out

Just like the sun and the moon and the stars at night

There was a sign on the door and it reads to me

Just like the sun and the moon and the stars at night

Oh, oh

Oh, oh, oh, oh

Oh, oh

Oh, oh, oh, oh

Oh, oh

Oh, oh, oh, oh

Oh, oh

I am on my way

I am on my way

I am on my way back to where I started

California, Oklahoma

I love the places I ain't ever been to

But down in the valley

With whiskey rivers

These are the places you will find me hiding

These are the places I will always go

These are the places I will always go

So I wish I was a slave to an age-old trade

Lord have mercy on my rough and rowdy ways

I have seriously been loving this song lately. It's by a band out of Seattle called The Head and the Heart. I am lusting after their CD right now. Such a great folk rock/pop sound and I adore the lead singer's voice. There is so much going on in this song that resonates with different parts of my life. Sometimes the idea of jumping on a train and taking off is so appealing. The feeling of actually going somewhere is one of my favourite sensations. It's why I love airports so much. I think my favourite line in the entire song though is "I love the places I ain't ever been to". This is so true for me. I fantasize about travelling or moving all the time. I have a deep affection for some places that I've only been to once, some places that I have never been to at all. In a way these places can be the places you always go, they can become the places you return to over and over again when you are in need of refuge, even if you never actually set foot on them. Sometimes just thinking about running away is enough.

I took this picture at the train yard near my school a couple of years ago. I should actually venture out there again and take some more photos. This is one perk of living in the industrial part of the city: there are some interesting spots to take photos. There is something romantic and nostalgic about trains that just lends itself to sepia photos and folksy songs.

Wanderlust

I spent most of today with one of my dear friends. One of the things we talked about for quite a while was travel. I haven't been anywhere in quite a long time. Actually, it's been just over a year since I went to Victoria and that was the last trip I took. Talking about traveling and places that we want to go has really given me a case of wanderlust. Sadly I really am not in a place in my life right now where travel is an option. But hey, it's nice to dream a little.

I've mentioned my 1934 Webster's Dictionary on here before, but I don't think I have ever shared any pictures of it. This is really a shame, but I am correcting it today. Oddly enough, the first pictures I'm showing you from a dictionary are maps and not words. Oh well. I'm odd, so this is just par for the course. One of the appendicies in the back of the dictionary is "A Reference History of the World from the Earliest Times to the Present" which has a bunch of different maps from different time periods. I love maps, especially old ones, so I was quite excited when I discovered them and simply had to take some pictures. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.