Traverse City

Well, this is embarrassing.

It's been over six months since my last post. Since then, I've finished my first year of college, visited Tokyo and the Dominican Republic, made and lost friends, had all sorts of new experiences, and now found myself in Michigan. And after all of that, I wish that I had continued this. There are so many things that I've lost because I haven't attempted to capture them while i had the chance.

So. Now that I'm in a new town with a new family and a new camera, why not try again?

Today was overcast and surprisingly windless, so Ellis and I decided to go paddling, gondola-style, with windsurfing long boards. We went about a mile out, laid down on our boards, and meditated - right in the middle of West Bay! The water was pretty still, and the only thing I could hear were the waves and the trickling rain. It was the most amazing and calming experience. Of course I fell overboard on the way back... twice. Afterward I sat on the dock and read The Brothers Karamazov for an hour or so. Such a good day!

Traverse City truly is a magical place. I came here only knowing one guy from school, and now I have a whole community of friends and family. I find myself doing something crazy and new every day, like going sailing or starting a bonfire or camping in the woods or finding a luau in the middle of town. I can't believe it's already July - I want this summer to last.

Song:
The Tallest Man on Earth - Wild Hunt
Ben plays the best acoustic version of this ever. Ever.

Quote:
...and the thought then came to him that beauty is a spark that flashes when, suddenly, across the distance of years, two ages meet. That beauty is an abolition of chronology and a rebellion against time.
[The Book of Laughter and Forgetting, Milan Kundera]