another two days down - part i

[post divided retroactively]

there's me gliding along the beachfront waterways on my surfboard, avoiding monsters at dusk. i turn into a side-street, into an enclosed neighbourhood, just beginning to buzz. the first circular stairs are uninviting, so i go on to the next; climbing up to the landing and unsure of which way to turn.

i'm staring out at the gorgeous view and wandering what i'm aiming for when akiva - a tall, blonde south african - storms out his door at the opposite end of the foyer to chuck me out for trespassing. i try to explain but he tries to forcefully remove me, going so far as to attempt punching me in the 'nads.
i don't take well to this, i protect myself then punch him squarely in the face before locking up his arms... once he's calmed down we talk amiably. the enormous window through which i'd been viewing the sunset has turned out to be a gigantic movie screen - i compliment the awesome setup before we say goodbye and he goes back inside.

i'm descending the stairs, but now at the bottom is a lawn and it's daylight; there's a table with breakfasters blocking my way and i stop about five stairs up. there is a lady wearing black petticoats and a hood bent down on the grass and a fence that rises just to my waist-height behind her.
i'm looking for a gap to drop into when a little girl arrives, whose motion seems so unpredictable that i pause mid-movement and require the top of the fence to keep me from landing on anyone.

the man at the table eyeballs me as i wait, a little less patiently. "that's the queen, you know" he tells me. twice. i'm not sure what he means by that, and i drop down into the gap that's just reopened. as i land, the queen (still bent over) half turns towards me.
i bow.
no response.
i'm not sure she's noticed my gesture, so i take a step sideways and bow again - formally and a bit awkwardly.

the queen rises.
the queen salutes.
i salute back.
i wish her a good morning.

i turn and walk away, seeing her smile and face her companion, saying something in french about a "lieutenant" that makes me suspect she's detected my officerness. i grin and march smartly off.

---it's tuesday already? this is ridiculous.

saturday night:
i semi-studied (it was hard to focus); pg watched the tigger movie. i had dinner at her place, and then slept like a baby.

sunday:

on sundays we can go to class together. we got on the same bus as eidetic and the chemist - amusing - as well as a girl i did the officer's course with - not so amusing.

i recounted my security guard experience on our way through the gates, asking out loud if i *look* like an arab. then i remembered two things.
1) i'm not in the army anymore, so being an arab isn't supposed to be threatening to our security guards
2) i have a student card on which i look like i was captured from a terrorist cell

i felt like an ass for having asked...

the day began with two boring lectures. the second one was less so than the first, but i was bored because there were things i wanted to say but other people got there first.
the ultra-sensitive guy from wednesday managed to offend me back... we talked, things were cool, i stuck out my hand to shake his as i was turning to leave and he just left me hanging :P

i had lunch with comixer and the chemist, we talked about his project (i got to be helpful!) and then got political. dreary conversations, those.

between buses, pink floyd - dogs came on and i was transported back to yogi's old crib's couch, pre-military. i couldn't stop smiling when i thought of how much i've overcome and how little i've changed in my appreciation of the finer things in life. quite the opposite, actually - i'm proud of how i've come through :)

i learned not to take the 45; it doesn't get me home. i took the opportunity to go and buy ink for my printer, feeling sorry for the miserable-looking "best-dressed" goth dude (totally didn't suit him) and having a good laugh at the old guy who whizzed past the bus on rollerblades with a brightly-coloured walking stick.

i got a good deal on the ink, dropped it off at home and strapped on my blades to get to work. i know winter's coming because i wasn't sweating so much when i arrived...
the hours i did weren't particularly constructive. they were quite frustrating, actually. i was intrigued by one of the best / worst ads i've ever come across:
do you haz teh codez?
sheesh.

[continued...]