doug nelson: DISENGAGE!

Friday

9:15 am: Arrive at work. Contemplate day’s list of tasks, which is oddly spare.

12:30 pm: Subway with Joe and Patrick. Upon return, breakroom lunch is yet again an awkward experience.

3 pm: Home I go, to pack.

3:30 pm: I decide not to empty my trunk, and just drive to C-ville.

4:30 pm: I am still inside the Beltway. Stupid……other drivers.

5 pm: Incredible atmospheric shiz. I take photos of it while driving because, well, I’m stupid.

7 pm: Arrival at Mele’s. I walk to the Teahouse.

7:20 pm: Mele is not at the Teahouse. I wander around, looking afeared and unhip, only to call her and find out that I’ve actually beaten her to it. Reunion.

7:40 pm: The night’s guests begin showing up to say goodbye to Mele. Nick and Layna (awesome) show up with Butch and….and that other cool girl (Butch is in a Dead Kennedies/Bad Religion cover band called Dead Religion) at there as well, but I don’t really talk to them.

8:00 pm: Yerba mate and noodle bowls. I talk with Jess about reptiles and amphibians for about half an hour.

8:30 pm: Chimney Swifts begin to descend on the old smokestack outside the teahouse. We watch in fascination.

9:00 pm: Nick and Layna have to leave, we move inside. Matt, a friend from Mele’s commune, and I get into a long conversation about DC culture, politics, Stephen Colbert, and Kyudo (it turns out Matt practices Kyudo on a regular basis. Mele’s friends are awesome).
11:50 pm leaving takes forever, as more people come and go (and ambush us on the way out). We return to the cottttage to see exactly how packed Mele’s stuff is (pretty packed).

SATURDAY

9:00 am: Asleep.

9:30 am: Alarm goes off, gets snoozed.

10 am: “Wait, did the alarm go off?”
me: “Yeah, but you hit snooze.”
Mele: “Oh, man. I don’t even remember that.”

10:30 am: Rushed pack-and-prepare for an 11 am meeting with someone who wants Mele’s futon.

11 am: Futon lifting and moving.

12:15 pm: THE ROAD.

2:30 pm: Appointment in Chantilly with a guy whose buddy “works for Heritage and is just trying to clear out these mattresses.” Mele and I exchanged sketched-out looks. The guy says delivery is 90 bucks, but “It’s so simple to just tie it to your car, man. You can buy some rope.”

3 pm: We tie the mattress to the roof of my car using the purchased rope and Mele’s fancy knot-tying. I am terrified.

3:15 pm: Target and Quizno’s, for bedding and sandwichy goodness.

3:35 pm: Oh man: Up 66, feeling those mattresses hop and skip on top of the car, this idea feels like more and more of a terrible, life-changing mistake. Traffic is slow, thank God.

4:00 pm: Traffic on the beltway is significantly faster. I can feel the wind dragging on the mattresses as I try to pull the rope as taut as possible. When gusts hit the car, the rope jerks up four inches.

4:10 pm: I pull over on 495, pull the rope tighter, slam the door on it again, and get back on the highways.

4:15 pm: I pull over again, this time to re-tie the entire mess. I have a bad feeling about the knots I’ve made.

4:20 pm: Nearby cars begin to honk at me, I tear across two lanes and come to rest right before the Glen Echo exit on 495.

4:25 pm: I have no idea what to do at this point. I have two mattresses I can’t transport, my cell phone is dying, and I’m in a narrow merge lane most van services wouldn’t dare stop in.

4:30 pm: I call Leina’ala.

4:45 pm: Leina’ala arrives, my savior in a killer black pickup truck. I thank her profusely.

5:20 pm: Arrival at Mele’s new place. We thank Leina’ala, commence unpacking and waiting for landlord.

9 pm: Return to my apartment, get Thai food, watch three episodes of Twin Peaks.

SUNDAY:

12pm: Target for various goods.

1:50 pm: Goodwill, where I find a nearsucker jacket that fits me perfectly (but is still, of course, entirely useless).

2:30 pm: To the MALL, to pick up work/check for me and wander around Hecht’s, looking disappointed.

4 pm: Mele is returned to Rockville, and I retire to Arlington finish up a book and play my new copy of RE4.