London Calling!

So today I did something crazy.

I booked a flight to London.

It was crazy cheap. Dirt cheap. So I..DID IT.

Even though I'm broke. Even though I have no one to stay with.

I just...did it.

ONE LIFE, right?

I say this all the time. It's about time I started living it.

I plan to stay in hostels and am also going to Paris for 3 days.

I've been to London once, but never to Paris. It's been a long time since I was in Europe.

One LIFE. (And, also, one milligram of Xanax. That I just took.)

Tips are appreciated. Hostel recommendations. Things (or people, ha ha, just kidding, wait, free pints) I must see, do, or eat.

Help a crazy sistah out. Email me at kelly.bergin@gmail.com or PLEASE comment with suggestions.

THANK YOU.

Roarke

From the shore,
it looked like
he had
negotiated the swell,
thrown down his last penny,
for the sweetness
of a good wave.

The storm had brewed for a week.
For seven days,
the sky lumbered,
and
Roarke waited.

Finally,
at the light at the
dawn on the eighth day,
we pulled up chairs and
watched him from the shore.
Only our hands were clasped,
shaking at every crash.

But Roarke?
Roarke only ever knew how to
stride, swim, talk, walk-
live-
with a steady hand.

At six,
he walked with no shoes.
At ten,
he used sticks for swords,
his back always bare against
the sun.

Now twenty,
invincibility is a clause
at the end of every short contract
the boy signs and dots.

But today, the swells battle him,
throw him from his board,
suck him underwater.
And still, he goes toward
every wave.

During a break,
he pauses,
looks back at the shore,
and smiles.

We wave and watch
as he paddles out again.
Out and out and out,
until he is hidden,
camouflaged by sea
and suit.

A flash of white erupts
from where he last sat.
It's his hand,
shot in the air to reassure us.
It's just a glance,
until he bellies up on his board again,
his arms flying like oars.

There he was,
and there he always had been:

Paddling, paddling, paddling,
further, further, further,
just a little bit further,
into a place
where we could no longer
recognize
him.

The Week From Hell Ends Here

So-

If you have no immune system,

and lupus,

and you know,

issues,

it's pretty much guaranteed

that you will catch your roommate's sickness

and it will grow,

this virus inside of you,

until you are 102.4 degree fevered mess,

one degree away from hospital admission.

That was my week. MRSA,

fevers, mouth sores, lupus ailments--

oh, what a week.

Today I got out of bed and went to my parents house,

taking the ferry to Atlantic Highlands.

I had not been out of bed since Sunday,

save for doctors visits and a truly MISERABLE trip to Duane Reade,

where I leaned against a Claritin display for support

and sent it crashing

to the ground.

But today!

Today I got onboard,

found my seat in the back,

and the sun hit my face,

East River spray soon to follow.

I breathed in,

and as I am wont to do after a rough few days,

I felt true,

true

gratitude. 

Things I Said To Taylor During NEVER SAY NEVER

1. Ugh. Justin Bieber sucks. I can't believe I'm seeing this.
2. It's starting. Wait, I don't know any of his songs. 
3. OMG! I LOVE THIS SONG!"
4. Wait, can you pour me some beer?
5. Taylor, I found a great way to cool our beer. Go get me some ice from the concession stand.
6. And I was like Baby, baby, baby, NOOO!
7. Do I look good in purple?
8. Oh my God. He was the cutest baby ever.
9. I wish I could go back in time and be a teen mom to Justin Bieber."
10. If my son is not like Justin Bieber, I'll be so pissed.
11. I just want to rock him! No! Not like that. Like a baby.
12. Oh no. His vocal cords. I'm so upset.
13. His grampa! I'M CRYING TAYLOR!!!
14. Look at Justin. He's working so hard to attain the affection of his absentee father.
15. Why? Why didn't we go to this concert at MSG?
16. Omg I love him.
17. Do you think he wrote One Less Lonely Girl for me?
18. Jaden Smith is so cute. But probably an asshole. And a Scientologist.
19. BIEBER FOR LIFE!!!!!!!!
20. I will never say never  again. I'm going to start volunteering."

Best. Movie. Ever.