Blog

Cold

November 1, 2002

Holy fuck it’s getting cold outside. It’s getting difficult to ride my bike to and from work as the gears and brakes freeze and malfunction. I suppose now that it’s almost winter, my bike will be spending more time inside the apartment instead of out in the parking lot. The fiery blaze of my three-wick candle should restore its health and mood. If not, I’ll be back to walking past the 10pm South Johnson Street party scene every goddamn night on my way to work.

And then I would be workin’.

Last night (Halloween) at work, I was ringing up two big cartons of eggs for some punk-style kid. After I checked the first one for broken eggs I realized it didn’t matter. They would all be broken soon enough.

Olde High School Friends

October 29, 2002

Some old friends from high school came for a visit the other day. I haven’t seen them in about 6 years, so it was kind of weird. I don’t think I have too much in common with them anymore, but we were able to have a good time. I have trouble being talkative in social situations, and this was definitely a social situation. They all live in Iowa now, so I’ll be seeing more of them soon.

Wow, I’ve been back in Iowa for almost 5 months now. The New York life is becoming fuzzy in my memory, but I still miss it terribly at times. I’ll always miss the loud-ass Manhattan streets full of taxis/buses/people, the big parks (Central and Prospect), the millions of interesting areas and people, and the pizza. I will not miss the hassle of trying to keep up with rent, commuting, and working in New York. I will not miss the “20 Dollar Out the Door Tax” and the fact I never felt I had time to do anything fun there. Ahh well. To (mis)quote a friend of mine: “Iowa, you are a fine woman.”

Also, I recently saw the movie Slap Shot for the first time. I tell you it was humorous.

Floating Sparrow, Non-Kicked

October 20, 2002

Since I recently made this blog public, I think I will begin writing as if one hundred people are reading. That should improve things around here.

Today I went for a good October walk through the Sunday streets of Iowa City. It was quite nice and Octobery. Or autumnal, if you will.

I went for the walk to warm up in the sun after freezing my hands and feet off in my apartment. I won’t turn the heat on yet. I’ve been trying to use a big three-wick pillar candle for heat/light in order to cut down electricity bills, and it’s been working alright. Like a bonfire. But I had to go outside to warm up.

As I walked around, many sparrows were flying in front of me and toward my face and eyeballs. This reminded me of an interesting sparrow experience I once had in Brooklyn:

Whereas—

You know how sometimes when you’re driving along the interstate on a windy day there is some bird directly above the road flying against the wind and getting nowhere?

Whereas—

And it’s just floating there forever?

Whereas—

Well, one day I was walking on a windy Brooklyn sidewalk, and this sparrow was flying against the wind in a similar fashion.

Whereas—

Just floating in front of my foot!

Therefore, let it be known—

I could have kicked it back into the sky. I did not, however; as I am an environmentalist.

Monopoly Game and Debt

October 13, 2002

I just played some Simpsons Monopoly with my sisters. That game can get a little depressing while you struggle with debt and rent. It hits a little close to home sometimes, or I just take it too seriously. At least I have time to play board games on my days off, instead of working two or three jobs.

I wonder what expenses people have that require them to work so many hours a week? I’m not getting anywhere with 40 hours/week, but it’s keeping me afloat. Maybe because I’ve only got student loans, rent/utilities, and food to pay for. No car or house or family or serious debt. I think I may have answered my own question.