All great things..

3:14 AM. 

LLAH obviously.

All great things take time  to develop. Sometimes when you are painting a great picture, you must take a break in the middle of the process and let things sink in. In the middle of a meal, taking a break and enjoying the company of another is sometimes the best way to fully appreciate a meal. Often, things take time for you to fully appreciate them, and there is a summation moment where you truly realize that. One of those moments that will forever be locked away in the memory gates. And when the page of this chapter of life literally closes in front of your eyes, and a fresh page is opened and life is ready to be written. Life becomes a little more clear, and it is almost as if you are seeing life through a different lens. Things can be pretty cool if you take time to soak in the sunshine. 

I had a moment a little while ago that was a Bri Kelliher kind of over examination that can lead to stress. But living here in Bangkok and traveling to central Thailand is such a wild experience. Like whoa. It is so natural to me at this point that I often dont fully understand that magnitude of certain opportunities or moments. Life is life, and you only have one shot. If you really want to do something. then you should better do it because you might not have that opportunity again. And that is certainty a slice of humble pie.... 

But, this is one of my favorite songs all time. Worth a listen.

AND.....

Check out this list we read together as a group. It is of 21 things to do in your 20's:

Worth a read, and after reading, really think about how you want things to be during this phase of your life. Some good things here.  

1. Don’t feel the need to respond to every text message, phone call, and email the second it reaches you. Once upon a time, it took longer than a minute to reach someone. People used stamps and envelopes; they had answering machines they didn’t check for hours, sometimes days. No one will die if you don’t immediately respond to every message you receive.

2. Ask for what’s owed to you. Half the time, you’re not getting your needs met because you’re not making them known. Your employers, romantic interests, and friends are not going to read your mind and give you what you need unless you speak up.

3. Never turn down an open bar. Seek them out and make them a priority. Indulging in open bars when you’re older isn’t appropriate because a) people will think you have an alcohol problem and b) you’re supposed to have enough money to afford your own alcohol.

4. If you’re unhappy and someone offers you a way out, take it. You don’t owe your first job years of loyalty and your first-born; you don’t have to stay in your city just because you’re on a first-name basis with the bodega guy. Do what feels right; the initial fear will give way to excitement.

5. Enjoy all the sex marathons you’re having in your 20s, dudes. In your 30s, the time between erections is waaaay longer. Then, some 20-something babe is all, “Can you go again?” after five minutes and you’re all, “No I can’t ‘go again.’ I am still dealing with having just came. Jesus.” That’s not a concern when you’re in your 20s — don’t ever take it for granted.

6. Let your more successful friends pick up the check this time. Before you’re 30, it’s still okay to be work as a barista and not have your career path figured out. Save your cash and take up your lawyer-friend’s offer for dinner. Use the money you saved to buy more ramen.

7. Play a sport you played in elementary school. Kickball, dodgeball. There are leagues for these games now. Get on it.

8. Learn how to cook. Here’s an idea — instead of spending all your money on ridiculously marked-up restaurant food, save your money by buying non-processed WHOLE FOODS and LEARNING HOW TO MAKE A MEAL OF REAL FOOD. A meal of real food is not a box of Annie’s Organic Mac and Cheese — that’s PROCESSED FOOD. A meal is something like sauteed brussel sprouts with onions and pinto beans garnished with salt and pepper. You’ll thank yourself for learning how to cook when your metabolism catches up to you.

9. Keep making friends. Everyone complains that it’s hard to make friends after college, but we still manage to find new people to flirt with and date, right? It’s not that hard. You know yourself better than you ever have before, and your friends can finally reflect that. Don’t cling to old friends because it’s too frightening or ‘risky’ to make new ones.

10. Let your parents buy your plane ticket home. It can be trying to be stuck in a house with your family for a few days or a week, but vacations in your 20s can be hard to come by. Let them subsidize your trips home and do you as much as you can when you get there.

11. Stay up late. In your 20s, you’re all, “Let’s go to another bar!” “Who wants to eat at a diner?” “Have you guys seen the sun rise from the High Line?” “In this moment I swear we were infinite!” When you get older, this becomes, “What are you doing? Go home. Watch Parks and Rec and go to sleep. What is wrong with you, staying up all night? Who has time for that?” If you’re in your 20s, you do. You have all the time. Do it now and take advantage of how not tired you are. You think you’re crabby now when you stay up too late? You’ll never believe how terrible you feel when you do it in your 30s.

12. Savor those 20s hangovers. They are a gift from God so that you’ll always remember what your tolerance level is. Your hangover recovery time is like flippin’ Wolverine in your 20s. You wake up, feel like death, pull on some shades, gulp down coffee or maybe a bloody Mary and whine about your headache over brunch. Oh, boo hoo. When you’re older, every hangover is Apocalypse F-cking Now. You’re not making it to brunch. You’re not making it off your goddamn floor in a weeping puddle of regret.

13. Indulge in drunken diner/ fast food at 4 a.m. This is considered depressing behavior once you become a real adult.

14. STOP PROCRASTINATING YOUR TRIP ABROAD. YOUR CHANCES OF TAKING A LONG VACATION ABROAD DIMINISH AS YOU BECOME MORE SET IN YOUR WAYS AND AS YOU GAIN MORE RESPONSIBILITY.

15. Do ‘unacceptable’ things to your hair. Dye it. Dread it. Shave only the left side of your head and give a shit if it grows back in a flattering manner (hint: it won’t). There’s no time but now.

16. Avoid Burning Man. Save it for your weird-Dad mid-life crisis.

17. Sit down, unplug, and read non-fiction. Do this daily. None of your peers are doing it. They’re playing video games and refreshing Facebook and Gmail chatting about nothing in particular. After a month you’ll be smarter than all of them.

18. Walk into Forever 21 and grab every single crappily-made floral dress available. Is every other girl on the street wearing it? Is it literally falling apart at the seams? Is it also actually five dollars? BUY IT IMMEDIATELY. When you get older, your clothing becomes all expensive blazers and tailored khakis and other pieces that won’t break while on your body. That will be a great day — the day when your closet starts to look respectable. Though those outfits are more expensive, they also last longer and look better on you. You will be a classy human ready to take on the future. But as long as you’re still in your 20s? You know — the demographic of Forever 21? Game on, stretchy black dress with pockets that lasts about a week. Game on.

19. Take road trips. Sitting in a car for days on end isn’t something your body was designed to do forever.

20. Don’t invest in things like window curtains or throw rugs or… Windex. You’re a young, social person who doesn’t have time for things like picture-framing and broom-sweeping. No one actually expects you to maintain a bed skirt or a duvet cover in your 20s, they’re the home decor equivalent of puppies/ children.

21. Go to/host theme parties. Once people age out of their 20s, no one’s trying to wear pajamas or Saran Wrap out of the house. The only theme parties that exist after your 20s are ‘Wedding,’ ‘Baby Shower,’ and ‘Funeral.’ 

Turning Points..

This song puts me in the best mood. Crank it up and smile and just appreciate living!!

This weekend was awesome. It was a much needed getaway from campus and anytime that happens it is good for the soul. A few of us went up to Nakon Nayok, which is about 2 hours north of Bangkok. I finally became a man in Nakon Nayok! We went to a military university and there was a shooting range. I hadn't shot guns before so it was certainty exhilarating. I got a 89/100 on the shooting range! We figured we needed a little more exhilaration, so we rented ATV's and went riding basically up the side of a mountain. Of course there was no training or safety regulations so we were basically going full speed and like racing over boulders.

I love those weekends that spark a change of lifestyle. I think this was one of them. A catalyst of great things to come. I have been off for a week and I still have a month left to cherish my time here and do some pretty cool things.

But getting out of your environment every once in a while is so important. The routine can take over your life and months can seem to fly by without you noticing. The daily grind can take over and encompass you sometimes and you feel like things are going well until you take a breath of fresh air and realize "What the efff have I been doing"Who knows if I am just realizing this now and everyone else has been doing this for ever, but the working life is taxing because weeks almost seem like days because of the repetitiveness of things. So taking some time off and heading into nature is the best thing you can do to reenergize yourself.



I have been here in Thailand for a little over 4 months now and I am in the full swing of things. I have been working hard at slowing down my life and working on becoming more disciplined. But sometimes you have to break free of that and just pull a Bri Kelliher once in a while and go crazy!

She gets kind of crazy!!

PS..

B, I can't wait until were out in Colorado just frolicking in nature. Maybe we can work on that painting out there too..

Brianna Kelliher

Good evening ladies and gentleman, I was asked tonight to write an introduction about the one Ms. Brianna Kelliher. It is really hard to write an introductions about people that you are so close with. 100 words just seems like way to few to say everything that  you want to say. But the girl I'm introducing tonight needs no introduction. She was born in raised a Boston girl, and that resonates with her so well. Talk about a true go-getter,there is nothing this girl can't get done.  Bri will do anything for anyone, and do it with a smile on her face, or a really creepy sociopathic face if you catch her at the right time...

The smart, the beautiful... Brianna Kelliher...

Do what you do.

During any endevor we come across in life, there are good times and bad times. There are times that test our true character, and times that let our true personality shine. Relationships are the same way. Sometimes there are times that make you feel like the happiest guy in the world, and somtimes relationships can push to your limits. Relationships aren't hard, they arent easy. They are what ever you make them. And the endevors I am currently engaged in certaintly keep me on my toes.

There wassome misscommunication in a recent conversation I was having. The classic expression "Sometimes having fun, isn't always fun" was the topic. Living here is certaintly different from anything I could have expected. The college lifestyle ended in late may, and after 4 years of constant recklessness, poor nutrition, 4 hour sleeps, binge drinking, a ramped drug culture, friends always around, and not a ton to do...my life has been flipped around. In the Domicilian sense of the word, I'm not really having fun here. I'm not going out to clubs and raging my face off. I'm not spending reckless money going on weekend trips and packing my agenda full. I'm not always the center of attention and getting into all sorts of mischief. I'm rather staying in and focusing on the things that I somewhat neglected the past 4 years. I'm trying to focus on myself. Following up with goals is something I havent always been the best at. So here in Bangkok that is exactly what I'm trying to do. Get ample sleep, and not become a bi-polar maniac, stay in good shape and work towards a better fittness lifestyle. I'm also trying to make a better effort reading consistently, so who cares if people say staying in on a friday night is lame, I call it productive.

But I am not "having the time of my life" here in Bangkok, but I am having the exact time that I wanted. This is certaintly a relaxing life, because that is what I'm looking for. Sometimes just sitting back with a "cold glass of lemonade" as they say, is the perfect thing in the world.

Here in Bangkok I seperated myself by 8600 miles from the things I had been building up for a lifetime. But no matter the place, or the company, Jeff Parsons is a happy camper.

Eventhough our hearts may be apart, I think the influence and confidence we bring to each other is more than evident. I don't want to let you down B, so I have to bring my A game. No excuses.

This may not be where I pictured myself a year ago today if you asked me where I was going to be, But I think this is the place I love, and the place I need to be.

Sometimes it's all about the small things....

I was recently asked If I could relive a moment from my senior year of college what would that moment be?  I thought the answer was going to be obvious. So many things jumped out to me. Some really cool things happened this past year: I met a really cool girl...turns out she's my girlfriend now, I also had the best apartment on campus senior year, travelled to NYC to see 2 of my favorite bands with my 3 best friends. I went on a trip to NC with Bri and had the most amazing time, I also went to Philly for a roomates retreat and had a great time in Harriburg and went to Hershey Park as well. And to finish the year off with Dewey beach and the rest of senior week events was a perfect fit. But upon thinking of all the craziness and epic moments that happened senior year, I think some of the times I cherish the most are the times where not a ton was going on. The times that will be forgotten, and the times where relaxing on a rainy day seemed like the most perfect moment.

Senior year was filled with so many great memories and so many crazy nights. But looking back on it all, I really do miss all the small things. I miss the rides with Bri down 83 into the city, or just hanging on in Maculey on a cold winter night with nothing really going on. Being here in Bangkok has really made me appreciate the small things in life. Finally, ending my manic lifestlye at Loyola has done much good for my life. It has allowed me to take a step back and apprecite things for what they really are


I'm a guy who dreams big, I shoot for the stars mostly and sometimes come up short, but I still try. When it comes down to it, I really do just love kicking back and enjoy the waves at the beach, or the burgers at a BBQ. The little things that make you go to sleep at night with a smile on your face. The big things in life will work out, because they always do.


Top 3 things I really wish I could be doing right now with one Brianna Kelliher:

1. Making the drive up York Road to Loch Raven Reservoir at like 1:45 on a Sunday. Bri would want to smoke a cig, so it was certainty a "fuck it" kind of day. Maybe getting lunch at Uncle Wigglys, a nice Turkey sandwich, good veggies, hummus even? soda if I was feeling risky, but then I would just say, "If I'm going to have all that sugar I might as well get an ice cream?!)" So after a great sandwich and some black raspberry ice cream it's off to Loch Raven. Hopefully it would be a great day, with some nice sunlight to get a good photo-shoot in and just hang out driving around northern Baltimore.

2.  I would love to be at a BBQ somewhere. The one's we always had in Ahern, just grillen and loving. And of course with some Natty Boh's and some bomb chicken!

3. I would love to be in the small Park on North Charles street, sort of by Thai Arroy. That bench where we would just sit out and figure out the meaning of the universe. That place will always be in my heart. I love that bench.