Florida Visit

So Brother Fed came to Colorado as a surprise with his buddy Raheem. They drove up last week sometime, and stayed for a few days. He asked if I wanted to drive back with him to FL to do one final round of goodbyes and when he threw in there a stop by New Orleans I agreed to drive most of the way. I figure to do this right since it's been so long since my last post it would have to be in segments:

Road Trip:
True to my road-trip form, I drove about 75% of the time, Fed was at most times a faithful co-pilot and our third amigo was scarcely awake for longer than 25 minutes. I'm convinced Fed injects our trip partners with mild sedatives before every trip. (See facebook albums for roadtrip with Kyle or Floppy and Me with Edison)

New Orleans was as we had left it, dirty and with an overabundance of alcohol. Our hotel was the Colonial Hotel on Colonial street (Actually the Canal Hotel, but after several hand grenades they all look the same). We did the burboun street thing and the next morning had an unsucessful trip to find Grandpa Elliot in the French Quarter.

Our hotel was located (I'm not joking) practically under an overpass, and if you're driving on the highway through New Orleans you'll see the Canal Street Hotel sign literally hanging over into the shoulder lane. So really, I was just happy to leave there alive.

Florida:
Florida was also much the same as the last time I had been. Hot, Humid, and full of beautiful women. Gainesville is a constant life rendition of an Ambercrombie Spring Fashion Catalogue, and I can only assume that I will miss the scenery when I'm overseas.

Lots of drinking with lots of great friends, and it's bittersweet to see them all again. It's finally sank in this last visit to my home state that it will be a very long time before I see any of these people again. Years before I can offend Jason with an inappropriate nickname, and then smooth it over by some weak compliment, years before I can help Maddox out of a bind he's found himself in, or before I can call again on the one friend I know is always there for me no matter what I did how how stupid it was. Hah, maybe it's because I've had to help maddox so many times, that the few times I make huge blunders he drops everything to be there for me. It's reassuring, and I'll miss that kind of friendship.

Florida has been a tour of sorts, I started in G-ville, drove down the turnpike and back up I-75. Saw HOTDAN in Orlando, and did our Wild Wings ritual outing, and kept south the next day to the 305. My miami misfit crew is doing great for themselves and they make me more proud of them every day. Diego and Andres are working on a full length film, and just came back from an all expenses paid trip to Scotland to showcase another film they made last year. Eric finally graduated, and is looking to be on a great track. Pair that with bad driving, noone speaking english, being cut off on kendall drive by a cement truck, and grape soda with lunch, and it's a more relieving refreshing feel of being back in the city where you grew up than I can even explain.

Up I-75 I found RelaKyle in tampa. Kyle is a man of few sober words, and so you have to treat the smaller things for the messages that they are. We met at a bar near his house, and when he showed up wearing his 50 cc's of Fury shirt and simply nodded hello, I was like "yea, it's great to see you too man". Haha.. ahh... 50 cc's of fury... the biggest baddest biker gang in gainesville. Another one of my half baked ideas that actually turned into something tangible.

So with a spontenaity that cannot be matched, after his 3rd beer Kyle asked if he could come with me to Gainesville... I mean, why not? This is also the kid that signed up for a 20 day 9,000 mile road trip on a whim the week before it happened. (Me and Fed weren't sure he was actually coming until he showed up all packed that morning).

Back to gainesville again, more of the same. Beer specials, eating too much, forcing Maddox to come out with me, and meeting up with people around town. Eric the bartender which never ceases to amaze gave me an incredible $6 night at gator city, and many of my favorite gainesville memories include running into him at the bar and chilling with friends.

There's something very simple about gainesville that makes it very uneventful while wildly differnet every time you go out.
Monday - Beer Pong at SilverQ
Tuesday - Quartermania
Wednesday - MidTown Ladies Night
Thursday - DownTown Ladies Night
Friday - anywhere...
Saturday - $5 all you can drink at Grogg
Sunday - Recover
Rinse and Repeat.

And while doing it all again has been a blast, every day it sinks in more that it's going to be over very soon. I feel like I'm going out even more these days, and partying even harder because I'm realizing that it's all going to very drastically change very soon.

I've had trouble falling asleep the past few nights, not out of fear or worry, but simply out of anticipation nerves. Thinking about how things will be, what I'll experience, what I'll truly miss that I never expected.

Tonight's my last night in Gainesville, the last time I'll see 95% of my friends for 2 years, and it's getting very real.

Are we going with Fed to Owen's? Am I going somewhere I havent been in a while? What would be the best way to do the last night? Do I do nothing at all and let it all soak in?

Either way It's going to have to involve Dan Massey. King Gainesville himself. If it's monday and I dont have fixed plans, I go support Dan the Man at the SilverQ BP Tournament. I dont know how someone who acts so cocky, and full of himself, who takes so much shit from me because he acts bullet-proof, can be the most welcoming host I know. Dan is probably the best friend I know in that sense. I have never met anyone who is just so nice, and complimentary, and all around welcoming and warm, while at the same time being a blast to hang out with, and gives you a lot to laugh at with the situations he finds himself in. DRAMA BEATS. Many of our girlfriend's have pointed out that it's annoying that we at times give each other more attention than them, but hey it's Dan the Man... what can I say?

We're going to run the world soon Doctor.

So ya. 2 weeks left. no more emails, text messages, internet, videos, or facebook to my phone. No phone at all hopefully.

I'll keep you all posted. In the meatime I'm smokin 'em while I got 'em. 4 months of being sober starts tomorrow, TB medication mandated by the peace corps.

Sorry for the epic long post. But it's been weeks and there's a lot of goodbyes to say.

G