CaaaaaliforniaAa

Recently I made a week trip out to Southern California for some fun in the sun. My roommate Chelsie and I headed off in hopes of warm weather, crazy adventures, great food, and good company. I had never been to Los Angeles, so I was eager to experience the hustle of the big city. My friend Leigh, who I know from my DC excursions, lives in the LA area as well, and a reunion was extra motivation to head south.

We packed in plenty of adventures during our LA stay:
1. Church with Leigh in the Valley (Where were the celebrities?!)
2. Stroll Venice Beach and Santa Monica Pier (Beautiful and full of bums)
3. Disneyland and California Adventure for 2 days (Lots of standing and childish squeals)
4. Walk up and down Rodeo Dr. in Beverly Hills (I may have spotted Keri Russell)
5. Eat at Famous Phillipes Restaurant (Ate fab French Dips and met DJ Walf/Wolf)
6. Tour Homeboy Industries (A nonprofit for people needing jobs out of prison)
7. Stop by the Stables Center (No one wants to represent the WNBA)
8. Drive in and survive bumper-to-bumper LA traffic (SO funnnnnnnnn)
9. Eat at a food truck in Leigh's Hood (Good stuff! Also, attempt jumping photo)
10. Stroll Old Pasadena (I want to live there. Now. We ate at the best bakery ever, too.)
11. Quick walk through Man's Chinese Theater and Walk of Fame (Asian Invasion)
12. Lose reality at Magic Castle with Chels, Leigh and Heather! (Not sure what to believe anymore)

Needless to say, we had a blast! I was not happy to return to frigid weather, work, and a cold that kicked my butt. Here are some pictures from the fabulous week!

Chelsie and Me at Venice Beach. Don't I just look like I belong?

Soooo beautiful.

Cinnamon Roll French Toast at Disneyland. Ridiculous!

Cinderella's Castle. Awww cute.

Space Mountain is the BEST...so are we.

Buzz Lightyear Ride. I kicked Chelsie's trash.
Splash Mountain. I sat in the very front and got SOAKED!
World of Color at California Adventure. Very very cool!
Messing around at the ESPN store by the Staples Center. We're pretty tough.
It's just not a visit with Leigh without a jumping photo. These shots were tricky at night by the food trucks.
Outside of the Magic Castle. We had no idea what we were about to see!

There are so many more pictures, but these highlight some great moments. Thanks to Leigh and Chels for making it a great vacation! I think I need vacations more often; California knows how to party.

Words of Reminder

My beautiful and extremely talented friend Kristen has had guest bloggers on her site all week. She asked me to participate, and I couldn't have felt more privileged. Her request couldn't have come at a better time, and her blog was the perfect venue for some words that have been on the tip of my tongue all week!

Check out my message on having love for yourself here:
http://kristenashlyn.blogspot.com/2011/08/words-of-reminder-by-jessica.html

Feel free to check out the rest of her blog and guest bloggers while you are at it!

Yo Mama...

Sometimes I'm pretty good at concealing the fact that I'm a huge nerd...then there are times when I find Harry Potter yo mama jokes online. Guaranteed I will laugh at every one...out loud. Now, I don't condone actually using these, but they're hilarious.

Be a nerd with me? (Sorry, if you're not really into HP, you won't get them. Shame on you.)

Yo mama so fat, the Sorting Hat put her in all 4 houses.

Yo mama so fat, her wand is a Slim Jim.

Yo mama so ugly, she walked into Gringott's and they gave her a job application.

Yo mama so stanky, even Dobby won't take one of her socks.

Yo mama so ugly, when she was born, the doctor screamed, "RIDDIKULUS!"

Yo mama so fat, when she looks in the Mirror of Erised, she sees a ham.

Yo mama so smelly, Bertie Bott made her his next jelly bean flavor.

Yo mama so fat, her patronus is a cake.

Yo mama so fat, the Sorting Hat assigned her to the House of Pancakes.

Yo mama so ugly, Hogwarts is named after her face.

Yo mama so ugly, even the Whomping Willow wouldn't hit that.

Yo mama so dumb, she brought syrup to a quidditch game cause she heard there'd be quaffles.

Oh gosh. There are more, but I'll stop there. I'm not a die-hard Harry Potter fan (I didn't dress up for the movies or even go to the midnight showings), but I can really appreciate a wonderful imagination with strong writing to boot (unlike Twilight). You can bet I stick up for JK Rowling against all the Harry Potter haters.

I'm quite sad it's over.

Neville never looked so good...

4 Months of Dirt, Air, Time, and Commitment

In the months of March and April, I spent most of my days with my face in the dirt. Quite literally as I basked in the sun and sands of Costa Rica but mostly metaphorically as a silent war blew desert dust in every crevice of my shared apartment. I've never been afraid of getting a little grimy, but now I know I prefer a smudgeless face, free of restraint. (Give me a hammock, the sand, and a wave...I'll take a little dirt THAT way.)


That cleaner life came in May, 2 weeks after my eyes steadied on the tides receding. Exchanging dirt for air, my life had rolled back in plumes of pure resolve (pura vida). I breathed deep the comfort of incredible new friends and a welcome profession. Settling back into my idea of existence never felt so good.


The summer days of June and (half of) July brought hours excused from my regular 50 minute intervals of clock-watching. Instead, I felt the sun tell time as it warmed my body by the wave pool...or maybe the ticking of the hands were lost all together, somewhere in a good book, a softball game, a forgotten movie, a laugh that's so hard you cry, a somewhat private love for writing, an overdue family reunion, a sound sleep. Life's simplicities covered up its intricacies in an instant.

It's the end of July now, and compared to 6 months ago, I wear a different look on my face. This one says it's committed to taking control. It's a little more confident, a little more secure, a little more unshakably happy. I've always been dedicated to this life, the one with trials and triumphs. Today, I take an even more passionate outlook on this journey, amazed at the girl I've become through it all.

What would I have done and who would I be without my 4 months(ish) of dirt, air, time, and commitment?

(I've been holding on to some of these thoughts for a while.)

Glimpse

At the beginning of the year I made a resolution to write 500 words a day. Considering I have never been able to keep a consistent diary in my life, that was a huge goal. It lasted...for a while. My resolution has kind of gotten away from me in the last month, but I still write here and there. I thought I would share some random snippets from my "Five Hundred A Day."

"I find purpose on this earth in a lot of things, like family and dreams, but my overall purpose comes from knowing that the Lord loves me incredibly and is yearning for me to turn this experience into the most positive and meaningful thing I can..."

"The alarm clock goes off and it is the ugliest sound you have heard in your life. Ugly is no way to start off a day..."

"Needless to say, my legs feel like giant slabs of stone stuck to a very tender butt..."

"At the ripe age of 23, I have enough memories in my back pocket to fill an unoccupied hot tub and enough money in my wallet to fill a cereal bowl..."

"I wasn't born in Philadelphia, the Bronx, or Compton, but you could find me at the house, backyard, Lexington..." (HAha...rap moment)

"There are so many out there that get locked up with the key. Throwing a fist at their hater but only splintering their reflection. 'Let me out, let me out. This is not where I belong.' Maybe he can use the key now that the mirror is gone and the only view are the hands that did the deed. We are the only ones that can rightfully force a personal trap. Play victim to a world that doesn't listen to claims of 'You don't know me.' It doesn't matter if I'm surrounded by the surefire signs of jumpsuit living, I created the deadbolt deep within my mind..."

"Expectation’s a funny thing.
We set ourselves up to think,
Someday,
My way.
One day,
Today,
I’ll get what I see,
Do what they tell me,
And no doubt in my mind,
It’ll all turn out fine.
Yet, what we expect is
Not always what we get.
For the good, for the bad,
I have to live with what I have.
Where would expectation
Be without anticipation?
We get tired of the waiting,
But the years are only baiting.
Being reeled in tight,
Getting the news will only make it right.
Then those years will be worth it,
But all I hear is “Quick!”

Only a glimpse into the randomness that is my mind! I got inspired by Sarah Kay, today. Check out her TEDtalks appearance. So beautiful!
http://www.ted.com/talks/sarah_kay_if_i_should_have_a_daughter.html

...Better?

Progress from Jessica Dixon on Vimeo.

Newest Member of the Family

So (my students make fun of me for saying "so" a lot),
I recently decided that any day now would be a great time to start acting on some dreams of mine. I have a wonderful job that takes up a lot of my time, but I thought a nice selfish goal to fill in some free moments would feel good. Over the space of a few weeks, I reviewed the bucket list I made a while back, weighed the current odds of some of these things actually happening now, and made a decision...#6 it is!

Bucket List Goal #6--Take Drum Lessons

I started taking lessons three weeks ago, and I love it. You KNOW I've got rhythm and soul, so naturally...
I have a lot of fun, and my instructor is really cool. A problem arose when I realized that practicing the drums by hitting imaginary drum pieces just wasn't work out for me. I upgraded pretty quick and am now the proud owner of this beautiful 5 piece drum set!

Don't worry, I don't practice when my roommates are home, and they are cool with it.
I got it all for $150 on KSL, which is dang good deal. The hi-hat is noisy because it is a bit bent and the two cymbals don't meet completely, but I'm alright with that for now. Oh, I LOVE the yellow. I feel like you don't see that very often. I feel a bit like a kid taking up drums at the age of 23, but I'm a big fan, so who cares?

Freakishly enough, in August 2009, I wrote this (click here) blog post. In that blog post, I made a totally serious comment about being the awesome drummer girl in the video. I watched it again on Monday and almost died when I realized that the girl is playing on a yellow set. It's fate. ;)

Here is a silly video of me playing a few simple beats combined. I hit the cymbal for the heck of it, and it's hard to hear the kick drum, but you get the gist. I will be rockin' one day, people!

Untitled from Jessica Dixon on Vimeo.

Reclaimed New Year

It's a new beautiful year everyone! With that new year comes a whole slew of beautiful things. These things are not new, though. No, nothing is ever entirely "new." A "new" experience, a "new" idea, a "new" emotion, it all stems from someplace that may not be so much as new as it is dusty or reclaimed.

Yesterday, something blew the dust off of an emotion I haven't felt in quite a while. It happened like this:
I did the Insanity workout video with one of the long-term units at work. I had seen them doing it in the gym after school one afternoon, and I couldn't help but make fun of them in class the next day (they looked so jazzercise-ish). Somehow, that turned into the boys and the female staff convincing me to do it with them. So, pulling the other English teacher into the mix, we laced up our shoes, wore our baggy workout clothes, and joined the boys and female staff in turning bright red from the "Insane" exertion. I now feel like my calves have been trampled on...but that's beside the point. Afterwards, I walked down the sidewalk to the other long-term unit. The air felt unusually warm, and the breeze was welcome. I took notice of the unique scene as I got closer and closer to the far end of the razor-wire-enclosed yard and the hospital green clearance door. I've been here many many times, but without explanation, I felt completely, overwhelmingly content, and I had not been there in too long. I instantly smiled to myself and thanked Heavenly Father for the new emotion. I was wrong, however; the emotion was not new, only forgotten, like so many other things in life. Our new years resolutions, the sound of that childhood song (Simple Kind of Life-No Doubt), that annoying alarm clock every morning, a fleeting writing idea, your age. I'm happy to have it back.

It's so easy to get caught up in the everyday. The things we see in our common routine and our surge of expected emotions, they can almost feel like, "Well, this is it." That is, until a wind picks up and scatters the routine, the smog, and the air is new. It feels new, and we remember there is more. You may say, "Now, what about when I go to Italy for the first time? I literally have never been there before and that's new." True; however, you have been to new places before and that's half the journey. Nothing seems to be entirely new.

We can work this to our advantage. If we have experienced it before, we can experience it again. This new years, let's blow the dust off of everything we've forgotten but loved. The joy from giving, the worthwhile burn from a grueling workout, the pride from creating, the sweet indulgence from baking, the confidence from looking back, the thrill from adventure, the hope from setting goals, the _______ from ________. You fill it in.

I'm about to reclaim what's "new" and party like it's 1987-2011....that rhymes.

Let us love (like we were children)
Make us feel (like we're still living)
It is time (to beat the system)
Live this life (like we can't miss it)
-Needtobreathe