la vie en rose

What a wonderful weekend. Rosy one might even say ;)

I started the weekend, well Friday afternoon, frustrated and unhappy. I’d been given a lot of work right at the end of the day Friday and the overwhelming nature of it caused me to blow everything else out of proportion (my stress about rafting and nervousness about Eric making me dinner). I tried to do some of the work, but I just couldn’t focus. I ended up leaving work and calling Michael to vent, but I don’t think he knew what to make of me. I was being irrational (eh, stress does that), but I felt better after crying and getting some of the anxiety off my chest. I read for a little at home, and felt slightly more composed as I headed over to Eric’s.

I needn’t have been worried. Eric has the amazing ability to calm me down and make me see that my anxieties really are irrational (without ever having to come out and say that). I stood in his kitchen while he cooked, drinking a glass of yummy red, and venting about my day. Between him and Michael I was able to get some perspective and enjoy my evening. He made us crab cakes with asparagus and rice pilaf and didn’t give me a hard time for being on the phone a lot while he was cooking (unless you count him trying to tickle me)…I was trying to coordinate plans for rafting with my friends the next day. After dinner, which was scrumptious (I love how many synonyms there are for tasty food), we drove around the city in his dad’s Mustang (he was borrowing it while his dad was out of town) with the top down, looking at neat expensive houses, enjoying the perfect summer weather (70s…ah, no humidity is awesome), and stopping to get ice cream at a local place. A very fun night. I ended it fairly early (around 10) so I could get plenty of sleep for the next day’s adventure.

Saturday
I awoke groggily at 1:30 a.m. Saturday morning to the persistent ringing of my cell phone. Apparently there was a party going on at Shaw’s house and someone else had decided to use his bed. He wanted to know if he could crash at my apartment. Even if I had wanted to refuse, I was already awake, feeling bad for him, and way to tired to argue about anything. I didn’t really get much sleep the rest of the night (okay, I’m going to go ahead and say none) and got up at 5:00 a.m. much like a zombie: accepting with very little thought process.

We grabbed McDonalds for breakfast (it always comes to mind for me on road trips and mountain excursions) and met up with Kerry and Colin to carpool the additional 2 hours to the headwaters of the Arkansas (Colin offered to drive since his car gets better gas mileage). Once there, we met up with Lynon, Kari (Lynon’s girlfriend), and Josh (Colin’s friend), who had been carpooling from Boulder. We signed our waivers and found out that the Numbers (Class IV), the section we’d been planning on, was still moving too fast, so we’d be running Upper Browns Canyon right below it (Class II/III). I was relieved at this change of plans, never having rafted before and uncertain what exactly a Class IV would be like. We changed into our wetsuits (looking like a band of misfit superheroes…who smelled like mildew) and listened to a safety talk before clambering onto a bus for our send-off point.



The rafting was…incredible! Slow moving at first, but our guide pointed out a lot of neat scenic features and of course everything around us was breathtaking. Gentle canyon walls, interesting lichen patterns, mountains in the distance, and hardly a cloud in the sky. We couldn’t have asked for better weather. We spent some time paddling but our guide made sure we did it properly, using more of our abs and not tiring out our arms so quickly. Because he knew we had been planning on the Numbers, he made sure we hit all the Class III rapids hard and fast. I have to admit that I was dying for more and realized I would have LOVED the Numbers. Going to just have to try again some other time.

After rafting we all stopped by Pizza Hut in a small town on the way home (it was the closest food place we could find). I’m not the biggest Pizza Hut fan (I worked there in high school and I’ve never been super keen on pizza in general). However, this was by far the BEST Pizza Hut experience I’ve had. Part of it was that we were all hungry and part of it was that the food was amazing. It was like the pizza from advertising pictures and just as tasty as you’d imagine it could be. I wasn’t feeling all that well, though (combination of not enough sleep, caffeine (ugh withdrawl sucks), or water), and after lunch I was still pretty beat. I slept some in the car on the way back. Once I got home, I laid in bed and read Harry Potter (I’m rereading them again (ahh, fun summer entertainment). Eric and I sent text messages back and forth for a while, him asking if I wanted to play paintball with him and some of his friends the following day and me agreeing. I fell asleep at the incredibly early time of 8:30 and didn’t get out of bed until about 12 hours later.

Sunday
I ran to the store and purchased ingredients to make my super-awesome guac for a co-workers potluck BBQ later in the afternoon. After assembling the buttery green dip, I headed for the outdoor paintball field. I have actually played paintball quite a few times (although I was never any good). I dated a guy in college (from my hometown area) that loved it so often on the weekends I would play with him and his friends (they usually bought my paint and air). The field was actually pretty close to my parents’ house.

The day was somewhat hot, but not so bad that I couldn’t wear my long-sleeved shirt and pants without being completely miserable. It was sort of fun to play again, although I quickly discovered that I (still) suck. I didn’t get too many welts and the ones I did receive aren’t that bad (thanks to all the clothes I was wearing). I liked all of Eric’s friends (well, the ones there that he actually considers his friends…there was a boyfriend of a friend that I didn’t care for, but apparently this fellow has only been met by Eric once before this) and I heard later they all liked me.

I didn’t really feel like I got to hang out with Eric at all, so we made plans to get together in the evening.

I went home to shower quickly before heading to the BBQ. My guac disappeared quickly and it was nice to sit out on Suvi’s deck and eat fun food and relax with other co-workers. I was happy that the topic of work was hardly mentioned.

Back at home I cleaned up my apartment before Eric picked me up. We went and had Sushi at a place neither of us had tried (which is saying something for him). Sushi Sasa had excellent fish, nice clean ambiance, and a Sushi chef (the on in front of us) that was more of a performing artist than a cook. We watched him create a $100 plate for half of our dinner and I’ve never been so mesmerized watching food be prepared. A different table may have gotten to eat it, but they missed out not getting to watch the production that went into it at the sushi bar.

After dinner we went to see a later showing of Wall-E (so good, so cute…who knew robots could be so cute?). From the fun soundtrack (including songs from Hello Dolly and La Vie En Rosa), to the incredible animation, to the laughs (and the person next to me laughing), it was such a fun way to wrap up the evening.

Driving back to my house, we were all smiles. As he pulled up to my house, I knew he was going to walk me to my door. I also knew if I wanted, I could have a good night kiss. The thought of this made my stomach lurch. I didn’t know what I wanted but I didn’t feel quite ready for us to kiss. We stepped into the house and stood in the hallway in front of the door to my apartment. We discussed our plans for the 4th (Colin is having a BBQ and I invited Eric). I knew all I could handle was a hug.

I reached in and wrapped my arms around his waist and rested my head on his chest. As his arms circled around me, I realized I didn’t want to let go. It was one of the most amazing hugs of my life. I could feel his heart beating in his chest and I knew he would hold me as long as I wanted. It was one of those hugs where your bodies are pressed tightly together, no awkwardness filling space between you. My shoulders relaxed and I could feel my tension melting away. I think it probably only lasted 30 seconds, but it felt so deliciously long. It’s been way too long since I’ve been held like that. As I finally broke away from the hug I looked up at him…but not too long. I didn’t want him to kiss me. He bent down toward me and I let him kiss me on the forehead and on the cheek. I knew he understood.

As I closed the door into my apartment, I let the happiness wash over me. I went and downloaded La Vie En Rose and played it in the background while I got ready for bed, waltzing around my apartment smiling ridiculously.

“I cross the street some is playing La Vie En Rose. They do it for the tourists but I'm always surprised at how it moves me. It means seeing life through rose colored glasses. Only in Paris where the light is pink does that song make sense, but I'll have it in my pocket when I get home, and carry it with me where ever I go”

I love this quote from Sabrina (the newer version), but to me the song isn’t just about seeing life through rose-colored glasses. Love makes everything appear rosy…it’s hard to see the turmoil and darkness in life. It’s easier to forget past pain because you’re blind to it.