My weekend. All four hundred miles of it.

I woke up to loud thunder and pouring rain. The sounds were scary, yet somehow comforting.

This weekend was wonderful in its own way. I went to Nashville to see Blue Merle and Donovan, and it was an incredible concert. I got to shake hands and talk to Luke (leader singer of Blue Merle) and also stole his water bottle from the trash as a memento. Ha. Actually, I didn�t have to guts to ask the bartender to get it from the trash, so Tristan did it for me. So now I have a water bottle with a tiny bit of water left in it. I watched him down it too (I was spying) before he handed it to the bartender to put in the trash. Yep, I'm a freaky fan. I had my moment though, and now I'm over it.

Yesterday, I drove up to Knoxville in the pouring rain. Somehow fitting my mood from the previous night. While the concert was incredible, driving home was not. Everyone was asleep while I drove, and so I had plenty of time to think. I'm never going to be who people expect me to be, and it's frustrating. I can't please everyone, and as much as I try, it's a very draining process. So right now, my only focus is on getting as far away as I can from those things that cause so much reflection.

However, upon arriving in Knoxville, my day turned out amazing.

It continued to rain outside, but we made the best of it. My sweet smelling buddy and I had a great time taking over the romance section of Barnes and Noble to study, where he insisted "nobody will bother us here, I swear". He was right. Except for a lady in a long jacket who seemed pretty irritated with that fact that we had taken up residence there, and who kept peering at us from behind rows of books...we were left to ourselves. We walked around the mall for a grand total of 33 minutes, bought half price Valentine chocolates from Godiva, and analyzed the mannequin hairdo's at Chico's. Naturally, no day could be complete without Napoleon Dynamite inserted somewhere...and so we watched him for awhile. In a darkened office with transformers and Hershey kisses. I got to each a veggie burger and enjoy good conversation for seven and a half hours. The second weekend in a row that I've seen my long lost friend, and I can't remember a time when I've been happier spending that much time with one person. Two eight hour sessions of doing absolutely nothing and having a blast. I didn't realize how much I'd missed him until now.

Somehow, in the craziness of the past few weeks, and amid all the hurt and stressful situations, I have found a sense of peace. I've found friends who never need an explanation, who never question, and who never cease in their support for me.

Feels kinda nice.