Streets to Conquer

TODAY....i got a bicycle! it is on loan and all but it is a fabulous blessing. as long as the weather is nice i will be able to save $14 a week getting to work via public transportation. i will be able to throw on a backpack, roll up a pant leg, and pedal my way to nowhere and anywhere. perhaps i will wheel on down to the lake.

things are moving here...in directions yet unknown but i am very at peace and it is wonderful. sometimes not knowing what will come next is so scary and at other times it is really exciting. right now, i am feeling the exciting. i do miss my loved ones though, don't u worry.

i saw two dead squirrels on the road on the way to church this morning. my friend who generously offered to pick me up said they must have been lovers and died together. kinda romantic...in a somewhat morbid way.

may we find truth friends, may we seek truth.

Bugs

i had bugs stuck to my clothing today. one to my eyelid as well. haha. and there are benefits to understanding at least some of a different language than ur first one. for example...when u are riding ur bicycle on a path through a park and hear someone say, "...pasar en bicicleta rapido...' he probably was talking about u. i laughed. :0)

in other events, i adventured to a cute little ice cream shop here is chicago the other night. well technically there is a chain of them. i just found that out just right now. when i want to go somewhere i have never been, i go on google and type in things such as, "late night ice cream shops in chicago" and bam! there i see some options. i have googled many places before. and i mean really, there are some blessings that come with technology. the ice cream shop is called bobtail soda fountain. www.bobtailicecream.com

on the way back on the el, i met an interesting character. he wasn't quite himself that night. haha. anyway, he stood up to get off the train but realized it was too soon of an exit and so he sat back down near me. when he realized i existed, he said hello and held out his hand and told me his name was jim. i shook his hand back and told him my name was shannon. he then said he was a bad influence and was going to leave me alone. so, he got up and walked back over to his group of friends. a girl told me not to mind him. now let me give u a bit of a description of this guy before i finish the story. he had tats and big earrings, a hat and black shirt on...some baggy jeans. looked like a rocker of sorts i guess one might say.

so, a few exits go by and then it is time for jim to get off. but instead of him just getting off, he came back over to me to shake my hand again. he muttered something like, "sorry i was not chivalrous.' he continued to say while holding my hand, "maybe we will see each other again.' he then kissed my hand and said, "i love u." and then had to jolt away. his female friend was having to stay in the doorway to keep it from closing him in and she was calling to him to come. haha. it was random. who woulda thought mr tough looking guy was actually a prince charming...two of my roomates were with me that night and just laughed and said, "it always happens to shannon."

peace.

Breeze

there's something about the breeze tonight.
it's blowing through my window.
blowing through my hair.
car motors, voices, and sirens float all around but the breeze,
the breeze is calming.

I Don't Remember Inviting U...

today i took a shower with a gigantic cockroach! i didn't mean to, it was just there all of the sudden walking in the tub near my feet. as far as i recall i DID NOT and i repeat DID NOT invite the monster to shower with me. and as a result i screamed and jumped out of the shower wondering what to do. i ended up placing a cup over it. then later when my roomate kez got up...she smashed it.

and what do u ask is my opinion in regards to cockroaches living in our house? no thank u.

Wrinkles

i wrinkle my forehead a lot. and:

I GOT OFFERED THE JOB AT THE YMCA! I WILL BE WORKING WITH YOUTH!

seriously? blessings. oh blessings. thank You.

good evening.

C.S. Lewis Said:

"God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world."

Okay Funny Story

so....if u read my last entry u may remember that i said i was going to bicycle to trader joe's.
well. i did. but it took me FOREVER because i literally rode about 40 or 50 blocks out of the way! u see, i knew that trader joe's was only supposed to be about 3 miles from my apt, but i don't really know how quickly 3 miles go by on a bike....especially when u have to wait for traffic signals and such. so when i didn't see the street i was looking for i just kept going...and going....and going. eventually i asked a man on the sidewalk for directions but he had never heard of traders and he didn't know where the street i was looking for was. (it's called lincoln). there are only 3 trader joes in chicago. if u look on the trader joe's website there are SO many in cali and not very many on this side of the united states. anyway, so across the street there was a man who saw me asking for directions with no luck and he called to me. he was sitting on the curb smoking a cigarette. i heard him say "directions" along with whatever else so i went to see him and he asked me where i was headed. when i said lincoln he told me i was 20 or 25 blocks past it! haha. he was a nice man. i asked his name. it is frank. i said thank and he said, "take care shannon." as i turned around and rode past him again on the opposite side of the street, he called to me again saying bye so i turned my head to wave but i realize now that is a very dangerous thing to do....turn my head around while riding on a street.

eventually i reached my destination...very exhausted but happy. turns out i know the street i was looking for the whole time. i mean....the old town school of folk music is on lincoln...basically i was acting brain coma-ish or something. when i got there, i forgot why i had originally gone....so i wandered around for a bit until my memory returned.

i get so much joy out of riding around the city. and a bit of quad soreness. shoot man, bicycle riding....i like it. wanna ride bikes with me?

And Now for Some Shannon Love to You

i love u and i blow u kisses and smiles of the same loveful sort. and now, i am going to ride a bicycle to trader joe's and possibly purchase some things such as food and calcium chews! ha

oh and ps....this morning i was going to go and do a hip hop workout for free in the park but it was only 44 degrees outside. the weather has already been chilly here. i think i am going to start a petition against the weather. it will say something like this: "i believe mother nature it is a mean mean trick to alter the outside temperatures to anything below 60 degrees before the month of december." ...and then i'll get lots of ppl to sign it and i'll put it in a bottle (one that is biodegradable of course) and toss it into the ocean because maybe the ocean could be mother nature's tears and when she decides to get a tissue then maybe she'll find it floating around and she'll pick it up and read it and remember that it is still sposed to be warm and then....it will be warm.

Fantastical Things

here are some picures of my living status. i spend alot of time doing dishes in the kitchen and as u can see i still live a bit out of suitcases but all is well. we have a pineapple couch and an awesome green sitting chair which is perfect for cross-legged book reading. the walls are still pretty much plain, and we have no curtains up but that's alright. we will eventually.

and hey! wait a minute! i spose this is because i took these pictures with a laptop camera, but everything is actually opposite of what u see. so it looks just like that only the mirror image of. haha....weird.

Tired eyes

Tired eyes like caffeine and so today....so do i.

Soy Yogurt!

i, shannon larsen, enjoy fruit soy yogurt with dry oats in it.
i also enjoy regular yogurt with live cultures....that's right, i said regular yogurt.
i also enjoy walking around the city in my loafer shoes with my jeans rolled up.
i also enjoy people. yes. people.
and cooking.
i made some garlic, tomato, and basil whole wheat penne pasta last night for a potluck and it was a hit. i like making food for other ppl...and for myself.
i also like kids a lot. their honesty is amazing...and quite often hilarious.
i am going to workout tonight with one of my roomates. i am excited.
i also like that one of my other roomates got a new laptop and it's an ibook and so it has iphoto. it's pretty fun.
i am an earthy girl surrounded by athlete guys in most of my classes. it is definitely a new thing.
i now know how to take ur blood pressure. call me nurse shannon.
or just call me.
oh yea, and playing at the coffee shop was really fun. there was a very small audience but those who stayed to listen were perfect.

Oh Chicago

well, hello.

chicago i find myself in yet again. and what has it brought forth? oh many a things.

the plane ride here brought about some crazy inspiration in the form of a beautiful woman named jaqueline and some conversation. we spent hours speaking of dreams and passions and world changing. she even had me close my eyes and imagine i was something like seven years forward being reunited with her on the same plane. she had me tell her what i had been doing with my life...how i had lived out those passions deeply engraved in me. we laughed and shared many a moments. i don't believe we met by chance. just next to her was a nice man named matt. i had a poster with no poster tube and he offered me one of his. he said he new he had kept the smaller one for a reason. and my poster his reason became. he missed his plane home to michigan as our flight was delayed. the airport put him in a hotel but i wanted to give him some company. ya know...a friend. he was a nice friend to me. but, it wasn't to happen and i may never see him again. but nevertheless...thank you matt for ur kind offering of a poster tube!

school is school. lots of learning. i adore my class on intentional community. hello potlucks! and retreats to an organic berry farm! the farm was quite interesting. i enjoyed getting to know such a unique bunch of people. and running around through the grass and creek barefoot. i had some of the most delicious watermelon and concord grapes. and some great conversation.

this sunday i shall play my first chicago coffee house gig. the location? Savor the Flavor. it is near DePaul University. i think it will be pretty lax which is just fine with me. some friends from my songwriting class last semester play there regularly and said i could play sometime....so i jumped on it when i got back in town.

i seem to have pulled my left hamstring. my bad.

music of choice? sondre lerche

humidity? yes.

many challenges ahead? you bet.

and love? i am searching out more the reality of it. the part that is hard. the part that is everyone.

peace my darlings.