I've been writing this down because when I write, I remember. The memories stay longer in my mind, and when I revisit it I can remember myself in that point in time, so this is going to be massive but deal with it. You don't have to read it, just scroll a lot. :p
I've been thinking a lot this weekend about us. All of us, how we're all connected in little ways and big ways and how we go about without thinking about it. I'm reading the bus home (my iPod had died the second I got on the bus; I spent the ride home listening to a man ranting about the communists in power two seats ahead of me), and occasionally looking around, noticing the people around me. There was a large black woman in front of me with purple hair playing Solitaire and Jewel Quest on her laptop until it went the way of my iPod; there was a girl across the aisle in a short green dress, alternately curled up trying to sleep and texting on her phone. Behind me was a man who mostly spoke into his phone in hushed, rushed Chinese, and across from me (and behind the girl in green) was a man from Europe. Don't know where, but he had a book that I asked to see (you can blame me curiosity and love of books for that), and we spoke for a little while, his voice strongly accented, occasionally trailing off as he grasped for a word. He recommended The Master and Margarita, by someone whose last named ended in -Kov and first was Mikhail.
I don't know any of these people, none of them knew me. I would never see them again, and most of them didn't see me to begin with, but for some reason we're all on this same cramped bus heading towards Rochester, New York. We all had our stories, and they converged here, but who knows? Maybe what I'll do will affect them. What they'll do will affect me. Or maybe it's just a passing moment.
I got on the wrong bus, of course, five hours late, but ended up in Rochester. Driving back to my mother's house, we almost hit a man laying in the street in a pool of blood. When we stopped, three black men across the street were adamant that he fell over, and people just walked by him without a care. I called 911 - the ambulance was there in under a minute; I'm fairly sure they were already nearby. The EMT said there was no way he just fell, and we left him be. What would have happened if we hadn't passed him? Would he have died there? Would someone else have stopped? His name was Robert - his insurance card was on the street next to him in a puddle of blood.
I hope he survived.
I wasn't thinking about this on the way to Ithaca, though. I just listened to music (far too loudly - perhaps just to keep from hearing the man behind me talk about the women he's fucked), looking out the window at trees. I, of course, recognized none, but was struck by how every wall framing the highway was coated in ivy, without fail, curling over the top and reaching up from the bottom, covering it completely in some areas. Trees, and rocks, and mountains, then more rocks, then more trees...and more trees, and suddenly a city in the middle of the woods.
I've lived in England, I've lived in Florida, and in Tennessee. I've stayed in quite a few more places, and I always thought New York was one of the most depressing areas to be compared to them until I saw this. Even standing in the center, it's easy to forget you're in a city, with skyscrapers nestled in the woods. It's easily the most amazing, beautiful place I've ever been, and where I want to live.
Of course, I didn't come here to look around - I was on a mission to meet the internet. I've done this once before (with a woman who wants me to convert to her form of Christianity and I still get into debates/arguments on GLBT persons with her), but this was going to be different. I told her that I've done online/long-distance relationships in the past, and that I don't want a repeat of that. We'll meet up - if it works out, then I'll try it.
I pulled up to the bus station. I had run over in my head a million times what to say, but still had no idea what to go with. She solved that problem.
"Tall!" she screamed, throwing herself at me and her arms around me. She came up to my chest - I'm 6'5", she 5'3".
"Short!" I yelled back, dropping my bags and hugging her tightly. We let go, staying close, smiling at each other; we both expected awkward tension, but we were having none of that, apparently.
"You must be hungry," she said after a minute, and I grinned.
"Yeah...I sorta forgot to eat," I said back quietly, following her slowly. She led me to her mother's car, introducing me to her - mom, Edward, Edward, mom...Lilian. I made a point to remember the name, but called her 'mom' every time Maxine did.
Did I mention her name is Maxine?
We got in the car - there was an Epiphone in the back, same model as at my father's. Of course I wanted to play it, but we were in a small car, so we put it in the front and we sat in the back (me and Maxine; her mother drove).
We were dropped off on a small city block, trees and buildings and so many people everywhere. I've been in cities before, but usually I just stayed in the suburbs or villages just outside of downtown - this, being here, astounded me. "There's...so many people..." I said to her, looking around in awe.
"Yeah, you'll love it here. There's lots of people with tattoos and piercings and dreads and dyed hair..." she murmured back, wrapping her arms around my arm and pulling me close. I was amazed - so many people, all wrapped up in their own lives, just five feet apart but completely unaware of each other. There was always something going on.
We ate Vietnamese food. I've never had it before, and the spring roll was wrapped in what I assumed was the testicle of a large squid. It was see-through and rubbery and had no taste, but I ate it anyway. I told her to order for me, she responded she already did, so I took her lead on how to eat this new food. Given chopsticks, I poorly handled them and immediately got a splinter through the webbing between my thumb and forefinger, which she pulled out for me.
I left my iPod in the restaurant; the waiter ran out to give it to me.
We wandered around for a little while, waiting for her mother to come pick us up. Walking up to the more forested half of the block, I pulled myself up onto a stone wall to sit and watched her, grinning as she (eventually) managed to pull herself up next to me.
"I can't believe you're actually here," she said slowly, looking up at me. It's the first time we'd met; we'd known each other over a year.
"Seriously. I was expecting more awkwardness...like we'd be starting over. But it's like picking up where we were." She put her hand up on my shoulder, and we looked at each other for a minute longer before I leaned down and kissed her, once, twice, and immediately someone down the road screamed at us to get a room.
"First kiss and already we need a room," she said softly, her face bright before she reached into her pocket and handed me what looked like a stale gummi bear.
"What's this?" I took it and looked it over - it was a heart. I kept it. I slid off the wall and so did she, her hand in mine as we walked around the block, waiting for our ride.
"They have munches here," she said, pointing to a cafe. I raised an eyebrow but grinned, walking on without a word.
Short jokes were made.
We ended up over at her father's house. I was given a key, and opened the door, letting her by and following her in. David was her father, Amy was his girlfriend; he was incredibly quiet, and I'm fairly sure she was on cocaine. The guitar was brought up, and I tuned it up quietly before Amy asked Maxine to sing - so she sang a song from The Phantom of the Opera in a soft, quavering soprano. I was suitably impressed; hearing her on the phone couldn't compare to this.
"Scrabble," Amy suddenly announced, jumping up from the couch before she looked at me, asking slyly, "Do you like Lady Gaga? You should see her new video, it's amazing. I love it, she's so amazing. Let's play Scrabble!"
Scrabble lasted each of us one turn (She did Zeal, I did Zag, and then when it was Amy's turn again she forgot about it and wandered off). Maxine went to go get the clothes she had for me, and I put them on. The jacket came just past my elbows and I didn't even try the pants - I knew it was a lost cause.
"I'm sorry," I said, biting my lip. "You're going to have to help me get this off again, though." She slipped behind me, pulling the jacket down, and it fell to the floor before she went to get dressed, coming out holding a corset. Amy popped up, screaming (quite literally) how beautiful it was before David managed to calm her down again. Maxine slipped off and came back, the corset a deep green-tinged blue, coming down to a black layered skirt which covered her feet. I was in mid-sentence when she re-appeared and really couldn't remember the last half of what I was saying.
"Oh, you're beautiful, that corset is so beautiful, I want it! You're beautiful! Why aren't you complimenting her?" Amy turned to me, suddenly glaring.
"I...feel awkward saying things in front of her father," I said, looking over at her father. He still hadn't moved from his spot in the couch. Perhaps he was glued? He didn't respond.
"We have to go, anyways," Maxine interjected, managing to get me outside to wait for her mother. She had told me about Amy, but the woman seemed like a manic depressive in a sudden high swing. Her mother showed up before long, and we were driven off to Appel Commons, at the college, to go to the prom.
"I'm sorry," I told her. "I feel horrible wearing jeans and a t-shirt to prom." I had even forgot my nice hat.
"Shush," she replied. I did, until we got there and I saw everyone else dressed up.
"I'm sorry," I said again, and we went over to a group of people who were her friends. Introductions were made, and half of them apparently knew of me already.
"I like you," said Chancery, who was Maxine's wifey (she is currently in my phone as Shin-Chan). "You come to prom in jeans, that's awesome."
"Oh my god!" said the short one next to her. She was dressed in a tuxedo straight from a yaoi manga, frilly collar and all, and a fedora. Her name was Julia. "Questionable Content! Yes!" She was referring to my shirt, and it was the first time anyone had ever recognized it for what it was. We eventually drifted inside, and once inside I turned to Maxine.
"I'm sorry," I told her again. She told me it's okay and we approached the stairs slowly. I didn't think anything of it, until the girls around me starting moaning about high heels and I realized...stairs suck. Everyone else went in without a problem, but I had to hand over my driver's license for them to hold onto until I left, to prove who I am. I kept my invitation, though, and it's currently on top of my bookshelf, slightly crumpled but still in decent condition. The music was loud, unintelligible, and held a steady beat of 120 bpm. The best one was "Just Dance", and even that's one of Gaga's more forgettable.
We migrated to the tables at one end and sat with her friends. I grabbed a balloon and squealed and hugged it and told it that I loved it and then threw it at Maxine's friends. We bopped it around in the air for awhile, until there was a commotion out on the dance floor and we all migrated over there. Turns out there was a dance off, and two guys were break-dancing on the floor. It was pretty fascinating to watch, so I leaned back against the wall, only to accidentally open to emergency exit and set off the alarm. It was quiet enough that only I noticed, so I slinked off into a corner to be embarrassed in private as security came up and reset it. Maxine noticed, too, and I managed to get out of there.
"I'm sorry, I'm just...really not good in these sorts of situations," I told her, trying to get towards the exit when she suddenly screamed, "Daran!" I turned and saw her hugging this tall black girl, about to my chin with an especially tiny hat and veil on her head. She looked beautiful, and I grinned as we were introduced. We did eventually get out of there and outside (once I went through the line again to collect my driver's license). Surrounded by people I'd never know in canned, conditioned air to alone with her outside on a warm, humid night. It was great.
"So now what?" I asked her. "Just wander around?"
"Yeah, that works," she said, and we walked down the hill to the college lawn, wandering about until we found a suitably dark place nestled in a corner and settled down. We laid down and kissed, we talked about being together...we had sex twice on the lawn, pausing as cars drove by. She loved it, I found it about as enjoyable as sex could be, but I was happy that she loved it as much as she did. Afterwards we were laying on the grass, a bit disheveled and mostly dressed and talking about what happened when the light came on the window above us and we quickly got back to the dance, where people were starting to leave. We waited by the doors (as there was a no re-entry policy) until her friends showed up, one at a time, asking us where we were.
"Just outside," she or I would respond.
"The whole time?"
"Yep."
"Doing what?"
"Just talkin'."
Surprisingly no one really suspected anything except Daran, who kind of squinted at me and said, "You two were out here? Alone? Acting like two conscientious human beings?" I repeatedly stated my innocence, but Maxine kind of ruined it by kissing her in the glow of the moment. Oh, well.
We ended up having a short ride back to Maxine's father's house, where I was going to stay the night in an incredibly pink room plastered with Robert Pattison pictures. I gave them all the finger. Individually. I unlocked the door and slipped in - her father and Amy were passed out in bed, and Scrabble tiles were all over the living room. She kissed me and we held each other for a little while before she had to leave to go sleep at her house (her parents don't trust us together, for some wild reason), and I settled down with an F My Life book I found on a bookshelf in the room, and texted her between pages. I eventually drifted off and woke up in the middle of the night to go use the bathroom, whereupon I discovered a few things:
A) Maxine's father dreams about having sex with trannies
2) Maxine's father talks in his sleep.
So I went back to bed and ignored both of these facts. I was, however, woken up at 6 AM by Amy's yelling about something or other. I tried to ignore it, but she walked up to the room I was in, and threw open the door. Rolling over, I looked at her, finally saying, "What?" She stared at me before slamming the door and walking away.
That's when I started calling Maxine asking her to get me out of there.
Eventually I got out of bed, to find David (her father, might I remind you) and Amy on the couch. She immediately set upon me.
"Do you like blueberries?"
"Um, yes?" I said. I really was not awake enough to deal with her.
"Okay. Well, I'm making blueberry pancakes." She never did. "Do you like sausages?"
"I do, yes."
"Great! I'm making sausages." She never did. "Do you like eggs?"
"Not really, no."
"Okay, I won't make eggs." She lived up to her word on this one. She did, however, stagger into the kitchen, turn on the griddle, and forget about it. Stumbling back into the living room she suddenly noticed me again. "You have really long hair! I love your hair, I want your hair. Why do you have long hair? I used to have long hair like that, it was down to my...well, I'll be polite, it was down to my butt."
"Why are you from Chicago?"
"What?" I blinked at her, pausing in mid-brush. "I'm from New York."
"Okay, but why did you come here from Chicago?"
The next 20 minutes were spent trying to explain to her that I live in New York, in a small town near Niagara Falls. I even showed her Google maps and pointed out the towns I'm near, one being Medina.
"You're from Minnesota!" she exclaimed, looking up at me.
"No...Medina. It's a town, by Albion."
"Oh, okay. Maxine's boyfriend is from New York City," she explained to her unconscious boyfriend. It was entirely surreal. "You have to see Lady Gaga's new video, everyone's seen it, it's amazing."
It wasn't.
Maxine eventually came by, wearing a long turquoise dress that I was, apparently, supposed to wear the night before, but she decided against at the last minute. She brought two fresh bagels and cream cheese, two things I've never had (usually I buy the stuff that's been shipped in, you know? Apparently Ithaca has lots of bagel shops. I thought the place smelled Jewy.) They were delicious, and when I sat on the couch I noticed the (very large (and almost empty)) bottle of vodka on the floor. I picked it up.
"Well, that explains a lot," I mentioned to her, and she shrugged. She pulled out her lip balm - vanilla flavoured - and put some on me, and the first thing I said without thinking was, "That tastes familiar." She started giggling and then I realized the implications. Her father and his girlfriend had fucked off to somewhere else, so we went outside to wait down by the bus station. I settled down and fished Pocky out of my tie-dyed bag and offered her some. We ate it quietly until the bus came, moving through woods and up and down hills to drop us off downtown.
Dear god, Ithaca is amazing. I was so happy to be in this hippie little town with a beautiful girl by my side I wanted to sing Disney songs. I showed restraint, however, and just went with, "I feel pretty...oh so pretty...oh so pretty and witty and gaaaaaayyyyyyy," hitting a high note higher than even she could reach. I was suddenly embarrassed, she was giggling, passers-by were staring.
I should note I was wearing a certain infamous Unicornication shirt.
We went and visited a bunch of shops. The first one was a children's toy store, and I had so much fun in there alone. I put on frilly things and tiaras and carried a magic wand around, and have (well, she has) the pictures to back this claim up. She then popped up with a skunk puppet, fully aware of how much my favourite animal is the skunk. I squealed and hugged it and tried it out, and put it back as it was 15 dollars and I can't really afford to be spending money on random things.
I came back later to buy it anyways, and named him Streaky. Half the time when she went to kiss me, I brought Streaky up to kiss her instead. Of course, I also realized later there's a hole at the base of the tail that you stick your finger in to move the tail around. It even looks like an asshole, it's amazing. Why! Why would you teach children that if you stick your finger up an animal's bottom it will make the tail move?
I love my skunky.
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Topic: Blog Thread III : Look Who's Blogging Now (Read 913676 times)