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Where Did the Stars Go?

The clock ticked 2:42 a.m. early Monday morning. My alarm began to sound but instead of the usual snooze route, I arose out of bed to watch the peak of the summer meteor shower of Perseids. The name Perseids was named after the constellation Pegasus, which dates back all the way to 36 A.D. After doing research for a few days learning the background of the meteor shower, I picked up quite a few facts that intrigued me enough to actually want to stay up and watch the event live in action. This summer meteor shower is supposed to occur annually and can be seen all over the world in different regions. This year it is supposed to peak in the predawn hours of Aug. 12 and continue on through the next couple of nights. I’ve never watched a meteor shower before, so I thought it would be cool to check it out — kind of like one of the things you do once in your lifetime.

My neighbor decided to come out and watch the meteor shower with me. So after dressing in warm layers, we headed outdoors to watch it in our residential neighborhood since it was pretty clear and high up on a hill. An informational source said to “lie down and look to the northeast as the meteors radiate on the constellation Perseus, and it will peak from 2 a.m. to dawn.” I took out my compass and waited for the dial to show me which direction the meteors would be best viewed in. After locating the correct direction, we sat and watched the sky above. All I saw were clouds moving along in the dark sky.

So after sitting and waiting for a long while, and watching many clouds roll by, we came to the conclusion that we would not see the highly anticipated meteor shower. Where were the raining shooting stars hiding? Probably underneath the blanket of clouds. After much disappointment, we decided it was time to go back to sleep and not spend endless hours looking at fog. It would have probably been better to view it in the country or some open area away from the foggy ocean. That’s what we get for living in San Francisco. Unpredictable weather, fog and little blips of sunshine.

It’s nice to enjoy the little things in life that we hardly take out the time to fully take pleasure in. I’m gradually making a list of things I want to do or see once at least in my lifetime. So far, I’ve accomplished some of those things spontaneously. I’ve stayed up all night to watch the sunrise, and that was worth it. Words can hardly describe how the whole sky illuminated from purple to blue, breaking the bliss between the hours of darkness and dawn. I just sat watching the clouds roll by, and it was just pleasant and relaxing.

Watching the sunset is twice as nice. My good friend took me to the ocean spontaneously the other day to watch the sunset since it was such a nice day. It’s amazing to see how many people flock to the beach on such nice days. The sun set slowly above the water, and it was really nice as it set on the blue ocean tide. The colors amalgamated, creating this scene that could have been a figment of my imagination. The bright orange color simmered down to a purple tone until it just became a speck above the water.

Too bad the meteor shower didn’t turn out as I expected it to. Hopefully in the future I will be able to see the shooting stars. It’s just nice to enjoy the little things in life that everybody seems just too busy to take out the time to do. We should all take some time to have our breath taken away by the everyday beauty of this world.