Tuesday May 11 2010

[i]


DREAM: In the ocean not far from the shore – the water is deep – the water is blue green – floating in a circle with 4 or 5 other people including my mother and the actor, Mickey Rourke. We’re hanging onto these plastic clear tubes that are connected to each other. Underneath, Mickey’s machine is transforming/revving up. It’s supposed to be some kind of futuristic motorcycle. Words exchanged between my mother and I, “I’m still in love with you…” I swim over and take her in my arms to hold her up out of the water because she is struggling. The ocean begins to get choppy and waves are billowing up. I yell at Mickey Rourke, “How long does this damn thing take?!” referring to the machine. “I don’t know…20 minutes or so!” In the distance, we see a colossal wave coming our way. “We can’t wait any longer. We have to get on the beach!” Quickly, we make our way out of the water. Mickey and I start climbing a wall made of light brown carpet with crevices built into the sides for us to put our hands in. I’m hanging up about 20 feet and turn around to see how far the wave is. My mother and a little girl are just now getting onto the shore. I’m concerned the wave will hit them. But the wave gradually gets smaller and crashes right behind them – water rushing around their feet. Everybody is okay.   


2:22 p.m. I get out of bed.


Breakfast: Hot Oat Bran Cereal with Cinnamon, Brown Sugar, and Blueberries. Orange Mango Juice. Zinc and Alfafa.


My mother receives her mother’s day gift finally. (see above painting)


I fill dirt into the holes on the side of the house.


Stretching and Pandora Radio.


I watch part of a documentary on dreams over Lunch: Grilled Cheese with Tomato. Salt n Vinegar Chips with Avocado. Green Tea.

I create a blue guitar strap.

I finish lyrics for a song.


Apple.

Tennis with Art. A grey moth lingers in the middle of the court throughout the whole match.


Dinner with Margot at the house: Fettuccine Alfredo with Chicken. Broccoli. Garlic Toast. Chardonnay.

Paris, je t’aime (2006). Strawberries and Whipped Cream.

I experience a sudden state of melancholy thinking about the dread of losing someone close to me through death. I’m not sure what sparked these feelings. This quickly goes away.


She’s upset, sitting on the white sleeper couch in the dining room.  

: “What’s wrong with you?”

: “You don’t want to have a chocolate syrup party!”


: “You’re fragile. You’re more fragile than you appear.”

The contrast of the giggles and laughter in the attic with the tears and distress in the living room feels like a tender movie scene. The ups and downs of “twin high maintenance machines.”

I know it’s important to you as well as it is for me. But I can’t offer you that kind of security. What is it about you that I can’t resist? An addiction I can avoid a little easier from a distance but not from a microscopic view.


If n-then ♂≠♀



Hot shower.

Painting glasses.

Sleep around 7:20 a.m.



[i] Acrylic Painting by me.

Monday May 10 2010

[i]

DREAM: On the beach – the ocean is calm – everyone is there – running into the waves – standing around in the water that’s up to our chests facing the shore. I see swirly colored rocks. I pick up two with blue and yellow colors – looks similar to those sandscape pictures in frames like a sand artist would make. I make it known to the others what I have found. Emily comments that she already found rocks like that before. Amanda Mentz is standing there emotionally distressed about something. She announces, “I’m gonna start drinking a lot of diet Dr Pepper now.” ☼☼☼☼☼ Walking carefully up a hilly and muddy road trying to get somewhere. I have to watch out for the random puddles. It’s hard to see because it is dark. Other people are walking carefully behind me. I see a few more paths open up in the woods. But it starts raining harder. I realize that it’s not a good idea to keep going so I turn around. I have my bike with me. A car stops. I try to hitch a ride but they don’t have room for my bike. I suggest holding onto the car as they drive.


2:10 p.m. I wake up.


Breakfast: Hot Cream of Wheat Cereal with Vanilla, Brown Sugar, and Milk. Orange Mango Juice. Zinc and Alfalfa.


Event planning.


Stretching to Mas Y Mas.


I go to Trader Joe’s.


Lunch: Grilled Cheese with Tomato. Salt N Vinegar Chips with Avocado. Green Tea.

Sniper 3 (2004).


I pick up some fill dirt a guy was giving away on craigslist so I can fill in the holes on the side of the house.


Apple.

Practice at the storage unit with Chris and Chad.


I deliver a mattress to a lady near North Hampton.

Banana.

A nice conversation with Renee.

And catching up with an old friend from tour, Morgan.


Dinner: Black Bean Tacos. Chips and Salsa.

Brianna and Ryan are watching The Pianist in the living room.


Back to the storage unit.

Working on songs for a long time.


Cocoa Coffee and Peanut Butter Toast.

Donnie Brasco (1997).


This is my 111th entry.


Sleep around 6:30 a.m.



[i] Sandscape. Image source unknown.

Sunday May 9 2010

[i]


I wake up in the hotel room. 6:50 a.m.

Back to sleep in the van on the top bunk.


DREAM: A secret between a Mexican woman and I. A cop walks over to investigate. He doesn’t seem suspicious of anything until the woman starts choking him. I try to communicate to the woman this will not help anything and will only cause even more suspicion. ☼☼☼☼☼ Lying on a soft blue mattress, people around me causing it to float up in the air, higher, higher, and higher. I start to gain control of where it goes and ride it like a long board.


11:30 a.m. I wake up at Wawa.

Breakfast: Everything Bagel with Cream Cheese. Nantucket Orange Mango Juice.


Good talks with Zach and Jacob in the front of the van – the greatest moments on the road – being in a band is like being in a marriage, and your fans are sons and daughters – bringing closure. 


Stop at Sonic.

Lunch: Egg and Cheese Burrito. French Fries. Sweet Tea.


Referring to why Mae asked Pogge to play in the first place Jacob says, “We needed a conservative to balance out Zach.”


I call my mother. We talk about this yeast infection called Candida most people probably have from using too many antibiotics.


A few more hours left to go until we arrive home, and Zach has to pee. Pogge, in a flamboyant southern accent: “He pooped at the last place. He couldn’t pee at the same time?” Me, in a straight southern tone: “Brown and yeller. Can’t have one without the udder.”


Napping with my headphones on, music playing.


DREAM: A projection screen set up in front of my house. I hook up my iPod to play a video with that Joe Cocker song playing in the background, “What would you do if I sang out of tune? Would you stand up and walk out on me?” I start running like a pinwheel spins flailing my arms and legs, not going very fast, trying to get to the backyard where Phil is sleeping on a hammock.


I wake up and we’re entering the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. An officer tells us to pull over to the side. She gives us a warning for our tags being expired and license plate not being displayed properly. Luckily she didn’t notice the trailer lights weren’t working.

We drive off in haste as a Sigur Ros song begins playing on the stereo, a perfect soundtrack for the scenic drive.

Grapes and Salt n Vinegar Chips.


I finally make it to China Wok for work 30 minutes late.


Dinner: Vegetable Lo Mein.


I go to Kmart for a Neti Pot to clean my sinuses.

I boil some water to make Green Tea with and breath in the soothing steam.

I attempt irrigating my nose with the Neti Pot but my right nostril is so clogged no amount of liquid will flow through it.

A bowl of Puffins Cereal with Honey.


Dumpster Dive at Trader Joe’s:
Eggs, Potatoes, Bell Peppers (Red, Yellow, and Orange), Apples, Oranges, Strawberries, Bananas, Avocados, Green Beans, Romaine Lettuce, and Chocolate Chip Cookies. 

[ii]

Hot shower.


Oolong Tea and Strawberries.

Netflix sucks.

Sleep around 5:30 a.m.



[i] The Bay Bridge Tunnel. Source unknown.
[ii] Image by me.

Saturday May 8 2010

[i]


In the tour van lying in the back on the top bunk. I wake up around 11:30 a.m. with an incredibly bloated bladder. We stop at a Royal Farms gas station. Inside, I have the most relieving pissing experience I’ve had in a while. It almost hurts.

Back to sleep.

Picking up Ben at his house near Philly, I wake up near 1:50 p.m.

A stop at Bruster’s Ice Cream. Jacob discovers a steep hill and decides whether or not there is enough time to ride it. “Well, you know Pogge’s going to take a while,” Ben says. Jacob invites me to come along. The sun is bright. The wind is strong. And the asphalt is smooth. A little bit of exhilaration does a body good on a long van ride.


Breakfast: Cliff Bar (Blueberry Crisp). Immune Defense.


I attempt this Chinese acupuncture technique to get rid of sinus congestion.

Reading The History of Love.


Lunch: Egg Salad Sandwich with Tomato. Salt n Vinegar Chips. Apple. Strawberry White Tea.


We arrive at Scranton University. Performing in a gymnasium. During one of our slow songs, we invite the girls and guys to line up on opposite sides. The girl will walk over and choose a prospective guy to dance with. I observe one girl in particular dancing with someone who is obviously a new acquaintance. I imagine their conversation: “…oh you’re in American History with my friend Jenna!” They sway side to side like two innocent kids in middle school. “What are you up to tonight?” Her blonde curls – magenta colored dress – big smile – totally swoon by her new cutie. After the song is over I see them exchange numbers. They may have never met if it wasn’t for the situation we created for them.


Post-show.

In the green room, I snack on Pita and Hummus, Grapes, and a Banana.

Throwing grapes in each other’s mouths.


Checking into the hotel.

I take a stroll up the street. A chilly wind blowing.

I take a seat in a restaurant called Farley’s.

Dinner: White Bean Chicken Chili. Ginger Ale.

Reading.

On the walk back to the hotel I run into someone dressed in an Elmo costume in front of a club.

Twix Bar. Chips and Salsa. Pita and Hummus. Chamomile Tea.


Event planning.

On the phone with a friend.

Musicplayer is my official new music project.

M&M’s.


Sleep around 3:30 a.m.
 


[i] Image by me.

Friday May 7 2010

[i]

DREAM: Riding a bike down some really steep streets at night. Phil and a few others follow. Eventually, I’m walking through yards of different business buildings – an intricate maze of fences. I remember seeing an over-sized container of cocoa powder down the road – it was big enough to sit inside. I come across a clothesline of sorts. I see 3 or 4 wooden poles spread out and in line with each other. Instead of a physical string or rope connecting all of them, I see a white blue fluorescent line of light. Other people are not supposed to be able to see it but I have the ability for some reason. A security alarm will go off if I touch it. So I carefully crawl underneath it. I think I see the container of cocoa powder but there are still too many fences to get through. I walk inside a building where some band lives. There are four triple bunk beds made out of wood – a conversation with one of the guys that lives there. Back out front, I become someone else, a chubby man in his 50’s wearing big round glasses and long hair. I have on a pair of Converse All-Stars. I’m standing right on my grave where I supposedly died almost 50 years ago. The grave is uncovered now and everybody can see my rotting decaying body. I try to prove to the guy next to me that that was me in the grave and I’m alive now. I even point out that the body is wearing the same Converses I am wearing. Then he believes me.  

1:50 p.m. I get out of bed after sitting in it for the past 20 minutes. Phlegm is creating a wheeze in the back of my throat.

Brianna is cleaning the bathtub.

Breakfast: Hot Cream of Wheat Cereal with Vanilla, Butter, Brown Sugar, and Milk. Orange Mango Juice. Zinc and Alfalfa.

I take my bike to Target and Kmart.

I make Creamy Tomato Soup from scratch for later.

Lunch: Grilled Cheese with Tomato. Salt n Vinegar Chips. Pear. Red Peach Tea.

Work at China Wok.
Delivering an $80 order of Chinese food, I grab the heavy box with both hands and carry it up to the house. A little boy in an orange shirt playing his Nintendo DS lets me in through a white gate and opens the front door for me. As soon as I am inside, I hear the most piercing sound of tiny dogs barking. The decibel level of these barks is higher than the sound of a snare drum being hit at it’s hardest. My hands are preoccupied holding the box, so I can’t protect my ears. I set the box down on the table. The lady tells me to wait in the kitchen where the table is being set for the whole family. “Times are hard,” she says as she leaves me with almost a $30 tip.

My taste buds seem to be inactive and the wheeze continues. Possible signs of acute bronchitis.

I watch a documentary called We Live in Public (2009) over Dinner: Lentil Vegetable Soup. Steamed Artichoke. Basmati Rice. Garlic Naan Bread.

To the bank. On the phone with Margot. Storage unit.

A little bit of Tapioca Pudding and Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal. Mango.

I stay awake until I have to meet the Mae guys at 7 a.m. to drive to Pennsylvania for a show.


[i] Image source unknown.

Thursday May 6 2010

[i]

DREAM: A mixture of mountains and a blanket infrastructure – towers and underground tunnels – crawling through holes and climbing, climbing, climbing – making bonds with the others that survived the apocalypse – a new start for humanity – danger everywhere – only the vigilant and strong survive now.

9:20 a.m. I wake up to my cell phone alarm.

Breakfast: Cliff Bar (Blueberry Crisp). Immune Defense.

Last day of the video shoot.
Stretching.
Waiting for Diego to punch in his blue screen shots.
Lunch: Egg Salad Sandwich with Tomato. Salt n Vinegar Chips. Kumquats. Green Tea.
I share the Kumquats with everyone.
Chidori tells me about the Kumquat trees that grow in her family’s yard in Japan. Because they grow so many, they even take baths in them.
A few different scenes for the dream sequence.

I stop by Big Lots for bread and tissues.

Margot informs me a co-worker from her restaurant was hit by a car and died last night.

I eat a Pear and some Tapioca Pudding.

I sell a mattress.

Sex and naps go nicely together.

Sal’s Pizza and Skinny Dip Frozen Yogurt with Margot.
Two slices of Pizza. Dr Pepper.
Strawberry Frozen Yogurt with many toppings.

Elliott and I conduct some equipment trades. I trade him the yellow music master, a Peavey amp, and $20 in return for a vintage guitar head and cab along with some cymbals.
I hang out at my storage unit for a few hours kinking out my guitar tone with different amps and pedals.

Saltine Crackers, a Pear, and Green White Tea with Lemon and Honey.

I finish watching the rest of Man on Wire (2008).

Refreshing hot shower.

Sleep around 5 a.m.


[i] Image by me.

Wednesday May 5 2010

[i]


Around 9:20 a.m. I wake up. I think I hear knocking on my window. It’s too early for my taste.

Breakfast: Cliff Bar (Blueberry Crisp). Immune Defense.

At JoAnna’s video shoot.
Performance shots.
Lunch: Egg Salad Sandwich with Tomato. Salt N Vinegar Chips. Apple. Strawberry White Tea.
A scene where we all jump into a boat that takes us into a dreamland sea.
I’m dreadfully tired.
My nose is spewing a rainstorm.

Back at home. I eat Green Onion Thai Noodles, Crackers, and a lot of Kumquats.

Band practice at the storage unit with Chad and Chris.

Sitting on the couch drinking a hot cup of Green Tea with Lemon and Honey.
Sick. Sick. Sick.
Finishing up a painting and listening to a few different stations on Pandora.
Dinner: Lentil Vegetable Soup. String Beans. Garlic Naan Bread.
I clog up my nose with balled tissue.
I cook Tapioca Pudding.
Man on Wire (2008) – “A look at tightrope walker Philippe Petit's daring, but illegal, high-wire routine performed between New York City's World Trade Center's twin towers in 1974, what some consider, ‘the artistic crime of the century.’”

Sleep around 3 a.m.


[i] JoAnna’s video shoot. Image by me.

Tuesday May 4 2010

[i]


DREAM: Sitting in a makeshift theater watching a preview for an animated movie. At the end of the preview one of those cartoony white-gloved hands show up on the screen presenting the title for the movie, Bubb Bub Bee, as it expands from small to big to the sound of tooting horns. Then, the movie just starts. I’m surprised because I wasn’t expecting a kid’s movie. On the screen, appears a female character that looks similar to an Animaniac. We go into a dream sequence. There’s a tiny guy walking on her leg as she lies down. Everything starts to look real.
“I’m excited to see what’s going on inside!” she says.
The tiny guy then cuts a sliver on the front of her leg and we can see the insides. Multi-colored tentacle-looking veins are tangled everywhere – mostly neon colors like blue, orange, red, green, yellow, and pink. She reaches into the opening and picks up a few of the tentacle strands. Some of the people that I’m with cringe in disgust, as do I. I think to myself, if I were a kid, this would be really frightening for me. With a big painted smile on her face, the character continues to examine the innards of her leg, all the while talking to the audience and pointing out the different parts.   

9:40 a.m. I wake up a little before my alarm clock goes off the second time.

Breakfast: Cliff Bar (Blueberry Crisp). Hot Chocolate Coffee.

Goodbye Phil. Live well and enjoy the hay fields my beautiful friend.

At JoAnna’a video shoot.
Enjoying the warm sounds of the melodica.
Chatting with Chidori about the balance between her creative side and the entertainment side of music.

Lunch: Tuna Salad Sandwich with Tomato. Salt N Vinegar Chips. Red Peach Tea.

I stop by some thrift stores on the way home.

I have no energy.
I receive an amazing boost of oomph from a 20-minute power nap.
Creamy Tomato Soup with Garlic Toast. Fresh Mango.

Art and I go to the tennis courts by Lynnhaven Middle School only to discover all the courts are taken except for one. We get ready to play and find out a league has the court on reserve. The players kindly apologize and suggest trying First Colonial High School. As we make our way to leave out the gate, an annoyed older man spouts out to us, “Could you please get off my court?!” With an obvious sense of hostility, Art immediately defends us, “Are you serious? It is not your court!” It’s understandable to get a little irritated from people walking by interrupting your game but it doesn’t make sense to get impatient and say something like that. The frustrated man continues, “You could’ve at least waited until a point was set!” The truth was his opponent was holding the ball when we walked by. In Art’s Russian accent, “How else we supposed to leave?” We find out from a fellow player nearby that this is a common confrontation other people experience with this particular man. The contrast between the courteous and helpful tennis players with the impatient and hostile tennis players was interesting. We leave and attempt First Colonial where a tournament is being held. Finally, we try Cox High School and play an intense 2 hour and 20 minute game.

Dinner: Leftover Kidney Beans and Mushrooms with Rice. Artichoke with Garlic and Cucumber Yogurt Dip. Garlic Naan Bread. A mix of White and Chocolate Milk.

I watch Quiz Show (1994) from the few VHS tapes I got from the thrift store earlier today. 
Another lesson to prove the money always seems to survive.

On the phone with Kenneth: “Hey Rob...the crazy chick next door, her boyfriend’s passed out in your backyard...he’s just chillin. I didn’t want to throw him out on the street or nutin.”

I eat a Kiwi, some Strawberries, and Mango.
Listening to a mix of African and Spanish guitar music on Pandora.
I sip on Oolong Tea – get out my acrylics and paint a gift.

Sleep around 3:30 a.m.


[i] Takashi Murakami and Louis Vuitton QR code.

Monday May 3 2010

[i]


12 p.m. I get out of bed. Not enough sleep.

Phil: “I’m leaving you. And there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”

Breakfast: Hot Cream of Wheat Cereal with Vanilla, Brown Sugar, and Milk. Orange Mango Juice. Zinc and Alfalfa.

I go to a warehouse near Witchduck Road to help out with the shooting of JoAnna’s music video. I play the melodica along with Josiah on the ukulele and two others. All of us pretend to be running away from a giant Frankenzilla JoAnna in the forest.

Phil lies down on the floor in my room. He’s concerned about his emotional health.

Lunch: Tuna Salad Sandwich with Lettuce and Tomato. Salt N Vinegar Chips with Avocado. Green Tea.

I’m an Ant Killer: I lay down some cotton balls mixed with Boric Acid and Syrup around the perimeter of the house.

I take my bike to Michael’s for some acrylic paint and then to Big Lot’s for a sink strainer.

Practice at the storage unit with Chris and Chad.

Farewell Dinner with Phil: Kidney Beans and Garlic Mushrooms with Rice. Steamed Artichoke with a dip consisting of Plain Yogurt, Garlic, Cucumber, Olive Oil, and Lemon Juice. Yuengling Beer.
Renee comes over and joins in on the feasting and camaraderie.
Renee returns my Sufjan Stevens CD!!!
Os Mutantes playing on Phil’s laptop.
Listening to Renee and Phil discuss iambic pentameter.
Phil: “I just like everything strong.”
Renee sings a Rufus Wainwright song.
Foosball with Art, Renee, and Ryan.
Sitting and deciphering the illegible writing on the BQE record.
Phil noodles on the guitar – “noodling = organic composing”
Me: “I just like to share things with people.”
www.wordnik.com - “Kipple”, “Sophora”, “Unactualized Toast”
Phil shuffles through boxes of old notebooks and writings of his, “It’s so weird to read about how your mind used to think and how it doesn’t think like that anymore.”
Phil explains how he hasn’t written as much since he hasn’t had his own room – being around people and hanging out all the time. “It’s nice not stressing out over that internal monologue.”

Sleep around 3:30 a.m.


[i] Image source unknown.

Sunday May 2 2010

[i]



DREAM: Two paths. Both lead to my parent’s old town house in Ocean Lakes. One is safe. The other is adventurous and risky. I’m with other people. Some choose the safe path. We choose the other. Brown monkeys start jumping around at the entrance. ☼☼☼☼☼ Playing a Mae show but performing as U2. All of us start walking up these stairs to get to the stage. We keep climbing higher and higher until we eventually reach an escalator. We start hearing airport employees yelling at us, “Do you have your tickets?!” as if we couldn’t enter the top level without plane tickets. I explain to an employee, “We’re supposed to be performing a U2 concert right now.” Immediately, he understands and directs me to a freight elevator. I try to wave down all the other guys who are still on the escalator. None of them are responding. I can hear sounds of feedback and guitars from the stage anticipating our arrival. All of sudden, they start the show without us. I hear a U2 song begin. It doesn’t make sense. We haven’t even gotten on stage yet. Who’s playing our instruments?

I wake up at 3:15 p.m.

Breakfast: Egg and Cheese Burrito. Phil’s Homemade Bread with Butter and Blackcurrant Jam. Orange Mango Juice. Zinc and Alfalfa.

Kmart.

Lunch: Toasted Peanut Butter Sandwich. Baked Lay’s. Green Tea.

A long shift at China Wok.

Textversation is now a word in my vocabulary.

Yoga. Exercise. Listening to an electronica album called East-Westercism.

Dinner: Black Bean Tacos with Homemade Salsa. Lemon-Lime Soda.

A successful dumpster dive at Trader Joe’s including Apples, Oranges, Kiwi, Pears, Strawberries, Peppers, Avocado, Artichoke, Onions, Kumquats, and Tomatoes. (see above photo)

I eat a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal with two Kiwis.

Exploring with my long board near the beach. The night is perfect with its perfect spouts of wind – I hear it flowing amongst the dark trees. I smell honeysuckle, flowers, wet grass, and marsh. No cars on the roads. Nobody anywhere. Just me and my beautiful solitude. I find the perfect ride on Bay Colony.

I scarf down a bunch of Strawberries.

A wonderful hot shower.

Sleep around 6 a.m.


[i] Image by me.

Saturday May 1 2010

[i]


Around 3 p.m. I wake up. First day of Summer.

Breakfast: Hot Cream of Wheat Cereal with Vanilla, Brown Sugar, and Milk. Orange Mango Juice. Zinc and Alfalfa.

I talk with Kenneth about constructing a few bike trailers made out of shopping carts.

I take my long board around the neighborhood and wander about looking at houses for sale.

Lunch: Grilled Cheese with Tomato. Baked Salt N Vinegar Chips. Banana. Green Tea

Work at China Wok.
...
I juggle while waiting for orders.
...
Sitting at a red light on Birdneck Road, I overhear a conversation between two girls in a convertible next to me: “Yeah, I don’t get waxed anymore cause last time they made my eyebrows look fuckin’ stupid.”

Art Galleries all over Granby Street.
I perform a few songs at Café Latte with Skye Zentz.
I talk with my cousin, Deb.
Renee and Phil ride with me to The Boot from Granby Street.
Phil lies down on the tower of mattresses in the back of the van.
We stop at Captain D’s for food.
Dinner: Two Fish Tacos. Hush Puppies.
Long Division’s CD Release Show – over capacity – a social reunion of friends...it’s wonderful to see so many missed faces – juggling and flow in the streets while we wait to get in – Tyler deejays the rhythm of the night – we dance, we dance, we dance...we lose our inhibitions – the beat, the beat, the beat entraps and attracts – I need this...this movement – I feel magnetic – Everybody is sexy – I sense a pull from others – this is what it feels like to be free...to be complete with your environment...to be connected.

I notice I’ve been using the word “absolutely” quite frequently.

At home, I eat a bowl of Plain Yogurt with Mango, Honey, and Granola.

Relaxing.
Skype with Verity.

Sleep around 5:40 a.m.


[i] Head drawing on table at The Boot.

Friday April 30 2010

[i]

DREAM: At work in China Wok waiting for orders to be done so I can deliver them. There are five orders ready to go but I think there are only four ready. My boss fails to tell me about the fifth one. I grab all the bags and run to the van. I place all the orders in the back. Margot wants to drive. “Absolutely not!” I’m worried my boss will see her. She gets pouty about me not letting her drive. I take the wheel and put it in reverse. A cop car is coming by. I misjudge how close I am and almost hit him. “I’m so sick of cop cars!” Then, for some reason, I can’t get the van out of reverse gear and the van gradually rolls down a hill. The brakes aren’t working at all. “This is just great!” I start slamming as hard as I can on the brake pedal breaking some of the plastic attached to it. Other parts on the dashboard break as I keep hitting them out of anger. “Yeah, lets just break everything!” There’s nothing I can do because the slope we’re on isn’t leveling out. ☼☼☼☼☼ I’m with a big group of guys. We’re trying to set a car on fire. It’s the blue firebird my Mom used to drive a long time ago. We all have lighters and keep trying to light different objects on fire and throw them into the car. Nothing seems to work. Someone in authority walks by warning us, “Your efforts are useless because it can’t be done.” ☼☼☼☼☼ In the 1623 house. I’m in the kitchen doing something. Phil is on the far right edge of the red couch talking to me. Rocky is laying to the left of him while she uses Facebook chat on Phil’s laptop. The chat beep sounds off interrupting something Phil says to me. “Rocky, can you turn that down? I can’t hear Phil.” All of sudden, Rocky gets upset and starts yelling, going on about this and that. It doesn’t make sense. All I asked her to do was turn it down. Eventually, she wants to fight and gets up in my face. I try to keep my cool. She starts kissing me on my head and shoulders. All of a sudden, everything’s resolved. Josiah walks in. Apparently, he had been there the whole time. I feel a little uncomfortable because of what Rocky just did. ☼☼☼☼☼ Walking around in a backyard that’s supposed to be my Dad’s but looks just like my neighbor’s. There’s a lot of junk piled around. I assume it is Kenneth’s. I creep into the next yard over out of curiosity. I’m with Phil and we have a shopping cart full of stuff. Two girls approach us. I start talking to one of them. “That’s my Dad’s house. I used to live with him in North Carolina, like in the country...the boondocks.” I look back deep into their yard. I see a few tree houses built high in the treetops. “Yeah we used hang out in the woods making clubhouses and starting fires.” It’s windy outside. I watch as the trees sway to the right and left as if they were dancing to the rhythm of the wind.


3 p.m. I wake up.


I walk into the living room. Brianna and Phil are watching Drugstore Cowboy (1989).


Breakfast: Hot Cream of Wheat with Vanilla, Brown Sugar, and Milk. Orange Mango Juice. Zinc and Alfalfa.


Phil and I move some mattresses into the van to sell tomorrow.


Lunch: Grilled Cheese with Tomato. Salt N Vinegar Chips. Strawberry Yogurt. Green Tea.


Work at China Wok.


Dinner: Leftover Chicken and Rice with Fried Zucchini and Squash. PBR.


SHOW N TELL at the house.


French Toast and Milk.


Alex Bailey and I play each other in foosball. He wins the single ball game, and the double ball game. I win the triple ball game.


Just a lot of words…

Sometimes I feel I’m not meant to love anyone.


Goodnight around 7 a.m.



[i] Stowe Boyd.

Thursday April 29 2010

[i]

DREAM: In a town house. There’s a white cat. For some reason I think it’s a good idea to decapitate his head with a kitchen knife. The cat struggles a little bit. I notice a little blood come out. It’s alarming to me so I stop cutting even though there is only a sliver left to do. Later, I come back to the cat and his head is back in place but it doesn’t look stable. Mickey Rourke, from the movie The Wrestler (2008) walks through the door. He picks up the cat and starts petting him harshly. He’s a big muscular man so I’m unsettled by this. I warn him not to rub too hard. The cat seems to be okay.


3:30 p.m. I get up. I regret not getting up earlier when I had the chance. Too much sleep.


Breakfast: Egg and Cheese Burrito. Toast with Blackcurrant Jam. Orange Mango Juice. Zinc and Alfalfa.


I ride my bike to Big Lots, Kmart, Target, and Trader Joe’s.

Waiting in line at Kmart, I observe a Jamaican family in front of me. The woman, who is huskier and bigger than the man, carries the groceries, as the kids play around the bottom level of the magazine rack. The man sifts through the magazines. He stops and stares at a beautiful half naked Caucasian girl on the cover of a tattoo issue. He holds his gaze for quite a while as the kids continue playing and the wife still waiting in line. He doesn’t seem ashamed in the least bit or concerned with anyone around him. He studies her pose then snaps out of it and scolds one of the kids, “Put that back now. We’re not getting that.” The line moves. The clerk checks out all the items. It’s his turn as he swipes the credit card.


People are watching footage in the living room that Phil filmed on his camera.


Lunch: Toasted Tuna Salad Sandwich with Lettuce and Tomato. Baked Salt N Vinegar Chips. Banana. Green Tea.


Practice at the storage unit with Chad and Chris. We work out a punchy new song.


Dinner: Baked Cream of Mushroom Chicken with Onions. Fried Zucchini and Squash. Coke.

I share the Fried Zucchini and Squash with Margot, Art, Brianna, and Ryan.


Margot and I watch New York, I Love You (2009).


Yogurt with Peaches and Honey.


How good it feels to relieve that sexual itch.


I go to the storage unit again to practice.


Saltine Crackers.


Sleep around 7 a.m.



[i] Michał Karcz.

Wednesday April 28 2010

[i]

DREAM: I’m cruising down the street in a Kmart shopping cart – hanging onto the back pushing with one leg like a skateboard. I’ve got my purple book bag, a grey beanbag, and few other small things inside it. I am able to go quite fast zooming through a neighborhood that looks similar to the kind of place I would deliver Chinese food to in waking life. I finally reach a court. There’s a big dumping area with a bunch of really cool furniture people have thrown out. I see a lot of abnormally large fish tanks, hamster tanks and birdcages. I find a green jogger jacket on the sidewalk with an iPhone in the side pocket. I pick it up and James Graves steps out of his apartment. He claims he’s missing his jacket. I realize I have it and give it to him. A few black kids with their parents and uncles sit outside their front door. I had left my shopping cart near them. As I’m getting all my stuff together I see a few garbage bags. I feel responsible to throw them away. One of the black boys is sitting right next to it on the greasy curb. I touch him slightly on the shoulder to warn him of the leaky bag, “Watch out.” He doesn’t seem to care. I saddle up on my shopping cart – put on these blue 80’s style sunglasses and dart off. I do a wheelie and lift myself up over one of the grass medians within the court. I can hear the black family making comments about how odd I look with the shopping cart. Down the road, I stroll into a house – some kind of church gathering – strangers. I’ve ditched the shopping cart and I’m making my way through the crowd. I’m getting strange looks from everyone. One beautiful girl, slightly taller than me, approaches me. Or maybe I approach her. We make small talk. I tell her I need to use the bathroom. She shows me this room near the entrance built with a white wall that goes about as high as your neck – so sitting on the toilet would be quite visible to everyone. I ask her if there is another bathroom because that would make me uncomfortable. Another girl that is with her seems annoyed and expresses to me that this is the only restroom for me. “Hold on. I think there is something else. Follow me.” I follow the beautiful girl back further in the house to another potential bathroom.


Around 2:30 p.m. I wake up.


Breakfast: Hot Oat Bran Cereal with Cinnamon, Blueberries, Brown Sugar, and Milk. Orange Mango Juice. Zinc and Alfalfa.


Songwriting.


TED Talks about a woman who rowed the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean.


Lunch: Grilled Cheese with Tomato. Salt N Vinegar Chips. Green Tea.


Writing at the storage unit.


Stretching and exercising. Apocalypse Now (1979).


Dinner: Sinigang Rice Dish with Onions, Peppers, Mushrooms, and Shrimp. String Beans. Garlic Bread. Chocolate.


Phil, Carlton, and his friend Leo are at the house creating things on paper with markers and ribbons and magazine clippings.


Phil adds some raw kidney beans to his dish thinking they were cooked. He gets paranoid about it. We try to reassure him he won’t die but probably have diarrhea.


Leo tells us about a few of his former roommates from Richmond who got on Judge Judy and staged a cat-killing case. They got free plane trips and hotel accommodations for two days in L.A. And they got paid $700 to be on the show.


Foosball with Art.


I go through my collection of stickers over the years and decorate my electric guitar.


I watch a documentary on Hasil Adkins, King of Psychobilly.


On the phone with Margot.


A bowl of Raisin Bran Cereal with Granola.


Learning Russian on Rosetta Stone.


Shower then sleep around 5:30 a.m.


DREAM INSIGHT:

Shopping carts: We have a few shopping carts here in my yard. I'm planning on making a bike trailer with one of them.

The furniture and other things near the dumpster area: I usually keep an eye out for discarded things like that while I'm driving around delivering Chinese food.

Picking up the trash bags: I sometimes feel obligated to clean up and pick up around the house because I feel like it won't get done otherwise.

iPhone in the jacket: 80% of the people I know own iPhones.

Comments and strange looks from people: Sometimes I feel self-conscience.

Bathroom situation: I value privacy. And also I needed to pee when I woke up.



[i] The Cart Bike.

Tuesday April 27 2010

[i]

DREAM: A man walks into a bedroom with a gun pointing at a guy with thick black glasses and full brown hair who’s sitting at a computer. I’m observing all this from a distance. I’m supposed to be the guy at the computer. All of sudden, my perspective is the point of view of the man with the gun. He turns to the left and then to the right where the guy with glasses is sitting with a girl on the other side of the room. I start to imagine what it would feel like to get shot with a gun – the pain of being shot in the chest. I have to make a choice to volunteer to get shot instead of the girl. Flashbacks to a scene on a bus with a lot of people – the same guy walks in wanting to shoot someone. I’m hiding in the back. I have to make a decision whether to get shot or cower down and let somebody else get shot.


2:20 p.m. I get out of bed.


Breakfast: Egg and Cheese Burrito. Apple Butter Toast. Orange Mango Juice. Zinc and Alfalfa.


I sell a chair to a veteran local that does professional photography. He has photos in a few different travel magazines. He tells Josiah, Rocky, and I about his 9/11 experience on a roof. He shows us a photo he took before the second plane hit. He also tells us about a band he used to be a part of in Virginia Beach called Krocadile Tears. He comments on 1623 and tells us of a similar pad he used to live in on 24th street when he was younger that turned into a squatting house and eventually into apartment or condo housing.


I go to Big Lots, CHKD Thrift Store, and Target.


Lunch: Toasted Peanut Butter and Strawberry Jelly. Baked Lay’s. Blueberries and Yogurt. Green Tea.


As I’m cleaning the dishes, Phil parades through the door announcing something about The Spanish Inquisition. He had been gone for a little more than a week and now the prodigal son returns home.

Travel talk.

Some thoughts from Phil: The left brain is artificing itself into machines – We now have more opportunity to use our right brain – Our individual vocabulary is growing smaller because of our dependency on machines doing our communication for us – A battle between left and right.


Phil: “Well I just got out of the shower and I’ve come to some conclusions on things.”


I catch up with my Mom on the phone.


“i read a lot, and imitate as practice. But as the Tropicalists would say, we are all cultural cannibals. we eat up the works of others, digest, and in the consummation we end up with something completely new -- painted by what we know, but not the same as our influences (Oswald de Andrade "Manifesto Antropofago").”

- taken from Renee’s formspring.


Stretching. Exercising. Apocalypse Now (1979).


Dinner: Sinigang Rice Dish with Onions, Peppers, Mushrooms, and Shrimp. String Beans. Garlic Bread.


Iced Coffee with Tapioca Pearls and Soymilk.


A few hours at the storage unit writing, playing, and having a good time with music.


Zinfandel.


Sleep around 6 a.m.



[i] Metamorphosis of Narcissus. Salvador Dalí.

Monday April 26 2010

[i]

Around 10:30 a.m. EST Josiah comes into my room waking me up.
“How were your shows?”
I’m still trying to open my eyes and become conscience as he pushes right into a conversation. He needs a ride to work. Back to sleep.

I get up again at 11:40 a.m. and take Josiah to work to Mahi Mah’s. Back to sleep.

Waking up again around 2:30 p.m.

DREAM: Josiah and I are sitting on the van seat in a storage unit. He warns me he’s thinking about not doing music anymore – giving me all these reasons including something about people not listening or not enough support. I try to encourage him, “But music is such a personal thing whether there is people there or not.” We continue to talk…☼☼☼☼☼ My high school reunion in a big room. Richard comes up to me and tells me in a joking way how he hasn’t seen me in years. I’m supposed to perform on stage, backing up this singer songwriter on electric guitar. It takes me a while to set up my amps. I have a hard time finding the power cord to the amp head. Finally, I get everything set up. I start plucking the strings and testing out the tone. I tell the singer I’m ready to start.

Breakfast: Hot Oat Bran Cereal with Cinnamon, Blueberries, Brown Sugar, and Milk. Orange Mango Juice. Zinc and Biotin.

I drive to the Farmer’s Market off Princess Anne and Dam Neck. I get Alfalfa Grain pills, VA Honey, Ginger Chews, Chocolate, and some produce. I ask the lady at the register for advice on planting an aloe vera plant. “They love neglect,” she says.

Lunch: Tuna Salad Sandwich with Lettuce and Tomato, Salt N Vinegar Chips, and Jasmine Green Tea.

Brianna: “I want to start doing all the dishes.”
Me: “Okay. Why?”
Brianna: “Cause I want to be a house wife.”
Me: “But you’re not a wife.”

I transfer the Japanese aloe vera plant Kenneth gave me a few weeks ago into a pot.

Tennis with Art.
The rain starts to fall lightly. We continue to play. Steam rises from the hot cement caused from the cool water hitting it. Then, the storm begins and the rain pours and pours and pours.

TED Talks.

Dinner: Leftover Cabbage and Potato Skillet. Carrots and Cucumbers with Ranch. Garlic Naan Bread. Natural Cranberry and Grapefruit Soda.

I do some writing at the storage unit.

I eat a bowl of Granola and Raisin Bran Cereal.
In the attic – conversation with Will – civil unions and marriages – the concept of free will – I explain how we are no longer in the post-modern era but a new era, maybe alter-modern or post-post-modern – the story of The Tower of Babel – I theorize how humanity is drawing closer and closer to complete globalization and unity. Generally, our desire as a human race is to be one with everyone. In a state of total oneness and unity where nothing is impossible.
Genesis 11:1 “And the whole earth was of one language and of one accent and mode of expression.”
Genesis 11:6 “And the Lord said, Behold, they are one people and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do, and now nothing they have imagined they can do will be impossible for them.”

I start reading The History of Love by Nicole Krauss.

Sleep around 5 a.m.


[i] Rage over Babylon by Ziv Qual.

Sunday April 25 2010

[i]

9:20 a.m. CST I wake up to my cell phone alarm.


Breakfast: Coffee with Cream and Sugar. Banana. Milk.


We catch the 10:55am flight to Minneapolis. Reading and napping. Deep Fargo accents. The violinist from Could Cult joins one of the seats next to us.


Lunch: A Fancy Grilled Cheese with Red Peppers and Tomatoes. Salad Greens. Honest Ade Orange Mango with Mangosteen.


Flight to New York.

I do that thing where you go to sleep and your body jolts yourself awake. Then you feel embarrassed because you think everybody saw you. I pretend to be still sleeping and slurp up the slight drool coming off my lips.

I eat the complimentary cookie.


Flight to Norfolk.

I eat Baked Lay’s, Dried Edamame, and Chocolate Chip Cookies with Cranberry Juice.

Our flight attendant resembles my Mom when she was younger. Same face, hair, eyes, eyebrows, and similar smile. Sometimes I imagine going back in time - before I was born – before my mother became a mother. I could see her in a different light – when she was young and innocent – watch her live and dream. Maybe I would try to meet her. Would she recognize her future son? Would she see her blood in me?


Becca picks me up from the airport.

We take a walk around her neighborhood – the night air is fresh, breezy, and warm.

People’s windows and curtains are open.

One home had no grass in their lawn but instead, cactus, tall weeds, and other exotic plants.

I explain to her the story of Pandorum and the theory of an earth-like planet existing somewhere in deep space.

In the kitchen, her Dad has the Discovery Channel on TV. It’s a show where Stephen Hawking is discussing the possibilities of time travel and life on extra solar planets – coincidental.

I eat a bowl of Frosted Mini-Wheats Cereal.

Another TV show – on TLC called Hoarding: Buried Alive – involves therapists coming into the homes of pack rats/hoarders and helping them with their obsessive compulsiveness to save everything. The people on this show are an extreme representation of America’s consumption problem and how we fill our voids with the affection for material things.

I eat an Egg and a Banana.


Two pieces of Toast.


Sleep around 4 a.m. EST.



[i] Image by me.