"Iowa?"

The mountaintop rises 12,000 feet above the ocean
A breeze blows, the snow falls
All you see is the dark grey sky and the white ground.
The treeline is far below
Before you lies a seemingly endless expanse of fresh powder.
You strap into your board,
lower your goggles,
and turn to your friend.
He nods.

You ride.

"Shh"

Although I don't consider my life to be incredibly exciting to those around me, 2007 has proved to be an amazing year so far.

-Planned a college visit with my mom for Harvey Mudd over spring break
-Bombed a final
-Snowboarded for the first time (as fun as it was painful)
-Filed my W-2 form
-Had my mindset completely changed by the book "The Tao of Pooh"
-Dropped Track and replaced it with Iaido / Rugby (maybe)
-Advanced to the All-State level for group mime (as did many a blogger in this little clique)
-Lost my miniature Buddha and my prized red converse shoes
-Rediscovered my love for Red Delicious Apples

And the beauty of it all is I finally realized I can live the life I seek without being super busy, over-scheduled, or under-rested. I concentrated on "saving time" in the fall, not realizing it is impossible to do so. I can't store little moments in a jar and enjoy them later. With so many appointments, assignments, deadlines and due dates, I found I couldn't be as mindful, calm, or caring as I would have liked. So to all of you whom I turned away from or overlooked in the last several months (especially you, Yes), I humbly apologize. Among my new year's resolutions, I'm adding "to quiet the mind".

And now I'm off to sleep very, very deeply.