"The Cut"

(From one of my writing exercises today...)

Click click
Click click
Click click

That’s the sound of a skateboarder rolling down the sidewalk nearby.

I’m sitting in “the cut” on the Carnegie Mellon campus on a beautiful May 10. I’m under the last shade-providing tree adjacent to the tennis courts (how appropriate).

Aside from the intermittent “thock-thock” of tennis balls hitting strings, I hear a perpetual stream of young children’s voices. Apparently there is a day-care next to the tennis courts.

I also hear birds chirping away, resting in trees, talking about what a great day it is outside. The newly green leaves provide them ample shade, as they do for me as well.

Now that is unique. A singer in the drama building has her window open, and she’s warming up her vocal chords to what sounds like the “Star Trek” theme song. Or is it “Buck Rodgers?” Something having to do with space.

I’m close enough to the sidewalk to become fascinated by the different sounds people’s shoes make. There are some heels…now, some flip-flops.

“Do you want me to be, like, slutty?” That’s amusing. There are a couple girls wandering around taking pictures of each other. Yes, they are fully clothed.

Today is the first truly sunny day I’ve encountered in Pittsburgh. As such, I’m amazed by the beauty of this place. The buildings’ bricks are illuminated in a light color, like gold but non-metallic, whereas on the typical cloudy days it seems more like gray.

The tennis courts are a nice, pleasant Carnegie Mellon-maroon color. Their inhabitants cannot hold a rally for more than two shots. Yes, I’m a huge tennis snob.

A guy just walked by speaking Spanish to his cell phone. He’s wearing sunglasses with shiny metallic strips on the side, something I often see from fashion designer sunglasses. I wonder if he’s rich.

Tattoos. And lots of them. Two women just walked by, one covered in tattoos from arms to chest; her partner had none and looked a thousand times more “wholesome.” However, their faces were fairly similar; I think they are sisters.

Seeing all these people walk by, I miss college. Even though, of course, I’m technically in college. It’s not the same as the young, fresh undergraduate experience. You’ve left the nest your parents built for you. You’re about to take in a wealth of new knowledge and try to figure out what to do with you life. There is so much uncertainty, but you embrace it. You walk around aimlessly just to see what friends are doing. You go out to the courtyard to play ultimate Frisbee with your friends, catch some sun, take some pictures, do your homework, or just sit down and observe the world around you, because you can.