drive

i was driving back from Sarah's new place and she lives out in the middle of fucking nowhere. it's like she's a member of a covert international agency and must keep her location not only mobile, but inaccessible at all times.

i left around 10:45pm and started driving off into the night. first of all, when i went out to walk to my car it was the darkest i've ever seen the night. i know that sounds stupid because it's...well, night, but the only illumination was from her house. everywhere else was perfectly, pitch black. i started on my 30min. drive home and felt like i was driving in short term memory. what i saw of the road was there and then it was gone. there were no lines on the road or lamps on the sides. there were signs posted, reflectors, or any other sort of demarcation that i could use to judge distance. it was the weirdest, most disorientating sensation. every rotation of the tire was almost guess work. the road was fairly narrow and windy, so i didn't even get the luxury of a straight shot. nope. every crest of a hill looked like you were driving off of a cliff and God help you if the road curved at the trough. it was so strange. as soon as i passed a stretch of land it was gone, with no forewarning or evidence of existance.

i never really thought about driving and the relationship between random object along the road and my depth perception. it's the kind of thing that you know how to do, but don't know what to do in the absence of. as i drove a little further, i came upon some houses. it's amazing what a fence or a bike in the yard can do for you sense of security. i could suddenly gauge my movements, distance, and spatial relations, in general, based on these objects laying unassumingly in the yard.