I'm surprised that it's the right time of year for a hot air balloon festival.

And wasn't it spooky to wake up and see them looming in the air here and there around campus?

They're so big.

Is this an annual thing at Psyhigh? Can we take rides?

The balloons don't seem to move. They just float there in the air.

I organized the Cheer Squad from Cylindrical Dorm to cheer them on. We got up early and lined up along the service roads in the chilly morning fog and waved our pompoms on sticks and cheered for the balloons. We wanted to welcome them. We wanted them to shower us with candy. We wanted them to touch down upon the ground and lift us up by our tiny arms and into their gondolas and take us for rides in the morning light.

But the balloons did not move. They remain there in the air. Floating still.

I try not to think about the balloons. Otherwise all my thoughts just go up inside them.

Whatever you do, don't think about them. It will only make them larger and more brave and more habituated to human settlements.

It is easy to forget about the balloons. They become almost invisible through time. In fact, recent scientific studies show that the balloons don't actually migrate, but are always there, all year round, hovering ominously above us the whole time. We become blind to them, existentially ignoring them with every fiber of our being.

Except for this time of year. It's in the fall they say that the veil between worlds becomes thinnest, but the veil isn't between worlds--it's a veil of our own perception. It's when we allow ourselves to see what's really there. Perhaps it's a holiday for our minds--with all that energy we spend all year not seeing them, we have to give ourselves a little break, and let them through, once a year.

So take a good look now -- before we start hiding them from ourselves again.

Oh my goodness when they say STAY BACK 23 FEET from the visiting balloons there’s a reason!!! I mean you’ve seen the video of the guy getting gored by one and its pretty funny but when you’re my size and you get directly under one you can get sucked right up the vent hole! Sure I got bounced around a bit by the whirling blades but now I’m all floaty and gee what kind of gas did you say was in here?

All your muffled voices keep me lost in my thoughts.

No, wait, that’s not right.

It’s all those muffled voices that keep me up at night. 

Are we back at Psyhigh again? Is it that time of year already? When the veil grows thin and we drift through campus

picking up new travelers

passengers

like @Little Velma Littles

and her little friends.


Sealed into our memory bubbles

we can’t move without the machines we make.

And we can't remember

much before.


But the fall is here

and the air is crisp

and we float above the mist

and trees

and nothing is more beautiful

than we.

VISIT TRAVELING THOUGHT BALLOONS WITH RESPECT

Though the migrating thought balloons may look adorable, students must maintain a minimum safe distance of 23 feet at all times. This is for student safety as well as that of the balloons. 

Furthermore, the act of beating the balloons with “Fun Sticks” to produce metadata will not be tolerated. With the increased vandalism on campus (as noted by public/private/public partnership partner @GROTTO G.S.M. INC.) all students found exerting abnormal levels of stress on the consensus reality will have their names placed on the List of Ominous Review.

Sincerely,

Big Jim
Student Activities Coordinator
Class of '99

HELLO EVERYONE.

WE HAVE DEEPLY SADDENING NEWS.

THE VANDAL HAS HIT AGAIN.

ONE OF THE BEAUTIFUL AND MYSTIC THOUGHT BALLOONS WAS VANDALIZED AND PUNCTURED. LUCKILY, THE BALLOON SURVIVED THE ATTACK WITH SEVERE INJURIES.

IT APPEARS THAT THE BALLOON WAS AMBUSHED BY NOT ONLY PSYCHICAL BUCKETS OF PAINT AND SPRAY PAINT ETCHINGS, BUT ALSO A THOUGHT ATTACK THAT PARALYZED THE BALLOON INTO SUBMISSION.

THE DEFLATED THOUGHT BALLOON WAS DISRESPECTFULLY DISCARDED IN THE WHISPERING WOODS. EVIDENCE SHOWS THAT THE BALLOON'S ESCAPED CONTENTS CAUSED MULTIPLE BLACKOUTS AND PSYCHIC HAPPENINGS IN NEARBY TOWNS.

THE ATTACK IS NOT ONLY TRAGIC, BUT MAKES US WORRY ABOUT THESE VANDALS. AS THE VIRAL VIDEO ENTITLED "IDIOT GETS GORED BY PSYCHIC THOUGHT BALLOON (EMOTIONAL)" DEPICTS, IT IS HIGHLY DANGEROUS TO EVEN POKE OR PROD THOUGHT BALLOONS. WE DO NOT UNDERSTAND HOW A PSYCHIC THOUGHT BALLOON COULD HAVE BEEN INJURED IN THIS WAY BY ANY BEING (INCLUDING OURSELVES).

WE, FOR ONE, WILL NOT ALLOW THESE INJUSTICES TO CONTINUE. WE WILL NOT STAND ON THE SIDELINES AND ALLOW ANY PSYCHIC THOUGHT BALLOONS TO BE FURTHER INJURED.

UPON THE DISCOVERY OF THE THOUGHT BALLOON, WE PATCHED THE BALLOON AND REFILLED IT WITH THE EXCESS, MINDLESS THOUGHTS OF OUR CUSTOMERS TO SUPPORT THE BALLOON IN IT'S REHABILITATION.

ADDITIONALLY, WE HAVE POSTED SEVERAL TROOPS OF GROTTO G.S.M. INC. UNDISCLOSED SECURITY OFFICERS AROUND THE TRAVELLING THOUGHT BALLOONS TO WATCH OUT AND PROTECT FROM FURTHER ATTACKS.

WE DO NOT WANT THIS TO DAMPEN THE PSYCHIC THOUGHT BALLOON FEST OR TO END THE WELL DESERVED ATTENTION UPON THE OTHER THOUGHT BALLOONS, BUT WE DO WANT TO ENCOURAGE STUDENTS TO REPORT ANY AND ALL SUSPICIOUS BEHAVIOR.

WE HAVE SPENT LONG ENOUGH WITH THIS VANDAL TERRORIZING OUR COMMUNITY. IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING.
REMEMBER, IT IS BETTER TO REPORT ANYTHING INNOCENT, THAN TO LET A CRIMINAL GO.

THANK YOU,
GROTTO G.S.M. INC.
WE CAN ALWAYS HEAR, SEE, TASTE, FEEL, AND/OR SMELL YOU™

A reminder to new students that you don’t need to beat the Thought Balloons with sticks to harvest the metadata. The visiting balloons will naturally emit metadata as part of their normal activity, and after the balloons have drifted a safe distance, you can easily move in and collect the metadata in your commemorative Psyhigh Thought Balloon Fest 2019 metadata collection bag, available from @Huldra in the Biological and Metaphorical Psychic Flora and Fauna Equipment Centre.

Remember, “A thought balloon never forgets,” so don’t go around punching them! And you’re never quite sure how @GROTTO G.S.M. INC. undisclosed security officers are going to react.

Dear Sophie Blanchard can you bring Huldra to contact me in this site?