Thursday March 27 2014

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☼ ○ ▬

A movie is being shot in a room where I'm attempting to catch some sleep. I pile into the scene and curl up into the corner out of the way. The director, not expecting my presence, takes a liking to my spontaneous part. Cecily's motherly nurturing side comes out and she wraps her arms around me. Even though nothing's really wrong with me I continue with my role. The scene is over and everybody leaves...

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I have a small bag of mushroom-shaped glass reminiscent to the pigmented glass bongs you'd smoke weed out of. Inside of these are encased psychedelic mushrooms that are supposedly worth about $1000. None of it makes any sense especially the reason why I have these in my possession. I'm scheduled to meet with someone to hand them over. With two buddies of mine by the bank of a lake. We grab a canoe and attempt to paddle to an island made of parachute material. The canoe fails. And now some people are after me desperately trying to steal these mushrooms back. I'm running in and out of alleyways of what's understood to be Blacksburg. I manage to creep inside a barn where African animals are housed. A gang of monkeys and baboons surround me. One of them grabs my arm. A couple pre-teen girls, understood to be the drug lord's daughters (the ones who are after me), have found me and force me to hand over the mushrooms. It turns into a less hostile situation when the older one takes a liking to me – we start kissing and I pretend to be her age – pretending to be in love for the first time.

▬ ○ ☼

At 10:32 a.m. I officially open my eyes to the ominous steeple of the church next door watching over me through the trapezoid shaped windows. Mango, the cat with a cow coat hops up on the bed and vies for affection.

Getting brunch at Gillie's across the street. We just missed breakfast but I make do with an amazing Focaccia Pizza with Salmon, Mushrooms, and Spinach. Will claims to have a hollow leg where his body stores all the insane amounts of food he consumes.

It's hiking for us today. We drive on the windy-squiggly back roads littered with farmhouses, cows, and silos. We encounter a pasture of alpacas down at the bottom of the slope, not something any of us expected to find here, but there they are with their puffy camel-like faces and funny-looking features.  

At the hike site. Our destination: Dragon's Tooth. It's about a 5-mile hike up the mountain roundtrip. It intersects with the Appalachian Trail. Some parts are still snowy and muddy, and other parts are dry and rocky. It's challenging and rewarding.

Ana's Pochohantas Theme:

We reach the top of the peak of Dragon's Tooth, a collection of long jagged rock formations standing proudly at the highest point of the mountain. Climbing atop the rocks – nourishing ourselves with homemade Granola bars and various fruits and snacks. A fellow hiker we meet is in the progress of walking the whole trail – he started in Georgia and hopes to finish in Maine. We offer him one of the granola bars for sustenance. Will and I manage to reach the highest point on the cliffs. Feeling strong gusts of wind that make you feel like you could fly off at any moment. Will points out that just being up here and knowing that just one false move could send you plummeting to your death "really makes you feel alive". I couldn't agree more.

While catching our breath and relaxing on the rocks we come up with the silly idea to film our rendition of 127 Hours with Will getting his arm stuck in a crevice and being forced to cut off his arm with a pocket knife. 

We make it back to the car in one piece and with our spirits rejuvenated.

Dinner at The Cellar, a crowded dark-lit basement bar. Getting Black Bean Gyros with Curly Fries. Sharing some kind of dark ale with Will and James.

Back at the cathouse for special brownies, haircuts, and card games. Going through the photos with the Photo Council as we like to call the process of going through the pictures, deleting the unworthy moments, and keeping the cherished ones.

...

I had a little piece of the special brownies but I wasn't expecting to be affected by it in any real way. Later, I feel it creep up on me after Becca finishes cutting my hair.

...

Cuddling with Ana on the air mattress Becca provided for us. James is sleeping on the couch next to us. We giggle for 30 minutes straight at every noise and move he makes on the couch. We can't control it. She had one of the brownies too. We keep saying silly things to each other and acting humorously paranoid about the cats.

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[i] All images by me or Ana.

Wednesday March 26 2014

[i]

Waking up bright and early at 9:40 a.m. Onward to Blacksburg in the wagon – I'm at the wheel, Ana by my side in the passenger seat, Will and James in the backseat.

Coffee with Coconut Creamer. Grapefruit and Clementines. Chocolate Honey Peanut Butter Almond Granola Bars.

While James snoozes I engage with Will in a discussion on various topics such as the future of civilization, the digital age's effect on spiritually and the changing of values and culture, numerology, etc. 

Snacking on Baked Salt n Vinegar Chips and more of those Granola Bars.

On I-64, loop around Richmond, to I-81, and deep in the southwestern mountains of VA – the snow covers the surface of the hilly farmhouse landscapes. This is sort of my first road trip with Ana. She's got her paid week's vacation and I'm certain she's enjoying the liberating feeling of getting out of town, as am I. I have fond memories from days of yore in Blacksburg, from all the Tokyo tours – playing basement and house shows with our fellow musicians in The House Floor. It seems like such a long time ago...and it was. 

We link up with Becca once we arrive in downtown. She's watching over two little Chihuahuas. This grabs Ana's attention right off the bat.

We check out some of the thrift stores from the last time we were here. Gathering all the interesting items, some functional and some not so functional. At one of the thrift shops while each of us are checking out another man in his 40's is also waiting and seems to get impatient while the lady bags some items. He storms off and mutters to himself, but just enough for us to hear, "This is ridiculous...these faggot ass bitches..." It was kind of hard to catch but Will and I definitely heard it. What he said was completely uncalled for but I didn't take too much offense. It just didn't make any sense. He was only two people behind in line. Will describes the reason for his behavior, "He probably led a mentally frustrating life of ignorance."

We pick up Tim from the cathouse – he's the manager of a coffee shop in Christiansburg and a friend of Becca's. I like to call it the cathouse because of the three cats that roam about, not to mention the porch cats that live out in the street. We all caravan to Café Mekong, a Viet-Thai restaurant – Tim, Becca, Kai, James, Will, Ana, and I.

Sharing Shrimp Pad Thai, Chinese Broccoli, and Green Tea with Ana.

We got invited to TOTS (which stands for top of the stairs), a comedy club down the street. Some black comedian made known on BET somehow is performing a standup act. Sipping on a Shock Top. Ana enjoys her fruity Bahama Mama mixed drink.

Then to the London Underground for foosball and more drinks. I spot Pete, the drummer of The House Floor, there. We probably haven't seen each other in many years since he moved to Brooklyn with the band. Now he's back here, the band broken up and with scattered lives across the country.

Settling into the humble old house where Tim resides. Ana and I cuddle under the thick comforters we brought and sift through all the photos that were taken today, determining which ones to delete and touching up a few. The cats provide plenty of entertainment and don't hesitate to lie down at the foot of the pullout bed.

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[i] Images by me, Becca, or Ana.