before you read this, you should read last weeks article... (click here...)

-by Mike G.

Hey what’s that? Over there, is that a ... is that a RAVER?

“Whats your name?” I asked the girl I would learn is Jennifer. Somehow I knew that their was something special about this one. She wasn’t at a rave by some fluke, she didn’t just happen to be at Happy Friday, I was meant to meet her. I needed it. I needed to find a raver cut from the same cloth as I was. Minutes after we met I agreed to take her to Pajama Jam next week, even though I live in San Diego she lives in Palm Springs and
Pajama Jam was in LA. (yes, all map points are two full hours apart!) But that didn’t matter, nothing mattered. I just knew that I had to do this, that I had to know Jennifer and that a crazy raver mission like this was the only appropriate way to start our relationship. And driving eight hours wasn’t enough, I had to go all out for this one night, for this one girl. She had to feel special, she had to feel like this was her night, like she was Cinderella. It had to be insane and it had to be high romance, but in the context of raving. Everything had to be perfect for Jennifer. This was going to be her rave, her break from the world she lives in. A half day from now I would be driving back to Palm Springs from LA with a star in my eye, but knowing that I would have to pay the price later is what made tonight fun.

6:31 p.m. - Ravers Digest Studios

On my way out I double check my list of stuff I need for this mission

1) Directions to Palm Springs (and Jen’s phone number)
2) Homemade chocolate coconut cookies (crispy- made friday night)
3) “Rave Girl” brand blue fuzzy slippers (bought on monday)
4) Directions to Pajama Jam in LA
5) Penguin Caffeinated Peppermints (I ate a lot of these before the party)
6) Music (DJ Dan “Essential Mix” with Pete Tong,
Kemistry and Storm- jungle)
7) Animal print blanket (so Jen can sleep on the drive home)
8) Gas (full tank, of course)

and I’ve got the full support of the RD crew. This is it, raver mission #999, the most insane mission ever. And I’m off!

The drive to Palm Springs is cake. I listen to DJ Dan straight through twice and I’m there. (!) I call Jen from a pay phone “I’ll be there in one minute,” I say. “I’ll be waiting outside!” she says. Oh shit! This is it! I pull up to Jen’s and she hops in the car. “OK, now make a left at that stop sign so I can change.” Originally, Jen was wairing black raver pants and a red sweatshirt, but after a quick change at her friend’s house, she was wairing an outfit that was sure to win the $500 MIP Lingere Contest that night. Let me explain... Jen came out wairing white panties, a white bikini top, and a see through but shiny “skirt.” Wow. No fool, like for real, WOW. OK, like I wasn’t jazzed as all hell to start with, this was just pimp shit right here.

We pile in the car and were off to LA! I give Jen the home made chocolate coconut cookies and “Rave Girl” slippers, which she absolutely loves. She gives me a cande neckless and a look that is worth a million - no, a billion dollars. I have made Jen happy! I look into her eyes and know that this the first of many raves we will venture out to together. We listen to DJ Dan again, and then Kemistry and Storm, the next thing you
know, WE ARE THERE!!! AHH!! The line is long as all hell since the people eating dinner at the venue (this is as a chinese food restaurant) haven’t quite left yet, so we wait outside until the venue is cleared. At this point we agree that I am going to have to sneak Jen’s pill into the venue since she isn’t wairing enough clothes to hide the pill herself. She gives me her pill, which I put in my sock, and moments later the three of us are in.

From the first moment, the vibe was a little off. The people there just didn’t mix right. Also, the Lingerie contest created an over sexed clubber vibe which replace PLUR. It was more like a frat party than rave. After giving Jen her pill, my first stop was the bar. I quickly downed one vodka and grapefruit juice, and then another. Just as I started to feel the fade, I ran into “Rolling Mike” who was selling- what else, E. One one hand, I rolled last week, and knew this was a bad idea, BUT on the other hand 1) it was Marcus’s birthday and I thought all my friends would be rolling, 2) Jen was already rolling , and 3) I had a couple of drinks, so what my answer to most anything would have been “why not?” I handed “Rolling Mike” a twenty, and popped the nasty little pill. I was chillen with Jen, but that started to get weird. Every guy there had to talk to/hit on/ touch/freak/ grab/or at least stare at Jennifer. Of course, I was truely fucked up by now, and figured that she was enjoying all the attention. I left Jen to have her own fun, and went outside to smoke a Newport when I saw a few people smokin a bowl. Since I never pass on ganja, I took one hit (I swear, ONE HIT) and that, my dear friends was the end of it. Between the caffeine before the party, the two Vodkas, many cigarettes, a PILL, and a hit of chronic, all it took was the sugar in the Skittles I ate next to send me into a bizarre mood I would not come out of for hours.

In the Jungle room, before Usual Suspects started their set, I leaned up against the speaker and went into a long emotional trip. Usually when I roll, time flies by (I guess when your having fun...) but this time it was the exact opposite. Time was a thick sticky tar, and everything and everyone struggled to move through it. The image of the MC burned into my mind and Jungle, which always brings me peace, sounded like a confusing disorienting mess. I knew that I had no chance at being able to decipher, much the less catch, the rapid uneven beat. I felt like I had done K. The vodka and chron were trying to bring me down while the caffeine, E, and sugar were trying to boost me up, and the result was havok. I thought about the worst possible parts of my life and of myself, all of my insecurities, and all of my doubts- the details I cannot share even with you my dear friends. This was the exact opposite of how I felt after I picked up Jen. And I just kept thinking: “Drugs are bad. Really Really Bad.”