swirl, twirl, smile

i had to record this for posterity's sake.

i just had a most pleasant surreal experience. i live on a campus-like compound. it's isolated from the rest of seoul, with views littered with mountaintops and peace and quiet all around. there are three koi ponds in a well-sized atrium before reaching my apartment. as i trudged home today, anxious to step into my house slippers and a comforting sweatshirt, i heard the music. at first i thought it was in my head, because if we all listen carefully, don't we all have music in our heads? but then i realized it was coming from the speakers. imagine being on your college campus alone and hearing the most beautiful arrangement of "unchained melody." so beautiful in fact, that you don't even realize it's "unchained melody" until a few bars in.

i walked silently, appreciating the autumn-infused mountains and the crisp air, blissful to any burdens i held. the surreality only got better. in a moment of magic, a breeze swept in, opening the door to a ballroom dance of leaves. really, this was a movie moment.

i literally felt myself gliding home, gliding, gliding... then suddenly the magic turned sour. actually, it turned sea flutish. the last thing you want to hear after a magic moment is the grandiose theme to "titanic."

celine dion aside, let there be beautiful music on your walk home tonight.