Erin hasn’t posted in over a week…is she even still alive?
Affirmative. I’ve been a bit stir crazy lately, and bored sick of my monotonous routine. I write schedules, count money, and perform other mundane tasks for minimum wage four days a week. On my days off, I apply for jobs that aren’t much more appealing, and wait impatiently for a response. I read, write, and see friends in my free time to maintain sanity. Although, there’s so little going on in my life, that there’s not much to write about.
When my friend invited me to visit him in Cincinnati, Ohio, I immediately started saving up. I requested time off of work, booked a reasonably priced flight, and waited until the last minute to tell anyone about my little trip. I figured I have 23 years worth of unspent irresponsibility waiting to be used, so why not do something spontaneous?
Airport. Baggage check. Security. Accents. Cowboy boots. Sunrise outside the gate window. Goodbye, Arizona.
Fasten your seat beat. Would you like anything to drink? If you don’t learn to fend for yourself, you will die. Did you hear what the guy in front of us just told his kid? Brave New World. The Evolution of God. Zzz. Welcome to Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. Brr.
My friend picked me up, we dropped off my bag, then drove around the city. Phoenix is a city of primarily concrete buildings, dull colors, and modern simplicity. Cincinnati, being an older city, is full of bold colors, brick, run-down buildings, and overall more character. I couldn’t help but stare out the car window in awe. I learned all sorts of fun facts about the city from my friend and shared some of my random knowledge in return.
We went to a park on a hill overlooking the downtown. As I sat on a bench, curling into myself, the sight reignited my big-picture thinking, which had been suffering back home. The city is huge and expansive, yet from a birds eye view it appears small and contained, like an ant farm. Yet, there are hundreds of thousands of individuals within that big city, living their own individual life, occasionally crossing paths with other inhabitants. And, as big as Cincinnati is, it’s only one of millions of similar cities – a self-contained world, which is only a small part of something so much bigger and more complex. Like an endless series of nesting dolls, all of which contain several unique levels of significance, yet which also compose and explain a fraction of some bigger symbolic existence. I still can’t wrap my head around the concept.
We went to the University of Cincinnati campus and people-watched, observing how hard people try to fit in, yet how obvious it that each is their own unique person. We went to Newport on the Levee and people-watched some more, commenting on people’s interesting mannerisms, topics of conversation, and parenting tactics.
We visited the downtown, including Fountain Square. We went to the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, which was awesome because I absolutely love animals. I love my hometown zoo, but it’s wonderful seeing creatures that can’t survive the Arizona heat. We saw gorillas, playful polar bears, manatees, several species of wild cats, white lions, neat reptiles, and crazy insects. We also went to the Newport Aquarium to see exotic fish, sharks, turtles, frogs, and all sorts of amazing creatures. It was full of underwater tunnels, in which you’re surrounded on all sides by glass walls within a tank full of sea creatures. In a move of deliberate irony, we had crab for dinner.
I had the opportunity to catch up with some relatives that live in town, which was great since I hadn’t seen them in about six years. We talked about family, life, traveling, opportunities, and what’s next. It was really nice. At the end of the day, my friend and I would play Scrabble and talk about our favorite books. We also hung out with his friends and roommate, which was a lot of fun. Despite being painfully shy, I find meeting new people to be highly invigorating and almost always a positive experience. There something about fresh conversations and new perspectives that can really shine a light on previously neglected corners of your life. Interpersonal interactions are truly some of the most enlightening and fulfilling opportunities in life. That is both my personal opinion, and scientifically proven in psychological studies.
Airport. Baggage check. Security. Accents. Dark skies and flashing lights outside the gate window. Goodbye, Ohio.
Fasten your seat beat. Would you like anything to drink? God, I wish that baby would shut up. Are you from Arizona? Do you like flying? The Evolution of God. An Abundance of Katherines. Crisp blackness, glowing stars, lit cities seen from the skies, overwhelming thoughts about life and the universe. Zzz. Welcome to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Sigh.
The trip was well-worth the time and money! I had an incredible time seeing a good friend, I was able to rejuvenate and fortify all the areas that have been falling short lately, and I now have the motivation to push my job search into overdrive so I can afford to travel like this more often. It was just what I needed.
This is easily the craziest, most irresponsible, and spontaneous thing I’ve ever done. What crazy, but worthwhile it things have you done?








