More on (b)OOB, Chachachanges......

On Tuesday morning I woke up at 6AM - if there is one thing I miss about my youth it is the ability to sleep in. Isn't it strange that when you have something to do, like work, you'll try to sleep until the very last second, but when you don't have any immediate plans something compels you to jump out of bed and start the day?

I slept well considering I was all alone in a tiny old cabin - the memory of two years ago when I stayed in the same place with my boyfriend and another couple and someone accidently walked into our cabin drunkingly mistaking it for theirs was fresh but my fear was dulled by the beer and exhaustion. I jumped in the car and headed to Dunkin Donuts. Before I knew it it was 10AM and Reg called to report she was on the road. Always one to laugh in the face of speed limits, she was there before I knew it.

We unloaded her car and settled into lounge chairs by the pool, three hours later we were giddy and buzzed. The thing about me and Reg is that we could be confined in a cell for months on end (and that isn't really out of the question) and never run out of things to talk about. We've been friends forever - when I think about that it gives me hope that I can indeed commit to someone or something.

After cutting out the drinks for a few hours, showering and resting, we were ready to hit the town. My friend Sand and her husband have a place in the downtown area so we planned to meet up with them.

When we arrived Sand came out of the bar she was at to meet us. As we walked toward the place I realized Sand was a bit buzzed. This was obvious because she rushed towards the train tracks to meet us and nearly got knocked down by the wooden divider that was closing down because a train was coming. Once the barriers were down, her on one side, us on the other I decided it was a good time to duck under and cross. This totally freaked the hell out of all the little kids who were holding ice cream cones and gleefully (yet now horrificly) awaiting the passing of the train. "Mam!! You are going to get your heel stuck!!" a 8 year old yelled. I ignored him. See kids, beer makes you fearless. Fine example I am.

We went to the first place and ate and then headed to another bar. I can only describe the scene as being really wicked frigin shady. Older men, middle aged women dressed in almost costume-like sexy outfits, all staring at me and Reg as if we were intruders. Sand being buzzed tried really hard to introduce both Reg and I to different men that she knew (despite Reg saying time and time again she had a boyfriend and I assuring her I just wasn't interested). One guy, who Regina swears looks exactly like Rose Nylon's boyfriend Miles (Harold Gould) from The Golden Girls was trying to convince us he was turning 50 at midnight.

I went out to smoke a butt in front of the joint and noticed that creepy looking dudes were coming in and then leaving with the older ladies....hmmm..... Some guy approached me and asked me if I was from Maine. I told him no, I was a tourist, he introduced himself and then we got into a brief conversation about my fear of amusement park rides (there was one directly across the street) and he said something almost profound and I was done with my smoke.

Nice to meet you Tim, I said shaking his hand, I've got to get back.

"Wow, a handshake!! Can I have a hug?" he asked.

Um, no

"Well can I least feel your breasts?" he asked with a stone cold serious face.

I like you're straight-forward attitude, Tim, but I don't think so. Have a good night.

Reg and I realized shortly after I got back that we were most likely witnessing men coming into the place and leaving with escorts. That alone would make me uneasy but coupled with the fact that there were parents and young children walking by the front window carrying fried dough and ice cream cones really made my skin crawl.

The rest of the trip was fun, we spent out days relaxing by the pool laughing our heads off and only headed downtown a few more times. We checked out The Pier which was pretty cool when we went earlier in the evening but later at night, especially on Saturday night I presume, it turns into somewhat of a "Girls Gone Wild" scene. Which is cool for some I guess but just not my scene anymore. I'm 29 (+4 -2) after all. Overall we had a great time.

It was driving home on Sunday when the panic set in for me. This was more than just the "Sunday dreads" one gets when anticipating the upcoming work week. As I made my way down 128 South past the Yorks, past Portsmouth, by Bysfield and Georgetown and Topsfield and finally home to good old Boston, it finally hit me what I had done the Friday before I left for vacation.

I quit my job.

Okay, let me put a more positive spin - I got a great offer that I couldn't turn down out of the blue from a downtown firm that is totally out of the current field I am working in. As scared shitless as I am I cannot help but think that this is going to change my life and take me places only three weeks ago I never thought I'd go.

New beginnings.