Woke up this morning on the unmade futon bed, the lights and TV on, and a half-eaten bowl of Top Ramen on the side-board. Has it really come to this? I'm amazed at how quickly I can descend from the realm of humans. As hard as i try to make everything nice and neat, I never find the time to do those neccessary chores: Like grocery shopping, shaving, paying parking tickets...
There are firworks going off all over the neighborhood: God Bless America. There's nothing like a country celebrating its wacky, violent side.
I fianlly hit the shower, shaved, scrubbed out the insides of my ears... And with some clean clothes I felt sort of human again, and in that there's hope. I know I'm forgetting to do so many things, and there will be a price to be paid down the road. I only have what I have these days. My buddy Pete once said, upon my recounting a horrible story about breaking up with a girl: "You did what you did, because at the time that's what you were doing."

Walking the dog over to the Shell station on Valencia and 20th, I saw the cops arresting a couple of local kids. One detective was walking from car to car with a flashlight, peering in. I wonder if those are the guys who are breaking all the car windows around here.(?) Anyway, it's strange what you see out at night. Around here it's a whole other world. Mostly folks up to no good. Nevertheless, it's quiet at this time of night, and I enjoy that. No car alarms, honking, booming radios or screaming kids.
Geez, I really sound like a cranky old man.
I was up on the roof again this afternoon shooting the odd pigeon with my trusty Gamo "Cadet", Spanish made pellet gun. That has pretty much become my favorite place to be. No one bothers to look up and see who's walking around on the roof with a rifle and a garbage bag. I like to just hunker down, with my sunglasses pushed up on my forehead, and wait for one of those silly birds to settle in on the roof, and then it's safety off, line up the sights on his neck, and POP... feathers. I'm not 100% sure about the morality of it. People I mention it to seem split 50-50. I personally just want the damn things gone - and yeah, okay I like the hunting aspect of it.
The beautiful Japanese girl from next door walked by while I was up there. i actually yelled down to her, sort of like - EH! EH! She didn't look up, probably thinking I was some obnoxious creep roofer guy, which is actually better than the tructh of the situation - unless she's into squab. I'm thinking about leaving a bouquet of flowers on the door, with a note... I see no other way to break the ice here.
I started skim-coating my dad's apartment tonight. Painting his place will be kind of fun, if only to see it rise from its present state of 70s, ghetto dilapidation. I'm obsessed with the hacked in wall that divides the room from its origianl size and shape. I really wish i could pull it down and recycle all the woodwork and the two pocket doors. The room would be truly grand that way: Easily 20' across, with the fireplace centered. Imagine if I remodelled his livingroom while he was in canada. My dad would pretty much kill me, but I know he'd secretly dig the big room.
I think the dog still has fleas. Goddammit.


gun

Well, we're finally putting the finishing touches on the bathroom job in Oakland. What a pain in the ass that is; a tiny little worksite in the oven-like heat of the attic. I don't know when I got to be so patient with this kind of work. Everything is slow, painstaking "put your fist through a sheet of plywood and bend the level across your knee" shit. Plumbing, electrical, drywall and taping... All the guys in this business seem to be fucked up. Greg, the plumber, is like some hardcore biker, with the plumber's ass and all. For lunch we actually had pizza, an exotic change from the usual super-burritos we eat in Rich's driveway. And there's always more houses to remodel: It never ends.
Tomorrow, if I'm able to finish up in Potrero Hill, I'll be a hell of a lot closer to having all this stuff out of the way, and actually having my life back. My punch list includes - sanding down a single floorboard I had to replace, and then sealing and polyurethaning it. Then I have to wire up the dishwasher plug - then I have to install the range hood, and find a away to run the ducting up through the grisly Victorian attic and (by some miracle) out to the atmosphere. Then, if it's not midbnight yet, I'll put an 8' level across the wavy counter I installed, and take a beltsander to it, so that it conforms to the rigorous tolerances of the Corian Counter company (those fuckin' sons of bitches) All i wantis to get paid for this one and WALK away
But it's a living. I don't know, I need a change here . So it's onvious i have nothing to talk about but construction stuff. I'll leave it alone, for my sake as well as yours.

I overslept this morning. I hate that feeling. I say to myself: "I'm supposed to be at work - right now. Oh well." Still, there's time for coffee. The dog was worrying me yesterday. I left him alone for three hours, and he seemed to be having some kind of mini-breakdown when I got home. If he realized I'll be leaving him alone MUCH more in the future... Wow. Good thing dogs don't worry about the future too much. It's all about the moment for them. They really live in the "here and now".
If I could just get out from under all these obligations! I need to finish that kitchen in Potrero Hill, but there are problems with the surface of the counter-top. I don't even want to call the customer, I'm so tired of dealing. Surely there will soon be a time when i can wrap up all but one or two of these projects and then approach what's left with some focus..

Here is my second attempt at going worldwide with my blogs. The other entry must be floating around somewhere in a server. It was that great really. I walked the dog tonight (yawn). he retrieves very well, but seems to be distracted by the smells left by other dogs. He all but shuts me out if there's any sign of another dog.
The bike is fixed. That's worth mentioning. What a painful lesson. I'd once before driven off with the front disc lock on, but it wasn't nearly as bad as this time, in which the bike landed on my leg, and i cracked my elbow on Minna St. The damage to the bike was atrocious. Turn signal gone, shift lever bent, and front brake caliper dangling from it's hose, I can't sem to see below this other window. Maybe I'll just call it a a night. I'm typing blind here...g