PM -
AM - Typically on trash days, the walk to work is ripe with pocket-wafts of the most awful stenches mixed together, but today, all around, the putrid aroma of bodily decay filled the air, and someone vomited across from me on Union, although I'm unsure of their sober status.
PM - Walking past the deli below Relaxy Spa, a man in dreads is standing at the counter holding two "enhancement" pill packages, when I hear him ask the cashier, "What? EACH?!"
AM - There's a "usual" [frequent] customer at the Union Street Deli that I see buy scratch-off tickets when I buy food sometimes, and the cashier is also excited to see if he wins.
PM - A skinny fellow got up next to me off the handicap seat for an older man with fishing poles, who sat down with his backpack, asked if it was "OK" with me - to which I nodded - and preceded to goof around with a young girl in Spanish who was sitting in a stroller, until there was a lull in their conversation (the mother totally not paying attention to what's happening), and the little girl squints her eyes, lays back smiling for a few seconds, quite, and jolts back up to continue talking to the older man next to me.
AM - Sitting on the 7-train, as the train-car doors close, I'm thinking about the car on 34th Street that honked, flashing all its lights, and then abruptly being kick-started; I think I witnessed a Honda being hot wired this morning.
PM - Nothing beats that 7-train wind after running through the tunnel under Time's Square from the A-train, catching the Express in the nick-of-time.
AM - Going up Union Street by the pawn shop, there were a bunch of tattoo gun parts tossed everywhere.
PM - Found out from Joyce the first person to have died in this morning's bus crash had waxed our building's floors for 16 years.
AM - When I arrived to the school, Savannah called me asking if I was ok because there was a huge accident between an MTA bus and a Tour bus that ended up slamming into Kennedy's Fried Chick on Northern Boulevard and Main Street.
PM - Walking from the A to the 7 under Time's Square when I see a hand snapping at me from the crowed of people walking the other way and it's Nick Taddeo, my co-coach in flag-football.
AM - Watching pissed off pimps on Prince street walk around people setting up tents for a street festival.
PM - Man in van by Union Street Deli, now at dawn, smoking a cigarette, made eye contact with me.
AM - Man in van by the deli in the shadows smoking a cigarette.
PM - There was a person following close behind me and whistling to the beat of my steps by the Flushing Towers building this morning.
AM - Next to the Macedonian Church a slew of men were gathered, as I saw down the block, but when I came near, a white van arrived with no windows and they all piled in, excitedly, all dressed in designer clothes.
PM - The sidewalk is open now by Flushing Towers on 39th, and I saw people in the rain stand under the canopy of Woori American Bank.
AM - Before I saw the bottle lady today - like every day - there's always a church van running, and a man looking out for traffic in the street awaiting [whoever] to come out from next door to where he parked.
PM - Girl dropped her plastic tiara as she and her family were turning right in front of me at the corner of McDonalds, so I picked it up for her.
AM - Bottles lady is back.
PM - One of the students from tryouts had approached the man yesterday, and when I saw the kiddo outside our school, he told me the man thought Taddeo and I were being racist making a bunch of kids of color run, since we're both bald and white.
AM - Typically, I pass by a woman on 34th every day who's collecting cans and bottles in different plastic bags, daily, but she wasn't there today.
PM - At the end of flag-football tryouts in the park - after running the kids out-of-breath around the park - their taking-a-knee in front of us, asking questions that start getting into scheduling and practices, a man walks up, Taddeo asks if he's a parent, the man shakes his head *no* and then Taddeo denies a kiddo of their last questions and suggested (because of time) we wrap it up, ask questions walking back to school, but the man interrupts Taddeo and tells him to complete the question, which was about practice, and Taddeo replied with, "Since this is tryouts, let's worry about making the team before practice," which confused the man.
AM - I started going to Union Street Deli for about a week now to buy bubble-water, a ginseng drink, juice, sunflowers, and peanut-butter crackers.
PM - Bought a plant from a man on main who gave me a Michael Kors bag to carry it home in
AM - Four Choice And Soup was serving at 5:45 AM this morning to a very happy group of people, as it's typically shut-down at this time.
PM - I can't feel my two middle toes recently, and Google Search said it was my shoes.
AM - It's cold now in the morning, and was glad to took out Mahdi because she was following me around since I stepped foot on the ground.
8/31
PM - This lady practically demanding the bathroom key in McDonalds to use it.
AM - Man wearing two coats that looked like one long coat.
8/30
PM - Catching eyes in the hallway between people coming from the A- to the 7-train.
AM - Using my sweat rag to avoid inhaling pesticide, that police cars were announcing at 8PM the night before.
8/29
PM - Driving home from camp, getting to know Katherine, and finding out a new teacher, Elizabeth, is from Oakwood, and I end up getting the shuttle bus from Hertz to LGA where I take a taxi to Flushing, but forget a receipt.
8/28
AM - Uber driver, Yang, picks me up after I grad the EZ Pass out of the Forester, see that older biker dude with the two old dogs, exchange friendly greetings, I tell him about 8th Grade camp, and we part ways.
8/25
PM - Chinese lady and black guy meet and conduct a very intricate handshake.
AM - Giving the cans lady a bag of cans in the AM that I had gathered throughout the week.
8/24
PM - Two chummy bros walking toward 33rd, meeting two other chummy bros coming toward them from 33rd, so the first ones turn around to make four chummy bros
AM - Guy about to fight someone on the 7-train because the other person didn't say "Excuse me" for bumping around before sitting down.
8/23
PM - AT the food truck for a burrito, the ladies giggle at my presence, the gal who collided me looks bashfully at me, and the other lady comes out of the driver-area having started playing slow, Latin guitar music.
AM - Beating someone to an open seat by walking around the outside of the train before running it, taking the risk of door closings before getting on the train.
8/22
PM - I started only halfway buttoning my shirt up for my walk home, after the train.
AM - Seeing a box for cigarettes, which look like Marlboro, with Chinese characters on the side, but maybe it's just wet dirt, I wouldn't know either way.x
8/21
PM - Old men playing chess, shirts half unbuttoned, unleashed Pomeranian, brought an extra bench for onlookers, serious faces.
AM - The cops linger hard in the morning: in unmarked cars, traffic and patrol cars, crosswalk guards, detectives and beat-cops on the little patio in front of the precinct.
8/18
PM - At least I'll always have the PM express 7-train.
AM - Morning express-trains are the best, and I've found they begin at 6:21AM.
8/17
PM - There are law offices across the street from the precinct on Union that are attached to a commercial-residential building.
AM - Last days of summer and the tea shops are just opening while I go to the 7-train; I'd love to ask about the bubbles' typical life-line, but how?
8/4
PM - Coming home late, and it's dark and drizzling, so i don't know when I'm out of the tunnel on the 7-train.
AM - One of the men who passes out papers in the morning had someone cover for him to pray.
8/3
PM - Got new shoes at lunch with Marlene and they feel fresh.
AM - Door to a East Bank on Roosevelt has door handles that both make a full coin, but it's split upon opening.
8/2
PM - Falling asleep when the train is stalled that when it began again, I thought it was going the opposite direction.
AM - The accordion guy hasn't been playing much recently, and I hope he's on vacation.
8/1
PM - Seeing two people meet walking from the A to 42nd Street under Time's Square, and the flirty guy backs up into me as girl is telling him with wide arms, "It's been so long."
AM - Passing a restaurant on Union w/ 'Grade Pending' that smells amazing in the AM, although questionable, right?
7/31
PM - Ordered a burrito from the truck on Northern after grabbing some bLimes from 7-11, offered a drink to the two Spanish speaking dudes eating off the side of it - who refused - got hot sauce and left, only to turn the corner and realize I forgot to pay the food-truck ladies, so turn back around the corner, I run into the one chasing me, pay, have a laugh and leave.
AM - Mailman walking along Roosevelt with backpack on his torso.
7/28
PM - I walk in the dirt for NOBODY!
AM - The bigger lady begging for money by the 7-train entrance escalator changed her position to avoid spoiling business for the breakfast ladies who stand next to her.
7/27
PM - Group of variously aged people all staring at the hole-in-the-wall soup and milk(???) stand just before the entrance escalator down to the 7-train station.
AM - The trick is not letting someone else catch you looking at the Jessica Biel advertisements for coconut water.
7/26
PM - Group of construction workers standing along the new construction on Union before 39th Street all staring the same thing, but in the distance, intently, at nothing really at all.
AM - One of the shops on Union between 39th and Roosevelt has a Grade Pending sign, but always wafts delectable baking and frying smells when I pass by for their daily preparation.
7/25
PM - There's so many characters that linger the Roosevelt McDonlad's, whether or not it's open.
AM - Man walked up to the Flushing-Main Street toll-booth 7-station attendant and asked which train to take to North Carolina.
7/24
PM - I keep falling asleep on my way home and waking up to the thought that I'm going back to work.
AM - 7-Train stopped for about seven minutes between 52nd and 46th, and when it began to move again, I thought we were going the opposite direction, at first.
7/21
PM - Man in USPS uniform walking with his backpack warn on his chest.
AM - Accordion guy was back but not playing and just standing there watching people walk by with his giant instrument hanging around his neck.
7/20
PM - Walking on the sidewalk follows an unspoken set of rules, so walking tall and puffing out my chest seems to be my accent in this silent conversation.
AM - 7-Train express-cars in the AM are gold.
7/19
PM - There's a bullet buried shell-side up crossing Northern Blvd. on Union just a step after leaving the middle-island walk-way.
AM - How long do bubbles last in bubble tea?
7/18
PM - HOW THE FUCK IS THERE TACO BELL TRASH IN THE PARK; WHERE THE FUCK IS A FUCKING TACO BELL AROUND FLUSHING, CHINATOWN???????
AM - Accordion guy wasn't around this morning.
7/17
PM - It's fucking gross when a dude in thick sweats starts checking out the girl in hot-weather clothes whose obviously looking disgusted/distressed at this man, before this buzz-head walks into the Flushing Police station.
AM - More trees and plants being loaded off the truck between 38th and 39th on Union, so...
7/14
PM - Walking through the park now, I see older fellahs playing chess, and one brought a bench for those who crowd around to watch.
AM - Since I wanted a seat on the 7-train Express, I left early, saw a man dancing the robot in front of Anime Castle on Union, while walking across 35th, and continued to robot as I passed him.
7/13
PM - I never take Northern home, but H-Mart was imminent for groceries, and I'm on the side I shouldn't be on - just before the shop layered with maniquines wearing coats (it's July...) obviously covering a front for international shipping, etc. - when I pass-by four gutted, dead-and-empty refridgerators.
AM - Man doing squats on the corner of 35th and Union using the fence on the sidewalk sliver behind the bus stop.
7/12
PM - Outside the Main-Street 99-Cent Store someone spray painted: "I JUST LOST WAY."
AM - On the corner of Northern and Union, a man runs shirtless out of the Senior Center up toward the high school and over the hill.
7/11
PM - Older woman bending like a cat outside an apartment complex alongside other older woman sitting along the wall.
AM - Usually running to the station, if someone racing you there wins, they typically are slow walking down the escalator.
7/10
PM - Sometimes, walking home, next to a large amount of people, I'll accidentally hold hands with a stranger while swinging my arms.
AM - Lady walked in front of me after crossing the street, and I hit her ankle on accident, but because she walked directly in front of me on an empty sidewalk - wasn't able to adjust my speed to hers yet - and she gave me a glare, to which I responded, "Hope you learned your lesson."
7/7
PM - In a gaggle of birds eating uncooked rice, there's one similar looking bird that is now completely bloated, as if it looked like it were eating too much rice.
AM - I wake up at 6 now.
7/6
PM - There's a man sitting in the train-car with knee wrap I sit next to who doesn't budge with the wide gap he's made for himself, so I do the exact same pose he does in protest for fairness of space.
AM - Having come back from Texas, after visiting Todd and Erin, I find myself wanting to take a longer way around, but need to find the reason why first.
6/30
AM - Left for LGA with mom and made it on the plane, including a bunch of dried-ice protecting Todd's wedding cake.
6/29
PM - Walking off the 7-train to the station-exit, I notice a short, pudgy Dominican woman wearing a t-shirt that states "We Can All Be Feminists."
AM - Going around Union onto Roosevelt, there's a punk with a sign I cannot read - something about drifting - that I see now daily under the Club Clio sign because maybe it sticks out further than the others, or opens later.
6/28
PM - There's an elderly lady with a hijab who begs for monday with a brown paper bag in one hand and an infant in the other, sitting on the ground next to the 7-train entry construction, just after the exit out.
AM - There's a heavy-set woman with a shaved head in the morning who begs for change sitting on a scooter/chair,
6/27
PM - There's a gaunt woman with grey hair I see walk past me on Northern Blvd (no eye contact) that I walk past later on Roosevelt, where she yell's out "One Dolla," looking me directly in the eyes while I walk past.
AM - "AM NY" man with blue hate and red smock every morning, but one morning when it was a woman, only once.
6/26
PM - Mental Note: scooting over when people leave to take a nap on the train-car inner wall doesn't work on a packed train
AM - One has exactly the amount of time from the base of the Flushing escalator to the 7-train turn-style to whip-out their waller and swipe their Metrocard6/22
AM - Left for Boston.6/21
PM - On the 42nd Street platform, a lady backed up into me as the 7-train was coming in, and was (unintentionally) getting too close.
AM - There's a man who sets up propaganda about Chinese government every morning, weighing the tripods down with sand filled milk cartons.
6/20
PM - Went back up Roosevelt coming from 7-train - same way I took to avoid the coffee mans - and to see two marvelous trees in the sunlight (which I had seen this morning int he dark): one is covered in white pieces of gum and one has wispy plastic stuck in the branches with a large chain linked and locked at the base of its trunk.
AM - Avoided the coffee guy this morning because I didn't have cash, but even if I passed by him physically, I'd feel weird not stopping and telling him what I found out, so I walked to Roosevelt on Union, and went to Mcdonald's for garbage paid by plastic.
6/19
PM - Walking still on 127th, we're not even past the school yet, and a downpour of rain splits Troy and me as I make a run for the subway and he walks into the last (un)gated alcove of the school.
AM - Coffee mans asked me about 509 educational fund he contributes to for his kid's college, but Cuomo is making college free, and I'm like, "I don't have kids," on the inside, so I told him I'd find out.
6/16
PM -
AM - Man walking between the 7-train and D/B-train made a request for the daily accordion player to jam in an empty 42nd St-Bryant Park tunnel, and although I had my headphones in, I believe he did.
6/15
PM - Hey, they opened the sidewalk between 39th and Macedonia A.M.E. Church!
AM - Took the Port Washington line to Penn and bought Usman a donut because he demanded I bring him one since I spent $76 on it Monday, but on the A-train, I realize he's celebrating Ramadan this month, so...
6/14
PM - Made it to Penn at 5:06PM, saw that the Port Washington line was leaving at 5:11PM on track 17, so I ran to a kiosk next to the loading-dock entry, plugged in the menu for a Peak ticket, spent our last $12, and made it on the train just in time to meet Savannah at her work and dinner with mom.
AM - Before waking up I had hear the rain, but didn't remember while getting ready until walking outside and realized it had rained HARD just minutes ago, so around Koryodang, it began raining big drops, which threw me into a quickly paced run to the train.
6/13
PM - Went to get drinks with Andy a block from our school, but on the way we saw a scholar, which Andy approached and demanded the scholar give him a baby picture for the eighth-grade graduation ceremony; walking away, I tell Andy that Scholar told Becky she looks "like a sperm," and he was at a loss for words, but not laughter.
AM - Whenever I leave Flushing, there is a woman in a wheelchair by the 7-train entrance begging for change; whenever I enter Harlem, there is a man sitting on the ground begging for change at the A-train exit.
6/12
PM - Tendai cursed me at work while I was putting a bunch of music on my phone - claiming he doesn't listen to music en route to work or home because he likes to focus on his environment - so when I got off the A-train (leaving him and Ken talking on board), noone of the music actually transferred from iTunes, and I slowly died on my way home.
AM - Gripped an iced coffee from my cart man for the first time, hit up the LIRR to Penn, and went to Krispy Kreme and bought six dozen donuts for the attendance advisory winners.
6/9
PM - In the midway between Roosevelt and 39th, a man is sitting under a tree on the tiled wall calling pigeons to sit on his hands to feed them, and they were complying, while all the folks walking by were dodging wings trying to get to the bus lines.
AM - Only just a few bucks in my pocket, but Taco Bell for lunch was on my mind.
6/8
PM - Walking off the 7-Train and onto the escalator, I realize there's only a single person separating myself from an old co-worker, Jen Basic, who I never really knew, but everyone knew me (considering I am HR's son) and I don't need a weird stop-and-chat flashback... ESPECIALLY when I just get to Flushing.
AM - While getting coffee from my cart-mans, I heard a flute being played to a bard-type tune, so I turned around and was a black man dressed in a purple and gold wizard outfit (complete with hood), wearing glasses, playing a green recorder, sitting backward on a wheeled office chair, staring at me paying for coffee - while my coffee mans is completely ignoring him and talking about the weather - when a bus arrives, the wizard diverts his attention from me to the new pedestrians, trying to block their way of walking through to the subway.
6/7
PM - Instead of going up 39th to Union, I went under the parking garage, saw a kid in a van with clothes hanging around, both of the front seats were covered in dust and boxes, a slew of parking tickets on the windshield, and a boot on the front driver-side tire; the kid submerged back into the forest of hanging clothes upon eye contact with me.
AM - Having a seminar for half a day, on my way to the subway, a Middle-Eastern man was showing a Pacific-Asian man the time on his watch, to which the Pacific-Asian man gave the *shrug emoji* and the Middle-Eastern man responded with tapping his watch.
6/6
PM - A student before I leave tells me, "I don't like the peanuts in Snickers; I don't like peanuts; it tastes like Reese's together," upon which she follows up with, "I like Reese's."
AM - This morning I actually did work on the subway and it sorta worked out.
6/5
PM - Went home early to "visit the doctor," didn't visit the doctor, some lady facing me on the train kept making eye contact with me, and then her husband leaned over, staring at me, so I fell asleep just long enough between home and the second-last stop.
AM - Hazed out walking up Union making eye contact with everyone; not realizing I look like a maniac to everyone grimacing at me, and they're doing some great construction across the street from the bus stops, thus another sideway.
6/2
PM - Always remove yourself from the local to the express 7, and never doubt it.
AM - There's new construction going on in that abandoned part of The One hotel where Union and Northern meet...
6/1
PM - Met my pal Natalia near Time's Square to drop off tapes and "talk business" about the most un-business stuff ever, so if you're reading this, "Shouts-out to the main-homie and thanks for distributing PG!"
AM - Rode the LIRR with an unusual amount of infants this morning that were complaining about having to take an older train, and these infants were all in a Benjamin Button situation, where they were all about 60-80 years old, but babies.
5/31
PM - Went out to have dinner and sleep over at Beverly Manor, but the LIRR was only running to Great Neck because "an unidentified person was on the tracks between there and Port Washington."
AM - A woman was meditating by the Daily Waffle on a towel with one hand above her head, palm facing up, and the other in her lap facing down, while her eyelids flickered, pupils flashing in slivers of white.
5/30
PM - Fell asleep on the subway home, leaning forward, and my nose didn't drain, thus leaving a scabby, crusted feeling of snot still lingering in my throat until I woke up the next day.
AM - Walking past the Korean sushi and hot-pot joints along Union, there was a gaggle of "DUDES" cross-armed standing near a few parked cars, but spilling out into the street, when I realize they're all undercover cops, as two had their shirts unbuttoned, exposing their bullet-proof vests with "ICE" from "POLICE" showing.
5/26
PM - Took the long way around Main and Roosevelt and was a few steps behind an older man - white crown, a goatee that curled around the corners of his mouth (also white), hands behind his back - completely Matix'd this lady coming toward him, sort of like Michael Jackson's "Moonwalk."
AM - Got eight hours, but still woke up like rocks for brains, and Friday [thinking I've nothing to my name, but actually $42 in my wallet because Marvin was about to pay me $300], so I get to the coffee-cart man, I tell him we've a field trip to a college out on Long Island, and he replied, "That's a good job!"
5/25
PM - Clearing the block while leaving work, one of the girls at the school had an umbrella three-/four-times her size, so four or five other kids ran under it, and since she's so tiny, a bunch of people fit, which helped usher all the kids away.
AM - Whilst passing through the 7- and D-train interchange, there's always a middle-aged man with sturdy clothing shopping bags (always different, every morning), wearing a hodge-podge three-piece suit, charging his phablet, sometimes laughing, but seemingly still in appearance: traveling.
5/24
PM - Sometimes the only way home is being smothered in a corner seat on the 7 (commuter) train, getting more pact every time the break is pressurized.
AM - There are no solid canopies on my way to and from the 7-train, so REMINDER: take an umbrella.
5/23
PM - Today, riding on the A-Train to 42nd St.-Time's Square, a man sat across from me wearing a Bengals football team hat with a tiger on it, which lead me to thinking all I could think about was finding commitment friends as an adult is harder, I keep spawning more relationships, and I still want
AM - This morning the 42nd St.-Bryant Park station, staring into the tiles, I saw a tiger's face emerge from the design and it wouldn't stop staring at me until the D-Train arrived.
5/22
PM - The city gives pedestrians 30 seconds to cross Northern Blvd. on Union St., but 15 seconds there-after for the left-turn lane, as long as you pass the very middle lane for that side of the street.
AM - Lemons at the produce dude on Saint Nicholas and W. 125th Street sells em three for a dollar, but H-Mart is two for a dollar, so I gripped three from him and five apricots, although Wednesday the price was four for a dollar, and Thursday they were six for a dollar.
5/19
PM - Fought for a seat on the LIRR to Beverly Manor where I met Savannah -- refused her to pick me up so I could just take a second, having been told what to do at work all day -- and we changed a few lightbulbs, sprayed weed killer, and planted some bulbs before going home to watch a movie we both fell asleep to.
AM - Someone on the 7-Train around 103 Street-Corona Plaza, just after the train conductor made a custom announcement for people to not block the doors, the doors are being stopped from closing entirely for about a minute, which tends to get frustrated sighs from the passengers sharing the subway car with me, so the conductor follows up her custom announcement by replaying the automated message three times regarding entry and exit at each stop.
5/18
PM - Fell asleep in the spot across from the handicap seat (having already learned my lesson sitting there, seeing a lady give up her seat to a man with a cane, but as soon as he got up to leave, he ran up the stairs), tied backpack strings to my belt, and was woken up by some lady, having knocked out completely before waking up when stopping.
AM - Got coffee from the street-cart mans who told me, "Everyone is in bad mood today, but here you are with, 'Happy Thursday,' so: Happy Thursday to you too!"
5/17
PM - Thought about Todd a lot while listening to the Final Fantasy soundtrack on my way home, while considering how he imagined me living my life and what lead me to this listening decision.
AM - As I was crossing Northern Blvd. today, there were three fire trucks blaring lights, firefighters pouring out from the cabins, piling hoses into The One hotel entrance, as an employee casually walked in, asking no questions, and two guys (both in blue tank-tops; one on Union and the other on Northern) almost racing to see who can wrench-open their hydrant first.
5/16
PM - Standing at the 42 Street-Time's Square station waiting on the 7-train platform I feel wind from the on-coming train, so I brace my left foot on the yellow bar and lean a little back to avoid being pushed, in-which case if it were on purpose, I'm trying to figure out how I can quickly grab the person attacking me to throw them into the train instead, and I immediately question if I'm the real danger here, thinking everyone is untrustworthy during PM commute.
AM - The sun is now rising earlier as the summer grows near so the view of building tops is clearer and reflective against patios and brick, and I never saw it Flushing so beautiful this early in the morning.
1/22
AM - After getting grumpy with Savannah about us taking too much time to buy car-seat and steering-wheel covers, the whole drive is now a blur of me thinking of how she doesn't know because I spend much more time in that car than her, but also because that's a stupid conversation topic to leave her with on a Friday morning, so I told her I bought ALL the princess seat covers AutoZone has to offer, locally.
1/21
PM - Got outta work early because mom had an appointment with Dr. Webster and she ended up parking half way on his lawn.
AM - Commuted with mom today for dinner tonight (and so Savannah could sleep in; she's the best looking sleeper), and we talked about driving in NY, which she reminded me that, even though I can tell her to calm down while drive, I still do the same things, similar to my drive to Rick's last night, so trying to balance my thought during the commute is essential.
1/20
PM - Driving to Rick's to help him build a website for his writing samples because he's having trouble getting a publishing jorb at his age, I start becoming impatient with someone turning into a shopping center off Hempstead Turnpike, and realize to myself that I believe I do the same and should chill out if someone else wants to car for their car's vitality by taking it a little easy.
AM - Driving to work was a little stressful this morning because mom was following just about a car or two behind, and I know all she's doing is trying to catch up and wave "Hello," but it only reminds me that I need to get a new jorb; not that I wouldn't like waving "Hello" to mom, but more-so that she is a mild reminder about how much I dislike the work I do, the company I work at, and the people I work with (currently), which negativity is not something I'd like to associate with my mother waving "Hello" to me from her car to mine on a Wednesday morning.
1/19
PM - Talking to Nick on the phone and explaining rubbernecking delays in New York as a reality, while he denies its existence and I'm sitting in rubbernecking traffic, so while I pass the accident (that occurred on the other side of the LIE), an SUV smashes into a sedan, and Nick was like, "WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?"
AM - Since Kira told me she smokes joints on her way to work (a jorb that makes twice as me) I started doing a third of a bowl every morning now, which doesn't smell up the car, and driving onto Meadowbrook from Northern today, this lady practically slams on her breaks, nearly hitting my front and the SUV trying to merge on our left, because someone on the right was going about 30 mph in a 55 mph area with their turn signal directing toward our lane; feet later there's a Jeep pulled over with a shredded back tire; that drMLKjr holiday slack been getting at winter head clouds.
7/22
AM - People who drive out-of-state plated cars are assholes; I took Savannah's Explorer to work for kayaking round two with mom.7/21
PM - Having already opened three packages of music from the night before this morning, I arrive at the Beverly Manor to a fourth package that came today from the TMT writer, Monet Maker, which contained an amazing stash of tapes and a package I originally thought was some computer chip, but to my surprise was chocolate, so i immediately offered Grams a sliver-corner, and I ate the rest only to find out I just gave Grams an edible.AM - I called Dan last night and asked him the main judgement he uses to rate drives he's with on the road, and he [overall] said foresight, which I also believe helped me get to work a little fast today.7/20
PM - Watching someone mentally break down because I'm going five above the speed limit on a single-lane S-shaped road, and there's nothing anyone can do, so blaming the road is displaced to the person going slow.
AM - Knowing the stop and go movements of daily traffic, turn lanes, stop-lights/-signs, etc. is exactly what alleviates being scowled at when going 30 MPH up Beacon Hill, passed, and then ending up next to that same person speeding at a red-light entering Roslyn, with a smile looking just past making eye contact to turn right.
7/17
PM - I'm such an asshole on the road, and I predict it won't be long until I'll be an asshole again.AM - Going to work I take six rights and five lefts within 17 miles of driving.
7/16
PM - If only the "Stand Your Ground" policy were with the confines of New York, then not letting people in or No-Fault Insurance would be so much more fucked up than ever.AM - Sometimes, I try to go fast from my door to the car so Yoli won't ask me last-minute for a ride to work, which I never mind doing, it's just schedule adjusting, when my schedule already feels PACKED, even at 9AM; when I think about the downstairs neighbors on the way to work, I try to think about how they perceive Savannah and me (although we're both very helpful), I imagine it's a G-rated version of white privilege.
7/15
PM - Spoke on the phone with TMTer HYDROYOGA on my way home to keep myself together after a long-ass day.AM - Swung by the bank to pick up cash; they always open early if they see someone pull into the parking lot at Chase on Steward Ave.
7/14
PM - Raced home yesterday, got snacks ready, fishing gear and paddles in the back, kayak on the roof-top, Grams eating, and it starts to thundershower, as it just appeared to have been clearing.AM - Drove the Explorer to work -just after it received a breaks check and tune-up- because I'm trying to get mom kayaking and fishing after work one-day a week; there was a dead cat at the end of our driveway this morning from someone speeding up the newly paved hill, it's the second run-over animal since the road was paved last week.
7/13
PM - There are WAY more Acura SUVs on the road than I typically account for, considering I thought they had stopped making them.AM - Speakers are finally beginning to pop now when playing equaled treble and bass sounds.
7/10
PM - Anticipating my arrival upon entering the Sands Point apartment because I received a text earlier from Marshall around 9AM, "I'm drunnnnkkkk. And I'm GOING to the parade," so after letting him know Mickey was in town for the weekend, I never heard back from him.AM - Always go one MPH under the limit, set to cruise control, when someone is on your tail, but half way in the other lane or off-road.
7/9
PM - Texted Mickey the location of our hidden apartment key because he'd arrive at Sands Point before me (with a front tooth), but forgot it was in the fake sprinkler and had to interrupt my dental appointment for a text.AM - There's always that fool who doesn't understand the flow of traffic, gets stuck right behind me (had only one headlight, but both their brights are working), I cannot go any fast than the speed limit -considering the cowboy behind me won't pay for any of my speeding tickets- and rides me like a penny pony from Beverly Road to the light before RXR, so when they take stop at the light to take that left turn, I drive past them real slow after beating them and using the Coliseum turn-around, making direct eye contact.
7/8
PM - As it did yesterday, the sky looked like it was going to drop an ocean on Long Island, but merely drizzle-teased everyone into not watering their plants again, only I did before I left this morning.AM - Found out I'm an expert now going up the road that passes under the LIRR in Roslyn, and not letting anyone pass me in the wide one-lane; patients exists internally.
7/7
PM - Seeing people from work driving like maniacs five minutes after sitting feet from them.AM - My car has no resale value.
7/6
PM - Saw an fellow moping off the bus just before Roslyn High School, so I quickly tried to flick out my roach, but the window was drawn up, and it landed back (burning) somewhere in my car.AM - Something I've noticed recently (having realized I don't look into other driver's cars) that when I see their faces in my rear-view mirror, or whenever, they're typically vacant and drawl, which is a perfect symbol for the face of "First World Problems/Privilege."
7/1
PM - Panicked on the way home with mom and told her all the shit that makes my life pathetic to me (mentally), but wasn't calm until Savannah took me out for margaritas at Besitos.6/30
PM - Driving home from Ritch's around 12:30 AM, and there's a man walking on the connecting road from Northern State Parkway to the LIE, a completely unlit zone that upon shining my lights unknowingly at first, I had thought it was just dirty clothes in trees.AM - There was a man walking around Roslyn clock tower this morning, drinking coffee and admiring the canon, and (while driving her to work) mom and I had a giggled because it's so rare to see someone on that island, let alone admiring it all.
6/29
PM - They finished paving Sands Point Road.6/26
PM - Returned 10-inch wiper at AutoZone, returned Savannah's romper at Target, went down to Anthony's to grip, left my retainer, called Paul, picked up Marshall and Savannah from the house, and met Paul in Brooklyn by 9.6/25
PM - After picking up Marshall in Sunnyside -having just seen Chicklette play at Palasades in Brooklyn- I had to piss like the dickens, so I tried to pee in a water bottle, but the mouth was way too tiny, so then I cut the top open with Savannah's spare key, peed and dumped it out by a single lane construction site, yelling out the workers "PEE!"6/24
PM - Dunno if it was my speakers clicking out yesterday, but the bass wasn't working; judging the factor of my sound-system on max while driving with the windows down, gives a bit of impairment.
6/23
PM - No matter how far one tries to get into the non-existent, left-passing lane, they'll never be able to overtake due to on-coming traffic.
AM - Going about 15 mph fast everyday on my way to work neither gets me where I want to go FAST, nor would it matter if I went 5 mph below everyday, we all end up where we're going, whether or not it's our ideal destination; I need a good moral t-shirt slogan copywriter job, anyone know someone who can hook me up?
6/22
PM - I rarely eve look into other people's cars.
AM - My face when the coffee I'm drinking is better than I expected, but totally can't trust if it's better quality or rot, and then I dibble a little on the shirt I'm wearing for the whole day and am already over Monday, driving past the Roslyn Clocktower.
6/19
PM - After getting a little tanked with Grams, I went around Stop & Shop and Soundview stores and put up flyers for the garage sale we had on Saturday, which ended up being a wash-out.
AM - After finishing up with the orthodontist, I flipped a bitch upon seeing a long line of traffic in front of the school, next to the office I just exited, and made a clean get away, arriving to work on-time.
6/18
PM - "There is technically no speed limit in Brooklyn" - RitchAM - For the past three days, when arriving to work -at various times between 8 and 8:45 AM- the same man walks past my spot, almost touching my car each time, precisely upon parking.
6/17
PM - There's a new tire burn-out mark on Northern State in the shape of a cursive, old English, capital "L."
AM - Recognizing other drivers' lack of patience always makes my brakes and me appreciate taking a step back from participating in the grind.
6/16
PM - Video-chatted with Adam Santi (of the Family Video, assistant managerial fame) via Google Face-Time cellular, placed below my speedometer, so my hands looked bigger than my head.6/15
PM - After a four hour dental appointment, I made up some excuse to get outta work, hot-boxed in my car, and watched Night Crawler at the Beverly Manor with Grams and Mahdi.AM - As I arrive at Port Washington Dental in the morning for my teeth recalibration and capping appointment, upon turning the office corner, an elderly lady, Dr. Eisen's assistant and another hygienist, are walking around a sedan that appears to have spun out, toppled over the fence, and is in the lawn next door.
6/12
PM - Upon arriving to A-tone's place in Oceanside, his mom and sister and neighbor are outside the stoop where I need to leave him $$$, so I mention it's for some t-shirts he's making, and gave the money to his moms to deal with.AM - Just in front of the Dunkin Dounts, I'm waving to Oscar walking the kids to school, and notice there's a man carefully placing the sticker "I SUPPORT LAP DANCES" on his bumper -7:48 AM- and I can't help but LOL, so I look back and he's waving and smiling, like....
6/11
PM - Made CDs for DDS.WAV, Tallesen, Night Court, Event Cloak, Public Spreads The News, mus.hiba, and In Media Res before leaving work, but half the files didn't work in the Fission stereo because they're promotional and pretty dense in digital sound.
AM - Thinking about what to write while traveling to work is always a good spruce for me because sometimes nothing happens on the motorway and I've zilch to reports, so upon arriving today, instead of opening Angelfire, I started music writing immediately; writing is entirely a mindset that needs to be practiced within the most null parts of one's day via thought processing it, sort of like how people think in different languages.
6/10
PM - The skewers I purchased at Waldbaums -the day before for Ritch's BBQ- are riding shotgun because I had forgotten them in the office fridge, so while taking them home for dinner with Grams (which turned out to be dinner with EVERYONE), they leaked all over the Fission as my teeth throbbed to the roots after receiving UV whitening that afternoon.
AM - Just before the Roslyn clock-tower, everyone leaves the road I'm on to get on Northern Boulevard, and my ride si smooth sailing all the way to work.
6/9
PM - Coming home from Ritch's, after gardening and BBQ'ing with Sarah, the Jackie Robinson Parkway entries three, four, and five are all closed, and neither of the construction workers could tell me where to go, so I ended up getting home around 1:24 AM.
AM - Followed a Maserati weaving through traffic this morning and successfully shaved off ten minutes of time, having been backed up on Sandy Hollow Road in Port (SIDE NOTE: All Maserati drives are assholes, though).
6/8
PM - Dark clouds formed all around yesterday, but not a spec of rain splashed upon the Fission.
AM - Merging between Northern State and Meadowbrook, a car going well over the speed limit hydroplanes -from the storm currently in progress- and maintains stability once it traverses four lanes of traffic (mostly clear), nearly smashing into the median.
6/5
PM - Immediately after work, I helped Grams finish her word-jumbles, and then drove to Way-Back Burger, met Savannah outside of Gino's, was told it would take 30 minutes, but the hostess called out "Clifforg" in under 10 minutes.
AM - Driving past the Port Post Office, a gal gets out of her Honda SUV, windows down, when a tiny dog runs after her and up the steps, jumping into her arms when she turns, surprised to see it escaped her SUV.
6/4
PM - Took a half day after Dr. Davis just unscrewed and screwed my implant post, but while driving down Port Blvd., I stopped at the Northern Blvd. intersection, and a dealership car with plastic and sheets all over it drives past for the first time anywhere.AM - Thoughts of "If a fender-bender happened to me involving [ANY] co-worker, would it end positively or negatively?" race across the brain whenever the Fission gets closer to work.
6/3
PM - Pulling up at the traffic light outside the RXR parking lot, I'm stopped next to the henchmen Tim -who's been at the company for a year and is a 30-year ex-cop- and I'm blazing hard, tons of smoke, and he rolls his window down and goes, "Don't forget to talk to Savannah about my time share! I can't use all of it."
AM - The interior of the Fission is deteriorating and will probably be replaced before I sell it.
6/2
PM - It began raining as work ended, and a recent trip to Ohio claimed the passenger-side windshield wiper, so instead, I put a sock on the arm that previously screeched across the glass, and then while driving through Roslyn, I received a text from Savannah asking if I replaced the blade.
AM - When the traffic is heavier in the morning, but for no foreseeable reason, I always wonder if I missed some big accident, and people just finished picked up the pieces as I passed by.
AM - A detached semi-truck cab still goes as slow as if it were in full form, mangling a monkey's knot of traffic, all opportunistically looking to pass each other, all unknowingly instigating the other.
5/29
PM - Friday will always be stress-free, but that paranoid suspicion of police officers on the hunt just around every corner is still a mind-field trick that only compares to Battleship; your mind makes you think there's a cop cruiser in every hiding spot, no matter what day.
AM - While listening to DARK WEB by Giant Claw, someone yelled out their car window into mine, "Answer your PHONE!!!"
5/28
PM - It's probably a religious and/or foreign holiday, but sometimes on a weekday, there'll randomly be no traffic, and 75 mph all the way home is a reality.
AM - Merging onto a bumper-to-bumper Northern State, the guy behind me honked as if I were cutting him off and he gave me two bouncing middle fingers, which I danced along with, so he got out of his car on the packed, four-lane Parkway just as cars began to move a bit, and got honked at by everyone around him; some asshole semi-truck driver shaved the top of his cargo-bed on a bridge, contents everywhere, and he's just on a cellphone as-if four-lanes of traffic weren't backed up seven or eight exits.
AM - Pulled out from Beverly Road, and a car coming down Beacon Hill -well out of distance from me- blared it's horn and wasn't even close until I was already driving past it in the other lane, so I waved and treated them as if they were a friendly neighbor excited to see me.
5/26
PM - Driving to Anthony's house in Oceanside, there was a heavy plume of smoke clouding beyond the yellow light I was passing through, and while in the intersection, the dump truck next to me decides to change into my lane, practically pushing me into the last bit of oncoming traffic, and there's someone crying in the car emitting all this smoke, while nobody is helping.
AM - Finally found that niche groove on Harbor Road by taking the right lane until the Harbor Links golf course, then switching lanes after the Sand Miners Monument for fluid traffic at the lights proceeding, and then I read "PLEASE ADVISE: CONSTRUCTION FROM MAY 26 TO JUNE 17 FROM 7AM TO 6PM. FIND NEW ROUTE."
5/24
PM - Merging onto the Bronx River Parkway -two lanes into one; everyone is exiting the area- a teenager with tightly braided hair does a wheelie on his mountain bike for a dozen car-lengths next to his friend, both riding in the middle lane of an empty highway.
PM - Moving truck going 80 mph shaved sparks between the top of it and the bottom of the bridge for I U Willets Road.
AM - Saw one car jumping another, hogging up most of the on-ramp, going west-bound on Northern-State, and everyone yelling to themselves in their cars whilst awaiting their turn to turn.
PM - Pulling into the passing lane on the Northern-State, a truck with lose yard equipment in the back, begins tailing and sandwiching my car with the one to my immediate front, like a child wanting another go at the penny-pony.
AM - Between the merge of Meadowbrook- and Northern-State, an unlit police cruiser was parked behind an abandoned white sedan, and an officer was searching the car from outside with a flashlight, while just up the rode: a man was twirling and stumbling around the emergency pull-over part of the Parkway (no car); I almost hit Mr. DiSalvo's Volvo.
5/20
PM - Coming home from Ritch's Evergreen Ave. apartment, a police cruiser was following me on Bushwick Ave. when a red-light split us by the BP station, and tossed from the passenger window of a white SUV to my immediate front were two revolvers that clanged against the black-top, so when the light changed green, it bolted onto Jackie Robinson.
AM - Five police cruisers corralled a mini-van in the grassy section of Meadowbrook-State Exit 2W, eight officers were scouring the vehicle's interior, and the driver of this vehicle was standing between two rows of blaring lights, glaring with red and blue eyes at the parkway rubberneckers.