092903

 

Arcata, CA

Monday September 29, 2003

     7:50am  I woke up around 7:30am. The sun is out and feeling good shining on the barn and warming things up. Some people crashed in the grass by the barn. There's people in the "living room" with me. Good morning. Oh yeah, I'm getting glasses today, hopefully. It's Monday.

     8:50am  I'm walking to The Endeavor from the barn. I'm just leaving the barn right now. Whoa, the sun is shining bright. I'm going to be sure to crash on the side of the barn that gets the sunshine tonight. It'll be awesome to wake up bathed in sunshine and warmth.

     9:10am  I walked to The Endeavor. Sandy called in sick, so I have to wait until tomorrow. Oh well, another day in Arcata.

                   Papa John gave me a cigarette. Cool, thanks.

     9:30am  I went up to Geba and told him, "Man, you should come out to the barn. We have parties and shit there." He asked me if I could walk him to the barn right now and since I left my Third Wave book there, and I still quoted some more stuff out of it, I agreed to show Geba the barn.

     9:32am  Geba just stopped to hug a tree in front of the Co-op.

     9:43am  Jim just gave me some change for coffee at the Cash Oil.

     9:54am  We're hanging out at the Cash Oil, talking to this brother. I'm telling him about the barn and he's going to hook me up with some marijuana soon. Oh yeah, we got a coffee. It was all Geba's idea, even though he didn't have any money. I had a dime on me, so we needed another quarter to have enough for a refill. I had asked Geba, "How do you plan on obtaining this coffee?" Right when I asked, Jim walked out and gave me five cents. I handed Geba the money. Argh, I'm getting impatient. I want to go to the barn already, but I barely have the patience for Geba. He's always stopping at every trash can to dig through it and earlier he stopped to hug a tree!

     10:21am  We walked towards the barn. When we hopped the electric wire circling the property, we noticed a pickup truck driving around the field next to the barn. We backed up and we're going to wait until the truck leaves. I hope he didn't see us.

     11:14am  Geba is telling me something about Midland, TX I didn't know. He said they have a lot of experimental life forms in cages underground. He said all the stuff the government tries to cover up, they make into movies. That way, if people ever find it, no one will take them seriously because they already made a movie about it. He says there's stuff under Midland, which doesn't surprise me. Midland gets shit on, literally.

     11:50am  I had a good time at the barn. I showed Geba a lot of my stuff and he actually asked me to tell him some of my stories. I almost forgot about The Endeavor. That's where I'm walking to now. I hope they have some food left.

     12:05pm  I got to The Endeavor.

     12:36pm  Man, I stuffed myself at The Endeavor. I had like four hotdogs and three slices of pizza.

     1:00pm  I went to the bus station to see if I could use the restroom. The guy asked me, "Are you riding the bus?" I told him no and he said I couldn't use it. Prick.

     1:06pm  Here I am waiting for the elevator in the Jacoby's Storehouse, waiting to go up to the third floor to use their restroom and take a shit.

                   The bathrooms were locked. I'm going back down the elevator now.

     1:10pm  I went back into the storehouse because I remembered someone telling me there was a bathroom on the second floor, too. I just realized that the second floor is plaza level and the first is street level, which lets out in the back. So, to the person who told me the bathroom was on the second, in actuality it's the third floor bathroom that I was already aware of.

     1:19pm  I finally scored a bathroom at The Alibi. I lucked out. They might have told me to leave, like they have before. But, they didn't and I just walked back to the bathroom and took a healthy shit. I'm sitting on the toilet now and I'm going to start reading my Future Shock book.

     1:42pm  I just got out of the restroom. I took advantage of that moment in the bathroom and alleviated myself. I did more than just take a dump, hehe. I'm not ashamed of yankin' it sometimes. Like you don't. It's a declaration of independence, damnit.

     1:45pm  Downtown Brown just gave me the last of his rollie. I appreciate it, brother.

     2:08pm  I just ran into that girl who's backpack I had found a few days ago.

     2:56pm  I'm feeling all lazy. I just reassessed all my stuff in the grass. I still have everything. Lately, I've been wearing my soccer shoe bag turned around, with the Adidas logo not showing. Screw that, I'm no walking billboard. I'm going to go spange up for a camera. I forgot I had to do that. I didn't even want to do laundry today. I got lazy today.

     3:00pm  I want to get me a donut before I start spanging for a camera. I'm going to spange for a donut, now.

     3:02pm  Lynn just hooked me up with some change. Lynn is a guy. I appreciate it, brother. He gave me fiftycents.

     3:05pm  Joey gave me thirty cents.

     3:07pm  I just got those thirty cents from Joey and asked the next guy walking by for spare change for a donut. He went inside the donut shop and back out again to ask me what kind of sandwich did I wanted!

                   That is so awesome! I told that guy to surprise me when he asked me what kind of sandwich I wanted. He, in turn, told the cashier to surprise me and the cashier gave me a slip of paper and asked me to just mark off what I wanted. I selected roast beef, mustard and mayo and gave the slip back.

     3:10pm  I'm just standing here at the donut shop waiting for my sandwich. I picked up a copy of this paper, The Humboldt Exposure. It says, "Humboldt Exposure is a new paper, a new voice for Humboldt County. The Exposure examines community issues but more importantly, examines how we might work together as a community to solve common problems.
                   The Exposure also includes the ever-exciting Community Currency Directory. By using Community Currency, hiring each other and keeping local money local, we create new jobs for each other. The Community Currency Project hopes to create 400 new jobs in Humboldt County by May 2004 and 1,200 new jobs my May 2005."

     3:15pm  This is a badass sandwich! It's got roast beef, mustard, mayonnaise on a bagel and warmed up. Mmmmm, it's good.

     3:25pm  John gave me the very last of his cigarette. I appreciate it, brother.

     3:34pm  This dude just gave me a quarter. He just walked by. I didn't get his name.

                   These two sisters walked by and I asked them for change. They said they didn't have any, but instead offered me a drink of their yummy lemonade. Mmm, it was good. Hit the spot.

     3:38pm  Tuesday just hooked me up with a rollie. I appreciate it, brother.

     3:52pm  Leah gave me some change. I appreciate it, Leah.

                   Wow, she gave me a dollar and some change. Awesome.

                   Okay, I got $2.50. I need another $2.50 to get my camera.

     4:05pm  I'm going to sit down on this bucket that's in my spanging alley and read my Future Shock book.

     4:16pm  Derrick was nice enough to give me a dollar. I appreciate it, Derrick.

                   $3.50 so far. I need $1.50 now.

     4:30pm  Rachel just gave me some change. Thank you, sister.

     4:59pm  I'm kind of tired of spanging. I don't need a camera just yet. Hey, I got bus fare now! Now I don't have to hitchhike to Eureka. I'll just ride the bus. I'll be able to take a shower! I feel all dirty.

     5:00pm  Elise gave me a cigarette at the bus station. She said she didn't want to, but gave me one anyway. Elise is older and I told her about my plan. She turned out to be ignorant to the truth, even though she blatantly proved me right by giving me a cigarette.

                   The bus is due at 5:20. I'm going to go to The Raven House, do my laundry and take a chower.

     5:32pm  I'm in Eureka! I read my book on the bus.

     5:37pm  Here I am walking up to The Raven House.

     9:55pm  I am leaving The Raven House. I had fun tonight. I did my laundry and took a shower. Well, not really all my laundry. I threw in my white thermal, uniform shirt and my Sponge Bob boxers in a load with somebody else. The rest is ok. It doesn't stink or anything. I am one step closer to being ready to leave. I got on the computer and updated my journal on their terminal. It's all current. I keep telling them to read my stuff. Somebody will one day. Oh yeah, I left a big update in the San Antonio channel on IRC. I told them all how I was still advancing on my mission. Now, I'm walking to the spot where I usually hitch back to Arcata. I still have to spange up enough money to buy a camera tomorrow. Maybe that's what I'll do.

     10:13pm  I went out and stood at the hitchhiking spot. No one picked me up, so I decided to go back to The Raven House and see if anyone's going to Arcata anytime soon.

                     I went back to The Raven House and saw the last people about to leave in the driveway. Texas and two other people were cramming into a Suzuki Sidekick. The driver Amber and this dude Jay. I walked up and they said they would give me a ride, cool. Amber is being nice enough to give me a ride back to Arcata. Thank you.

     10:35pm  I'm in Arcata again, awesome. Before we left Eureka Amber had to return some movie. I'm in the plaza. I'm going to go bum a cigarette, spange up a donut and read my book.

     10:51pm  I was hanging out outside by the trash can across the street from the plaza. This one homeless dude was talking to another guy and the dude told him that he really needed to listen to my master plan. The other guy, James asked me if I wanted a drink and took me inside to the bar. James looks Caucasian, but surprisingly was from Puerto Rico. He was about my age. I tried telling him and this other dude at the bar all my stuff, but they kept interrupting. I pointed out to them how they were being ignorant. James apologized and I tried telling them my stuff again. Before I knew it, he started talking about something else. I was pretty annoyed, but just sat there enjoying the buzz. James tells me about the vampire bums out there trying to suck everyone dry. He told me he could tell I wasn't like that. That I looked honest and trustworthy.

     11:19pm  Dude, James just hooked me up with a fresh ten dollar bill! I can get another camera now. My webpage is going to kick so much ass. Dude, I swear I didn't even ask for it.

     11:26pm  Tyrell just gave me his second to last cigarette. I appreciate it, brother.

     11:45pm  I'm having a good time tonight. That dude hooked me up with ten dollars! He bought me a drink and beer. Now, I just ran into some guy who's agreed to smoke us all out! Yeehaw!

                     The dude who offered to smoke us out is named Chimney. Like four of us came to his school bus and hotboxed it. We got all stoned in his bus. How perfect. What a great way to end the night.

     12:20am  I had a great night tonight. We went over to that dude's bus and smoked a lot of marijuana. It was me, Michael, Brenda and Chimney, the guy with the bus. That's awesome. Tonight I got drunk and stoned . . . for free! I'm walking to the barn now. Oh wait, no I'm going to go get another donut. I deserve another one. I'm hungry.

     12:42am  I got me a donut. Man, I am sooo addicted to these chocolate buttermilk ones. They own to the bone.

                     Okay, I'm walking to the barn.

                     See, I have this great cover. I've had two closed head-injuries, so people think I have a reason to be crazy. That's why nobody is taking me seriously.

                     It was so cool. About that guy who gave me the ten dollars earlier. The way I met him was that this other dude was telling him, "You should really listen to this guy. He's got the master plan!" He bought me a drink and a beer. In the end he was all ignorant and wouldn't listen to me. But, I got his email address and he can read my stuff later.

                    Man, I need to have a webpage up already. I'm going to have the actual webpage zipped up into one file and people can download it and spread it around. It'll be spread all around the Internet.

                    Whoa, it's all foggy out tonight. I'm walking down the railroad tracks and I thought I heard someone behind me. I'm all paranoid, I can't see. To top it off I don't have my glasses, so I'm almost blind in this fog.

     12:45am  Holy shit, I just got to the field where the barn is. Visibility is like twenty feet. I can't see shit. There's a thick fog all over the field. I'm blind.

                     Man, I hope I'm getting closer to the barn. I'm just walking over the grass away from where I hear cars. I can't see shit. My glasses, there's a beautiful night sky in Arcata. The stars. That night at the party I felt a little jealous because a lot of the kids at the party were pointing out constellations and planets. I was thinking how cool it would be to know about that stuff.

                     I'm all lost. I'm all calling out to the barn, "Hello, anybody at the barn? Can you hear me? I'm lost!" Hopefully someone will yell back so I can echo-locate.

                     Hmm, I notice a big dark mass of something over there. Maybe that's the barn. Okay, yeah. That's the barn.

                     I stepped inside the barn and since it's all dark I almost stepped on somebody. I can't see anything.

Next day..