semi-conscious ramblings of a somniloquist #10
i'm staring with a bit of confusion at the door of our new apartment. it appears to be composed of two vertically sliding doors stacked on top of each other and sandwiching a strip of wood about two feet wide. it makes it seem like we're standing in the middle between two floors of a building.
"ah," someone remarks, "this would be why we had such difficulty finding this floor."
i agree, recalling the complicated sequence of ancient, grating elevators and ominous stairwells we had taken to get where we were. the entrance appears not to be so much of a puzzle once we manage to get both doors open. i slide into the top opening with young-min while david and some other guy crawl into the bottom. we all meet together inside.
our apartment is nicely furnished, with a private bathroom and kitchen. we spend the day unpacking our personal items and immediately get ready for bed. my roommates are in the bathroom so i'm all on my own when it comes to getting into bed. i notice there are now no places to step in order to climb into the top bunk, but i manage to lodge my foot in one of the sides of the frame and swing myself in.
the night passes fairly well, except that several chaperones walk by to make sure we're asleep and not causing trouble. who knew they would keep up such a strict guard? i notice every single one because i'm having a bit of insomnia up in the top bunk which i now regret taking. i wonder how i'm ever going to get out of it in the morning.
...morning comes.
or at least, i think so. the curtains are closed so i have no idea what time of day it is. however, our parents are awake downstairs and making a lot of noise. someone's mom bursts into the room and invites us to join the rest of the partygoers for breakfast. somehow, our move-in day has been transformed overnight into an asian party. from downstairs, i hear the shrill voices of small kids refusing to sit still. and my fellow occupants of the bedroom are now young-min and amr, lolling around on elevated sleeping bags. i'm still in the top bunk. i swing myself out and attempt to convince young-min and amr to accompany me downstairs.
"mais jay-song...j'ai peur des petits enfants," young-min sleepily mumbles to me. after this indulgence he drifts back to sleep. amr also lies there, similarly insensible, leaving me to think of a way out of going downstairs alone. i call to mind the images of some asian girls i consider pretty cute, and think of mentioning their presence to young-min. but i eventually decide not to take this route for i recall that a mall nearby this unidentified asian household is holding an entire day's worth of a dance extravaganza!
i excitedly tell the sleepers that we can ditch the asian party for this great event, and young-min drags himself out of bed. amr, however, instructs us sleepily to go ahead. "i'm going to need to sleep a little more..."
...arriving at the doors of the mall, we are greeted with susie and becca, who are accompanied by their parents. we get each others' numbers so as to be able to stay together, but young-min seems to have other plans, and quickly vanishes. i walk, awed, towards the first giant dance hall i see, full of earnest revelers. an appealing pulse of a beat emanates from the room wrapped in a sparkly, velvety purple curtain. the scene is even more beautiful inside, which i walk around on the outskirts, just admiring the majestically slow motions of the dancers. a saleswoman in an exotic silver robe steps up to me, asking whether i'd be interested in trying out some guitars and sitars in her shop. i realize that this dance floor spans several storefronts and that i've unwittingly stepped into a music shop containing a dazzling collection of silver instruments. i politely refuse, figuring i have no intention of buying anyway.
i exit the store through a back door and now find myself on the outside of the purple curtain. trying to find a way back in. i make a slow promenade around it, all the while relishing the scene of the mall decked out in sparking glint. i come across a group of kids all playing around on different-sized guitars from the tiniest ukeleles to goliaths resembling string basses. the sound of dozens of amateur guitarists fiddling around reaches my ears, sounding surprisingly harmonious. i now feel a little pang of regret at not having picked up a sitar to amuse myself with, but the allure of the mall draws me away.
i move on, reaching another storefront, which marks another entrance to the dance hall i had just exited. i slip in, but now realize that i have nobody to dance with. stepping outside into a small, sunroofed chamber between doors, i get out my cell. i'm about to call susie when i spy becca rushing towards me in tears with some grievance about her mother. i give her a supportive hug with one arm, bringing her close to my shoulder. with this gesture, a shadow of aarushi seems to appear with a disapproving glare, but i stick out my tongue at her. behind this ghostly apparition, becca's mom strides towards us, proving wrong whatever becca's complaint was. they go off, leaving me by my lonesome again.
i dial young-min's number, wondering where the hell he got off to, but i lose him due to reception issues. moving towards the center of the sunroom and away from irked-looking folks in wheelchairs coming through the frosted glass doors, i give susie a ring and we talk for a while. i tell her that i'm going to head out and that i very much enjoyed the dance, but she implores me not to leave, and instead to join her in a different dance hall, the existence of which i was previously unaware of.
we decide to meet outside of a certain familiar storefront...this is turning out to be a rather promising evening.
"ah," someone remarks, "this would be why we had such difficulty finding this floor."
i agree, recalling the complicated sequence of ancient, grating elevators and ominous stairwells we had taken to get where we were. the entrance appears not to be so much of a puzzle once we manage to get both doors open. i slide into the top opening with young-min while david and some other guy crawl into the bottom. we all meet together inside.
our apartment is nicely furnished, with a private bathroom and kitchen. we spend the day unpacking our personal items and immediately get ready for bed. my roommates are in the bathroom so i'm all on my own when it comes to getting into bed. i notice there are now no places to step in order to climb into the top bunk, but i manage to lodge my foot in one of the sides of the frame and swing myself in.
the night passes fairly well, except that several chaperones walk by to make sure we're asleep and not causing trouble. who knew they would keep up such a strict guard? i notice every single one because i'm having a bit of insomnia up in the top bunk which i now regret taking. i wonder how i'm ever going to get out of it in the morning.
...morning comes.
or at least, i think so. the curtains are closed so i have no idea what time of day it is. however, our parents are awake downstairs and making a lot of noise. someone's mom bursts into the room and invites us to join the rest of the partygoers for breakfast. somehow, our move-in day has been transformed overnight into an asian party. from downstairs, i hear the shrill voices of small kids refusing to sit still. and my fellow occupants of the bedroom are now young-min and amr, lolling around on elevated sleeping bags. i'm still in the top bunk. i swing myself out and attempt to convince young-min and amr to accompany me downstairs.
"mais jay-song...j'ai peur des petits enfants," young-min sleepily mumbles to me. after this indulgence he drifts back to sleep. amr also lies there, similarly insensible, leaving me to think of a way out of going downstairs alone. i call to mind the images of some asian girls i consider pretty cute, and think of mentioning their presence to young-min. but i eventually decide not to take this route for i recall that a mall nearby this unidentified asian household is holding an entire day's worth of a dance extravaganza!
i excitedly tell the sleepers that we can ditch the asian party for this great event, and young-min drags himself out of bed. amr, however, instructs us sleepily to go ahead. "i'm going to need to sleep a little more..."
...arriving at the doors of the mall, we are greeted with susie and becca, who are accompanied by their parents. we get each others' numbers so as to be able to stay together, but young-min seems to have other plans, and quickly vanishes. i walk, awed, towards the first giant dance hall i see, full of earnest revelers. an appealing pulse of a beat emanates from the room wrapped in a sparkly, velvety purple curtain. the scene is even more beautiful inside, which i walk around on the outskirts, just admiring the majestically slow motions of the dancers. a saleswoman in an exotic silver robe steps up to me, asking whether i'd be interested in trying out some guitars and sitars in her shop. i realize that this dance floor spans several storefronts and that i've unwittingly stepped into a music shop containing a dazzling collection of silver instruments. i politely refuse, figuring i have no intention of buying anyway.
i exit the store through a back door and now find myself on the outside of the purple curtain. trying to find a way back in. i make a slow promenade around it, all the while relishing the scene of the mall decked out in sparking glint. i come across a group of kids all playing around on different-sized guitars from the tiniest ukeleles to goliaths resembling string basses. the sound of dozens of amateur guitarists fiddling around reaches my ears, sounding surprisingly harmonious. i now feel a little pang of regret at not having picked up a sitar to amuse myself with, but the allure of the mall draws me away.
i move on, reaching another storefront, which marks another entrance to the dance hall i had just exited. i slip in, but now realize that i have nobody to dance with. stepping outside into a small, sunroofed chamber between doors, i get out my cell. i'm about to call susie when i spy becca rushing towards me in tears with some grievance about her mother. i give her a supportive hug with one arm, bringing her close to my shoulder. with this gesture, a shadow of aarushi seems to appear with a disapproving glare, but i stick out my tongue at her. behind this ghostly apparition, becca's mom strides towards us, proving wrong whatever becca's complaint was. they go off, leaving me by my lonesome again.
i dial young-min's number, wondering where the hell he got off to, but i lose him due to reception issues. moving towards the center of the sunroom and away from irked-looking folks in wheelchairs coming through the frosted glass doors, i give susie a ring and we talk for a while. i tell her that i'm going to head out and that i very much enjoyed the dance, but she implores me not to leave, and instead to join her in a different dance hall, the existence of which i was previously unaware of.
we decide to meet outside of a certain familiar storefront...this is turning out to be a rather promising evening.