Huh?

 

It's come time to discuss something I recently saw, something which had a brief impact on me. There are many times in life when one encounters something outside their philosophy, and strive to wrap their minds around it. The shape of it, however, does not accept your mental bindings, and so the whole thing comes unravelled.

It was at Christmas party for my girlfriend's job at Moore's men's clothing, which was held at the Fairmount Hotel in Vancouver, one of the more upscale locales of the city, nestled near the water not two blocks from East Hastings street. It was held on the early date of November 8th, giving ample time before the Christmas rush to enjoy one's self. It made sense, actually. Why throw a Christmas party when no one could attend, as it is Christmas after all, and most people are busy with friends, family, shopping, work and the weather?  Strange things like this have been making more sense to me. Why just the other day, a man with a hearing aid was asking about sound insulation for his place. I reasoned that the sound insulation was not to keep him from hearing his neighbours, or such, but rather to keep them from hearing him, as with his hearing disability he would like to have his music or TV playing quite loud.

We were in the ballroom and were given free drinks and an exquisite buffet. I had the salmon, as I've been trying to expand my pallet. There was a desert table with delicious seasonal treats like mint flavoured cakes with a mouse centre with little Christmas decorated leafs,  gingerbread men, and Christmas pudding. As part of the event, I was dressed in a black stripped tuxedo with a silver vest and tie and I was looking as good as I've ever looked. There was even a photographer on hand to take pictures of us all in our finery. I have photos of it on Facebook, if you'd like to see. I'm Philip Allen from Abbotsford. Go ahead, I'm not shy. This blog is being published there via RSS feed.

All in all it was the best party I've attended. It was what I'd imagined my prom should have been, as opposed to what it was, but oh well.

There was a DJ, and at midnight, they released balloons over the packed dance floor. It was at that time that I was heading to the cheese table, because I'm more interested in food than dance. So as I'm walking back, I seem something odd. I can't quite describe it, but something, possibly a long piece of sting, a deflated balloon, or a champagne glass, was being pulled under a table. It was dark, so the details elude me. I couldn't figure out if it was an animal, like a rat or a small bird, or if it was someone's shoe as they were absconding beneath the table to make love. It was like someone was pulling something by a string, which made no sense to me. I would have looked under the table, but it would have been silly.

But now, I wonder: was it a ghost?

As I said, I don't know what I saw. Nothing fits. Nothing makes sense. It seemed to shimmer, like a glass, or a piece of plastic. For all I know, it could have been a shopping bag, but the way it moved was rather peculiar. It was midnight, however, which is when someone would expect to see a ghost, and it was in a big hotel, which is the perfect setting for such a figment.

I can't even say why it was so peculiar. I don't know enough of what my eyes beheld. I could say if it was a hand, or not. Why did it seem like it was translucent? Why did it seem like it was hiding from me, like a bug crawling out of sight?

Maybe I was hallucinating. I'll be honest: I used to hallucinate things. Maybe I was insane, but when the lights went out, I used to see faces flying around like demon heads. There were things in my closet which were easily explainable when the lights came back on, but in the meantime I saw strange figures. The ships on my wallpaper used to set sail. Once, I saw my dead dog walking back and forth across the top shelf of my closet. Tentacles would emerge from couch cushions. Birds of fire would swoop down when I looked out the window. Wolves would walk up the stairs. I could see the air. I could see every particle the universe was made up of floating about like fireflies, even with my eyes closed. The floors were covered in bugs. I had to run through them to call my parents.

But that was years ago. Tens of years. No need to worry anymore.

Right?

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