DREAM: There’s a huge event happening at London Bridge Baptist Church (My mom and I used to attend here when I was a kid). I’m running through the familiar halls—passing by classrooms, meeting rooms, and offices. One room in particular belongs to the pastor—the door opens slightly—it’s the same man as I remember—he’s rubbing the back of an old lady in her 80’s who’s understood to be his wife. But I thought it was strange he was so young looking yet she had aged dramatically. I continue exploring the halls until I arrive at the sanctuary. I’m standing there by the side door mixed up with a bunch of other people, my mom being one of them.
“This is nostalgic,” I tell her.
“Yeah, I know,” she says.
The service had already started and the hype and spirit of the room is high. The numbers in attendance must be over capacity because we can’t even get in. Anthony is with me. We make our way to the stage—pretending to be stagehands. Dave Matthews Band is performing a set. I hear Dave whisper to the band and his guitar tech, “Three Doors…” cause that’s the song they’re about to play. I hear a shuffle beat begin on the drums…Afterwards, a girl is conducting a photo shoot with Dave Matthews—he’s lying on a bed wrapped up in blankets and leaning his back against a pillow to the wall. I’m high up on a triple bunk bed. I climb down and notice a bar that’s bending every time weight shifts on the left side. I warn the girl photographer to be careful…
I wake up at 11:14 a.m. only to call in sick for China Wok. I need more rest…waking up again just before 3 p.m.
Drinking Echinacea Tea with Honey and Lemon.
Hot Cream of Wheat with Brown Sugar and Milk.
Reading.
Just another day at 1435. Party downstairs. Solitude in my room.
Grilled Cheese with Tomato. Chicken Noodle Soup.
Google work.
Anthony: “When summer ends then all the girls go away and you have to figure something out until spring comes around.”
Me: “Is that what you guys are doing downstairs?”
Anthony: “Yes. There’s something intangible that happens at the changing of the seasons. It’s October already. What the fuck.”
Groceries.
Banana. Apple Sauce. Apple Fritter Bread.
“Robert, I need your help. I know you’re like the patriarch of the house.”
Jessa confronts me in the kitchen about a book she lost in the house with a picture of Christ on it.
Darren: “First, it’s probably gone forever. Second thing, you should come to terms with it’s probably gone forever.”
Pear.
Darren and I hop in his Audi, to which he is a forever-proud owner of, and pick up Nicole. We head to James’s new abode off S. Plaza. It’s quiet. He gives us the tour. Dezi, an old church friend we used to know from back in the day, just moved in. As we walk by her door I mutter, “Hey Dezi…” but she’s sleeping.
Me: “I’m gonna tell her ‘I was three feet from you last night and you didn’t even know it.’”
Downstairs lounging on the couches talking and sharing ideas…all the while there’s a cute grey cat named Sebastian making rounds in all our laps.
Darren: “For a really long time I tried to yawn like a cat…”
…
Darren: “My voice has only one tone: assertive.”
…
Discussing what it would be like to be in the mind of the opposite sex for 24 hours—to know what it’s like to interact as a “male within males” or a “female within females”.
Nicole: “I’m nervous to stray away from the security of the feminine look.”
…
Me: “How do you feel about spirituality?”
…
Darren: “To empathize with someone else’s plight is the most non-competitive act…”
Back at Nicole’s place with Darren…more stimulating debates over leftover Lentils and Rice with Broccoli that Nicole cooked earlier. This has been the usual…the norm every time we get together here. I think it’s mainly the Darren factor just because he’s so extreme and dominant in his outlook on life. And him and I sometimes are the representative Yin and Yang that keep the conversation stirring. Nicole fits right into the mix with her own ideas and perspectives. She’s jaded, in her own way but like all of us. The topic of organized religion comes up and things get somewhat heated but cool down when we finally understand each other.
Me: “Hypocrisy and double standards are everywhere. Some people are just ignorant to it.”
Darren and I arrive back home finally…Carmen is alone in the living room feeling uneasy about the jarring events that went on at the house…apparently the cops showed up while we were gone from a noise complaint. We had rowdy guests. She tried to get them to leave, they refused, and she had to resort to mousy violence. Darren, upon hearing this of course, goes on a rant about not inviting people over here that disrespect the house and BLAH BLAH BLAH. His reactions are valid.
Man, we really need a film crew up in here.
Milk Chocolate with Hazelnuts. Oolong Tea.
More talks with Carmen in my room. She’s finding communication solutions in this teacher-student book she found.
Sleep around 6 a.m.
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