April 12, 2002 | 10:09 AM

8A) ## Harvard Ave

It is 9:30 AM when John and Jenn arrive at our new apartment building. Scott and Jeff, the two guys who�ve lived there for the past year, are still asleep.

John bangs on the door.

Scott pads over to the entryway wearing only boxers and a scowl. He lights a cigarette.

Uh...it�s kinda early dudes.

John and Jenn peer into the apartment, which has not been packed. There are no cardboard boxes or trash bags. All the books are still on the shelves. There are dishes in the sink and posters on the wall.

John and Jenn trade glances.

Jenn says,

Well, it is moving day... and we told you we�d be here pretty early.

Scott lights a cigarette.

Um... we�re like, still sleeping. You know, we had kind of a rager last night. And like, we haven�t really had a chance to get everything situated yet. Can you guys come back in like, an hour or two?

At this point John loses his temper.

Listen. I have a moving van that is filled to the brim with our stuff. I have movers that are going to be coming up the stairs with all of our furniture and boxes. We have paid these people to provide this service. Whether you�re awake or your stuff is out of here or not, we will be moving in. So I suggest you get up and get your shit together.

Scott rolls his eyes and absentmindedly scratches his crotch.

Alright man, alright. Take it easy. Hold on a minute.

Scott pads back into the apartment.

Hey Jeff. Those fuckin� people are here. You like, have to get up now and pack.

There is an audible groan.

Fuckin� A, man. Don�t they know how early it is? What are we dealing with�the fucking Gestapo?

I had stayed behind to clean the home we�ve left behind and I don�t arrive until early afternoon.

When I walk into our new apartment, I am faced with a sea of boxes and furniture. It looks like an art installation project of some kind�one based on the concept of urban clutter taken to its exaggerated conclusion.

Apparently Scott and Jeff are still not ready to leave yet. I can hear them shouting back and forth to each other from their respective bedrooms.

Dude, I�m hungry.

Yeah dude, me too.

Dude, like let�s got to Burrito Max and get a taco or something.

Sounds good dude. Packing sucks.

John and Jenn are both sitting on the kitchen counter, which is the only free space in the entire apartment. I expect them to be scowling and angry. But they are all smiles.

I have never seen Jenn look so radiant. I am so used to her somberness and self-control. But today, on moving day, her cheeks are rosy and her eyes twinkle. She giggles like a school girl.

Smoking a cigarrete, and uncharacteristically swinging her legs, Jenn beams at me across the room.

Isn�t this exciting? Aren�t you excited? I can�t wait to decorate! Oh! I know�let�s go to a bar tonight and stumble home drunk because we can because we live in Allston!

Jenn has New Home Fever.

It is highly contagious.

I look around at our beautiful, adorable, disgusting little shit hole and I laugh and clap my hands as though I have won the Publisher�s Clearing House Sweepstakes.

An exhilarated rush takes over my body, erasing all past anxiety. The world is new and all things are possible.

The apartment is full of boxes and baggage, but to me it is a clean slate. All past hurts and traumas in this moment are forgotten. There is only love and an endless enveloping present. Time is suspended. Our spirits our reborn in the Now. We are elastic. We can recreate ourselves.

That is what finding a new home means to me.

Scott and Jeff move their last piece of furniture around 7PM, just as dusk falls over the city. In September, Summer and Autumn meet like new lovers, one season seducing the other into silence. And on moving day, they are only beginning this dance.

In the twilight, John and Jenn and I sit on the roof of our new apartment building. Our bodies are broken down tired, and our minds are clear.

We sit in silence, dreaming our respective dreams.

Stay Tuned for Part the Forty-Ninth...

Good feeling won't you stay with me just a little longer

It always seems like you're leaving when I need you here just a little bit longer

Dear lady, there are so many things have come to fear

A little voice says I'm going crazy to see all my worlds disappear

Vague sketch of a fantasy

Laughing at the sunrise like he's been up all night

Ooo slippin' and slidin' what a good time

But now have to find a bed that can take this weight

Good feeling won't you stay with me just a little longer

Y'know it always seems like you're leaving

When I know the other one just a little to well

Oh dear lady, won't you stay with me just a little longer

Y'know it always seems like you're leaving

When I need you here just a little longer

Read the SAGA from

THE VERY BEGINNING!

time capsule from heaven - Sunday, Aug. 21, 2011
31 - Saturday, Mar. 15, 2008
Dead/Alive - Monday, Mar. 10, 2008
Do not trustTIAA-CREF-- they are fucking their customers - Friday, Jul. 28, 2006
Shilling - Tuesday, Jul. 11, 2006

Before After