At night, as I lie in bed waiting for sleep to take me, sometimes I experience an odd sensation. Although it is difficult to call it such, since I don't experience it with any sense.. I can't see or feel it, and it doesn't seem to be associated with anywhere particular in my body.. I just simply sense it, and I form an abstract image in my mind based on what I sense. Sometimes, it's rapidly pulsating, and while I neither see nor hear it, the feeling becomes so bright and so deafening. Sometimes, like tonight, it's closer to something I feel, something raw and visceral, a single uncontrollable feeling or action, like swallowing inadvertently. It repeats for a few minutes then stops. I picture it in my mind, but it's much closer to a physical sensation, even though I can't identify exactly what it might be. These sensations have been happening ever since I was a teenager, maybe before too, and always when I'm lying down to sleep. Someday, when my body dies, if my consciousness does indeed continue, I would like to know what these sensations are..

Dear humanity,

Please stop bringing people into this world until we can take care of the ones who are already in it.

Love,

An educated cynic

It's hard not to get caught up in the Olympic spirit. I found myself getting emotional watching some of the competitions today.. imagining how elated the champions must feel, cringing when someone makes a mistake, shedding a tear when hearing their incredible stories. We build up these people to be heroes, and especially for the US, we have a lot of heroes to be proud of.

One particular story which I heard today struck me. I remember being 10 years old and watching the 1996 Olympics, and, being a favorite of the summer camp counselors, we watched most of the women's gymnastics. I particularly remember the playful floor routine of the youngest member of the team. Searching for her years later, I stumbled across this video...

Meeting amazing people on my plane flights has become something of a habit; I've decided that I need to start documenting my awesome conversations just so I can look back and marvel at them.


My flight home after a month in Seattle left the ground running and never slowed. They always start off the same way, with the usual small talk about my cat or the weather. Then he asked about my profession.. And the conversation took flight. He was the former head of business management at Universal Studios, a staunch republican, and instantly fascinated by me. I always love watching someone's reaction as I shatter their preconceived notions without saying a word. He had already judged me to be intelligent and worth having discussions with; so, when I told him I'm a climate scientist, I watched his mind open up as words of labored skepticism melted into questions from an open mind, ready to learn new things. I was not the only teacher, though; his economic savvy gave me new insight about the innerworkings of the government and the major flaws of the economic stimulus. He told me that I should study law, because I have the mind for it. I told him that I might have the mind, but not the stomach. Overall he was a smart man, and save his unfortunate biases and preconceptions, he had a shrewd business sense but self-proclaimed too-high moral standards to apply it most effectively. I got a strong sense that his words had truth to back them up.


My interesting trip didn't end with the flight, though.. I got a cab ride home from a Somalian who was excited to hear that I'm studying engineering, because he is doing the same. It reminds me how important it is to treat every person with respect and kindness, because the fantastic conversations alone are worth the effort. I shook his hand at the end of the cab ride, and he gave me one of the happiest glowing smiles I've ever seen.