a good weekend

Friday night Dad and I went camping in northern Ohio. The rain, incessant, cold, unbreakable, continued unabated throughout the night. We tried to keep a fire going, but the wood wouldn’t catch; we had enough time to roast a few bratwurst and ate them cold with sodas and water. The fire sputtered and sizzled as we broke out cheap cigars and sat smoking until the cold numbed us and our teeth chattered and our fingers ached. We crawled into the tent and played a game of chess—I won in about twelve minutes due to my father making a ridiculous move leaving his King open—and then we slept. The hard was ground, and I tossed and turned, and I had forgotten a pillow, and the foot of my sleeping bag became puddled with water. When dawn came we got up and used a small gas grill to cook bacon and pancakes, and then we went canoeing on the placid and crystal-clear Mad River. Most of the river was cocooned in trees, and even in the midday it became chilly.

Saturday night I spent the evening at the house alone. Beforehand I went to Jessie’s work and got a large iced caramel macchiato—vanilla, caramel, espresso in chilled milk—so I didn’t fall asleep until 3 or 4:00 in the morning. It was good, though: I spent the time hammering out fifteen intricate pages in a potential novel entitled “The Toothless Kiss of Skeletons.” I have been doing considerable research in order to make the story believable.

Monica came over Sunday and we made spaghetti and then sat on the porch and talked. That night I went to my Thai friend Sa-Rah’s birthday party at Gambill’s house. Lots of people showed up: Sa-Rah (obviously), me (obviously), Gambill (again, obviously; it’s his house), as well as Jessie, Katie M., Deshay, Caleb C., Brian W., Kyle, Avon, and Kugler—and maybe some others, I’m not sure. Sa-Rah fixed pineapple fried rice for dinner, Jessie made cupcakes, and Kyle built the fire. People left in droves, and by 9:30 it was just me, Gambill, Jessie, Kugler, and Sa-Rah. Gambill’s small dog with throat cancer ate chocolate and we tried to induce vomiting but it just got mad and started hissing and growling at me.