Eyes open at 5:30 AM on any recent morning and I'm rolling out of bed trying to find my clothes with the light of my cellphone screen. Cut to a brisk walk down the alley. Brew coffee. Take out the tables. Take out the signs. Turn on the music. Work. Work. Work. Today I worked with Megan, who worked way harder than I did, so I don't know what everyone is complaining about. My co-pilot on Monday and Tuesday is Jessica, who wraps up her last two days at the Alley before being transferred to the Oak Park location. I was thinking about Jessica the other day--how she started as this quiet proper little office assistant and evolved into a badass chick with attitude and a shaved head. Won't be the same without her. Other employees are getting shifted around: Ryan and Huggy have made recent appearances. Meanwhile, the stock market crashes, so business has been slow. People can't even safely invest in a cup of coffee anymore.
Monday night Jenny and I went to deVere's and I taught her the basics of chess while we waited for her friends Lauren and Justin. Another round was had while Jenny and Lauren chatted about the Co-Op and I talked coffee with Justin, who works at Starbucks and builds guitars as a hobby. Nice people. East-coasters, originally. Afterward, we all shared a joint in the backyard by the fire-pit and told stories about our most ridiculous customer interactions.
Tuesday night Jenny made dinner in the kitchen I never use and then we took a photo-walk toward her old apartment and back before meeting with Meg and David for wine in the backyard. Drew joined us. I discovered that I like white wine. We discussed the best ramen houses in Sacramento. David drank rum. Drew drank retro 7-Up. Afterward, Jenny and I watched Amelie with the projector but the projector made the room too hot and when the window was open the mosquitoes came in and I saw more than I did the first time, but still fell asleep before the ending only to wake in a haze during the closing credits.
I've started a screenplay. Gotta keep busy.
Said goodbye to Shaun this morning before he left for Colorado on an 18 hour drive. My little Old Soul brother... I expect nothing but great things for the guy and hope to be reading all about it soon.
Speaking of goodbyes, I'm finding it increasingly difficult to imagine Sacramento without Jenny. I know that life goes on and school will keep me busy and yadda, yadda, yadda, but when we were laying together on the bed and just sort of being, I knew that the comfort and the pleasure and the love would be irreplaceable. It's so perfect. It's dreamy. She's my best friend and she's made Sacramento so wonderful, I know it will take a while to readjust to this city when Jenny is gone. It'll feel unbalanced. It'll feel a little empty. Luckily I know we'll be staying in touch as she discovers South Korea, and luckily we have plans to reunite in Italy and have a messy, torrid life-long love-affair. What the future will bring, neither of us knows for sure, but I mean it when I say that this has been the best summer of my life and for all the right reasons. So before I say "I'll miss you, Jenny," I want to say "Thank you."
Tonight is the AWOLNATION show.
Kill your heroes and fly.
- Left to Fry
No comments:
Post a Comment