February 16, 2008

time travel

my ipod player is on random shuffle all songs. funny thing is, songs keep coming on that i haven't heard in ages. those songs that instantly transport me back in time to a certain place or time or feeling.

third eye blind
, sting, everclear ~ that summer of living with monica in the pines between my freshman and sophomore year at school. it was the quintessential summer: a large group of guys & girls, lots of fun and flirting and outdoor movies involving projectors, couches hauled in by pickup truck and 'watcher in the woods' in a dark park in provo. long walks in the warm summer nights, my friend dale drumming the air with his fists as he sings along to some 3eb song. still makes me smile. sleeping on rea's couch after a long night talking with rea, mama, lisa and hillary.

rem's automatic for the people, trash can sinatras, toad the wet sprocket, kings of convenience, sarah mclachlan, dido, travis~ walking to the coolest tree in provo with thom, whom i had a desperate crush on but wasn't just quite as desperate about me as it turns out. spending time in his quiet white old apartment listening to bands play in the bar down below or debating which was better: louis armstrong's voice or his trumpet. becoming an unwilling witness/participant in a crazy love quadrangle. walking away later as the snow fell that one evening towards my car parked down on center street. wow, i was young. one of the hardest, transient, painful and beautiful summers of my college years. the summer of napster.

josh groban, dayna's mix of the women of country, and of course, neil diamond~discovering country was only one of the crazy wonderful things of that magical summer in millrace. friendships forged in that 'family' have stood the test of time. long walks and drives with dayna, scripture reading and long talks with shanna, flirting and forming friendships with the boys of #11 (i'm so glad eric & nathan have weathered all the ensuing storms since then and continue to talk to me :) recovering from betrayal by a friend of 10 years, wading through the court system as i learned what it meant to be 'a victim of a violent crime' and searching my heart for forgiveness. losing touch with those closest to the both of us as i relinquished them to her to protect my heart. finding new friends that the whole experience literally brought to my doorstep. . .i will be forever grateful dayna and shanna knocked on my door. homestarrunner.com, veggie tales, the nightmare before christmas and murder in the dark at the thorpe's. ice cats hockey games, choir at the phillips, visiting my "spot" overlooking the provo temple and the valley.

operation get skippy, 311's amber, hoobastank's the reason ~ that summer with jules in millrace. her fierce protection of me when mindy refused to relinquish the mailkey broke the ice and began our friendship. driving back late at night from keri's place with the windows rolled down, blasting hoobastank and singing at the top of our lungs. my (unsuccessful) attempts trying to deflect josh's sentiment and encourage only his confidence.

james taylor~ two concerts, the 2nd a terrible mistake of taking someone who should've appreciated it and me and what it meant after the fun of installing electrical outlets in the basement of the house he was redoing and painting his living room with him and his roommates, among other things. silly girl.

interpol, franz ferdinand, +/- ~ the irony of moving into his ward a year later. movie night at clayton's house. ward prayer in the coolest meeting house i'd ever been in. janelle, jake, joy & jules in the old south provo house.

rascal flatts & martina mcbride ~ i discovered them right before that fateful day in february when jason died. crying in my car all the way down from sundance to massage therapy school after eric broke the news. attending his funeral and feeling the joy of his life. driving up to sundance in the spring that followed, loving every minute of the scenery and wondering what was going to develop with mike.

kalai, the village soundtrack ~ moving on later that summer. graduating from massage therapy school, buying my condo and learning about modern dance from joy. the decision to move here to seattle. to leave paradise behind. i still miss sundance nearly every day.

i'd think i'd better turn off the ipod before this jog down memory lane takes the rest of the day. it still astonishes me how music manages to do that to me. instant time transport. but so glad the memories remain in all their joy and pain.

6 comments:

Carolyn said...

Hi, you don't know me, but I'm a friend of Shanna. I found your blog on her blog. I've always found it interesting the various connections between people...and what a small world it really is sometimes. Anyway, I enjoyed reading this post because you mentioned Shanna. She has been a dear friend of mine for about 11 years now. It was fun to read a little bit about how she has touched your life too. Anyway...just thought I'd say hi.

Lisa -- said...

Loved your post! Loved walking down memory lane. It is nice to reflect how many wonderful memories life has. Love and miss ya. That was a incredibly fun summer at the Pines.

erita said...

thanks carolyn & lisa!

i wasn't sure how many of my readers would be able to (or want to) follow my memories~funny how they warp and waver and gain significance or lose importance over time.

Shanna said...

hi erica,

I know what you mean about music transporting you to a different time and place. I enjoyed reminiscing as you shared some of your memories- some I understood all too well and others gave me insight into your life since we last saw each other. We sure were blessed to be roommates, confidants,and soulsisters at Millrace and since. Is everyone aware that Erica introduced me to my husband? I love you!

erita said...

thanks, Shanna. as I always tell you, you and aaron make me sooo happy! i definitely need to figure out how i'm gonna come visit soon :)

Jessica said...

totally fun to follow you down memory lane--don't know all the music but do remember the events and so happy to be a part of your life.
So good to have you over and catch up last night!

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