Sunday, July 27, 2008

Nothing good happens after 2am

It's 2.11am on a sunday night and I wonder why I keep mentioning the time.
Something to get me started maybe.
There's an episode of How I met your mother where Ted tells us how 'nothing good happens after 2am'. My mate Youri, on the other hand, used to refer mystically to the magic hours. Those occur somewhere after 4am. Deep enough into the night, and your thoughts will flow like quicksilver. Rives, my all time favourite slam poet, also has a thing for 4am. As for myself, I've always been of the opinion that there is not a more awesome time to depart on a trip than sometime before dawn. There's a joy to closing the door behind you, silently, while the city sleeps. Escapism, if you will. So where was I.

2.11am, don't worry, I'm not gone yet. Four more days for that.
I came here because I couldn't sleep. Which, in my experience, means either of two things. I'm hungry, or, I got something on my mind. Easy fix; sit down and write. Actually, I was gonna write to someone I met in Spain this year, and we hadn't talked since. Come online on msn messenger after ages, and I get this message: Hallienopil wants to add you to her msn list. I figured it might be someone I met in Spain, even though the name rang no bell. But that's the cool part, I thought. Past 2am, and random internet encounters are more exciting than scary. I barely had the time to jot down my friend's email adress (which I only had on my msn list) that Hallie already chats me up: "Hey whats up babe, U got a webcam? finally someone adds me, I am soo fuckin horny today for some reason lol".

Okay I'll be honest with you. Reading that message, my first thought was "Well well, lucky me". Yes I know, what kind of internet rookie am I? But see, 7 years after my first hotmail adress, you think to yourself "No Nigerian prince on the run is gonna fool me anymore". So, surely, this is just a 17 year old msn junkie chick (maybe emo) from Missouri. A fellow insomniac. Just random enough to be fun. Except, 3 messages down the road, she tells me "Well since its the law that u gotta be 18 (nudity involved), u have to sign up with a credit card for age verification! BUT.. Once you are inside, just clikc on "Webcams" let me know what name you use to sign in with so I know it is you babe! http://janeroom.lovelocalgirls.com/ fill out the bottom of the page then fill out the next page as well and u can see me live!"

And what do I do at 2am? I click on the link. Not my proudest moment. For laughs, I answered that I didn't have a credit card, just a big stash of money underneath my mattrass. And I think to myself "Just another scam... it was just another internet fucking spam crap" I'm dissapointed. Discovering internet, you go through a cycle. First you're curious, then your enthousiastic, then you get jaded, and then one sunday night, you return with the same enthousiasm. Thinking 'surely they don't bother with the crap anymore?'. And I decide to check my hotmail account, for old time's sake. Then, my old MSN Space, where, another message is waiting for me:
So, looks like it's time for me to start using this account. I can resist it no longer! I wandered into your profile and well, I liked what I saw.. :p So.. ya :) my name is Marina Hill. I think me and you should probably be friends, because you seem pretty fun, and possibly cute! (it's so hard to tell in this digital world :) anyways, i'd go on forever, but I'd like to get an answer from you.. You should check out my other profile on this other site, I'm always on over there: http://www.friends-island.com/?id=2545&mypics (my username is feistytease). Then maybe we could chat sometime! you know what they say.. looks catches the eyes, but personality captures the heart.. haha.. talk to you soon, Marina Hill

And what do I do at 2am? I click on the link.
Surely, Spam doesn't hit twice within 15 minutes?
In fact, I thought the second message would be a nice counter-action to that Hallie thing.
And then I check that Marina's profile, and it's empty. Rereading the message, I realise my name doesn't appear in it. Nor anything particularly personal. In fact, it's the kind of message that could be sent to 1056 people and they'd all take it personally.
If like me, they're naive idiots.

And I think, it's time to pack my bags.
Not every random encounter is like this.
Backpackers around the world meet with exactly such random introductions.
And we still take chances.
And everyone gets the benefit of the doubt.
Of being genuinely good.
On my ever growing list of reasons for travelling,
tonight, it's this:
"To remember that the social conventions I live in are not the only ones possible".
To backpack once a year, is to reset my internal bearrings.
Something to remain enthousiastic about strangers.
Even when they're called Hallie and appear to be...well...
horny.

Tal Benisty

ps: In the serie's episode, the main character Ted loses both his girlfriend and the chick that's secretly his dreamgirl. Compared to that, I can't really complain :)

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