A Night at the Vid

When in college, I spent a great deal of time at the Vid. It used to be a small, smoke-filled space with a few pool tables, a hoop shot game, and the greatest bathroom graffiti ever (“I can’t believe Sting is that guy from the Police.” Once you got the nod from Mike, you knew you were golden. (Years after moving away, I would still get the nod.)

Since I’ve left, walls have been torn down and the space expanded, making it more of a “college bro” bar. Ughh. It’s definitely not the same Vid.

I can’t even count how many nights were spent there closing it down over pitchers of Amber Bock and games of darts. Or games of “tell elaborate lies to old men and see what happens.” (Oops.)

On the Mississippi.

Wet Pavement.

Tonight as I walked into my parking garage on my way home from work, I was greeted by a familiar smell and feeling. Something about the combination of wet pavement and reflections of street lights that brings me back to those nights in college where I’d be walking from somewhere. Alone. At an inappropriate hours.

I remember walking home from a friend’s dorm room at 5am on multiple occasions. At the time I thought he could be more than a friend and so I tried to force it and became accustomed to late night movies and sleepovers where nothing happened.

I remember walking home from another friend’s dorm room after thinking maybe there could be something there and watching a meteor shower from atop the roof. There was nothing there, but I thought about it for at least a minute.

I remember walking just to walk, at times when I shouldn’t be.

So now, every time I smell that smell that reminds me of those lonely walks, all these thoughts come flooding back and all I can really say about that is “It’s almost spring.”

* * *

This post was written as a Just Write exercise. A good challenge to get the rust off and find my creativity once more. Bear with me while I attempt to find it!

Check out others’  Just Write posts here.

Work and Play.

And from the archives: selections from a roll of film I processed February 16th, 2003, featuring a study session and a girls’ night. Oh college.

“Bear” With Me.

Summer 2006 - Sloppy Fair Mode

Lately, I’ve been exhausted. Work has been busy, to say the least. And it will be like this for quite a while. A few weeks, at least. The last thing I want to do when I get home is think. Or stare at WORDS on a SCREEN like I’ve done all day.

And so the blog that I had been doing a decent job of filling with content has sat barren. For an entire WEEK. *gasp*

It’ll get better, I know it will. Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

There have been and will still be adventures–they just may not be documented as frequently or with as much fervor.

Patience. (That was a reminder to myself.)