Familial Responsibility

          I must admit, I completely forgot about posting a blog this past week. I had fallen into a comfortable system of posting every Friday over the past 9 weeks. However, this Friday I was rather distracted and fell out of my normal routine. As disconcerting as this may be for my classmates, they can only imagine how shocking it is for me to fall out of routine! Naturally my first thought was to post a blog as quickly as possible in a futile attempt to remedy my forgetfulness.

My distraction has spawned from the fact that my parents are going away this weekend. My parents leave in a couple of hours to go away to Jamaica to celebrate their 24^th wedding anniversary. Since they’ll be away for a week, I’ll be in charge of the Murphy household. This has made me wonder about the responsibility I hold in my personal life under normal circumstances, as well as extenuating circumstances such as these.

         In general, I oversee the minor details of the household. I occasionally cook, I often (obsessively) clean, but I maintain my role as a sibling rather than a guardian. I have been quite fortunate when it comes to my family life. My little sister is an excellent student, a lovely child and generally a good person. I don’t foresee there being any problems while the parents are away, but it is somewhat intimidating that I’m in charge of her well being. Mind you, I consider myself to be a rather competent individual but such a great degree of personal responsibility is... daunting to say the least. I have intentionally lived my life only having to care for my own needs. I love my family deeply, but I prefer not to have to worry about the well-being of others.

          This has made me look at my life in a broader spectrum. I am certain that I am nowhere near parenthood. I neither have the means or intention to have children until I have at least established a career base (which could be anywhere between 3-8 years from now). I don’t mind taking care of my little sister, heck, I even enjoy it! She is not a rebellious teen, nor is she overly rambunctious. Our sense of humor is quite similar. The only major difference is that she is a social butterfly while I am the social pariah. I have taken care of her before, but never in a situation where I will be in control for an extended period of time. I do not relish the idea of being a caregiver, even if only temporarily, but I shall attempt to carry the mantle as best I can! 

          

Fortress of Solitude

          The past week has been an exceptionally stressful one. I’ve realized that sleep is a distant idea; an entertaining notion at best. March is a month of papers, assignments and the very brink of tedium! I am rather exhausted and there is still so much left to do! In general, I would consider myself to have a fairly relaxed personality. However, when faced with a plethora of anxiety-inducing assignments, my relaxed personality flees. Just sitting here writing this blog is significantly exhausting my intellectual reserves. Mind you, I always have the ability to indulge in my thoughts.

         I actually was discussing something rather fascinating with an old friend of mine yesterday. I posed the open-ended question “do you ever wonder?” Naturally the response was a definite “Of course!” Continuing in the exercise, I asked her what made her wonder. I laughed at the simple and yet resounding answer. “What doesn’t?” They went on to tell me that they had just been sitting watching the birds fly earlier that day and were wondering why can’t we fly? Naturally, I didn’t have any answers, merely more questions. It was just another one of a billion or so questions that fascinate and amuse me.

           

          I was indulging in my own fantasies of wonderment at the same time. I had always wished I had been born a prodigy, a child with some sort of advanced intelligence. Alas, I was rather simple. As a child, I was somewhat inept. I started school at the age of 4, and it was questioned whether I should be held back. I had trouble with the simplest of tasks and was relatively under-developed for my grade. However, I was given a chance to redeem myself. Continuing throughout school I was a rather mediocre student, merely portraying myself as intelligent. The reality of the matter simply was that I took solace in books. I was no more or less intelligent than any other average child. The only advantage I had was my voracious appetite for more books. Books were an intellectual haven, with characters that were relatable, plots that were shocking, and worlds that only exist in the mind. We all have our havens. My mind is my fortress of solitude.  

 

            

Heavenly Scented Candles!

            In regards to today’s entry, I would like to talk about something rather random. As of late, I’ve become rather attached to scented candles. I know what you’re thinking, “Scented Candles? I knew Adam was awesome!” Naturally you would be correct in your conclusion. I came across the candles when my little sister was selling them for a school fundraiser. I figured I should be the decent older brother by purchasing a few. The fact of the matter is that they are fantastic! 

The two I purchased include a three tiered candle that starts off as apple pie, then smells of cinnamon and ends with vanilla. The second is chocolate peppermint sticks. As I’m writing this, I’m burning the apple pie portion of the candle. I must admit, more than anything it’s making me desperately want a slice of apple pie with vanilla ice cream. I can’t speak for anyone other than myself, but apple pie is one of the biggest motivators in my own life (both real and synthetic versions it would seem). 

For me, it does not only smell quite lovely, but is also quite relaxing. I find this time of year to be rather stressful. Having to write multiple papers, assignments and work on a multitude of group projects makes Mr. Murphy somewhat of a madman. Having any remote means whatsoever to keep me relaxed is not something to be taken lightly! I am a man who likes to keep himself as relaxed as humanly possible regardless of situation. Not only are they relaxing, but they add a lovely ambiance to my room. The lingering scent of apple pie awaits me every time I walk into my room. 

          Another great thing about these candles is that they are supposed to burn for approximately a hundred hours. As well as the long life of the candle, the smell is not sacrificed by its longevity. Though they are not exactly cheap, ($20 for two) they certainly last much longer than any standard candle and smell far better. The way I see it, for every 10 hours of the candle burning I am only paying a dollar. Certainly a fair bargain for something that smells delicious enough to eat!  

Sci-Fi Living

            The past week has been quite a lovely time away from my life as a student. I was fortunate enough to have a few days to spend at my sister’s place in the valley, away from the usual humdrum nature of my life in Dartmouth. It was rather enjoyable to have a few days of nothing but quiet and time to myself. Considering that my sister and her boyfriend work full-time, the place was essentially mine for the three day period I was there. I intended to have a rather relaxed break, which I feel I was quite successful in doing. My break has consisted of a plethora of Stargate episodes (approximately 110 in the last week and a half) and casual work on the multitude of assignments I currently have to do.

In regards to Stargate, I recently made a bet with a friend. The bet entailed that I would be able to get through all of Stargate Sg-1, Stargate Atlantis, and Stargate Universe before I write my exams in April (he of course stipulating that I would not be able to do so). As you can tell, I am well on my way to winning this bet. There are 340 episodes from all the shows compiled, as well as three movies for the original show. You might have guessed that I love science fiction, and am in fact quite a bit of a “nerd” (which would probably be putting it a bit lightly). It hardly comes as any surprise if an individual were to look through my previous blogs, or if indeed they have ever talked to me in person. Arguably I am a... unique personality.

 Naturally, I find myself to be quite a fanciful lad. Though I may have a rather quirky viewpoint of life, I still can be rather down to earth and serious. I merely happen to prefer living in the world that abounds within my mind. The possibility of interstellar travel, or time travel, or indeed any thought of things greater than our current level of existence excites me far more than anything that currently exists in reality. I find such ideas much more enticing than any person, but alas many people do hold such ideas. I am not a man to suffer fools lightly. This being said, I am not so closed minded to shut out your thoughts. I encourage you to attempt to entice me with any number of thoughts, ideas or tangents.

 And yes, I do own the box set pictured above.

Bedridden and Thought Provoked...

            Thank goodness for reading week! The past week has been a particularly painful one. Having completed midterms yesterday, I can finally recover from this horrendous sickness. It’s been three days and I have been getting progressively worse every day. Today is a particularly quiet day in the Murphy household. I have been quarantined in my bedroom to avoid infecting the general populous. However, being sick provides me a great opportunity to dwell on my thoughts. With the inability to do anything of particular value, I’m caught up in that age old question, “where exactly is my life going?”   

           

In actuality my life is in the same situation it has been in for the past three years. I want to travel, have enough money to be comfortable, and get away from here. I’m not particularly social in nature, and have no real ties to Nova Scotia. I do love my family, but I desire to escape the humdrum nature that my life has become. I’m not so much unhappy, but rather unsatisfied with what my life has become. I dislike that I harp on about this subject so often but it really is the only major issue that needs addressing in my life. I mean, I’m open to someone breathing life back into the corpse that is my love life, but it’s a rather uninteresting subject on the face of it.

I’m hoping that I’ll be able to go to school somewhere far away from here in the coming year. I have had offers from family members to go to school in Calgary or Edmonton, as well as the far closer valley. While it would be nice to go back to Alberta, I’m not sure what opportunities exist out there. Granted, it would be beneficial to go out there for a year and experience it to see what exactly could exist for a person of my extensive (and useless) array of skills. Hopefully as time goes on, life shall present itself with an adequate offering. If not, I shall likely further descend into madness! Hopefully that doesn’t happen anytime soon... Regardless, I hope everyone has a pleasant reading week!

    

Care to travel the world?

            In my own life, I find it is rather rare for things to work out in the most favorable light. Things usually work out in the end, but the process of getting there is hardly ever smooth. It has been said that the journey is the destination. I do not believe this entirely, but feel there is some degree of truth to this statement. Where we are going can be just as important as how we end up getting there. Be it by car, plane, train, ship or any other mode of viable transportation, a deeper experience lurks. Every mode offers a unique ability to soak in the world (be that as countryside, expansive metropolitan cities of steel, or expansive ocean vistas).

These journeys are not to be taken for granted. It is easy enough to overlook the deeper feelings and offerings when traveling. I have been to Disney World and Land, Six Flags, Canada’s Wonderland and several other lovely trips. Though the amusement parks offered a great deal of enjoyment, the true excitement was in the food. My family often laughs at my anecdotes when questioned about my favorite aspect of any particular trip. For Vegas, it was the carnival world buffet. For Disney World, it was the delicious mint juleps. For Six Flags it was the lovely little country style buffet that we attended twice. I just happen to be a large fellow who loves food.  

 Though the food may have been my favorite part of these trips, travel was a means of escaping reality. Whilst on vacation, it was easy enough to do what I wanted, see what I wanted to see, and eat as I so desired to. It enabled me to see things I wouldn’t otherwise have seen and to not be tied down and trapped in one place. I do not like to stay in one place for very long. Having been in Nova Scotia for 13 years now, I feel I am more than ready to move forward in life. I desire to see the world! Though Nova Scotia is lovely, it is too small for my liking. Hopefully in the near future, I’ll be able to enable my dreams! I may need a traveling companion...

Young Man seeking Eligible Epiphany!

               I can hardly believe the first month of 2012 has already gone by. 1/12^th (8.34%) of this year has already moved into the realm of historical existence. As it currently stands, I have lived through 19 years. This translates over to 230 months or halfway through my 1004^th week on this earth. Today, Friday February 3^rd, is the 7,025^th day I have been alive. It seems rather amazing when it’s all broken down. But, what have I really accomplished so far in the cosmic scheme of things?

             As far as accomplishments in life, I have done relatively little that would warrant further examination. I see myself as the prodigal student. It’s astonishing to think of what others have already done in their lives in comparison to my own life. I do not like comparative politics, but I do believe it is necessary in order to give myself a kick in the pants. If I am to leave the Murphy mark somewhere on this planet, I would hope to do so within my own lifetime. So many of the great minds throughout history were scorned during their lifetimes, but later revered as brilliant and revolutionary! An epiphany is needed in order to merit my name joining the greats history has already provided...

          At this time in our history, the average human being will live to be slightly over the age of 80. To put this in perspective, this is about 30,000 days. By this logic, I have lived almost a quarter of my life on this planet (in reality about 23.4%, assuming that I managed to live through 30,000 days, but that doesn’t sound nearly as clear and lovely as a quarter of my lifetime). Of course as technology and medical science continually advances, it’s likely the human lifespan shall be extended. I must ask myself, what am I ultimately trying to accomplish? I’m open to ideas...