Meet Virginia

So it's day one.

The train ride couldn't have been easier. I slept through the night mostly undisturbed save for a few instances that I swore that my particular car was tipping over. Nothing like waking up in a panic...

Upon arrival in Lorton I anxiously disembarked only to have my motorcycle (I've yet to name her) quit on me about a minute into our journey. Not now, not now... I couldn't imagine why it would be doing this. I know I've got gas... I just changed the oil, but, that shouldn't have anything to do with the engine quitting... when I looked at my fuel line switch I realized they had asked me to turn it off when I parked it on their trailer. So with a quick flick back to the ON position I was out of there. I stopped only when I had lost all feeling in my butt, and thought it fitting that the gas station I stopped at had a deer head mounted behind the register. If only they knew where I was headed... maybe I should have stopped over at Smithfield Farms and gotten a picture with Paula Dean while I was at it.

A couple of hours and a few emotional phone calls later, I arrived at PETA's Founder's House, which they've dedicated to their original members. It serves as temporary housing for new and visiting staff, and is quite comfortable. My current housemates are Royale, who I've quickly become friends with and is also part of the marketing team, and Ann (Bland?) who will work for HR. The bland part is not an insult to Ann (she is very nice), but an Arrested Development reference, for you slow, uncultured kids out there.

The day has consisted of mostly form preparation, which I won't bore you with. The evening, meanwhile, has treated to me to some exceptional vegan pizza at Red Dawg, a local bar/BBQ type place (they're still allowed to smoke in bars here, yet they have a whole vegan only section on their menu- what universe am I in?), a Widmer, and a nice motorcycle ride to the grocery store, the PETA building, and home.

I'll look forward to waking up a little later than usual tomorrow morning, though 7am still seems early to most (try 4am, you weanies). Anxious to see what the day has for me, and to write a much more interesting post than this one.

Something, though:

There's been some strange emotions on the way up. There's obviously a lot I've left behind: girlfriend, cats (though only for a time, I still miss them dearly), familiar territory, good friends, good job, etc. I knew that those weren't it: those are simple, easy to pinpoint emotions with clear culprits. I thought that it could possibly be that I'm finally closing the chapter on Erin, moving to a place that has no connection to her- no memories or origin story to tell involving her... maybe it was some sort of closure finally putting that to rest, but... it just didn't seem like it fit, being that I've felt mostly at peace about that for a while.

The conclusion I've come to is that I'm abandoning my youth. That train ride was my portal into adulthood, and there was some grief in the process. For a particularly nostalgic person like myself, letting go is never easy. So I think I'll keep my juvenile tendencies in my back pocket for now...

Love You, I Do

Your love needs me to stay, demands I leave. Routine circulates our blood habitually, and under rocks we find comfort in what's just there at arms' length. I can encompass you; I can die here, smashed, obliterated by a rogue meteor, seducing the atmosphere with poetic romance like the heartbreaker it is, and I can smile. Oh, that smile of yours -making waves across your face- its warmth is deceptive almost, given its ferocity. Were its operation not love, I'd mind my vicinity more carefully as to avoid the marks it surely would leave me with. Oh, who am I kidding? I collect battle wounds.

Who knows what the hell you're talking about, I just like watching those lips move. Flirtatious and carefully choreographed, they dance with your tongue and teeth, saying so much more than your words ever could. I'm not quiet, I'm entranced. I feign boredom but it's fascination. I seem somewhere else because I am- and it's not sitting across from you, nor is it conversation that we're lost in.

And damn, I feel strong again. Whatever pain was in my hands is gone now. Whatever words choked my speech I've forgotten. Whatever fear crippled my advance has vanished. Whatever cold slowed by blood flow... Whatever fatigue grasped my muscles... The ocean couldn't tear you from me. Strong enough to set you on shore, I can't stay here...

Our hearts are electric. Mine glows through my chest and the little hairs on your arms and neck stand up when I touch you. The energy is enough so that you can feel me long after I have gone. You'll speak to me as if I were lying next to you. You'll hear me singing in the next room. You'll stare out over the waves at me in my little boat, only I won't be there. Sadness will cripple you but you'll count to 5, finding yourself more alive than you knew you could be.

Caged and bored and locked inside my heart she couldn't breathe, her wings were useless and she dreamed of gliding over currents in the sky. She dipped her head in the darkness, and sang muffled, mournful songs for her brothers and sisters and lovers sentenced to live out their lives in her memory. And I, if I am strong, cannot keep her here. Only the truly callous, deadened spirits could keep trapped a beauty like this...

Keep her warm. Keep her safe. Let her teach you how to read the wind.

7/7

I am now an employee of the much talked about, controversial, and largest animal rights group in the world.

Bye, bye, Florida.

I am happy to see this chapter coming to a close.