Prelude to darkness
May 2-4 weekend 2001 and Aleks' departure to Germany.
Aleks, Chalmers, Brittany and I went to Georgette's farmhouse. Sean and Georgette had broken up a while back, and Sean had gone into self-imposed exile. Even at this point, when it seemed like Sean was coming out his "time out" with us, we seemed to find it easier to hang out with Georgette. This time that I am writing about was the beginning of my second drinking phase, when I had stopped taking my psychiatric meds and let alcohol be my drug instead. This was also during my friends' period of dabbling with marijuana. For the Victoria Day celebration we brought with us some 2-4s (of course) and some fire-crackers. Aleks set off some bottle rockets and yelled "Fire in the hole!!" I was like "Dude, you're giving me flashbacks to 'Nam."
Aleks and I brought our guitars and played a song we wrote with the embarasssing working title of "Slouching Tide". We had formed a two person band called Distribution, which was shortened from the original Illicit Lip Distributors. One time we went to the University music building to use one of their practice rooms, and we were politely told by security to move along.
That night we gathered a bunch of wood together and Georgette lit a huge bonfire. We sat out drinking, and watching the stars come out. Later that nightGeorgette's brother, his friends, and Chalmers hot boxed a tracter. Chalmers was so stoned that he did not descend the stairs, but, rather, fell the full 4 feet or more to the ground. Everybody laughed, including Chalmers.
The next night we did more of the same. Chalmers was blamed for moving a tent to the middle of a cornfield. We all laughed as he vehemently denied it.
The next morning I felt sick. I attributed it to the booze but I sick with a srtange illness, which I will talk about later, for a week afterwards.
We went home and later we we went to Britt's place to watch what became the cult film for our group: The Big Lebowski. We all adopted identities from the film. Aleks was dubbed Walter, the cranky Vietnam vet, Chalmer was honoured with the title of The Dude. I apparently was Donny, the space cadet, and of course Britt was Maud the crazy, naked painter.
I went home, and for the next week or so, I was over-taken with a strange illness. I felt chills and aches. I didn't have a fever but I felt like I did. I had severe insomnia but I hardly moved from my bed at all. Most of all, I had strange thoughts that I could even begin to describe. I eventually recovered in time to to join the festivities of Aleks' departure to Germany to do his internship at Volkswagonin Wolfsburg.
Aleks was lucky enough to have two going away parties. The first was held by Trish (whose infamy in our circle will not be mentioned here). I had bought a huge bottle of Jack Daniels Whisky and had nearly finishe it off in moderation over the last few months. I took it with me. I drank beer ate chips and salsa and played Trsh's electric guitar. At some point Aleks dared me to chug the whisky. Now, I'm not big on the taste of Jack Daniels on the best of occasions, but this stuff taken straight and a lot at a time caused a gag relfex, and I threw up all over Trish's amp and around the floor. The vomit was diligently cleaned up, and I was cut off for the night.
The next night we had a second party at our favourite pub, The Poacher's Arm. Many people showed up. At one point Brittany made an overly sentimemtal toast to Aleks and "to good times, and always being together, and all of us being in the same retirement home..." My friend, Neil, was like "God, this getting depressing. Our friend, Matt piped up "To elbows!" and we all cheersed with our elbows, effectively shutting up the sob story which was Britt's toast. I started feeling depressed somewhere near the end of the night, thinking of Aleks leaving (yess Britt wasn't the only overly sentimental one). Being off my meds and drinking didn't help matters either.
The next day, Chalmers and I went over to Aleks' place to say our goodbyes. This was the last time Aleks saw me before my "regeneration". A lot happened to me before I saw him again...
Aleks, Chalmers, Brittany and I went to Georgette's farmhouse. Sean and Georgette had broken up a while back, and Sean had gone into self-imposed exile. Even at this point, when it seemed like Sean was coming out his "time out" with us, we seemed to find it easier to hang out with Georgette. This time that I am writing about was the beginning of my second drinking phase, when I had stopped taking my psychiatric meds and let alcohol be my drug instead. This was also during my friends' period of dabbling with marijuana. For the Victoria Day celebration we brought with us some 2-4s (of course) and some fire-crackers. Aleks set off some bottle rockets and yelled "Fire in the hole!!" I was like "Dude, you're giving me flashbacks to 'Nam."
Aleks and I brought our guitars and played a song we wrote with the embarasssing working title of "Slouching Tide". We had formed a two person band called Distribution, which was shortened from the original Illicit Lip Distributors. One time we went to the University music building to use one of their practice rooms, and we were politely told by security to move along.
That night we gathered a bunch of wood together and Georgette lit a huge bonfire. We sat out drinking, and watching the stars come out. Later that nightGeorgette's brother, his friends, and Chalmers hot boxed a tracter. Chalmers was so stoned that he did not descend the stairs, but, rather, fell the full 4 feet or more to the ground. Everybody laughed, including Chalmers.
The next night we did more of the same. Chalmers was blamed for moving a tent to the middle of a cornfield. We all laughed as he vehemently denied it.
The next morning I felt sick. I attributed it to the booze but I sick with a srtange illness, which I will talk about later, for a week afterwards.
We went home and later we we went to Britt's place to watch what became the cult film for our group: The Big Lebowski. We all adopted identities from the film. Aleks was dubbed Walter, the cranky Vietnam vet, Chalmer was honoured with the title of The Dude. I apparently was Donny, the space cadet, and of course Britt was Maud the crazy, naked painter.
I went home, and for the next week or so, I was over-taken with a strange illness. I felt chills and aches. I didn't have a fever but I felt like I did. I had severe insomnia but I hardly moved from my bed at all. Most of all, I had strange thoughts that I could even begin to describe. I eventually recovered in time to to join the festivities of Aleks' departure to Germany to do his internship at Volkswagonin Wolfsburg.
Aleks was lucky enough to have two going away parties. The first was held by Trish (whose infamy in our circle will not be mentioned here). I had bought a huge bottle of Jack Daniels Whisky and had nearly finishe it off in moderation over the last few months. I took it with me. I drank beer ate chips and salsa and played Trsh's electric guitar. At some point Aleks dared me to chug the whisky. Now, I'm not big on the taste of Jack Daniels on the best of occasions, but this stuff taken straight and a lot at a time caused a gag relfex, and I threw up all over Trish's amp and around the floor. The vomit was diligently cleaned up, and I was cut off for the night.
The next night we had a second party at our favourite pub, The Poacher's Arm. Many people showed up. At one point Brittany made an overly sentimemtal toast to Aleks and "to good times, and always being together, and all of us being in the same retirement home..." My friend, Neil, was like "God, this getting depressing. Our friend, Matt piped up "To elbows!" and we all cheersed with our elbows, effectively shutting up the sob story which was Britt's toast. I started feeling depressed somewhere near the end of the night, thinking of Aleks leaving (yess Britt wasn't the only overly sentimental one). Being off my meds and drinking didn't help matters either.
The next day, Chalmers and I went over to Aleks' place to say our goodbyes. This was the last time Aleks saw me before my "regeneration". A lot happened to me before I saw him again...
posted by The Doctor at 5:42 PM
1 Comments:
That really was the cusp of regeneration for the both of us, though we took two totally different paths.
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