sit, get comfortable focus on the breath
Nice.
note distractions, give them a category, note building awareness on mild light show going on behind closed eyes
note mind-swimming-feeling, loss of sense of solidness, space of awareness becomes formless and big
Good. 1st jhana. Nice descriptions.
start mahasi noting - most notes are bodily sensations, a little awareness of pleasant, unpleasant,
start to get a handle on noting, speed builds
Sounds like you're already noting before you're even noting! Also sounds like moving into early 2nd vipassana jhana.
almost 3rd-person thoughts, a narration of whats happening now, how i would explain this to someone else
If they're almost 3rd-person thoughts, who's noting
them?!
Note "narration" or whatever, but don't stress too much about specific labels.
Note "planning thought" or "questioning thought", the content of it doesn't matter, stick to noting the object itself.
ping pong awareness of different parts of body
See if you can catch when the attention lands on one part, when it leaves it, and when it lands on the next part. Repeat until enlightened.
occasional notes of unpleasant sensations
Late 1st jhana, most likely 3rd ñana, Knowledge of the Three Characteristics.
always coming back to intensifying light show, pressure in temples seems to sync with light show/sense of swirling space/
noting becomes far too slow for how quickly things are popping up
for a split second, feel like i have caught up to the high speed, everything is happening all at once, everything syncs up, and immediately there's some kind of big shudder and then... a big nothing? hard to express
Mid → late 2nd jhana, given what's happened prior to it and a few other points you mention you've probably crossed the A&P.
big silence follows, acutely aware of a sharply present yet distant ringing in ears, things feel very still
a few moments after, i must have stood up, my next memory is of walking off VERY asleep feet, doesnt feel unpleasant though
10 minutes left - go back to sit down - mental images become very predominant and very random and confusing, lots of zooming around in awareness, things dont have a solid feel, feels totally different than mahasi noting at the beginning of the sit
abandon attempts to focus, sit in quiet awareness
[My emphasis added]
Early 3rd jhana, 5th ñana, Knowledge of Dissolution. That last sentence you've written is exactly what you want to do, abandon attempts to focus but don't get complacent, stay alert and maintain attention to sensations. What you may notice is that attention is drawn towards the periphery of the sense field, you might miss the beginning of sensations and just find yourself with some weird train of thought running about some random nonsense but don't be discouraged. Use the way the attention sits to your advantage, just note what's there and don't fight with it or try to pull it to the center 'cause it'll just lead to unnecessary tension. 3rd jhana, for all you may have heard a lot of stuff about Dark Night, can actually be incredibly cool and there's so much insight to be had if you're willing to explore what it's got to teach you. Don't
expect it to be difficult 'cause it doesn't need to be if you can just surrender to it.
Another thing worth trying is examining the sensations of your feet being asleep; what is it about those sensations that makes them seem unpleasant or distracting? (I'm not looking for an answer, just pointing out a way to incorporate stuff like this into your practice rather than allowing it to disrupt it). You mention having to get up and walk around, I would advise against this unless you feel it absolutely necessary as getting to 1st path, which I'm assuming is what you're aiming for, requires momentum and every moment counts. Once you've set your alarm, resolve to sit for the entire duration you've set yourself and do not deviate from that unless you really, really need to.
All in all, sounds like a good sit. How long do you usually sit for?
Perhaps if i keep this up, it will be easier to recall things and express myself.
Undoubtedly! If you keep it phenomenological and just describe what's going on during your practice, as best you can but without turning the process of keeping a practice thread into something which ends up occupying your mind during a sit, and in words that make sense to you. It gets easier, definitely.
Nice one!