An end to repression

I could tell it was going to be a good weekend the moment I walked through the door.

There was a big mattress on the floor, and cushions, pillows and blankets all over the living room.

"Tom, you've got to check out our new game." I think Schu said.

Laingen picked up a yoga ball and stood with the backs of his feet against the edge of the mattress. Someone came running up and slammed into the yoga ball with all the force they could muster. Laingen went flying....back into the wall of cushions.

Later, I decided to name it Laingen ball.

That was the weekend of Founders Day, last spring in Mankato. I had picked Jim up a while before at the airport, and we went down to Katotown to celebrate the birthday of the founding member of our fraternity.

The weekend that followed was something of a bender. The next day was Founders Day. The day after was an emo party. I wore one of Laingen's black shirts (approximately 100 sizes too small), black eyeliner and spiked my hair into a crazy faux-hawk.

I spent the ENTIRE weekend hyper as hell. I drank too much, stayed up too late, slept to late and ate garbage. I spent the entire weekend in some supernova phase, just expending energy.

It didn't occur to me until later that my job repressed me. Living in Drew's house had terrible effects on my personality as well.

I needed something to set me on fire again, and that weekend did it.

I spent almost every weekend between then and the end of the school year in Mankato. When I did things with my friends in the cities I'd greet them with "Hello weekday friends!."

I can hardly believe the life I lived last fall/winter. I got up, went to work, came home, ate something, went to my room and essentially waited until it was time to go to bed. I didn't interact with anyone, ever. When my friends compare that to my normal personality, there has to be something that didn't add up.

That weekend in Mankato seemed to set me free. For that weekend, a supremely happy, care-free, completely irresponsible part of me took over.

And it all started at the moment, when I came through the door with one my first college friends, and watched Laingen get rocked.