Night of August 23-24, 2009

I remember being on a trip. I think it was like an exchange because there were a few people from the schools I'd been to such as Julien from the European School and Jack C. from the Lycée. We were each with our partner whom I've never seen before. It was a cloudy day and we went into the lobby of a fancy and crowded apartment building. For kicks, we wanted to go on top partially because there would be a nice view and also because it was there. When we came up to the elevators, the doorman said we required our keycards (which, obviously, we never had in the first place because we didn't live there). Some of us tried to bargain or sneak our way onto one but it didn't work. Others just sat down in the lobby. Seeing my chance, I bolted towards an elevator more in the corner; the doors were closing but I missed it. I acted in very much a hurry as well as angry and impatient as well as though I lived there. When the doorman inquired as to if I had my keycard, I just shouted, “Yes, yes, I do, hurry up! Come on!” and I acted very exasperated with him. Not wanting to get in trouble, he opened the door with his key and I got on the elevator. No one was in it although buttons were already pushed. I rode the elevator up to the eleventh floor and then crossed over to one of the main elevators and went down (which did not require a keycard). When I got down to the lobby, I shouted over at my friends and exchanges to come over and as the doorman was about to protest, I assured him they were with me. As they got on, (we were maybe ten in all) they congratulated me with things like, “Ouais pour l'Américain!” and, “Haha, good job!” The doorman was very suspicious but let them on anyway. The elevator had a glass door and walls and many of the real residents were scared. The building was somewhat built into a cliff for the first five or so stories then continued up past that like a normal building. The elevators were on the side of the building in the cliff and it was a fun sight, seeing the light through to top of the elevator, then popping out of the ground right next to cars going on the freeway. The elevator turned into something like a monorail train and went off sideways away from the building and towards a shopping center with mostly car dealerships. We got off here and when we looked back, the monorail had turned into a city bus. Around this bus stop was a street and beyond that a closed car dealership. The bus stop was on the top of a hill. The hill was very steep with about a 50% inclination or 45º with “flat” being level ground (I think I have that right). On top was one, big, long, continuous slab of concrete. We all went down it sliding on our shoes, squatting down like a surfer. I was one of the last to go because I was looking for my phone which I lost or never had in the first place. When it was my turn, I had a lot of fun sliding down at least eighty feet down a hill, leaning to steer (although I kept drifting to the left) and going very fast, actually. I raced Jack down (being the last two) but because he wanted to do it with his socks instead of shoes, for some reason, I was much faster and got to Paul S. and Julien M. as well as the others from school and the exchanges first. As an innovative way (to say the least) to celebrate my victory, I woke up.