"Most of the time I've got nothin' to say ...

When I do it's nothin' and nobody's there to listen."

What better way to start off a post of random things than to quote a random song lyric? (That one from "I Taught Myself How to Grow Old" by Ryan Adams.)

The lovely lady over at Truth Cycles has tagged those blogs she visits to write up eight random things about themselves.

My first random thing is tied to yesterday's post and the title of this one ...

1. I have a very visceral reaction to art. Whether it's poetry, painting or music -- if it's good I feel it deep down in my gut. I have been known to become so overwhelmed at art galleries that I cry. (Seeing a painting of white roses by Van Gogh at the National Gallery leveled me.) I was raised in a household where art of all kinds was prized. My father had us reading poetry around the breakfast table. He now sends me poems he likes in the mail. Art was never just a dressing for life; it was, is, life.

2. (This one inspired by Hel.) As a child I felt as though I communed with all creation. I was often left to wander the hills and woods behind our house alone (life with four brothers) and felt closer to a higher power out there, under that canopy, than I ever did inside a church. The sun on my skin was enough to bring me peace. I lost that over the years and am now struggling to regain that.

3. I believe in reincarnation. It's taken me a while to get to the point where I can say, "Yes, I believe in reincarnation". I mean, it is really a far out idea. Especially to my little Western mind. But I think I've wrapped my head about it. I don't think I ever really had a choice to not, though. It's always felt right; I spent the last few years trying to figure out why. I still don't know but am at a place in life where I can accept that I don't know everything.

4. I dream of being a published poet. I want to be Plath or Neruda or Eliot or Hughes. It's not that I want their fame. I want people to read my work and to have it resonate. My feeling is that, if it resonates, there's some truth to it. And what's the point of writing if it's not truthful?

5. I am not patriotic. Maybe that's something that will change as the thugs in office now leave, but I don't know. I've always felt somewhat detached from any sort of sense of nationalism. My citizenship was nothing more than an accident of birth. My parents were from here, so I am from here. But being American doesn't entitle me to more oxygen. Or shouldn't. I think the ideals this nation was founded upon are certainly something to be proud of. But we've moved so far from them ... I'm not even sure this United States is the same country. I will be the first to say growth is always an important, but only when it's positive. I don't think any of the growth of the last eight years has been positive. In fact, I'm fairly certain we've shrunk.

6. My idea of a weekend well spent is one in which I never take off my pajamas, drink good wine, eat good cheese and spend a lot of time cuddling, laughing and being stupid with my husband. When were first dating we would spend entire Saturday afternoons just lying on our bed (I should mention that we were living in a shack, there wasn't much else to do) listening to the radio and talking. Those days were perfect. We don't get to do that anymore because we have an almost-four-year-old and there's no laying around with an almost-four-year-old. I look forward to the day when she's old enough to go to her grandparents' for long visits and my husband and I can claim at least a few mornings as our own.

7. (Mother-in-law look away at this one.) I almost ran away on my wedding day! Not joking. I had no doubts that my husband was the man I should marry. But, standing in the entryway of the little chapel we got married in I totally freaked out. Totally. I may have mentioned this before but I never wanted to get married. Everyone was gathering in the chapel and it was just me and my dad. I looked at him, he smiled and I knew, then and there, if I wanted to not do this I could tell my dad and we'd jump in his van and be on our way out of town. The enormity of what I was about to just hit me in the face right then and there. Then, suddenly, I heard the music begin, took a deep breath and took my father's arm. My momentary bought of insanity having fled. It was scary, that moment. And, when I think about it, still is.

8. I question everything. Everything. I've tried to stop, but I can't. It's just who I am.

So, total randomness from yours truly. A good way to go into the weekend, I think.

I'm going to have to buy some brie. Seeing that photo is making me want some.