Sunny Day, Sweeping the Clouds Away
*April 24, 2007
In the May of 2005, I was living with my friend Lindi in a 400-square-foot apartment in The Village, a community of apartments in central Dallas. The apartment was her father's--he worked from Dallas a few months out of every year and found it prudent to keep an apartment. He wasn't using it anymore, so he let us squat there for our first few weeks in Dallas, which allowed us time to explore the city and decide where it was we would want to rent our own apartment when the time came.
I didn't work for the first few weeks I was in Dallas. While I had secured my first grown-up job, I wanted some time after college ended to breathe and relax before jumping into full-blown adulthood. Since Lindi's father spent most of his time working when he stayed in Dallas, the apartment was spare: an IKEA rocking chair, a futon, a TV with rabbit ears that sat on a black plastic media stand.
During those lazy weeks of my last summer vacation ever, my friends and I spent the days trying to figure out the city, and at night we'd swim in the apartment pool, staying out much later than the pool's hours allowed. Sometimes we drank; sometimes we fought. Once we were told to be quiet by apartment security, though we didn't obey. We were floating in some sort of limbo, and we all knew that the time we had was precious, though we never spoke this fact aloud to one another. We could literally count the seconds that were rapidly ticking off our youth.
Although we were smack in the middle of the city, the old rabbit ears picked up only a few channels: a local news channel, a Spanish channel, and PBS. To save myself from the existential dread of growing up, I'd wake in the mornings and watch Sesame Street. I grew up on Sesame Street and learned from it my alphabet, my colors, how to count, how to make cheese and crayons, how to ice fish. In those tough, hungover mornings after spending a couple hours in my car the night before crying to Rufus Wainwright's "In a Graveyard" on repeat, Sesame Street was my therapy.
You live in Dallas and you act like it is some big city. How pretentious can you get?
- Posted by Anonymous | April 24, 2007 2:52 PM
That was hard time for all of us. Of course living in a one bedroom apartment can make life tougher for everyone. I am glad that I at least had my own room at my Grandfather's-- even if he was passive aggressive enough to actually throw his own dishes away because he wanted me to clean them.
We all lived to tell the tale though. I love Dallas life now.
- Posted by Sarah | April 24, 2007 2:52 PM
Yesssss! My first mean comment! Mean comments SO make blogging worth it.
Thanks.
- Posted by Spring | April 24, 2007 2:54 PM
To Spring’s “Anonymous Commenter”
I will have you know that in the Dallas/Fort Worth area we have over 6 million people. We are also larger in area than the entire state of New Jersey. What do you have to say about that?
In addition, I find it pretentious that you like to leave lame ass comments anonymously.
When you have something interesting to say please leave comments, otherwise I wish you would stop acting like a 13-year-old, adolescent who likes to post bullying comments on people’s myspace pages.
This happens to be a page that grown-ups read.
- Posted by Sarah | April 24, 2007 3:01 PM
Ha ha ha. You're so pretentious. Whatever.
That summer you described reminds me of the summer I spent in Wichita. I lived with my best friend and all we did was fight. It was horrible and unexpected. Now things are fine, but all we did was survive it.
- Posted by Deborah | April 24, 2007 3:11 PM
Seriously Spring, stop being so prenentious would you? I mean, really. Ha.
I miss the days of Sesame Street. I always liked it when Kermit made an appearance.
- Posted by Molly | April 24, 2007 3:22 PM
And of course I meant pretentious. Sigh...it's been a long day.
- Posted by Molly | April 24, 2007 3:23 PM
Ah, hahaha. Dallas is effing enormous! For chrissake, it takes 45 minutes to get anywhere. Douchebag anonymous commentator.
It's true that it is not "the city" or something. That title belongs to NYC. But sheesh. It is pretty big. Which makes me damn proud of the fact that I know this Metroplex like the back of my hand.
- Posted by Katy | April 24, 2007 3:44 PM
I love the Shrek 2 soundtrack. That's exactly what puts me in the good mood.
Oh and the political battle has started! I got my first invite (for the wrong party). Did you get one of those in your e-mail?
- Posted by Ry | April 25, 2007 11:39 AM