It was routine: the keg bought, furniture moved, cheap alcohol
obtained by the litre. Two large speakers served the living room, music
being mixed in via two CD players and Mp3 files on the computer.
 
It was routine; so much so that nobody in the house really thought about
the time there was only a single Cd player which skipped so badly
that we had to place it on packaging foam and yell at people who danced
too close to the DJ or the agonizing we had over the old Harman-Kardon
receiver, now relegated to secondary amplifier duty near the kitchen. 

Yes, I tell ya - back then we weren't the famous Turkish Techno
Terrorists but just some Bad Mannered Goddam Foreigners. 

An old fan blowing over our new powerful receiver serves both as a
reminder of the old times (the second big party circa 1996 saw us burn some
circuits on the old Harman-Kardon at 2 am) and as the measure of our
collective experience in party making. 

It was routine; so much so that the music was not even set-up by the
time they started arriving.

Arrive they did; and in droves, too - we reckon that there were upwards
of two hundred at some point past midnight. People not dancing were asked to
remove themselves from underfoot. All the alcohol was finished off;
there were lines at both bathrooms; men who were found peeing in the
back of the house were scolded. As usual, the die-hards stayed until 5
am., refusing to leave even when "let's make them leave" music came on
around 4. 

Yes it was routine: There was beer spilled, couples hooked up, lots of
dancing, some fancy some bad (no I did not dance so it wasn't as bad as
it could have been), brief encounters flared only to die in the space of
a few minutes or by the next morning, cigarettes squashed underfoot, and
the strong smell of stale beer near the empty keg on the next day. 

Someone threw up in Emre and Nancy's room (which was a first even for
our standards) and nobody (as far as we know) attempted to fuck in the
bathroom for a change. 

There were a few good friends from out of town - big hugs go out to both
Zeyno and Dilek who came to Pittsburgh for less than 24 hours. 

What, then, was missing? What was the reason for the faint feeling of
unfulfillment? Was it the lowest ratio of friends to strangers ever to
be recorded at a TTT event? Or was it the ghosts of many past parties? 

Or perhaps it was the realization of the coming end - to use a cliché -
coming to us as it must to all things. Soon, we will all scatter (grow
up?), get responsible, settle down or whatever it is that happens to
people when they get old and boring. Already we are in the realm of the
haunting (my overfondness for nostalgia notwithstanding); I speak of old
parties as if they were one continuum of fun, fun, fun and adventure. 

I could close my eyes and see Elif smoking a cigarette while talking to
Dilek on the porch, Alex and Mar dancing to Guantanamera, Isabelle and
Luria laughing at me for playing some silly song, Sidney being the
ultimate symbol of cool, Justin dressed up like the Prodigy clown, Jutta and
Eleni dancing like demonesses - many other friends in as many scenes
from years and parties gone by juxtapose themselves over this present
scene.

We tread on the memories of the parties of old while the sun sets on the
TTT empire. 

There may be one last hurrah, but soon the TTT will become a "Do you
remember when.." and will pass into forgetfulness, only to be remembered
in a fragmented memory some time down the road when old acquaintances
meet.

Thus, to the memories of friends - those who have been to all the
parties and those who could make it to none:

Good night.

*click* 

sssssssssssssssssssssss...

M, 
Enemy of the people.