I just did something I haven't done in months.  Here in Lynchburg, it is absolutely pouring, so I stepped outside into the dark abyss that is night and watched.  I stared at the falling drops, wishing I could soak in each and every one of them.  But alas, it was after curfew and had to be content with merely stretching my hand over the railing of my hotel hallway balcony into the steady rainfall.

And then it started to downpour.  And no, not just a ten second spurt of wooshing air and short sprays.  I'm talking about a veritable waterfall the size of Kentucky just unloading itself onto this city for over an hour.  It's still going right now. 

This unleashing of the heavenly floodgates changed everything.

I looked furtively around.  No one was nearby; it was a ghost town here at the Inn with nary a soul to witness my rebellion.  I whipped around and raced to the end of the hall, my heart beating erratically.  I skipped down the cement steps, soaking my pajama pants in every single puddle.  As a reached the bottom, I slowed, peeking carefully around every corner in case I encountered someone.  I tiptoed as quickly as possible to the edge of the overhang, staring out across the courtyard.  I took one step forward.

So there I stood, slowly sinking into a small pool of water that ran across my ankles.  I turned my face skyward, spread my arms, and let the sky drench me with its sweet falling rain.

I stayed outside for an hour.

The following is a collaboration of many thoughts that have been floating in my head for a while, along with a few recent experiences....

...like the one I had this morning:

You know that metallic taste you get in your mouth when you start sprinting your brains out?  Your heart starts speeding a mile a minute, your neck is pulsing with the beat, and your vision is spinning just a little bit because you're pumping your legs so hard...well, I decided that was a worthwhile experience to have at dawn.  I'm sitting here at 6:15 am looking up different work-out routines (because honestly, I feel a bit out of shape and want to fix that), when I suddenly get the urge to go do something physical.  So I lace up my trainers, throw on a scarf and shoot out the front door like a freshly shot bullet.

Now, I'm not one for running, but this felt good.  And no, not just good, but good.  Despite the fact that I used 'good' way too many times in the past two sentences, I'm sure my point got across.

To make things even better, it was snowing.  Not an extraordinary amount, but enough to cover the ground with a light powder.  The most brilliant part about it was that it didn't even appear to be snow.  In the weak half-light, it looked like flaky, feather pieces of gray ash floating away from a volcanic eruption.  So ethereal, and yet not fully innocent.  It was beautiful.

I learned three things from this:
1) I really like hardcore physical activity.  I've missed it.  I shall endeavor to do more of it.
2) Do not run in the snow while wearing glasses.  It's hard as heck to see, and that's a necessary component of fast personal movement.
3) Never.  Ever.  Run.  Without.  Your.  Inhaler.  Totally not fun, and the resulting hot-throat can be avoided completely.  And breathing easily....it's a nice thing.  Don't take it for granted.


Subject number two for this morning's tirade: similarities in the human race.

It is astounding how different you think you are.  Then you go on facebook.  All you have to do is look at those little "new fad" pages and groups with I-do-this...you-do-it-too?!! titles and you realize that you're not so radical as you once thought.  And yes, sometimes it is the little things like that that matter.  They make you what you are down to the very last peculiar habit, and when you find that you don't completely own that oddity, it's a little bit of a let-down.

And then you move on.

I just think it is so gosh darn weird how similar we all are.  You think your special, and then you find out you're completely ordinary....it's just something to think about.

Of course, the fact that we're not all the exact same combination of little traits is reassuring.  But it's a little sad (yet strangely comforting) to know that we all share a little bit of ourselves with each other.


Subject number three: my 'x' key is not functioning at full capacity.  Every time I push it, it fails me.  I have to press extra hard every time, and it's starting to grind on my ring-finger nerves.  Ah, well.  What can you do.

So Jessica got Skype.....she foresees fun video chat adventures.  And no, she is not entirely sure why she is speaking in third person.  Could be a late night thing....could be a weird person thing.  You pick.