mardi 12 février 2008

day 2: Rembrandt and not your average coffeehouse

DAY 2Lucia and I walked around waiting for Keisha to arrive. Went down a canal street with vendors selling tulips and all kinds of flowers. It was nice. Keisha arrived at Leidseplein, so we met up with her and took her stuff back to the room. We got falafel for lunch at Maoz--a falafel chain.

Walked to Amsterdam's history museum, then decided not to go inside, figured we really wanted to see the Rembrandt's and Van Gogh first before any history stuff. They had free maps of Amsterdam, so we got one. Went to Rembrandt's house and saw all his etchings. They re-did the house to make it look like what it looked like in his drawings and paintings. Two words: box bed. Coolest thing I've ever seen. Imagine going to sleep in a large wooden wardrobe. So cool.

Afterwards, we were pretty pooped from walking around, so we decided to find a coffeeshop. Not just any coffeeshop, a shop that also sells marijuana. Went to this souvenir shop where the girls are super nice and answered a lot of our questions, and they told us to go to the Bulldog.

The guard outside the coffeeshop stopped me and asked if I was 18, which was cool. I love it when that happens. I said yes and that I'll show him my i.d., but he let me in. We got coffees, then Keisha bought some...stuff, and Lucia bought a space cake.

I smoked. I'm not going to lie, and I'm not going to keep it from my blog. I was in Amsterdam, how could I not? I would never put myself in any danger, and I was with friends, one of them decided not to partake, and the hotel was down the street. I read all about it, got advice from friends who've smoked before, so I was well informed and I knew what I was doing. I have no regrets. I did it, I know what it's like now, and I don't think I'd do it again.

The sensation was interesting...I've never felt like that before. Sort of slow, kind of giggly. And I had weird thoughts that I vaguely remember mostly the paranoid kind. We were seated close together, and Keisha's knee was touch mine, and all I could think was, and this is going to sound ridiculous, but all I could think was, 'I have to move my leg. It is touching Keisha's. It's sort of warm. I'm warm. I have to move my leg or our legs will intersect. Our molecules and atoms will collide and mix. I won't know which ones are mine' I can't believe I remember this. Then I looked down, and they weren't touching anymore, our knees. But it felt like they were still touching! I remember also thinking, 'Don't forget this, Elaine. Write about this. Don't forget the atoms.'

It was kind of like my birthday in Las Vegas, for those of you who were there. Enjoyable, but something I'd never do again. We went back to the hotel sort of in a daze, and I laid down on the bed. I was strangely euphoric, and also very hungry. We watched tv for a while, all of us lying on the bed, and talked a lot about food, and how were we going to get some. I didn't feel too hot, and then I vomited in the bathroom.

I told Keisha and Lucia that they could eat without me, but if they could just bring me back some food. Neither of them wanted to eat out, so they said they'll go get pizza and drinks. They came back with Pizza Hut, which tasted AMAZING, Heinekens, and some soda. I downed the soda since I read in the Amsterdam guide book that sugar can help you feel better.

I know some people, much older people, who shall remain nameless, but said that they could totally see me smoking weed and being "artsy" and getting my ideas from it. But I didn't really get any ideas, other than the paranoid kind, and I'm already paranoid already, so it's something I don't really need. During the night, I kept hearing noises, scratching kind, and I kept on thinking it was mice. And I wondered if I was stoned, if this was the space cake kicking in because I heard it takes a while to kick in, and would it make me hear things? Then I went back to sleep. That morning, Lucia told me it was the people next door being loud, and there were no mice.