The Awakening

This morning I woke up way earlier than I ever normally would to get on a plane to fly to Idaho to visit my incredible cousin (and as it just so happens a good friend as well), and I was beyond tired. I checked in at rhe airport, went through security, and found my seat on the plane I was assigned. It was normal; usual; nothing special: I've flown on planes all my life. BUT. As we took off into the foggy void, I watched San Diego blip away into toy model-esque nothingness and was about to turn away from my window to eat the bagel my mom kindly made for me earlier when I was completely blinded by the sun as it came over the horizon. And there I sat; completely entranced. Light was everywhere, it felt like I was swimming in an ocean full of it. And despite our increasing altitude, the rays pouring in through the hole in the aircraft's skin brought a warmth that passed right through my body and brought my being to life. The world I was looking at did not seem to be our blue-green rock that we all know and love; it was something else entriely. The clouds formed an endless sea of rolling hills and valleys. The occasional mountain poking its brown head through looked as out of place and alien as a Lamborghini parked at a high school's student lot. The infinite landscape below absorbed, mixed, and reflected the sunbeams in all directions, turning its perfectly white surface into a beautifully majestic gold that the most elaborate palaces in the world could never replicate. Eventually the plane rose into another cloud bank; this one impenetrable to the sun's influence. But the image of what I might almost call a separate reality is burned into my memory. I pray I don't forget it when this flight lands.

Daydreaming

An ordinary day like any other. A red light. An unsuspecting span of San Diegan road. This is the setting for what is about to take place. As I sit on the tarmac awaiting the green atop my vehicle's purring engine, a convertible enters the scene. As he pulls up I glance over. Eye contact is made. A slight nod is exchanged. I turn my eyes to the road ahead, a grin curling around the edges of my lips. The light has suddenly become a countdown; zero can happen at any second. I kick the bike into first, clutch in, waiting for what seems to be an eternity. Seconds tick by; feeling more like millennia than tiny fractions of a minute. Then, in the blink of an eye, the unspoken moment arrives. Before the orb of green can fully illuminate, time slows. My body reacts as only it knows how, infinitely faster than normally required. The clutch is forgotten, throttle cranked to full. The sleeping beast centimeters below my seat screams to life like a wild banshee straight out of hell. I put all my weight forward, but the front wheel still manages to defy the gravitational laws of the Earth. Twenty miles an hour disappears as quickly as forty does. Gears are consumed faster than they can be fed, and the lust for speed becomes all-encompassing. The opponent is forgotten about, left in the exhaust fumes. But he has not given up. A quick glance in the mirror confirms this. One hundred comes up out of nowhere, and vision becomes single focused, the landscape and road smearing away into colorful oblivion. A single obstruction comes into view: traffic moving at a comparable standstill. A twitch of my knee sends me a lane over, a steady hand keeps me in control. My opponent chooses the opposite lane and soon we are head to head, moving in and out of seemingly parked vehicles in a fashion that an observer might compare to a ballroom dancer shuffling cards. Mind, machine, and body are one, yearning for exponentially greater velocity. Nothing else matters. In this moment, life has no other meaning. Suddenly, in the distance, a flash of yellow, and then a steady red. My body works in reverse, slamming pegs downward while micromanaging both brakes. My bike finally comes to an idle pace, a rhythm that my heart is nowhere near. I glance to my side once more. The man in the convertible smiles and nods. I give a short salute. The red light continues to glare at us like a disapproving mother. Green comes once more. I go left, he goes straight; our shared experience not about to be forgotten. As I think the events of the last three minutes over, a smile comes uninhibited.

*I actually didn't do this, but I've wanted to write something of this sort for the past day or so.

The Checklist

Geology
Final Completed
Presentation Completed
Final Project Turned In
Extra Credit Turned In

Physics
Homework In Progress
Final Pending

Philosophy
Paper In Progress
Final Pending

History
Final Completed
Final Paper Turned In
Extra Credit Turned In

Film
Final Pending
Final Paper Revised

Repetition

I've found that in order to make finals doable, music needs to happen. The only problem is that it helps me realize just how long I've been sitting in front of my computer, which makes me frustrated that I've been working on schoolwork for so long. So I'll randomly stop my playlist and simply repeat a single song over and over and over and over again. That way, I truly have no idea how much time I've blown. This time, its been Panic Switch by the Silversun Pickups. Don't ask me why; normally the song I select is much more mellow. But the high energy of the song has been feeding me more motivation to do work, and its been very good to me. Only thing is that I've listened to this song solidly for almost five or six hours now. Talk about having a song stuck in your head! I just can't get enough of it. Panic Switch is my finals-induced addiction.

Silversun Pickups, Panic Switch

Life, Positively

So these past few days have pretty much been the best thing ever. Why? Well dear reader, continue onward and you shall find out!

Thursday Night:
Hung out with Morgan at a friend's birthday party
Celebrated the change of the day into her birthday
Spent time with Evan

Friday:
Slept in
Epic breakfast at Evan's
Crazy nice relaxing shower
Wedding rehearsal at church for Paul and Ali
Incredible rehearsal dinner cooked up by the Warnekes
Rode 35 miles with Will in a very fun Critical Mass
Went to Extraordinary Deserts for Morgan's 21st

Saturday:
Paul and Alison's wedding!
Had a blast hanging out with the bridal party all day
Filmed the pictures, pre-wedding, and random other bits
Ran the wedding's sound, along with its video and audio recordings
Attended one of the funnest receptions I've been to
Saw lots of old friends from out of town the whole day

Sunday:
An amazing sermon given by Tim
Made a crazy commitment
Ran the whole thing without any practice, yet had it turn out very well
Ended up spending the afternoon with James, Malia, the Nellises and the Somervells
Went to Pizza Port in Solona Beach
Ate at Fletcher's Cove's grassy park overlooking the ocean
Saw James and Malia off at the airport
Talked to Emily for over an hour
Organized the entire house

Monday:
Went on a beautiful motorcycle ride to and from La Jolla
Attended a Geology field trip at Tourmaline Surf Park
Mom, Dad, and Nick all came home safely from Europe
Downloaded and played the Reach Beta

Other positive events from the near-past would be:
Dave coming home
Liz coming home
And finding out what I'll be doing this summer

In the future?
I can't wait to see Emily graduate and go with my whole Mom's side of the family to Kauai at the beginning of the summer
OR; for school to end!