050203

 

San Antonio, TX

Friday May 2, 2003

                     Wow, what a stupendous day I have had. This morning I woke up drenched in sweat on Carlos' couch. No one else was awake. I didn't feel like going to my mom's house, so I decided to go see if I could get a courtesy ride on a bus and let things happen today. I didn't know what time the 91 was coming, so I just walked out to the bus stop and waited. Patience is virtue, right? When the 91 finally came, I asked the driver for a courtesy ride and he was a bitch and said no. Mr. Luna was his name.

     8:29am  Now, Bob had scored a dimebag of weed last night so I headed back to his house to see if he was awake yet. I was going to see if he would hook me up with a couple hits for my bus riding today. When I got back to their house, everyone was still asleep. I was all dingy from sleeping in the hot house last night, so I jumped in their shower. I had slept without my shirt last night so it wouldn't be all dingy today. Refreshed, I got out of the shower and put on my clothes.
                   I heard an alarm clock go off and I hoped it was Bob's. I called out his name only to be answered by Anna, Carlos' girlfriend. Now, Anna makes it very obvious that she thinks I'm crazy. She's kind of dumb herself. Last night when she heard me coughing she said, "Oh, you got SARS!" In the past she has told me the same shit Carlos tells me about not having anything to my name. I just ignore her and take comfort in my superiority, hehe. Anyway, that wasn't really important.
                   I cleaned up the kitchen some more and found some more dishes to wash. I was killing time until Bob woke up so I could ask him if he could smoke me out. When Bob finally woke up, he told me no, that he would smoke me out tonight. Oh well.

     10:20pm  So, I took off to go wait for the 604. When it finally came I asked the nice driver if I could get a courtesy ride. He smiled and waved me on, telling me he would cover my fare. He reached into his pocket, pulled out some change and put it in the farebox. I pulled out my pocket calendar and asked him for his name. He pointed up to his nameplate and said, "1978," his operator number. That was a good year.  Nice Mr. 1978, hehe.

     10:45pm  I wanted to go to the hospital and fuel up for my day. The 604 dropped me off at University Hospital and I rode the elevator up to the sixth floor as usual. I waltzed into the nourishment room and loaded up my cargo shorts. Two in each front pocket and carried one in my hand. Once again, I scored a total of five Nestle Repletes. Badass, (free)gasoline for my stomach. I was ready to see what would happen.                    

     11:05pm  I rode the elevator back down to the bus transfer center. I didn't know what I was going to do today. I asked the first bus that pulled up for a courtesy ride and the dude said no. I walked by this nice black lady(her name is Carrie) and she said, "Wow, you are tall." I joked around with her and told her she better not ask me if I play basketball. Since we were talking I asked her if she had any spare change for bus fare. She said sure and gave me fifty cents. Before this dude had given me fifteen cents, so I had a total of sixty five cents.

                     The 534 going to Ingram Park Mall passed and I got on and asked the driver if he would accept sixty five cents for fare(normal fare is eighty cents). The driver said sure. So on my way to Ingram I go. I arrived there at eleven twenty. I got off a little early and walked to the mall. I wanted to go walk around inside and let everyone see me with my walking stick and rainbow beanie. I told you how I am slowly making myself famous in this town, right? Everyone was looking at me weird when I walked by them. As long as they're looking at me.
                     I walked up and down both stories of the mall and then I got bored. So, I walked outside the mall and back to the Park-n-Ride. Man, some weed would go good right now. Just then, I noticed this guy smoking something and holding it like a joint. That was my cue. I immediately stood up and walked closer to him. I smelled it in the air. I walked up to him and asked him if he could spare a hit or two. He asked me a hit or two of what. I said, "Well, what are you smoking?" He told me mota and handed me the roach. Ahh, nice guy. His name is Chico.
                     I told Chico and this other dude that were there about my mission. I started telling him about my trip to California, but he cut me off and told me to stop lying. Oh well, he rolled a joint and smoked me out. He told me he had just got paroled out of prison and was on the run. Shit, It's eleven oh three and I'm beat. I'll finish typing this up in the morning. Goodnight.

                     Anyway, after I smoked with Chico at Ingram Park and Ride I got the idea to go downtown and see about my tattoo. Now, check this out. I had always sworn to myself that I would never get a tattoo. All the old people I knew who had tattoos regretted getting them. But, since all this shit has happened to me lately I thought I would get a little peace sign tattooed somewhere. I thought on the back of my neck would be cool. So, a while back when I was walking around downtown I was near Travis Park and spotted a tattoo parlor named Pair-Of-Dice. I had walked up and told the guys there about my mission. I told them about the tattoo I wanted on the back of my neck and that it would be an excellent chapter in my book if I got it for free. Well, the owner Patrick actually agreed! He told me to come back another day, though.
                     So, today when I was trying to find something to do I got the idea to go see if I could get my tattoo.

     1:11pm  The guy driving the 81 bus, that goes down Culebra hooked me up with a courtesy ride. I got downtown at one fifty five.

     2:03pm  As I was walking around downtown, this cop on a bicycle stopped and talked to me about my stick. He said, "Wow, that stick looks pretty rough." I was wearing my rainbow beanie and assured him I wouldn't hurt a fly.

     2:15pm  I arrived at Pair Of Dice and saw Patrick. He told me what was up and invited my inside into the air conditioning. I hung out there for a couple hours just chilling. Patrick is cool as shit. He let me bum some cigarettes and we talked about cool stuff. I finally mustered up the balls to ask him if getting my tattoo was within the realm of possibility and he said no problem. He called me over and asked me how big I wanted the peace sign. He had a stencil with lots of circles and I picked the one I wanted. He drew out the peace sign perfectly. While he was drawing it these lady tourists came in and wanted their ears and navel pierced. It took a while for him to do it, but in the end made eighty bucks.
                     While he was doing the piercings I got the idea to look through my CD case. I had some movies in there I didn't mind parting with. I had Lord of the Rings(the first one), Final Fantasy, Austin Powers Goldmember, and the old classic A Princess Bride. I asked Patrick if he wanted any of them. He chose Lord of the Rings and I hooked him up with the three CDs. He asked me if they were DVD's and I told him no, that you could just watch them on the computer through Windows Media Player.

     4:28pm  Patrick finally finished the piercings and I started craving a cigarette. I didn't want to abuse my resource, so I neglected to bum another one off of Patrick. I told Patrick I would be back and walked to Travis Park. I was walking through and I saw my friend Fuzzy sitting down smoking a cigarette. He noticed me coming and told me what was up. I asked him if he could spare a cigarette and he said of course. So, I walked back to the tattoo parlor and smoked it.

     5:20pm  Woohoo! I'm getting my tattoo. Earlier he had told me I should check out www.hyperspacestudios.com. I pulled out my tape recorder and asked Patrick if he could summarize the process. Here's what he said:

                     "I use fresh needles every time. Anything that is one-use is sterilized. Anything else is cleaned, scrubbed, run through an ultrasonic and autoclaved(medical sterilizer) in a self-sealing bag. Then I draw out the stencil and run it through a 3M thermograph machine, which makes the stencil which I stick on your body. We make sure it's in a good place, where you want it then I open the needles and get a fresh little cup to put the ink in and tattoo."

                     Patrick first did the outline and gave me a handheld mirror so I could check it out. It was a perfect peace sign. But, it wasn't that noticeable with just the outline. (Oh yeah, it didn't hurt at all while he was doing it. Actually, it felt like a big itch while he was doing it.) So, I asked Patrick to color it in. He did and when he finished I was the happiest man in the world. He put some Bacitracin on my tattoo and taped it up with a bandage. He told me to leave the bandage on for at least an hour and to keep it clean with Liquid Dial Antibacterial soap and Bacitracin. I thanked Patrick, we shook hands and I gave him a hug. Then I walked off to Travis Park.

     5:56pm  I bummed a cigarette off this guy at the park and then saw the 91 Babcock North bus, which I needed to get on to go to Carlos'. Mr. Rivas was driving. I got on and asked him if he could hook it up, but he said no, that the last time was the last time. Oh well. Before I knew it there was a 92, which runs every twenty minutes. I got on and asked the driver for a free ride and he let me on.

     6:55pm  I rode the bus all the way to University Hospital and tried scoring another courtesy ride. Other drivers weren't letting me on because I had pretty much asked them all already. So, I had to ask for spare change for bus fare. I didn't have to ask that many people before I had seventy six cents(bus fare is eighty cents). The 603(UTSA bus) pulled up and I asked the driver if 76 cents would cut it. He said sure and let me on. His name is Mr. Burgess. I recognized him. He's a real nice guy. I rode the 603 all the way to Huebner and Fredericksburg. At that intersection I got off. While I was getting off, I asked Mr. Burgess, "Sir, I didn't get a chance to buy my bus pass this month, I don't suppose I can get a transfer?" He smiled and hooked me up. I started walking towards West Telemarketing and checked the 91 bus schedule. It was about fifteen minutes until the last 91 that went out to Babcock North passed. Cool, and I had a transfer so even if the driver was Mr. Rivas he would have to let me on. I cut through the trail near the Racquetball and Fitness Club and to the bus circle at West.

     7:54pm  This girl was there waiting for the same bus. I think I heard her asking some other dude for change. I spotted a quarter on top of the payphone and grabbed it and offered it to her. She told me thank you and I started talking to her. Just then, my bandage flew off my neck and landed on the ground. You could clearly see the peace sign on the bandage. She pointed it out and I showed her my new tattoo and told her how I had gotten it for free. I then told her all about my mission and how I had gone to California.
                     When the bus finally came I told her I would finish telling her on the bus. I tried getting on and the bus driver stood up and started yelling at me, "Oh no! You're not getting on my bus with that stick! We have already been through this before!" I told him, "Well, do you remember what happened last time?" He told me, "Yeah, you made me be real late." In actuality, last time this idiot had a problem with my stick I told him to call his supervisor, which he did and I was permitted to ride on the bus with it. Some people never learn.
                     He told me, "Either you don't get on or you leave it up front with me." I said, "Whatever, dude," and handed him my stick. I got on the bus and kept talking with Katie(the girl's name). She told me she agreed with me totally and even asked me if she could come with me on one of my adventures. I told her maybe, that I might try and organize a big portable party. I told her that I was considering just taking off walking again and that someone would pick me up. Then she told me she might have a car soon and I told her if she did, that I would definitely go with her, hehe. I asked her if she had a computer and she said no. She asked me for my phone number and I gave her my mom's. I had forgotten that my mom's phone had gotten disconnected for some reason so if she calls soon the number isn't going to work, damn.

     8:04pm  I walked over to Carlos' and he wasn't home, bummer. Since my bandage had come off and I was sweating I felt I had to get to a bathroom soon to wash my hands and clean my tattoo.

     8:20pm  I got the idea to walk over to Andy's and see if I could borrow his restroom. When I got to Andy's he came outside, coincidentally. He told me what's up. I told him, "Guess what I got today," and turned around. I was wearing my soccer shoe bag and he thought I was talking about getting my shit back from the cops. I told him to look at my neck and he saw my tattoo. He was like, "Wow, that thing is perfect." I asked him if I could use his bathroom to clean it up and put some Bacitracin on it. He said sure and let me inside. When I was done cleaning it we walked outside and I asked Andy if I could bum a cigarette. He went inside and bummed one off his dad. He then told me he was stoned off his ass, that his dad had just scored some really good hydro. I asked him if he could spare a hit and he said, "Nah, you know how my dad is with other people." Bummer. His dad can get his sixteen year old son high, but not his friend who's going to legalize marijuana. Oh well.
                     I asked Andy if I could borrow his cordless phone and he let me. I called Andrea and asked her if there was any way she could come pick me up from Bob's and take me home. I told her I had been out all day and was really tired and wasn't looking forward to the five mile walk to my mom's. She told me she was running errands for her mom and wouldn't be able to for like forty minutes. I told her I would walk around and find someway to kill forty minutes, but that I would be at Bob and Carlos' and nine. She told me she might be a little later than nine and I said cool. I walked all the way down Spring Mont to my friend David's. I knocked on the door and David answered. He said what was up and I asked him what he was doing. He said he had just been laying down. I told him that he needed his rest and apologized for interrupting. He said cool, and went back inside. I walked around and decided to go back to Carlos' to wait for Andrea. I didn't think Carlos would be home and I was just going to sit on his back porch to wait for Andrea. To my surprise, right as I was walking up to his house I see Carlos and Anna pull up. Cool. Well, not really because when I walked in his house it was hot as hell. They were still trying to conserve energy by not using the air conditioning. 
                     I walked in and told Carlos, "Hey, guess what I got." Anna said, "What, SARS?" I wonder what her obsession is with SARS. She's a stupid follower who believes everything she hears in the media. I sat down on Carlos' couch. I was dead-tired. I just wanted to go to sleep. Like around nine fifteen I hear a car outside and assume it's Andrea. I grabbed all my stuff and walked outside to her car. I get in and she drives me to my mom's house. She asks me if I have talked to Renee(Air) recently and I told her no, that I wasn't going to initiate contact with Renee. She asked me why and I told her that I had some trust-issues with him. I pointed out that since I had come into contact with Renee I had lost my sneak-a-toke(which I was able to hold onto in California), my pants, and had gotten sick(I haven't been sick in four years). I just had a bad feeling about Renee. He seemed to want to receive an equal portion of the glory I deserved for all the work I've done on my generosity project. Screw that. He, after all, was using all my scripts to get shit.
                     Andrea told me that the night when she had come to pick him up from my house that he tried to kiss her. He told her that he really liked her. See, I may have some fault in that. I mentioned to him how Andrea and Bob had been "friends with benefits" up until recently when Bob found out his girlfriend was pregnant. He probably assumed he could be one of those "friends" with Andrea. I seriously doubt Renee wanted anything more than sex.

                     I made another mistake tonight. See, back when Bob and Andrea were having sex Bob told Andrea that he thought I was attracted to her, which I wasn't in that way. He told me Andrea said, "No way, he just gives me hugs and that's it." Well, seeing as how I haven't had sex in over a year I didn't think it so inappropriate to ask Andrea if maybe, you know. Hey, I'm only human. I had had a big conversation about how I thought going down on a chick was a power trip for me, so she already knew my stance on that. It's not that I wanted to have sex with her, just go down on her. She could reciprocate if she wanted, and I thought she would, but she wouldn't have to. I didn't come out and ask her though. I almost did, and told her that I felt uncomfortable asking her. She told me that I probably shouldn't ask her then. I got the message loud and clear. Man, I felt like a total idiot. She told me to call her tomorrow and took off.

                     I went inside and took a shower. Oh yeah, my mom was gone for the weekend. It sucks, the cable modem still doesn't work and neither does the phone. That's the story of my mom's house. There's always some shit broken.

Next day..