From the Archives: Chicago - 3/20/08

Thursday, March 20, 2008
8:18 am
 
I look at the clock and it informs me that it's approaching 5 o'clock in the morning. I've been unable to sleep and I need to be awake at seven, which means even if I pass out at this instant I'm still only looking at about two hours of sleep, which will just leave me more drained than if I decide to endure the two hours awake. so instead of continuing to hopelessly try to get to sleep, I keep writing and every once in a while allow myself to be distracted by the television. I just put in the third disc of Titus, and I'm remembering why I used to like the show so much. sure, it pales in comparison to Arrested Development (which, if you're unfamiliar with, shame on you. but that rant can wait until another day), what I consider the deity of all television shows, but that, by no means, makes it bad. it's kind of like comparing Dion Phaneuf to Nicklas Lidstrom. Lidstrom separates himself from the pack in almost every category available and generally does so by an astounding margin. he is sublime in his play, nearly flawless in his foresight, and he can he can read the game better than almost anyone that's ever played it, and he manages to do it with such grace, such elegance, that when you watch him perform you think to yourself, "well, shit, I could do that. give me a stick, strap a pair of skates on me and write me a check for a few million dollars." he is truly sui generis. and then there's Phaneuf; he can be a bit improvident and may not always show the best judgment. many times when he goes in for that big hit he ends up on the ice just like his target. he's also been known to stumble a bit when he's frustrated. However, he's still a great defenseman, and although it may not always look pretty, he gets the job done. I have similar feelings about Titus; it's good, but it's not Lidstrom-good.

after I write a bit more, I find myself becoming distracted more often and at longer intervals. I don't realize it yet, but I'm becoming increasingly tired, so I succumb to my desire for stimulation and focus entirely on Titus. lately I've been trying to limit the amount of "entertainment" I allow myself to enjoy and try to focus on more fruitful activities, but I decide to let myself indulge a bit now. by this point, it's past seven and I need to be leaving soon. I hear Monica rustling herself out of bed and she walks in to find me typing on my laptop and inquires if I had slept at all. I admit that I had not and she shakes her head at me. I've been having a bit of a problem with that lately. sleeping, that is. I can never get to sleep at a decent hour and then sleep for a prolonged duration which usually conflicts with other activities I have planned for that day since unconsciousness tends to make it difficult to attend to prior engagements. I get up and begin preparing for my departure. I go to the bathroom, brush my teeth, gather my things, put on my shoes and coat, then head downstairs and say my goodbyes to my friend who was kind enough to lend me her couch for the night. at this point I head out on my arduous two block journey. now, two blocks certainly isn't a great distance to have to travel, but it's cold, windy, and I'm carrying a fair amount of luggage because I am an inexplicably paranoid over-packer.

once I make it down one block I am forced to wait for the crosswalk. I'm surprised to see so many people out so early in the morning, and assume that most of them are at least borderline insane. at the crosswalk there is another girl waiting for the light. it changes and we both begin crossing the street. at first she fails to notice me, but once we get all the way across she becomes aware of my presence. her pace quickens a little, but I'm still keeping stride with her, though I'm not making a particular effort to. I suppose I can't blame her; seeing a very tall person in a long black trench coat carrying a suitcase that could, feasibly, hold a human body if dismembered properly can instill a very legitimate fear in a person, even on a busy city street.
 
eventually the girl enters a building off to the right and I continue down the street, briefly considering how much potential worry I could cause her if I pursued her, but only for a moment's amusement. I reach another crosswalk and must wait for the light to change once again, and when it does I proceed to the other side of the street. at this point the stop is within sight, and I'm hoping to spot other awkward-looking strangers with overstuffed luggage standing around a street sign waiting for their ride to arrive. however, at this point, it appears that I'm the first (and possibly the only) one to arrive, so I have a seat and wait. I take out my notepad and scribble down a couple things to write (most of which are actually in this very spiel) but soon the wind convinces me to put on my gloves, and since I am not eager to discover the extent of my inability to write with gloves on, I instead resort to my memory to store whatever else I want to write.
 
a few other people show up at the stop and we wait. the bus arrives, the driver gets out and greets everyone and instructs us where to place our luggage, and then everyone hops on board. our driver is a slightly older black gentleman, perhaps 45 years of age, and he's quite charismatic and funny.
 
I'm on the bus right now and it seems we've reached our next stop and my battery seems to be running a bit low, so I guess now is as good a time as any to put this entry on a temporary hiatus.

Arrested Development > soup > everything else.

-jon
 
11:00-ish
 
back on the road again. I've spent the last decent chunk of time reading, which proved to be a tad difficult. I started one book and decided that my pathetic grasp of the English language would not provide a sufficient understanding of what the hell I was reading. then I started another and came to the (possibly false) conclusion that there were other books in the series that I should probably read before it. so then I tried another one (I brought several, just in case these problems should present themselves) and decided that was my best bet. it is a collection of short stories, the first of which is roughly 50 pages, so I decided to read that. once again, I was made to feel borderline retarded since there was much I did not understand, but was able to derive most of the meaning from context provided by what I understood. one factor that aided in this difficulty was the movie that was playing on the bus, which, I believe, is called Man of the House. whether it's called that are not, it's that fairly annoying Disney movie starring Chevy Chase and Jonathan Taylor Thomas, both of whom have been rightfully allowed to sink into obscurity. the one where they join that little Indian tribe thing. you know the one I'm talking about; it's the one where the main characters learn a lesson from overcoming a problem. yeah, it's that one.
 
I feel it is worth straying from this story for just a moment to mention that we just passed a billboard advertising the Lion's Den Adult Superstore off of Exit 12 on I-94. I thought it an important point to bring up, so if you're interested, do check it out. I'm sure it's wonderful. (I would also like to mention that I am in no way associated with the Lion's Den Superstore off of Exit 12, nor have I even had any contact of any sort with the aforementioned vendor of, presumably, sex toys and sex enhancers possibly including, but not limited to, dildo trees, forehead strap-ons, speculums, vibrators made to look like the Prophet Muhammad , anal hamster wheels, Meryl Streep blow-up dolls, genitalia rings, Xenu anal beads, intercourse hammocks, and if you go on the right day and ask for the right person, you might even be able to attain the conveniently travel sized Auto Suck which can be powered by your car's cigarette lighter. for examples of other novelties you may be able to find and purchase there, you may want to consult this article.) but, I digress.
 
anyway, back to what I was talking about. the movie did prove to be rather distracting while I was trying to read, but I managed to finish the story. I didn't find it to be spectacular, but it was enjoyable and helped kill some time on this fairly long trip. in fact I may be well across state borders without even being aware due to my utter lack of proper observation of highway signs.
 
well now, it would appear I've gotten quite a bit ahead of myself. there is one rather noteworthy point I have yet to discuss. after we made our first stop and decided to take a break from writing, I made the extremely uncharacteristic decision to accost a girl sitting a few rows behind me. I think she had been sleeping before we arrived at the Ann Arbor stop, but I noticed that she had awoken when the driver announced something over the loudspeaker. she is traveling with another friend, who is still sleeping, and since I didn't have any desire to write or read at the moment (which is pretty much what my activities are limited to at the moment) I went and sat in the row in front of her and kindly asked if she wouldn't mind chatting a bit, assuming she wasn't too tired (I wanted to make it clear that I wouldn't think her impolite for wanting to sleep). unfortunately, she did seem rather tired and said that she intended on sleeping since she has a much longer trip scheduled than I do and it was still rather early in the morning. I am still in the row directly in front of her and she was sleeping just a few moments ago but was once again awoken by an announcement by our admirably funny and charming bus driver that we'd soon be making another stop. now I feel a just a tad bit creepy for writing about her while she is sitting within such close proximity. perhaps after this stop I will find someone worthy of sharing idle conversation with, but for now, friends, I must leave you, as I was just informed that my battery is at a perilous low.
 
giving grammar the middle finger.

-jon

10:38 pm
 
well, thankfully, I am off the bus, sitting on a futon at the apartment, and awaiting the delivery of the Chinese that we ordered not too long ago. apparently it was a very perplexing call on the restaurant's end because after we called and ordered, they called us back asking what we ordered. it seems they still have much to learn about Engrish.

you want egg roll with that?!

-jon