Skip to main content

My Mom Wanted me to Update my Blog

Well, I didn't plan to stop blogging. It just happened that I haven't posted in six months. A lot has happened in that time, and I owe it to my biggest fan, my mom, to post an update. Here it is, Mom!

I ended up going to a few more Goth club nights before I left Atlanta. I went with one to my best friend, who is pictured below:

Then I moved to rural Northern West Virginia where I can walk to water falls and hike up mountains. I live only 3 hours from Washington, D.C., so I've been there a few times as well. 

Douglas Falls

From my hike up Bald Knob
When Halloween came around, Ryan flew up to visit. We dressed as Titania and Bottom from A Midsummer Night's Dream and drove to the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum for a Halloween Ball. The old asylum is huge and has beautiful Gothic architecture. We brought our own beer and walked around, ogling at the elaborately dressed costumers.


I even saw Robert Smith! He seemed very pleased that I recognized him.


Then, before we knew it, Christmas arrived. My roommates and I went to the Wildlife Refuge where they were giving away Scotch Pines. We took one home and decorated it in beer cans in the true spirit of West Virginia.


It's snowed over a foot the past couple of days, and my roommate and I went Cross Country skiing this evening. It was my first time. We skied down the street and through the cemetery. We raced, and I fell. I lost control going down a hill a few times. It was good fun. I needed it.

To be honest, there have been a lot of ups and downs since I moved here. I felt isolated living in such a small town so far away from family. I've been going through periods where I feel so accomplished with the service work I've been doing and in a state of wonder over the fact that I live in such a beautiful place, but then I'll feel the opposite. I'll feel each second tick by with a crushing sense of isolation and frustration. But then I remember that once this time passes, I will never get it back.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Odd Ghoul Out's 2019 Concert Clip Show

It's been a decade since I first got into goth music and subculture. And, with my tongue firmly stuck to my cheek, I observe how I am  still  a baby bat! I'm young enough to still be called a "baby" at shows and club nights yet old enough to recall, with deep nostalgia, vying for a spot directly in front of the stage at my first Peter Murphy show nearly 10 years ago at a now-relocated venue in Atlanta... I also remember with fondness—and some embarrassment—writing a cliché poem for Peter Murphy, referring to him as the "original Bat." And, instead of keeping it to myself, I actually threw the typed poem up onto the stage directly following the show, hoping he'd pick it up and keep it in his breast pocket. Ah, the folly of youth! I don't recall there ever being this many bands of the goth or goth-adjacent persuasion playing in Atlanta since I got into the subculture. That's not to say there weren't plenty of bands playing this city. I only f...
2 comments
Read more

Ten Things of 2018

For the majority of the past ten years, I've wanted to say "good riddance" to that current year and hope for a better coming year. But even though this year did bring loss, change and sadness, it also brought me great joy. I've felt a deep sense of gratitude for this year. Here are ten big things that happened in 2018: I settled in to my job and house. Ryan and I started planning our wedding. Ryan's youngest brother was diagnosed with glioblastoma. He passed away in April.  I competed in a charity dance competition with a Waltz routine. We got married on July 21st in Thomas, WV (where I did my AmeriCorps service).  Reader, I married him. We had a "mini-moon" in Asheville, NC. I didn't have enough time off work for us to have a "real" honeymoon. We'll be planning a honeymoon for 2019.  Ryan's brother got married in September. Ryan's cousin got married in September as well. (2018 will be the Year of Weddings.) I...
4 comments
Read more

Let's talk Goth, Consumerism and #zerowaste

Disclaimer:   I do not claim to be an expert on low waste (or "zero waste") living —far from it . The purpose of this piece is to explore what it means to belong to the Goth subculture in the context of consumerism and making sustainable choices. There are many ways to live sustainably, but this piece will focus on reducing waste. This piece does not seek to shame or blame anyone but rather to challenge throw-away attitudes that dominate our world—and the modern Goth subculture—by offering another perspective. Respectful discussion in the comment section is welcomed.  W hen I hear the words "zero waste," I often think of people making videos to show off three months of trash fitting inside a little mason jar, their magical Whole Foods shopping trip, or even a tour of their impossibly-tiny capsule wardrobe. Search #zerowaste on Pinterest and you'll come up with pictures of tidy little beige pantries with uniform mason jars filled with chia seeds, nutri...
2 comments
Read more