My housemate probably thinks I am on drugs. Normally I’m on caffeine combined with a lack of sleep. Such a mixture along with my usual quirks leads to behaviors that can easily be explained. One sentence or two clears everything up. This particular instance was not one of them. Let me paint the scene for you.
My housemate, a sweet, considerate woman to the core, knocks on my door. At first I don’t respond and she opens the door assuming that the music I was listening to was drowning out the tapping. This makes perfect sense since it was at twice its normal level. She cracks opens the door to my bedroom a couple of feet to spy your narrator in front of the door steamrolling on top of a deflated air mattress. The tune vibrating the floor was not the hard rock or electronica you would expect but the hippie-folk music of Dan Wilson’s "Free Life." For a sample check my profile.
But wait there’s more. Even though it is the middle of the day, the lights are off, the shades drawn, and the shutters are closed. The room is in slight disarray - sheets on one side of the room, the pillows on another, the supports for air mattress shoved against the far wall. To cap off this image of wrong ideas incense are filling the gaps of sounds with sweet smell of nag champa.
"Uh, I was going to the . . ." she stops to raise her voice above the music, “ . . . the store. Are you . . . did you need anything?”
When she opened the door I had ceased steamrolling and sat up to give her my full attention. She looked thoroughly confused. As much as I wanted to explain the scene she walked into it would take too much time.
"No, no, I'm good.”
"Okay, just wanted to make sure."
If she wanted to know later I would definitely explain. Right now though we seemed to both silently agree that it would be better not to ask.
If she did ask the explanation would have been as follows:
- The volume. Normally I do not blast my music until it shakes the floor, but I have developed a blockage in my right ear. Hearing in the left is just fine. The sound into the right ear on the other hand has been diminished greatly. So to compensate I cranked the stereo up.
- The song. That was merely by coincidence. It was a playlist of my current favorites on shuffle. The next track was a mash-up of Linkin Park and Jay-Z.
- Steamrolling the air mattress. Sometime during the weekend my air mattress started to deflate at an alarming rate. Since I can’t afford a bed right now my only alternative was to patch the damn thing. After I found to puncture the patching instructions stated that I should completely deflate the mattress. What’s the easiest way to deflate a mattress? Steamrolling. It was pretty fun which may explain the huge grin on my face when my housemate walked in.
- The general disarray of the room. Well, I had to take the sheets and pillows off. Then move everything out of the way.
- No lights, ect. Since this task had been put off yesterday I was much more focused on getting it done. The windows in my room face the north and west, so they get pretty good light. My plan was to finish patching the mattress then throw up the blinds and shades for some light.
- Nag Champa. I have no real explanation for that. It just smells good.
To my concerned roommate: I am not on drugs I swear. And if I could afford a drug habit don’t you think I would buy a bed?
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