Campin' Cat

Today I had the tent set up in my apartment (North Face tadpole23), and was coaxing the cat inside so she could get acclimated to it.
"This will prolly be our permanent residence someday, kitty-cat." I said.
The cat gave me that quizzical snaggle-toothed look (She's missing one of her fangs) I get from her when I let too many sawdust-caked turdballs accumulate in her scat-box.
"Dude, why are you obsessed with being homeless, the petrocollapse (whatever the fuck that is), your eventual abject sqalordom or being chased into the wilderness by bands of torch-bearing angry villagers? What's with all the annoying fatalistic nihilism? I don't get it." she said.
"Well, I've always kinda thought like that, and although I realize it's not exactly a Tony Robbins-type outlook, It gives me an odd sort of security believing it's all going to end badly, either personally or globally, probably both. I remember throwing up my hands once when I was a child of twenty, after some bone-headed fubar snafu went down in my little life, and exclaiming 'nothing good can come of my life.' Pretty fucked up, huh?"
"Par for the course at age 15, but most of you pampered suburban humans usually grow out of it. You suffer an arrested development on so many levels, my big cuddle-hungry anthropoid."
"Yeah, well you should meet Winston-- oh wait, you already have. By the way, he's gonna be dropping by to look after you while I'm on vacation next week."
"He's kinda hard to figure. I can't tell if he's afraid of me or is trying to make friendly-like. Can't you get the chubby girl with the wild hair that was coming last summer? She has a soothing voice."
"Naw, my friendship with her isn't at the 'take-care-of-my-pet' level, I only asked her because she's in my section at the clinic, and it was a fellow section member, as you well know, that dumped you on me."
"Boy that makes me feel wanted! But living here is ten times better than being with that weird old Chinese lady. At least you let me out, and occasionally take me to the park. But I still hate riding in that plastic box bolted to the back of your bike. What if you wipe out? I have no way out. I'll be bouncing around in their like a marble. Until a car squashes me."
"Don't worry, that thing's a piece of shit, the top will fly off the second it hits the pavement. Besides, you're a cat, you guys always land on your feet."
"Our prowess is greatly exaggerated. But I do appreciate you trusting me to go stalking in the park, even if all I can catch is bugs, seeing as how they cut off my front claws when I lived with the freaky Chinese bitch. But that time you left me overnight-- damn, it was cold!"
"Hey, I left work early and came looking for you-- it was ten o'clock and you weren't at the agreed upon rendezvous picnic table. I wasn't gonna wait around all night for you. And what about the other time I showed up to get you-- I shined my bike light at you and you ran away. What's up with that?"
"I thought you were one of those homeless guys who sleep around there. They try to throw stuff at me."
"Thanks a lot, cat."
"That reminds me-- why don't you give me a name already?"
"Don't want to. Names just seem like frivolous conceits in these end times. Nothing matters. All is dream..."
"There you go with that zen apocalyptic bullshit again!"
"You'll see. I need to toughen you up, get you ready for the rending of the social fabric. What say I take you on a cross-country bike ride this summer? I'll bolt on a bigger box..."
"You wouldn't--"
"I only wish I could reattach your amputated finger tips. Claws will come in handy in the brave new world..."
"Damn, the crazy Chinese lady is looking better all the time!"

The Bird's the Word

So here I am at Albuquerque International Sunport waiting for my flight home to San Francisco. This has got to be my fave airport ever (not that I’ve been to all that many, not like my pop, stalwart veteran of General Electric. When I was growing up, I remember him flying off somewhere like every month. Sometimes I feel ripped off that I have a bunky job that doesn’t send me anywhere. Oh well). At any rate, for once I’m on time and not discombobulated. Once I missed a connecting flight just because I was wandering around the airport (Denver, I think it was). I slept at an airport once because I missed a flight (San Jose, I won’t forget that one). But ya gotta love this airport because it’s so cheery and southwestery and has free wifi everywhere!!! Wifi is my obsession these days. Free if possible. That and dental hygeine. For some reason on this trip something popped in my mind and I started feeling sorry for my teeth. So I’m flossing like a demon lately (as opposed to lackluster flossing), and brushing not just my teeth but my gums, too. Like Doc Mojica says.

This sign is from the wide open spaces between Hatch and Deming, New Mexico. Nutt is the next town on NM 26 after Hatch, and is basically one bar that may or may not be defunct called the Middle of Nowhere Bar and Cafe. That a Nut Hatch is a type of bird makes me chuckle when I see this sign. Am I such a geek that no one else finds this funny? I love coincidental juxtapositions of names (and weird names in general). Like the time in the lab when the patient last names “Vedder” and “Blaylock” appeared right next to each other on a worklist: Mookie Blaylock was Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder’s first band (and an NBA player apparently). Weird, huh? Oh, I was referring to me.

here we go a-fucking-gain.

The terrornauts don't lob blooper balls at ya. At least it's scenic in here, with images of an America not filled with bloated idiots. Why can't we have a public blog? It's so weenie to hide behind anonymity, obscurity. So proud to be unknown! I wish my friends were brave and brash and wanted to suck the marrow out of life. Instead of wanting to go deep stealth into denial, or worse, just to score stronger prescription antidepressants.