“the shorter end of a long week” or “the continuation of the last really long post which you should read if you haven’t already, and don’t forget to look at the pictures”
i’d like to point out, in response to imagined complaints over the length of part I, that this spring break’s blog had only 2 parts, not 5, like that of last spring break (some parts in march, some in april, in the archives). speaking of those posts, i went back and read them yesterday, and was struck in particular by the fact that it’s now been over a year since emily and i broke up. i felt a pang of remembered sadness as i looked over that day in particular, and a fresh sort of guilt in realizing what a bad, or more accurately, non-existent, friend i’ve been to her since then. being fully and purposely occuppied with life here has that disadvantage for my non-californian friends. anyway, a lot has happened in this year of singleness, and i think i’ve certainly grown in a lot of ways because of it. but back to now…
so, friday, after waking up and spending some time unpacking and getting all the UK trip expenses and finances sorted out (we did great with money and had about as cheap a week in england as one can have while still enjoying oneself), i hopped in my beautiful little car (which probably could use a name–female, of course, because it is cute and small, with a little bit of that vicious edge i look for in women. suggestions welcome!) and drove down to mt. hermon, which is in the mountains just west of santa cruz.
there i stayed in the house of some family friends, the millers, who are like my grandparents here. they were gone for the evening so i availed myself of the most comfortable bed in the world, which happened to be in the guest room. being slightly below ground, it was dark and cool, and i fell asleep around 4:30 in the afternoon, only to awake to the delicious smell of sunlight the next morning, at around 7:30am. not only was i exhilarated at having beat my previous sleep record by just over an hour, i felt gloriously refreshed and aware! to top it off, mrs. miller made me a wonderful breakfast of eggs, bacon, fruit, toast, and milk.
then, when i thought the day had nowhere to go but downhill, mrs. miller suggested that since it was a nice day i go to santa cruz. the beach! what an obviously perfect plan! i hadn’t thought of it, because all my previous trips to santa cruz had greeted me with gray skies and cold winds. this day, however, i was able to take off my shirt and drive with the windows down and the sunroof open. i zoomed down the mountain road to santa cruz, where i meandered joyfully without much in the way of direction before finding a parking spot right at seabright beach.
the day, as i said, was beautiful! it must have been around 80 degrees and completely sunny. i laid and tanned and watched people with their dogs and other people with their kids and even more people with their significant others. i was too tired to nap, so i read some, but mostly sat and thought and prayed for direction and discernment in the upcoming quarter. all told, i allowed the sun to kiss me (though on that day it could more properly be described as making out) for at least two hours. beautiful.
while at the beach (or was it before?) i made a list of goals for spring quarter. this is mostly a joke, since making lists of goals has never been known to help me actually do anything, but i thought it might help me gain perspective. here they are, in no particular order:
– read the word every day
– find a bible study method that helps me grow and isn’t just reading the bible over and over
– climb 3 times a week
– run 16-20 miles a week
– climb at least one outdoors 5.10c or higher
– flexibility training! (be able to do the splits by the end of the quarter?)
– start on philosophy papers at least a week (!) before they are due
– ** **/**** (sorry, that one’s for me alone)
– don’t be afraid to go on dates
– hang out with small group friends outside of small group
– read a non-school book on average a few hours a week
– sleep 8-9 hours a night
– wake up before 10am on a daily basis
– learn german
– work on enaselvai an hour/week?
– set apart 30 min/day for prayer/devotions
– be intentional about my new motto, “less sarcasm, more love!”
so, there it is. it’s probably not even physically possible to do all these things along with school, jobs, and my other commitments, but whatever. we’re thinking big.
when i got back to mt. hermon it was late afternoon, and i had nothing to do before dinner so i gave my car (she needs a name!) a careful and thorough wash and cleaning, to make her feel happy inside and out (i also bought her premium gas, just this once, since she got me up the hills to mt. hermon without dying, even though we were out of fuel).
dinner, at my request, was pasta with chicken and broccoli, followed by home-made apple pie. clearly, the millers knew how to set me on the right road to starting the quarter well! shortly after dinner i said my thank-yous and goodbyes, and drove home, taking the 17 through the mountains fast, but not recklessly, like the skilled racecar driver i was pretending to be.
the next day, sunday, i got up and spontaneously went for a run around the lake a few times, since the day was so beautiful! the rest of the morning was filled with errands and endless headaches at the mountainview walmart, which always ends up being the last place on earth i want to be after i leave it. still, i got the stuff i needed and spent the afternoon again in the sun, sitting on the balcony, reading and smoking my reading pipe. the scent of irish whiskey and coffee filled the air and i felt at peace.
some of my suitemates got back from peru that afternoon, so we planned a barbecue for the evening, and bought supplies. the barbecue was executed flawlessly, to the satiation of all present, and after that and a showing of the “psychological thriller” insomniac in the suite, the most relaxing weekend in a long time was over.
spring quarter 2003, bring it on!
