last night- the story of no sleep

i could write about all the incredible things that happened on our road trip through eastern europe, but instead i want to write about last night.

so i ended up staying at my friend matthew's place. he owns/lives above the bar. he lives in filthiness. this doesn't bother me. he has no shower, hot water, or toilet (there is a toilet in the hall). this is a bit inconvenient.

so anyways, around two, michelle (very nice girl who works at the bar but floats from flat to flat instead of having her own) shows up. i'm really excited because i have insomnia and i want to hang out with her for a while. so we chat for a bit and then she passes out, because she's been drinking. then, i lay down and try to sleep some more. meanwhile, matthew's cat is very persistently sniffing, kneading, and sticking her butt in my face/hair. no sleep. then, at six am (still awake, and with plans to wake up at 8:30 to go to the rental car place and sort out paperwork), noah (the other owner) shows up at the door with katka, who just broke up with her boyfriend (who she lives with), and says, "matthew has graciously offered his bed to katka, who needs a place to sleep." i let her in and show her which piece of foam on the floor is matthew's bed, and which piece is nicole's temp-bed, and which is michelle's temp bed. while i was letting katka in, matthew's cat ran out. so i ran out after it and chased it all around the building at six am. when i get back, katka is already snoring and sleep talking in slovakian. it was pretty adorable, but not sleep conducive for me. about thirty minutes later, i'm still trying (and failing) to sleep, and the cat decides she wants desperately to play. so she jumps from a tall table onto my chest to 'wake me up.' i don't want to give in to her wily ways, so i pretend to stay asleep. so she starts rifling through my stuff and pawing at my legs. i keep ignoring her. so she goes into the kitchen and knocks over a few pots and pans and then comes up and sniffs at my face again. i pretend to still be asleep. finally, she curls up in my lap and falls asleep. i begin to have those still-awake-pre-dream dreams. one specifically where i'm riding on the curling leaves on a giant head of cabbage as if the cabbage were a jungle gym with slides. but then it's time to wake up and go to the car rental place.

the night of no sleep. zero minutes, actually. absolutely no sleep.

matthew never came back to his apartment, so i just left the sleeping ladies there and left the key in the door. and now my stuff is there but i'm locked out. tonight, i am going to sleep at anthony and lindsey's place. they are very sweet people who have offered me my own futon, a toilet, AND a shower.

but it was an interesting night, anyways. not bad, but i'm dizzy-tired now. and now i'll go meet my cousin for dinner. yay!

the end.