the old in out in out

ok, what's the latest stupidity that's entered my life...

a couple of nights ago I took a phone call from my friend Matt in Omaha. He recently graduated from medical school in Des Moines, moved back to Cleveland for a bit, now Omaha... shit, that's like living in all three party capitals of the midwest.. how can he stand it? how can he stand? Anyways, his engagement crashed and wrecked on the shore due to conflicting interests (his ex-fiance is a medical student a year behind him with specialty interests not available in Omaha), so Matt's there alone. I feel for him, it's got to be bittersweet: working as long and hard as he had to become a doctor, finally reaching his goal, and having a relationship end and move to a lame city where you don't know anyone. Sucks. He needed someone to chat with for awhile.

My friend Rick called. He's coming in from Michigan to do the late ride on Saturday. Thank goodness Rick lives only 4 hours away, doesn't know anyone in Michigan, has a really hands-off job with the car wash, and has all of his family and friends in Chicago... We'll still get to hang once a month. It'll keep my foosball skills sharp... that's right, bitch.. I'm talking to you.

Even later that night I went to see the 10 p.m. show of Fahrenheit 9/11 at the Davis. Michael Moore is no genius, he just films and edits good filmed editorials (films/filmed/edits/editorials). Basically if you've followed any of the more vocal left wing movements, you've heard everything the movie has to say. The war footage from Iraq is the real reason to see this movie. It's brutal. Everything leading up to the war holds the act of this war in question. The last hour saves it.

Last night I busted a spoke on the commute home. Don't ask how. motherfucker. That bike has cost me a small fortune this past year. I find out that because it's a specialty wheel, the spoke is a "253 double-butted spoke"... one that's nearly impossible to find at any bike store in Chicago. It has to be special ordered. After calling 10 stores, I finally found a 253 spoke at Rapid Transit. So, tonight, I got to retrieve the bike wheel from one store, subway it to the other store, then get home somehows.

Anyways, last night I met up with Matt at Moxie and got to eat for free because a food critic was dining in, and the owner wanted to fill the joint. The chef is excellent. We ate great, and then we drank heavily. I smoked a couple of cigarettes, and am feeling like polluted ass today. Later in the evening, two nice looking blondes came in and apparently knew Matt's girlfriend Lisa (bartender at Moxie), and introduced us. One caught my eye, she had style.

So anyways a middle aged black woman walked in looking haggard. She wanted a Budweiser but only had $2. I gave her the additional $2 she needed, and Lisa smiled at me as if to ask what the fuck are you doing. I got to talking to her. She was fucked up. Her name is Dolores and she's 43 years old. She told me that she had been smoking cocaine earlier in the day and had been drunk all evening. She was run down and needed someone to talk to. We chatted for about 15 minutes and then she asked me if I wanted to have sex with her. I smiled and said no, I just wanted to talk.

Matt walked up and said that we had to get Dolores out of the bar when she finished her bottle. I looked over and saw that the two blondes that had come into the bar had left (snuck out while Dolores was trying to talk me into a bit of the old in out in out, I guess). I asked Dolores what she liked to drink and she said "gin", so we walked to the liquor store next door and I bought her a fifth of some cheap ass gin that she requested, a pack of Newport Light 100's and gave her bus fare. Then Matt handed her the key to the women's shelter she was staying at (she'd left it on the bar), and we parted ways.

Today I'm tired and have a lot to do.