This week I (katie) traveled across the country and back. I went to work and worked on new poems. I went out to dinner with Michael. We went rollerskating, carved pumpkins, and packed bags for camping (we're leaving in a couple hours). Quite the week, eh? From the beginning.
When is the last time you've been to a roller rink? Over a decade? There's probably a reason for that. But Michael and I thought it would be a fun, cheap thing to do on a friday night. We invited New Friends and they were, of course, really into the idea. Skateworld has three types of skaters: 1. people like us who enjoy mixing nostalgia with a little bit of falling on asses. 2. those who take it really seriously. These people tended to be in their mid-forties. They bring their own skates, even installing blue lights on the bottom for dark light laps. And finally, the third category: tweens. I guess skating rinks still market to the pre-pubescent.
The four of us had a great time. We played pinpall and The Simpsons arcade game, which really brought me back. We made a request to the DJ, who was a solid ten years younger than me: Don't Stop Believin' by Journey. They played it and the tweens did not know what to do with it... or us. My request for Billie Jean was not honored. We skated a lot and I fell a few times.
The next morning at 5:20 I flew out of Eugene to New York City, with a brief layover in Portland. When I learned this summer that my Bennington classmates were gathering for a party in downtown NYC I asked Michael how he'd feel if I made a very impulsive and maybe irresponsible decision. He told me to "go be with my people." Serendipitously, Bennington sent my deposit back to me, covering the entire cost of the trip. Because I thought it would be fun I decided to surprise my friends and not tell them I was going. The party host aided me in my coup and we pulled it off quite well.
Nearly half of my graduating class came to the party. It was a love fest, of course. And a lot of "So, are you writing?" The trip ended nearly as fast as it began. I flew in Saturday afternoon and out on Monday afternoon. A whirlwind of goodness.
En route to NYC. A view from my plane window:
A view from my friend's place:
After sleeping for about day (16 hours spent traveling on Monday), I made a full recovery. Michael received his first quiz back: an A plus! It went straight up on the fridge and we went out to celebrate.
Finally, we carved pumpkins this week. I like to do it mostly for the seeds. We had New Friends over and for one of them it was her first time ever carving a pumpkin! We named ours Barb, placed her on our steps, and put a headlamp in her. Here is a picture of her (not aglow, unfortunately):
Forthcoming: Next week we're going to the Head and the Heart concert at WOW Hall. In November we are San Francisco bound for Thanksgiving weekend. And camping! As much camping as possible!
Love from the West,
Katie and Michael
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