Now You See Me, Now You Don't
A quick recap of our exhilarating trip to Texas to witness the total solar eclipse!
The universe is an amazing place.
This week was going to go one of two ways.
Option A:
I have a transcendent experience and share one of the most magical cosmological experiences a human being can have with the love of my life: a total solar eclipse within the path of totality.
or,
Option B:
Cloudy skies would nearly literally rain on my parade, blocking our view and postponing my ability to see a total solar eclipse from my home country for the next twenty years.
We mostly got Option A with a little taste of Option B.
In 2017, I attempted to view an eclipse from Philadelphia but was met with prevalent cloud cover. It was a big bummer, but I was very excited about the possibility of this year’s eclipse.
I won’t go into all of it because I wrote in-depth about our experience on Medium, but here’s a sample:
Looking up, we saw the sun’s corona, revealed by the perfect black circle of the moon obscuring the rest of the star. It was everything I had seen in photos but with my own eyes and that made it so much more real and beautiful and magical. Something about seeing really is believing; it’s no longer removed from you. You are present and connected to the universe and you are a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam. We are connected to the stars and to each other and to the massive universe in which we reside.
It’s an experience I’ll never forget.
It is also worth noting that despite my cloud anxiety, I was excited about the trip for a number of reasons. The number one reason is that, regardless of the outcome, I was excited to share the experience with Tabatha. We had a conversation before plane tickets were purchased, which I detail in the above post, but I knew one thing for certain – if I was going to experience this event, I wanted to do it by her side.
Seeing the eclipse alone would have some meaning, but it would mean the world to me to see it with her. I am here to do life alongside her, and that’s that. The meaning is in the shared experience and the joy of the journey. Otherwise, what’s the point?
So, I’d also like to talk about the rest of our trip.
I like Austin. I’d been before, but Tabatha had not. We ate lots of barbecue (with some great sides for me) at Cooper’s and Terry Black’s. Assessment? Cooper’s wins for the peace of the experience. The LOUD AND PROUD Terry Black’s environment was not our favorite. Don’t take my tray before I finish ordering!
We also had some of the best tacos of our lives at De Nada Cantina (Crispy Mushroom Picadillo Tacos, all the way), saw some old friends that Tabatha hadn’t seen in years, and explored a beautiful city together.
Also, the people in Texas are…interesting. Mostly nice, a little weird, but some of the wardrobe choices brought this quote from our time there:
Me to Tabatha: “I love calling people disrespectful names with you.”
Her response: “I love it. It reminds me of The Office episode when Michael describes his method for remembering names. ‘Sugarboobs.’”
There were just so many bachelorette parties with awful outfits.
Anyway, really fun trip. 10/10 would do it again.
Total solar eclipse? 10,000,000,000/10 would experience again.
Path of totality, we’ll see you in 2045.
What Excites Me
We get a week at home with very little to do. Then, next week, my parents will visit us in Los Angeles for the first time!
I’m excited to show them why we love living in California and the life we’ve built together. We miss our friends and family back east but are very happy in our new home together.
Unsolicited Recommendations
Great Articles I Read This Week
What I’m Listening To Right Now
Yesterday, I splurged on a concert ticket to see Deftones and System of a Down in San Francisco this August. Coincidentally, I didn’t know about this show when I listed Deftones last week, but I’m incredibly excited because I’ve never seen either band live, and I’ve been a fan of both for over twenty-five years.
Like Deftones, SOAD’s song “Sugar” was one of the first songs I learned to play on drums. I remember adding it to a playlist along with “Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)” by Deftones and Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid” in middle school.
While SOAD’s second album, Toxicity, is their most popular by far, with megahit songs “Chop Suey” and “Aerials” rocketing them into most American households, their debut self-titled album has more of my heart.
It’s weird, angry, and chaotic. Its sound appealed to me at the time and would follow through to my musical interests to this day. SOAD was pivotal for me musically and lyrically; they were one of the first overtly political bands that filled my CD player.
Enjoy:
Which Books Have My Attention
Black Nerd Problems by William Evans & Omar Holmon
Critical Hits: Writers Playing Video Games by J. Robert Lennon & Carmen Maria Machado
I guess it’s nerd week every week? 🤷🏻♂️