The Journey - Chapter 2

Al had never forgotten what Dunrik had told him. The lands beyond the mountains, S’with, were lush with many forests of various types of woods, many that Al certainly had never seen but in the most expensive keeps in the area, which there were few of. The land was a mixture of rolling hills, small rivers and fertile green pastures. The cities are large and industrious, but full of culture and art. The people are warm and friendly, kind and generous, welcoming in strangers and the down and out.

All considered his own home, Conval. Here the people were friendly, but guarded. There were those who were scared of strangers knocking on their doors. Farms very distantly removed from the towns. Farms that rarely dealt with the local town, except for supplies. It was rumored that if someone wanted those lands, they would simply wait until after a farmer got his bi-annual supplies, then attack the farm, kill the family and simply take the farm as their own. By the time anyone realized there was a new owner of those lands, it was much too late to prove there had been foul play. Many farmers “moved away” in the more remote areas of Conval.

Al really didn’t expect that there would be no crime in S’with, however the draw was great to find a new home. Perhaps Conval really wasn’t all that bad, but Al was caught by the dream of a new land and couldn’t escape it.

Now all that Al needed was the confidence to make the jump. It wasn’t easy. His friends urged him to stay. Some of his family felt he should stay close to home and help the rest of the family. Thankfully his mother and father encouraged him. Later he would understand better why they had.

Day after day went by while Al made up his mind. He continued to work, but it was even more dreary and mundane now than it had ever been. His dreams were elevating to near mythic proportions. With those dreams came confidence. The confidence to go make those dreams come true. Al had become blind to the fact that he had no idea where he was going or what he’d do when he got there, but that didn’t matter now.

He began packing what few things he needed and sold much of the rest. Knowing the journey was going to be a difficult one, Al elected to sell many of his tools as well. It would be less costly to buy new ones than to attempt the trip with a packhorse or a cart. Just him, a horse and what they could carry was all he would take. A tent, some clothes, some food and water, and his sword were all he took. Hopefully he would not need the sword, but there were some wild and scary tales about the mountains ahead.

Almond

Return of the Jedi

I've been a bad boy. I was going to write some more on my story tonight, but instead I decided to watch Return of the Jedi on FOX. Empire Strikes Back is my favorite of the bunch, but I'm getting excited about Attack of the Clones. It has a stupid name, but it looks really exciting and fun.

I think Star Trek fans are more common and get more publicity just due to the fact that the shows are on all the time. Star Wars fans on the other hand only get periodic tastes of the SW stories. Sure there are comics and books and games, but they are not on par with the movies! When the movies come out though, the passion of the Star Wars fans really starts to surface. I find that to be true for myself in any case. I'm not going to go put on a StormTrooper outfit and parade around, but I really get excited about the movies.

One thing that has me just as excited is a new game they'll be releasing in the fall. Star Wars Galaxies! Massively multi-player and interactive. They'll even have a space battle add-on pack later! Based on the screen shots I've seen it will be amazing. Truely something for the fans. Those of us who have grown up with Star Wars and those who are discovering the stories now.

God I'm such a dork sometimes! - Almond

The Journey - Chapter 1

A simple architect, a simple man name Al, had lived a nomadic life. Traveling from village to village, even occasionally spending a short while in city or two. He had many skills, but generally worked as a carpenter and home builder. It was quite satisfying for Al to fix and build things for people. He loved to see the smiles and looks of amazement on their faces when they gazed upon his handy work.

Not only was he a good architect, but he had an artistic eye and used that skill in his work, giving people beauty as well as functionality. Occasionally this lead him to one of his less desirable traits, perfectionism. From time to time he would get caught up in the details and forget the big picture. Spending a week painting a mural on the wall of one room, while neglecting to paint the rest of the house. Deadlines were often ignored and customers were not always interested in "art".

This bothered Al. It didn't bother him that occasionally his customers didn't care about his art or skill, but that he would loose himself in his own thoughts and tasks, neglecting the desires of those around him.

Often unable to sustain a reasonable living doing odd jobs Al would seek employment with a local architect and do lower quality, faster work. Al would still get to express his creativity from time to time, so he was generally happy, though working under someone like this was often a dead end. Al would move on after a time, but he would never regret his time with those various employers. Each job Al would pick up a new trick or two and take with him more skill and experience.

After many years of time in one large village, Al decided it was time to move on. For much of his life he stayed in one region. It was not a bad land, in fact it was rich in agriculture and trade, however the need for an architect that could design more than a simple house or barn was not much use. The area guild has refused him membership due to his unconventional techniques. His ideas were simply too wild for those simple farm folk. The guild felt that he would bring a bad name to the guild.

Al was disappointed but young and his ideals strong. He took a chance and headed east, beyond the great rivers and over a large snow capped mountain range. Growing up Al had heard many tales about the people that lived beyond in this land. It was said they were backwards and uncivilized. For most of his life he believed those tales, until one summer he met a man traveling with a trader. He was a short balding man with a large belly and a larger smile. Al was drawn to this strange happy man. They shared a table that afternoon at the local tavern. The man explained he was from the east on a journey. When Al asked the man, Dunrik, about his quest, he became very quiet and suspicious. Dunrik simply said he had to find something. Suddenly, as if the topic never came up, Dunrik's smile beamed from his face again and he began to reminice about his home land.

Later Al remembered that mans tales about the land to the east. It would be a long journey and he would be scorned for making the trip. Family did not understand why he would want to leave. Friends tried to reinforce all the negative stories he had heard growing up. Al heard none of it. He had made up his mind. It was time for a change.

More to follow soon...Almond

Dream

I was standing in a small ocean inlet. The small river was clean and cold. The rocks were tan and earthen. I remember standing on a boulder near the mouth of this river. The water churned as it mixed with the sea water, as if there was a horrible chemical reaction. Behind me was other rocks and boulders, redish brown, leading to a low spot in a cliff. and indention in the ground. The cliff arched and became steep again to the left and right of this small dent. There was a path leading to the boulder I was on. I must have walked that path, but now I was standing there, cool but oddly calm air. And quiet. The ocean is never quiet like this and there is always a breeze, but this was empty. Ahead was aonother cliff. This one MUCH higher. At least twice that of the one behind me. The river cut right next to this cliff. The walls looked to be tan sandstone, but stronger and more ragged, like granite.

I walked back up the rocks to the path. I noticed a small foot path to the left, heading towards the ocean. Suddenly I was very far out on this path. The path was only about 2 feet wide at the most. A loose dirt path cut into the side of the cliff. The top of the outcropping was too far above me to climb up to safety. I felt safe unil I looked down. I was about 40 feet up on the cliff. The small bay was below me and very blue, though darker in the middle and as the water receded into the ocean, indicating just how deep it really was.

My heart lept. I backed as far from the edge as I could. Suddenly there was a woman to my left. She had come up the way I did. i could see that where she was, the path was wider and there was a small path up and out onto the top of this stange place. She never said anything nor helped me, but her presence helped me see the way out of the danger I placed myself into.

I climbed out...

Eye Opener

Open your eyes

See all the love in me
I got enough forever

Don't be afraid
Take all you need from me
and we'll be strong together

Almond

Zing!

He hit the road out of nowhere, had to jump in his car and be a rider in a love game following the stars. He doesn’t need no book of wisdom, he gets no money talk at all.

She has a train going downtown, she's got a club on the moon and she's telling all her secrets in a wonderful balloon. She's the heart of the funfair; she's got him whistling her private tune.

He says, “she's a flower, I can paint her. She says, “ He's a child of the sun”

We're a part of this together, could never turn around and run. We don't need any fortune teller to know where our lucky love belongs.

And it all begins again when it ends,

Thinking about school again

I think I may have found another choice for furthering my education. It’s a local school. Belmont University. They have Computer Network Technology course that will prepare me for four different certifications, which I'll still have to test for after the classes (costs not added in the tuition).

The classes will dive into the aspects of computer tech that I'm already using and some that will help me further my career later. Not it's not a degree, but it's better than an Associates by far.

The program is only 14 months long too. That's a nice bonus. I can take my certification tests any time during the program, so I don't have to wait until the very end to take all the tests.

The cost is lower too, mostly due to the shorter duration though. It's $340 per credit for a total of 36 credits. ($12240). This is much more reasonable. I can get roughly $10 or 11K student loans, so I'm going to be a little short still. I've not discussed with them the tuition situation in-depth.

I don't like the idea of adding more to my student loans, but I should see at least $10K or more in additional pay for getting the certifications that this program prepares you for.

Is this the "traditional" way of education? Not in the least, but I tend to buck traditions don't I?

This program sounds more promising to me than the other, plus this is in town. I would go to class one night a week, so I would be meeting people and getting out of the house.

Almond