Welcome back

Even though my boss gave me the day off, I went into the office for a couple hours to get some work done. It's the least I could do for the favor of lett me off for a couple days on a moment's notice. Around ten, he told me to get the hell out, and he'll see me on Tuesday.

I got back home just after Sid woke up. We got everything loaded up and hit the road. The trip down, we listened to a couple mix CDs Sid whipped up of music we listened to back in the day. Most of them we were rocking out to, while some of them made us cringe they were so damn cheesy.

We were there in no time. We pulled into the hotel and listened to one more song before going inside.

Jesus, my needs are pretty simple sometimes. Once we got to the hotel, I totally geeked out over the free internet. Anyway, we dropped off our stuff in the room and went for a drive.

Most of the old stomping grounds are still there, but most of the places we went to because they were all run down and really good for listening to the Cure are now upscale shopping centers. All of the cool places we went to mock the conformists are now the run down places. It's like an alternate reality.

Sid had the horrible idea of driving past my old house, only to see that it's been razed into a parking lot. Ironic, really because my mom used to yell at us for parking on the lawn. My folks moved out of town after I went to college. Going to their new house doesn't feel like home at all. It was kinda depressing to be standing on ashpalt where my old kitchen used to be.

I suggested we get seriously bummed and visit Sid's old home, even though his family moved as well. He reminded me that they all lived in a trailer. When they moved, they really moved. I guess it's all a sign that you can never go home.

We had skipped lunch, so Sid suggested Emily's Restaurant. This was a place we spent a lot of time at as teenagers, mostly because Nicky worked there and got us the occasional free appetizer. Once we were seated, we both decided to play an old game we used to play whenever we went to a place we hadn't been to in a while. We'd each fake a mental illness, just to mess with the wait staff. Sid called dibs on Kleptomania, which is what I was gonna call. My moment of cursing him led me to deciding on Tourette's Syndrome. I'd pepper my conversation with little outbursts, being careful not to piss off the management, while Sid was filching silverware and the occasional salt shaker. It was a welcome distraction from all of the anxiety I've had about this trip.

We got the call from Nicky and made plans for drinks with everyone later. Ugh...deep breath, deep breath, calm blue ocean.