Metaphoria…

OK, so on the first day of class, our instructor asked us who our favorite cartoon character is.  Those of you who know me well may know my answer… Wile E. Coyote (from The Coyote and Roadrunner).  Apparently, your favorite cartoon character tells a lot about yourself, either important aspects of your personality, or who you wish you were.  Well, it’s pretty safe to say that not many people wish they were Wile E. Coyote, however many people may find that they are. 

If you remember right, our good friend Wile E. always seemed to get himself into quite a predicament every time he pursued his dream of catching the infamous Roadrunner.  Not only did Coyote fail, he would fail miserably in a tragic and very painful way.  Coyote would chase Roadrunner with such momentum, he would run off a cliff, and almost make it to the other side, when suddenly he would look down and realize there was no cliff, plummet to his doom, where a very large boulder would fall on his head, and an ACME bomb he had constructed with great precision and care would fall on top of the boulder, and explode.  My mom has claimed that I had quite an affection for Coyote as a small child, and I would always cry when he got hurt…  I hope Mom kept me well hydrated, because I must have shed many tears.  Although I vaguely remember watching Coyote as a child, I do remember my brief obsession with the Cartoon Network, specifically Coyote and Roadrunner, during a particularly stressful time in my mid twenties.  I remember how closely my life paralleled the Coyote’s, especially the part where he is off the cliff for quite some time, everyone sees it but him… then he looks down… splat, boom, bang!  There I was and the proverbial bomb had just exploded atop the boulder that had just flattened me to the ground!  I laughed at the metaphor, then I quickly purchased a Roadrunner sticker set.  I then strategically placed a Roadrunner and Coyote sticker in the middle of my steering wheel in my car (one of the only places I had to sit still long enough to see them).  However, there was a twist.  I positioned them so the Roadrunner was chasing the Coyote. 

Fast forward 7 years…  Now, I’m not denying Wile E.’s tragedy can be somewhat endearing.  But lately, I have been viewing my life, and Coyote’s in a different light.  Coyote really does have a lot going for him.  Let’s say it together… PERSEVERANCE!  Can you think of anyone with more perseverance than Wiley?  I mean the dude has died at least 500 times, usually about 5 times in one episode!  Wile E.’s dedication can not be denied.  He could go over to the local supermarket and grab a rotisserie chicken, but no, he wants Roadrunner for dinner.  And look out Bill Gates, our friend is a genius! Some of his complex and impressive plots to capture his prey are truly impressive, and may I add at times more reliable than Windows XP.  If patience is a virtue as they say, than our fury friend is very virtuous…  Do you know how many times he had to stand by the mailbox, waiting for his ACME equipment to come in?  And last but not least, who is more resourceful than Wile E. Coyote?  Coyote always knew where to look for what he needed, if it wasn’t from the ACME company, he would turn to things found in nature in an effort to achieve the desired result, such as giant boulder catapults, and tree sling shots. 

Now, what does all of this have to do with California, and my studies?  Well, as I sit here typing, my legs are really sore, I mean they are really, really, really sore.  As is the entire rest of my body (some parts I don’t even know the names for, I might add…)  Why you ask?  Well… Saturday, I decided to climb a mountain.  Why did I want to climb a mountain you ask?  The answer is easy.  Because I wanted to, and because my housemate Yvonne told me not to because it was too hot…  So I left my airconditioned room at 2:00pm to climb a mountain in 100 + degree heat.  I returned 6 hours later…  at 8:00pm.  

 It took me about 4 hours to get up the mountain, and only about 2 hours to get down.  There is a lot of story here that I could tell, (and eventually I probably will) but the moral is I made it up to the top of the mountain because I wanted to.  The next day, I decided to go to the beach, even though it was over a 2 hour bus ride to go 30 miles.  Why spend over 4 hours of my Saturday on public transportation?  You ask.  The answer is quite simple.  Because I wanted to go to the beach, and several people told me I would be crazy for spending 4 hours on a bus with a night time layover in downtown L.A. .  I left the house at 10:30 am, and returned at 9:30 pm.  While I was at the beach, and although my legs were killing me from the mountain climb, and I could barely walk, I wished I could be one of the people rollerblading on the boardwalk.  So I rented some Rollerblades and roller-bladed 4 miles.  Why you ask?  I think you know the answer to this one… 

My teacher must have been delighted to hear me mention Wile E.’s name last week.  She must have thought to herself, “I am so lucky to have a dedicated and resouceful, genious of a student with such perseverance and patience.”

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