everything looks perfect from far away

So, it’s funny how you meet people. I went down to my car to drop off blankets for the concert tomorrow on the lawn, and then I hopped on the elevator back up to the 12^th floor. Just my like, the other person in the elevator (Amy, who was coming from a lower parking garage), is also going to the 12^th floor, so I don’t have to press any buttons. She found it curious that we both lived on the same floor and we just started to chat.

We talked about everything, starting off of course with the normal, “Where are you from? How long have you been in D. C.? What do you do?” We just stood outside the elevators on the 12^th floor for a good half an hour. She tells me she’s just about to leave not only D. C., but the country. She’s going to live in Germany for six months and is moving out Saturday. We start to discuss everything involved in moving there (including learning German, which she does not know) and move on to talking about different books which influenced her decision to live in Germany for a little while. This somehow (????) brings on the game of chess. She mentions that she doesn’t know how to play chess; she never had the patience to learn. I think to myself, maybe Sid has a chess board?

So we head to my apartment (a mere twenty feet away) and I find out that Sid does not have a chess board. But, Sid thinks, just use your Palm, there are chess programs available on that. So while I’m downloading Pocket Chess to my Palm, she’s chatting with Sid and Bill Nagel. They begin chatting about House of Leaves, which she has never heard of, but is quite intrigued being an English major at Texas.

This book, if you know nothing about it, is jacked-in-the-dome-piece. It really is; not only does the novel bizarre literally, but the layout is complicated as all Hell, with footnotes everywhere and in every direction (tunnels, mirrored text, etc.). Furthermore, the many of the “cited” references are non-existent (and possibly if existing, wrong).

By the time I had gotten the Palm ready with chess, we had been chatting for an hour. I teach her the best I the rules of chess, which are few, during which we talk about music.

This is the mother load of conversations. It lasts until 3 AM. We talk about all kinds of music: Chicago, The Flaming Lips, Elliot Smith, Radiohead, Ben and Jason, Badly Drawn Boy, Coldplay, et al. It was great. We just sat around in my room listening to our favorite music, both pleasantly surprised by the fact that someone else has heard of this obscure band. The conversation ended with a trading of bands and books (Vladimirovich Nabokov and Oscar Wilde for starters) which I should read and some suggestions for her to read too (Richard Bach and Jon Krakauer).

Well Amy, it was nice meeting you. Have fun in Germany and have a great time going to awesome concerts (Coldplay and more) with you boyfriend in England.