Recuperating

Weekend Recap:
1. Friday night, Nash, Hoop, and I went on a casino cruise.
2. Nash was kind enough to offer his dogsitting services that day so we wouldn't have to bother coming home after work.
3. We showed our gratitude by scheduling appointments for the termite, satellite, and window people for when he was going to be there.
4. Aren't we nice?
5. The strange thing about the situation is, Hoop and I can't tell which windows were fixed. Nash had been too busy with the satellite guy to notice, and the framework and glass looks exactly the same. Most of them even have paint splatters and dust on them.
6. Despite our obvious confusion, we can't exactly be angry. The window company claims the invoice was paid by the previous owner.
7. I guess that's what you get for nothing, huh? Nothing.
8. Before getting on the boat that night, Hoop and I popped Dramamine.
9. I knew something was off when I started feeling sick before we'd even left the dock.
10. It would be MY luck that the motion sickness medicine would make me ill.
11. I sat upper deck all night while the boys gambled their money downstairs.
12. The boat and I had a long discussion. Apparently, boats and I don't see eye to eye.
13. It said, "I want you to throw up." I said, "But I don't want to throw up!" So we compromised. It promised not to make me sick and I promised not to leave my seat.
14. And I didn't.
15. Despite the 40 degree temperatures, my lack of decent clothing, the constant spray of salt water, and my solitude, I didn't move from my chair for four hours!*
16. The good news is, I didn't lose any money.
17. Saturday afternoon Hoop and I met up with Nash and their Mom at the outlet. She was on a mission...
18. Give Nash a make over.
19. It was warranted. The contents of his travel bag consisted of three national Guard Shirts and a couple pairs of cargo shorts. Hardly the wardrobe for picking up chicks in.
20. Did I mention? That was our mission Saturday night.
21. Sadly there would be no "action" that night. Unless you count...
Nash: Hey man, can I honk your horn?
Big Black Guy: No dude. I'm straight!
Nash: I meant your car horn.
Big Black Guy: Sure you did.
22. The rest of the night was amazing. There was bar hopping, beer drinking, sign stealing, and drum playing*.
23. The boys had play fights in the streets as I took pictures and laughed so hard I fell into puddles.
24. It was one of those nights that made you want to freeze time. Stay young. Stay drunk. Stay stupid. Stay happy.

* Instead I watched the birds dip and dive in the wake of the boat. Hypnotised by their dance over churned fish and the mind numbing cold, I dozed sleeplessly. I felt drugged. It was like forced meditation. I remember Hoop and Nash checking up on me. The very sound of their voices made my stomach heave. They left and people wandered past, smoking cigarettes and cursing their bad luck. But for the most part, I was alone. Sitting there in the cold, with my feet dangling over the rail and my eyes on black water, I felt like I was dying. Truly. Not the oh-my-god-I-drank-too-much feeling of wanting to die either. It felt like I'd turned something off inside of me and my soul was slowly seeping out. It wasn't an uncomfortable feeling, which made me nervous. So I woke myself from the daze and stood up. The contents of my head sloshed around for a minute and I was tempted to sit back down. But the tables were closing and I knew Hoop and Nash would be around in a minute to retrieve me. We slept on the floor that night for an hour as the ship moved back to port. The carpet looked like it had been ripped from an abandoned hotel. The characters around us were shady. Transients with no hope and no money. They'd lost something that night. I felt like I had won something back.

* We were leaving the last bar when I noticed a crowd gathering further down the street. As we got closer we could hear the drums, frantic pulsating beats that were nearly drowned out by the cries and cheers of the people. What started as five dancers quickly became ten, and then 20, and then 30. A mob formed in the road, bodies writhing and jumping to the music. We all looked at each other, grinning, unable to help ourselves. People who had once claimed they couldn't dance, did. There was no hesitation to our movements. We were drunk on the moment. Cars stopped, unable to move. There was dancing in the headlights and cries of, "No pass!" Those too drunk to care flashed body parts. We cheered and laughed at the pure abandon. Sweating and panting, we broke from the mob. We knew it was better to leave before it ended. "That's never going to happen again!" I cried out to the guys over the fading noise. "But they'll try," Hoop replied. And of course, they will. But it will never be the same again.

WWC pictures tomorrow!