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Saturday, July 25, 2009

Sleepless Summertime Adventures

There's something disorienting about forgoing a night of sleep. No matter how many times I look at the clock today, I still can't conceptualize what time it is. I checked the expiration date on the milk and realized I had absolutely no idea what day of the week it is. It turns out it's Saturday. And today was awesome.

I left Sebastian's house last night, yawning, thinking I'd go straight to sleep. I got inside, locked all the doors, and turned on Sex and the City. I almost ignored the incoming call on my phone out of habit, but decided instead to give it a try. My friend Anna was on the line, asking me to meet her at Steak 'n' Shake to gossip and talk about books. I glanced at the clock. Almost one. "Sure," I said, smiling at my uncharacteristic late-night spontaneity. So I went.

"Do you realize we haven't seen each other since May?" she asked, closing her jacketless Potter book as I sat down. "Like, since we graduated high school?" I hadn't realized. We made our eyes big and stared at each other, shaking our heads. Anna, a short, sassy little thing with a giant geisha tattooed up her left arm, is quite the character. We sat for a long while and dished and made up for lost time. She drank countless cups of coffee, I downed a couple mugs of tea with honey. Having always been the early-to-bed-early-to-rise type, there was something strangely romantic and teenagery about sitting at a diner after dark, and I felt anything but tired. Jess texted, asking me to hang out with her--as a joke, because my being awake and willing to go do something was about as likely as Condoleezza Rice doing handstands in jello on MTV-- so I threw her for a loop when I said yes. On my way to Jess's house, this song came on the radio. I know, I know-- the corniness is lost not on me, but I was feeling rebellious for doing what's expected of me, so I'm already no stranger to being lame.

Jess didn't have to work until afternoon the next day, and I was free of all responsibilities, so we decided not to sleep. Before 5AM, we ended up at this gross 24-hour restaurant famous for its smiley face logo and faint aroma of urine and the elderly. It sort of resembles a hotel lobby, in that it's dimly-lit and deserted but not lonely. My best friend and I fully utilized the free coffee and tea refills. I drank six cups of Lipton with lemon and subsequently used the recently-cleaned bathroom several times. Three young, terribly drunk girls tripped and stumbled their way in, dressed in stereotypical "going out" tops and little dresses, to order a breakfast of meat sandwiches and coke. They swore loudly and passionately and danced in the aisle to the restaurant's soundtrack of oldies music. Jess and I listened in, smiled knowingly, and talked mostly about how great our friendship is, the hilarity of 7th Heaven plotlines, and how beautiful life is early in the morning. The sky was the color of the cover of Le Petit Prince. The atmosphere felt like some kind of pretty post-apocalyptic world where everything that sucks has evaporated. Paying the $1.80 bill, we walked outside to the light-colored morning with an adrenaline surge.

We drove around for a long time, observing the gorgeous, empty expanses of park and private property outside the town, listening to the trippy new Black Eyed Peas album (Jess is really big on the future, as I'm sure I've told you. For once, it was honestly her thing before it was cool. Lady Gaga just looks like a poseur compared to Jess) and laughing. We sat on the playground equipment at our park like the creepy ne'er-do-wells that we are. Jess had the brilliant idea to go to the mall (which we hate) still two hours before the stores open, to mockingly power-walk with the frumpy women in athletic gear and seventy-year-old married couples. Yes. People do that. They go to crappy midwestern shopping malls at sunrise to walk laps on the linoleum. I've never been prouder of myself.

After an hour-long nap on Jess's couch, I zombie-crawled home at eleven feeling like a drug addict Inferius. I've since watched several episodes of the boring new Degrassi cast, eaten a few bowls of Frosted Mini Wheats, slept for a couple of hours, and am still contemplating taking that much, much, much-needed shower. I'll get to bed at a reasonable hour, but I don't think today is ever going to feel like a today. It's a little weird, but a whole lot great.

Sexy: Summertime freedom.
Unsexy: My diet over the past week, which has consisted mostly of pizza rolls, salsa, chocolate, taffy (I HATE TAFFY. THIS IS ALL JESS'S FAULT; SHE IS VERY PERSUASIVE!), Taco Bell and disgusting quantities of tea.

Chipotle burritos this year: 24
S'mores this summer: 6
Subscribers: 18,536

Bye, guys! Hopefully I'll see you tomorrow. <3

44 comments:

Leah said...

Hey now, play nice. My mom is known to be a mall walker on occasion. But always at a reasonable hour, and never in athletic gear.

GodIcan'twaittoseeyouIwanttohaveadventures.

Adam said...

first of all, i love nights like that.

second i was literally lawling at that marijuana clip. i love that show so much. it's so totally absurd. eva and i used to watch it all the time.

Erin said...

I don't know if you're a fan of Sarah Dessen, but her latest book, Along for the Ride, is about an insomniac and this post really reminded me of it. Doing ordinary things late at night makes them infinitely more exciting. I've always wanted to see what goes on in my town in the dead of the night.

amy said...

ahh, now i'm glad i checked my google reader before I went to bed!
this reminded me of fun 'n' happy times doing "REAL TEEN THINGZ"!!!
yay for life.

but i feel kinda lame because its a saturday night and i am in bed reading about people doing fun things rather than actually doing them myself.

Anonymous said...

i hate the new degrassi cast.
i miss paige, ellie and marco. i basically won't be pleased with degrassi until the 'degrassi goes hollywood' movie.
for now, i have reruns. i can sigh and look sadly at the tv everytime i see JT and remember that he's dead.

Not Really Rufus Wainwright said...

"The sky was the color of the cover of Le Petit Prince." That's an almost perfect sentance. :)

Enjoy your summer after senior year - life will rarely be as beautiful as this again, so treasure it :)

Freya said...

Wow I feel special because I got here before you got past twenty comments. See, staying up late to watch really old episods of One Tree Hill is worth it.

Ahhh 7th heavan, how I miss thee.

That night-time adventure sounds pretty freaking fun. When I grow up, I wanna be just like you Hayley G Hoover. Driving around drinking coffe at night. Hanging out at parks...at night. Going to the 'mall'...at night.

Anonymous said...

Hello Hayley. This is extremely hard to write, because you have no idea who I am, yet I am a fan of both your youtube channel and fiveawesomegirls. I'm you're age and am into the same things (theatre, good music, friends, writing, etc...), and whenever you talk about your life, there is always a large part of me that can relate. From the torture so wonderfully named "high school" to talking about the internet IRL, it makes sense to me.

You are the only blog I read on the entire internet. I am not really a blog type of person (I write diaries, not post them), and most people who blog on the internet have lives much cooler than mine. But yours is nicely bookmarked along with PostSecret and FML. I got a blogger account just so I could comment on your blog. Embarassing, I know.

This entry of yours was probably my absolute favorite. Something about summer air and friendship and freedom makes everything seem peaceful. Underneath the craziness of tea and late-night hangouts and driving across town just to have a laugh with a best friend, there is a sense of serenity. My best friend and I always sneak outside on sleepovers to gaze up at the stars, and wander the streets just because we can. I know everyone's high school experience is different, but this one struck really close to home for me.

I guess that's all. Serious comment over. I love reading your blog, and that is why today is awesome.

--Sarah

Pip said...

This post reminds me of that Facebook bumpersticker (so sad I know but we are part of the FB generation I suppose) that says something like: "Here's to the nights that turned into mornings and the friends that turned into family."
Cheese overload! But after nights like the one you wrote about it's actually kind of true.

I love how I don't even know you but I relate so well to everything you write about (I'm in the summer between high school and college, too, and it's been filled with nights just like the one you wrote about today).

P.S. I feel so lame for having quoted a FB bumpersticker. I think that's the lowest of the low hahaha

Joanne said...

welcome to the nocturnal side. the dark side. we hope you stay.
we have taffee.

iInsomnia is awesome said...

Hayley you are genious. And you portrait summer nights and watching the sun come up and friends and good conversation and energy like no one.
Make a book for god's sake.

Scott said...

That is so bad ass! haha.

Last night my friends and I went to the bar (yay for Canada and its young legal age!) and stayed until closing, and even went along with the local bar-stars/cougars as they chanted "one more song!", in attempt to hear this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHz9VJ5eAPQ

Then we went to the movie theatre I work at, got some iced tea, sat on the roof and looked at the stars. I love nights like that.

flitwicks_choirgirl said...

last night was saturday night (yay for time differences). we were extremely bored and we didn't want to go to a pub or club or anything (can you say effort) so we played uno, speed and spoons for three hours very loudly at a mcdonalds. so yay for random restaurant (i use the term loosely) adventures.

Catherine said...

I love nights like that. Except they don't often happen because there is very few things that aren't pubs or clubs that open past ten. =(

I stumbled on THE JOINT. I was just getting a scarf for my outfit. and it ruined my life. I became an addict. said...

AHAHAH that 7th heaven clip is fucking hilarious! and i'm high right now what a coincidence! I'm such a rebel and a stoner that go into my friends convertible. Omfg you just made my night hayley hoover.

Anonymous said...

kay, you have officially inspired me. Not for the first time. But seriously, just the way you described all that...those are the kind of adventures I've always wished for myself. But they never seem to happen. I thought awesome all-nighters like that only happened in novels, like Paper Towns.
Oh and "drug addict Inferius. " That is basically the greatest simile ever.
If only I was old enough to drive a car, and be let out at all hours.
#hatesbeingonly15wishesshewasatleast16

-alex

kateribethrose said...

Wow, Hayley, your life sounds more exciting than mine. Yay, I used to work at a mall and would see those people walk by in the morning. they made me stand out with these samples of meat and for at least an hour it was all people just jogging around.
Keep up the great writing! It's awesome!

Openly Saucy said...

What agreement do you have with your parents on what time you come home?
Do you even *have* a curfew?!
Do they trust you so much that you can leave the house at 1AM and it's nothing? Or did you sneak out?
Surely not.

Because while you may fool those judgmental old folks with that pink hair you've got, we (your readers) know that you're a good girl.

Jessamyn said...

hey, eating all that food in a week to me is very sexy :) Of course... it's mostly because I eat all that crap and think that I'm the sexiest person alive lmao.

VicMorrowsGhost said...

You know if you drink 100 cups of tea in a day they let you be the queen.

Marlena said...

I love those endless/nonexistent days. They always feel beautiful and infinite and bubbly and confusing and right.
If we sleep as much as we did last May in threeish weeks, I'll be severely disappointed in us. Let's have adventures!

JJC1138 said...

So freakin' jealous... Most nights I read your blog shortly before going to bed, despite being about 5 time zones east, but sadly that's usually because I was working all night, not having awesome adventures.

joy isobel said...

I envy your summer :) Since I'm an embarrassingly bad driver, I have yet to get my license, therefore lacking the freedom that you possess. Lucky for me, one of my best friends has her license, so nights like that aren't totally unheard of haha. Also, the mall walkers are the BEST! You should have recorded them, that would have been comedic gold.

Rebecca said...

Oh man, those kinds of nights are always the best kind. Unplanned, unsolicited and totally awesome.

I live for nights like that. :)

Unknown said...

*sigh* now that "I Got A Feelin'" is stuck in my head, I'm off to bed. I thought I got rid of that one today. Oh well. Sounds like something I've done many a time :] Good stuff.

Anonymous said...

my diet this summer seems to hae pretty much consisted of Life cereal with milk, apples, and chocolate. Which would be moderately healthy if it weren't two meals a day. ;)

I'm sure it only goes downhill from here, seeing as I'm going to college in a month.

Sebastian said...

Did you get the breakfast buffet?

tabatha said...

that sounds like one epic night all friggen packed into one. Meh, im part insomniac so that sounds like something i would do if i could. right now? its one am, and im watching episodes of trueblood on my foster sister's laptop, who's sleeping beside me, whilst the television plays the movie "clueless". sigh. Does life get any better than this? i friggen hope so. siiigh.
oh, and i love you :)

Adrienne said...

is it bad that i get sad whenever you post a link to your blog in the sidebar of your videos? i feel like this is a special place for only those willing to stalk you to the highest degree. it's like those stupid fangirls of underground supposedly punk bands when they start going "mainstream." i do not want to be one of those girls. but i feel special for reading your blog, and i want it all to myself.

okay, that was an extra dose of creepy.

Hollishillis said...

THE NEW DEGRASSI CAST IS SO BORING. THANK YOU.

Brad said...

Ahhh, sleep-deprived early morning diner adventures. Is anything better than 4AM reality theater? I'm suddenly nostalgic to chat up old high school friends.

Hope you slept well. :)

Elizabeth... said...

Those "mall walkers" sound like another species.
I wish I could have a night like that... but I think my Mum would go a bit batty if she heard the door go at 1am. But I've had those disorientated days and they're both awesome very very strange.
It made for a very good blog too although I wouldn't recommend it on a regular basis, no one wants to be a "drug addict Inferius" more than once a week.
:)

Anonymous said...

I love your blog so much, there are no words.

anna fantastic said...

Hayley, the sun is fully up right now and I have not gone to bed yet.
I enjoy your description of our night of HP fandom.

p.s. I still have nail polish for you.

amy said...

I can't believe that Mall Walking is a real thing. I saw it on wikipedia! this is madness. when did people decide that it was a good place for walking?

Gina said...

Ahh this post makes me so jealous.
That was what my summer was like last year (right after I graduated from High School). My friends and I did random stuff just because we could, and relished the freedom etc.
Now for some reason the same stuff feels boring, and we feel so much less free cause we've all been away from home for a year and are living at home again for the summer. Plus, we have boring jobs.
I'm glad you seem to be having an awesome summer though! And that description of people walking around malls boggles my New Yorker-mind.

Caitlin said...

Tea can NEVER be disgusting. Even if you drink so much you vomit.
NEVER insult the tea. It can HEAR you.

It's weird, when I stay up all night with my friends, I'm always the one who never gets tired, and spends the rest of the night texting somebody else who's awake when everyone falls asleep, but if you wake me up or keep me up when it's just with my sisters, I'll say "Ummph!" and maybe bite your head off. Lovely (:

Anonymous said...

I mean this in a totally non-creepy way...I read this post right before I went to bed and then DREAMED about it.

....

Okay. creepy. ;)

Anonymous said...

Dear Hayley,
I wish I had your life
Love,
Janet

Stefan said...

the new degrassi cast isn't that bad. yeah it's missing it's old charm.. but it's better then when they first came on and peter was the star character. I feel like they are going in a good direction.

Jess said...

This is good!

I'm kind of surprised at how many people commented here in disbelief. If your nighttimerator is running then you'd better go catch it!

CeliaAnn said...

I actually just did this sort of thing Saturday night with my friends. None of us have a car yet, so we just walked around, which isn't a problem when your town is the size of nothing. We were up wandering around until about 3 and surprisingly didn't get pulled over by the cops once. Usually we get stopped a couple times by an extremely bored cop who needs something to do, like question us about how old we are and where we live, tell us not to break into the school then leave only to find us again about an hour later to do it again. We, too, hung out at a park before finding ourselves back in my room listening to Tom Waits (CD) Taylor Swift and Black Eyed Peas (Radio). Around 7 we made our way to a 24/7 dinner, where we drank hot chocolate, coffee, ate fries, and entertained the waitresses with our sleep-deprived carefree silly-ness. After leaving we watched Sweeney Todd and Blades of Glory. It was a lot of fun, though I know what you mean about days following a sleep-less night and how they never actually feel like days. I'm still really young and i've had too many to count. But I definitely must agree that summertime freedom is nothing but sexy.

Melanie said...

So I'm jealous of your life and your awesome. Really that's all that needs to be said here.

Anonymous said...

Honestly, your one post was better than Sarah Dessen's "Along for the Ride." No joke.