Articles from: 2002

Yesterday I said my last goodbyes to Maude, who originally hired me and gave me a nerve wracking interview. It was an awkward goodbye – the kind of exchange which, for a second or two, switched off between a handshake and a hug because we didn’t know what to give. At the end of the exchange we decided on a hug, which felt good even though neither one of us were the hug kind of people.

I got up at six, checked my email, went back to bed, and prayed to god that I could go back to sleep. Well my prayers were answered; I slept until 9:20. Although I wasn’t spotted by the rifle clad guards I was spotted by a friendly janitor and one of my supervisors, (whose footsteps I distinctly heard coming down the hall but I was too drowsy to do anything). I don’t quite know what they thought but their face read more of surprise than disapproval. So at least they only think of me as a wierdo. I had this dream where my jaw came out and my mom was taking me to the hospital to get it fixed. There were a few teeth left in my mouth loosely attached to the gumline and I could actually feel them with my tongue. Strange.

Well it’s Sunday (almost Monday) and I’m back here at work preparing myself for my third night on the sleeping bag/table setup. I spent last night at home and I decided this place is much better. I just hope the guards don’t see me. (Hmm, that sounds like I’m in some sort of 1st person shooter; good thing they don’t carry submachine guns because I don’t think I’d last long armed with my pillow)

I went to bed at around 11ish and by 1:30 realized I wasn’t going to get much sleep and decided to grab a wawa hoagie and trek it all the way to the office with sleeping bag in tow. It’s now 2:00am and I’m basking in cool air. Ahhhh! This is infinitely better than roasting at home on my futon while getting up to baste myself with water every so often.

I’m taking the day off to do some final packing and like most days off, I’ve managed to slip into work to add another blog entry of no importance. In the last 24 hours I have managed to sell my A.C., become $50 richer, mail my bike, go to a birthday dinner, sweat myself to sleep, do laundry, finish a book, and shop for a phone. I’m hoping I’ll be done with this packing/moving thing by the end of the day tomorrow. By then, all my stuff will have been shipped, sold, or given away and I’ll have plenty of time to sit alone in my barren apartment and bake in my apartment-converted sauna. Now if I only had a jacuzzi.

I took the day off, got up at 10, cleaned, packed, sold my dreamcast and games, and what d’ya know, I found a way to make it to work today. I’m trying to find a balance between throwing all my stuff away (I want that fresh start feeling) and keeping all my stuff (for the memories) and I’ve been finding it hard to decide with a lot of things. Like my comic books: chances are I’m never going to read any of this stuff but maybe they’ll be worth something in thirty years. I think I like the idea of having nothing and being able to move from place to place on a whim’s notice without having to do with cleaning, packing, and selling stuff. But alas, I think I need my underwear, certain DVDs, and my bible. And some paper and pencils. And a computer. A drafting table would be nice. And I like the feel of a fuzzy mat when I get out of the shower. Oh well, I’ll just keep the essentials.

I’ve been coming into work slightly late this week because of a flat tire. After buying four bike tubes, installing them, inflating them, and blowing each one out shortly afterwards, I’ve finally realized that it isn’t the bike shop workers who conspired to sell me duds but it’s actually a rip in my tire. I inflated the last tube to 100 psi and saw a tiny bubble forming outside the rip for a milisecond before it burst in my hands. I’m kinda excited about getting a new tire; it makes me feel like a mechanic specializing “my baby” with cool parts. Even though it’s only rubber. My apartment is a complete mess. I did the dishes yesterday which led me to want to clean out the whole apartment of useless stuff and start packing stuff in boxes for my August emigration. I threw away my toaster and my stereo, which has been on the fritz lately. I packed away my videos, DVDs, comic books and winter clothes. I’ve been meaning to pack away my TV but there’s still some rental movies on my summer to-do list that I’ve been meaning to rent. Maybe I’ll do that tomorrow.

I have wished I could walk around with my eyes closed and get to my destination. I tried that walking to chuch one day, ran into a wooden sign post, and cut my lip and chin.  I did it just to see if I could do it. Result: I can’t. I’m an idiot and still have the chin scars to prove it.

I went biking last Saturday. I think I usually max out on the straightaways at 29.5 mph after which my lungs are left wheezing and burning after about a hundred yards. To give you perspective on this amazing feat, that is slightly below Lance Armstrong’s average over the whole 2141 mile Tour de France. Of course I wasn’t wearing those aerodynamic bike jerseys and lycra shorts, which, of course, is what makes all the difference. Yeah that sounds about right.

Yawn! I tried drawing all night last night (which is actually Wednesday night since I’m writing this an hour or so short of Friday). Since I’ve never really drawn all night without sleeping, I kinda wanted to try but the “why-bother” part of me defeated the “looky-how-long-I-can-go-without-sleeping” part and I caved in at around 3:30. I’ve never actually fallen asleep while doing something either. Some people call it a blessing. Well in the words of the Spiderman movie trailer, I could say “this is my gift. it is my curse.” And of course with this “great power comes great responsibility”. Now where is my upside-down kiss? I’m getting bombarded by tiny fruit flies because it’s night time, the window is open, and the three rows of fluorescent lights are on. Back, back you fiendish devils! Alas, I must retreat for the night to the sanctity of my mosquito net tent on my bed.