Myriad of Musings

Okay: I have discovered how to post to my blog directly from my mobile, although I still don't know how to post a title to the blog from my mobile or how to post a photo from my phone to my mobile, or even if it is possible, which I hope, since I have had the dickens trying to post photos on my blog through public computers.

Anyway, I was reading this story by Ann Rule, who is this really successful true crime author (she has a website named http://www.annrules.com/) and came accross the following really weird sentance:

     "Death notification, especially of the young who have perished as the result of criminal violence, is the hardest assignment any detective or police officer ever has.(my italics)." I should say so. I should think it was virtually impossible to notify anyone who has perished, no matter how young, or whether or not death was the result of violence. Really, Ann: you are an experienced writer. How did this one slip by you. Okay. You had to be there.

Raining all day (I have the day off, so, of course). Wore my rainsuit, but I won't put it back on unless it really starts to come down, because it is unseasonably tepid today, and it doesn't do you any good to keep the rain off if you wind up being soaked with sweat under your rainsuit. Today, I shall replace my brake shoes (round of applause).

CCs has become my morning haunt, which isn't too bad. I see the same crew just about every day and talk to a number of the early birds. There is an interesting collexion of folks: several retired fellows (including an ultraconservative guy who seeks me out with tales of the decay of just about everything and the meager triumphs of the Right), a number of students (high school and college), professional people getting a little work done online before they physically arrive at the office, at least one Fire Chief, several police officers (one of whom, with CSI, even comes in on his day off!), a strange black lady who sleeps in chairs, at least one homeless guy (who attends to his toilette in the spacious and comfortable lavatory), a number of attorneys, the two reallly cute young guys who sit and discuss obscure Biblical references of dubious import (I think they are queer for each other!), one of the mentally challenged courtesy clerks from our store (who comes in with his dad a lot) and assorted various caffeine addicts (CCs is a tower of strength, a haven against Mor(m)ons: never trust a guy who wears sacred underwear!).

Today, I commisserated with a fellow victim of Vista. We both agreed that it was the Worst Operating System in the Known Universe, and probably contains dark matter or neutrinos or something, which makes it act so flaky. Of course, I would kill to have my laptop functional again, even though I may curse its operating system. Everything would be so much easier if I could use my own computer.

So, here I sit, at Middleton Library (God, there are a lot of cute boys at LSU!) trying to work on a terminal with a weird lime-green coloured screen. I will probably kill another hour or so here, working on internet stuff that I could do a lot easier with my own laptop, and skillfully devising alternative methods of getting what I want done while using a public computer. At least it is a form of intellectual exercise that I can pretend actually accomplishes something, since not a lot else seems to be moving very swiftly.

But, I am saving money, and I have been talking to a friend up in Wyoming about moving up there, which I want to do. I really need to get out of here, and if I blow this opportunity, I may die here, which would be disappointing. At least, there is that.

My Daily Schedule

Here is a draught version of my daily schedule: note that some activities (such as work) vary from day to day. Unfortunately, not much else does.

0415: Awaken, if the background noise (snoring, manaical screams, big things outside going beep...beep...beep as they back up) hasn't already awakened me.

0430: Having put together all of the things that I will need for the day and packed them away in my backpack, and having dressed appropriately for the day's ride, I exit the dormitory, and enter the activity room.

0430-0445: If there is no coffee made: make coffee. If there are no doughnuts, biscuits, etc., laid out, lay them out as instructed by the Warden of the Evening.

0445-0530: Charge my mobile. Check weather conditions. Look at the newspaper, if there is a newspaper and if no-one else has laid claim to it. Bask in cameraderie and scintillating conversation.

0530-0545: Clean up stuff and throw trash away as is needed and/or directed by the Warden of the Evening.

0545: Depart for the day.

0600: Hang out at CCs Coffee for an indeterminate period of time, depending on whether I work early or not.Read and check news on my mobile.

0900: If I do not work early, go to either the public library or Middleton Library to access the internet. Write, do research and work on my blog and other stuff. Take a few minutes' time to play Imperion.

1100ish: Depending upon when I go to work (if I work that day): go to work. If I do not work, I either spend more time at the library or find something else to do to waste time until I must return to camp.

1600-2000: Dependent upon work schedule, return to camp. If I do not work or get off work early, either hang out with friends or go have a pint somewhere (only not too close to check-in time, as I don't want to be accused of inebriation and thereby forfeit my bed).

1730-1800: If I am back in time for supper, help set up for supper: set tables, get out condiments and/or mix Kool-Aid.

1800-1830: Eat supper. A different group and/or groups provide a free meal almost every night. Fare is generally palatable, and there is enough of it to leave me satisfied. If I arrive late (after about 1830) I eat a late plate (q.v.), which may or may not contain enough food to satisfy my hunger.

1830-1845: Help clean up after supper and/or help clean up dorm. On laundry day, help clean the lavatory area.

1845-2000: (Every day except Thursdays): Engage in cameraderie and/or watch television, on the few occasions when the television is not immutably fixed upon ESPN. When it is, I go back into the dormitory.

1900-2000?: (Thursdays only): Participate in the (mandatory) house meeting, which generally consists of a 45-60 minute harangue which touches upon the latest complaints against residents who are either doing things that they shouldn't be doing or not doing things that they should be doing. There then follows an extensive diatribe about lazy, good-for-nothing bums who should be going out and finding jobs instead of lazing about the camp wingeing about everything and how unfair it is and making up excuses for not having a job which the lecturer has heard all of in the entire universe with the result that he is now sick to death of hearing them and boy-oh-boy are certain individuals (you know who you are!) are going to be in for a rude awakening when the find themselves tossed out on their butts because they are lazy, shiftless bums who don't deserve even a single ounce of compassion because they expect everybody else to do everything for them that they are not willing to do for themselves.

2000-2100: Attempt to read in the dormitory over the mindless blather that passes for conversation (see previous post). Brush teeth.

2100: Lights Out! Drift off to a blissful, restorative sleep that will give me the fortitude to face the next day.

That is pretty much it. If it seems monotonous, it is. If it seems pretty much devoid of constructive activity, it is. If it seems as though it would drive any rational person to the brink of madness, it does.

Oh, yeah: and anyone who is not heartily thankful that he is privileged to reside at Camp Winge-a-lot doesn't deserve to reside there, and should, by all means, be cast into the outer darkness, where there is wailing and gnashing of teeth!

Oh, yeah ... it's Thursday! Huzzah.

Sneaux?

Yes, I have been remiss ... I haven't written on my damned blog in a week, but my excuse is that quite a lot has happened (which I will relate more of in a later post/and/or post(s). For one thing, I am no longer homeless, thanks to my friend Chester and a hell of a lot of running around on my part, doing things. I didn't get the place I initially wanted, but, as it turns out, this is probably going to work out better, at least for now. It is actually about 40m from the place where I lived, years ago, on Highland, even thought the building has been torn down and a Jack-in-the-Box now stands there (more about that later).

So, even though it is an "efficiency" walk-up (which means carrying my bike up and down a flight of stairs), it has quite a lot of space and an actual view, albeit of the JITB parking lot, so I can watch people driving through and buying crappy food all day long, if I get really, really bored. I have been luxuriating in the total freedom of actually having a place to stay (which mostly means goofing off a lot and taking LOTS of naps). I actually get to cook food now, because I have a refrigerator that has real food in it, not MREs or take-out. Tonight, I had a bit of steak, a baked potato with sour cream and chives, and yes, oh yes, my very first egg nog of the season (with a stiff shot of whisky in it!). Oh, bliss!

Oh, yeah: I have an inflate-O-bed, with real sheets and pillows and a comforter on it, and a gas fire (so what if it isn't a fireplace?), and a brand new microwave that I just got, which is really cool, and didn't cost me much; and (best of all) I can snag two WiFi signals for free, even though the reception is poor, so I really can't do YouTube or other video ,most of the time: I still have to go to Cc's or someplace else for that. So,it's heaven on Earth.

So, I worked until 8 yesterday, and, when I got off, it was near freezing and pouring rain, and the weatherman (or men or women) had predicted snow. For some reason, people here find it necessary to spell snow as sneaux, as kind of a cutesy faux (real word) French word. The real French word for snow is niege, which hasn't got an 's' in it at all. Go figure. I rode my bicycle home (as usual) and was half-frozen and wet from the waist down when I got home (great word!). I lit the fire, stripped off my wet clothes, dried off, got into dry ones, and fixed dinner.

When you ride a bike in the rain, the back wheel throws water up your back. The water proceeds down the middle of your back, into your shorts, down your butt-crack and thoroughly saturates your balls. This is unpleasant. Just as unpleasant is having splash from the road fill your shoes, so your feet are cold and wet, as well. The feeling of wet nuts, a wet bottom and sloshy feet is indescribable: it took about an hour for my testicles to reappear: they were in hiding.

I got all comfy and warm and ate and watched Dark Knight, which was extremely kewl, and goofed off for awhile. I stay up late, so I was still up around 3:30, when I heard this familiar tapping noise on my window. I though, "no, it can't be ...", but, when I looked out the window, yes, it was actually snowing. This is South Louisiana ... snow is a rarity here. I went outside and took some video with my phone and some pictures, which I uploaded. I am going to try to put them on this blog.

The whole city pretty much shut down the next day (which is today): all the schools and a lot of government offices were closed. They closed a lot of bridges (which we have a lot of here) so a lot of people didn't make it to work. I don't like snow. I remember the very first time I met snow, when I was about 3. My parents thought it would be fun to dress me up in a little "snow suit" and take me outside and take pictures of me and the snow. I hated it and started crying. You can tell by my face in the pictures that I thoroughly hated it. Had I been older, I would have called Family Services on them. How sadistic! I could have gotten frostbite, and lost my fingers, and not been able to type this, years later. What a loss to the world that would have been!

At any rate, I'm going to try putting photos and maybe some video in my blog. I'll try to post more and fill in some of the other stuff that's happened lately. For now, I'm going to have another egg nog, with plenty of whisky: it's good against the cold. That's my excuse, and, if not medical science, then those big dogs with the Swiss ski patrols, at least, will back me up (or, is that brandy?).

Now My Phone Won't Work!

Really! Just spent all that money on a new phone, and thought I had until December 19 to pay the bill, but they changed the billing date (apparently) and so, I went to text Travis and, lo and behold, my fucking phone wouldn't fucking connect! Goddammit! Is there no end to my tribulations?

So, I am back at CC's, blogging and charging. No idea what else to do today. I was hoping that I would be busy moving stuff and getting the electric turned on and starting to get settled in a new place, but not today. Guess not. Probably an MRE tonight and a movie until my battery dies.

I wanted to get one of those inflate-a-beds. I was hoping to sleep on that tonight. Wallace's secretary is supposed to call me tomorrow and let me know when I can expect to move in (and where). I would love an inflate-a-nap now. I wish I could take an inflate-a-nap with me, so, whenever I got bored and had a few minutes, I could inflate it and snooze. That would be so really coolio.

Hope the payment on my phone account goes through soon. Made it at Radio Shack. Supposed to be posted within 4 hours ... usually sooner. What an annoyance. Everything always seems to happen at once. Of course, that makes no sense at all: how could something not happen at once? How else would it happen? "Suddenly, something happened." As opposed to what? "Gradually, something happened?" How about: "It happened in a series of installments, as spelled out precisely in the enclosed brochure." How about: "Nothing happened?" Nothing cannot happen, by definition. "Nothing didn't happen" makes more sense, except for being a double negative of sorts, which makes it grammatically suspect. Which brings me right back to the subject of being bored and having nothing to do, which is probably what drove Nietzsche to stare into the abyss until he went all wobbly and retired from the philosophy business. Damnit, one of the reasons I got this kewl fone was to dispell boredom! Damned abyss pisses me off!

Things Still Suck (Kind of)

Frustration reigns. Went to Wallace's office today to rent the property on State St., but the guys who live there are not out yet, and it may be the middle of the week before they are gone. If they are not out, there is a flat on Spanish Town Rd. that I can have (in the same building that Ben Renda used to live), but that guy is not out either. I would not have a problem moving from the Spanish Town flat to the one in State St., if I wanted to do that later, but I still won't have a place to live until later this week. At any rate, I won't know anything until tomorrow morning, when Wallace's bookkeeper is going to call me. I did pay a deposit, and signed a tentative lease, so I have legal right of occupancy whenever the current residents of either place actually move out. Even if I do wind up in Spanish Town for a while, it will be okay.

So, I don't have anywhere to go tonight.Slept on Travis' and Fernando's floor last night (it was near freezing) but I don't want to presume on them too much. Can't afford another Hotel Night, because I need the money for rent and utilities. Crap.

I am at Zippy's right now, eating lunch and blogging. Don't know what I will do next. I would love a nap. Maybe go to CC's (where I can plug in: there isn't an outlet here). God, I want to take a nap!

So, I am kind of frustrated, but I know something will be better this week. So, if I have to wait a little longer, after all I have been through, it is really minor. It still sucks, though.

My Phone is Way Kewl!

Well, it was raining for a good part of yesterday, so it was good that I decided to have Hotel Night. Stayed over at La Quinta again (I really like La Quinta), and I got a couple of things I don't get very often: a good wank and a nap. Took a shower and then I had to work 6-12, and then I went back to the hotel and ate a frozen meal (it was Savoie"s Crab and shrimp stew, which is pretty good) and drank cheap Chardonnay (God, am I always drinking cheap Chardonnay, or what?) and watched Adult Swim and tried to figure out my new phone. I mostly played with my phone, because there wasn't any good stuff on AS (no Moral Orel or Squidbillies or Venture Brothers). I hooked it up to my computer and downloaded the software I needed to connect the two. Now, I can manage A/V content on my phone from my laptop. My phone is Bluetooth, too, so if I add a BT adapter to my laptop, I can talk back and forth without a cable: totally kewl! My new phone rocks!

So, I had Saturday off, and I went and had dinner with Travis and Fernando. They went to New Orleans Friday night and hung out with friends and went to The Parade and other places. We wached videos and listened to music and somewhere in there Travis got mad at me and told me to leave, and it was raining, and so I went to the Possum Hilton (Chris seems to have moved on), but then I felt sad and I called him and said "can I please come back inside?" and he said okay, and so I slept on the floor inside again (yay!).

Got up about 6 or so and spent the next several hours online from my phone. I turned on the GPS system and tested it by asking it for directions to Travis' place and it told me to walk East about 10 feet, which I thought was pretty awesome. One of the cool things about this is that, no matter where I am, if I am on network, I can call for help and GPS will tell the authorities where I am. The downside is that I will have to temporarily shelve my plans for global terrorism, now that I can be tracked so easily.

So, we went and did washing, and stopped by the store, and I washed my sleeping bag (which really did need a wash!) and took a shower, and now I am at CC's again. Just figured out how to upload and download images from my phone to my laptop. Way kewl. I still haven't figured out quite how to upload YouTube yet, but that is definitely in the cards.

Tomorrow, I will go and rent 525, and (hopefully) get other stuff paid (like utilities). Asked Travis if he would mind dragging me around a bit and he said no, so (God willing) I should be nice and comfortable tomorrow night. That's about it for now. Sorry it's so boring. Once I get everything kind of squared away, things will get more organised. Should have pictures and video too, soon.

I Got a New, Kewl Phone!

Lots and lots of things have been happening. Of course, yesterday was Thanksgiving, and Travis and Fernando and I ate shrimp and risotto con funghi and drank wine, and I slept inside (yay!).

Wednesday, Chester came into the store and wroe me a check for $1000 and said: "Carl, go get an apartment. Pay me beck when you can." That was cool. So, now, I have the money fr an apartment. Two hours later, Wallace Eversberg, whom I have rented from before, happened to come into the store and I asked him if he had a one-bedroom open and he said yes, at 525 State, so I told him I would call him about it. Unfortunately for me, it appears that his office is closed today, as well, so I won't be able to rent it until Monday. I have already gone by and looked at it. It is right down the street from Travis' apartment, and David's, so we will all be neighbours (actually, we are already neighbours, only I will actually have an address, now). So, I guess I will spend this week-end outside. I am considering spending the money for a room tonight, since it is supposed to rain (it is sprinkling now) and I will still have enough to pay rent and deposits. I would also dearly love to sleep in a bed, since I haven't since Thursday past. At any rate, I will soon actually live somewhere! Yay!

I got a new phone! It is a Samsung Rant, and I have unlimited data and text on my new contract. It will end up costing me $50, with the mail-in rebate. It is utterly kewl! It's got a slide-out full keyboard and a full-colour screen that flips when you slide the keyboard out. I can access the web with the built-in browser and even connect directly to YouTube (once I figure out HOW to do anything on it). It's really fancy. It's red, too. It's got Google. I have no earthly idea how to use it, although I did manage to make a couple of calls and I think that I actually sent a text message successfully. I am sitting at CC's, going over the manual. I am generally pretty good with tech stuff, so I am sure I will be able to use it after a short period of adjustment. Right now, it has capabilities I haven't even dreamt of yet! Golly!

The girl at the store was really nice. Turns out she writes poetry, so we exchanged e-mail addresses, and she gave me the URL to her own website, and I will check out her poetry. Strange, how I meet interesting people all the time.

Oh, well. Back to the manual. Maybe I can figure out how to blog and vlog from my phone. Hope La Quinta has a room open tonight. Got tomorrow off. Wish I could spend it moving, but I guess Monday will be the day for moving. Good thing my next check wil be a fat one, since I worked the holiday. Maybe things are (kind of) looking up.

Blah Blah Monday Blah Blah

Not much important has happened over the past few days, and I have been working a lot and that's my excuse for not blogging, shallow as it is. It has been rather chilly, and Travis and Fernando let me spend a few nights on their floor in my sleeping bag, which was very much more comfortable than being outside, but last night was more temperate, and I wound up outside again. I thought at first that Travis was cross with me, but it turns out they just wanted some privacy, and it is a bit cramped with m sleeping in the living room. So, I slept outside again last nigh, which wasn't too bad until about 3:30, when it strted raining. I got up in the corner, under the balcony, and stayed relatively dry.

Before I went to sleep, I watched a movie that Travis had just bought, Don't Mess With the Zohan, which was kind of funny. It has Adam Sandler in it as the Mossad's top agent who fakes his own death so that he can emigrate to New York and follow his dream to become a hairdresser. Lots and lots of slapstick, outrageous stunts and off-colour humour. It was amusing.

I took a shower at Travis' place and came here to (you know where) CC's, since I don't work today (I wish I could, even if the past few days at work have been horrible). I am hoping to hear from Chester soon, as I really want to be in my own place by the first of the month, which is next Monday. Since I have today off, it would be an ideal day for getting all the things done that I have to do to get moved, such as pay deposits and arrange for the electricity and water to be turned on. I am hoping that Wallace Eversberg, who was my landlord of many years, has a property open in the State St. area. I intend to call his office this week, as soon as I have the money situation in hand.

Oddly enough, as I was leaving Travis place, I ran into Ned, Wallace's handyman of many years standing, working on one of the rental properties. I asked him if there were any vacant and he said that there were a couple that would be vacant soon, and to call Wallace's receptionist. He told me that he would help me find a place, which was nice of him. He is a good man.

So, anyway, here I am, bored as hell, blogging away (I would much rather have a nap right now). After a while, I will pick up tonight's MRE fro the store, and then I will see if Travis and Fernando mind my compny for awhile tonight. Maybe we can watch a movie. I will be glad when I have somewhere to go again.

I'm Going to Buy Some Socks Today

Even though yesterday didn't turn out too badly, and I got to spend time with friends and had good food, I am really feeling down right now. I am about to go in to work for 6 o'clock, but I haven't done anything all day except surf the net (mostly UK YouTube) and blog. I really need something more constructive to fill my time. I have been doing some writing, but I need to actually APPLY MYSELF to my serious work more. It's just that I wind up other places all the time, like CC's or Zippy's or Serrano's, blogging and just hanging out, and I feel like I am just spinning wheels and not really going anywhere. I need some kind of direction. I can't just live my life randomly documnting junka as I think of it or as it happens, can I?

Jeez. There are so many talented and amazing young people on YouTube, in the UK. There are a few here, too, but there seems to be more of a unified YouTube community in the UK. Maybe not. Maybe that is just my impression. Yes, it is a powerful tool, as the last election demonstrated, but what will the actual result of all this blogging and vlogging be? I would kind of like to do some of it myself, but I am not sure exactly what I should do. Besides, could someone my age actually do this kind of thing?

I don't know. All I do know, right now, is that I have to go to work, and I am going to stop at Wal-Mart and get some socks, because I don't have any clean socks and only two pair that I am using all the time, and I have to shave when I get to work because I didn't have a chance to shave today. I will see if I can borrow Travis' shower tomorrow morning, so I can be clean for work.

I really want to get out of this situation. I really hate this. It is so depressing. Everybody needs a place to go.

Breakfast at Louie's

Off yesterday, but Travis and Fernando and I ate at the Acme Oyster Bar here in Baton Rouge, and then watched an old Dario Argento film, dubbed in English. I slept on their back porch again. When I woke up I texted Travis and asked him if he wanted to eat breakfast with me (I was starving), but he had things to do today, so I ate a burger at Louie's and went on to CC's, where I am now, drinking an iced coffee and blogging.

They have the cutest little boy working at Louie's. He looks like he is about 15, but he's got to be over 18, because he served us beer once. He is adorable. He has a hot little butt, too. I would like to wrap him up and take him home with me (once I have a home). There was a table full of privileged little snots discussing what is wrong with the world. They came to the conclusion that what is causing so much damage to the economy is working people demanding too much money for their labor. They were opposed to unions, which are destroying the world. They are opposed to undocumented workers, although they seemed to agree that undocumented aliens working in this country are preferable to paying Americans too much money. I don't think one of them has ever worked a day in his or her life. They lamented the fact that Sarah Palin (who can see Russia from her window) isn't going to be our Vice-President. They are worried that America will become a socialist country, where they will be forced to support "people who don't want to work". Fortunately, they left before my nausea ruined my lunch.

Incredible that there are idiots wandering around with such stupid ideas in their heads. These kids have never known a need that wasn't fulfilled for them, probably as soon as they expressed one. I would like to trade places with one of them for a week. A lot of people are too insulated from the realities of life. Not everybody gets to sleep in a warm bed and meet his friends for breakfast at Louie's, where he can solve all of the world's problems in an hour, to the adulation of his peers. I was cold last night. I slept on the ground. I work full time. I will be sleeping on the ground tonight, too. It will be cold. I'm probably depressing the economy by being paid so much. Shame on me.

Anyway, here I am. I don't work until 6, and I get off at midnight. I am still hoping to hear from Chester this week. If I hear from him before Thursday, then I might not even need Hotel Day this week. If I don't hear from him before tomorrow, then Hotel Day is on. At any rate, I have that to look forwards to, even if I don't have an apartment this week. I'd rather have a place to live this week than Hotel Day. That would be like a never-ending Hotel Day! Imagine: a warm, safe place every night, with electricity and running water! Maybe I could even have a real bed! I could always pretend it was a hotel. I could put a chocolate on my pillow for myself every morning, and buy some of those little soaps for the bathroom. Maybe I could invite that cute little boy from Louie's over and abuse his hot little behind ...

Oh, well. It's just a dream until it really happens. He sure is a cutie, tho ...

A Somewhat Pleasant Week-end

Wow. I actually went two days without blogging. Really, there wasn't much to blog about. Friday, I went by the store to check my schedule and pick up an MRE for dinner, and I wound up working until closing, which was okay because I really didn't have anything to do any way. I wound up sleeping on Travis' back porch, because it was misting rain and there was a cold wind. I huddled up in the back corner of the porch and got a few hours' sleep.

Around 7 AM, Travis came outside and invited me in and I had coffee with them and we just hung out for a while. I got to take a shower and went to work. I was going to meet the for dinner, but they went to Koi with David, and I didn't have a way to change (I couldn't very well walk into a cool sushi place in bike clothes, carrying a backpack), so I ate some awful, dried out chicken tenders from the store, instead.

So, Travis and Fernando and David and I watched movies and hung out and drank beer and got high. We watched Young Frankenstein, The Love Guru and several episodes of Girls Will Be Girls (Travis bought the box set). We all stayed up late and Travis and Fernando let me crash on their floor in my sleeping bag, which was good, because it was about 37 degrees outside. I got to take a shower in the morning before I went to work.

Last night, I slept on the back porch again. It was very cold and I was pretty uncomfortable. I watched the end of Ernest in the Army (not the best of his films) and ate an MRE and went to sleep. About 11:30, I was awakened by two of the neighbors over at the "Hippie House" having a screaming fight, which ended with the girlfriend locking the boyfriend out and him pounding on the door and breaking several windows. She finally told him that she had called the police, and then it quieted down again.

Imagine my surprise about 3 AM, when I was awakened by a loud report. I initially thought boyfriend had returned with a shotgun, but it turned out to be a transformer fuse blowing on a nearby power pole, probably because of the increase demand due to the cold. I went back to sleep and then woke up about 7:30, when all the morning noises started. It was really cold and I didn't want to do anything much, so I tried to just nap for a few hours, but it was so loud that I couldn't really sleep, so I just lay there, listening to all the racket, until I finally got tired of that and got up to go to CC's, so I could go online and recharge my battery.

As I was leaving, I saw Travis, and I texted him later and asked if he wanted to get something to eat tonight, so maybe we can do that, later. Saw David at the store Sunday and he told me that he had had "too many cervezas" Saturday night. He was on his way to work.

I am hoping to hear from Chester this week. It would be nice to end all of this and have a place to live. I am really tired of this. Like, today: all I really wanted was to take a nap for a while, but it was so uncomfortable and loud where I was that I really couldn't. It is nice to have a place that is comfortable and quiet, where you can take a nap if you want. I really like to take a nap sometimes, when I am tired and really don't have anything else to do. It is refreshing. I will be so happy when I can take a nap whenever I want again. That is freedom.

Police Action

Last night was miserable. I slept behind a building, and the ground was wet and it was damp all night. My sleeping bag got all damp; my clothes, too. I need to wash my sleeping bag so it doesn't mildew. Got up and went to CC's, where I am now, as usual.

Travis texted me that his neighbor had called the police on Chris (the stupid idiot stayed in the PH pretty much all day long, every day!), but he was gone. He'll be back. The problem is that it won't make anything better for me because if I stay there now, I run the risk of someone calling the cops on me, and that's all I need. When I stayed there, I was gone early in the morning and only returned late at night, so very few people even knew I was there. Dumbass slept all day in there, so that residents who went in to wash clothes found him sleeping there. That stupid fucking piece of worthless trash fucked everything up! I hope they catch him there and taser his nuts!

Anyway, I haven't been able to stay there lately, so it doesn't make much difference to me except that I have to be careful not to stay in the same place too many nights in a row or stay too late, so that I am noticed. Its almost like being a fugitive or something. That fuckhead Chris just made things worse, but he is trash, so what do you expect from him? Damn it!

Chatting with Jenni online while I am sitting here. She is at work, but she and I talk during the day whenever I am online. In a little while, I will go by work and get my check. There is a problem there, too (like, I never have problems!): the teller at Chase told me last week that Albertson's no longer has an agreement with Chase to cash our checks, so, if they can't cash it at customer service, I will have to go to Wal-Mart to cash it. Ain't that a bitch! I have to pay my phone bill today and I have a reservation at La Quinta for tonight. I work tonight, too, but I'll probably get off early because they called me in to work yesterday, on my day off. All I do is work.

I need to take quarters and soap with me to La Quinta, so I can wash a few things (like my sleeping bag) tonight. I don't want it to mildew, and it needs washing, anyway. Still haven't heard anything from Chester. I might give him a call tonight, just to touch base, if he doesn't call me. I really need to get off the street. This shit sucks.

That's about it for now. With any luck, my next post will be from the comfort of La Quinta. Won't get to eat dinner over at Mestizo tonight unless I get off kind of early, which is possible, since they don't want me to get overtime. If I get off early enough, I'll eat there after I get back to the hotel.

I sure hope they taser Chris ...

Long Night's Journey into Day

Monday sucked, all day long. I wound up at CC's for a few hours, blogged some, wrote some, researched some stuff I was interested in and watched a terrible online movie, "Frankenstein's Daughter", which was made in 1958 and features a be-bop quartet, a girl who drinks spiked fruit punch that makes her buck-toothed and gives her a skin condition, and a monster with a bandaged head, complete with neck-bolts, which runs semi-amok a few times before obligingly setting itself on fire. That was the high point of the day.

Went by Zippy's, and I was going to see if Travis and Fernando wanted to meet me thee to eat. I was going to have a margarita while I waited to hear from them, but the bartender, spying my backpack and sleeping bag, informed me that I would have to order food if I wanted the $2.75 margarita. It was so obvious that she was intent on "keeping the riff-raff out". Bitch. I love it when that happens. It pissed me off. Her attitude was so ... condescending. I told her that I didn't know whether I would be eating or not, and she said, "Well, tell me when you make up your mind." What a cunt!

I finally decided to eat there, and had an order of nachos and a magarita. She was on break, then. She returned while I was eating, and ignored me as if I wasn't there at all. I don't think I will be patronizing Zippy's any more ... at least for a while. Too bad, but I don't like being shit on.

Tammy had asked me if I could come in to work later, so I texted Travis and went by there and borrowed their shower. Then I called Tammy back, but they didn't need me after all, so I hung out with Travis and Fernendo for a while, just listening to music and reading. I am trying not to depend on them too much. I don't want to be a bother, and I don't get much help from anyone else these days. I woul have real trouble keeping a job if it wasn't for the use of their facilities. When things are better, I will have to do some things for them.

Borrowed a movie from Travis and watched it while I ate part of an MRE, back behind the building where I have been sleeping. Chris the Squatter has moved in to the Possum Hilton permanently: he was there when I passed by this morning, about 10:30. He sleeps there most of the day and panhandles in the afternoon. I guess he gets fucked up on something at night, because he usually winds up there late. I wish there was a way to get him out of there, but I guess it doesn't matter much. Maybe the possum will bite him.

It is very uncomfortable, sleeping on the ground in a sleeping bag. If I lie on my back, my back starts to hurt after a while. When I roll over on my side, my hip bones grind into the ground and my arms go to sleep. I keep waking up and rolling over. Also, there is a lot of noise from traffic, people walking around, etc., and that wakes me up, too. I never really get a good night's sleep.

Woke up this morning and had cocoa and chili mac from my MRE for breakfast. While I was eating, a well-dressed woman came up to me and gave me a copy of the Watchtower. Even when you're homeless you can't escape the Jehovah's Witnesses! Go figure.

It is supposed to rain this week, which is not good. It is also supposed to be in the 30s this weekend, which is also not good. I hope the deal with Chester goes through and I can get an apartment soon. Things are going to get very uncomfortable very soon, otherwise.

Why Monday Sucks

Slept behind the building again, on the hard concrete. It was chilly, but at least it hasn't rained lately. That skank Chris has moved in to the Possum Hilton. He even found a piece of board to cover up the broken window, so he's nice and cozy. It does my heart good to see him so comfortable.

Had a beef stew MRE last night for dinner, along with half a bottle of chardonnay, so it wasn't too bad. I watched a movie(which finished off my battery). This morning, I had the strawberry milk shake that came in the MRE, for breakfast. Not bad. I passed Travis, on his way back from taking Fernando to work, but I don't know if he saw me or not. I am at CC's, like every morning, having an iced coffee and a bagel.

I have today off. I hate days off (unless it is on a Thursday, when I can chill in a hotel room). There is nothing to do, and I have no place to go. I wind up here, for several hours, but there is no place to just chill. I would really like to take a nap right now, but I don't have any place to take a nap. I would like to watch TV right now, but I don't have a place to watch TV, unless I go some place with TVs, like Zippy's, and then I have to watch what is on their TVs, which is usually fucking ESPN, and I get really tired of fucking ESPN. How the hell can anyone watch so much sports?

Really! I am interested in sports somewhat. I like to watch football and baseball and tennis. But how can you be so obsessed with sports that you have to know all the stats of all the players and all the coaches and the favorite vacation spots of the team and the names of the owners' pet llamas? Come on! Is this a straight guy thing and I just don't get it? Do I really want to get it? It all seems like an incredible waste of time and effort. I guess it's better than smoking crack.

I just hope Chester comes through and I can get an apartment soon. It will be so nice just to relax and do nothing, in comfort and safety. It will be nice to actually buy food and cook it, something I haven't done in a long time. It will be nice to sleep in a real bed, every night, with real sheets: not just a sleeping bag on the ground. It will be nice to be inside. Right now, it's like a dream.

I will have to get some furniture, of course. I don't even have a bed any more. All my furniture went when I had to move out of the apartment in Tigerland. I hope Jeremy rots in hell, the little creep. Leaving me stuck with all the bills was one thing, but charging his cell phone to my account after he left (which destroyed my bank account) was really low. Haven't heard anything from Jeremy ... maybe he's dead!

It will take a while to accumulate furniture. I'll start off with just the basics: like a bed, a table, something to store clothes in and some shelves for books, CDs and DVDs (which I have a lot of). It will be so nice to have my few remaining possessions with me, instead of in a storage shed out on Coursey Blvd. It will be nice to have fresh fruit and vegetables, too. I miss fresh vegetables.

Oh, well. So much for the dream: it's back to reality today.

Halloween Night

Last night was the Carlotta Street Halloween party, which has been somewhat of a local tradition for about 30 years. Carlotta St. is just North of LSU, and there are a lot of students living in the area. The Possum Hilton is only a block away, so it was quite a night, with intoxicated people in costume wandering around, music playing, people yelling, etc. I checked it out for a little while, and then returned to the PH, where I watched a movie on my laptop and dined on an MRE (chicken fajita). It wasn't very good. There was rice pilaf and trail mix with it. I watched my movie, trying to ignore the mayhem going on outside. I finally got to sleep around 3:00, when the noise died down. Travis and Fernando went to NO for the evening.

My sister called me from Alabama, saying she was worried about me. She said Dad was settled into his new home, and that he had serious problems with his memory and with incontinence, which I already knew. She said she would pay my phone bill for me, so that it won't get cut off, which is good, because I won't have enough money until Thursday. Gee, I'm glad someone is worried about me, but nobody seems worried enough to actually help. That would be better, if I could get out of this mess, and had a stable existence. Then, nobody would have to worry, least of all me. But, that isn't going to happen.

Then, I got a call from work: they want me to come in early, at 2, so I am having a cup of coffee at CC's right now, and I will be headed to work when I finish this post. They keep calling me in to work, and then they get all upset when I wind up with overtime. Well, you can't have your cake and eat it, too. If I wind up with overtime, don't bitch at me when you asked me to work it. They are lucky that they have me to come in whenever I'm needed and work late when they need me to. Of course, whet else do I have to do?

So, I had enchiladas at Zippy's (their lunch menu is really cheap), and a $2.75 margarita. I'm drinking a cafe au lait, and then I'll be ready to go. I really hate this fucking existence. I am tired of not having a place to go. I am tired of being lonely. My life sucks. Hotel night was nice, but it will be Thursday before I sleep in a bed again. I have got to find a way out of this, before I go nuts. I am so miserable.