a written update
for no reason in particular, i'd like to write about some recent experiences that stood out in this whirlwind of my life.
this past saturday, i was going to drive up to vermont to visit with my cousin from texas and my dying great uncle. i got up early, got in the volvo (known as the sex machine in these here parts), and drove north. as i got to albany, i realized i just wasn't going to be able to make the drive to and from vermont, two days in a row. i called up, they understood, and i turned around. my car started to jerk, and it turned out i had two flat tires. so, i filled them, and got back on the road. i'm nearing home now, on 84 east, a few miles from the 684 exit, and then i get pulled over. i get a ticket. isn't that lovely? at this point it's about 215, so essentially i've wasted a whole school day driving. then, when i get home, i pack up, and go to the city and spend the night. that was wonderful, and i came up the next day. then i went to school this week. yesterday, the haunted high school day, was quite eventful. a long day full of tests that i probably didn't do well on. afterwards, i helped set up the thing, and kids arrived. gigi and i did some storytelling (i must admit, she's better than i am). when it was over, a girl i love and i went to the diner, and had good conversation. afterwards, i drove home. i was about a mile from my house when i realized i had left my bag at the school.
this is where it gets interesting. that paragraph really wasn't, but it just needed to be documented for some reason. sorry if i wasted your time.
i drove back to the school. it was about ten thirty. i'm walking around the school, in darkened hallways, calling out to see if anyone's there. eventually, i encountered an older, blue eyed custodian. he helped me get my bag, and, for some reason or another, we started talking about religion and philosophy and such. so here i was, at about 10:45 on a thursday night, in my high school in hallways full of echoes with a man who i had never met before, discussing the merits of buddhism, buddhism in western civilization, progress, descartes, and thomas aquinas. the custodian was cogent, interesting, and refreshingly down to earth, and after we shook hands (a wonderful gesture, i must add...really, the idea of shaking hands appeals to me so much. it's just a readymade connection) we walked away from each other smiling. two guys with more than one generational gap separating them, probably in very different economic classes, and of quite different backgrounds, having an interesting and thoughtful conversation. i walked out of that school very glad i had left my bag there.
my family always asks me how i manage to just start these conversations and get to know people. my sister marvels at it. it's just a matter of being open to everyone you meet. these sort of connections are the connections i live for.
this past saturday, i was going to drive up to vermont to visit with my cousin from texas and my dying great uncle. i got up early, got in the volvo (known as the sex machine in these here parts), and drove north. as i got to albany, i realized i just wasn't going to be able to make the drive to and from vermont, two days in a row. i called up, they understood, and i turned around. my car started to jerk, and it turned out i had two flat tires. so, i filled them, and got back on the road. i'm nearing home now, on 84 east, a few miles from the 684 exit, and then i get pulled over. i get a ticket. isn't that lovely? at this point it's about 215, so essentially i've wasted a whole school day driving. then, when i get home, i pack up, and go to the city and spend the night. that was wonderful, and i came up the next day. then i went to school this week. yesterday, the haunted high school day, was quite eventful. a long day full of tests that i probably didn't do well on. afterwards, i helped set up the thing, and kids arrived. gigi and i did some storytelling (i must admit, she's better than i am). when it was over, a girl i love and i went to the diner, and had good conversation. afterwards, i drove home. i was about a mile from my house when i realized i had left my bag at the school.
this is where it gets interesting. that paragraph really wasn't, but it just needed to be documented for some reason. sorry if i wasted your time.
i drove back to the school. it was about ten thirty. i'm walking around the school, in darkened hallways, calling out to see if anyone's there. eventually, i encountered an older, blue eyed custodian. he helped me get my bag, and, for some reason or another, we started talking about religion and philosophy and such. so here i was, at about 10:45 on a thursday night, in my high school in hallways full of echoes with a man who i had never met before, discussing the merits of buddhism, buddhism in western civilization, progress, descartes, and thomas aquinas. the custodian was cogent, interesting, and refreshingly down to earth, and after we shook hands (a wonderful gesture, i must add...really, the idea of shaking hands appeals to me so much. it's just a readymade connection) we walked away from each other smiling. two guys with more than one generational gap separating them, probably in very different economic classes, and of quite different backgrounds, having an interesting and thoughtful conversation. i walked out of that school very glad i had left my bag there.
my family always asks me how i manage to just start these conversations and get to know people. my sister marvels at it. it's just a matter of being open to everyone you meet. these sort of connections are the connections i live for.