Units of Being

This past Sunday, we all went and RAGED THE FUCK at the Keller show. Yea, I know. You all wish you were me. It was as awesome as you'd think it'd be. In fact, better. Sydney was in town and helped us rage all the more.

To help ensure that we would be able, at some point, drive home -- the show was in Urbana -- we split into teams, one group indulging on the drive there, the other waiting until we were safely at our destination. Monks of Cool (Katherine and Igor) decided to go first, leaving Team Hyde Park (Lauren and I) to navigate through a tornado warning all by our selves. But! We prevailed!

Then, Team Hyde Park was ready for action. I could spend so much space and time trying to explain all the wonderful, amazing, transcendent, mindblowing things that went on, but I won't. I could never do it justice.

At the set break, we all went out to the car for fresh air, a little regrouping, and a plum. As we emerged from the sweltering, dank venue Katherine and I burst forth! running down the streets of Chambana, arms and voices huge, waving. It was great being outside, but soon, I was about to burstexplodecomeapartahhhh! I remember jumping up and down, braclettes and bells jingliing,

"The show. The show. The show."

And then, in pure Mia fashion, I decided what was more important and did just that. There was nothing I could do for Lauren, who was fine, and standing around wanting to be inside was doing no one any good. So, I left. Inwards! Showards!

It struck a strange paralell: at one time, school was more important, and in pure Mia fashion, I left.

Spending the last half of the show alone was actually quite magnificent. It's amazing the things I decided to ponder. It made me miss Bryan: he would have been right there with me. Adam too. My thoughts spun around Chicago, Hippie Festivi, the point of it all, distance, change. But mostly, I thought about units.

I stood there marveling at all these people there, who were loving the hell out of the Keller show with the other half of their unit. There's a tenuous, striking beauty to when two unique individuals join together, forming a singe unit with it's own characteristic, qualities, and needs. 1 + 1 = 3

Where's my unit? Have I already found it? There's something about our fatalistic, flawed, faithhful belief in us that says, yea, maybe I have. Or that says I'm so very, fundamentally wrong. About a lot of things.

But nonetheless, Woot! I say! Woot! Goddamn KDub! Afterwards, there was an inpromptu dance party when they put on "Jungle Boogie" and suddenly everyone had the room to jam the fuck.

Then we walked around UI-UC's campus for three hours, ate some Jimmie John's, ate some tree, had a good ole time.

At one point, we stummbled into the main quad, and were struck by the space, the size, the gradeur? of University of Illinois, Chambana.

"I wonder what it's like to go here."
"Let's check out this informative plaque and learn about them," as if we were so very different from them because we go to the big ole' school in the city, and well shucks, these kids just don't know.
"We're students. In college. Just not here," as we wonder over to the plaque, hoping to learn about these creatures who must be so different from us. Tell us, Oh Plaque! What of their History? Their Glory?

The plaque was about Corn. Corn.

"Well, that sums it up. That's all you need to learn about UI-CU. Corn. Right on. Like ya do."

Igor was our knight in blingin' armor and drove us home. No sleep for the weary: we got home at 6;15 and I was at Cute Baby's at 7:45.

I talked to Big Blue about all this yesterday, telling him of the hippie reunion I saw again, as I always do. This is when a unit breaks apart, one party jamming a little too far foward, little too much jam until gasp! They look up and they can't see their other half! Oh no! Then, the other party (usually the dude) will spot his lost other, and there's a sweet conclusion to what could have been a scary rest of the show. I pointed out to B-man that maybe I'm so fascinated in this common event because if I wonder/wandered off, there wouldn't necessarily be another half to pull me back. It always makes me a little sad to not have someone's shoulder to rest my weary head on after a particular draining jam, no arms to dream in on the way down. Maybe coming to Chicago was wondering off, and I am getting pulled back, drawn to be a part of my favorite units.

It left me with some questions. Are we aware of the units we place ourselves in? Are these the appropriate units? I feel as if being more aware of the units we invest with the superness that is ourselves, whether they're voluntary or involuntary, is a valuable exercise. What am I creating that's greater then I?

*I also wrote this post a while ago. Stupid free internet that we steal from our neighbors not working. How dare they. More about my general goings on soon.