the valley of good times

it was maven's birthday yesterday, so he took me to do two things i'd never done. it seemed like my birthday, but really he just wanted me to do these things with him. he's swell to think i'm so swell. so, the first event took place before the birthday party. i was to bring a swimsuit--- specifically the skimpy silver bikini that my tits have all but grown out of. so i did. we stopped and asked a kind hick for specific directions, as the entrance he once knew isn't for use anymore. the hick's directions, "...and just go up two houses dere, and you'll see a gate. you kin jus' pa'k theh an' wok frum dere," were good ones. our trek through the mossy woods were fun and bright. not too treesy, i didn't have branches all in my face. when we first came upon water, i was fucking floored. it was gorgeous and shimmery and unlike anything i'd seen before. i started overreacting when mav showed me a thick rope on which we could swing into the water far below. i was all like "i hope you don't think i'm gonna fucking swing on that rope, cause i'm not gonna and i hope even more that it doesn't ruin your day that i'm a pussy because it's your birthday and all, and i..." and i was cut off by maven saying of course he wasn't, that we were just here for the pretty sights, and perhaps a dip and whatever else we got up to. we kept a-walking. by this time i'd figured it was a place that he'd talked about in the past, "three pools". this place was inredible. three waterfalls and three pools and lots of rocks and trees. we laid in the sun on the rocks and waited for the sun to pass over the last pool, into which is, supposedly!, a common place to jump. mav showed me the two main spots to jump from, and even though i was absolutely frightened, i decided that jumping from a cliff was the best way to get wet. holy FUCK it was high. i'm not sure how many feet, and although almost 20 feet doesn't sound too high, picture a jagged rock cliff right next to a deafening waterfall. i guess i'm not scared of heights as long as i don't have to jump from them. mav effortlessly went first to show me how it was done. i hummed and hawed and shook and screamed and when i finally jumped, it was pretty effin' cool. it was as if i were plunging to my death, as if i'd keep dropping underwater and meet both poseidon and hades there. i finally resurfaced, having gunned handfuls of water through my nose. plugging it with my hand would've prevented me from flailing them, you see. i'm not so much an outdoors adventurist. in fact, it's something i've pretty near to never done. i've been laughed/scoffed at for saying when asked if i'd like to go bungee jumping, "I'd rather be reading." that may or may not still be true (but if i ever go, i'm totally wearing a shirt with that slogan). i'm still stuck in the "why bother risking life and limb" camp from my time with g. i said yesterday that i'm not scared of dying, i just don't want to be paralysed. so anyway, i jumped again, and it was again cool, but i didn't come close to jumping off the 80 foot cliff that maven jumped from. maybe next time. definitely fucking next time.

the second experience i actually guessed (along with the possibility of it being a ferris wheel ride). we went to a drive-in theatre! i was made to close my eyes (i assume so i wouldn't see the sign) and all i heard was a lady saying "here's a bag for your trash." i thought for a minute we might be going to clean up a dirty island or something, but at dusk, i didn't think so/was hoping not. i was fucking tired. anyway, the drive-in was awes. we turned our dial to get their frequency and enjoyed the spectacular? neon green-only pre-show that included appearancs from the simpsons, the beatles and an appropriated "walk the dinosaur" video. anyway, the features were brothers grimm and the great raid. we'd already decided to say fuck the last film, and i was keen to see brothers grimm, altho i heard it was terrible. it pretty much was, but the experience was awesome. two unfortunate things: 1) i was tired as christ on the cross, so we tried lots of creative ways to keep me awake. 2) there were baby seats in the back (no-- not fucking mine or those of my babies!) so there was no backseat love. we had to make creative use of the crowded front seat, cluttered with bottles and idents and shit.

i had a cool fucking weekend. i shared my bus seat with a historical military cartographer. i made a kickass cake which even the best baker grandmother asked for the recipe for. i took soy ice cream in a special bag and it lasted the four hours i needed it to. i entertained twins who missed me. we got caught up on what we were sharvin' for. i miss maven already.

the country was beautiful.

leaving was dreadfully difficult.