in medias res

Mondays in May

I don’t remember Mondays lasting this long. Last night, I got in from another (my official, originally planned turn) trip to Memphis. I couldn’t leave Tallahassee until that Saturday morning because I had to take my Spanish language proficiency exam. Most people brought in an old Spanish/English dictionary. I brought in a grammar book, two dictionaries, and various writing utensils (just in case). I was THAT girl.

Despite my meager Spanish college classes where my amigos composed ballads for our cute, single teacher (such as “dar me some secretos puntos”), I think I did well. But I was pretty groggy because, the night before, I decided to celebrate the last day of classes with some friends at the Bradfordville Blues Club. I felt like a cool cat. The directions were to drive out to the northernmost point of Tallahassee and take a right. When you’ve gone down the road so far you think you’re lost, you’ll see two tiki torches on the side of the road. Take a right and head up the road that the DOT has only heard of in stories. When you see the cinder block building with a bonfire and you can smell the fish frying, you’re there. We were far enough from the lights of the town to have a really nice night sky. I hate that I’m discovering this gem as I’m leaving the city. I hereby vow to go every weekend that I’m actually here.

I was still groggy and humming from the blues when I started my trip to Memphis. I broke up the trip by taking pictures of the 16-foot tall scrap metal rooster, the sign for Tri-State Casket Sales, and Mollywood with its life-size Elvis. When I finally got to Memphis, we walked over to the pizza café to meet his friend for dinner – the first of many body-sabotaging meals. We were more productive than usual. We had three days where he worked on stories and I worked on my thesis. We went running several times, watched movies, played with his friends, and ate. I went pillow-shopping and for pedicures with my P.F. (potential friend). We also had a two-man whiffle ball tournament, several Scrabble standoffs, and we got caught up on episodes of Lost.

Overall, we had a fantastic time. I forgot how easy it is when we’re together. I guess I took that for granted when he lived here. One of his friends had a cookout at her vintage house. Both she and her husband are artists, and nothing in this house is ordinary. We sat around a bonfire and told our stories. We visited his buddy at his new job at the coffee shop just so we could give him tips. We napped. It was ten kinds of nice. That’s probably why today felt so long. Grades are due tomorrow so I’m double-checking everything. And I’m putting on the brakes and hoping that the summer lasts a little longer. OR that I develop mad Herculean academic skeeellz. This time, I promise not to be picky.

posted by tara @ 9:49 PM