This Is How We Live It Up In My Town

Every time I look down at my left big toe, I want to wash it off. It looks like I spilled ink all over it, or some kind of dark dirt. The stain, however, is not ink. It's a big ugly bruise I got when a girl accidentally tipped a stool onto it.

And for all that my toe hurts, my calves hurt worse for all the dancing I did. We went out to celebrate Thursday night when Roommate's co-workers invited us. I ran into an old co-worker of my own at the place we'd elected to 'check out.' I talked, laughed, and later danced with exuberance as though no one were watching. I only hope no one was.

Friday, I had to do something about the banana pops I'd begun to make Thursday in anticipation of people coming over to celebrate with us. I brought them to Erin's apartment to share with her household and their 'underneighbors.' We (three underneighbors, Erin, and I) then piled into Erin's car and went downtown to the Jazzhaus to see Russian Discussion, because Erin wanted to. And, now that I'm officially going to Japan, I want to live it up as much as I can in Lawrence, and spend as much time as I can with these people.

Brittany, underneighbor Nick, and Erin: The Night They Switched Shoes

We danced at the Jazzhaus, too.

Couldn't resist trying to take this photo because of the way these two guys are right in front of their respective Jazzhaus window silhouettes! Blurry, for no flash.

Later in the night (once the restaurant was shut down), Heath arrived to join us, because he knows the lead singer of the band. At some point at the Jazzhaus, I thought about how I'd spent two consecutive nights now with two different groups of friends, and had great times both nights. And neither, I may add, included D$. The ambivalence I feel at the prospect of having him back in my life is, I think, connected to this.

Because just think. A year ago, I didn't know any of these people, hadn't been to any of these places. And now I feel more comfortable with some of them than I do with people I've known for years. I'm not sure this means it would be like that any place at any time. I just like knowing it happened; I came, I saw, I made friends before it was time to go.