February 8, 2015 - 21:35
A happy coincidence.... due to being slow on typing up my thoughts, I have a bit more to add that will make this outside post sort of two parts.
The first is from my outside sitting on friday night. I liked the idea of keeping to a space near Park Science building, as that's familiar turf for me, but I also didn't really want to be there at peak traffic times since that would be distracting and I needed calm. I decided instead to take some time to enjoy the cold weather after belly dance practice. After everyone had left, D and I worked on our duet for an extra half hour, breaking it down and working out a few moves we both know. It took many repeats of the song, however, so this was still running through my head as I grabbed my gloves and made the trek down across campus. I'm a Southern California wimp and had been shoving my frozen fingers in my pockets all day so this time I prepared myself for the icy weather.
This prep was well worth it when I finally reached my space. At first there wasn't as much to look at because it was dark outside, so I simply took in the cold air, letting it clear my head. It took a while for the music and all my racing ideas to fade into the background, but eventually they did and I was able to pay more attention to my surroundings. It was then that I thought to look up at the sky and my eyes were immediately drawn to the constellation of Orion's belt. It's a familiar sight to me at home, even moreso than the big dipper, and seeing that trio of stars made me smile with a bit of happiness and simultaneous pain. I remember the cheesy thought of "we all see the same stars" running through my head and making me feel a bit closer to home, but then I started to think of my boyfriend and wishing that he could be here with me, staring at the giant open space above us and enjoying the star speckled darkness. Eventually this feeling faded into a dull, sore melancholy rather than the initial prickling pain. When my nose started going numb I decided to walk back to my room, but I felt much calmer than I had walking the other way so it was worth braving the cold.
The second outside experience I had happened entirely unplanned. D and M and I were walking back from brunch the next morning and after days of eyeing the smooth ice patches behind Pem East I couldn't help myself. I mentioned aloud how tempting it was to try and ice skate on those patches and after a "why not?" response from both friends I broke off the asphault and headed across the bumpy slush. The patches were still frozen solid and after a few slips I found my balance and was sliding across them like a child in Heely's. My cheap boots with soles worn smooth went from footwear too dangerous for off-roading to the perfect tool for sliding back and forth like an overexcited child.
