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Prologue
Just notes. I haven't thoroughly proofread any of this and tried to
limit the editorializing. I didn't work on this every day, so the days
furthest from when I recorded them are a little sketchier. Someday, I
might record a single day and provide a bit more about what I'm doing
and a lot more about what I'm thinking while I'm doing it.
Just keeping in touch, guys. Recent pic attached.
Monday, October 18
I'm in Center, TX, 180 miles from home. Off work an entire day early.
This never happens. Jump in the car at 9:30 AM and get half a mile down
the road before my car sputters and dies. I call a wrecker; He shows up
at 10:30. Get towed to a mechanic, who takes about 15 minutes to tell me
that my car doesn't have a simple problem.
I walk down the road from the mechanic and grab a barbeque sandwich
while he get changes the plugs, wires, and some gasket – a $280
preliminary, diagnostic first step. Get back, hang out for a while, and
find out that the car still won't stay running. He changes the timing
belt. At this point, I'm no longer bothering to ask what any of this is
going to cost me.
I call Carrie Ann, who offers to pick me up. She's on her way by 4:30
PM. I'm writing all of this in the present tense, but this is the point
at which I actually start taking notes in VIM. Yeah, VIM. Can't touch
type, can't understand a C++ header file, don't especially like Star
Wars or Trek, but I do like VIM. I do have a geek side somewhere in
there, and if you know why by biggest problem with VIM is typing y, u,
b, or n to move diagonally, then you'll know what even geekier think I'm
doing waiting for Carrie Ann to pick me up.
Carrie Ann gets there a little before 8:00 PM. By this point, the
mechanic has traced my problem back to contaminated gasoline, so Shell
might end up paying for the repairs. Carrie Ann and I leave my car in
small town Texas and head home. We arrive around 11.
Tuesday, October 19
No car, of course, and a lot to do. Carrie Ann leaves for work a little
after 8:00. It feels too early to be up the day after work, so I lay
dawn again till 9:30, which feels just right. I take a shower, get
cleaned up, type a few notes, have some chicken and a protein drink, and
I'm ready to go by 10:45. Run to the garage to jump on the BMX, but I've
got a flat. I make some coffee, have a cup while I walk outside with the
dogs and have another while I change the tire. It's almost noon now, and
I'm not feeling "just right" about the time anymore. I feel like I'm behind.
A few pullups, a few pics, and I'm out the door on the bike. Finally,
over 24 hours after getting off work, I'm actually doing something. I
have a new bike at home in parts, and my intention when leaving the
house is to hit the hardware and auto parts stores for supplies I need
to get the bike assembled. The day is too nice and I spent yesterday
confined at the mechanic's, so I'm not ready to get straight to "work."
I put off the bike parts and head over to check out the progress on the
resurrection of my favorite gym.
I take the long way along the bayou trail. I stop a few times along the
way to walk down and look at fish or into culverts. At one stop, a real
live Venus Flytrap pulls up on a bike to make sure I'm all right. "Got
troubles, my man?" Venus says. Cool guy, and on a cool bike. Exactly the
type of thing I'm building and I imagine he spends a lot of time on it,
weaving though Houston and helping people with troubles.
Bally's on Dunstan was my hangout last year. The lockers were on their
own floor and, including that floor, the gym had five stories. I worked
out there for months before I realized there were more than three. Bally
lost their lease, but 24 Hour is reopening the gym. I arrive to check on
the remodel progress around 1:30 and see they've still got a long way to
go. I'll be back to see you, favorite.
From the gym, I head towards Daniel Boone's bike shop to look at
saddles, but I won't make it. I stop along the way at an automotive
store and pick up some mag polish for the bike, and leaving, notice a
slow leak in the back tire. I top off the air at a gas station and race
towards the Blue Line Bike Labs in the Heighs, where I know I'll be able
to find the right sized tube. I make it as far as West Gray before the
tire is too flat to ride on. I walk the bike to a Quick Lube, air up the
tire again and gun it towards Blue Line.
Construction at the I-10 underpass on Studemont, so I have to carry the
bike to cut through. When I set it down, I see that I'm out of air
again. I walk the rest of the way to Blue Line, get a tube, and discover
a piece of glass in the tire.
I head back to the Montrose area from there, stop at Southland Hardware
for some boiled linseed oil. Head towards home on Westheimer and pick up
a hundred pack of training pads for Boni. Boni is trained, but he can't
go outside by himself, so we keep these down as a backup when we're out
of the house. The hundred pack is a bit much to carry on the BMX. I have
to limp home pedaling from the seat (the bike is intended to be ridden
standing) and squeezing the pads between my elbows. Two blocks from the
house, I hit another piece of glass and get a third flat.
Carrie Ann comes home shortly after that and she, Lilly, and I head off
to watch the Gorillaz. After the concert, we meed Cody at his house and
pick up my bicycle wheels. We bullshit with Cody a while and then home
to bed.
Wednesday, October 20
I drop Carrie Ann off at work, so I've got a car to use for the day.
Head straight from her office to the body shop where she's recently had
the car painted. The body shop has a few decals yet to put on, but the
owner tells me he wants to rebuff and touch up the car, so he'll need it
for an entire day – not today.
I drive home and pick up my bike and box of parts. Then I stop by
Jessica's for a haircut and a nearby bike shop where I meet a friend of
Cody's who has agreed to assemble my bike for free. I ask him to just
put on the parts that require expensive tools and we hang out for a bit
while he does that.
From there, I get to the real business of why I've borrowed Carrie
Ann's car for the day. Today is her birthday, and I intend to have her
radio fixed as a gift. She's been two years without a radio in her car.
Takes a bit of doing, but I get this taken care of just in time to go
pick her up from work.
I get Carrie Ann home, make a quick run to Home Depot for something I'd
forgotten to pick up at Southland Hardware, then sit around the house,
play a few rounds of Street Fighter with Lilly, and go to bed.
Thursday, October 21
I poke two holes into a potato, insert a pen into each of the two holes,
and use these pins to hold my new cork bicycle grips while I lacquer
them with amber lacquer.
And so goes the rest of my day: small details on the bicycle, breaks to
eat and jump-rope, and a bit of time spent thumbing through a Clarence
Bass book.
When Carrie Ann gets home, I borrow her car and make a trip to the
grocery store.
Friday, October 22
More messing with the bike today. I put on my decals and take a nice,
long test ride.
Around noon, I spend a few hours working on decals for another bike.
After that, I ride over to a bike shop and Westheimer and pick up spare
tubes for the Moonlight Ramble Sunday morning. Obviously, my BMX tires
have no flat protection, so I pick up some puncture-resistant BMX tubes
as well.
Carrie Ann gets home around 5:30. I run and grab some tacos for her,
Lilly, and Timo (it was his birthday Wednesday as well).
I mess with the bike a bit more while Carrie Ann cooks food for a party
we'll attend tomorrow.
Dani shows up a bit later and she, Carrie Ann, and Lilly leave for
Numbers. I stay behind and dig through some boxes in the garage looking
for lost tools.
Saturday, October 23
I go to bed around 2:30AM when the girls get back.
Get up at 7:30 to meet Chris at Ballys gym near I'10 and Gessner. Around
8:30, I climb aboard the BELAFONTE and ride over to the gym. We
workouot, and I make it home around 11. Carrie Ann has made some
incredible soup.
Carrie Ann is still cooking and preparing gift bags. I'm trying to tie
an old CD player to my bike. I get the player attached, but all of my
CDs are in my car which is still at a mechanic's shop 180 miles from
home. I try to burn some CDs on my computer, but my computer is falling
apart. I don't give up until almost 3:00, long after Carrie Ann, Lily,
and Dani have left for the party.
I ride over to the party myself, meet up with Jake, and stay there till
around 9. Head home and wait for my mother to show up for the Moonlight
Ramble.
Mom shows up around 11.
Sunday, October 24
Dani went out. Carrie Ann and Lily are still at the house. Those two, my
mother, Jake, and I (and later Dani) kill time watching youtube videos
on the PS3 before we leave for the ramble at 1:00AM.
My mother, Jake, and I get to the ramble around two and meet up with
Dustin and Nathan. We are among the last to leave and don't finish the
ramble until after 5. Get home, snack on soup and some cookies my mom
brought over, and go bed around six.
I get up at 10. Not enough sleep. I'm too tired to do anything
productive or fun.
I successfully delay the TV binge for a few hours while Lilly, Dani,
Carrie Ann, Jake, and I enjoy each other's company and the breakfast
Carrie Ann has made. I can only put them off for so long, however, and
the zombie time eventually starts. I'm into it for a couple of hours,
but try unsuccessfully to escape by napping after that.
I'm the only one with food in the house, so I ride over and pick up
roasted chicken and Mexican Cokes for everyone around 3:00.
A little after 7:00 and I know Jake's got to get on the road soon, so I
suggest we all bike down and get gelato before he has to go. Lilly,
Jake, and I make the trip. They have gelato and I have some steamed
chicken buns.
Monday, October 25
Get up around 7:30AM and am once again aboard the BELAFONTE headed
towards the dentist's office at 8:15. It takes me 40 minutes to get to
the dentist's and 6 hours to get back.
I stop at Home Depot to find two small tools. Can't find them.
I decide to take the long way home through Terry Hershey park. The
entrance is closed, so I walk the bike over to the edge of the bayou and
find that someone has conveniently left big chunks of granite over which
I can walk to cross the bayou. Getting out isn't as easy. The exit is
closed, but I eventually find a way around.
I get to a second Home Depot and am disappointed again, so I backtrack
to Lowe's. Here, I find what I need, but I've taken a lot of time and
haven't eaten in several hours.
I find a Pho shop and have lunch. Get home at 4:00PM.
I reheat some chicken and leave for the gym at 5:00. I'm going to have
coffee with Carrie Ann after the gym and I'll be travelling back into a
strong headwind, so I take the BMX to the gym.
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11 whiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiir
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11 whiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiir
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11 whiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiir
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11 whiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiir
Carrie Ann, Chris, and I work out and then I put the BMX in Carrie Ann's
back seat and we go to Brazil for coffee. I come home tired and go to
bed early intending to catch a bus at 5:15 tomorrow.
Tuesday, October 26
I fell asleep on my cell phone and didn't hear the alarm this morning,
so I've missed my bus.
Carrie Ann leaves for work at 8:10 AM, and I sit down to plan out my
new, grain-based diet. I eat almost nothing but meat now and want a break.
Around noon, I reach a stopping point and work on this journal till 1:16.
I need to go to the store, but I feel a little nauseas, so I put it off
and piddle around for a couple of hours. I leave on the BELAFONTE around
3:00, but then Carrie Ann calls and lets me know that she'll be going
later anyway.
I turn back around, do some laundry, change clothes and leave for Krav
at 4:30. I take the long way, along the Bray's bayou trail.
I get to Krav around 5:30, change, and start class at 6:00. After class,
I take the long way back home and get there around 8:15.
I hang out with Carrie Ann and Lilly for a bit and then go to bed around
10:00.
Wednesday, October 27
I get up at 4:15, shower, eat some chili, and walk over to catch the
city buss at 5:15. After riding the buss downtown, I catch the Greyhound
at 6:30 to Center, TX to pick up my car.
7:00 AM. I'm in Humble – fuck Humble.7:35 AM. I'm in Cleveland – fuck
Cleveland.8:00 AM. I'm in Livingston – fuck Livingston.8:25 AM. I'm in
Corrigan – fuck Corrigan.9:00 AM. I'm in Lufkin – fuck Lufkin.9:35 AM.
I'm in Nacogdoches – fuck Nacogdoches.10:25 AM. I'm in Center – fuck
Center, but my car's here.
The buss stops in front of a yogurt shop and I get a ride to the
mechanic's from one of the locals. I pick up my car, BS with the
mechanic for a bit, and get on the road by 11:00 AM.
I drive back to Houston and arrive shortly after 3:00.
I catch a short nap and meet Chris, Lilly, Arron, Erin, and Carrie Ann
over at Chris's house.
We talk for a few minutes and get the bikes tuned up before Chris,
Lilly, Arron, Carrie Ann, and I take off on a downtown bike ride. I'm on
the BMX.
We ride downtown and end up running into free concert from a band called
"Black Queen Speaks." The band isn't bad (I end up buying their CD), but
Arron has just tonight taught me how to jump stuff on the BMX, so I ride
around for a good part of the concert practicing this new skill.
After the band, we ride around downtown for a while and stop at a couple
of bars. The last stop ends up being pretty long. Lilly and I stay
outside to watch the bikes, but I spend most of the time practicing my
jumps.
We head over to Discovery Green and play around in the park for a bit
then back to Chris's house at 11:00 PM.
I load up the bikes, drive home, and go to bed.
Thursday, October 28
I sleep in a bit and then leave the house, in my car this time,
mid-morning to go shopping. I hit REI, Sun and Ski, Sports Authority,
and Target to buy cold weather clothes for work and a few things for my
Halloween costume.
I get home around 3:00, get cleaned up, and drive over to Krav at 5:30.
Krav lasts from 6:00 to 7:00, and I'm pretty worn out by the end of it.
I drive home, relax for a bit, and then go to bed.
Friday, October 29
I get up shortly before Carrie Ann leaves at 8:00 AM.
I install a new component on the BELAFONTE and then drive out to go vote.
After voting I hit Costco and pick up a new ipod.
After Costco, I drop off my car at Firestone. It's a little before 1:00 PM.
I have brought my BMX with me, so I leave Firestone on the BMX to kill
some time while the car gets an oil change and a new battery.
I bike into Target and then down Westheimer for a bit, ride back towards
Firestone, and then bust up my leg (and nuts) pretty good fooling around
on the bike in the Firestone parking lot.
Some jerkoff in a Lexus warns me that I'm likely to hit a car jumping
around the parking lot like I'm doing. I remind him that I'm a grown man
with insurance.
I rest inside Firestone for half an hour, watching Judge Judy and
recuperating from my injuries, and then my car is finished at 4:30.
I get home and then Lilly, Dani, and Carrie Ann begin to arrive. I
intend to catch critical mass at 7:00, but I spend too much time trying
to load up my ipod from a Linux computer. My mother and Jake gave me a
bicycle dock for my birthday, but the ipod I bought for it is too new to
work with Linux. I burn the mp3s I want onto a CD, carry them over to
Carrie Ann's laptop, and then transfer those mp3s onto the ipod – or so
I think. This takes a few tries and false starts, but I eventually get it.
And not a minute too soon. The girls will go out to the club tonight and
are getting into their clubbish mindset. Lilly is playing some cheesy
German techno on her laptop. I'm not sure this is the song about crying
polar bears, but I can guarantee that if it's not, it's about something
equally if not more stupid. They're gyrating and Karate-chop dancing and
unleashing their repressed, office-worker aggressions on invisible
demons in my kitchen ... and I'm fleeing out the front door.
9:00 PM, and I've escaped the noise. I'm cycling out of the neighborhood
listening to Tom Waits's album, "Alice."
everything you can think of is true
and fishes make wishes on you
we're fighting our way up dreamland's spine
with black flamingos, expensive wine
I'm slowly pedaling towards downtown when Dustin calls. He's on the way
to a friend's house and offers to meet me at my eventual destination,
Minuti coffee house in Downtown.
I try to hurry but just can't manage it with Tom Waits on. I switch to
an '83 demo album from Black Flag.
Just a few miles from the house, I figuratively (as I am on a bicycle,
the distinction is important) crash. I take off my jacket and am so hot
that I want to take off my pants.
Here I should back up (again, figuratively). I've been dieting for weeks
and dehydrating myself for a day and a half. I've gotten skinny. I look
like an animal, and I don't mean an impressive animal like a Rotweiler
or Pit Bull. I look a bit like a sick animal. Like Dracula when he's
half-way turned into a bat. Anyway, I'm curious to see just how skinny I
can get before changing my diet at the end of the month. So, nothing
scientific, but I've been dropping water and salt. I'm like a boxer at a
weigh in. I'm light enough to make my class, but I'm in no condition to
fight.
I eat a sweet potato out of my bag and begin to feel better. The song
"Black Coffee" begins to play and I'm once again feeling motivated to
make it downtown to Minuti. Why have a made myself this sick for no more
compelling a reason than to see a small number on my bathroom scale? As
I begin to ride away, the next track starts and Henry Rollins offers an
answer:
Noooooo method to my maaaaaaad ness
Beat my head against the wall
...
Running around like a chicken without a head.
The sweet potato has given me my third wind, and I'm feeling like my
usual self. I meet Dustin at Minuti, we have a coffee, he mentions how
skinny I look, and we ride together over to his friend's house. It's
around midnight by the time we arrive.
Saturday, October 30
Dustin's friend's house is near the bars where Carrie Ann, some of my
friends, and occasionally even I hang out, so I decide to ride through
that area.
I stop at Catbirds to look for Wiley. He's not there, but the crowd know
who he is.
I ride past numbers and Carrie Ann happens to be coming out to drive
some girl over to the girl's house to pick something up. I say hi.
Then it's back towards home.
I'm again listening to Tom Waits as I ride through several bar areas and
see everyone in their...
AND THERE'S A DOG WITH A PUFFY TAIL!
COME HERE PUFFY! COME HERE PUFFY!
I chase the dog, intending to catch him and look for a phone number on
his tag. A guy in a pickup pulls over, gets out, and begins chasing the
dog as well. A girl in the truck tells me that the dog is hers and asks
me to help catch him, but I'm suspicious. The guy from the truck calls
to the dog, "Hey. Hey. Over Here!" The dog ignores him, but for good
measure, I ride up and accidentally on purpose chase the dog away from
both of us.
Pickup truck guy gives up and I keep following the dog, intending to
tire him out. As the dog cuts through a parking lot, a German guy flanks
him and calls to him. The dog runs over to the German guy and I'm sure
the German guy is his owner. German guy thanks me and offers me
something for my trouble. I decline the offer and let him know that
someone was trying to steal his dog. Be more careful, German guy.
I ride home and Carrie Ann, Dani, and Lilly arrive shortly after. I go
to bed a bit after 2:00 AM.
I get up around 10:00 AM and step on the scale (166.6 fwiw). Weight loss
thing is over, so I have some bread a bottle of water.
I work a bit on my costume, run to Staples for costume supplies and hang
out till Carrie Ann leaves to get her hair done at 5:30 PM.
Lilly helps me out with my costume and she, Dani, and I hang out till
Carrie Ann gets back.
I leave around 8:30 to Chris's house where we're all going to meet up.
There are a lot of people at Chris's house. We hang out and compare
costumes for a while. Carrie Ann shows up around 9:30. Chris takes some
pictures of her and then we leave for Numbers at 10:00 PM.
Sunday, October 31
Leave Numbers at 2:20 AM and head to Bibas restaurant. The restaurant is
busy, but Carrie Ann and I eventually get fed and get home to bed at
4:00 AM.
Up at 10:00 AM for Jessica's and Wiley's baby shower. Carrie Ann, Lilly,
and Dani leave to at 10:45 to pick up something at Target. I ride the
BELAFONTE over to the shower.
Get to the shower at noon, leave at 2:00 PM. I stop and have a key made
for Dani on the way home.
Carrie Ann, Lilly, Dani, and I watch Scott Pilgrim then Dani leaves for
dance class.
It's evening now and I'm typing on this journal. Carrie Ann and Lilly,
who don't watch TV, are watching TV. It's not a smoothie; It's a fruit
blend!
And I'll end this here.
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