Last Thursday night, immediately after I got off work, Nick and I drove our cars, with Becky, Bryan, and Ian in tow, to meet up with Risa and Ben. The plan was to spend the weekend at Festival 8 to celebrate Halloween, watch Phish play eight sets, and have a massive reunion. We drove through the night, picked up two more friends in Redlands, arrived at a gas station in Indio and met up with yet five more friends. Before we drove in to the festival, there was a subtle yet dark cloud hanging over me filled with the negativity of exhaustion from lack of sleep, stress over not bringing everything I needed, and worry because my hearing-aid battery was about to die and I couldn't find any at any of our stops. However, I remember having a moment at the gas station where I looked around at all these people who I no longer hang out with on a daily basis and realizing how normal it was. Abbott and I even talked about that - how people always say, "It was as if no time had passed." Yet it was more than that. It wasn't just that it wasn't awkward to interact with these people after so much time apart, it was that I literally almost lost excitement over seeing everyone because it was that standard to be with these particular people. I think we are so drawn to each other that being together just makes all the pieces fit and we forget that we have lives outside of each other. Or maybe it's just me. :)
With that realization, my excitement for the weekend grew tenfold and I suddenly wasn't tired anymore. We drove a mile down the road to the festival entrance just as the sun was starting to rise up behind the San Bernadino Mountains. With a gorgeous view and best friends in tow, I was ready to roll but even then, I still couldn't have known just how amazing the weekend would be.
How to sum it up? I'd say half in laughter, and half in admiration. The laughter came along with TJ's pink gorilla costume who knows how to bust a move, Ben's Winnie the Pooh costume who started a rocking dance circle, Emily Abbott's attempts at filling out the crossword (i.e. 41 across, "Rage." Emily's answer: "Wake up and."), Robbie and Mike's singing mariachi serenades while standing in line, Emily Segal's questions (i.e. "have you ever had pepto bismol?"), sneaking in champagne bottles to the show, shaky cheek dances, deaf jokes, inside jokes, and so much more. The admiration came with the music (every single set was amazing), the pyrotechnic fire sculptures, the show surprises (giant, floating, lit, multi-colored balloon structures and flaming, musically-synced torches), the beautiful mountains and moon, the camaraderie, and last, but definitely not least, the solidity of this group of friends that I am so so so blessed to be a part of.
Sure, some moments were harder than others: the weekend was not without a messy campsite, lack of free water, getting lost, long lines to get into the venue, scorching hot afternoons and pretty chilly nights, and more. These moments, though, were completely overshadowed. I can still use "perfection" as an adjective for the past four days because I was so thrilled the entire weekend - we were so busy having fun and enjoying ourselves that I think last night and today, it hit us hard. We're all separated again, getting back to the grind of school and work, and just missing the magical glory that was embedded in this event.
I've been realizing a pattern in a lot of my latest blog entries: how lucky I am, how much I love my friends, my struggle with my love for the west coast versus the east coast, etc. I'll try not to be so repetitive anymore but honestly, can you blame me? This weekend put almost everything I love in a nutshell and all I want to do is re-hash it and analyze it and remember it. I am feeling nostalgic and emotional but I am also feeling revived and anxious for our next magical reunion.
Phish fans might be victim to and/or a part of a huge stereotype (hellooooooo dirty hippies), but for me, Phish just gave me a glorious weekend which I will never forget and which I wish I could return to.
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