teleportation, orange

I almost teleported again today. I was on my way up campus to swim and the walk - what with the occasionally pain in my knee - had me ever so slightly daunted. I remember thinking... "what if I could just...?" and then I felt a strange stillness come over me. As though my molecules were slowing down and getting ready for something. My breathing stilled and I think if I'd stopped walking and found a moment between heart-beats, a little concentration would have sent me 3 blocks closer to my destination. I didn't stop walking and my breathing went back to normal, but it was a near thing, I think.

Note that I said "teleported again". I'm pretty sure I've teleported before, though it was many years ago. I was in high school and the house we were living in at the time was in a somewhat wooded area. It was a fall afternoon, cool, but bright sunshine. We were heading somewhere and I left the house via the side door. There was a single concrete step down to the pavement level and as I stepped down I saw something out of the corner of my eye, right up against the step that I had just cleared.

There wasn't even time for my brain to register "snake" and I was already all the way across the very wide driveway. Witnesses to the event were amazed at my speed - I'm certain that my feet didn't touch the ground and pretty sure that I didn't actually exist in that in-between space. Instinctive teleportation is the only real answer.

The snake was harmless and my dad took it down the hill and across the road. We saw some shed snakeskin later on around the place, but never saw the snake again.

In other news... all the lines at the student union for food were very long today. So, I opted on just getting some snacks. 2 packs of cheese and peanut butter crackers. 1 bag of cheddar and bacon potato skins. 1 bottle of orange tangerine LifeWater.

All orange foods. Very strange.

spooky

I've been getting into the Halloween spirit early this year. I got my costume done a couple weeks ago and I've had some time to relax a little and get ready for the big day. Last week, I went with some friends and saw Paranormal Activity. There were some nice jump out at you moments, but the camera and the lack of like-able characters detracted from the flick.

I also worked on some jack-o-lanterns - as evidenced above. My room-mate designed the one on the right, but I did all the carving and scooping of the innards. I also roasted some pumpkin seeds, but they didn't turn out as well as I would have liked.

I helped my room-mate with his costume as well and we got to wear them to an early Halloween party. And everyone had a blast! Almost everyone was in costume and there was lots of food and great conversations. My room-mate won first prize and I got second. We contributed this year since we've won a lot in year's past and I think that should have taken us out of the running this time around. Got some nice gift cards out of it though.

I'm taking this Friday off for my campus walk around - don't want work to get in the way of the fun.

thunder of wade

This is the I Ching symbol for Thunder or Shock. Or the "arousing shock of thunder". It's part of a divination system with coin flips that can help predict the future. I'm not sure I buy into that as much as I do fortune cookies, but it's a neat little symbol for the very essence of surprise. I always tell people that I don't like being surprised, but that's really to prevent them from trying to do it on purpose. The accidental surprise? That's golden.

So, I got this as a tattoo on my inner left wrist. A location that - should I need to - I can cover with a watchband. A reminder that the best parts of life are surprises.

When I was growing up, I went by my middle name - Wade. I think there was some concern that people would mispronounce my last name even more if Anthony got shortened to the very Italian sounding Tony. So, instead of Anthony - I was Wade.

When I got into college, the process of sorting that out with people and especially my professors got to be a pain and I decided to start using Anthony. This created a dichotomy - my family and friends from my youth call me Wade and my my co-workers and adult friends call me Anthony. My parents never really got used to the switch - my Mom still introduces me to people as Anthony and then in the next breathe she'll say to me -"Wade, where's your sister?"

I've always believed that people don't really change - that they just become more of themselves as they get older. There are exceptions to this, but I don't think it would hurt to start bringing back a little more of my Wade. I've added it back into my signature file in my email - and for a geek that's a huge deal - and I've added it to the title of this blog.

What does it all mean? Sort of a surprise at changing back into an older mindset? Eh, I don't really know. The names I first tried for this new blog were all taken and I settled on this one. I like it, but I don't entirely understand it. Which I think is just as well.

If anyone asks, just tell them it's a variation on the band "Fountains of Wayne".

Black eyed susan

That seems like a really horrible name for a flower, doesn't it? Sounds like some kind of domestic abuse situation among flora. I was actually going for a sunflower on these, but it couldn't find the right paper for the center.

A few years ago, I made a shadow box for my grandmother of an origami sun with a blue sky. It was a Christmas present - thought it might brighten up a winter's day. She really liked it and hung it in her kitchen.

Over the summer, one of my aunts asked if I would make one for her as well. I considered it for a while, but had some qualms about duplicating a gift like that. Then my grandmother moved in with my aunt and uncle - and took the sun box with her. Which made a duplicate seem even less appropriate.

I thought about this for a bit, then bought a new empty shadow box and got some green grass paper for a background and some bright yellow - and made four of these flowers in a box for my aunt. She has four children so it seemed fitting.

I presented this wrapped package to her recently and she said "I bet I know what this is!". She was mostly right, but the flowers surprised her. We had a laugh when I told her she was holding it upside down.

Grandma has since moved to a nursing home - I'm not sure if the sun picture went with her as well. In any case, I got one of my pending origami requests covered.