mmm... spring
late last night, b picked us up from the airport and i stayed over at their place. when my eyes opened this morning and i looked outside the window of the guest room, the sight of the sunlit leaves took my breath away. i smiled and went back to sleep, in subconscious bliss for the beautiful day that lay before me. (jumping out of bed to embrace the day may have been a more suitable reaction, now that i think of it.)
awoke later to a walk down california ave, morning coffee at the starbucks, along with half a croissant. s, b, a and i met for lunch at jing jing that filled me with warm nostalgia. the joy that comes from the company of old friends is immense, is it not? after a sumptuous meal, i headed out to run some errands. it has long been time to pick up my diploma from stanford, and i decided i'd finally take care of this. went to the old registrar's office, noted the move to tressider, walked to tressider instead, and photographed along the way. stanford, you are so beautiful (and so much more so in spring, sigh)!
at the student services center, the lady who gave me my diploma was effusively friendly. she congratulated me on my degree and expressed confidence that i would make a wonderful teacher, thanks to my smile. i regretfully admitted that i was pursuing a phd now, not teaching, but was touched all the same at her show of kindness. i did almost wish i was teaching so i could turn her words to truth.
after picking up the diploma, i walked downstairs to jamba juice and got myself a strawberry nirvana after many eons. as i walked through the once-frequented parts of campus (the school of ed. etc.) i was overwhelmed by the calm that they exuded. i strolled along, letting the sights sink in. the faces were new, but the places were old and welcoming. they knew i was no stranger to them.
somewhere along the way, i entered the bookstore. i wasn't interested in making a purchase though. there was just a desire to make my way through the aisles, letting the books know i was there (and perhaps letting myself know that the books were there). i couldn't leave before touching the poetry section, marveling at the number of poets, and reading some more hafiz :). what a world we live in, really... try as we might we couldn't run out of poetry to read!
before heading back to the car, there was one more loose end to take care of. last year, i'd taken a class in the photo department and used a locker for my equipment. of course, i never took the time to remove my stuff from there, and assumed that the lock would have been broken open by now. when i looked at locker 16, i saw a black cross taped onto it, and my blue master lock still there. thankfully, i had the key, and used it to empty everything out. phew. i was done. i'm sorry if i kept anyone from using a locker though, all this time (groan). i'm sure i did.
i ambled my way back to the car, drank in the sunshine one final time, took a couple of final shots, and resolved to make my way back to campus often enough, to keep in touch with this place that has given me so much that i cannot put in words, and perhaps do not even realize. and as i walked past a tree and wondered at its beauty, i stretched out my left hand and let it touch the bark, ever so gently. just to assure myself that it was there, that i was there. can you picture it? i cannot express the limitless joy that moment brought me. i feel as though i fully realized then what it meant to be 'in touch' with nature, and wondered why it had never crossed my mind before - why i'd always limited myself to the visual medium, why i'd kept my distance.
when i came back to a's, i helped her offer me a cup of tea :). soon enough, a called and suggested a hike up the dish. the thought enticed, and we headed there, only to find it was closed. of course, when one wishes to walk, the path makes itself clear :) and we walked a long distance on this beautiful spring evening. as always, the walk brought several insights my way (all to be shared in due time/evolution). dinner was lovely and entertaining at med wraps. and that was my day, the twenty-seventh day of march, two thousand and nine.
and as i lay me down to sleep, i thank this day for all the light it brought to my life :). i pray only that i may find it in me to best make use of it, to best learn from it.
night night!
awoke later to a walk down california ave, morning coffee at the starbucks, along with half a croissant. s, b, a and i met for lunch at jing jing that filled me with warm nostalgia. the joy that comes from the company of old friends is immense, is it not? after a sumptuous meal, i headed out to run some errands. it has long been time to pick up my diploma from stanford, and i decided i'd finally take care of this. went to the old registrar's office, noted the move to tressider, walked to tressider instead, and photographed along the way. stanford, you are so beautiful (and so much more so in spring, sigh)!
at the student services center, the lady who gave me my diploma was effusively friendly. she congratulated me on my degree and expressed confidence that i would make a wonderful teacher, thanks to my smile. i regretfully admitted that i was pursuing a phd now, not teaching, but was touched all the same at her show of kindness. i did almost wish i was teaching so i could turn her words to truth.
after picking up the diploma, i walked downstairs to jamba juice and got myself a strawberry nirvana after many eons. as i walked through the once-frequented parts of campus (the school of ed. etc.) i was overwhelmed by the calm that they exuded. i strolled along, letting the sights sink in. the faces were new, but the places were old and welcoming. they knew i was no stranger to them.
somewhere along the way, i entered the bookstore. i wasn't interested in making a purchase though. there was just a desire to make my way through the aisles, letting the books know i was there (and perhaps letting myself know that the books were there). i couldn't leave before touching the poetry section, marveling at the number of poets, and reading some more hafiz :). what a world we live in, really... try as we might we couldn't run out of poetry to read!
before heading back to the car, there was one more loose end to take care of. last year, i'd taken a class in the photo department and used a locker for my equipment. of course, i never took the time to remove my stuff from there, and assumed that the lock would have been broken open by now. when i looked at locker 16, i saw a black cross taped onto it, and my blue master lock still there. thankfully, i had the key, and used it to empty everything out. phew. i was done. i'm sorry if i kept anyone from using a locker though, all this time (groan). i'm sure i did.
i ambled my way back to the car, drank in the sunshine one final time, took a couple of final shots, and resolved to make my way back to campus often enough, to keep in touch with this place that has given me so much that i cannot put in words, and perhaps do not even realize. and as i walked past a tree and wondered at its beauty, i stretched out my left hand and let it touch the bark, ever so gently. just to assure myself that it was there, that i was there. can you picture it? i cannot express the limitless joy that moment brought me. i feel as though i fully realized then what it meant to be 'in touch' with nature, and wondered why it had never crossed my mind before - why i'd always limited myself to the visual medium, why i'd kept my distance.
when i came back to a's, i helped her offer me a cup of tea :). soon enough, a called and suggested a hike up the dish. the thought enticed, and we headed there, only to find it was closed. of course, when one wishes to walk, the path makes itself clear :) and we walked a long distance on this beautiful spring evening. as always, the walk brought several insights my way (all to be shared in due time/evolution). dinner was lovely and entertaining at med wraps. and that was my day, the twenty-seventh day of march, two thousand and nine.
and as i lay me down to sleep, i thank this day for all the light it brought to my life :). i pray only that i may find it in me to best make use of it, to best learn from it.
night night!
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