I spent the night dancing, I'm drunk I suppose.

This picture has a shocking resemblance to me last night.

Yeah, you know, dancing with a sweet young thing. It just probably wasn't as smooth as this picture looks, I wont claim to be a good dancer. I am a full blooded white kid, after all. I think, also, that by the time I was ready for dancing my footsteps had lost some of their grace.

Regardless, what fun. I can even picture it being fun at a place where dancing is encouraged, possibly even meant to happen, not just an open spot on the bar room floor. Though, I suppose if a bar has an empty floor and a jukebox dancing should at anytime be the right thing do to. But it would be nice to not be the only pair swirling their bodies around in an attempt at ballroom beauty.

Maybe next time.

Coffee shop girl?

I'm watching "She's all that." Right now. No joke. Seriously, who isn't in this movie, it's got everyone. If you don't know, it's an old teen movie about the popular kids making a bet about taking the school's most undatable girl to the prom. Obviously a wild flurry of emotions ensues, hearts break, and fathers make inspiring speeches.

The undatable girl in this case is Rachel Leigh Cook, and I have an issue with this. What the hell is wrong with her? I mean, look at her...


She is made out to be "the art kid." If the art kids at my high school looked like this, maybe Usher would have DJ'd my prom, and everyone would have done a choreographed dance to a Fat Boy Slim song.

The fat friend, Jesse Jackson(Har har), who never has any luck just met a girl. Rachel Leigh Cook just found out that shes not only a really good dancer, but she's a really talented art kid as well. She will get into any college she wants. I think it's about time some hearts get broken so that Freddy Prinze can save the day with a late night pool side dance.

Less and less I even care.

I'm going to spend some money tomorrow, I think. I need to buy some things for the new apartment, most importantly a coffee machine, and a coffee grinder. I also need to buy more coffee. I can't take that Folgers shit anymore. It's time I hit up Gimme! again, I haven't been there in ages.

I need to start looking at TVs too.

I also kind of need to buy some new nice clothes, some new pants, and a new shirt for Jesse and Jessica's wedding.

I might also buy a season of the Wire. I could probably just borrow it from a friend though, or continue watching it via the interweb.

Mostly I just want to get out tomorrow. I think it's going to be nice again.

I always said I'd never go

and now Eli has to get married in Texas. My dreams of never going there are over, but I figure it's for a good reason. You know, love, and what not.

Leave tomorrow, Thursday. Up at 6:45ish. 8:30 bus to Philly, 3:30 flight. Sean has some things to do in Philly I guess. I still need to pack. I figure, the clothes I'm wearing, some shorts, swim shorts, clean under garments, and some clothes for the wedding. It honestly seems like more when you type it out.

I've also got my stuff for the long ass plane ride. I threw some episodes of "This American Life" on the iPhone, and stealthily acquired some sweet magazines from work. Probably a book too.

The question has been raised, by some sweet young Dominican girl I know, as to what happens to me in sun? Do I color? Or do I burn, peel, and white? If I remember correctly, I burn peel, and fade back to white. But I wear a lot of sun screen, so I don't really remember. Furman checked the weather for Brownsville the other day, 92? Maybe higher. I guess we'll find out.

So long.

Take a look at me now.

A week or so ago Chet, the PR guy at work, commented on how much my appearance has changed since I started there a year ago. Check it out.

This is me a little over a year ago, pretty much what I looked like when I applied for the job.

And one with Rowan, for good measure. She is pretty cool.

Enter now, my hair has been growing for a week or so. What What?

Hospital stories.

I was laying in a bed, just staring at the ceiling, in kind of a haze. The ceiling wasn't all that far away, I was on the top level of bunk beds. I had been laying there for quite a while, it was my friend Kathryn's bed, and I was waiting for her to come back. I think Kathryn was in class, one of her late evening classes, biology or something. I did not mind waiting though, she had the most comfortable bed; pillows, comforter, sheets, it was an over all great bed. Had it not been hot pink, I may have tried to commandeer it, like a bed pirate. The Bed Pirate Roberts. I can't really remember what I was waiting for, other than for her to come back. We were probably going to do something that involved driving to that spot, just off the highway, that overlooked one of the neighboring towns, as we did on most nights.

Kathryn's roommate, Stephanie, was on the bed below me. I think she was doing homework, or something of a productive nature. Much more productive then staring deeply into the ceiling. Suddenly Stephanie called my name, "James," then she paused and said it again in a more worried tone, as if my name had been followed by three periods, "James..." She had knocked me out of my staring contest with the ceiling, and caused me to lose, but I wasn't too upset.

I think I said something along the lines of, "What up?" Only, I didn't start saying that until recently, so it was just something like that. I could have said, "Yes?" Or even just mumbled acknowledgment.

What came next was unexpected, "James, I can't feel my legs."

Oh Boy, I thought, This is just like that episode of House! I think I was more excited than I should have been. I crashed off the top bunk, probably, in my excitement, failing to land on my feet. At first I didn't even believe her, these things don't happen in real life, they happen on TV shows called House. After some convincing that she actually could not feel, or move, her legs I did the next logical thing, I started poking her. It seemed like a good idea. Uh-oh, my pokes were doing nothing, what would Hugh Laurie do? Failing to find any tennis balls, or canes in my immediate area, I went and got help. Well, help might be an overstatement. I got the RA on the floor, who came in the room and basically did the same thing I did, only without the poking. This cycle continued, the RA I got, got another RA, who came with the third RA, who eventually got the head RA. Eventually the hospital was called.

This was about the time Kathryn got back, she was in a similar kind of haze as me, and probably would have been happy to just stare at the ceiling with me. Unfortunately, there was a medical drama taking place in here bedroom. Stephanie was moved, not that carefully, onto a gurney by some paramedic type people. After in interesting scene of trying to fit said gurney into the very small elevator, she was loaded into the ambulance and whisked away to the hospital. Some of the RA followed in their cars. After taking a moment, Kathryn and I were in hot pursuit.

It was getting late. We had plans to get into mischief, and were now surrounded by RA's in a hospital. What had happened. There was very little we could do, as our friend was wheeled into a room with doctors, and nurses. Kathryn and I sat in the waiting room for hours, our friend Hope had come along too. Hope was doing what she does best, and freaking out more than enough to make up for me and Kathryn's seeming lack of freaking. We were obviously worried sick, we just were not showing it by pacing, crying, and saying things like, "Oh my gosh," every 15 seconds. I drank some of the worst coffee in existence, a lot of it. Eventually the seats in the waiting room grew uncomfortable, not that they ever were, I longed for my hi-jakced hot pink bed. Kathryn and I made our way into the childrens play room, located in the corner of the waiting room. We shut the door, put on a movie, Mouse Hunt, laid down with some pillows made of coats and toys, and fell asleep.

Our slumber was short lived, waiting room floors are just not made for sleeping. We came back into the waiting room with everyone else, and were finally able to see Stephanie. It turns out I was right, it was like the episode of House. The doctors needed to do a spinal tap, just to make sure. And then stop whatever was wrong with her, before it spread through the rest of Steph's body, and she died. Holy crap! The thing is, Stephanie wasn't 18 at the time, so the doctors needed her parents consent to do the spinal tap. Guess what her parents wouldn't do? They were like a 6 hours drive away, and wouldn't give consent until they got there. I guess that they probably know more than a doctor. Or maybe they just hadn't seen that episode of House.

It was around 4AM, and after some more waiting around in Stephanie's room, the doctors told us to go home. Stephanie would have to be there for a few days. On our drive back to the school, Kathryn and I, and Hope, stopped by our spot just off the highway, as had been the plan all along. (I think it may have actually been Kathryn and her friend Sara's spot. But When I found out about it, I stole it, and claimed it as my own.) We had been waiting all day for it, and we'd almost lost some people along the way, but nothing could keep us from our mischief. Our spot kind of lost it's appeal with Hope sitting the back seat. But it was nice anyway, I guess. We sat there for maybe an hour, gazing out over the steep drop down the town below. The cars shot by us on the highway behind us. Even at 4AM there were cars on the road, none of them paying any attention to the 3 teenagers parked on the side of the road. We eventually made it back to school, met the RA's, who at once knew about our mischief, and we went upstairs. Back in Kathryn's room I climbed to her bed once again, and crawling into Stephanie's bed below, Kathryn asked me to stay. I had successfully commandeered the hot pink bed for myself. I was probably one of the best nights sleep I ever got.

We found out later on that it actually was not like the episode of House, which I suppose it a good thing. Stephanie actually just had really severe anxiety, and it had caused her legs to just not respond. She was basically back to normal as soon and she took some medication for it. She came back to school, and things fell back into the normal swing of things. I continued to lay of the bed during most of my free time, waiting for mischief.

The girls cheer when we here, yeah they high kick!

They might, but I sure don't. My hip aches in a way that seems to say I'd rather be broke(Ha..). Seriously, you know those areas of your body that you don't know exist until they hurt? Yeah, right there. Hip. Ouch. It must be punishment for calling out last night when it wasn't totally needed. But I was kind of sick. Better harder faster stronger.