when i woke up...
All this talk of petty injuries, arguing, and therapy has gotten me down. I am not like this. The world I inhabit is not half so mundane or disappointing as this.
Yesterday I wrote some meaningless drivel when I should have written about the rainbow. I had no excuse for being outside or even awake at the hour I was, but I needed to. The dawn sky sang out to me and I answered.
I wandered the alleys in a soft daze, awed by the newfound beauty of autumn. It was warm yesterday morning, and half the sky was illuminated with a fragile dawn, the kind that brings all of the yellowing trees to life with its clear white light. I attempted to photograph it for you guys, but no amount of technology could capture that sky. The morning air tasted vaguely sweet and vaguely sad, like longing for things that have forever been lost.
I headed towards the architecture building on campus, supposing that hot chai would help keep me awake and amused through my first class. I walked with increasing purpose as I approached it but then abruptly stopped in front -- and noticed. The morning sky was split in half.
The Eastern sky was composed of pale luminesence and one or two gold-and-blue cirrus. The western sky was a grey so dark it was hard to tell where the stormclouds ended and the blue sky of morning began. I hoped the darkness was moving away and indeed it seemed to be, and thus after a few more moments of staring I turned and headed toward Brenen's in Knowlton.
Just before I reached the counter, I caught an unexpected glimpse of rainbow through a long tall window. I froze, startled and delighted, wondering if perhaps it were a trick of dirty glass. As I drew closer, though, I saw that a rainbow did indeed arch down toward the ground.
People looked at me skeptically as I lifted my camera and took pictures of what appeared to be the blank wall. As I ordered my chai, I looked repeatedly over my shoulder, afraid it would vanish. I commented "Rainbow" to the people at the counter and they smiled and said, "Oh wow!", but nobody apparently saw or gave a damn for the rainbow I saw.
I stepped outside with my chai and took a few more photos, admiring the brilliance of the rainbow. That's when one of my favourite songs popped into my head:
"When I woke up this mornin', a rainbow filled the sky. That was God tellin' me... everything's gonna be alright."
I had this song in my head all morning and most of the day. It always makes me a little sad about my brother, but it is profoundly comforting as well. I hummed it softly and felt secretly blessed.
Somehow I managed to forget that rainbow by yesterday night. This is unlike me. Normal people do not care, but I remember. Mike or somebody once commented, "The natural world treats you differently," and I laughed and said he was being a dork, but I think it's true now. This is because I treat it differently as well.
I need to go eat breakfast now, to throw on clothes and go face the day. I made the abrupt decision to drop racquetball this morning and thus far I do not regret it: I am no longer learning anything in the class, the instructor is not around enough to improve me, and I do not have fun with the particular format. Maybe it would be different if we actually got coached. Either way, I'd rather just go play with Weifei whenever we're both in the mood.
My life changes so quickly.
Yesterday I wrote some meaningless drivel when I should have written about the rainbow. I had no excuse for being outside or even awake at the hour I was, but I needed to. The dawn sky sang out to me and I answered.
I wandered the alleys in a soft daze, awed by the newfound beauty of autumn. It was warm yesterday morning, and half the sky was illuminated with a fragile dawn, the kind that brings all of the yellowing trees to life with its clear white light. I attempted to photograph it for you guys, but no amount of technology could capture that sky. The morning air tasted vaguely sweet and vaguely sad, like longing for things that have forever been lost.
I headed towards the architecture building on campus, supposing that hot chai would help keep me awake and amused through my first class. I walked with increasing purpose as I approached it but then abruptly stopped in front -- and noticed. The morning sky was split in half.
The Eastern sky was composed of pale luminesence and one or two gold-and-blue cirrus. The western sky was a grey so dark it was hard to tell where the stormclouds ended and the blue sky of morning began. I hoped the darkness was moving away and indeed it seemed to be, and thus after a few more moments of staring I turned and headed toward Brenen's in Knowlton.
Just before I reached the counter, I caught an unexpected glimpse of rainbow through a long tall window. I froze, startled and delighted, wondering if perhaps it were a trick of dirty glass. As I drew closer, though, I saw that a rainbow did indeed arch down toward the ground.
People looked at me skeptically as I lifted my camera and took pictures of what appeared to be the blank wall. As I ordered my chai, I looked repeatedly over my shoulder, afraid it would vanish. I commented "Rainbow" to the people at the counter and they smiled and said, "Oh wow!", but nobody apparently saw or gave a damn for the rainbow I saw.
I stepped outside with my chai and took a few more photos, admiring the brilliance of the rainbow. That's when one of my favourite songs popped into my head:
"When I woke up this mornin', a rainbow filled the sky. That was God tellin' me... everything's gonna be alright."
I had this song in my head all morning and most of the day. It always makes me a little sad about my brother, but it is profoundly comforting as well. I hummed it softly and felt secretly blessed.
Somehow I managed to forget that rainbow by yesterday night. This is unlike me. Normal people do not care, but I remember. Mike or somebody once commented, "The natural world treats you differently," and I laughed and said he was being a dork, but I think it's true now. This is because I treat it differently as well.
I need to go eat breakfast now, to throw on clothes and go face the day. I made the abrupt decision to drop racquetball this morning and thus far I do not regret it: I am no longer learning anything in the class, the instructor is not around enough to improve me, and I do not have fun with the particular format. Maybe it would be different if we actually got coached. Either way, I'd rather just go play with Weifei whenever we're both in the mood.
My life changes so quickly.