Partaking in History

Last Friday, September 21st, 2012, The Endeavor space shuttle made it’s last flight atop of a 747 down to Los Angeles in order to be stored in a museum for the rest of time. 

I didn’t hear of this adventure until Thursday night when my dad suggested we attempt to take BART into the city in order to see it on his day off. It sounded like a lot of work and I really didn’t know what he was talking about so I suggested we just go on a hike instead. Then my mom weighed in and was utterly shocked that we wouldn’t get in on that opportunity. Then I did some interneting and realized just how big of a deal it really was. 

Friday morning I woke up earlier than anticipated to see my dad scoping out The Endeavor’s flight path for the day. Rather than navigating the streets of SF early in the morning and warding off other hopeful viewers, he proposed we hike to the nearby hills overlooking our valley on one side and the bay on the other side. Being able to time this out correctly and at an optimal viewing location was a long shot, but we went for it anyway. 

Dad, Delilah, and I drove to the parking lot of Las Trampas and vigorously started the hike. I’d never done this hike and my dad was only fairly certain it would be a successful place to view The Endeavor. Also, we started this hike at 9:25am and The Endeavor was to take off from Sacramento at 9:30am. It would take less than 20 minutes to fly that distance and it would certainly take more than 20 minutes to hike from the Las Trampas parking lot to the top of the hill. As we climbed upward, a motorcyclist rode down the paved path and warned up of the closed road ahead. Sure enough, the path ended 20 yards ahead where EBMud workers were constructing road improvements. As we contemplated turning back, my sister Nicki texted us from Sacramento with a picture of The Endeavor riding atop the 747 with the capitol building in the background. This was just the extra motivation we needed to find an alternate route to the top. 

We hiked onward, looking up at every common commercial plane that flew overhead uneventfully. Finally we reached the top of the ridge, but not the spot intended to be our final location. For no apparent reason, we hovered there looking around. I directed my gaze toward Mt. Diablo, wondering out loud if perhaps we should’ve driven to the top of that mountain for a better view instead. And then, just as my doubt of location was verbalized, a small, bulky dot appeared in the distance with an even smaller dot next to it. I turned to my dad and questioned, “Is that it?!” with hopeful enthusiasm. And sure enough, as the dots approached, their blur took form and The Endeavor was revealed. It was unlike anything I’ve ever even dreamed of seeing. A 747 flying low is impressive on its own, but then to be mounted by an actual space shuttle is incredible. The small dot next to it was another plane in place for either/both protection and documentation. As the duo flew overhead, we had a perfect view of them with the iconic Mt. Diablo in the background. It seemed as if the pairing flew directly above us at one point. We stared in awe as it passed over our ridge and drifted down into the bay lands beyond us. It felt like we were part of something great when it was happening. After the sighting, we were on a historical high and, as it turns out, so was everyone else on the ridge that day. We came across several other hikers who had also seen The Endeavor, all of whom matched our enthusiasm for the siting. Later that day we watched the news recap of the event and saw the extreme measures others went through to view the same thing we did. And after all that, I truly think we had the best experience possible for us & The Endeavor. History, man. 

What I do

Now that I’ve moved back home, people have been asking me on a regular basis what I “do”...whatever that means. So here’s a helpful list of my day-to-day activities: 

• Yoga: My mom and I started going to yoga classes at the San Ramon Community Center. I’ve never done yoga before, and let me tell you, this is the best place to start. It’s a gigantic room not even a tenth of the way filled with about 12 yoga participants. Included in that crowd: middle-aged women, one overweight man, more middle-aged women, my mom & me, and even more middle-aged women. It’s hilarious. The most hilarious part is the fact that there is actually a yoga pose called “wind relieving pose.” You lie on your back, pull your leg to your chest, and get extra yoga points if you let one rip. Kidding of course, except that really is a pose. Community Center yoga is the best. 

• Listen to the new Justin Bieber CD: The new Biebs album is really teaching me a lot about how to be successful in the music industry. Apparently the secret to creating a chart-topping hit is to just whisper swag in the background every 17-22 seconds. And if you want to enter a whole new realm of musical genius, simply turn it into an adjective, like swaggy, halfway through those hot beats. 

• Walk my dog & make new friends: I was walking Delilah the other day and as we approached a woman walking her own dog she called out, “I’m scared of dogs!” And no, you didn’t read that incorrectly, she was indeed walking a dog herself. As we got closer she followed up her declaration of fear with, “I realize that’s kind of ridiculous, but I never know if dogs are going to bite me or bark,” after which she proceeded to bark like a yappy, scary dog. Needless to say Delilah and I didn’t make any future play dates with her. 

• Go to the doctor: Since I’m planning on going to Thailand in the near future, I’ve had to go to the doctor on a regular basis these past few weeks. I routinely make a fool out of myself there. My most foolish encounter was when took a chance asking my lady doctor about a suspicious mole on my back. The conversation went like this: 

Dr.: “Where’s the mole?” 

Me: (pointing to my back) “It’s somewhere around this area, it’s the mole with some red around it.” 

Dr.: “Oh, is it itchy? It looks itchy.” 

Me: “Yeah, it’s really itchy, maybe kind of irritated.” 

Dr.: “Yes, that’s a bug bite.” 

My days are riveting, truly. I may not have a job or a routine to my days, but I sure do keep busy with entertaining nothingness. 

My Life as Compared to Indiana Jones

My dad and I went to see Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Arc in IMAX recently, and as I sat engulfed in Indy’s original premiere, it occurred to me that I am Indiana Jones. Ok maybe not. But I did find some of his more famous lines and memorable adventures to be relatable to my current life situation. 

You see, I recently bought a plane ticket to Thailand. I leave mid-October to meet up with my oldest friend, Chelsea, who is teaching English there now. I hope to teach over there as well. In theory, I have a job lined up. In theory, I should get some official paperwork done before I go. In theory, I should have more of a plan. In reality, to quote Indiana Jones, “I’m making this up as I go.” With that one-liner in mind, I’m basically a female version of the icon.

But here’s the snag in my otherwise flawless comparison, while Indy’s religion is archeology, mine is God. So while I may not have whip-handling skills that will save me from countless attempted assassins, nor do I have George Lucas writing my ever-heroic life, I do have a God I can trust to write my never-failing story. So fear not blog readers, my adventure as the female Indy will turn out just fine (actually, it’ll turn out even better because at least the love affair in my story will last longer than one movie in a trilogy). Stay tuned to find out how The Author fulfills my Thai tales.