The Thanksgiving week was a unique one this year. My parents are in a new place, which is in the heart of the area my friends and I frequented right before I left. The house is big, quiet and affords me a ton of privacy. I stay down on one end, sort of my own "wing", so it was a great place to decompress.
I decided this time I would actually see all my old friends. We always say we're going to get together, but when the time comes everyone is already booked with plans. It was a little odd though, and added to the intensity of the "coming home" feeling that was pervasive throughout the week. Seeing the friends I was around before I left and going to the places where we used to go was a very powerful reminder. Part of me felt like I could take a different turn at a stoplight and go right back to my old home there.
All the nights were with friends you had met. We went to some of the same restaurants and the Mojitos flowed endlessly. Except for the cold it was very much like those nights 5 years ago. At one point Ang even referenced you, playfully calling you "[your name] Milkbar" as a nod to that night when everyone was together.
Since I was in the area I decided to swing by and take a few pics. They aren't as good as I wanted, but they capture the place pretty well. The memory is probably really faded for you by now, but maybe these will ring a bell.
Click to see full-sized images
All of this had me thinking on the way home, partly due to your question on the previous post and your messages during the week. Usually I'll post lyrics here to wrap up each post, a bit trite, I know, but at least (I think) they tend to be from songs off the beaten path so maybe you'll look them up and get exposed to something you wouldn't have heard otherwise.
I also realized that I tend to use music like photographs, capturing moments very succinctly. Even though these songs may not represent what I feel now, they do a nice job of expressing what I felt at one time, even if they are new or something that I hadn't yet heard when the memories were made. If I hear something today that makes me think "I remember feeling that" then I can relate.
So here are a few:
VNV Nation - Beloved
"My beloved do you know that when the warm wind comes again, another year will start to pass?"
Lifehouse - Everything
"How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?"
VNV Nation - Standing Still
"It wasn't you it wasn't me it wasn't anything.
It was a day so long awaited and a chance to be as me.
I let the wind run through my hands as I turned to walk away.
In distant days I long to sense it all so clear.
And fighting time so hard I pray that this moment lasts forever."
Hooverphonic - Renaissance Affair
"I miss you all the time I must face
I miss your touch and your embrace"
Onyx Whisper - The Second Song
"And she's laying so softly, next to me
whispering things I used to only hear in my dreams.
She makes love so slowly, so subtly
washed in blue as she moves under me."
Oceanlab - Sky Falls Down
"You know when it hits you, you know when you feel it, there's no mistaking when you fall."
Ascension - For a Lifetime
"The world I cling to is the world where you will always walk with me."
Matthew Good - Weapon
"Here by my side, an angel"
