Success Is for the Misguided

I realize I already posted today...twice...but after having a few celebratory drinks with my brother and sister to recognize how awesome I am at getting a job, I was able to chat a little with Noah and we had a quick discussion on what success is.

I recognize the dangers in dealing with generalities but generally, I think people want to be successful in life. Human beings, as inhabitants of Earth, like the feeling of accomplishment in response to hard work and dedication. But what does success mean? Does it mean owning a house in a nice neighborhood with your spouse, children, and dog? Does it mean selling millions as a musical artist and hearing your name spoken in 26 different languages on radio stations around the world? Could success be finishing a novel you've been reading on and off for weeks?

Success is intriguing. Its ambiguity makes even discussing it difficult. It means so many different things and in the end, doesn't really mean anything at all.

No one is ever completely content. There are always things in life that are out of reach or out of reach for the moment. It is the trial and experience of getting to those out of reach things that makes life so bearable. Success is a bitch to master and is better left untouched.

One of the biggest problems people have with reaching success is that we are always telling ourselves we want things or the things we are going for are what we truly want. We're constantly talking ourselves into doing things because we think it is the "best choice" or the choice that best represents what we ultimately want when in reality we have no idea what we ultimately want because we don't have the experience of those things.

The best we can do is live in the now and try to make ourselves happy by exercising truth and solidarity. Each person on this earth should have opinions and emotions and feelings and live his and her life to its fullest extent based on what is best for those things.

I know I am constantly remolding myself to fit whatever form I'm presently in. I am constantly fighting to stand out while trying most desperately to fit in, being pulled from each direction. It is tiring and time consuming and most of all a waste of breath because although I say I need this and want that, none of it really matters in the end. All that matters is I did my best to get wherever I end up, doing the things that make me the best person I can be. I think that this is truly success. I find that I am consistently disappointed with the decisions I make in life and internally live by the "grass is always greener on the other side" philosophy. It is so draining that sometimes I am so tired out I am physically exhausted.

We just need to live by what we know and know by what we live. It's the only way to ever be satisfied. Try your best to learn and know and success will come. Otherwise, what's the point?

Funny Cristina Quotes

So my friend Cristina is super silly and is totally oblivious to the humor she exudes, which usually falls into two categories: violently raunchy or simply hilarious. The most recent of which includes this set of quotes. Do enjoy them and may they delight you in ways you haven't even discovered yet. :)


"Grandma, would you mind not cashing my rent check until next week?" Come on. This is just a funny sentence.
"Don't bug me now, I'm blogging."
"What the blog?!"
"I'm playing grown up." (Ok, well, that one's mine, but it was funny also)

Thank you, Cristina, for offering your comic insight in my oh-so-mundane life. You are honored beyond words...or blogs.

Happy Friday!

While my brother plunges deeper and deeper into the agonizing transformation from son to father, playing Destiny's Child and Beyonce from his system all day, I decided it would be nice if I skipped a day publicly revealing my love for Jason Mraz (although he is simply delightful and refreshingly positive) and instead hoisted this artist over your fence, hopefully landing in your lap.

His name is Sam Sparro and his sound is so smooth and fresh you can't help but bop your head to his badical beats. Although I could not find a copyable video to this song, you can at least listen to it, but I do encourage you to look him up on YouTube.

Enjoy: Sam Sparro, "Black and Gold"

Oooh, Girlfriend Got A Job!

Hello "researchers" of this spectacular, spectacular blog! Big news!

I have got myself a job. Yes, the rumors are TRUE! Katy Cryns will be the new receptionist at Blink Media (part of Ascent Media Group) starting Tuesday, September 2, 2008! Holler at me, right?!

Time to put away those dreams of dying in my room due to boredom, hopelessness, and Jason Mraz's dreamy tunes that make me believe in things I didn't even know were possible. Hooray for me! My friend Emily was the first to congratulate me, so thank you, Emily. You are simply amazing and Barfy would be ever so proud.

I'm outee. Peace.

Jason Mrant of the Day!

Yay! Another day, another chance to "research" my make-believe main squeeze.

I've started playing the guitar. Really, I did. And not like the 20 other times I've said that. I truly and diligently am learning the guitar. I'm mainly sticking to Jason Mraz tunes for right now, as I'm taking a crash course in strumming and chords and all those things everyone else in my family learned before they could talk. So I'm a late bloomer...meh.

I'll learn everything I need to know to sound good and everyone else can just eat it. I am a writer, so obviously I like words, but I've never really been an avid poet. I think I can write better poetry if I have a tangible sound behind the words and while jobless, moneyless, and near hopeless, I have the time and urgency to transfer pent up emotion to a productive entity. Sometimes it feels like music is the only thing that makes sense. Call me a Cryns, but I often find myself connected to music on a deeper level than simply enjoying it.

Hopefully, I will be able to conduct my roller coaster emotions into a sensible mass of sound someday. In the meantime, I'll just enjoy the work of others who inspire me to do just that while I continue my journey as a "Beautiful Mess."

Wizard Rock!!

Hell yeah! First time I saw Harry and the Potters was my second week during my short summer stint in Minneapolis, two years ago and I've been infatuated ever since. We caught them at the Minneapolis Public Library and were lucky to catch them at all, seeing as it was barely standing room only.

So rad.

During one of my many escapades hunting down information on Jason Mraz, I was looking at videos he had posted of bands he advocates for. Most had a similar sound to his with the same air of just enjoying music and life. But I suddenly found myself overcome with a regret for life: there are so many people in this world that we will never have the experience of meeting. Think about it, out of even just the people in your city, your town, your neighborhood, all the people you pass on your way to work, maybe even some people you work with, you will simply never meet.

Celebrities, politicians, leaders in organizations, we will never know them. It just feels like such a sad part of being, knowing that although we are all connected some way, we're so far apart. Especially in this time, and I don't mean time of "war" or economic strife or any of that bullshit. I mean this time when we can't even walk down the street without trying to avoid touching someone else. It's inhuman.

Think about it, if someone bumps you as you are walking on the sidewalk or sitting on a train or bus, it feels almost alien, like an offense. We are so tied in to the idea that we need to "protect" ourselves we are loosing touch with what is real and important. It is inhuman not to feel and touch, to sense another being, sense mortality. We are afraid of what might happen if we open ourselves up when we should really be questioning what we are loosing by closing ourselves down.

We will never meet most of the people in this world simply by chance. Why lock out the opportunity to meet those we can, branching out and maybe learning a thing or two about ourselves in the end.

As lame as it sounds, I find artists like Jason Mraz striving for this way of life, of connecting to people for the sake of connecting, to feel that we are in fact still human. That may be the most important thing we can cherish right now.

So this is a scarily accurate depiction of the family I come from, based on the creativity of my brother Toby. On the right is my uncle Jim, my dad's brother and to the left is my dad, an Internet fiend who is relatively famous for his delicious homemade pizza, ridiculous humor, and constant yelling from his computer for anyone within ear's reach to "Come look at this!"

A large amount of my life has been spent grudgingly watching YouTube videos of Cher, Paris Hilton, or Sarah Brightman perform. I think I knew the words to "Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves" before I knew what they meant.

If ever there was something my dad taught me, it is how to be relentless. Thanks, Daddio. Now, come look at this!!

So, I have a new obsession: Jason Mraz. I am not afraid to admit it, his music turns me on. In fact, the sensation comes close to a little somethin somethin I keep in a very secret place. There is just something extremely attractive about a guy who can spit verse as fast as I can and make sense while he's doing it. Passion is definitely my number one turn on and, folks, he's got it.

If his singing doesn't do it, the hours of "research" I've done watching candid videos of him on tour have me completed enamored. My sister can vouch for me, I am a Mrazaholic. Sorryboutchya Justin, your juices just aren't flowing like the man from A-Z.

As I was "researching" his name on Google, I found his blog, also from blogspot.com (we're practically soul mates), and watched some of the videos he has posted there. I literally laughed out loud at much of what he had to say. I'm not going to lie, that's hott, yes with TWO Ts. A man who has a way with words can turn pages in my book any day. I think that's why I like musicians: it's like combining two of the best things in the world--music and poetry.

Jason "Mmm"raz has got it goin on and I don't care who knows it (and since there are a total of 3 people who glance at this blog every so often, I can bet not many people will know). He makes me want to do crazy things like travel, cliff dive into a pool of water, play the guitar, who knows, who cares! My motto in life is just do it and I think he encompasses that passion with a little touch of tranquility, as if to say, just chill, and then do it.

Mmmm....Mraz...

EEP! So excited!

I am so excited for this event. Can't even express in words. It's going to be the BOMB.

Let the Sun Shine In!

I think everyone should have to listen to the Hair soundtrack at least once. I love it. It's so full of passion, the power of youth, and power in opinion.

I have been listening to the track "Let the Sun Shine" over and over and I just can't get enough of it. I loves it....like, a lot.

Also, my dad has been trying to turn me on to this site called Twitter that serves as the Stalker's White Pages to anyone and everyone that thinks their lives are so eventful or exciting that they must keep the world updated on their minute to minute details. I think it's a ridiculous tool and plays off the lazy, self-centered persons on this planet. It's a simplified Facebook or Myspace. It's a glorified blog, minus the creativity.

But alas, I promised my dad I'd try it out and give it a chance, so that is what I am doing. He never said I had to like it. ;)