Party.

[icebluenothing]

Went to a party tonight. I haven't been doing well at parties lately for some reason.

This was a birthday party for my friend Mindy, whom I've had a great big crush on ever since college and whom I lost track of for years and whom I'm thrilled to have back in my life -- she's warm and bright and friendly and happy and simply fabulous.

The party had some strange puzzle-solving game going on, with riddles and clues everywhere, and it looked like people were having fun -- but I hate puzzles and games, so I mostly hid downstairs at first and amused myself with books and the cat. treebyleaf, on the other hand, was being vivacious and outgoing and talkative. This, I think, indicates a deeper imbalance in the ways of the universe, an inversion of the natural order. I eventually was lured upstairs with birthday cake and ended up having a good time despite myself.

At one point late in the evening, retcon and treebyleaf and I were downstairs when the cat got up and growled and glared out the window, and we looked to see what had caught its attention. It was a huge raccoon, standing there staring in at us for at least a full minute, perfectly confident and calm. It was marvelous.

We eventually said goodnight to the birthday girl and headed off our separate ways. Riff was a little concerned about me finding my way home, since I'd had to follow him to the party, but I assured him I'd be fine.

On my way home, I pondered that; the fact that while I don't really know the streets of Seattle well yet, I never really seem to get lost. I have yet to drive myself anywhere I couldn't find my way home from; I have a decent sense of direction.

So when I'd reached home and realized I wasn't tired of driving yet, I decided to test that. I took a wrong turn and kept going.

And while I did, eventually, end up back on familiar streets and easily found my way home, I spent a good long while in completely unfamiliar territory. There's something odd I really like about cruising down strange, winding residential streets in the middle of the night, 120+BPM techno pumping out of my speakers and into my blood, looking out at all the darkened houses and knowing all the Good People are asleep in their beds.

At one point, I saw a sign I've never seen before: "No Center Line." Sure enough, I found myself on a featureless wide black ribbon of road, black sky and blacker trees silhouetted against it. And I felt the exultant feeling I was looking for so hard back in November -- This is it. Here I am. I'm finally off the map.