033005

San Antonio, TX

Wednesday March 30, 2005

                     Well, today was kind of weird. Let's see, this morning started off with a bowl of Total cereal and the usual nature hike to the Walmart. I found out yesterday that open-mic is today at Sam's Burger Joint. That was a definite destination.
                     I had to take a shit after the hike. When I got to the Walmart, I saw the 610 there and I thought it was the one going to Medical Center. Mr. 2020 was driving it. I saw him getting up to go in the Walmart so I walked to his bus and looked in the window and he didn't even have a stack of transfers there. So I didn't find out what the letter of the day is. I had to take a shit so I went to the restroom. I was able to scratch Victor the Liberator into the toilet paper dispenser. Halfway through somebody else arrived to take a shit in the other stall. I noticed it was a bus driver because I heard him talking on his cellphone. I assume it was Mr. 2020, so I ask him, "Don't suppose you could give me a courtesy ride to Medical Center? I'll walk it if I have to. The other day I walked all the way downtown . . . and all the way back." I shot off some scripts at him about walking. Suddenly, he let's out a huge juicy fart. He comments, "That gas wasn't paying rent. It has to go." I told him, "Bless you." Anyway, when I get back out to the buses I don't see the 610, so it must've been a different dude in the bathroom who farted. It was the 88 driver, Mr. Ramos. I asked him if I could get a courtesy ride downtown and he said sure. I thought, "I'm going to go downtown and see what happens."
                     I rode like the forty five minutes it takes and landed at Travis Park. Oh yeah, I had scored like two bucks in change off my mom this morning for "bus fare" and I wanted to get a joint. Travis Park was dead, so I walked all the way over to the SAMM's Shelter, where I can usually buy a joint. When I got there there were barely any homebums around. I said, "Marijuana," and this dude asked me how much I wanted. They wouldn't sell me just a joint. Nickel or dime.

                     I walked all the way back to Travis Park. I walked by the benches and saw Evan. Evan is some kid I know from the tree at Sage Crossing where I hang out sometimes. He told me he had just came downtown at 7:30 and had been sitting down all day just watching people. I told him I had two dollars, but he didn't have any weed. I told him how I had gone to the SAMM's Shelter and he asked me if I had tried Miss Winnie's. Miss Winnie's is this nice hippie place where they serve food for the homeless. I never usually scored weed over there, but I didn't mind trying. I asked Evan if he wanted to go check with me, and that I'd smoke a joint with him. He said sure. We went to Miss Winnie's and sure enough, Apok sold me a two dollar pinner. I got to eat too.
                     After that Evan told me that he had found some bud on the ground at some park down the street. We went to go see if we could find any more. I doubted him from the beginning there would be any there. I even told him, "I don't want to walk that far, let's sit down and smoke this pinner." We sat down on some steps at some church. Evan was all paranoid. I told him to be fearless. All of a sudden, I hear this dude yelling, "I know you. You're that long-distance walker." It was Jason. This trucker I met in Socorro. I'll be sure to look that up and put a link(7-5-04, 3:26pm to 6:54pm). Anyway, I told Jason about Evan's claim that there might be weed on the floor at the park down the street. We asked him if he wanted to come look for it with us. He said yes at first, but then changed his mind saying he had to stay by his truck. Me and Evan hike the two or three blocks to the park and scan the pavement under these picnic tables for weed. I thought Evan was full of shit from the beginning, but lo and behold, we actually did find little nuggets under those tables. Crazy. We had told Jason that if we found something we would come smoke with him. So off back towards that church where we smoked. I saw an eighteen wheeler pulled over and just assumed it was Jason. I stood there like a dumbass holding the peace sign until the guy inside the truck noticed me. I thought it was Jason at first. The guy opens the window and I ask him, "Jason?" He said no. Jason took off, I guess.
                     I forgot to tell you. See, Evan asked me if he could spit a flow into my recorder. I had just recently switched out tapes and had only like a day or two logged on it. I told him, "Sure, but I'm going to type it up and the whole world is going to read it." He didn't care and I let him spit some rhymes. He totally dug recording himself and being able to rewind and listen to himself. He fell in love with it.
                     Okay, let me tell you about this girl Jennifer at Renaissance Parc Apartments. Some young teenage punk she's watching is a kleptomaniac. This kid had stolen a badass Dell laptop with a DVD drive. Well, the cops came looking for this kid or something and he had to ditch it. Evan ended up with it. When he told me he had a badass laptop I said, "Wow, what I could do with a badass laptop. Then I would have a portable perfect memory." He had been considering pawning it, but he didn't have an ID. Well, since he fell in love with my tape recorder, he offered to trade me the laptop for the recorder. I immediately told him yes! But, I had like a couple days logged already on the tape in the recorder. I told him, "Well, if that laptop is functional, then all I need to do is type up my days before I give you the recorder. Or, you could just go buy a new cassette at the dollar store." He said I could type up my days.
                     Well, we eventually rode the 92 back to Renaissance Parc. We walk to his apartment, he goes inside and comes out and hands me the laptop. But, he didn't have any power cords or anything with it. I told him, "Before we finalize the transfer, I need to see it boot up." He told me to go right ahead and do it. I hit the power button and nothing happened. He told me that the battery was dead, but he had started it last night. I thought he was full of shit. I thought about it for a little bit. I figured, "They don't put DVD/CDR drives in slow computers. This has to be a badass system." I also thought, "The door to the recorder is already broken. I have to have a rubber band on there to keep it from falling off. It's about time to replace it. This laptop is worth more than a twenty five dollar recorder just in parts." I just could not pass it up. I made the trade. Actually, before I left I asked Evan if I could get the tape back, then bring him a new one from home tomorrow. He told me he had rewound it and taped over my stuff already. I was pissed. I hate losing history like that.
                     Assuming it was still operational, which the chances were good of, all I would need to have a working, badass laptop was a new power cord. Ian, Evan's brother came out with a couple plastic grocery bags. I walked out to the bus stop. Right when I got there a 92 passed. I didn't have time to take out a decoy transfer and trim it, when the 92 came again. I got on the bus and just asked the driver for a courtesy ride. He starts harping at me, "I've given you one before." I told him, "I know, don't you know what I'm doing?" He told me, "That's right, I remember, but you have to pay sometime." I told him, "I am trying to prove that all we need is love and everyone is helping me. I'll never stop." He eventually let me on.
                     We rode to University Hospital and I just stood out there for like half an hour until the 610 came again. I had the transfer ready this time. I got to tell my story to this one girl who had to leave when the 604 got there. She was real pretty and listened to me. Right before, I had seen this other pretty girl and I went up to her and asked her, "Have I told you my story?" She immediately started telling me, "I'm not interested." I told her, "I'm not asking for anything. I just want you to listen." I just flat out asked her, "Damn, have you always been that ignorant?"
                     Anyway, I got home and got to thinking. I could go back out on the bus and hit Sam's Burger Joint by nine, but then I remembered I didn't have a tape recorder. I need that prop for telling my story, damnit. I guess I will wait until I get another recorder. I'm going to tell my mother the truth about how I traded my mission-critical recorder for a stolen laptop. I'm going to tell her, "I traded it because I want to find out who's it is and give it back to them(bullshit)."
                     It's got a Pentium 4, and I'm hoping a big hard drive. Maybe this will replace my mom's computer on the table in the kitchen. I'm thinking she's going to feel uncomfortable about it being stolen. All I have to do is find out where I can buy a new power cord. Oh yeah, and my mom told me she was going to have Roadrunner installed again too. Everything is falling into place.

                     Now the time is 4:55 and I am back home with the stolen laptop. I'm bored and I can't type up my days because I don't have a tape recorder. I am ten days behind. I have been thinking that this might be a sign to stop logging with a tape recorder and do it by memory like I have done today. Good memory exercise. I wonder what's going to happen with that laptop.

                     Oh yeah, I never told you. Remember how my mom got all pissed at me because I used five more CD's than she allotted me? Well, she ended up giving me the rest of the spindle. Like twenty five CD's. She told me that I had to help her on Saturday. Sweep and mop the living room and kitchen. I told her I would do that anyway, but I guess that's payment in her eyes. This morning I left with seven CD's in my bag. Holy shit, I just checked my bag and I ended up giving six away today! The seed has been planted.

Next day..