5:44am and the LIE West bound is jammed. Slow crawl at best.
To those that don't know this is the road to the city from Long Island. These people will sit in traffic till they decide are they going to get off and take the 59th street bridge or stay on the LIE and enter Manhattan via the Midtown Tunnel. Either way they are going to be sitting in traffic. The cars I see outside my window now are 40 minutes away from their destinations, at best. The sun isn't even up yet but the traffic is jammed. West bound traffic is light and moving at a nice clip. But a few hundred yards down the road from me it will come to a complete stop as the LIE and the GCP meet up. Whatever. I have my own problems. Traffic not being one of them. You can't pin any of that on me. I don't even have a license. I wouldn't mind having one, and at some point in the future I will have one. But looking out my window now at the 5 lane parking lot down below I couldn't care less.
I am going to try and set 2 personal bests today. The first being how long I can go without talking to anyone. As of now I am in the area of 60 hours without saying a word outside of please, thank you and ordering dinner. I even went out of my way to order a pizza on line a few nights ago so I would not have to speak. Of course I did say thank you to the delivery guy. No need to be an asshole here. Not a vow of silence. More like I am depriving the world of hearing what I have to say. Yeah right. The second personal best I am considering is seeing how long I can stay up for. I seem to do this one all the time. It doesn't really matter. The no speaking thing doesn't come around as often.
While sitting here and not speaking I have watched my cable box reset itself twice. They do this in the middle of the night when they think no one is watching TV. I actually wasn't watching TV, but reading on line when I saw the green LEDs start flashing and counting down like they were trying to find the code to launch the missiles. Strange combinations of letters and numbers. Sometimes it counted up and sometimes it counted down. When the letter started changing it might as well have been going sideways. I didn't bother to turn my TV to see what was happening because there was nothing to see outside of the LED channel indicator. I heard the relay click, indicating that it was now power cycling. Probably flashed the prom or something like that. It happens on occasion. Tonight was just a heavy duty version. It was interesting to watch, which goes to show you how bored I was. This was a few hours ago. Now I am watching the dump trucks line up at the construction site across the street from me. In a hours time they will start excavating followed shortly after by drilling. It looks like they are drilling tie backs into the earth through the perimeter steel around the whole site. It sounds like they are trying to wake up Godzilla. I hope they do. And I hope he comes and stomps a mud hole in this city's ass. Good fucking morning.
PS: Little red Ford Focus is revving his tiny fucking 4 cylinder for all its worth for a change. And it aint worth shit in my opinion. This asshole does this every morning. Instead of just letting the car sit and warm up he guns it over and over again. This thing has more plastic junk hanging from it than pre-assembled Christmas tree. I guess he thinks all that shit makes it look faster. I particularly like his ultra low profile rims and tires that are dented to hell from the pot hole riddled streets of this city. He will get his at some point, just like the rest of them.
6:15am and I am ready to GO!
8:04am and I am GONE!
Coop made me think of this
I watched The World's Fastest Indian on a flight last week. A nice movie about a guy from New Zealand who built a fast motorcycle.
The World's Fastest Indian.
I enjoyed it. Significantly more than I enjoy most movies on planes. Perhaps next time I see it I will plug in my headphones and turn on the volume. I sat on the plane and watched the movie with ear plugs in. And I still enjoyed it. I think I never put headphones on because I didn't want to commit to watching it. This way I could stop watching, glance around the cabin, get bored, and then start watching again. The plane did not have head rest mounted monitors. It was an older plane with a few bulkhead mounted monitors and some roof mounted pods with TVs in them. Not really the ideal way to watch anything. But I still watched. Or did I. Maybe I didn't watch as much of it as I think I did. Maybe I didn't watch any of it at all and it was just on while I was on the plane.
I did watch it cause I remember thinking that this guy in the movie is the underdog and my brother always says root for the underdog.
The World's Fastest Indian.
I enjoyed it. Significantly more than I enjoy most movies on planes. Perhaps next time I see it I will plug in my headphones and turn on the volume. I sat on the plane and watched the movie with ear plugs in. And I still enjoyed it. I think I never put headphones on because I didn't want to commit to watching it. This way I could stop watching, glance around the cabin, get bored, and then start watching again. The plane did not have head rest mounted monitors. It was an older plane with a few bulkhead mounted monitors and some roof mounted pods with TVs in them. Not really the ideal way to watch anything. But I still watched. Or did I. Maybe I didn't watch as much of it as I think I did. Maybe I didn't watch any of it at all and it was just on while I was on the plane.
I did watch it cause I remember thinking that this guy in the movie is the underdog and my brother always says root for the underdog.
I like aircraft
This is an A10 Warthog flying into Davis AFB near Tuscon, AZ.
I took this and a few dozen other pictures of various flying death machines while I was in AZ.
It's all yours
Do whatever you want with it because I wash my hands of it all.
I speak of this disgusting mess of a city I live in.
This disgusting mess of a city I was born in.
Build whatever you want, wherever you want. I don't care any more.
You want a 15 story glass tower with purple neon on the site of a former 5 story town house?
Go for it.
You want it, you can afford it, you deserve it.
You deserve anything you can conjure up.
Regardless of what it looks like, who it displaces or how much it cost.
The city is gone. Little bits and pieces hang on like freedom fighters still standing for the cause, but the war is over. The city has lost. At this point I don't think any one should have to worry about zoning or rent stabilization or anything. Do what you want. It is now your city.
I hope you like it.
I speak of this disgusting mess of a city I live in.
This disgusting mess of a city I was born in.
Build whatever you want, wherever you want. I don't care any more.
You want a 15 story glass tower with purple neon on the site of a former 5 story town house?
Go for it.
You want it, you can afford it, you deserve it.
You deserve anything you can conjure up.
Regardless of what it looks like, who it displaces or how much it cost.
The city is gone. Little bits and pieces hang on like freedom fighters still standing for the cause, but the war is over. The city has lost. At this point I don't think any one should have to worry about zoning or rent stabilization or anything. Do what you want. It is now your city.
I hope you like it.
I hate returning
I get off the plane and head downstairs to collect my luggage.
Waiting, waiting, waiting. Finally I realize it is not coming so I walk over to the claims office and there sits my bag. I was pissed that I was standing around waiting, but glad to have my bag. I then get into a cab and tell the driver where, and how, to get to my home. He then proceeds to get on the parkway headed in the wrong direction. Then the driver adamantly tells me he is headed the correct way. I politely tell him that he is not headed in the correct direction, and when he again insists that this is the way to go I not so politely ask him to get off at the next exit and turn around. I realize that getting around some parts of the city are a bit more involved than others. That is why I tell drivers what route to take. But when you don't listen and show me that you have no clue as to where you are going then all I can say is fuck you. I told you and you didn't listen. There was nothing left to interpretation here. People need to learn to follow directions. There is a time and place for creative thinking but not when I have laid out the directions for you and expect you to follow them. If you didn't understand my directions I would have been glad to explain them to you. In painstaking detail if need be. Just ask. Jack ass. I finally get home and collect my mail. Lets see what I got in the mail.
And to top it all off there is nothing in my apartment to eat but raisins.
I think I am going to call it a night. Maybe I can dream of a better place then where I seem to be at at the moment.
Waiting, waiting, waiting. Finally I realize it is not coming so I walk over to the claims office and there sits my bag. I was pissed that I was standing around waiting, but glad to have my bag. I then get into a cab and tell the driver where, and how, to get to my home. He then proceeds to get on the parkway headed in the wrong direction. Then the driver adamantly tells me he is headed the correct way. I politely tell him that he is not headed in the correct direction, and when he again insists that this is the way to go I not so politely ask him to get off at the next exit and turn around. I realize that getting around some parts of the city are a bit more involved than others. That is why I tell drivers what route to take. But when you don't listen and show me that you have no clue as to where you are going then all I can say is fuck you. I told you and you didn't listen. There was nothing left to interpretation here. People need to learn to follow directions. There is a time and place for creative thinking but not when I have laid out the directions for you and expect you to follow them. If you didn't understand my directions I would have been glad to explain them to you. In painstaking detail if need be. Just ask. Jack ass. I finally get home and collect my mail. Lets see what I got in the mail.
- Jury duty request form.
- Big pile of bills.
- Notice from my building telling me that instead of a tax credit I will be getting an assessment. (translation-instead of $ in my pocket I will be getting nothing and might have to lay out some extra$)
- More bills
- Rebate from Cingular from a phone I bought a few months ago.(I hate the phone) But instead of it being a check it is a Visa card with credit on it. I would have preferred a check. Now I am going to waste whatever money is on the card on some useless crap I don't need.
And to top it all off there is nothing in my apartment to eat but raisins.
I think I am going to call it a night. Maybe I can dream of a better place then where I seem to be at at the moment.
Fake or real things get done
I am in Arizona where it is nice and warm.
My Mother and step-Father needed a handyman so I flew in from NY.
So far I have changed water filters, air filters, installed kitchen cabinet hardware, adjusted the level of the sub woofer(probably the only thing I am truly qualified to do)installed 2 dimmers, mounted a flat panel TV on a bathroom wall, set up a new computer, configured a wireless router and a bunch of other stuff I have already forgotten about. Tomorrow I will continue to do things around the house. I really enjoy it. I especially enjoy being able to do things at any time, day or night, with no fear of annoying the neighbors. Back home in my cubicle of an apartment if I fart loud after 8:00pm the neighbors start banging on the walls. But that's OK cause they are going to get theirs at some point. Somehow. I am now thinking that perhaps I should erase that as it could be misconstrued as a threat of some sort. So fucking what. Sue me. This is the first house my Mom has lived in. She, like myself, has always been an apartment dweller. So the idea that you can make noise at any time of day is a new and exciting concept to her, as it is to me. I have been enjoying my time out here so much that I have extended my stay an extra day. I am not really looking forward to going home to be honest. Being out here is much like being on tour. No worries of paying rent, or buying food or any of the daily crap that occupies a big chunk of my home existence. That's the nice thing about not being home. I can not wait to be back on tour again.
My Mother and step-Father needed a handyman so I flew in from NY.
So far I have changed water filters, air filters, installed kitchen cabinet hardware, adjusted the level of the sub woofer(probably the only thing I am truly qualified to do)installed 2 dimmers, mounted a flat panel TV on a bathroom wall, set up a new computer, configured a wireless router and a bunch of other stuff I have already forgotten about. Tomorrow I will continue to do things around the house. I really enjoy it. I especially enjoy being able to do things at any time, day or night, with no fear of annoying the neighbors. Back home in my cubicle of an apartment if I fart loud after 8:00pm the neighbors start banging on the walls. But that's OK cause they are going to get theirs at some point. Somehow. I am now thinking that perhaps I should erase that as it could be misconstrued as a threat of some sort. So fucking what. Sue me. This is the first house my Mom has lived in. She, like myself, has always been an apartment dweller. So the idea that you can make noise at any time of day is a new and exciting concept to her, as it is to me. I have been enjoying my time out here so much that I have extended my stay an extra day. I am not really looking forward to going home to be honest. Being out here is much like being on tour. No worries of paying rent, or buying food or any of the daily crap that occupies a big chunk of my home existence. That's the nice thing about not being home. I can not wait to be back on tour again.
surprise
At some point you stop behaving that way. Or looking that way. Or listening to that. Or even participating at that level. But you still can and do recognize it in others. You see that while it has changed over the years, it is still more or less the same.
Probably much as it was before even your time.
And you know when someone in the course of talking about it, in trying to describe it, gets it wrong.
You used to see it all the time. Everywhere. The media, other people in your group.
It's not all wrong, but wrong is all around.
Sometimes it makes finding it again a nice feeling. And when occasionally you demonstrate and then recognize it in yourself it is better than nice. And then I got distracted.
9am flight . LGA-ORD-PHX AA313/2435
Window seats.
Probably much as it was before even your time.
And you know when someone in the course of talking about it, in trying to describe it, gets it wrong.
You used to see it all the time. Everywhere. The media, other people in your group.
It's not all wrong, but wrong is all around.
Sometimes it makes finding it again a nice feeling. And when occasionally you demonstrate and then recognize it in yourself it is better than nice. And then I got distracted.
9am flight . LGA-ORD-PHX AA313/2435
Window seats.
Get it together
Ever have a chunk of glass and a piece of paper that you need to glue together?
How about a slice of leather and some wood that need to be joined?
Wonder how you are going to join them?
Well wonder no more.
This site has all the answers to your gluing questions.
So the next time you want to glue a fake plastic head to the fabric curtain of your friends bunk you now know that you should use 3M 80 if it's OK for the glue to show and 3M 77 if you don't want anyone to see how you did it.
How about a slice of leather and some wood that need to be joined?
Wonder how you are going to join them?
Well wonder no more.
This site has all the answers to your gluing questions.
So the next time you want to glue a fake plastic head to the fabric curtain of your friends bunk you now know that you should use 3M 80 if it's OK for the glue to show and 3M 77 if you don't want anyone to see how you did it.
This is not good for a few reasons
One reason is that I like snow and am looking forward to it snowing here in NYC.The other reason is that I don't like rain.
The big white mass is snow.
Snow that will not make its way over to me.
While the big green blob is rain.
As in it is raining outside now.
I am sick of winter rain.
I just hope it doesn't snow when I am leaving for the airport in a few days.
Airports and snow do not mix.
Airports, snow and Virgin airways are an even worse combination.
But that is a whole other story.
So enjoy the snow if it happens to be snowing where you are.
And if not, then stay dry.
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