i don’t typically like talking about the war in iraq for various reasons, but i have a special place in my heart for the people who serve our country (and other people’s countries lol).

i wish we could focus more on stories like the one of the marine who saved the lives of 2 of his brothers. the marines are a family, and my brother being a marine makes them my family too. i have heard this from every marine i’ve ever met. i’m very proud of our marines. i think that many of the marines have been put on trial recently have been placed in extreme circumstances (uh…it is a war) and have had to make decisions that, i’m sure, they now regret.

to all the marines and other service members out there, thanks.

i was driving to my friend, lily’s, house tonight, and “everybody wants to rule the world” by tears for fears came on.  i just had to grin.  it reminded me of some of the crushes i had in middle school, and i thought it’d be a laugh to post some before/after pics to see what my taste was like (awful, i’m warning you).

where does tears for fears fit in?  i use to think Roland Orzabal (pictured left) was so cute. there was something about the way he looked in the video for “shout” that seemed to peak my interest.  (sidenote: the part of the video where they’re drumming the floor is awesome lol!!!)  i suppose it was the passion in the music.  and i was so distracted by it, i didn’t really care what the guy looked like, but he sounded cool and had a lot of passion in his music.  to this day, i still enjoy 2 of the songs where i felt some strong emotion in the music.  lololol.

tears for fears wasn’t the only band where i had an oddly-place crush.  the song, “mr. jones” was released in 1994 by the counting crows, and it was a big hit.  if you listened to the radio at all around that time, you probably heard the song 5 times an hour.  all of my friends and i could quote it word-for-(sometimes-unintelligible)-word all the way through with all the little nuances.  and wouldn’t you know it, i thought adam duritz was really cute in that music video (what can i say…i’m part of the mtv generation when they played music videos!).  what was i thinking?!  well, it’s a little more believable when you look at him then vs. now (is that gray in his goatee?).  i saw them recently with the goo goo dolls, and they weren’t bad.  i was pretty drunk though.  heh.

and i have one last memorable crush to blog on.  this is probably one of the biggest crushes i ever had on an unattainable guy: jonathan brandis.  i first really took notice of jonathan in the tv series seaquest dsv, where he played the handsome young genius.  but he had a solid career at that point (Who’s the Boss, Murder She Wrote, Kate and Allie, among other tv shows and movies that i watched around this time).  yeah.  jonathan was definitely the boy i swooned over when bop, tiger bop, and all the other teenie bop magazines were hot stuff.  i was surprised when i started doing research on this brief topic when i found that he died in Nov. 2003 from injuries sustained during a suicide attempt (wikipedia).  aww, fraunies.  he was only 27.  that being said, can you believe i coveted my copy of this magazine spread?  wow.  so i was a sucker for guys who appeared to have fun and be somewhat intelligent (lucas wolenczak).  rip dude.

so that’s my summary of crushes that were distinctly memorable.  hope you were mildly entertained.  i put about an hour and a half into this post, but it was fun (and i l00rned something!).

i’ve been thinking a lot about what this year will hold.  i’m really excited because so much happened last year, and i accomplished a lot of goals (small and large).  in anticipation, i have decided to set some new goals.

for one, i’m endeavoring to be more connected.  i mean that in the most abstract sense.  i want my body to be connected with itself–to feel that my feet are truly connected to my hands and that all my appendages are connected to my head.  this sounds silly when i say it literally like that, but that was what i had in mind when i set that intention for myself this year.  i think it really will make me more connected to people around me–my community. 

next, i intend to get back into a regular, 3-4 times a week, yoga schedule.  i really benefited from this style of workout regimen last summer/fall, and i let the holidays take me away from that.  now it’s back to it, and i want it to be that way all year.  i have a couple of goals within my yoga practice, including holding supta kurmasana for 5 breathes (i can hold it, kinda’, for 1 or 2 on good days) on a regular basis, and staying in tripod headstand (or regular headstand) for 10 breathes among others.

third, i’d like to make efforts to blog more at home.  often times, i blog when i’m at work, and not only is that bad for work, but it’s bad for blogging.  i can put more effort.

and i will add a fourth item to my list of goals just to keep ambitious.  i’d like to get back into some sort of art.  whether it’s singing, painting, or just drawing in sketchbooks, i need/want to get back to other forms of (non-electronic) expression.  have no fear…i will share all of my non-electronic endeavors electronically (they just may not start out that way!). 

that is all for now.  i wish i had more to say, but ashtanga cleared my mind this evening.  that’s why i go.