bear

Five years ago, just before 9 am, I puttered off to the bath; it was a hot September Tuesday morning and I didn't have to be at work until 10. I'd been chatting with theducks and kudzita and several others since the sun had woken me earlier, golden dawnlight through my window warming the walls and drawing me out of bed hours before I had to be at work.

( that day, content warning for everything 9/11 )

I went back to work later that week; I joined a choir again a few weeks later. I sang at various memorials; at one of them, I got a phone number on a napkin from a boy for the first time ever. If anything, I travelled more that winter, spending time with those I loved in faraway places. I went down to New Haven, twice. I went home for Christmas, then up to Portland and Seattle to visit West Coast friends, and rang in the new year in Vancouver chez pukajen; on the way home, we stopped at a steakhouse, and thanks to prime_meridian and ascian3 and sleipnir, I finally understood what delicious steak could be. I started a long-distance relationship with a guy in DC thanks to geebee_x, and flew into National multiple times, becoming quite familiar with the DC flight restrictions; he actually made the first visit, on a chilly January winter weekend; returned for Valentine's Day a few weeks later; continued to come see me. All of us seeking connection with those we loved; all of us freshly reminded how fragile it all was. And at the end of that winter, I visited danialindenberg in New York (with Ingrid and Angie and Marvin), and we met up with Michelle and Peter and went down to Ground Zero to pay our respects, and for the first time, I stood at the base of the Towers-That-Were, and gazed up into the sky, following the shafts of blue light as they trailed high into the clouds, imagining what could have been.

9:40 am: Bagpipes start blaring "God Bless America."
9:45 am: Hundreds of people start cheering. Someone announces on the PA about a marathon. I assume they're talking about my sleep marathon, and that I'm really still asleep and dreaming, and attempt to go back to bed.
9:50 am: A loud bass belts out the Star Spangled Banner.
9:55 am: They blast Gettin' Jiggy Wit It over the PA. This is just the *beginning* of the "inspirational songs for runners" mix--over the next couple of hours, even more music is blasted towards my window, including a crapload of overly bright and cheesy uber-patriotic songs.
11:57 am: I'm still cranky because I haven't gotten to go back to sleep because of the stupid marathoners and other loud annoying people outside my window since 9:40 am this morning when I haven't been to bed before 4 am the last two nights.

BAH.

texts from me to angela:
* hon, it's a VERY GOOD THING you stayed at ingrid's last night
* i got woken up at 9:30 am by BAGPIPES blaring god bless america
* and then hundreds of people cheering
* and a very.loud.bass belting out the national anthem
* and now they're blasting "gettin' jiggy wit' it." OVER SPEAKERS.

before that, though: emily is my hero, driving through downtown boston traffic! she and mel and i went down to new haven friday night to hang out with christina and michelle and party with actually hot med students, indeed! "you're right. the hallway IS naked!" and then last night, back in boston, taking over the cottonwood for girly night with ingrid and sarah and dania and angela and susannah and dreux and bianca (and brent and yamuel and dan).

and iming with grace (get yourself up to boston soon, hon!) and mak!

10/08/2006: Five years later, I'm sitting on my old front stoop, at around the same buttcrack-of-dawn hour, waiting for hyounpark to cross the finish line on this same half-marathon. Good god, how things change.