110207

                                                                                                       Chicago, IL

Friday November 2, 2007

     7:19am  This morning I got up around six fifty. I got six and a half hours of sleep. It's like the fourth time in a row that I've crashed on that grassy hill. Unmolested. I took pictures of it. I'm walking into town. It's a long way. I should set my chronometer and see how far it is. Damn, my watch is messed up. I'm going to need a new one soon. I got this one out of a dumpster in Boulder, Colorado in 2005, think.

                   Panoramic movie of my grassy hill.  

                   This awesome spinning ball they had on the walkway.  

                  
                   It's around eight 'o clock and Carol gave me a cigarette on Michigan Street. Thank you, Carol. Everybody gets credit.

                   I came to Adam's and Michigan. Maybe I'll go fly my sign in front of the library again.

                   Pigeons by library.  

                   I darkened in my sign real good.  It had faded.  

                   I don't know what time it is because my watch doesn't work. I went to the library and cut out some more flyers. I got some emails from people in Chicago. This guy Chris who gave me a cigarette in front of Barnes and Noble. He had signed my guestbook the other day:

Date: 2007-10-30 18:13:00
Name: chris
Email: c@naamyo.com
Number: 126
hey man,

Let me know if you need anything (besides the smoke in front of barnes n noble) while your in Chi town.

Peace

I replied with:

Date: Thu, 1 Nov 2007 07:38:42 -0700 (PDT)
From: "victor antonio" <iamsanantonio@yahoo.com> Add to Address BookAdd to Address Book Add Mobile Alert
Subject: What's up, Chris
To: c@naamyo.com


Chris,
I've been in Chicago for about three or four days
now. I've been having a blast flying my sign around
State Street, Michigan too. Hell, everywhere. I've
been passing out my website like crazy. I have been
getting the best reaction and people are reading my
site.
Oh yeah, the first night I stood there in front
of the Barnes and Noble the DuPaul security guards
confronted me, saw exactly what I was doing and
granted me permission to remain. So that spot is a
definite workstation for me. I've got permission.
One of the guards even told me he loved my site.
Haha, at a business school!
Pretty much all my needs are being met, like they
have been for the six years I have been doing this.
The first night I went looking for a place to crash, I
hopped on whatever bus gave me a courtesy ride(like I
usually do) and ended up on Belmont. I wandered
around looking for a concealed place to crash and
couldn't find anywhere. Finally, I stumbled onto this
medical office where underneath it I was able to crawl
under this air conditioner and crash out. I got like
four hours of sleep then this Mexican worker dude woke
me up. As soon as he found out I spoke Spanish he was
cool with me. He even said I could crash there again
if I woke up early and was gone before the doctors got
there. Sooo, I already have a dry place to camp if it
rains.
Anyway, the next night I walked Lake Michigan
looking for another camp spot. I walked a long way,
past the aqaurium and found this grassy hill. I
camped there last night too. Every town I've been to
I always just take off walking in some random
direction and find a place to crash.
So I think I'm going to hang out in Chicago for a
bit. I can do sooo much work in this town. The
police haven't fucked with me one single time.
Things have been really cool, but if you want to
help me at all, know where I could take a shower/do
laundry? It's for a good cause. :]

Peace,

- Victor Antonio

p.s. Oh yeah, marijuana really turns the peace
machine on, so when you see me again smoke me out if
you can. Or hook it up with a little nugget. I've
got my fake cigarette(one-hitter), so a little goes a
long way.
Oh yeah, refresh my memory on when you met me,
please. I talk to TONS of people every day. Anything
to remember you by?


His reply:


Date: Thu, 1 Nov 2007 13:24:14 -0700
From: "" <c@naamyo.com>
To: "victor antonio" <iamsanantonio@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: What's up, Chris


Hi Victor,

Glad to hear you're getting by ok here.

I live in the suburbs Aurora. I go to sos.org in naperville. If you're
interested in checking out the meditation center with me I could pick
you up
saturday or sunday, let you take a shower and do laundry at my place.
They have
a free vegetarian lunch after satsang at the sos center.

I met you in front of barnes n nobles and asked you if you hike any of
the
trails (appalachian or pacific crest). I'm trying to wrap up some of my
obligations in chicago and go hike the Appalachian trail for 6 months..
I'd
also love to drive the pan-american highway down to argentina.

I was trying to think of places you could take a shower and do laundry
in the
city but I'm unaware of anything free off hand.

My cell is ###-###-####

Talk to you later,

Chris


Date: Fri, 2 Nov 2007 07:31:43 -0700 (PDT)
From: "victor antonio" <iamsanantonio@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: What's up, Chris
To: c@naamyo.com


Hi again,
I am most definitely interested in checking out
that meditation center. You might see me downtown
again. I've been flying my sign hardcore and yelling
at the people who ignore me, for fun, hehe. I offer
my site, "Will you check out my website? It's free.
Why wouldn't you? It's not religious, I promise."
When they ignore me I yell, "Nobody wants world peace!
Have you always been that ignorant?! I know you can
hear me!" Sometimes I even throw in, "Good little
slave!" Hehe, I have fun with it.
I'm just trying to make people think, that's my
job. Also, I very much doubt they're ever going to
forget the guy with the marijuana sign that called
them ignorant after they blatantly tried to ignore me.
That way, when my stuff inundates the internet and
their friends send it to them, they'll remember(and
hopefully read it, at least someday). There's a
method to my madness, hehe. Like I say, I am jumping
the ignorance-barrier.
Well, for the past four days my routine has been
to walk to the library and pass out my site until it
opens, and I did that again today. I did write your
cellphone number down and I'll try to bum a phone
today and give you a ring. Or you could just email me
and I'd check it at 9am tomorrow. We'll see how it
goes.
Thanks for the invite and letting me tap your
resources. It's for a good cause. :]

- Victor Antonio


Date: Sat, 3 Nov 2007 10:46:47 -0700
From: "" <c@naamyo.com>
To: "victor antonio" <iamsanantonio@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: What's up, Chris


Hey Victor,

Sorry I missed your call a little while ago. My battery was dead. Um,
If you
could give me a concrete time and place to meet you it would be easier
for me
to find you. Hopefully you can borrow someones phone again and give me
a call
the batteries charged up again.

Catch you later man,

Chris


Date: Sat, 3 Nov 2007 07:18:17 -0700 (PDT)
From: "victor antonio" <iamsanantonio@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: What's up, Chris
To: c@naamyo.com


Hey Chris,
I'll call you today after I leave the library. I
totally spaced it last night. I am a busy man, hehe.
Another thing. You wouldn't happen to have a
microcassette recorder you could spare? Mine went out
last night and it's kind of mission-critical for me.
Not only can I not be logging(well, I can always use
paper and pen, but that sucks), I am also unable to
listen to it to type up my stuff. I'm going to
actually make a sign that says, "Spare change for a
new tape recorder" and see how that works.
I've been saturating downtown Chicago non-stop
for five days about, so I'm sure if I put the word out
I'll eventually get what I need.
Or I might just call you and my plans will
totally change. If you don't plan things, you don't
get let down.

Peace,

- Victor Antonio

He invited me to some meditation thing on Saturday or Sunday. I got his phone number.

Then this girl Molly MySpaced me:

myspace.com/jetset729

Date:
Nov 1, 2007 12:34 PM

Subject:

Yesterday in an alley off of Adams/Wabash

Body:
Hey! So, I'm the roommate of a girl you talked to yesterday at that location....round about 7 last night. she was having a cig before work and couldn't chat but you gave her your business fortune and so, here i am...
anyway, we have the same mission as you in a way. i have big ideas like you do, anyway, and by this time next year we'll be on our journey. so, if you need anything while you're here in chicago, we would love to hook it up. food, clothes, smokes, green, a spot to crash even...
my email is jetset729@gmail.com
My name is Molly. My roommate is Sarah.
I hope you'll be in touch! If not, we look forward to hearing more about your travel and experience. we'll publicize your website.
peace-
molly

                   I messaged her back and I'll check it later on today.

                   Oh yeah, I ran into my friend Will. He was in the library this morning too. He was looking at porn in the library! They have this privacy screens in front of the monitor, but if you're directly behind him you can see what he's doing. When I mentioned I saw him looking at porn he came up with this big bullshit. He said that this girl had seen him looking at porn too and told him to meet him in the men's restroom. He said he went in there and she waiting in the stall and that she sucked his dick. He said she swallowed it. I told him, "Whatever, dude. You should take pictures or nobody's going to believe your stories." Just humoring him I told him, "Did she know you hadn't taken a shower in weeks?" Will is on the streets too.

                   It's about noon and Roberto walked by and volunteered me three dollars and listened to my story. I appreciate it, man. Everybody gets credit, thanks.

     12:24pm  Eric is hooking me up with a cigarette on State Street. I appreciate it, brother. Damnit, my tape recorder is messing up.

                     I came to the mission to eat and Kenny hooked me up with his sandwich. I appreciate it, brother. I'm hungry.

                     I just got finished darkening in my WPTMJ sign. It had faded. It looks badass. I'm going to take a picture of it.

     2:09pm  It's awesome, I'm all accepted by the street thugs here. This H-Town brother was telling me, "You're one of us. We got your back."

Next day..