Her Name Was Angel

Now that I’m single again there are a lot of old memories floating around in my head. This is very common shortly after a break up. My ex’s all come to my mind and I think of how my relationships and love life have been over the years. What had gone wrong in my most recent relationship, if anything like it had happened before, and so on.

So this time I am thinking about all the fun adventures I’ve had with Ramona, how our relationship fell apart, and if anything like this had ever happened to me before.

I thought of my time with Nicole, but it was nothing like my relationship with Ramona.

Then however I got nostalgic with memories of another girl I dated; the predecessor to Nicole.

Her name was Angel, and yes, I abused that name all the time.

She was my angel in a time where everything seemed boring. She was half Japanese, could speak three languages almost perfectly, had been around the world, and was generally one of the most bad-ass people I have ever met.

Even if she is a little shy at times.

I realize in hindsight that I teased her a lot.

Angel was a good many inches shorter than me, and I commonly would simply pick her up and carry her places. I found it hilarious, and it always made her blush.

And when it snowed, oh how I played with her then.

We would have snowball fights, waging war with one another.

I remember quite well one time where I was easily the instigator.

I just happened to scoop up a snowball and send it her way.

I got her square in the face. I immediately began to apologize, but could not stop a smile from edging across my lips.

She gave me a death glare, not an all that uncommon look from her. She didn’t hate me or anything, it was a look that garnered revenge.

I immediately went to calm her down and give her a hug. Cooing words of “I’m so sorry!” and “I didn’t mean for it to hit you…”

But of course all of that was just a part of my plan.

You see I may have had more snow in my other hand.

And I might have been in a prime situation to have access to Angel’s shirt.

As you can imagine I put snow down Angel’s shirt.

To this day I still love that moment. Where she realized that my hug was just a decoy to distract her, and it had worked.

I am so evil.

Angel hunted me down for the next hour. I ran as fast as I possibly could, but she would not give up on making me pay for my trickery.

The snow was my real problem though, because it slowed me down so much.

Snowballs flew like bullets around me as Angel tried to take me out across the snow covered fields.

Fun fact though, with a strong enough snow fall you can pick up a missed snow ball and throw it back; this lead to my return fire while I ran away.

However Angel’s aim was improving. Simply snatching up a missed snowball to throw back was less and less common as her aim became far more dangerous.

It got to a point where I would time her throws in my mind, turn as she lobbed them at me, and knock them out of the air, bad-ass style.

This caused the battle to stop its linear motion across town and take a circular field for war. We each would fire our cannons of snow while attempting to avoid or deflect any incoming snow based ballistics.

I can only imagine how awesome we must have looked.

It’s been ages since that snow fight and I really don’t remember how it ended. I would not be surprised if I ended up suffering for my actions.

That’s just what I do;

get all nostalgic during these changes from what I have come to accept.

Happens when I move too.

Oh and Angel,

If you are out there,

I miss you.

The Society We Live In

Do you know what upsets me? The social interaction of people in our society.

I was sitting here planning out one of my many fun stories for all of you when I was suddenly struck with a desire to go to the gym. This is not really news for me, it is in fact quite common.

Yes. I get to the gym in one super huge jump; evidence of my gym going tendencies.

While at the gym I always think. I always think in general; no idea what people are talking about when they say “I’m not thinking anything.”

I like the track, good place to walk with my, by then, sore arms and abs, and a good place to just let my thoughts wander around and make new ideas.

Then it hit me.

I looked down from the track, a lovely vantage point in the gym, and saw all the people just milling around. Some on machines, others on weights, but everyone was so divided.

Maybe a duo of friends on the bikes, or those three guys all from that same office, but generally alone.

Yet as I looked around I could see a half dozen people I would like to talk too.

I hated it, I hate it, I will continue to hate it.

Why?

No one bothers to interact with other people, and I do not just mean the gym. If I do not talk to those people, they will never EVER talk to me.

That just makes me miserably sad.

I’m all about trying to do new things, but I’m still shy on the inside. Still not capable of everything. Not to mention what about the people that I had not thought to talk too? What if they are secretly amazing? I will never know.

Why?

No one talks.

Even I’m no good at it…

Curses, CURSES I say!

(This is why I try not to get too upset about things)

I despise this mode of social interaction. Where the person walking in front of me is no person, just a mobile wall to get past.

I need to find a solution for this, I need to talk to people.

Of course it is now where I see it to be so hard.

But like I said, 

I tend to be a little shy.

If only on the inside.

Did talk to a girl named Jaye today though,

I did it once,

Now just a million times more.

Time to change the world! (again!)

I wear belts

Yes that is a plural in the title you are reading it correctly. I wear belts, as in more than one.

Did you know that the number of belts you wear is directly correlated to how good your day is?

Look at this graph.

Clearly wearing a belt is an improvement.

But why simply stop ourselves at that?

Stop thinking inside the box,
open up your mind to the possibilities.

Why not multiply the clear benefit of wearing one belt, and wear two?

Maybe even three?

Dare I say four?

Why stop?

Your entire outfit should be completely composed of belts.

Think of how amazing a world we would live in if we all had more belts on?

It’s a beautiful place.

This is the only logical explanation I could find when presented with such information.

Ignorance is the only standing reason I can see to why the street is not full of multibelted people.

It is our responsibility to stand strong!

Belt by belt we can make this world a better place!

Or at least start a new fashion trend.

(This broadcast brought to you by the society of extrapolation)  

I Almost Died at the Grand Canyon

Spoilers, I live.

Having family that lives over in Arizona means a lot of long trips and many hours in the car over the years.

One time, only one, we went to the Grand Canyon. When I think about it, it actually took us a long time to go. We would get so close to it every year or so. I got out of high school before we actually went down there.

(WARNING: actual beauty not included with picture)

It was beautiful. No words I have, or have ever heard, no picture I could draw, or have ever seen, can describe the beauty of that place. Ever step, every new angle was a snapshot I downloaded directly to my brain, never wanting to lose it.

I stood fearless atop ledges hundreds of feet above any possible ground and was speechless.

My brother joined me.

My brother and I don’t really get along all too well. It’s not awful, but its typically a joke at my expense. Our petty arguments were hushed immediately by the vastness before us. In a memory I’ll hold for the rest of my life, my brother and I stood together atop the Grand Canyon, smiling.

My father on the other hand could not even think to stand as we did. Just walking towards the ledge weakened his legs. I smile as I think back to how he looked at my fearless brother and me, pure shock across his face.

My brother and I wanted more.

There was so much beauty we had not seen, so much we wanted to find.

Our answer was a ledge. An outcrop several hundred feet down, and stretching out a ways over more of the Canyon obscured to our current view.

“Let’s go,” is all that had to be said before we bounded off towards it.

The climb was wonderful, albeit quite dangerous.

My brother and I took every little step one at a time. Each large fall we came across we navigated around, or found a pass through. This typically meant finding a fissure in the rock and parkouring down the cliff face.

Lots of jumping and sliding.

But we made it, all of parts intact. Walking out to the edge of that ledge was breath taking. A whole new world of beauty was waiting. We had really done something amazing.

Then we turned around.

My mouth simply swung open.

What had we just done? How were we going to get back up?

My brother and I laughed at how simple awestruck the two of us were.

We had just climbed down several hundred feet of what looked to be sheer cliff for most of it.

I closed my jaw though, having faith in myself. If we could climb down it, we could climb up it.

So we took it one step at a time.

Having two people was a real godsend actually. I could boost my brother up to a higher ledge, and he could pull me up after. Though that was by far the scariest moment of the whole trip. As I latched my arms onto my brothers outstretched hands I knew that this is where we could die. I had no support, everything was resting on my brother. If he leaned, we fell. If he was just a little bit too weak, we fell. If he sneezed, we probably fell. 

But we didn't. 

talk about putting your life in someone else's hands, literally.

Next thing we knew we were back near the top of the canyon. My father calling down to us in shock and disbelief at what we had just done.

Another family moment for the books, and another great accomplishment in my life. 

Not to mention it didn't kill me,

which I'm just going to say is a plus in my book.