I almost forgot about this place. Not surprising since I lived alone and I tend to remember places based on the people around me. These apartments were on 35 1/2 Street and Guadalupe (Austin's main drag). I was on the bottom floor, and my friend Meghan moved into the apartment next to mine. I had never lived by myself before so it was fun to decorate the way I wanted, only clean up after my own mess, and have people over whenever I wanted for as long as I wanted. I loved this freedom and was grateful to have Meghan so close.We drank a lot of Chimay and discussed existentialism sitting on tables.
Meg had this cat named Kerouac aka "Fuz." I was not a cat person and the fat thing knew it. One day he snuck into my room and peed blood all over my white pillow cases and bedspread. Damn thing hated me. Then one night Meg called me over a bit panicked. Fuz had a bit of red fabric dangling out his butthole. She didn't know what to do, so I decided to grab hold of the dangle as Meghan called him to her. Sure enough a 3 foot satin red ribbon eeked its way out. El gato really liked me after that.
One day I was walking home from philosophy class all pensive and shit. I came across a brand new copy of the Dali Lama's "Art of Happiness" book lying in the middle of a vacant lot. I picked it up and thought it was cursed and gave it away to the first person I saw. I would ride my bike without my hands and contemplate what would happen if I just rode into oncoming traffic. I wasn't depressed, just a little under the influence of Nietzsche.
Here's an excerpt that someone wrote about coming over to my house for the first time. I would only buy milk, coffee, apples, bread and peanut butter. Then sometimes I'd splurge on Annie's Shells and Cheese which I would mix with sauteed zucchini. And of course, all three colors of Chimay.
The wall behind her couch is covered in a large sheet with rows of hearts and the room is littered with photographs stuck on the walls. I don’t know what to do as I shuffle in place looking around the room. So I slip off my wet shoes and take a seat on the couch. I watch her take off her red rain jacket. She has changed shirts from what she was wearing that morning. But I had, too. She is wearing one of those tank-tops with the thin straps. It’s white and when she stretches her arms her shirt comes up, exposing her stomach which has a distinct tan line dividing brown and beige. Then she started scratching again. I smile to myself.
“I just went to the grocery store. Do you want anything? Milk? Water?”
This is where I trained for and ran my first half marathon. Where I realized what it's like to have your family be your friends. Where I learned it's easy to live without TV, but it's nice to have a DVD player to watch movies and not feel completely alone. Where I lived from one set of dishes and one big red mug. Where I became afraid of homeless people. Where I heard lesbian sex and thought it was house cleaning.
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