There it goes, there goes Jacksonville.
I am one day out of Jacksonville, on the road with my friend and partner, Meghan. A lot has happened though you wouldn't know it at a glance. I am now in Durham, North Carolina. Meghan has known for some time that she would be here this summer. She has been registered for these classes called Body Mind Centering for a year now. She took half of the classes last year, and will finish the course-load within the following three months. If this all seems sudden and foreign to you, don't worry, that makes two of us. I met Meghan only a few weeks ago (though as love goes, it seems like no time at all). We have been on fast forward, she even met my parents. We understood our time together to be brief; she was going off to summer courses, and I likewise abroad to have adventures before my tentative residency at Ringling College in the fall. But alas, I am here in Durham, and now enrolled in a Body-mind Centering course pertaining to the ligaments beginning tomorrow morning at 8:30 am. What have I gotten myself into? Last night I had a hamburger and took two beers. My body slept heavy and my mind dreamed very vividly if not violently. School, school is a theme that has reoccurred in my dreams as of late. The college experience, in all of its abstractions, the thing I never had a chance at having, or thing that I am addicted to being a part of. A plaguing concept which keeps many wandering.
I am 25 now. On my birthday I received a phone call from my friend Riley. He was on his way to visit me in Jacksonville, which is a rough semblance to incorporating me into his weekend holiday- even though my birthday occurred on a Monday this year. We drank and smoked and painted graffiti. When it was time for him to go, it was really time for him to go. I found myself surrounded by his holiday posse, and became the quiet, older, dare I say stoic figure among them. I was the 25 year old among young adults. I saw ass and heard accounts of "just wanting to be twenty-one and selfish for once". I was grateful to have a drawing implement in my hand at the time so I could thoughtlessly draw while they thoughtlessly talked. What worlds we build for ourselves.
Durham is hot, like an oven. Walking around the town feels like walking around how I imagine a giant penitentiary. Giant brick buildings represent tobacco industries. Buildings so large, that they do not register as buildings. Maybe mountains, networked through tunnels ten stories up and presumably below, a big church presence too. The rest of the town's brick infrastructure seems inhabited by 'hip' start-ups and slew of new incorporateds. Maybe North Carolina has good tax laws I wonder. New development strikes a dissonant chord to the old infrastructure, these are mostly high-rise apartments. Its like most of the town is inaccessible. I feel like a groundling in renaissance Venice. What I can do it seems, is go to the cafe', go to the bar, go to the restaurants, and go to the library. I am at the library now. I think I'll go get something to eat.
The light is beautiful here, in the evenings. I have yet to see a sunrise but will presumably once I crash-course into a morning body-mind centering routine. I'm living out of a backpack now, technically, though it doesn't feel at all like it, as Meghan packed her car full of accoutrements and we are sharing a space together in a condominium. This morning we had coffee in house, as well as some blueberries and almonds. What a miracle that the library provides free computer access for a month! Wow!
