A poem for Erin

There once was a girl from Greenwich,

Who loved life to the fullest

And who loved to imagine of places in the world.

                The splendid, wonderful, far flung places

                                                                She wanted to learn more.

To see these places, to feel them. Feel their liveliness.

Their jaunty feel to them. The history behind them.

                                She wanted to experience it.

From the city in Connecticut to

                Italy, where the ancestors hailed from,

                The green fields of Italy, oh yes, the green of Italy

                The green of life, pure and lively; oh how beautiful that is.

The liveliness of what that country has to offer, and it’s people

                oh the people

                                the people that make life wonderful.

But for now, she was focused on going from lovely green to unique orange.

                                The orange of the outback of Australia.

The awkward moment when...

The girl you like and have a lot of common interests in, likes your friend that you introduced her to. It's like, I like you yet I'm sure you don't like me too much, and you just met him in person today. WTF. Once again, I'm one the outside looking in. And what makes this worse is that I don't know how to tell her that I like her, cause I feel it'll be a little too awkward. That and she follows me on Twitter and Tumblr, so I can't vent/say anything there. The relationships of Conan's life continue to absolutely screw him over; I swear, I must have killed somebody in a previous life to have this always happen to me.

Weird dream last night involving Taylor Swift and UMW

So as the title indicates, I had a weird dream last night involving Taylor Swift and UMW. The principle was that, since every year the UMW Philharmonic brings in a celebrity to perform with us (this year it's Kenny Rogers, next year is James Galway), apparently we somehow pulled of Taylor Swift coming to Fredericksburg and perform. This is notable for being odd for the reason that I have never listened to one of her songs before; maybe it's my sleep deprived brain trying to send me a message. Who knows. Anyways, apparently she played with us to a super packed auditorium. The weird part began after that. Like, apparently we suddenly got transported to a fairly outdoorsy, woodsy area that definitely was not Fredericksburg. If anything, I felt like it was Lynchburg-ish territory, but in the woodsy outdoors. Anyways, apparently I and some other unnamed, blurry friends of mine had to do some work on a pathway, and apparently it was also university mandated as well. And Taylor Swift volunteered to do work with us too. In heels. I'm not sure if she wears heels in real life. So we did our work and the like, and we were talking the whole time. Eventually, I got to talk to her one on one in private; I honestly forget what happened here. But for some strange reason, in the dream I got transported to a sketchy-ish, 1950's era garage, where I got paid for doing the job. And then I got transported to what I thought resembled part of New York city, where I was desperately running back to get back to campus and meet up with Taylor, all the while avoiding some guys who had seen my cash that I was paid with and trying to mug me. And then my alarm woke me up.

Conan does poetry again part 2: "Rainy Streets"

He was walking down the rainy streets
With his thoughts pouring down as hard as the drops of rain.
Everybody around him scurrying for shelter. Not him.
He was embracing the rain. Embracing it for the cleansing it brought to him,
brought to his life.
His mind was oddly at peace with the world.
He was experiencing a peace that he hadn’t experienced before-was this bliss?
To him, it was. The joy of nature’s tears relieving him of his sins, he felt lighter.

Conan does poetry again: "The Traveler"

He looked at the road ahead of him,
the long and winding road.
Oh the road that would take him to places he had dreamed about.
This was it. This was the time.

He had dreamt of these places,these magnificent places
in maps and pictures. He imagined the people he’d meet
in foreign lands.
He imagined the places he’d see, the experiences he’d leave with.
The souvenirs he’d bring back; his home was filled with them, oh yes!
The tales that would be told and shared, oh yes, the tales
Of the places he’d gone to and the things he did
All would be stored in his memory for as long as he lived.

But first, he had to depart on the road. The road towards all of this.
It would be a long road, that was for sure.
He knew that when he came back, he would return changed.
Change for the better.
      Because, he saw the world.

         Saw the beauty of it:
                       a vast, colorful world.

Obligatory St. Patrick's Day post

St. Patrick’s Day is today. Here’s a little thing in honor of it, and I apologize for how fragmented it is. Eh well, guess that's how my thoughts are for today.

So to start off, my name's Conan, which is a Gaelic name. So already, that covers anything Irish. Therefore, suck it wannabe-Irish-people-for-the-day. I also have my clover boxers on, which I bought in Ireland. This fact means that I have more authentic Irish-ness that most people today. I am also wearing my Welsh shirt too (which isn’t Irish but hey, we took a “ferry” from Ireland to Wales, so it’s the property of association). And then I could break out my Scottish kilt sometime today too. So in conclusion, I’m more in the spirit than you probably are right now for St. Patty's Day. Awwww yeah.

Anonymous act of kindness via Tumblr

As the title would indicate, well, it says it all. Here's my highlights of it, complete with the responses I've been getting back. Note that this is me asking questions on a friend's Tumblr.

Me: I think my life's biggest joy so far has been volunteering and making others happy. It's the best birthday or Christmas present one can ask for. I think of it like planting a tree or beautiful flowers-you give hope, care, and love to others and watch them as that grows into happiness in its purest form. And it's simply beautiful to watch happen. It's amazing.
"Wow. You are such an inspiration and I truly hope that you find the best in life. I completely agree, volunteering anywhere and just watching the people as their happiness grows is just incredible. It’s so beautiful, it’s why I love working with children so often. I want to make a career out of art therapy just so I can help people find happiness. :)"


The pleasure is all mine, madame. And I thank you for the huge grin on my face knowing that I've helped you.
"Someone certainly sounds like a gentleman/lady. :) And i’m glad you’re smiling. I love it when my followers smile. <3 It makes me even happier to know I’m the reason :)"

 This response literally made me beam. I can't explain the happiness I felt when I read it, but man, it's amazing to know how far kind words can go:
Personally, I don't see flaws in you, I see positive things, if that helps. In my eyes, you're spectacular.
"lkfjlkdsjlkas oh my goodness :) It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside so thank you. I’m working on self love. I realized if I can’t love myself how can I expect other people to? :) Im on the road to healing <3 Thank you so much."

In conclusion, kind words DO go a long way. And it gives me great pleasure like to other to be able to make others happy; if I can make others happy, then I'm happy!