Friday, January 22, 2010

What Am I Doing Here?

I am about to do something crazy...

Looking at it from the surface it seems like a very normal, practical thing for a single 23-year-old girl to be doing but that would be naive. Naive only because you don't comprehend the level of complete insanity of the people involved. If you continue to follow this blog you may get a small glimpse of what I'm referring to.

You see, I am about to move into a house with three roommates. They are fantastic people that I love very much for all their virtues and even more so for their vices. On February 1st, I will embark on a 15 month long adventure with these wonderful companions. I have only one expectation for what is about to happen: That is I expect that any reasonable expectation a rational, sane, and sober person would make in this kind of situation would be foolish and misguided.

Reflecting upon this, I have decided to make a few preparations. One of my first thoughts was I need to write my will just in case of a crazy night of debauchery, some fool-hearty experiment gone wrong, or in the event of one of those four a.m. logic free conversations that always begin with, "You know what would be cool?" and ends with the sound of ambulance sirens fading into the distance. The thought of my impending mortality quickly lead into my second thought. If by some miracle I happen to survive this experience I want some documentation of what went on. That way when I'm old and feeble I can remind myself constantly of the experiences I've had falling and tumbling down the rabbit hole.

With that said, welcome to my Adventures in Wonderland. I thought long about how this should begin. I had hoped to do it like a speech; you know, "Open with a joke," they say. However, I am neither that witty or cliché. Instead a brief background on the most important people you will meet should do for now.

Names have been changed to protect the guilty: Myself namely.

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The first person you should probably meet is Alice. Since we are traveling through wonderland I through it fitting this friend go by Alice. I see her as somewhat of our leader. Our Heroine being that she is the one of most sound mind here. I met her a number of years back when I worked at a coffee shop. When she first got hired I thought she was a pretty face that would be good for tips. I never thought I would grow to love her so much. Alice is from the Deep South where everyone is friendly. I'm curious if that plays a roll in how incredibly affectionate she is. Alice is a very open, accepting, and infinitely forgiving person. It's for those reasons, I suspect; she is able to put up with all the nut-jobs around her.

Hatter is the second person you should know. Alice and Hatter have been dating for as long as I've known them. It's good for me because had I not been exposed to Hatter by Alice I may not of ever become his friend. I forget who told me, but someone once said to me, "With great genius comes great insanity." Hatter is a great example of that. He is one of the most creative people I have ever met. The unique way he looks at the world makes sense to me only because I've learned to filter Hatter. Kind of like an interpreter. His intelligence and creativity show in his artwork but I occasionally question his grasp on reality. I don't mind that he occasionally makes up in his head that we had conversations that never actually took place because they amuse me greatly. Hatter is quirky in an endearing kind of way.

Caterpillar I met through Alice and Hatter. He would be the hardest for me to sum up because the things that make Caterpillar so great are not things that he's done or where he is from. It's the same thing that lends him the ability to make me laugh hysterically at almost nothing. Sure, I could tell you he is half Italian and from New Jersey but I could also tell you he's an Urrlig from Jupiter and it wouldn't make any difference. Caterpillar is better experienced then explained.

I'm sure you will meet a number of delightful characters along the way but these are my roommates and so the leaders of our party. They are the tools used to either make or break this story.