We're staying at Dan's mom's house this weekend so we can go to 80/35. We're also cat-sitting for the "cat that's afraid of everything."80/35 is much more fun. It's in downtown DSM, it that doesn't even look like downtown DSM during the fest. It's some other place, with fences, foodstands, beer tents and tons of people that are not dressed up like they're going to corporate American office today. This festival made me want a second tattoo, if only I knew which one to get or where to put it. Dan promised me that this would be like a highschool reunion with all of the people that we actually wanted to see. In some ways, it was, if only because we saw our old friend. We've completely lost touch, and just see each other every few years (mostly Dan sees her at 80/35) but this time I got to talk to her. Mostly we chatted with her mom, though, and it was lovely. The sad and scary thing was that her mom had uterine cancer and surgery and chemo. I didn't even know it had happened. Suddenly I was having flashbacks to Don's cancer and trying super hard to not freak out. The stupid thing about trying hard to not freak out is that you can't do it at a music festival where you should be The Happiest Person on Earth and Shut Up and Like the Music.
So I did. I shut up, I danced, I liked the music. I drove to Ames, watched some funny TV shows (more Archer, some other show by the writers of Archer & Sealab, Parks and Rec, babymama, and Comedy Central stand up with the guy from Parks and Rec) with some old college friends and realized that I really, really miss my college friends and ordering food at 1 AM. The cable company is broken right now and one part of Frasier is on continuous loop. Kelsey Grammar is hugging Ros and shrieking "The like me!!" He's been doing that for about 2-3 hours for everyone that subscribes to that chanel. haha.
Our friend rents 1 bedroom in a house in Ames and the rest of the space is shared. Their cost: 1300/month plus utilities.
WTF? Our KC house is way nicer than that place and we don't charge close to that. $1300/month could pay our mortgage in Minnepolis, and our new house is going to be nicer than that. I need to become an Ames landlord to college kids. Good heavens.
Speaking of our Minneapolis house: yes, the inspection was fine. But I no longer have any faith in inspection companies. I have lost my hope with all legal contracts entirely. Waive right to lawsuit, arbitration only, we don't test for this or that or this or that or pretty much anything that would cause you to flip out and not buy the house. I should have done the damn inspection myself, with my limited experience and knowledge and I would have been better off. These people had never heard of copper theft nor understood ABS piping. Oh, naivete.
Yesterday I spent the day with my friend, Jodie, before going to 80/35. We discussed the naive people in our lives and mentioned how you can like them and be their friends, but you always wonder how they hell they've remained so sheltered. Perhaps it's not necessarily naivete, but just people that firmly believe in a sense of black and white and don't believe that sometimes there is no justice or heaven or hell or retribution. At the end of the day, we were saying goodbye and I practically started to cry. I haven't had a day with Jodie in 2 years and suddenly missed Iowa again, the way I used to miss it in 2007 through 2009. I missed my friends and I missed the city and I missed my family and the slower pace of life and oh god, is it really going to be 2 years before we do this again?
Oh, Iowa, you are the trap that I can never escape.
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