zac's graduation day!

Wait... did I just graduate?

Is it possible? Is it possible that four years of my life have passed? Four years? That all the reading, writing, listening, studying, practicing, speaking, typing, testing, passing, failing, cheating, laughing, crying, dancing, singing, joking, schmoozing and learning has all lead up to this single moment?

Four years = 1,460 days = 35,040 hours = 2,102,400 minutes = 126,144,000 seconds.

In my short life, I never thought I would accumulate 126 million anything. Yet there I stood on graduation day -- silly blue gown, crooked square hat and all. And as I moved that tassel from the left side of my hat to the right, I realized something. Something deep, profound and amazing. Something that made me want to laugh, cry and scream all at the same time. I realized... "I'm done."

!!BOOOMSHAKALAKA!! That's the only word I can think of to describe the feeling of never having to do "homework" again. Of never having to sit through first period in a hungry haze while your teacher rambles on in "Espanol". Of never having to change into those stanky-@$$ P.E. clothes. Of putting all your binders and books into a giant, rock-filled, burlap sack and watching them sink to the bottom of a river!... (Ok. I haven't actually done that last one. But you see where I'm going with this.) It was amazing. And I can't wait for all of you to have the same experience.

Now, onto a similarly awesome experience -- the Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb.

The second I zipped up the weird, frumpy, space-suit, I knew this was gonna be fun. After all, Ash, Mo and Van all looked ridiculous. And I had a camera. :-D. So after our group adorned the necessary gear (safety belts, connector belts, mike belts, rain jackets, beanies, etc.) we set off for the climb of our lives. Aside from the 20 pounds of equipment we were carrying, there was only 1 small complication. At its peak height, the bridge is over 134 meters (440 feet) above sea level. And we had 3 girls who were about to discover their incredible fear of heights. ugh.

Inch by inch, we climbed the bridge. NOT foot by foot, or step by step. Literally inch by inch. To use any other frame of measurement would overshadow how exceedingly slow we were going. You see, due to the bridge's extreme height and weather conditions, the girls were in a mild state of panic during the ENTIRE climb. Duty called. It became my job to "help." Encouraging phrases like "you can do it!" and "great job!" and "just a little farther!" flowed from my mouth like backstreet boys' lyrics in 5th grade. Despite everyone's combined efforts, we were still going megaly slow. The turtles were laughing at us. But then, by some type of magic, we ran out of steps...

And we were HIGH. How had we gotten so ridiculously far off the ground? I was so caught up in helping the girls that I had forgotten where I was! Seriously, there's a sensation called "vertigo" in which a person has "the sensation that they are about to fall." And I had NEVER had it so strong in my entire life. I could feel the edge sucking me toward it. Absolutely freaky and wonderful. The view was sweet. I'll say that much. The opera house looked tiny. From the top of the harbour bridge, I was looking out over one of the most amazing landscapes I've ever seen. The air was so clear that if I squinted, I could almost make out my house in California. I waved to my kangaroo friends at the zoo. They waved back. Awesome.

The trek down was a piece of cake. At the bottom of the bridge, the girls and I were excited. And rightfully so; they had triumphed over one of their worst fears and I had enough pictures to never let them forget it.

This entry is pretty long, so THERE. I made up for last week. I'll now answer 2 of your most relevant, pressing, important, pertinent, vital questions. Ready?

Yes, I would date a fan. Please don't think ANYONE in the entertainment industry actually enjoys dating fellow actors - it simply works out that way.

And NO! I DON'T HAVE A MYSPACE! Never have. Please, if you find me on that website, no matter how much I try and convince you it's me, I promise -- IT'S NOT. Lol. Help me take down the fakes. Thanks guys.

Last thing - I met Kobe Bryant today! WHOA. He was so cool. Lori Loughlin and Jmac were there too. Summerland Reunion! We were helping raise money for pediatric aids. Great fun - great cause.

So that's all 4 now. Next week I'll check out the Sydney opera house. BOOMSHAKALAKA.

COMMENTS