sangria-soaked nights infested by monkeys

it was not a pleasant sensation, waking up to the talk radio discuss the local television station's recent "undercover report." head pounding, mind cloudy, i got out of my paid-per-night bed, showered and then climbed back into bed, hair and body wrapped in towels, for another twenty minutes of half-conscious release.

my own damn fault, but as i sit here now, brain still keeping time with faint throbs of pain, i smile because it was worth it.

went to "prometheus" last night as planned. got there early, as i wanted to be sure i could get a seat on opening night and all, wound up running into kirk and - hurrah! - mary! much catching up ensues. house opens, we walk in and find our seats, gaping at the sublime beauty of devlin's set and the lovely lighting. arcadia mini-reuinion #1 takes place when gwideyon comes over to say hello and reminisce with us about what a kickass experience our kirk play was. good times.

mary joked that she was sitting with a celebrity when the college pr woman chats with me from her seat a couple rows behind (i got to know her quite well from actf experiences). i laughed. it was definitely cool to be able to see people, but i definitely preferred chatting with friends about what had been going on in my absence than talking about my writing.

anyway. show begins and the next 90 minutes or so are filled with absolute beauty. what a kickass show for k. to go out on - it's totally him. costumes - gorgeous. sound - great (special props to mic sound - eerie and wonderful). lights & mulimedia - rock on. acting - very solid and impressive. ashleigh rocked. i didn't even recognize matt. joe's grace was mesmerizing. i wanted to be one of the daughters of ocean.

anyway, good time had by all. post-show, all are reveling in feel-good vibes, i get to freak out saying hi to a bunch of friends from theater. joe, jonathan, matt, james, ashleigh, etc. etc. very awesome. mini-arcadia reuinion #2 includes photo of k., mary, collin and myself. yahoo ...

anyway, the night is young, the happiness is infectious and people want to celebrate. so k., collin, phil, mary and i head down to the monkey in winooski. never been there - definitely plan on going back soon. very, very chill vibe. we slide into a round booth that made me feel very swank. a pitcher of sangria is ordered. and another (food for thought: was the delightful 2002 p-day fruity poison a ghetto-ized version of sangria or is sangria just a classy version of 2002 p-day fruity poison? ponder ...). then we switch to beer or, in my case, a couple v&cs.

we all talk, laugh, joke, reminisce, curse, whatever the case may be. a grand time is had by all. one of the best nights o' debauchery i've had in eons. i even got a green plastic monkey that hangs from my pint glass out of the deal. score!

i form tentative plans to meet up with phil for tonight's show and am told that my days - well, nights, rather - of hotel living must cease to be. score. we toast prometheus. we toast art carney. we drink to phil's graduation.

i return to my hotel room shortly after 2 a.m. i contentedly crawl into bed, read a page of my book and promptly fall asleep.

hells yeah.