2/20/2005 12:34:00 AM|||Jonthon|||

Alive at 5, I packed my remaiing items and headed downstairs. Instead of dealing with the drama of 14 people checking out separately and some extra drama, I went outside and packed our bags into the car, looking forward to a being asleep and high (even if only in the literal sense).
We headed out toward LAX, passing two gas stations on the way. Lindsay said we didn't have time to stop, which we would pay for later (I advise all never to bring an empty tank back to a rental station). It was not until we arrived at the rental station that we learned that Shannon had been left at the hotel - intentionally. Apparently, having not been woken up at the proper time, Robot started yelling at the girls when they did finally bring him to a state of conciousness. Instead of rushing to get his stuff together and get out the door, he started UNpacking. He removed DVDs, CDs, etc., then began to slowly repack everything into his bags. Perhaps understandably, the girls took the car and headed off in an effort to catch their plane. I heard him say later that his taxi bill to get to the airport was $50. I bet he plugs himself in at night.
On the plane, I finished reading the chapter on marijuana in Reefer Madness, having read it all 2 and sometimes three times in an effort to memorize. I now feel much more knowledgeable about the role marijuana play in our society, its history, and the politics that surround it. I started in on the chapter about illegal immigration, but sleep quickly caught up with me. Also, Lindsay used me as a footrest, which resulted in me noting later that she was a pretty sleeper.
Waking in memphis, I realized that the denoument had begun. On the boomerang flight to StL, I sat next to Rachel and Jordan, who kept wanting to talk as I kept trying to sleep. When we got to StL, Katie's dad came and shuttled us back to his house. The other girls headed out immedaitely, but I hung around to eat with Katie's family and ride back with her. They were watching the Indy 500, signaling to me that I was, indeed, back home. We had some delicious pizza, and then headed back to Columbia. On the ride, Katie and I talked at length about just about everything. Still buzzing from the LA air, we longed for the past few days. In a short 1.5 hours, we arrived at my house. I headed in, two bags in tow, sadly accepting that this was not California.
At about the same moment, I remembered...in only about a month and a half, these two bags will be repacked, returning with my to Sunny CA. The National NORML conference in San Fran is end of March, and I'm already anxious...!

|||110947683962719776|||To Live and Die in LA 5