RTS - How I Spent My Y2K

Hello, and welcome to the continuing adventures of "Ernie & Company". It takes place on January 1st, 2000. We are all still a little tired from the night before (for . . . obvious reasons). So with that, I give you the next piece from the Real-Time Saga!

I don't understand it either, but for some reason I left my alarm clock armed for 6:25 AM the entire holiday. And just like all those other days, I automatically reached over and turned the alarm to music.

Well, at least the radio still works.

I got out of bed at around ten or so to the semi-arousing smell of sizzling bacon and hashbrowns. I awoke a little groggy from the night before, my eyes were slightly tinged of red here and there, I was still wearing the pants I wore yesterday . . . . . and I felt like utter crap.

No, I wasn't bombed, or wasted, or anything (and don't you dare even CONSIDER that!), simply put, I was one of those lucky 20-30 percent (or whatever the number was) that got the "killer-flu" of '99. It sucks! I've been sick for almost a month now! Every day I've been coughing up this, or snotting out that, and it doesn't seem to show signs of slowing. I guess I've kind of used it as a hobby as of late, but only because I haven't had anything better to talk about. Besides, it makes for a good excuse to not do stuff. But some stuff you just have to do! I mean, December 31, 1999 was unavoidable!

New Year's Eve, 1999 basically went like this:

Okay, so you know most of my friends. At this get-together of ours, we had Craig, Jody, Jason, Tina, Tony, Robyn, Meg, Amanda, and of course, myself. Oh yeah, you don't know Amanda yet, do you? Yeah, she was off in Europe over the summer, so there was really not reason to say anything. I fill you in if we need to.

Anyway, we all kicked off the night by going to Meg's place for a dinner she and Amanda had put together. The dinner was really good, we were getting psyched, and (this is actually kind of embarrassing now) we were counting down New Year's for all the time zones ahead of us. Eventually the plan was to go to Jody's place, since she wasn't able to go out for New Year's. We spent most of it watching The "Top 100 People of the Millenium" on one of those educational channels. It was pretty cool.

After killing all that time with that, we all eventually spent the countdown outside, in the rain, with assorted air-horns in the distance. We counted down, we yelled/screamed/cheered and such, the lights were still on . . . . . and then it was over. Oh well. Guess you had to be there. I wouldn't have traded that night in for anything, though. It was just . . . great.

My mom singing oldies in the kitchen reminded me that I had a meal to get to, and I realized I had to get up. I put on a shirt before I left my room (it's respectable that way, ya know), and headed to the kitchen for a great breakfast my mom laid out for us. My younger brother Corran, of course, was already up watching television. Very typical. At least the TV still works, I guess. We were able to start eating now, since my other brother Dan was off on "the island" with his girlfriend (and off the record, those two are as good as married, honest to god!). Yeah, so my mother, being the ever-cautious eater that she is, doesn't even really set anything up for herself, and sets up plates for my brother and myself. Yeah, I know what you're thinking. She's nuts, right? I know! If we don't go out to eat, all I ever really see her eat is fruit or leftovers or something, but she seems content with it, I guess.

Aaaaaanyway, my mom tells us to get our breakfast and then goes off to do her "mother-stuff", whatever that means.

Now Corran and I are in front of the TV, watching Saturday morning cartoons, eating breakfast. Geez, whatever happened to Saturday morning? What is this crap? Oh well, I guess I just grew up, or something. I got back to the wonderful meal in front of me. I don't think bacon ever looked that good to me. So why is it I started hacking like an emphysemic smoker directly after I started chewing? Sheesh. Go fig.

I was really depressed about that. I ate about five bites of my first meal of the new millenium (unless you count 2001 as the new millenium, but that's another story). And the television didn't get any better. I was really feeling terrible this morning. I mean, something wasn't right down there, but I sure as hell felt it! And NO, I wasn't drinking that night!

In the near future after I exited the . . . facilities, the phone rang. My mom yells for me to pick it up.

"Hello?" I ask lightly.

"Hey. What's up?" I know I heard Craig's voice, but I was still a little sick. I coughed into the receiver, but it fazed him none. "Oh, that's sounded healthy."

"Yeah, really," I belted back, "So I guess the phones work, huh?"

"Yeah, sure," he snaps hastily, "So what are you doing today?" Figures he'd ask about something like that.

"Nothing yet," I answer, "why?"

"Well, I was calling people up. So far Jody's on her way and Robyn was going to leave soon. We're going to think of something to do later. Interested?" (Yeah, I'll give you 3 guesses . . .)

"Sounds good."

"Great. Hey, you should call Robyn to meet you somewhere, like at the 7-11, or something."

"Uhh . . . better not. I've still gotta eat breakfast."

"Oh. Never mind then."

"No prob. I'll be over within the hour then," I say.

"Okay, see ya then."

"Later!"

"Bye."

I polished off another piece of bacon, coughed again, and dropped my stuff into the sink. Looks like I've got my day set! I just need to get into that bathroom . . . . . where Corran just HAS to be excreting at the moment! Geez, of all the toilets in the house . . . yeah, so I watched some more (ugh!) daytime television until he got out. FINALLY, I hear the audible "click" of the bathroom press-lock opening. My little brother steps out. Shortly after I found a wall of methane to greet me.

"USE the fan, you frickin' ass!!!" I choked at him as he snickered and ran off into the distance. Yes. A day away from the house will do me good. I mean, southern gas ain't gonna do me already-hurtin' lungs no good!

So before I meet these people again, I suppose you're still wondering how my whole social life has gone since October, right? Well, I'm gonna tell you anyway:

So Jody's a real peach, huh? Yeah, that's what I was thinking. It could've happened. It should've happened! But . . . yeah. THAT but. A week after that fateful day outside the school, we were walking down the over-crowded hallways, and I asked her if she wanted to check out a movie some time. She said she'd call me later that day.

Indeed she did call, but only to tell me that "it just wouldn't be a good idea." I never really did get a straight "why?" answer from her, but after a couple e-mails back & forth, we looked to be on good terms after that. Kinda.

Come on, like you don't think about a person for well over half a year and then just forget! That would be odd, inhuman, and impolite to just go cold turkey like that. So I held on for a while after that. Then things got all . . . . . is floopy a real word? So I really don't know where I stand on my personal now. It's just cluttered, which makes things kind of tricky now. You see, it's just like goal setting. When you're, let's just say, pursuing someone, you're steering your days towards reaching them. Now I'm just an explorer with no map, compass, or anything! All I have are the iron boogers in my nose to guide me now. And they SUCK!

All this stuff was jogging through my mind as I hopped down the hill (personally, I like to pretend I'm rappelling down it, so I hold an arm behind me as to be guiding an invisible line behind me. I have imagination. So what?). I passed the 7-11 where I could have met up with Robyn. Oh well. I was still smelly, so it wouldn't have helped anyone. So personal hygiene aside, the weather was really beautiful that day. I don't know if it was Y2K or anything, but the sky was really clean today. No smog or anything! Oh yeah, there was the rain last night . . . . . never mind. It was still pretty cool anyway.

So as I continue my venture to Craig's place, I'm looking behind myself now and then, the cautious (or paranoid) guy I am. And who is it that starts riding her little bike up to me? I'll let you guess a bit first. Got a guess? Okay, here we go!

She skid-stops at my feet, smiles, removes her helmet, and instantly a blinding flash of yellow-green hair is presented to me.

"Hey Ern, feeling any better?" Tina asks me.

"Uh . . . I feel like crap." I managed a weak chuckle after my comment.

"Well, I'm not surprised, considering last night!" She blasts back. It probably wasn't as loud as I thought it was at the time, but it seemed kind of loud. And NO, I wasn't drinking that night! I changed the subject,

"So, you going to Craig's place too?" She answers,

"No, I was gonna bike down to Jason's place. We were gonna watch this Degrassi reunion he taped a little while ago. Wanna come?" Well, as much as I wanted to see some 20-some year-old kids reflect on how they played teenagers . . .

"I better not. I told Craig I'd be over." Yes. Honesty is indeed the best policy.

"Well, I'm starting to feel sick, so I'm gonna stop there too, then."

Tina dismounted from the little red thing (wow. It was older than MY old bike!) and we started to walk towards Craig's place, shuffling up the hills, swaying back and forth, myself coughing up crap along the road. Man, Craig's place better get here soon!

And NO, I was NOT drinking on New Year's!

On to Part 2

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A Real-Time Saga:How I Spent My Y2K (Part 1)

A Real-Time Saga:
How I Spent My Y2K (Part 1)