Serendipity with Sai
I blog as I fly to Syracuse via Charlotte--yes, it's Slugging [in Syracuse], once again.We pushed away from the gate in San Francisco on-time, a great feeling that I haven't experienced since I've been out on the east coast, where extreme weather plagues airplane departure times. However, it seemed that there was a great number of planes (if not individuals) who wanted to leave the beautiful San Francisco Bay--I was surely not one of them...
Earlier in the morning, Sairina drove to San Francisco to hang out with me in the City, a stark contrast compared to my past relationship--my ex never (yes, not once) drove out to see me in San Francisco. We hopped in my car and toured her past life, passing Saint Ignatius ("SI") High School, on our way to Crepevine.
Our first picture together, 24 August 2005.
Sairina and I met in high school, albeit a bit later than I would have hoped. About 4 years ago this month, it will be our "4 year anniversary"--when we first met in the halls of Salesian High. She was a Freshman, and I was a Senior. Immediately (well, almost), we liked each other. Yes Sai, you're right. I was a real dick, and I'm sorry that I never took you to prom. You and I should have gotten together back then--we really should have. I feared the retribution of my peers and teachers, as it was never kosher for a Senior to date a Freshman (at a private Catholic high school), though Sai thought otherwise. We went our separate ways, as I dated someone else. I went to UC Santa Cruz, she transfered to SI from Salesian; I graduated from UC Santa Cruz, she went to NYU. Fast forward 4 years later...
Last March, I thought it might be good to call her to let her know that I got into NYU Wagner's MPA in Public and Non-Profit Management program and that I wanted to hook up--I mean, check the school out. She just got out of a relationship, and I was single. "Why not?" I asked myself. I rolled the dice, and surely just as I did at Salesian, I freaked her out initially--that's what she said at least. [Yes, everyone knows that I'm a quirky guy.] Our first reunion was weird, though "nice," IMHO.
Yet, I am a man on the prowl, so I continued my pursuit of Sai. I chose Maxwell, thinking that it would be a quick 1 year and that I'd move to NYC afterwards. Maxwell offered me a very generous financial package and is number one-ranked, so why not? She was going to London to study abroad for this fall semester anyway, and this sealed the deal. Things developed: small talk about how her cell phone looks like a vibrator morphed into intense debate about English as the national language; less extravagant dinners at Sushi Yasuda turned into nights on the town with flights of wine and shows like Wicked... Ultimately, "talking" turned into dating. Our times together are amazing.
As I got on the plane today, I felt like I was missing something: Sai. Surely, I love the Bay, my family (all of whom, live in the Bay), my friends, but mostly, I miss the moments that Sai and I shared because they were always amazing. Going out to dinner on Saturday, seeing Wicked last night, having brunch this morning: none of this mattered... None of what we did or where we went mattered to me. Just being able to spend quality time together really excited me and made me happy. We got to catch up, learning about what changed for us over these past 4 years.
The plane took off, and I cried. To hide my tears, I took my eyeshades out and put them on. All I could do was relive the good times that we shared, like getting dressed up and making fun of each other. Yea, I spoil her, but it's not like I'll be able to when she's in London--that'll be much harder. And, we don't get to see each other often (though my aunt who works for United, when I called her from the airport, asked me when I wanted to fly to London). Regardless, I was happy to be with Sai... I was happy that she is meeting people, going out with friends, studying hard... She's doing everything she can while she's young, so that she won't regret any of her undergraduate experience.
I regret my undergraduate life... With my ex, I spent all of my time with her, unable to meet people or explore the world or myself. In contrast, Sai is pushing herself to do these things, and I'm really proud of her because of that.
On Tuesday, Sai will leave for London, studying abroad at NYU London (which means touring the European continent and exposing herself to all that it has to offer with her ex). While she told me not to worry, I surely will. But, Sai said to keep myself occupied with school--I won't have any problems with that, surely. Anyway, even if things don't work out in the short term, I'm glad that she and I will be able to grow (together), experiencing the world, learning about ourselves and growing with people we meet and care about. If we crossed paths 4 years after our initial meeting, I'm sure we'll cross paths again.
It's a real blessing that she and I met each other again in life. I always thought that things like this only happened in movies. What are the chances? To get to know someone for barely a year in high school, meet up after graduating from college... Really, what are the chances? To my surprise I was wrong, and I'm glad.
I continue to write from Charlotte to Syracuse.The first song I heard when I turned my iPod Shuffle on was Collide by Howie Day. As I walked down the jetway toward the plane, Beth called. I told her that I didn't want to be in Syracuse. It's not that I don't like Syracuse; rather, I'd rather be somewhere else (like the Bay) or with friends.
Besides that, let me tell you all about the first leg of my flight. I kept dozing off, bored by the nothingness of coach class air travel. I opened by statistics book, Essential Statistics by Bergman, used at Carnegie Mellon's PPIA Junior Summer Institute. Tomorrow I have two waiver exams: statistics and economics. I really wanna get those out of the way so that I can take more electives. With the program at Maxwell being only 1 year, I don't have much play room. [An aside: The Blower's Daughter by Damien Rice is now playing on my iPod.]
Anyway, the flight sucked. Behind me, sat a youngish 5-7 year old "brat boy," who constantly kicked my chair and played with his tray table, flipping it up and down, never latching it into place. The mother, who sat next to him, never did anything to keep him in check. In fact, as we landed he cried and wallowed about having to wear his seat belt; thus, he shall be christened "brat boy." In the center seat (this time I had a window, boo), was an early-40s hick man, who slept with his mouth wide open and fatty double-chin looking like a baby's butt. Whenever he was awake, he read about his fantasy pickup trucks and farm trailers--whatever "giant lawnmowers" are called--in TruckTrend magazine. I never knew that such a magazine existed for that large population of individuals who fantasize about giant pickup trucks instead of sports and luxury vehicles... Or, women--sheesh! Lastly, in my front... Guess... Seriously, guess. Give up? Well, it was a super giant old man who took up 2 seats. My God! It was unnecessary for him to ever push the recline button for the seat--the seats reclined automatically. I mean, the physics of it all are unimaginable. A big man leans back, and the seats automatically recline. One could only imagine what would happen to the seats if the airplane cabin flew off and the seats faced the inertia and friction of traveling at 300+ mph. Coach class would probably finally have lay-flat seats like United First p.s. from JFK to SFO.
Well, reality's starting to kick in. The fantasy world of dream dates and fun in the California sun has come to an end for me--at least until Sai comes back from London (for Christmas). =P
You'll notice the site changes on the right sidebar: updated travel itineraries and my fall semester schedule. Hopefully London will find its way into my next 4 months, but if it doesn't, I'll still be sane. Otherwise, pending waiver exams, I'll be taking the 4 super-fun classes listed to the right. Just as a recap, I'll be concentrating in 2 areas: State and Local Government Financial Analysis and Management, Public and Nonprofit Management. Descriptions for these next 15 weeks:
- State and Local Government Finance: the centerpiece, in my opinion, of the Finance concentration. I'll be learning the nature of "accounting" in the public sector and how to read and review financial statements. Woo-de-woo. I'm gonna be rich--not!
- Organizations and Management: a core requirement that I'm hoping to take this semester instead of next. One of the big deals about this class is that the professor with whom I'm taking the course contracts us out to various public, non-profit and private sector agencies and companies; we'll be doing real contract work, solving problems or creating programming--I'm actually excited about this one. I think this'll come in handy for interviews this fall.
- Human Resources Management: an elective for the Management concentration. I imagine that we'll be talking (a lot) about conflict resolution and other touchy subjects in the workplace.
- Nonprofit Management and Governance: another elective for the Management concentration. I think this'll be a lot of management theory and best practices. I really don't know what to expect.
Time for pretzels and ginger ale. BTW, I might be in NYC this weekend; I'm still figuring it out.
Sai, I'll miss you. Have fun in London!
posted by here at 21:02
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