[fannish brain dump]

[hackthis_archive]

We all know I'm a fannish raccoon. If it's shiny to me, I will write about it until I find another piece of foil. Doesn't matter if it's brand-spanking (have I done a spanking fic? Wait, digression!) new or hanging out in the garbage. My current lust is the Olympics. Yeah, I know they over. In fact, let's have a brain dump about this:

1. So far we have i. The Golden Rule and ii. The One Chair Rule of Heterosexuality. I didn't think they were going to be connected, but now I think it's going to be a trilogy. Maybe I'll call it 'I'll Be on the Water' after the Akron and the Family song.

1a. I haz no more Olympics. This is causing me all kinds of withdrawl issues.

1b. This has not seemed to stop my desire to write Michael Phelps/Ryan Lochte. It's kind of scary. I would apologize to sparky77, serialkarma, antheia and alethialia for my nonstop babble, but, I don't see much hardship in 'Oh look, I haz pictures of (mostly) naked men! Let me show you them!'

1c. People, come and talk to me about Gainesville, Florida. (Stop doing the victory dance alethialia). Tell me what typical houses are like. One level or two? Layouts? Pools? Where do people skateboard? What's the weather like? Where's the best cheap food? What do you do at three a.m.? How far from the beach? Where would you go to hear live music and *not* be seen? How long does it take to get to Daytona if you're commuting to your swim club? What's the airport like? What are the town quirks? Random factoids? I'm assuming a lot of Ryan's life (including his home) is near the university. what's that neighborhood like? I'd rather you tell me more than less, so I have things to choose from.

1d. sparky77 loves me a lot.

1e. While we're on the subject of the Olympics. I've been trying not to get all fandom involved, BUT, I highly recommend reading the following three stories:

* four times ryan watched michael touch other swimmers by lifescript. a story about jealousy and observation and boys doing that crap they do.

* right at home by canarycreams, where Michael and Ryan go to Puerto Rico and swim. And smoke some weed. And have some sex. And you laugh your ass off the entire time.

* Scaly Dicks by thorne_scrach, which is a WIP (but really does work on its own) about Michael waking up with scales on his dick. No, I couldn't even make that one up. She also wrote about Michael's mom marrying Ian Thorpe. I kind of died.

1f. What the fuck is up with Ryan and lizards and snakes? Does he have a fear of them, because I've read at least two stories where he was woken up suddenly and was like 'no snakes!'


2. I have seen 'Bomb in the Garden' (1.07 Generation Kill), but I can't talk about it yet, because that would be admitting that there is no more coming and that makes the baby Ari really fucking depressed. FYI: There is a buy one get one 1/2 price sale happening at HBO.com, too, so, if you buy some stuff...

3. I've been given to undestand that the only three network shows I watch (Chuck, Gossip Girl and The Sarah Connor Chronicles) are going to be on a the same fucking time (Mon, 8p). Way to fail networks!

Comments

[alethialia.livejournal.com]

I think it's going to be a trilogy. Maybe I'll call it 'I'll Be on the Water' after the Akron and the Family song.

Fuck, yeah! (Also, that link ain't workin' for me. ::pokes it:: Nope. Getting a 404 error.)

I don't see much hardship in 'Oh look, I haz pictures of (mostly) naked men! Let me show you them!'

No, no apologies necessary. Though, porn...I wouldn't object to that.

People, come and talk to me about Gainesville, Florida. (Stop doing the victory dance [info]alethialia).

Please, you know you like it. ::does happy dance:: Also? LOVE the questions.

I have nothing to offer you except moral support. Also, I'm writing Australian GK porn, but that's not done yet.

Ooh, ooh, love those stories. I'd read the first two, but not the third...so I read that and promptly died.

Ryan complaining loudly about not seeing sharks for most of it, and making repeated references to flogging the dolphin when he wasn't.

::dies some more::

Oh, wait. I have something for you! Nathaniel Fick to speak at the DNC on Thursday in Primetime. Pet. Theory!!! I so win, is all.

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

a) Song link fixed. Thanks for the heads up.

b) I've done some preliminary research on Gainesville (I have some mental notes), but I would really like a ground's eye view. Even if it's little things like the grass is always brown or the trash gets picked up on Wednesday.

c) GK PRON!

d) I'm glad you liked the stories! I've been trying to stay away from other people's stuff, because I don't want it clouding my characterizations, but when I thought I was done, before somebody was all SHOWER SEX! I had to see what else was happening in the world.

e) Nate's going to be at the DNC? But... but... Bill's speaking tonight. And I have to go running! And and... oh, poo, fine.

[alethialia.livejournal.com]

I've been trying to stay away from other people's stuff, because I don't want it clouding my characterizations, but when I thought I was done, before somebody was all SHOWER SEX! I had to see what else was happening in the world.

Psha, shower sex is, like, good for the WORLD. Obviously that unknown person was doing you a FAVOR.

As for the rest of the stories...when it comes to the boys writers are all, like, serious and holds-hands-y and shit. I just kinda scratch my head and think, 'wha?' 'Tis very weird.

But... but... Bill's speaking tonight. And I have to go running! And and... oh, poo, fine.

Well, Nate's speaking tomorrow night so you can space it out. Though I'm sure someone'll have a link if you don't want to watch real-time.

Off to read more about Aussie military slang. To wit: He copped a beasting off the Sergeant Major. It doesn't mean what you think it means!

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

As for the rest of the stories...when it comes to the boys writers are all, like, serious and holds-hands-y and shit. I just kinda scratch my head and think, 'wha?' 'Tis very weird.

Oh my god. Dude, I don't.. and it's like, what? The stories I recommended really stood out to me because it was boys being boys and not being all... well, girls. I actually got a lot of people saying 'I wish they'd kissed' (including you, missy) but sort of understanding why it didn't happen. One of the reasons I'm doing a wrap-up is that I want to point out that kissing can be really intimate, but you can fuck anybody.

For some reason I thought today was Thursday, dude, wait. NATE'S SPEAKING BEFORE BARACK? Do you realize how huge that is? Holy shit! I hope he realizes how huge that is. Holy shit!

[alethialia.livejournal.com]

Dude, I don't.. and it's like, what?

Yes, that's it exactly.

The stories I recommended really stood out to me because it was boys being boys and not being all... well, girls.

::nods::

I actually got a lot of people saying 'I wish they'd kissed' (including you, missy)

Yes, but here's my defense: a) they don't kiss 'cause that's too intimate, but it seems like they're already past the point where it's fuck-buddy fun and games and doesn't mean anything so, imo, pointless denials are stupid. I want them to, like, abuse each other's mouths not hold hands and shit. Or get MARRIED. And b) It's hot.

...what? I never said I don't embrace the shallow.

NATE'S SPEAKING BEFORE BARACK? Do you realize how huge that is? Holy shit! I hope he realizes how huge that is. Holy shit!

I do, indeed. Politics, my friend. My pet theory is, like, REALITY.

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

Yes, but here's my defense: a) they don't kiss 'cause that's too intimate, but it seems like they're already past the point where it's fuck-buddy fun and games and doesn't mean anything so, imo, pointless denials are stupid. I want them to, like, abuse each other's mouths not hold hands and shit. Or get MARRIED. And b) It's hot.


And in my defense I say a) boys. Who ever said they were logical? b) just because you know it and I know it doesn't mean *they* know it. c) what, no gay marriage in California? You are way harsh. [wheezes] d) If you keep talking about mouth abuse and shower hand jobs you're totally going to spoil yourself for #3, just saying.

I would like to say, in pimp-mode for #3, they are hot. Like smoking hot. Like just visualizing it is making me warm. I may not be able to write it because I can't stop thinking about it.

[alethialia.livejournal.com]

in my defense

Dude! You don't need a defense! You rock! I swear I'm not, like, complaining or whatever. More like...making fun of them like they're real people (err, okay, real people who actually did this) because you write them JUST THAT WELL.

I totally just got paranoid that I'm coming off, you know, critical. Which I don't mean to! They're just that stupidly real that I mock them for being stupid...which is good!

Okay, now I'm just confusing myself. In summation: you rock, boys are dumb, yay.

just because you know it and I know it doesn't mean *they* know it.

Yes, like that.

what, no gay marriage in California? You are way harsh. [wheezes]

Hee! Or Vermont! Or...Massachusetts? Is MA terribly far from Baltimore? Come on, now...

If you keep talking about mouth abuse and shower hand jobs you're totally going to spoil yourself for #3, just saying.

Eeee! Oh, happy day!

in pimp-mode for #3,

Um, hi, am there. No pimping required. No shame 'round these parts, nope, not me.

they are hot. Like smoking hot. Like just visualizing it is making me warm. I may not be able to write it because I can't stop thinking about it.

You TEASE! And - and...this 'may not' stuff makes baby Jesus CRY. For which you should feel BAD. And therefore write as quickly as possible.

Um, right. Off to find my dignity and all.

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

Awww, sweetie, I was totally just messing with you. And fear not, there will be a part three, I'm just trying to get my ducks in a row first. :)

Don't cry, Baby Jesus!

[alethialia.livejournal.com]

I am easily played, 'tis true. And yet you've no idea how freakin' HAPPY this makes me.

Nope, no crying. 'There's no crying in baseball!' Sheesh.

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

I am doing srs research, dude. Just look at the comments in this post.

[alethialia.livejournal.com]

I have been looking! You snap your fingers and people come and give you things! It's awesome!

And I love this picture, too. There seemed to be one specific photographer who was GREAT at getting them in these shockingly intimate moments. Or was just artistic enough to make it seem so. Or something. It makes icon-making so very much fun...

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

I have been looking! You snap your fingers and people come and give you things! It's awesome!

*snaps fingers* *Looks around for naked Brad and Nate.* *sees nothing* You lied to me! Seriously though I am eternally grateful to the people who read my journal and who answer my questions and try to help me out. People don't have to be helpful, so I'm always very touched when they are.

[alethialia.livejournal.com]

*snaps fingers* *Looks around for naked Brad and Nate.* *sees nothing* You lied to me!

Hey, I've got, like, 10 pages of porn that says you're wrong. They just...haven't finished yet. Heh.

This is why fandom is love. LOVE!

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

They haven't finished yet. Well, I am loathe to rush them. Really. [is so lying]

[alethialia.livejournal.com]

They are making USE of their one-night-stand. ::coughs:: 'Cause it's the only time EVER. And, ya know, if you had Nate Fick for one night, wouldn't you put him through his paces?

Right. That's what I thought.

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

Wouldn't I want to put him through his paces? Dude. You don't even want to give me that option. He'd have to be wheeled away the next day. Everything in the house would be wrecked.

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

Also, your icon is one of my favorite photos of them.

[silentfire.livejournal.com]

The Gainesville Regional Airport is roughly the size of a postage stamp! It has only two runways, and only a small fraction of their daily flights are commercial airlines. I think there are three baggage claim carousels, and they're located right across the room from ticketing/check-in. They offer daily shuttle service to and from several cities, including Atlanta. There are no parking structures, just a parking lot. From the front, it looks like nothing so much as a branch of one's local library.

When I visited a few years ago, Gainesville seemed to be a very typical college town. Though I didn't see much of it, what I did see didn't make much of an impression. I'd wager, though, that there's been a fair amount of construction and change since I was last there, so hopefully someone else can give you more details on that.

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

See, now this, this is the sort of stuff I want to hear about. Thank you!

[berreh.livejournal.com]

Hey, starfishchick pointed me in your direction as both a native of Gainesville and a lover of Michael. :D I'd be happy to fill you in on what I can, but it's hard to get specific b/c I don't know much about Lochte. The Gainesville experience is very different depending on if you're a preppy/frat type, scene kid, hippy, geek, student, non-student, or that rarest of minorities, middle-class families who have nothing to do with the university. Now that I've been out of college for 5 years, the UF student ghetto is a different world. It doesn't help that they're building something new every 30 seconds.

Tell me what typical houses are like.
We have everything from trailer parks to student ghetto shacks to suburbia to mansions. I don't know where Lochte lives, but lots of jock types live in the luxury condo places, or frathouses, or 10 guys crammed in a concrete block ranch house from the 50s.

Where do people skateboard?
Everywhere. >_<

What's the weather like?
Hot and muggy as hell. The reason Gainesville is nicknamed The Swamp is because that's literally what it is, a huge paved-over marsh. No cross-breeze, no sea air, lots of bugs, damp and jungle-y all the time. It does freeze in the winter, but mostly it's wet and gray. We do have lots of trees, though - it's not like SoFla at all.

Where's the best cheap food?
There are a million hole-in-the-wall places, and new ones spring up every day. Name a genre!

What do you do at three a.m.?
I sleep. Everyone else drinks. All bars here close at 2am, releasing the masses to drive home all at once. Hooray!

How far from the beach?
At least an hour, depending on which coast you want. Gville is smack-dab in the middle.

Where would you go to hear live music and *not* be seen?
I have no idea, as I am old and uncool. But Gville has a big indie scene and a lot of booty-type dance clubs. The places I used to go to that are still in existence today are Common Grounds (indie), Market Street (dance), and Durty Nelly's (pub). The thing is, Gainesville is a huge amount of people crammed into a not-very-huge town. You can't really go anywhere public and not be seen. If I wanted to sneak out with, say, my adorably goofy teammate, I'd go out to Payne's Prairie and look at the stars, or walk around the dark corners of campus in the middle of the night, or make out in the UF observatory telescope room. Or go skinny-dipping in someone's pool. (But not any natural body of water because you'd get eaten by alligators.)

How long does it take to get to Daytona if you're commuting to your swim club?
I think Daytona is about 2 hours away, but I rarely go there. I prefer St. Augustine. Maybe Google map?

What's the airport like?
Tiny. Connector flights only. Most people go to Jax or Orlando.

I'd be happy to answer any questions!

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

Okay, hi, I love you, thank you for doing this. Seriously. Now I will ponder what you've said. I'm kind of going back and forth at the moment, because Ryan went to UoF and he said he's got a house there, but he trains with a Daytona Swim Club, so when you tell me it's not within commuting distance I'm kind of like huh. I mean okay, it's commuting, but not the kind of thing you'd want to do if you didn't have to. *ponders hard* *double checks*

No! As of 8/21 he was still in G-spot training and living. Thank goodness. Moving onward! Ryan's got endorsements and he just finished college, I'm thinking it's got to be sort of a smallish house with both a front and back yard that he never mows, until his mom comes by and then he pays some neighborhood kid to do it.

Thank you for the bit about the swamp weather -- these things really are important in my head -- as is the stuff about not hitting the bar if you don't want to be seen. I can totally see Ryan thinking it would be way better to trespass in somebody's yard and go skinny dipping. *blinks* Wow. Where was I? Tell me about the observatory tower. I am DEAD curious now. Is it always open? If not, do you know the hours, or the area, or something.

I feel like we also need to make a midnight trip to the grocery store. I have no idea why. Probably that two a.m. last call, which is also super important in my head. Jax or Orlando. Hmm. See, now I need to check flights. Do you know how far is either one from Gville? Michael's into Chinese food, is there any particular hole in the wall you can think of? I think I need to see the observatory on line. Have you visited it recentlyish?

Also, would it be possible for me to ask you more questions later, if I have them? Regardless, thank you SO much. This is way more than I'd hoped for.

[berreh.livejournal.com]

I was just telling my husband I've become Resident Gainesville Consultant, and he's like, "Romantic slash set in Gainesville? Now that's talent!" :D The thing is, Gainesville is very liberal privately but very conservative publicly. We have Gay Pride Week, but only one gay club (that contains mostly straight people). In regular bars, two girls making out would be totally bitchin yo, but two dudes would be get-a-rope time. You rarely see real same-sex couples showing PDA, if ever. It bums me out. :( But at parties or raves, or at UC (the gay club), or in the bathrooms of straight clubs, or on campus, heck yeah, especially with the younger crowd and their crazy bandom ways. :D I only bring that up so that you didn't have them making out at Denny's or something. That probably wouldn't go over so well.

For late-night food runs, Waffle House and Perkins are both super popular. After last call, both of them would be packed. Wal-Mart is open 24/7, but it's more popular for feral teenagers than college kids. The 24-hour Albertson's (grocery store) recently closed, but I doubt anyone would call canon on you for that. There are tons of CVS and Walgreens around that are 24/7, too. Plenty of places for late-night snack runs and covert schnoogling.

My favorite Chinese place by far is Szechuan Panda (or The Panda) which has the most kick-ass buffet ever. I can totally see them kicking Michael out after his 6,000th calorie run. :D There's also a sushi place that delivers called Sushi 2 Go and a couple of Bento and pan-Asian places. Buddha Belly does huge baskets of curry for dirt cheap.

JIA is about 1 1/2 hours from Gville; OIA is more like 2 1/2 with traffic. I've used both tons of times to get to moots and stuff. And the UF Observatory is open to the public on Friday nights afaik. Maybe he could get in during off hours? It's not very crowded, since it's not a bar or club. :D My school, SFC, also has a brand new planetarium. And a zoo!

Feel free to ask me whatever. I feel all useful and stuff. :D My gmail is "berreh", and I'm always around Steph's journal too.

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

a) Your husband seems, like, kind of awesome. Rock on.

b) I most definitely wasn't planning on them going crazy at Denny's; I feel like that would just be a bad idea in any part of the USA. I've lived in some of the biggest cities in the world and you don't really get any PDA. The few times I thought I was seeing it, it turned out the guy was just less guy looking than I expected.

c)The closed Albertson's is actually a really good point. I can totally see the stoner mistake of showing up and then remembering, "Shit, that's closed down, I forgot."

d) I am very interested in the boys hitting up The Panda and trying to "kill the buffet" (ever done that?). What's the decor like? Dingy? ascetic? Brokedown college palace? I presume they have a soda machine on the wall and plastic trays and utensils?

e) BWI to JIA for arrival in the middle of the night it is. Michael fucking hates daytime flights these days, too many people at the airport. Night flights though, you only get people drugging their kids and businessmen.

f) THANK YOU. Seriously. I cannot begin to tell you how much I appreciate your help.

[berreh.livejournal.com]

There are two Pandas, and both are fairly run-down/patched together. Chinese lanterns with Scotch tape on them, peeling paint, Asian flea market kitsch stuff everywhere. It's awesome, and the people are really friendly.

If you want a feel for the area, try ufl.edu, sfc.edu, and some wiki pictures (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Gainesville_(Florida)). It's hot as hell and the students can drive me batty, but there are some really pretty places. And we do have blue skies and clouds. :D

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

Wicked. I can not come to the keyboard right now as I am on a virtual tour of UoF. Dude, Lake Alice is a gator sanctuary! And bats! That's totally Ryan's idea of a destination spot. As long as you stay in the car and there are no lizards. I get the impression he's really not feeling the lizard thing.

Again, thank you.

Thank you.

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

So, the story has been written and posted and I just wanted to thank you (again) for all your help. I greatly appreciate it.

[thisisbone.livejournal.com]

If it helps, wpadmirer lives there and has forever. I'll give her a heads-up that you're looking for a G'ville local and send her this way.

I visited there once, and it was, hands-down, honest-to-God, the hottest I've ever been in my entire life, and I've lived in both Orlando and Memphis. Like the previous poster said, nothing moves, there's no breeze, and the air comes in thick and sits on you. Mosquitoes the size of Big Macs don't help, either. The light is white in the summer because there's too much moisture in the air for blue sky -- summer skies in Florida tend to be white and gray, then black mid-afternoon when torrential rain sheets down for twenty minutes or so. Then the streets literally steam as the moisture tries to evaporate. Gainesville's very Southern, especially compared to, say, Orlando or anywhere farther south. In Florida, the souther you go, the norther you get. Gainesville is still considered "north" Florida.

My most vivid memory of Gainesville is that a gator had found its way up a drainage ditch and was terrorizing local pets. If that helps. ;)

[alethialia.livejournal.com]

The light is white in the summer because there's too much moisture in the air for blue sky -- summer skies in Florida tend to be white and gray, then black mid-afternoon when torrential rain sheets down for twenty minutes or so.

That is the most BIZARRE thing I've ever heard![Yes, hi, am stalking hackthis' LJ...but she invited me, so.] The sky is WHITE? Like, as if there were clouds? Or are there clouds? 'Cause now my brain's going through, like, light spectrums and this does not compute.

I recall, from my one trip to Florida, the rain that comes out of nowhere and pours down so hard you have to pull over because it can't flow off the streets fast enough and tires can't get any traction, only to then disappear in twenty minutes. But white skies? Weird.

::cleaves to socal with its 75-degree weather year-round::

[thisisbone.livejournal.com]

The sky washes out from the glare of the sun and the heavy moisture in the air. Everything looks kind of fuzzy around the edges, indistinct. You can get blue sky days in summer, but they're not as common as the build-up of high grayish white.

The rain effect on the roads is called "ponding" and it can kill you! I did a 180 across a four-lane highway once in Orlando -- thank God nobody was coming the other way at the time.

[alethialia.livejournal.com]

The sky washes out from the glare of the sun and the heavy moisture in the air. Everything looks kind of fuzzy around the edges, indistinct.

That is disturbingly cool. To see, not to live in. To see once and then run far away.

The rain effect on the roads is called "ponding" and it can kill you!

Jeebus. Ya know, I might have been in Orlando. ::mulls:: Is that where NASA is? (Oh, shush. I was Very Young and not driving and also, transfixed by sheets and sheets of torrential rain coming from nowhere to try and kill me. Personally.)

[thisisbone.livejournal.com]

NASA is at the Kennedy Space Center on the Atlantic coast, about an hour east of Orlando. From where we lived north of Orlando, we could see the space shuttle launch from our driveway, and the sonic booms on re-entry shook the house.

(sorry for hijacking your LJ, hackthis!)

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

I visited there once, and it was, hands-down, honest-to-God, the hottest I've ever been in my entire life, and I've lived in both Orlando and Memphis. Like the previous poster said, nothing moves, there's no breeze, and the air comes in thick and sits on you. Mosquitoes the size of Big Macs don't help, either. The light is white in the summer because there's too much moisture in the air for blue sky -- summer skies in Florida tend to be white and gray, then black mid-afternoon when torrential rain sheets down for twenty minutes or so. Then the streets literally steam as the moisture tries to evaporate. Gainesville's very Southern, especially compared to, say, Orlando or anywhere farther south. In Florida, the souther you go, the norther you get. Gainesville is still considered "north" Florida.

Really? *ponders* Okay.

*makes notes of one rain storm*

After all, who can object to wet men?

Also? THANK YOU! Gods I love research sometimes.

[thisisbone.livejournal.com]

I never object to wet men. Ever.

Florida gets most of its rain in the summer, especially July and August. Daily thunderstorms around 3 PM are the norm, not the exception. They're fast and furious (what? I've got the new flick on my mind!) -- hot wet air from the Atlantic meets up with hot wet air off the Gulf in inland Florida and KABOOM.

Winters in Florida are spectacular -- low humidity, temperate temps, blue, blue skies. Epic skies. I really miss that.

[lifeinwords.livejournal.com]

Another Gville resident chiming in with other factoids: Nothing delivers past 10 PM but like, 5 Star Pizza, which is not great but suffices. On game days (football), you can't get through the traffic surrounding campus, and it's seriously insane--honking, screaming, banners everywhere, very Southern (think FNL).

From Wednesday night to Sunday night if you want to take University (the street spanning the top of campus and the most central one as well) you'll see drunk kids wandering around until 3 AM--the sorority girls toddling in high heels, the frat boys running through traffic. Tons of skateboards, people on bikes, and scooters--all without helmets, usually. Scooters are
very big here. You can't really find parking on or around the campus most of the time unless you're willing to pay for it, but it's easy to live within walking or biking distance. The city buses are okay, and the campus has its own eight or so bus lines, one just going around campus from the commuter lots.

St. Augustine is a close beach/town with weird history (fountain of youth! living history museum!) and has good music, too--about 1.5 hours away. One of the things that I didn't really think about when I came in as a grad student is how huge UF is. We're talking 60,000 students, staff, and faculty. Summers are almost like living in a ghost town, because all of a sudden there's no traffic, no masses of undergrads spilling out of the 4sq. mile campus. At 5 PM on a Friday, it can take half an hour to go ten miles--and this is a small town! I went to a private liberal arts school, man, and I was not prepared for UF to have a building just for Agricultural and Biological Engineering. And horses. And small patches of farmland. And a bat house/sanctuary. Very diverse campus, lots of frat and sorority activity. Tons of events.

Oh, there's a small bar called Tim & Terry's about two blocks from campus that's small and a bit private-a fenced in back patio, a big front porch where people sit and smoke, dollar draft beers, and you can pick up condoms, rolling papers, or guitar strings at the counter. They share the house with a music studio upstairs. They have live music sometimes, too. Mostly if you're there, you're either a grad student or a townie, and no one gives a fuck what you do.

There are plenty of nice streets, playgrounds, and parks to wander around while smoking or drinking, if you want something more private, but the downtown scene is full of undergrads and, as a previous commenter said, totally not private. Oh, and they have drag (and occasionally drag king!) shows at the UC sometimes, so more of the gay community comes out then. There's also a lesbian bar that I've never checked out, that's apparently very Western. Wild Angels, I think it was called, and you can play pool there.

The university has an indoor and an outdoor pool, and some people have their own, but I haven't seen many. A lot of the older houses are cracker style or old South style, with turrets and all that. The streets are really narrow--I swear half of them should be one way, especially with the trees that grow out into the street and have just been paved around. Tons of lizards in the summer, just everywhere. They'll sit on your windshield wipers and ride around town with you.

Hope these details help!

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

Okay, first of all, THANK YOU. Fuckin' A my flist is awesome. I think Ryan has a scooter, actually I'm 90% positive that he crashed it at one point. Maybe it's in a heap in the front yard I wouldn't be surprised.

I like the summers are a ghosttown thing, except school is back in session yes? So, back to the crazy. 60,000 people though? That's... I've never lived in a college *town*; everything for me is a major city. UF has horses on campus? I feel like we got mixed up here. ETA: I am taking a virtual UoF tour! I see the alligator sanctuary! I was telling strawberryelfsp that this is totally Ryan's idea of a destination spot. As long as you stay in the car.

Tell me more about Tim & Terry's. Brick building? Brick indoors? Sports bar or people bar. Dirty and shabby or just dark and clean. Darts? Pool? When do you think would be the least busy time to go. I'm thinking around two on a Tuesday or Wednesday as those a typically when people try to be in class so they can drink after 4 or 5.

Lots of parks and playgrounds for skateboarding, yes? And skinny streets. Excellent. I think we're going to the park to get caught in a humid torrential downpour. Wet men are always good, right?

Also, I know not what you mean by a cracker house. Plz to explain. Also, finally, something about lizards! This totally explain it. I know Ryan's place has got to be overrun or something. I'd be afraid too.

Did I say thank you already? I did? Well, thank you again.

[lifeinwords.livejournal.com]

This (http://www.oldhouseweb.com/architecture-and-design/cracker-farmhouses-1840-1920.shtml) is a cracker house. made of wood, one story, longer than they are wide, set up off the ground so as to avoid the flooding (no basements in Florida, man!), big front porch. There are tons of them in the yet-to-be-gentrified portions of town; you'll drive by and see the whole family outside because there's only four rooms inside and eight of them.

Since there's an agricultural school and animal husbandry and whatever, there's a small fenced in area south of campus with actual horses in it--I have no idea why. I mean, bat sanctuary. Tim & Terry's is a cracker house, with a porch, a small front area with a bar on the left, cold lane for beer on the right wall, and a narrow walkway between. You can get burgers there too, even a garden burger. Through the entryway (wood floors, low ceilings, narrow halls, old-style building) and past the bathrooms is a slightly more open area clogged with amps and other music equipment, some chairs. You go out the door and down some wooden steps to the patio, with metal tables and chairs, umbrellas and everything. It's clean-ish, with no games, but recycling tubs on the front porch for your bottles, which is nice. It's very laid back, a 'people come here to chat' place, so I thought it might fit your characters. Very home-grown and authentic; grad students stop by there after seminars. And it's within a block of a Chipotle and a Burrito Brothers, so convenient for food runs.

Oh, and don't forget the trees, the 100+ year old live oaks covered in moss and vines hanging down everywhere. I was totally disoriented when I moved here because I'm from the desert and NYC, and I couldn't navigate--the streets don't connect and the names change, and every 25 feet there's a wall of fucking trees, so you can never see where you are. The lizards don't come inside much, and they're definitely less creepy than the giant cockroaches and palmetto bugs, but yeah--every time you move you can see them scattering. In my old house, I'd be taking a shower at night and I'd look out the frosted glass window and see the underside of lizards, just hanging out near the heat. That was creepy.

Oh, and one other thing! One of my favorite places to go in Gainesville is the enormous butterfly sanctuary attached to the Florida Museum of Natural History. It's so zen and calming, and if you stay still, various types of butterflies will just come up and land on you. Plus, if you come during the day, you avoid the children. There are doves, and they feed the butterflies with trays full of mango and banana, and a small stream, and koi--it's really a minature rain forest, at least 25 feet tall. It would be an amazing place to go while stoned, I just realized. Check it out. (http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/butterflies/)


...Am I in this fandom now? Oh fuck, I think I am. I blame you! And you're welcome.

One last question

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

At Tim & Terry's do you get wait service on the patio or do you have to go inside to order food?

Re: One last question

[lifeinwords.livejournal.com]

You go in to order, and then when it's ready they come outside and give it to you.

Thank you.

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

So, the story has been written and posted and I just wanted to thank you (again) for all your help. I greatly appreciate it.

[wpadmirer.livejournal.com]

thisisbone said you're looking for someone who lives in Gainesville, FL to give you info on the place. I live there, and graduated from UF, so I can probably help.

Just drop me a note, you can write me at WPAdmirer@gmail.com.

WP

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for your kind offer. I have two other Gainesville residents helping me out at the moment, but if I have other questions I will certainly ask.

[nebt-het.livejournal.com]

And because you are off messing around with Olympic people- Ari is falling down on the job so George has relapsed and spent the night partying with Brad in Venice!!!

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

HAHAHAHAHA! I heard that Brad got let off the leash one night!