What I wrote at the time

3/7/04 - 1:40 am

Too much alcohol (ok, maybe not really too much alcohol) and way too many cigarettes later and I'm not really sure that I could possibly be happier. I got to hug Ken and Seth and Christine today, and, with a little luck, Beth and Nick tomorrow. Really lovely dinner party, with Seth laughing more than I remember (I used to/still feel like making Seth laugh is a real badge of honor; Seth invited me out on the back porch to smoke w/ him and felt like I'd really been accepted into the cool kids club; then felt like I babbled on about silly, inconsequential things; then later took Christine's arm on way out the door and she made comment about being with a smart, funnny, attractive girl and when realized was talking about me felt truly, highly complimented). Saw some of the most brilliant improv/comedy tonight and was sold out, so they ordered pizza. God I love these guys. Slightly more than 3 more days with them.

3/10/04 - 2 am

I seem to be very lucky with endings. The very last day of my freshman year of college was undoubtedly one of the best days/nights of my life. And I'm not sure I could have asked for a better last night here in Chicago. Just Seth and Christine and Beth and Ken and I. Drinking and smoking and playing asshole. Wandering out for drunk, stoned, late night dining. Seth and Christine being very cute and vestiges of old times and...signs of deep love and care in the moments between them. Seth drunker than I've seen him since the Alter Ego party years and years ago. A strong feeling of old times...and both the good and bad that comes with the old times.
Nick doing exactly the same thing he did last summer in Pittsburg...and me less surprised by it.


And now

Part of what made my time in Chicago so great was that it felt like just by being there I made it possible for the rest of those kids to just let go of a lot of the crap that's been messing them up for a long time and just have a little emotional vacation and remember what it used to be like...2003 was a pretty rough year for all of them, and it was so good to see people I love just relax and have an easier time of it, even if it was only temporary.

The comedy show I so poorly referenced above is called "Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind" and is performed by the Neo-Futurists, who will be visiting Atlanta soon. So it they're ever in a city near you, go see them! Much fun shall ensue.

Sunday was spent mostly sleeping and shopping, first at this totally sketchy market (one guy was selling tape, just tape, all kinds; everything was so obviously stolen from a warehouse or truck somewhere, it was hysterical) then browsing in shops we could never afford along Miracle Mile. Quiet evening in playing trivial pursuit with seth and beth and a phone call to a very drunk carrie.

Monday was the Shedd aquarium, with me being all school-kid-ish and getting excited about how adorable the dolphins and beluga whales and sea otters are. More shopping and dinner and drinking with Nick (8 pints! lightweight my ass!) and later meeting up with seth and erin and ken at the Ten Cat, where, oddly, we were greeted by a dog.

Tuesday was climbing with Beth, which I could have done all day, though my arms and legs gave out after about 30 minutes. We were both thrilled to find someone who's as obsessed with the sport as we each have become. Spent the afternoon at the art institute (I love that I have friends who get stoned and listen to beautiful Icelandic music while wandering around an art museum) and was pleasantly surprised by how many famous pieces I stumbled across. I mean, obviously, I know the Chicago Art Institute is a great museum, but usually when I go to places like that I sort of have a list of pieces in my head that I'll make it a priority to see. I didn't this time, and yet found so many that I was greatful to finally see in person. Like the Sunday in the Park with George piece (which is actually called something else, but it's the pointilism piece central to the play, so that's what I always call it) and the pipe surrealist piece by magritte and a random still life that I've had a copy of for a few years simply because it appeals to me and a very disturbing georgia o-keefe work that looks far too coincidentally like 9-11. Dinner was sushi, where I branched out by trying 3 new things! (though I still don't like seafood, raw or otherwise)

Anyway, still wrapping my brain around some other stuff, but I'll be working that out elsewhere, thankyouverymuch. Thinking of sending little notes to each of them, but they're all so anti-emotional-sentiments of any sort that I can't decide if that would be overstepping my bounds...we'll see.

So now I'm back here and trying to get back into the grind of research and work and paper writing and blah. Would rather stay on vacation a while longer.

Oh! And, I think I might, maybe, possibly, have a date. Here are the facts - he's recovering from acl surgery, so I told him once he's feeling better he should let me buy him a beer. He said he'd definitely take me up on that offer and said to call him once I got back into town. So we chatted for about half an hour last night and he suggested we go out saturday night and explore east atlanta (since I've never been to that area of town; it's a little sketchy and I'm too wimpy to explore it on my own). He's going to pick me up and he chose the place and it's on a satuday night - so that seems date-like, right?