This One Time in Hawaii

It was about 5 hours earlier than the same time where I was.

Thinking about time in a more physical sense than usual, I was playing trivia late one night, and suddenly there were two bars in Hawaii that made it into the top 20. It was probably around midnight, assuming my time correction is accurate. That's about 7 in HI, right? Anyways, I got to thinking about playing a nationwide trivia game in real time. For instance, the places in CA that make the board pretty often are in Tujunga, Palm Springs, Orange and Goleta (Goleta?). Also there are about 3 bars in Portland OR that are always up there, as well as places in the midwest that I don't pay a lot of attention to. Occasionally I see places on the east coast, but usually less and less as time goes by. When I'm playing a game at 9 p.m., they're playing the same game but it's midnight for them. I was thinking that was strange but then I searched out the sites in Manhattan that have trivia, and there are very few... the only one worth mentioning, in fact, is Mad River Bar and Grill on 3rd Ave. Maybe there's a lot more to do when you're out in New York City... I don't know, I've never been there.

So, my napkin note for the night reads "What fun is it playing in Hawaii when there are no contenders in your time zone? Oh yeah, YOU'RE IN HAWAII."

On an unrelated note, but still regarding time, I've just started reading DFW's Infinite Jest, and I may have bitten off more than I can chew. So far it's like Naked Lunch without all the junk and the mugwumps and the alabaster.

A Night of Rain

Forty miles home in the rain, and no snow to look forward to when I get there. Just rain.

I am jealous of my friends who have found their livelihood in places where they can experience four seasons - especially snow. Hell, I’m jealous of those who have one (a livelihood) or the other (snow). Both? What did I do wrong? What am I still doing wrong? I pass the exit that would have led me home… a riverfront cabin with a huge stack of firewood (cut, hauled, split and stacked by me) and the smells that you earn from that sort of thing. And the warmth, and the light from a glass-door stove and four well-placed candles and one of those old light bulbs that you really can’t buy anymore burning just above my head in the little kitchen.

Things are breaking inside. Two weeks ago I took a 14 hour train ride. It started at night, and we were allowed to bring our own booze onboard, and there was a lounge car and an observation car that were open all night and full of people from all over the country just talking and watching the night fly by. All I had to do when I reached my destination was stumble off – I had a ride and a couch to crash on and all day to recuperate. You know what I did? I sat in my fucking seat. Tried to sleep. I managed to – about 45 minutes at a time, waking up every hour for 15 minutes and trying to get comfortable again. I was glad when 6:45 came around and I could go to breakfast, where of course I sat with a cool old lady that I would have loved to talk to and a loudmouthed couple from Asshole, Pennsylvania that monopolized the entire meal talking about how uncomfortable their sleeper car was and how Obama was ruining ‘Murica. As cool old lady and I walked to the back to our coach seats, I thought about sitting down and asking her more about New Mexico (she was a native) but, like I said, my sociability is all gone. I took some pictures out the window, they looked like this:

Andrew and Matthew spent seven days and seven nights in intense fellowship with FSM. RAmen.

On the way back, I sat in my seat again and read Young and Revolting. And took the window seat after Flagstaff, at midnight on the biggest full moon in 20 years, so they say. Could’ve used a shot or two. Then it all got cloudy. Don’t it always?

post script
don't blame me for the poor ending to this post. It could have been much better if only you'd let me, tia rica.

inside man

There was a dead man
in my head and I don’t
know what he did in
there but sometimes through
the red parts of my eyes
i saw him trying to get
out.

one day I let him, and
i went in instead, and
with him out it wasn’t
so bad in here

now he walks around
and talks to the people that I know
and says peculiar things and
i’m not even sure if any of them
have noticed.

but I don’t think he can make
things any worse and I’m starting
to like it in here and I think I might
stay.