I got stranded! Now I’m in hiding!

I figured that I’d get stuck without a couch “some time” on my trip…. 5 and a half months… not too bad And while I had an easy .cdrive from GA to SC, I got here at 6:30, and was trying very hard to get a hold of Tracy. We had agreed that I’d be arriving on the 16th. She even called me on Saturday, and said we’re still on for this week… but when I called — all day, and night — I kept getting a ring, then her voicemail. I was disappointed, annoyed, but not angry… I don’t know what’s going on in people’s lives…. maybe she lost a phone. I pulled into a parking garage, so I wouldn’t look suspicious. I have this Wireless Broadband, so … I got on the internet, posted bulletins, e-mailed / IM’ed / Called everyone… but no luck! No one seemed to have anyone in Greenville, SC. I had even tried the social sites, such as CouchSurfing.com. By 10pm, I was thinking about maybe some dinner… then I decided I’d get to a Denny’s– that way I can eat dinner, AND get a table to work on, and unlimited coffee. I confirmed, that they were open 24/7. I finally called Mom and told her, that I think I’ve run across my 1st lack of couch… but that I’ll be at Denny’s all night long, drinking coffee, and working.

With the beauty of Wireless Broadband, I was able to find a Denny’s, called them to confirm they are open all night, and have coffee, and drove on down. The service was great, and I was trying to stay an optimist. My friend Dan in Detroit said that it blows that I won’t be able to get any sleep, and that Tracy blew me off like that. I said to be an optimist, ’cause “It’s NOT a night of being stranded / sleep deprivation….it IS a great blog piece, and a wonderful opportunity to get a lot of work done without distractions!” Optimism…. a must when you’re couch-surfing. I was listening to Marketing CD’s, and I was quite thrilled about future possibilities…. the fact I’m stranded did not bother me. I had internet, food, phone, and coffee! Sounds like a good night to me….

And then I got the call!

Yup… at 12:15 (so technically the next day :p ) my phone rings, and it’s “Sadie, from CouchSurfing.com and I just got your e-mail… did you find a place to crash?” “Well… sort of….. but I think they might get peeved if I actually fall asleep here at Denny’s” “Well.. you’re more than welcome to crash here.” “Great! What’s the address?” My laptop made a big sound, and so I chatted with these people at the next table, and told them what it is I do. That made me realize that I have faith…. I’m not spiritual, I”m not religious… I guess more spiritual than religious… but I have faith. You have to, to go on the road, sleep at strangers’ places, and hope that someone will always be there to give you a place to crash. Here’s where it gets real good… Remember Sadie was giving me her address?

I show up, and it turns out to be a college…. actually, it turns out to be an all girls’ college! Boys are not allowed in the dorms at night, and on certain days. It was 3 girls that came to get me, and they snuck me into the dorms. We climbed 4 flights of stairs, and some girl on the 3rd floor saw me! I kept going, and no alarms were raised. We made it! We put my laptop down in Sadie’s room, and we walked across the hall, where the floor was covered in shot glasses. Wouldn’t you know it? Sadie & Daniella are both bartenders by profession! We drank, and did shots, and played this game called Hoopla — which is like Cranium, I hear, since I never played that one either — in which you have to draw, or act out, or describe something by less than / greater than (for example: It’s bigger than a candybar, but smaller than the universe = Milky Way). That was kind of fun, and we painted BeBe’s legs with finger paint, while playing and drinking. They were all between 19 (most of them) and 22. After an angry downstairs neighbor stormed the room due to lack of sleep, an upcoming final exam, and us making noise, thus preventing her sleep before her exam. It was at this point they snuck me out, and we went through parts of campus towards “The Hill”. Daniella & Bear jumped in the fountain, and ran… I got footage of it. We made it to the hill, which was pretty steep, and we rolled down it (Twice for me)- I’m still a little battered!

After that, we stumbled back, got snuck in again… and this time scurried through the hallway to this big window, opened the window, crawled through the window, and sat on this rooftop thingy while some of the gals smoked cigarettes. It was quite amusing, and we were just being goofy. We snuck back towards the room (had a close call in almost being caught while we were on the ledge), and then called it a night. Now I’m hiding, ’cause boys are not allowed in the dorm till noon

What a hilarious evening, considering that I was certain that I’m going to be stranded and couchless! Oh yeah… I slept in a bunk bed (Bottom bunk).