My First Time...

My first night rolling was unlike any other I had experienced before.  It all started at the beginning of October, 2008.  I had never been to a rave before and good friends of mine were talking about Hard Haunted Mansion and how amazing it will be with a lineup that includes Justice and Deadmau5.  I had listened to Justice before (absolutely love them) but was new on the mau5.  I decided if I was ever going to an experience a rave, now was the time.

It is now two weeks before the rave and the topic of E gets brought up in my group of friends.  Out of the 4 people I was going with, I was the only person who hadn’t rolled before, so I was the odd man out.  I smoke bud on a somewhat regular basis but that was as far as I had gone at that point.  To say I was skeptical at first is an understatement.  I was in the “ecstasy will ruin your life” club, mainly because I was uneducated and believed word-of-mouth.

A couple days before Hard Haunted, I tell my friend I am going to roll.  I did all my research (know what pill you are taking, have water on you, be responsible, blah blah blah) and was ready to take the plunge.  As the days went by and Hard approached, I was getting more and more anxious and nervous.  I had no idea what I was going to experience and that had me slightly worried.  My great (read: amazingly supportive) friend guided me and provided me with the pill I was going to take.  He assured me that I was going to have an amazing night and to not think about it… so I did just that.

Halloween night is now upon us and we are waiting in the long grooveticket will call line.  I decided to go as a punk Rambo…  I was pleased with my outfit and got a ton of great compliments :]  We step into the Shine (the best venue in LA, imo) and see DJ AM (RIP) spinning in the main stage, decked out in Daft Punk threads.  A lot of people were screaming and clamoring that Daft was here, but I knew it couldn’t be because there was only 1 person, and they never go solo.

About 30 minutes after we get inside, its time… time to hop on that rollercoaster and see how far into space it will launch me.  I vividly remember looking down into my hand, starting at the large red xbox pill in my hand, wondering how such a small thing could have such a large impact on one’s body.  My friends and I cheers our water bottles and toss back the pills.

About 15 minutes in I am wondering what all the fuss is about.  My friends and I are chilling in the back of the main stage; my friends tell me it should take about 30-45 min before you start to feel it.  I take their advice and relax for a couple of minutes.  15 minutes later and my world begins to change…

DJ AM is nearing the end of his set, I remember staring at the gigantic LED screen that they had at Hard, and the lights around it beginning to halo.  I started having this tingling feeling racing up and down my body, starting at my spine and traveling to my finger tips and toes.  My heart rate keeps rising and my breathing quickens.  I give my last look back at my friends and start making my way towards the front of the stage (read: dancing my way).

It is now an hour after taking the pill and any light I stare at is like nothing I have ever seen before.  Green and blue lights race around as I receive my very first light show.  Each separate light starts melding into each other, leaving extraordinary light traces in every direction.  I am completely in ecstasy at this point, experiencing a feeling I have never had before.

DJ AM finishes his set and the spooky intro for deadmau5 begins.  A familiar Halloween song fills the auditorium with maniacal laughter and random speech thrown in.  I hadn’t seen deadmau5 before so when I saw a sequenced mau5 head on a guy with long blonde hair I started to cheer along with many other people.  My friend told me that wasn’t actually him, but a friend, steve duda of BSOD (Better Sounding On Drugs).  Duda’s mousehead gets choked out and the real mau5 takes the stage, with an amazing black mau5 head with orange internal lighting.  The intro finishes and the drop for Ghosts N’ Stuff hits so hard I nearly crumple from the pleasure.

Pure unabashed joy rains down from the ceiling as the entire places erupts into dance and laughter.  My roll takes off into outer space, nothing can stop me now.  I am the life of the party at this point!  When I move I am dancing, I no longer walk around…  I dance around.  I make more friends in one night then I had in the past 5 years.  People I never thought I’d ever talk to in my life I am having deep conversations with (after the rave).

Deadmau5 is now fully into his set and I have already kissed (at least) three girls at this point, which is pretty good for me.  I remember looking around the crowd (being tall), and spotting the hottest chick in the room.  Now normally, I wouldn’t have the confidence to make an attempt at her, but I am a completely different person.  We lock eyes and both start dancing towards each other.  We never look away as we got closer and closer, my pulse skyrocketing with excitement and anticipation.

Like a scene straight out of a movie, we have the most romantic, sexual, emotional connection then I have ever experienced.  We dance and kiss and grind and move all about.  The sexual tension is palpable and we end up together that night.  That is a whole nother story so I’ll let your imagination run with that one.

I leave the main stage area towards the end of mau5 to catch the rest of Justice’s set.  My roll kicks again and I cannot stop smiling.  I remember looking straight into the sky, smoking a cigarette, and never feeling better about life then I had at that point.  Ecstacy opened doors for me, it allowed me to realize how attractive I was (never really had much confidence before that point) and I now have much better experiences with women.

I am able to open up more with my emotions and feelings, really talk more about topics I never wanted to bring up.  E was unlike any drug I had done in the past and will ever do…  nothing will compare to Halloween night, 2008.

Since then, I have rolled about every couple months, hitting up every massive rave and some smaller ones along the way, up until this point.  I now advice friends of mine to experience E at least once in their life, because you are guaranteed an amazingly happy memory.  Anytime you are feeling down and/or sad, just think back to that night and relive the experience through your memory.

PLUR