30 July 2008

Done. Gone.

Well, this is it. My last-ever post from 1324. Everything is packed up except for a very few things in my closet, most of which will be thrown away, and my posters. So I’ll be back once more tonight, but I’m taking the computer now.
I’m gonna kind of miss this little place. I mean, the windows don’t open, and there are no drawers in the kitchen, and the kitchen itself is too small to cook anything fancier than macaroni and cheese in, and it’s drafty and cold as hell in winter, and it’s too close to Frat Row, and the bathroom floor is collapsing. It has its problems, is what I’m saying..
But it’s got a nice front porch, great for sitting and reading on, or holding court.  It’s close to most of the places I like to go, and it’s completely sheltered by the surrounding buildings so that it’s always in shade and doesn’t get very hot in summer. Even right here in 4 ½ Alley, downtown and two blocks from campus, it’s isolated and peaceful.  And it’s tiny, but I liked that it was tiny. I don’t have much in the way of possessions, and I’m not claustrophobic. In fact, I’m a claustrophile, or whatever the opposite of a claustrophobe is. When I was little I used to sleep under my bed rather than in it. I liked the enclosed space. If I could afford it, I’d buy a coffin to sleep in, and I would sleep with the lid closed. A cramped apartment suits me, as long as it has a decent kitchen.
And I’ve got lots of good memories of the place. I mean, I’ve lived here longer than I’ve ever lived anywhere in my entire life, and the memories are thick and far-reaching at 1324. Amy and Gerlach and Mrs. D have spent a lot of time here, of course, and they’ll be around for new memories over at 704. But there are memories of folks who’ve gone away, like Katy and my Dooleys, and other folks that I don’t know any more, like Christy and Sheila; those memories had substance here, but in the new place they won’t even be ghosts. It’s too bad.
I like the new place a lot. I’ve stayed there the past two nights, and it’s pretty awesome (except that I haven’t yet figured out how the shower works). I got my first piece of mail over there today (an MST3K episode from Netflix). I think I’m gonna be happy there. I’m not sad, really. It isn’t hard to walk away. But I am kinda gonna miss this cheap, dirty, silly, crappy place. It was a good home.
 

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