September 17-18, 2005

zombification

I wake up late today. It feels as if the trip is over. And I guess for all intents and purposes it is, though there is still a long drive ahead and only a day and a half or so to complete it.

I meet my friend for lunch and a fast food Japanese place. He eats a gelatinous brown curry that reminds me of gravy. It smells good. We say our goodbyes and he goes to work and I hit the road. The strip looks different during the day - more like a warped Disneyland than anything else. It disappears in the heavy traffic in my rear view mirror.

I take highway 15 to 93 to 318. There is no one on the road at all. It's afternoon and there is no one to be seen anywhere. It's a little disconcerting, but after getting used to it I enjoy the solitude. I resist the urge to take off my clothes and drive around naked just because I can. I set the car loose for a while and top out the speedometer.

I snap some pictures while driving because I still can't be bothered to stop. I take highway 6 back to 93. As it gets dark a horde of moths appear, enamoured with my headlights. There are so many that I seem to be driving through snow. The only real difference being that I can't wipe these off my windscreen as easily.

It is pitch black by the time I hit Idaho. 93 takes me directly to Twin Falls where I will find a cheap a hotel and have one last night on the road before heading to the lovely Tri-Cities. Unfortunately, even though it's off-season, there are no rooms for rent. Absolutely none that I can find anyway... I find a McDo's parking lot and try to collect my thoughts. Instead I fall asleep in the drivers seat. At around four in the morning I am awakened by a well meaning and strangely concerned police officer (and, apparently, golf aficionado) who politely lets me know it's time to get the hell out of the parking lot and to a hotel. Not wanting to sleep anymore, I run all the way to 84 and stop at a "Flying J" service station catering to truckers for some "Extreme Caffeine" wake up coffee. It actually seems to be peppier than normal, though I'm not sure I want to know why.

It is cold and raining today for, really, the first time on the trip. Is this a horrible sign? Hopefully it's not a sign I'll have an accident, as the roads are quite slick. Incidentally, this fact is totally lost on Farmer Joe and company who are continually passing me in unwieldy pickups at insane speeds. They must be suffering from the head rush that advertisements lead to believe can only be induced by Hemi Power.

I feel as if I am falling asleep and drink a Redbull on top of my coffee.

I am now vibrating, but still tiptoeing the inviting precipice of sleep. I don't fall asleep, and do take some pictures (again without stopping) of the lovely Oregon scenery. It passes quickly and I am over the bridge and into Washington.

The Tri-Cities is warm and sunny. This should not be surprising to me, but it manages to be none the less.

I get home, unpack the car, and throw my miscellaneous gear on the floor. I start downloading the last of the pictures from the long drive and gulp a cold beer. I am asleep in the chair before the pictures are off the camera.

Tomorrow will be a sad and tiresome affair. The return to work will be painful, but I'm sure that I'll quickly settle into the mind numbing routine. It's sad, I think, that my zombification is the rule, not the exception. Learn to love the cycle, I tell myself. Stimulants > sedatives > stimulants > sedatives | day > night > day > night | work > work > work > work. What is the point? What have I learnt from all this?

Where is the nearest Starbucks?