Howdy Ya'll!

I thought I was bad at face to face introductions, try typing it out on the computer.  Okay so howdy y’all, my name is Gloria and you’re about to take a trip through the dark crevasses of my mind and soul. Just kidding.  First of all, Calibri is the worst font, so I’m just gonna change that.  I’m not really sure if it’s acceptable to use words that aren’t really words in this post.  But it’s my post so whatever.  My academic goals are pretty straightforward I guess.  Get all A’s.  Get into a good college.  Get into GSP.  Get a life in addition to my studies.  Get some sleep. Get the point?

(It is at this point where I stall out and spend nearly an hour writing and rewriting what I’m going to say next before I give up, get more coffee, and take a twenty minutes breather on the deck with some Coldplay.    Eventually, I break down in a panic, realizing I have so much to say but no desire to say it.  This is why I do not write.)

Okkkkaaayyy…. Back from the deep trench of my existentialism.  I have come to the conclusion that my life is just a series of abusive relationships.  Running has destroyed my body, leaving me with decrepit knees and aching, ugly feet.  Art supplies steals my money and the process squanders what little precious free time I have.  Screeching guitar solos and pounding drums in the background of my daily life have ravaged my eardrums.  But with every relationship, there is a foundation built upon love.  This love is continuously tested, yet it stands firm in the face of the stresses that plague me.

If you have ever been lucky/unfortunate enough to accompany me to an art fair, you will find that I am a geek.  I am that person who goes through the racks of canvases, staring at each one, studying its technique and flipping on the next work.  I will sit on the ground in front of a piece and simply stare at it for ten minutes straight, refusing to speak or anything (don’t believe me, ask Dara Golding).  Art has always held a special place in my heart, ever since my early days spent finger painting in the back of the grandmother’s art class.  I have been told repeatedly that I need to sell my art or go work somewhere where I can just do the artsy thing all the time.  Personally, I have no desire to do this.  I just like to flip through my sketch book and run my hands over grooves left my pen, tracing the designs over and over again.

     Moving on from art we come to the unhealthy amount of running I do.  With most people running is something that is to be avoided at all costs, which I can sometimes agree with.  However, most of time this isn’t the case.  I am weird.  My favorite summer pastime was waking up around seven, grabbing my ipod, and running to Timbuktu and back (ok maybe not Timbuktu, just the park loop plus Keeneland and back- nine miles.)  Nowadays, my allotted running time is at cross country practice.  Here, I bravely dodge cars, dogs, and bumps in the sidewalks, pushing through the nagging pains in my joints and muscles.  All of this done in pursuit of an exhaustion that outweighs my troubles. 

If running and art were people, then music would be their omnipresent buddy. The day I no longer have my earphones in will be the day I am dead.  I specifically remember my new life began in fourth grade when my teacher decided to play Coldplay’s album, A Rush of Blood to the Head.  Eight years and hundreds of dollars spent on CDs and downloads later, my music repertoire is far from complete.  Which is one of the things I love about music.  You can spend forever relistening to your favorite bands or wander through the infinite universe of lyrics, instrumentals, remixes, EPs, etc.  It’s great.

            If you ever tell me to pick a favorite band, song, CD… I will look at you and shake my head because that is even more impossible than anything ever.  Don’t even do it. However, I am willing to define my music taste a bizarre collection of obscure indie bands dotted with a few more popular bands such as Coldplay, Vampire Weekend, Death Cab for Cutie, Cage the Elephant… yup.

            Basically these are the main aspects of my being.  Some other hobbies include going on long rants, curling up and reading/watching nerdy things (nova, crash course world history, Weston A. Price’s monthly pamphlet, sciencey books… and on and on), spending quality time with my bed, cooking strange health food, tending to my plant and animal friends, and volunteering at God’s Pantry. 

            I’m at the point where I feel like I should probably end this post… but I also feel like you still know very little about me.  hmmm… yup I’m done for now.  Hope you enjoyed this small slice of my life.   

So here is a meaningful moment from my summer vacation.  In June I went to Copper Harbor, Michigan, which is up in the U.P.  From there my dad, three other dudes, and I took a ferry eighty miles into Lake Superior to Isle Royale national park and backpacked for four days.  I took this picture the day before we left for the island.  The location is a cabin in a place called Agate Harbor.  A few of my favorite experiences include:

1.      Waking up around five in the morning and running along the road into Copper harbor.  It was cold and foggy and everything smelled like cedar and it was pretty awesome.  I took this picture after I came back from that run.

2.      Seeing an otter just come galumphing out of the water on our last day on the island.  It was pretty cute.

3.      I saw the rear end of a moose disappear into the bushes while hiking.  You’d think on an island that small with 1,500 moose you would see them more often, but I guess not.  Elusive moose. 

4.      Going for a 14 mile kayaking trip around the Keweenaw Peninsula with our really cool guides Dan and Liz.  That day was really foggy and the lake was so still that the water looked like a mirror and you could see 15 ft down to the bottom, which looked really cool.

5.      Watching the sun set around 11 ever night.   

Here’s the link to my Instagram where I post a lot of my art and music suggestions.   https://instagram.com/gloria_pulley/