Roofing Day

No, that is not the sound of a mud slide or earthquake, it's the roofers tearing off and pounding as though they are digging toward me.

I haven't been able to talk much on the state of affairs at 3411 London Street, and my interpretation of the supernatural isn't very developed, either. In other words, my roommate is cool and quiet, loves to tip-toe around and pet her cat. But, there are things I'm not sure of, that I think need addressing. Don't get me wrong, I'm not criticising, merely observing.

Yesterday, as I walked in from swimming; an event I'd like to forget for the sheer pain my legs have been under. Cramping, it seems happens to us when we get older. And having not swam consistently, since high school, it's a new thing for me. Anyway, I walk in and there she is: huddled over the paper bowl, filling it one by one with sun chips and a mysterious under-morsel. And, that's it. That's the only thing I've seen her eat; Sun Chips. We talked a few weeks ago of her arm ailment and about finding the proper container for the Sun Chips, which we all know are the cornerstone of any vitamin enriching diet. She told me she couldn't lift or twist with her right arm, either due to atrophy or malnutrition, or both, and that she had found the perfect container to keep her chips from becoming stale, opened needing only one arm. Fantastic invention, I say. Right up there with the light bulb and pop tarts. As if she should need a container to place her Sun Chip bags, as she moves through them quickly enough that one armed twisting of the half-empty bag would probably seal them sufficiently and prevent staleness. Or, maybe I'm wrong, and there aren't enough opportunities to shop away your unemployment check than by paying $25 for a Sun Chip container.

Speaking of that, I'm becoming constantly more at odds with the 'system' in this country and the entitlements some people tend to assume are rightfully theirs, while doing nothing but hitting the snooze button 15 times, before going to Crate and Barrel to find containers that will fit under your bed. That's all I'm going to say on that.

In other news, I've now passed the threshold of being miserable and having to stop during a run, to running the entire run without stopping and then being miserable. The pain is lovely. I think I'll have more today.

As I said, the roofers are hammering and digging away, taking much more care than it sounds like from down here. It's certainly not an archeological exercise.

I have a big meeting tomorrow at the Dream Center, hoping to seal up some deals and move some big vans to help the needy up on the hill. I'm leaving Thursday for a wedding in Sacramento, to by my friend Joel's +1, as I said. And then it's off to Colorado and the CSU conference.

Oh, so last night, I'm walking into the entrance of Echo Park Deep pool, where I do lap swimming and leg cramping. A wonderful young lady with punk tattoos across the base of her neck and on her arms, looked at me, I look at her and I think; is this the moment?! And then she speaks, "would you jump my car?"

(Exhale; then and now)

"I've been asking for 30 minutes and no one is even acknowledging me," she said. Which seems about right, considering I'm usually the only native-English speaker in the complex which hosts hundreds at any of the given open-swim hours.

I smiled and said 'sure' and ran over to my van and hooked backed it in so I could give her a jump. We talked for a while, as her battery was completely dead. She was from Boston, but now lived here with her boyfriend and was ready to head back to the East Coast for reasons such as this. She assumed most people aren't openly friendly here, and I said she was about right. I told her I was from Indiana and she was amazed I'd lasted more than a month. As the battery charged, I thought how cool my new friend was and that we should hang out, listen to some of the Casualties or Pavement and go to a vegan restaurant. But, then her car started and she was off to home. She thanked me, I nodded and then joined the queue to swim, once again.

Later, I came back and watched a documentary about religious bonds held in Jerusalem and then drifted off to sleep, where I dreamed of the inner desires of my subconscious. And funny enough, none of dreams included Sun Chips.