movies, ice cream, ice cream, pie, reading, coffee, ice cream, berries, driving, ice cream

Dear Blog,

So the title pretty much sums it up. I'm still on Mercer Island. Not to cheapen my time here, but I haven't written in over a week and I suppose it's because I haven't felt that the recent past has been all that noteworthy. Furthermore, I am so removed from the adventure that is The Listen Mission that if I were to write anything, it would be more appropriate to put it in a diary or a blog called David's Blog. So I had been neglecting my updates because I guess I'm not currently officially on The Listen Mission. But then I realized that the audience of this blog is only about as large as my close family and a couple of close friends, all of whom are not necessarily in it to see how the project is going, but to see how their little Davy-train and Casey-treat are doing. So now I'm finally blogging again.

I believe it's important for me to keep reminding myself that this is my big youthful summer of freedom and exploration; my time to rack up memories and stories so that I can encourage youngin's to do the same when I'm older and wishing I weren't weighed down with responsibilities and joint pains. Gosh, I guess I'm half way there already...
But it doesn't feel like I'm on my big adventure. The way things are right now is definitely not how I had imagineered in the months leading up to here. I am not that tan, sinewy, weathered yet jubilant traveler I had dreamed of. In fact my current lifestyle seems to yield results on the "au contraire" side. But to be optimistic about it, it is important for me to remind myself that this is indeed an adventure. Indeed I am taking a semester away from school and I am indeed learning new things. I am learning how to navigate the city, how to convert a car to run on veggie oil, how to use a bread machine, how to roll pie crust dough, how to make a mean chocolate sauce, and I am learning a little family history. I've also learned (through a conversation with cousin Kathleen) that perhaps I might be interested in adventure education. But don't get too excited. More than likely that's just the flavor of the week. Possible thesis topic? Who knows!
From another angle, I think it's important for me to remind myself I'm on an adventure because it is too easy to take everything for granted. Especially right now as I am living la vida luxury. Sure you could say this about anything: good health, or having people who love me and who I can love, etc. But right now, it's my ability to take time off from school, to have the privilege and freedom to embark on this Grand Tour of sorts that I feel grateful for. And I really think I should acknowledge this. Not with the angst that one often feels in confronting one's privilege, but in a way that involves sincere appreciation and the impulse to use it to its full potential. So in that light, hopefully I'll be able to join in the lifestyle that is more conducive to making memories and stories, but until then, I will continue to be revel in my stable and immobile state.
So how about a summary of my past week?
Well, sitting here trying to recollect makes me realize that all the days blend together like so many Starbucks Vivanno smoothies. I suppose I could make a list of things I remember in no particular order ... Would that be fun? Cool:
Hot tubbin, family movie nights with pizza and salad, fancy anniversary seafood dinner at Ray's boathouse, swimming in Lake Washington (especially challenging for a Gulf guy), driving Cousin Marvin to Tacoma, helping him pack and move out of his old office, painting walls a nice warm yet pale yellow, Ballard seafood festival, kite flying, berry picking, kayaking on Union Bay, Pendleton sweater buying, Adam living here for several days, veggie oil conversion attempt, bicycle searches, physical therapy exercises, drive to Mount Rainier National Park, card games, dominoes, dishwashers, Starbucks, pleasantries. Of course there's more, but I'm afraid that was going on too long.
If nothing else, this time has given me some peace and quiet. Time to be by myself a little. The last semester was so overwhelming. And then gearing up for this trip combined with the after-effects of the semester stress seems to have left me and my fragile psyche somewhat out of whack. This has been rather providential in that I have been forced against my will to relax and be content with inaction. I have been able to process a little which is something that even if I think of it, can never seem to do most of the time. That said, it hasn't been totally sweet missing out on the bike tour...

Seeing Adam has reminded me though, that even when I miss out on an experience or adventure with my friends, I'm not losing something irreplaceable. If I am on the trip, then whatever is happening is what is happening. It's the current reality, it's fun, and it doesn't seem all that remarkable, even if the stories are awesome. Then again, if I'm not on the trip, it feels like I am missing out on something colossal. But of course there is no allotted amount of awesome experiences and new ones are always just an impulse away. Plus, I am so lucky to have friends where every time we see each other, nothing is different, regardless of how much time or how many experiences have transpired in the interim.
So this time away has been good. I am so fortunate and grateful for having my cousins out here. They have taken me in as their own. They feed me and take me kayaking and let me borrow their car, gave me my own room, and include me in their activities. It has all been so relaxing and comfortable. But it has also been a time warp. It’s about time I get back on the road. There’s something about not having a day full of activities that make days seem extremely short. And there’s something about having a bunch of those days in a row that makes them all indiscernible from one another. It’s funny; this summer was supposed to be the most jam-packed, bodacious summer of all time, and yet of late, it is one of the only summers I can think of when I have experienced boredom that is often associated with a poorly planned summer vacation.

One of the first things Adam said to me when he got here was that I needed to leave. I think he’s right. He always seems to be right. He’s inherited the wisdom of his mama and every time I see him, he’s filled into it more. Our conversations send my brain on important trains of thought that it never would have boarded without him.

So I should leave… well it just so happens that-- dun-dun-dun!!! I probably can! No, my knee isn’t better. But that doesn’t matter! I’m motorized!! Well, almost. I need to find an industrial-strength chain tool and figure out how to get the thing started. But the big news is that I have bought a 70 cc motor and a mountain bike. Together, I should be able to travel upwards of 25 mph for a whopping 100 miles a gallon. It has taken me hours and hours of grease and magic curse words (and magic curses and greasy words) to get it all put together, but today I see an end. I also sold the original touring bike that facilitated my cartilage damage. I don’t harbor feelings of resentment for it, but I was happy to see it go.

So here’s my plan: Tomorrow I finish the motor and gear up the bike. Then the next day I figure out a way to get to Lopez Island where I will meet up with the rest of the gang, fresh out of BC. We have a good buddy from New College who lives out there in a house his father built. I hear it’s beautiful. It will be so nice to see everybody and hear the adventures and start living the life of the vagrant. We will come back through Seattle, though, and I want to cook a big celebratory feast for the family and friends. And then Casey and I can start filling up the website with content! Oh boy! The feeling of inspiration and purpose returns.

So I’ve been on Mercer Island long enough to clip my fingernails twice, and I am about to enter the lifestyle where all fingernail clipping will be done with my Leatherman.

Cue Gene Autry's "Back in the Saddle Again" (which coincidentally is on the Sleepless in Seattle soundtrack).