The final night, and an Oberheim

It's hard to write something today. Too much has happened. It's my last day in Isla Vista and I don't have a full plan for the next few months. I just know I'm going to Tofino for a while, then I want to drive to the east coast. It's scary, I have to say. And I can't think of anything else to say about it, so let's move on to something else.

I bought an Oberheim Eclipse on Craigslist last month. It was pretty exciting. It has 88 weighted keys, looks like a beast, feels like one, and comes mounted in a road case. It also sounds pretty good. I mean, not the greatest piano ever, but certainly pleasant for being made in the 90s. The only thing I unwisely did not check for when I was testing it was key velocity. It has bitten me on some MIDI controllers over the years and for some reason I didn't even think to make sure things worked properly here. And they don't. On too many keys to be acceptable.

So that's the summary of the purchase. It's now sitting on my floor and I'm debating whether to somehow fit the 80-pound stage piano in my car for tomorrow. My sister took the rest of my stuff since she's heading to my parents' for the summer as well. But this thing is just sitting there taunting me and I can't make up my mind what to do with it. I wish I could just sell it, but I would feel bad because the guy I bought it from on Craigslist said he as happy it would have a good home. I just wish I was happy to have a good keyboard.

I also have a few other things I need to decide. There's a candy apple on my bedside table from my sister that I can't bring myself to eat. I've had enough sugar and food this evening, and I also have a whole serving of gelato in the freezer that I got for dessert but am not feeling excited about anymore. Ah well — the housemates will enjoy it I'm sure.

I'm really going to miss this place. Every time I think that, I also think "I don't have to miss this place. I can stay here." But that's just not how the story should go. Staying here is easy and fun and all the things I've been doing for the past year. There are challenges here and there, but I need to grow different areas of myself. I guess it all comes down to that. I just don't want to accept that I have to leave all the people I love to pursue the dream of travel. It makes me sad that I'll miss all the happenings around here. But I won't miss a lot of it, too.

So that was the day. More somber than usual. I'm exhausted and I have a six-hour drive tomorrow, so I'll see you after that.