030809

                                                                                                             San Jose, CA

Sunday March 8, 2009

     6:48am  I just woke up. Everything is wet, just like yesterday morning. I thought my tarp would keep everything dry, but it didn't. I hope the sun comes out soon so I can dry everything off. I'm going to wake up now.

     9:45am  I've had yet another lazy morning in the field. I'm letting my stuff dry out and organizing my stuff. I'm going to take off now. I'm going to go to the laundromat and ask for spare change to do laundry so I can wash my socks. I'll go do some typing when the library opens at one. I'll go crash in that field by that tree in Santa Teresa. My stuff doesn't get soaked in the morning there. Fence from camp

                     Alternate entrance/exit instead of hole in fence

                     Other side of fence

     10:07am  I came in front of the Cathedral of Faith Church, across the street from the Jack in the Box. I'm flying my SUPPORT THE CAUSE sign and my shirt at the stoplight. These people just drove by and yelled, "I love marijuana!" Justin took off earlier to church. He's going to go get more brainwashed.

     10:25am  Akini is being nice enough to pull over and give me some food. I appreciate it, sister. Everybody gets credit. That's breakfast.

                     Akini had pulled over and asked me if I had seen the guy with a dog that is usually out there asking for food. I told her no, but that I could also use some food also. She hooked me up.

                     I was waiting for church to be over and it just let out. I came to one of the exits. I'm going to stand here with my sign and give out my website some more. All these cars are lined up coming out. I'm just exercising my rights. All you Christians want world peace, don't you?

     11:18am  I am having a fun time here at the church exit. Everybody is accepting my website when I offer it to them. Well, almost everybody. I have been yelling at people hardcore too. "Man, nobody wants world peace! Have you always been that ignorant?! Good little slave! That's right, be afraid!"

                     I got about four bucks after it died down. I'm going to catch the light-rail downtown.

                     Since I had four bucks I was outside the library exposing my shirt and giving out my website. These two black dudes walked by and asked me if I had any for sale. I told them no and asked if they knew where I could get a two dollar joint or something. That I had four bucks. They told me they'd be back. To my surprise they actually did walk back by and told me to come on. "You still got those four bucks," one asked. We found a place to smoke and sparked up a blunt. This one guy came outside and told us we couldn't hang out there, so we walked to one of the college entrances and finished hitting the blunt.  Interesting climbing vine growth.
                     Once we were all high I started my show and they were totally willing to listen. In fact, one of them was carrying a book about freemasonry. They're waking up. I put on my show and these two dudes thoroughly enjoyed it and agreed with every bit of it. I blew their minds with my story.
                     In the end I tell Twan, "Hey, I'm kind of hungry. Do you think I can get any of those four dollars back?" He said, "I got a couple bucks for ya," then he said he only had one. So he gave me a dollar back for the cause. Thanks for smoking me out. Antoine and Juan-Eric. I've got some change too, so I'm going to go get a Jumbo Jack. They let me take their picture. I told them my whole Odyssey. Note From the Rich and everything.

                     Frank was nice enough to give me a cigarette in front of the library. I appreciate it, brother. Everybody gets credit, thanks.

     1:08pm  I forgot to tell you, about fifteen minutes ago I ran into Monika[3-5-09 : 3:00pm] again. I was all stoned from smoking a blunt, but I'm going to smoke some more! I won't smoke that much, because I'm already stoned.

     1:36pm  Monika has a story for me. Monika: " Okay, I was at the laundromat and I was waiting for my sister to bring clothes and put them to wash. This guy rode up on a bike and he started talking to me. He just wouldn't stop talking and then he asks for my number so I gave it to him. Anyway, he calls me that night. He asked me what I was doing and I told him nothing, I was bored, so we went to go hang out for like hours. The next day he called me again and we went to go hang out again. After that, in less than a week I had fifty or some missed calls in like seven hours. And he came to my house at like one thirty in the morning without telling me anything and he would call me like all the time. He even told me he wanted me to have his kids. I told him that we had to slow down and he was all confused, "What do you mean??" I mean, I've just known this guy for like a week. I'm nineteen and I don't want to have kids right now. He was all, "Well, I don't give up easily." He kept calling and calling and he finally came to my house one day. See, he always carries a razor around with him. For some reason he kept looking at me and kept switching pockets with the razor, like he wanted to do something. He called me and I explained it to him again and he was just, "Mm-hmm." You know how people say mm-hmm when they're plotting something? He just turned eighteen in January."

     2:04pm  Enrique me dio cambio para comida. Te lo agradesco, Enrique. Todo el mundo recibe credito, gracias.

     7:30pm  I spent a long time hanging out with beautiful Monika. We even played around with the idea of taking off traveling together, but I'm on a mission. I can't have any distractions. I am light-years ahead of her. She told me, "I've been broke on the streets before." I don't know.

                   Oh yeah, then I saw some dude flying a cheesy sign downtown. He was all drunk on the money he was suckering from people. Hmm, so that means it wouldn't be so not-kosher to fly my free hugs and support the cause signs and pass out my website downtown. Maybe I'll get hooked up fat like this chump.

     8:05pm  I never told you, I'm on the light-rail. I'm going to go camp in Santa Teresa tonight.

                   I got off on Cottle. I'm going to go try and find the Walmart. I'll go spare change two dollars for a new compass for my walking stick. I might find somewhere to crash out here, or the light rail runs pretty late. I can always just keep going to Santa Teresa.

                   Hector is hooking me up at the Carl's Jr. I appreciate it, bro. Everybody gets credit, thanks.

     8:38pm  Hell yeah, Carl's Jr. has my back. The one on Cottle is hooking me up just like the one in Santa Teresa did.

     9:14pm  I'm walking down Cottle looking for the Walmart. I'm going to go hit up the Burrito Factory.

                   Damn, they just closed. Right when I opened the door they turned the lights off.
    
     9:36pm  Ed and Cicilia just pulled over and gave me some money. I appreciate it, guys. Everybody gets credit. Here, check out my website. I'm a journalist. Long distance walker. I've been all over the country for seven years now.

                   Hell yeah! I just got hooked up with a twenty dollar bill, just like that. It was crazy. I was assuming that there would be a big Walmart billboard somewhere soon. I passed by this big shopping complex, but I didn't see it say Walmart anywhere. I walked over 101 after the shopping center and all of a sudden this van pulls over and this old couple pulls up and asks me where I'm going. I told them I was looking for the Walmart and they said I had already passed it. I logged their generosity and told them I was a journalist. They accepted my website and when they were about to leave I asked them if they had any food. Cecilia reaches into her purse and gives me a twenty dollar bill! Alright! Now I don't have to ask for spare change for my compass. Perfect. I assume the Walmart is in that shopping center I passed. I'm walking back now. Sweet, I got twenty bucks.

     9:50pm  I am so stupid. The Walmart is here, but it's totally different. The sign outside isn't the same. I took a picture. It's like a hidden Walmart. There are no big signs pointing to it or anything. Maybe I'll find a place to camp nearby and hitchhike in the morning since I'm over by the 101.

                   I got to the Walmart five minutes before they closed. Perfect timing. It's a totally different Walmart. I took a picture of the different sign it has. I was also surprised to see they didn't have the same pin-on compass that all Walmarts are supposed to carry. I got lucky because they had another suction-cup one that I can use. The ball is like twice as big though and that's cool. I came outside the Walmart and Shoe-Gooed it to my walking stick. I even put a strip of ShoeGoo around the ball too, to protect it from breaking. I'm hungry. I wonder if anywhere else is open. Like a gas station or something. I hope the train is still running late. I might walk all the way back to get on it.

     10:44pm  I thought I lucked out because at the end of the shopping center was an open liquor store(Boy, was I wrong).  Cool, I can buy some snacks, I thought. I went inside and looked around trying to decided what snacks to get. I was looking at the honey-roasted peanuts when all of a sudden this black dude with dreadlocks walks in and extends his arm towards the cashier and yells, "Put the money in the bag, nigga! Do it, nigga!" Shit! The place was getting held up! I'm glad the gunman didn't make eye-contact with me. I just turned around, walked to the back of the aisle and knelt down. A Middle Eastern employee knelt down next to me. The assailant leaves and I stand up. I get my snacks and go to the register to pay, but they wouldn't sell anything to me. "We just got robbed," they said. As if I didn't know. I walked out of the store. I wasn't that far before a police car drove up and told me to wait. I waited for a bit and then the officer asked me to go back to the liquor store and I gave him an honest statement. Just what happened. I wasn't able to describe the black guy other than the dreadlocks. I avoided eye-contact on purpose. Well, it came natural. Anyway, what an interesting episode. I'm going to walk all the way back to the light rail. This seems to be a bad part of town. It sucks that I couldn't buy my snacks. I tried telling the cops my story, but they weren't going to listen.  I gave them my site and left.

     11:05pm  I've been one walking fool today, man. Rumor has it it stops running at one. I hope it does on Sunday nights too. Oh yeah, I found two slices of pizza in an empty box in front of the Little Caesar's trashcan.

                     I walked all the way to Snell and I am turning left.

                     I made it to the light-rail station. I'm going to sit down and rest.

     1:08am  At long-last the train came. I am on my way to Santa Teresa. It's totally empty.

     1:17am  I am off in Santa Teresa. I'm walking to the field now.

Next day..