LeliaThomas.Com

July 2007: Guns Bring People Together

Last month I wrote my summary on the 20th to celebrate my first, entire year in Australia. In hindsight, I should have waited until the end of the month, but I had no way of foreseeing the events that would take place. Life is both frightening and wonderful in that way; it’s always surprising, changing as often and as drastically as every season you’ll ever experience.

On the 23rd of June, I went to a big paintball skirmish. Now, for those of you who know me, you know that I don’t shy away from trying new things and doing the best I can at them. Even so, I am always a bit cautious in terms of safety, probably a bit overly cautious. What can I say? I have a very natural fear of pain. Call me girly if you’d like. (But I might have to shoot you for that.) So the fact that I wanted to shoot others (with paintballs, of course) is not so much of a surprise, but the fact that I was willing to actually get shot as well is. Take a look at these shiners.

I’m a bit amused to announce that the only lasting paintball mark was the one on my arm, as seen in the center picture. The bruises on my knees were just from sliding around in mud and forest brush.

As it turns out, paintball is a lot of fun, and it was during that all day event that much happened for me. For one, I got really sore, because I’d not exercised basically any part of my body since I was maybe 14 or 15, unless you count frisbee and walking. I’ve been a locked up geek/artist/writer, and mostly happily so. Secondly, I found out I have good aim, which makes me feel all Annie Oakley like, with a touch of ghetto for good modern measure. (And really, what says “bling” more than a gun?) Thirdly, I met Andrew. That’s the important one.

I’ll start by saying I had been single pretty well since March of 2006. Part of that was “the way things were” and another part was that the several people I’d flirted with and/or had flirt with me were either (a) not right for me or (b) I knew I wasn’t right for them. That’s somewhat hard to deal with, but I decided long ago that it’s much better for one to be single than to be in what one (or both) know will be a dead end relationship. Honesty to oneself and others, from the start, is paramount.

So I’ve been waiting for the right thing to come around. I’ve wanted someone I would have a lot in common with, yes, but also someone who would challenge me and show me new things in life. Complement me. In other words, I’m picky as hell, which, I’ve come to feel, may be synonymous with “I have good taste” in today’s world.

As one might guess, I never imagined I’d meet someone that met my standards (ooh, harsh) when the point of the day was to shoot people, but then nothing in my life has been conventional, so perhaps it is not too odd that I did. Andrew and I were on the same team and struck up a few conversations between games. By the end of the day, particularly after I found out he was a web developer, I knew I wanted to get to know him better; I just didn’t know how to go about it. Lucky for me, he’s a bit of a paintball fan freak and got my number to invite me to the next skirmish.

And so here I am, a month and some time later where I think, even before Andrew and I expected it, we learned we have countless things in common but also the right number and right kind of things that are not wholly the same. The important things, like philosophy, politics and morality, are the same or nearly the same. The rest complements, brings balance. I referenced a 2005 entry last month–”Sometimes things are hard, and some days are darker than others. Yet, how could I give up one day or trade in one hour? Why should I?…Who’s to say that a single moment wouldn’t be vital in grabbing hold of one of those flying, automatic doors, halting it to let an amazing person step into my world?”–and I didn’t realize how right I could be.

I spent maybe three or four days in July without seeing Andrew, and not because either of us is of the clingy type (thank God), but because we genuinely love each other’s company. I’ve been lucky to find someone that I not only care for very deeply, but also consider a best friend. This was exactly what I’ve been looking and waiting for. This past month was the proverbial icing on what was already a delicious cake.

Because my life took a funny turn, there were a lot of things I thought I would do this month, but didn’t, and maybe even some I should have done. Rather, I found myself enjoying a high moment in my life.

What I have ended up doing is a lot of bumming around, and I’ve gotten into playing a little rugby. Andrew also took me shooting. (Is it funny that I, an American, had never shot a gun before coming to Australia?)

Otherwise, it’s been a calm, but fun flow of life. I’ve been surrounded by people I adore, almost non-stop, and I couldn’t be happier.

University starts up again in a few days, and there’s much to be done in the coming months, particularly before I make a flight back to the United States in December (with Andrew!), yet the world couldn’t be much brighter for me right now or I’d go blind.

Best put on my shades.

Comments ordered from oldest to newest.

Tyler

Just checking things out. Nothing spells romance like non-lethal, simulated, war games. Congrats and Good design, by the way.

Josh

Thats such a great story. Makes me want to go paint balling myself. Though I probably wouldn’t meet an Aussie girl and get along with her. No, I’d be the open target stumbling around and getting sworn at for shooting his own teammates!

From the looks of the targets, your aim is great! The target says those are rim fire shots, that’s a .22 caliber right? The holes look a bit bigger, like 9mm. My grandfather did lots of shooting - the only person to beat him in a competition was a Woman! And she let him win. (they were using shotguns and firing at clay pigeons!) So congrats!