Lazy Muncie (originally written 11/11/06)

(from my MySpace page)


So after the last two weeks of go, go, going, one of my adventures led me to Muncie. (I also traveled to Bloomington twice in the last few weeks for work, I had a birthday party, an AIDS Walk wrap-up dinner, a two-day conference for my regular job, and three-weeks of shifts for my second job, but those are stories for another time)

I went to Muncie last weekend for the first time in four or five years because my dad decided it would be fun. And it was--except trying to tell them what I used to do when I lived on campus. I know we all *feel* independent when we leave the nest for college, first job, first apartment, what have you, but I assumed that as independent as I thought I was, they were still there somewhere, knowing what I was doing except when I was doing things I hoped they'd never find out about. And those of you who knew me in school, well, there are a few things I hope they never know about.

Apparently, there was a lot they didn't know about my time in Muncie. In my fantasized version of the BSU homecoming I pictured lunch at Greeks (which we did), and trips to The Den, downtown and Minnetrista (which also happened last Saturday).

All of these things have some sort of memory for me. As for Greeks, one of my best friends in school worked there as a waitress. I'd sometimes sit outside with her while she sold pizza to the drunks at 2, 3, 4 a.m. on the weekends, even when it was 2 degrees. When she got off work, we'd hang out with her roommates and coworkers, sometimes until sunrise. The pizza and breadsticks are also as good as I remember. :)

The Den was where, as someone without a car and someone who didn't trust the bus system, I would buy CDs, items I forgot to buy on my last drug store trip, incense, birthday cards, get well cards, and a random assortment of other things they sold. If you went to Purdue, it's pretty much just like the one there. I even bought a bootleg U2 VHS and a live U2 CD from their used section sometime in the late 1990s. But on the last trip, the variety of CDs had been replaced with a variety of T-shirts. Happily, the T-shirts seemed way better than the ones they sold before I graduated in 2000, so I bought two that I'll actually wear (I'm wearing one of them right now).

Which brings me to downtown. It's not very big, and there isn't much there, but there were more than a few occasions I'd go with friends--I once got a tarot reading down there, had a beer with a few friends and even my Boston-ex at the Heorot, I believe my roommate got a piercing in an uncomfortable place at a downtown studio, and there was at least one open mic night I suffered through-er-enjoyed with my creative writing friends. While driving with my parents, we did a quick drive past the Carnegie library where I'd borrow free videos and CDs with my roommates (and sometimes books) and a few other landmarks I only vaguely remembered. Sadly, I've learned that over the years a few places I'd frequent--whose names I already forgot--have closed and I've already forgotten their locations.

Finally, Minnetrista was another place with dear memories. A former roommate and I would drive there when we were sad or stressed or had a few hours to kill (which should have been spent studying, but whatever). When we couldn't drive, we'd go to the art museum, which I missed on this last trip, but when the weather was nice, Minnetrista was the place to be. It's kind of hidden away, but there are some pretty views and big houses that are sometimes open for tours. Beyond that, my friend and I did a lot of soul searching out there, even on cold and rainy days.

While my version of Muncie included all of the above, last Saturday turned out to be the first time my parents experienced any of it. That's not to say they never visited me. Being only an hour away, I'd see them at least every couple months or so. They would sometimes come up for a show at Emmis, a parents' weekend, or to take me to dinner for no reason at all. But it was always trips to the restaurants by the mall and if we were ever in the Village it was mainly just to buy books for classes, not fun things like CDs or novelty cards.

Maybe in my own little way, not taking them to these places as a student was how I kept them separate from my college experiences.

Looking back, maybe that's not such a bad thing.