Salt Lake City = bizarre

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Since I am traveling as frugally as possible, I am open to sleeping on anyone’s couch, as long as it’s free. Since I knew I would want to stop around Salt Lake City last night, an old friend from freshman year of college crossed my mind. And since I have no pride and feel no shame, after 6 years of no communication, I looked her up.

On the phone, she told me that she lived with her boyfriend. Fair enough. And then, when I was about 15 minutes from their apartment in downtown Salt Lake, she called to warn me that he smokes pot. Okay. But the thing that she didn’t warn me about?

The cat.

I walked into the gorgeous, creaky, 1909 apartment building to be greeted with pictures of Bob Marley and Tibetan prayer flags and Camel ashtrays… and a long-haired grey cat named Ivan. Ivan immediately took to me, and felt compelled to position himself as close to my face as possible. At all times. This proved to be problematic, as I was sleeping on the couch and had no way to keep the cat away. So as I fell asleep between two fleece blankets (shudder) while watching the first episode of “Big Love” (when in Rome…), Ivan was right there with me, causing my eyes to water and my nose to run.

Or was that the hash?

I woke up with the sun this morning, and since my hosts were still fast asleep, I put on my running shoes and explored the downtown city streets for about an hour and a half. Salt Lake is a very strange city: clean – pristine, even – with huge city blocks and wide two-way streets. I always feel a strange, unsettled feeling in my gut when I’m in the Beehive State – like, I know that everyone is wearing special undergarments and shunning my beloved, essential caffeine.

Nope, never gonna live in Utah. That is, unless I go to dental school. Because those polygamist colonies have got to be an orthodontist’s dream.

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4 Comments

  1. Spencer (the fencer) on September 13, 2007 at 4:20 PM

    “Because those polygamist colonies have got to be an orthodontist’s dream.”

    you just went there.. and for that i laugh long and hard.

  2. Sarah kate on September 14, 2007 at 1:48 PM

    You should have gone to see Dooce!

  3. Lyla on September 14, 2007 at 2:00 PM

    A few years ago, I passed through Utah on my way home from Alaska. My friend Grant picked me up from the Greyhound station and then we ate dinner, went to an arcade, and went to the late show of the first Lord of the Rings movie. We couldn’t get into a showing until 10ish because it was opening night. Anyway, when we got out of the move at around 1am, there was nobody on the streets. At all. It was like the whole city had been abandoned. It was very weird.

  4. Lisa on September 15, 2007 at 9:46 AM

    oh my home town… I’ll never live there again either! :) You should have stayed with my brother at my parents house silly… however, it sounds like Becca’s was more exciting. :) wow, haven’t seen her in a LONG time…how is she?

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