I’ve been a busy lady these days. So much to do and think and plan. Fear not though, I have managed to integrate a lot of fun and adventure as well. I think I’ve simply accrued so many good stories since my last post that I have postponed blogging in fear that it would take me approx. 8 hours to write. But here goes nothing.

First Friday. Longest day of my life.

7:30. Woke up in Virginia. Decided it would be a good idea to go to Busch Gardens to get my last dose of glorious east-coast amusement park culture before I head to Cali. The day before my show. In my defense, I had already planned this trip before I had any clue I’d have my photos on public display.

12:00. I arrive back in Raleigh. I figure this gives us plenty of time to frame our photos and put them up. We already have them printed out, anyway. What can go wrong.

1:00. Plan A: Avoid buying frames by custom-cutting glass and matting our photos, attaching the pieces with clips to form some sort of crafty homemade simple easily hangable presentation.

Ha.

Four hours, 15 glass panes, 2 rolls of double-sided tape and metal wire later, we learn that every supply store is sold out of the clips we needed to secure these pieces together. Hilarious.

4:30. Our reception is in 1.5 hours.

No choice but to come up with Plan B. I drive to A.C. Moore in hopes of finding something, anything.. some sort of solution to our lack-of-frame issue. Fate seemed to be on our side this time, as I happened to stumble upon 15 nice clean black metal frames for 50% off. Well, they had 12 of the appropriate size, so I just bought 3 in a different size. It made sense at the time.

5:00. We are frantically framing our photos in the basement of some building on NC State’s design school campus. We are disgusting and dirty and hyperventilating. We end up scrapping three photos in the interest of keeping continuity with the 12 frames that do happen to be the same size.

5:30. We arrive at the Busy Bee. 30 minutes til reception. Begin taking down previously hanging photos, and begin hanging ours with little regard to system or order. Rearrange rehang rearrange rehang rearrange rehang.

6:00. People begin to arrive. I am frantically hand-writing descriptions and statement on moleskine paper. Labels are not sticking to brick. Finally find scotch tape adhesive hanging method that sort of works. Mother is here. Wants to hang out. I tell her she is not allowed to talk to me right now and I have to bathe. Mother is not pleased.

6:15. Reception is 15 minutes in. Me and Logan and Tim leave to get ready. Get ready for the reception that has already begun.

7:00. I get phone call. Media is there with television cameras. Oops.

7:15. I arrive to my reception ready to run shit. Interviews begin.

7:30. I begin to attend to the 200-some people I know who end up passing through the show. Never end up having the chance to meet the other 200-some people I don’t know. Did not expect such a kickass turnout. This is nice.

[Photocred: Ian Dunn via Flickr]

9:30. Feeling socially overwhelmed. (No offense people, I love all of you who came and was ecstatic to see you, but talking to 250 people in a two-hour period can get you feeling a little claustrophobic.) Friends Mark and Bryant arrive and offer to kidnap me.

9:35. I tell everyone at the busy bee i will return in a moment, run to the streets, and hop into a mysterious truck bed never to return.

I not sure whose truck I was riding in, and I was informed by Mark and Bryant that they were not sure either, but our friend Chad was in the passenger seat so we knew we were safe and sound.

9:45. We arrive at a gallery/spa of sorts in city market. We meet Will, our driver and soon-to-be best friend. Drank some cucumber water, had an impromptu musicless dance party in the back room, ate some baklava, then went on our way.

10:00. The boys are on the prowl for adventure. I suggest they join me to meet some ladies with similar intentions: my mother and her friends.

We arrive at Sitti and find my mother and the pack drinking at the bar. We drank some cocktails, compiled a vic/mvp/library card collection on the table (I’m not sure why in retrospect), and formulated plans for our next stop: top of the Clarion.

10:30. We pack seven people into my mother’s car and soon arrive at the rooftop bar. The Baileys flowed like wine. Must stay classy.

My gorgeous mother and myself. No, she did not have me when she was ten years old. She just stopped aging at 35. Hoping the genes translate.

11:00. We say our goodbyes to the remaining motherpack and trek to the Jackpot for a two-hour smelly hipster dance party… or what should have been one. It was just us dancing now that I think about it.

1:00. Jackpot dance party fizzles. We took a quick walk down to the street to the Ashe Estate (Mark’s house, in which Mark + Bryant + Sarah reside), where I became acquainted with Henry, Sarah’s obscenely large bunny.

Henry was much larger than Raphael, equally awesome, and probably doesn’t pee or barf all over her stuff. Henry won me over that night.

2:00. I am enshrouded in a giant human-shaped sleeping bag. I am not sure how I got here. The sleeping bag itself had arms and legs, so not only could I move freely, but I could dance in living rooms for extended periods of time.

So we danced.

And danced.

[Oh yeah.. Photocred: Mark Paulson]

3:00. I am walking to a nearby hotel pool with Bryant and Mark. We hear we have friends swimming there.

We arrive. Naked people. Everywhere. Lots of making out. All naked. Giant boom box. Loud music. So much naked. How is this happening? Why is nobody busting this up? We look on in awe, with little regard to how creepy we may appear.

3:30. Still awkwardly standing on side of pool, fully clothed with Mark and Bryant. We can tell Bryant wants to swim. We tell him he should. He walks toward pool, and before he even has a chance to undress, two naked girls jump out of the pool and begin to rip his clothes off. Me and Mark decide that we’ve seen enough and head on our way.

Night 1 END!