The Orchid Journal

On my way to Virginia, I had a brief layover in Dallas. While waiting outside gate A24 for my second plane to Norfolk, I noticed a very tall black man, in his twenties maybe, leaning quietly against the wall across from the gate door. I noticed him because he was quite impressive looking, his massive frame alone made him stand out, but he was also very handsome and had a calm demeanor about him. The man was wearing dressy hip hop clothes and maybe an earring in one of his ears. I couldn't help glancing at him multiple times while we waited to board the plane. When we boarded, I sat down and briefly saw the man take a seat and then, rise a moment later, apologize politely to someone and then move to another seat. He must have accidentally taken someone else's seat. That was the last I noticed of him until we landed in Norfolk. I called my cousin Peter as I walked out of the plane to ask where I should meet him. Since I had no clue as to where I was going, I just followed ...

It is 10:47pm on a Monday night. I am exhausted, have had an incredibly odd, wonderful and eventful day and despite all that, the usual urge to write has hit me at this highly inconvenient hour. This is in no way going to be an interesting post, as it is not a story and quite self-focused, but I had to document this moment, nonetheless. My parents tease me about the fact that I am not very productive in the morning. I've had friends in college who would go to sleep early so they could wake up early and finish their looming project or homework assignment. I never understood that method. First of all, I barely think clearly enough to stumble to the bathroom when I wake up, let alone write a paper or do math problems. Besides that, it appears to me that going to sleep with the prospect of waking up early to do homework is akin to self-torture. If it were me, I would have trouble falling asleep knowing I have this "thing" waiting for me when I wake up, at an earlier ti...