Aug 15, 2007 14:40
July 15th, 2007.
Previously…
Having a night where I made it to three places at once was really fun. It was all I was about, really. The running around, bumping into everyone, and the partying in between the controlled chaos. Being able to pick up and just go was very liberating. I had nothing or no one to control where I was or where I could go. It was being out of the Army which made it possible. In the old days, I couldn’t have a weekend like I was having, because I’d most likely be out in the middle of the woods, having lost a precious weekend. There were so many concerts and parties that I missed because of the National Guard. It was good to finally be free.
On the subject of freedom, Red and I had borrowed her dad’s truck for the big move. I had a lot of stuff, and while packing, discovered even more things that I wanted to bring along. But the best part about packing up for a move was finding lost old things. I found my old journal from high school while rummaging around. Sitting down and reading it revealed a lot about how I used to be in those dark days. For some people, high school was the pinnacle of their lives. For me, it was a prison. I knew the outside world, that “Big Bad Real World” that I so often muse about was a better place than being stuck in a classroom full of hormonal, cynical, and sometimes downright mean teenagers.
In high school I wasn’t the cool guy. Just one of the people who sat on the outskirts of the establishment looking in. And occasionally laughing at how absurd the whole experience was. I remember being a lot more militant and angry just to be angry back then. Absurd in itself. But life got brighter when I graduated. I had escaped that prison, free to explore the real world, warts and all. And 12 years later, I was still surprised and intrigued by the big bad real world. That sense of wonderment never really went away. That’s how being out of the Army finally felt.
And now…
Waking up at a house party was always a new experience. You never knew where you were going to be, or what state of being you would be in. You could wake out on someone’s lawn, you could be on the floor of a bathroom, or you could be next to someone you absolutely hoped that you didn’t hook up with. It was a grab bag of random. While I was all about the random, I usually made it a point to try and be somewhere dignified when I woke up. As if being smashed signified anything dignified in the first place.
All I know from the night before was that I fell asleep on the couch sitting up. It was a pretty good position. That meant that I had to do was stand up, look around, say my goodbyes and run off. Or, if I really wanted to, could depart the scene stealthily. Easy enough. Well, I woke up in the same position, except for a strange feeling of a draft in my lap. This was going to be interesting.
It was an odd scene. My jeans were unzipped. There was also a strange sensation on my head. A quick inspection revealed that I had been completely doused in green pixie dust. I had been drive-by glittered while I was out of it! The unzipped state of my jeans, well, that had to be someone’s idea of a joke. I fixed my jeans, tried to brush some more of the fairy dust off of me (there was a lot), and looked around as my eyes adjusted to the daylight.
James was tending to an obviously hung over Obscura. She was really out of it, but it was the price to pay for having one of hell of a sendoff like she did. I said my goodbyes to the whole lot, and tried to find my car. While I wandered, a steady stream of glittered rained right behind me. Yes, it was a lot of glitter, and I wondered how long it was going to be before it was all gone.
I slipped into my car and put the keys in the ignition. One good turn, and I would be on my way to moving out of the parentals place for good. One more good turn, and I’d be free of that prison. Unfortunately, there was no ignition. My car was dead. Completely dead. I popped the hood and tried everything. Nothing worked. I was stuck, in Sanford. This was going to be fun. It was time for a new car. Just when I got done paying it off. Typical.
I managed to get a hold of Geico and they sent a tow truck to get me out of there. It was touch and go for a while, because my cellie was nearly out of juice. Calling Angel so much last night for directions to the party drained the hell out of the battery. I so needed a new phone. Scratch that, a better phone. New was the order of the day, it seemed.
The tow truck driver was an Army vet from the Vietnam War era. We traded stories about how the Army changed so much but stayed the same. We didn’t get into the gory, not-so-fun part of the service (you know, waking up really early, running till your legs fell off, and all of the parts involving getting shot at or blown up), but it was still cool to touch base with a cool cat like he was. He did his duty, and ended up driving tow trucks when he got out. 30 years later, and he kept driving tow trucks because he loved it. To me, that was the American Dream.
I got home at a good time in the morning, long enough to sleep the rest of the hangover off. That’s all that was needed anyway. The weather report said rain was on the way, so I mustered up my mum, my stepfather, and aunt to help me with the move. My grandmother came along for the ride, since we couldn’t leave her alone.
Somehow we got everything moved in one trip, stuffing my belongings into the back of the truck, and everything else in two minivans. Not too bad. I didn’t take everything with me, it was just mostly the heavy stuff. My stepfather and I nearly killed ourselves moving my gargantuan dresser. The thing was an antique, and ridiculously heavy. It took several breaks in the stairwell before we got it where it needed to go. Everything else was easy. Well, except for trying to get my grandmother out of the way. I don’t think she liked the trip too much.
We got all done, and patted ourselves on our collective backs. I was free from the parentals, and didn’t have to worry about being bitched at for coming and going as I pleased, my parentals were free of me coming and going at all hours of the day, and I had a new place to live. Complete with morally responsible roommate. Red and I got along just fine for several years now, so in the end it made sense that we share an apartment for the time being.
My family left, and I looked around my bedroom. Freedom was good. But being so exhausted from the towing, and the moving, I crashed straight into bed, covered in the glitter that I awoke in this morning. I didn’t care, it would come out eventually. For the moment, sleep was all that was on my mind. Not the fact that my car was rebelling on me, the fact that I’d have to figure out what to do next. Nothing mattered but the sleep. And babies didn’t sleep as well as I did.
Next: A quick shift into the future leads to a new car, a new phone, and other new things. Plus, a shocking surprise attack from a crazy ex renders me effectively a prisoner of iron! What?! It’ll make sense in the end. And, it’s fun with the police, work, and straws! What is it with the straws? Like I said, it’ll make sense in the end.