friday's and saturday's child

seven hours later, i was awake again. i went for breakfast with urchin at coffeeholic, which was nice, and returned to hang up the laundry before heading out to the climbing wall.

the wall was tougher than i was, and it went hard with me. at some point i got stuck with a problem, and being told the solution and unable to implement it was more frustrating than i could bear - i don't know how long i was up there, trying and failing repeatedly, before i gave up and came back down, having lost a fair amount of confidence.

at least i know *why*, and that means that i have something to work on.

the sunset rollers had an intense route - it was a beautiful evening, and we spent it fighting hardcore uphills for the first half of it. i got into a few altercations with drivers who were "horn happy" (one of which prompted me to take a photo of the asshole in question), but otherwise it was an excellent evening.

i got home, showered and quickly put together tuna salad. while i was eating i noticed that i'd been invited to the girls from independence day, so as soon i was done i got dressed and went to pay them a visit. the one and a half hours that i was there *flew* by, and i was surprised when my phone reminded me that i had ten minutes to meet scrapper.

daniela spector is brilliant; the performance was great, and i managed (although with a bit of difficulty and two cokes) to keep my eyes open. the encore in particular was fantastic.

i was most pleased when something i said made scrapper *get* it: "so that's what you were saying?! it's taken a half a year of debating just to prepare me!"
specifically, i was referring to the fact that we "contain" every single person we've ever come across, in person or not, but only the parts of those people that they express.
[actually, that's not a fair link. it's corollary, i should be directing you to something of james hillman, a large part of the basis of that link]

i went straight to bed and crashed for an hour, then packed a bag and headed to the girls to wake up with a few sips of coffee and a solid bloody mary. we got in the car and headed for a small and pleasant reserve outside yavne, and i'm very glad we didn't have to pay to get in (it's good to have the best dj of the night in the car). it was absolutely freezing, and was less of a party and more of an "anthropological excursion".

a party of arsim, with bartenders who haven't a clue ("say when" on the vodka??), and revellers* "dancing". not stomping, not letting the music move them, but dancing. it's a weird, fascinating and slightly unsettling motion for trance. we all took the opportunity to get to know each other better and warm up by the fire, and when rev hit the decks we were primed and ready to go - it was an awesome set, and we all found it a bit weird when he was switched out five songs into it.

* drunken louts, one insisting that i give the bartenders a pre-service tip because they're cute

that was our cue to leave. i crashed on the couch for an hour, and then we all went to sit at cafesito for a delightfully silly breakfast.

we all spent the morning together, having a jolly old time and just *being*. gods, i haven't simply enjoyed other people's company like that in a very long time. it was a pity that my teeth suddenly became ultra-sensitive right before lunch :/
the dutch girl was really excited when i brought over some liquorice, and when i left they were just putting the first invader zim dvd in the player...

i met up with a couple of scrapper's friends on their bikes, with my carrying a huge bag of beers in front of me awkwardly, and we were on our way to the birthday party.

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i'm feeling like a sucker, but i don't know any other way to act. gco called me up, and is apparently in trouble and in need of an emergency place to stay. he's okay for the next week, i think, and i made it clear that it can't be for long, but i'm still feeling a little off about agreeing because our most recent encounters and phone calls have been a bit... strange.

like we're not-quite-friends but almost.

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it was really, really, really, really, INSANELY hot. i ran into a couple of people i know on the way, and a lot of unfriendly terrain and unfortunate moments with the bag. scrapper lives a lot farther from the centre of the city than i was prepared for, especially seeing as my legs were still tender from the 22km we did the evening before.

i hit the couch for twenty minutes when we arrived, and returned to life and a tough game of munchkin. i *tried* to cheat, but the bastards caught me out every single time :(
it was a great afternoon / evening, although it turned really cold and i wasn't prepared at all. a couple of us missed dinner, so we ordered pad thai and had very involved discussions (and more beer - did i mention that i drank a lot most of the day? no? well, i did. a lot.) while waiting.

leaving took a couple of hours longer than planned, as i was in no state to roll back and my potential rides kept the absurd and hysterical stories rolling... we left around 11pm, with me dozing off all the way. i showered and brushed my teeth (which were feeling a bit better), and hit my bed for some deep and peaceful dreams.

at least, i think they were peaceful. i definitely dreamed, though.