thePlayland

substance

For many years I lived my life in a serious rut. I would spend every day at home with friends. We would watch TV, we would smoke and we would all get very sleepy towards the end of the night. At the time, it seemed like a lot of fun. Now that I know better, I can’t believe I wasted so much time doing absolutely nothing.

For the past 6 months, I have discovered that there are so many better things to do with one’s life. Not just better things, things that actually matter and actually have substance to them. I no longer spend every night sitting in my office chair watching terrible television. I no longer sit around smoking and playing video games. I no longer only see a few people on any given day. In fact, these days, I regularly see a pretty large group of people for a number of different types of activities.

First, we have Tuesday nights at Amanda’s apartment. At first, these dinners were just a few of us going over to have dinner with each other (so graciously provided by ‘mander). Now, these dinners have become legendary in their own right. Through these dinners I have met a number of new people that I truly enjoy knowing. First, we have Jeremy (a vague-idea-er) who has been coming every week for dinner and other events, too! He was there for h2g2 and it was cool to see him outside of Amanda’s place. In addition to Jeremy we have Martijn (one of Amanda’s neighbors), who totally kicks ass. He’s a schooler, so we don’t get to see as much of his as we might like. Maybe this isn’t impressive to anyone else, but to me it’s remarkable that we continue to meet up every single week and not for something mindless like TV.

Regarding other types of events, I have (as I have said before) the coolest friends in the world when it comes to Hedwig. Where I used to go alone to Hedwig, or with one other person, I have the full support of many of my friends each and every month. I, by no means, expect them to be there or even ask them to be there, they just are. Of course, I understand that the show isn’t everyone’s idea of a great time, but these guys seem to really enjoy staying up way too late and getting bitchy by the end of the night. Not only that, but they’re also motivated to help! Who knew?!

Of late, I have been spending more time with Max. This is something I never expected to happen and I truly enjoy it. Having someone like Max around me who is in a similar situation as I am is very helpful. While we might not bring out the best in each other (you got ten bucks, i got ten bucks!), I have a great time just sitting around and talking about life and music with him. It’s refreshing to have someone in my life that I never thought I would speak to again. I hope to be able to spend a lot more time with him, as I truly appreciate our friendship.

I guess it’s not the quantity of things we do with one another that makes everything so different, but rather it’s the quality. I really feel like these people want to be around each other. Sure, we may have some differences, but nothing that actually talking to one another can’t fix.

Knowing that this year’s planning for Burning Man will involve the largest group of people I have ever gone with makes me very happy, too. I knew that when I met up with them last year that everything would be different for this year’s burn. I think what makes it different is that I can feel an honest sense of motivation to make the week in the desert the best week of the entire year. I can’t tell you how long I have waited for this comfortable feeling. This will be my 7th year at Burning Man and it’s feels like the 1st. Everything is still up in the air, but as far as I’m concerned, everything is falling perfectly into place.

I guess what I am trying to say is this: I love my friends. I love each and every one of them. We don’t all see each other every day, but when we see each other it is like we were never apart. I love knowing these people and I am so grateful that they have all accepted me into their lives.

Damnit! I want it to be 8pm right now! :)