Moonfall On The Oceans Edge

I am, despite my best efforts, a different person when I am in a longterm relationship. The person I am involved with becomes an overriding focus that will cast a shadow on the other people in my life. For this reason I had avoided any lovers heavier than an occassional drink and fuck for many years. Aphexious was so much…beauty pain drama joy and bullshit in my life that it colored all my E2 experiences, and affected how I related to the people I met. This was the first gathering since my breakup with Aphexious and I hoped to make a different impresssion, to make some friends and build something better than I had before. I never expected to end the year like this.

5am Saturday morning and the only noder awake in the sea of bodies was Perdedor wishing he really could shoot the snoring monster asleep next to him. I had met him in Ohio and smiled a brief greeting as I made my way onto the deck to watch the moonfall and spend some time with my journal. Discofever sat in his own silence downstairs, too cold to sleep under a cloud darkened sky we watched the night end.

The mob arose mid morning and the ritual began. Hit the bong and have a beer, Team THC outdid themselves in quantity and variety of smokey treats this weekend. I'm a drinker myself but still spent my time at the table smoking Luckys and talking as much as I could. Mitzi provided an interesting ear, sympathetic conversation and the best religious discussion I've had in months. Thank you so much. Seeing Phyllis Stein and Indra363 again was wonderful, their company is always enjoyed. People drank and giggled, played on the beach and generally made asses out of themselves on Saturday. Bitca and I covered the beach with the Everything2 URL and left it for the tides. I hadn't seen her since I left Nashville and had been missing her. She painted my toenails vampire red and then started preparations for the Grand feast with Lee and Dave. The seafood boil was incredible we all stuffed ourselves on their homecooked delights. I had to curl up for a nap with Bitca afterwards, unfortunately in my rest I missed Guinea Pig going jungle, sounded like entertainment to me. I can't wait to see the photos.

When I woke the party was still going strong so I began drinking again until around midnight when Bitca and I decided a swim was in order. Christ it was ungodly cold out there and we didn't stay in for long. We ran back to our towels to the cheers and laughter of noders gathered on the balconies. It was a life affirming experience. We returned to the warmth of the house secure in our badassery and in dire need of a drink. This was when I met Metacognizant and ModernAngel who both decided to stay up till the wee hours of dawn with me and drink all the coffee in the house. Meta was introduced to the joys of bourbon and coffee and we all talked in the kitchen till 4:30 when I went for another swim with her. It was even colder and more life affirming.

We saw the sunrise and decided sleep was a good thing but it was not to be. The others begin to rise and so did we as all hands were needed to get the place clean for the realators and I needed to replace to coffee supply before a lynch mob was organized. We did a pretty good job all things considered and it seemed to help Panamaus relax a bit. He assembled us all on the beach for a prayer meeting, after all this was a church outing, and Dave told us about the owners father being three doors down from us. This made us all a little skittish since only eight people were supposed to be staying at the house. We agreed to calm things down and move all the vehicles in the drive to other locals. Sadly though skinny dipping was prohibited before 1am. Afterwards most of the noders took off for an island excursion leaving Jethro Bodine, Metacognizant and I to sleep away the afternoon. After a wonderfuly active morning with Meta I needed a nap.

Fortunately I woke up in time to talk with many new people and see some other friends. Chad was cool as ever and I can now say from personal experience that he does have a phenomenal ass. GanstaFeelsGood spent much time with Disgruntledwren and I was so glad to meet them both. He does look like a gangster, a very crafty one. Miller was friendly and very active with the sharpie, crafting a one of a kind E2 t-shirt for all to envy. We all drank and talked and the time passed all to quickly.

Ted and Laura wanted to head home that night to spend New Years in NOLA and have some privacy. Fair enough. Ken and I couldn't find anyone willing to make a six hour detour so that we could stay to the first so we hads to leave to. I wanted to see WonkoDsane and meet his new love. the gift bearing Radlab0 (she gave me a spaceman). When they finally arrived she was brilliant, one of the only girlfriends of his that I have ever liked. They came bearing an ungodly amount of Shiner Bock and Scott gave me two sixers to take home. They are already gone sir, thank you. We talked for a few minutes more, said our reluctant goodbyes and headed out into the night in Ted's low flying volvo. It was a better weekend than I ever imagined.

Highlights:

Metacognizant
Nightswimming with Bitca
Panamaus is the host with most
Phyllis Stein gave me a seashell
Three fine moons viewed from the couch
General Lee is a riot and always welcome in New Orleans
Discofever snatched the last of the bourbon from my hands, he is wild on whiskey
Pyrogenics cigarette pack art

Meeting people like these is what makes life worth living