be sure to wear some flowers in your hair

three days back into the safe confines of chicago and i'm still decompressing from this visit to the city by the bay. my very light business schedule gave me a bit too much time to socialize with my friend from the past, SanFranPushy. she was kind enough to hire me for my very first job after college at a child welfare non-profit org in da lou back in '97 and we always had a great relationship back in the day, so i was excited about being able to see her in her home city. she moved there from da lou in 2000, so we have seen each other in awhile. not sure if my aversion to those on the conservative bandwagon has increased more than i think, or if she's gotten crazier than when i knew her before, but this visit was tiring and bordering on intolerable. fear of karmic retribution compels me to mention that SFPushy was the ultimate tour guide to the city. she carted my ass from end to end in that town, hitting numerous lookout points and even took us up into wine country for a day. very accommodating. however, she's not at all accommodating to listening to anyone talk but herself. i am not exaggerating in the least when i say that this bitch talked the entire time i was there. non-stop. we dissected every last detail of the last three serious relationships she's been in, her hair, her clothes, her job, her likes and dislikes, and, most importantly, her assertion that san francisco is by far superior to any city in the world in every possible way. now, i liked the town myself and did find it charming, but i didn't need to be reminded about it every half hour. i also knew that living in st. louis was difficult for her after spending her life in california, but i didn't need to be told daily how shitty the town was, how bad the food, how backward, how horrible ad nauseum. i know it's different than california and i know she didn't love living there, but even though i have chosen to reside elsewhere, st. louis is still my hometown and i've become really pissed at myself that i allowed her to denegrate it repeatedly. it's where i'm from and we are all derived from our origins whether we like it or not. after awhile, i felt like i really had to bite my tongue because i was shacking at her crib and relying on her, but suffice to say that i will not be pursuing this friendship any longer. to show how vastly different impressions can be, i received a note from SFPushy yesterday telling me that she'd had the best time hanging out and really hoped we'd be able to keep in touch and visit again. yes, i'll be sure to notify her when i want to be talked down to again in the near future.

smoking mah from a milk carton bong in my hotel room was priceless, though. it pays to be in cahoots with the DopeMan, especially when you're on his home turf. wish i could have mah'd out for the rest of my visit w/ SFP. naturally, she finds dope to be problematic and "just doesn't get it." i suppose that someone who champions their group of gay friends yet votes for chimpanzee bush wouldn't.

(that bright, anticeptic smell is me spring cleaning yet another draining former acquaintence.)