Date: March 16, 2005

Author: Rob Chursinoff

I'm writing you from in my pod. We've all become pod people. Emy from the Merchandise Dept. is above me in her own pod, while John from the Ditty Bops has his place above her. Ted from the Guitar Dept. lays across the hall from me. Sara from Head Office is above him. I don't know where the others are exactly, various pods down the hall. A pod is approxamitely the size of a coffin, maybe a little bigger. When the lights go out for sleep time and our curtains are shut the pods become as dark and suffocating as what being buried alive must be like. Except buried alive with a constant mixture of airline turbulence, high seas back and forth rocking and diesal engine growl. When the bus swerves off the highway a little too far it runs over rumble strips, these alert sleeping drivers, or drivers of large vehicles that they are about to fly off the road. When this happens, or when the turbulence gets too rough, I awake with a start, in a dark, clausterphobic panic. Tegan as well, she told me so. I, however quickly whisper to myself that with Dave driving we are in very good hands so I easily fall back asleep. Tegan, on the other hand, while also feeling safe with Dave at the helm , lets her imagination run a little before settling back into slumber.  A little run over the rumble strips makes Tegan think we are about to launch off the highway, cartwheel down a cliff and disintegrate at the bottom of a canyon in a fiery ball of death. I wonder what her breathing is like when she imagines this all alone and in the dark? Probably like that girl from "Blair Witch" when they're camping in the woods and their lights stop working then she points the camera in her own face and with the night vision you can see her totally freaking out type of breathing with rivers of snot running down over her lips.

I wonder if other people lying alone in the dark in their pods miss their own beds like I do or if they miss their loved ones like I miss my dog? I wonder if anyone misses the days of van touring?