I can't help it, the road just rolls out behind me

The soft light of midnight and the silence between the beats of the drums and twang of guitar have me surrounded. An old man, with pint in hand, is pretending to know how to break dance and his friends and I laugh at his spins that somehow manage to spill not a drop of the cherished liquid. Caressed by the smiles of strangers that seem to brim over their glowing orange glasses, the stuff dreams are made of, my skin feels warm even though I know the night air has picked up the chills of fall.

I've been to clubs, I've danced and drank with the best of them, and seen many a drunk and happy face. But the last night, it was different and it seemed so much better. Feeling the warmth of true friendship blossoming, my head light with beer and floating thoughts, and working my way through the city with conversation and chuckles, this is what nights out should be like and I'm finding it hard to decide if I should stay for one more drink or go home feeling so elevated.

Obviously I stay.

The nights excitement swells to an incredible breadth.
The air bursts with energy, 
the sounds collapse themselves in exhaustion against my eardrums
and the thick beats of the darkness's rhythms dare me to keep my hands from 
soaring through the electrified space between my own molecules and those that 
explode near me in the sloppy loose and contagious dance moves 
or even those that linger in the shadowed corners of night,
untouched by the nights progression,
ignorant, ignoring, blind to this feeling….

The night leaves its breathy, sweet kisses upon my skin, it's touch is gentle and encompassing. As dark becomes dawn, my eyes, closed and sleeping but still replaying the memories, are alive and brightened by the experience. Morning turns to day turns to evening and as I walk the streets that seem to have changed from the night before I can't stop feeling like I've climbed a bit higher. A certain melody plays in a passing car and I cling to it; it recalls a memory and I spend hours trying to recall just what the flash of sound meant.

Then I remember, however many months ago,  when I first heard the song I was receiving my acceptance letter to come to school here. I was opening emails nonchalantly, looking for anything to distract me from the blandness that had become my day-to-day.
It played quietly, in the background, as if it were really only the sighs of a speaker, hardly audible. But it played, nonetheless. And so that song inspires this little, fluffy post of pith, but hey, I'm enjoying it anyways!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JROJQc9Q1T0 Fiona Apple: Extraordinary Machine

"I certainly haven't been shopping for any new shoes
-And-
I certainly haven't been spreading myself around
I still only travel by foot and by foot, it's a slow climb,
But I'm good at being uncomfortable, so
I can't stop changing all the time

I notice that my opponent is always on the go
-And-
Won't go slow, so's not to focus, and I notice
He'll hitch a ride with any guide, as long as
They go fast from whence he came
- But he's no good at being uncomfortable, so
He can't stop staying exactly the same

If there was a better way to go then it would find me
I can't help it, the road just rolls out behind me
Be kind to me, or treat me mean
I'll make the most of it, I'm an extraordinary machine

I seem to you to seek a new disaster every day
You deem me due to clean my view and be at peace and lay
I mean to prove I mean to move in my own way, and say,
I've been getting along for long before you came into the play

I am the baby of the family, it happens, so
- Everybody cares and wears the sheeps' clothes
While they chaperone
Curious, you looking down your nose at me, while you appease
- Courteous, to try and help - but let me set your
Mind at ease

If there was a better way to go then it would find me

I can’t help it, the road just rolls out behind me

Be kind to me, or treat me mean

I’ll make the most if it, I’m an extraordinary machine

-Do I so worry you, you need to hurry to my side?
-It's very kind
But it's to no avail; I don't want the bail
I promise you, everything will be just fine

If there was a better way to go then it would find me
I can't help it, the road just rolls out behind me
Be kind to me, or treat me mean
I'll make the most of it, I'm an extraordinary machine"