Sassy about a Nalgene.

It's nice to have a day off after six working days in a row. Kristin was over and we had our morning coffee and checked the West Philly thrift stores. First you look for t-shirts, then you check in on the knick-knacks next door. I got a Nalgene bottle for a buck. Who's the boss? I guess that's me.

Selling bicycles feels good.

I'm feeling all sorts of proud of myself. I sold three bicycles at work today - which is awesome - and I'm basking in it.

Personal info yard sale circus.

I'm in the process of giving too much personal bank info to try to get Modafinil from India. Routing number? Social security number? Bank account number? No problem, sketchy India website! Here you go!

Piss poor grocery shopping.

Today felt off. Being at the worst grocery store ever isn't helping. I will not be back to this grocery store.

Shameful Eggplant

I'm eating a sub-par eggplant parm sandwich. It was delivered in a sweaty styrofoam container with an over-toasted roll. The mushy insides tried to hide deep in the crease of the roll. I assume this was out of shame.

Birds, Books, Cold.

I was playing Angry Birds. Then I read some of "Sweet Thursday." It's super cold outside.

I'm okay! It's cold!

I'm getting over the sickness I felt. I got lucky. I'm built to be resilient, and I didn't get it too bad.

Back to work! I've been loafing around for awhile, but now the bicycle shop is open, and I've got hours.

It was cold as a sonofabitch on my ride in this morning.

Sickness goes around.

Sickness goes around. How sick is that? You can guess when you're going to get it.

If you have a roommate and a loved one who are ill, then you're in line. When I woke up this morning, the world was a mild hallucination. I slept some more and tried again around 3pm. I floated around the neighborhood in a malaise. All attempts to purchase nourishment failed. I returned home and sank.

A semblance of sanity was restored when chicken noodle soup was delivered to my door.

Getting a bicycle for my girl.

I'm batting a fucking thousand.

I woke up in the wonderful setting that is my Philadelphia apartment. I woke up next to a girl that thinks I'm pretty good. So far so good, she thinks. Satellite was closed today - being New Years and all - but Dunkin Donuts did not disappoint. Except for all the farting.

I took the wheel. We drove to the bicycle shop, and I used my keys to unlock the store and rifle through the contents. Test rides. I put Kristin on a couple of damn-fancy bicycles. I employed the use of tape measures, allen wrenches and a tire pump. I explained possibilities and how to shift.

She picked the cheap one. Out of everything, the used bicycle with the cruiser bars was the one that spoke up. "It's yours!" I said. By that I meant that she could pay for it later.

The Smoking Popes are worth a damn

The Smoking Popes are one of my girlfriend's favorite bands for some reason. When I found out they were playing at the Northstar Bar in Philly - and I could get tickets - I knew I had something. I tossed my credit card numbers onto the internet, and the tickets were at will-call.

We arrived an hour before midnight, and I secured a spot for us in the front. The turnout was not huge, so staking out a spot proved unnecessary. We were up front, and we took the set list when they were finished with it. She thanked me several times, and I felt great for finally getting someone a present that was worth a damn.

Diner Breakfast, living life...

We had breakfast at the Creekside Diner in Kennett. Two weeks from now, I will rate this diner a 4-5 out of 10. I spent all of two days with Kristin, and it felt like time well spent.

Calm and unresolved.

I don't know the future. Nothing was resolved, yet somehow I am calmed.

Reading, eating wings, vacationing...

The book "Sweet Thursday" makes me romanticize drinking and being possession-less. I stay quiet and drift along. We got all-you-can-eat wings last night, and I tried to put the place out of business.

Williamsburg, Yorktown, Jamestown(e).

We're in Williamsburg Virgina as a family. My folks got a nice timeshare rental with a switch-on fireplace. There are two bathrooms and two bedrooms. I happily take the couch.

Yorktown; Jamestown(e). At some point, they dropped the 'e.' Such things make me curious. Since when was "salad" ever spelled with a 't?' That's how it appeared on the menu in old(e) Williamsburg(e?). Maybe that was a put-on.

The day was full of gift shop(pe)s and low-budget educational films at various visitors centers.

Crochet. I'm whipping together items which include a can koozy and another top-tube pad for a bicycle. I have plenty of time for doing that and reading books.

Onward! A family vacation.

Let me make these updates brief, because the sweet parts are recorded in my notebook where sticky melted chocolate can adorn the margins. I woke up in a little bed with a person beside me, which I'm really quite fond of. I'm fond of everything involved.

It was the morning after Christmas in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. It was a lovely morning on which I rose early to drink coffee and prepare for the road. My family - the original nuclear four - milled about briefly in preparation. We did this. We put stuff in the back of a minivan.

We got into the minivan, and set our course for Williamsburg, Virginia. A family vacation had just begun. We did stuff like stop for coffee. "How To Train Your Dragon" is a movie that we watched on the flip down DVD player. That's who we are, and that's how we do it. Refreshments were at hand in the back.

Practical gifts and a successful Christmas.

Christmas morning. I ate from the counter-top smorgasbord and scrambled together a last-minute gift presentation. We exchanged gifts, and it was nice and great. All of the gifts I received were practical, and everything fit inside a shoebox except for the Dremel and the shoes themselves. Stuff that fits my life or gets eaten. Ideal.

Oh, she sends me txt messages, and oh how I smile. It keeps getting better, and my Christmas gift was a painting. Not just any painting, but a painting of me, and oh how grand it is! I'm vain, and this version of me is pleasing indeed. And I'm riding a big tricycle. She got it just right.

I should have made the scarf 46 inches longer.

Loaded, Poised and Ready.

I worked. After today, the shop is closed until January. Christmas is tomorrow.

I had my van loaded, poised and ready. I set out for Kennett after work. Kristin visited me at my folks' and I gave her a long yellow scarf as we sat next to the remote-controlled fire with fake logs.

How long to make your scarf.

We had black bean soup and we all talked. The soup needed salt. And more beans, or so she said. I was happy to be there, I felt like I should be there, and I talked a whole lot. I was happy and comfortable, so I went into yammer-mode right there at the kitchen table. I felt great.

I don't know enough about crochet to make anything shaped like a heart, but fringes are easy. I spent many hours crocheting a scarf for Kristin. I decided on a length: Long enough to show her I love her, and I'm not excessively lazy. That's exactly 46 inches, not including fringes.

Rearranged plans land me in Newark.

Cancelled dinner plans were really only an unexpected rearrangement. I'm flexible! I ended up at the last table. Some tables were pushed together at the Deer Park in Newark, and I didn't know anybody, including myself. They'll serve a guy a soda, but they'll pour it in a plastic cup. It's a circus with a straw, and I don't want any beer, but I'd love to throw one on the ground. The girl at the opposite corner is drinking a coffee, but I doubt she's thinking about the ceramic mug. So I don't talk much, but I'd like a goddamned pint glass, hide-me.

Rainbows and rainbows, but not too many rainbows! And I manage to talk enough to say when I feel strongly - maybe raise my voice a little and curse a little joke from my throat.

Time and complacency bred a calm indifference which gave way to a subtle near-enjoyment. It just takes some time. A change of venue to Homegrown didn't hurt either, for the love of crap. I smoked pot and soaked up some compliments as rain hit the windshield. Back to Philadelphia. I'm alive and satisfied, but I can't live up to the hype, and I'm not sure if I'm actually talking right now.

Pizza, Popes, general safety.

It's my mother's birthday, and I remembered to txt her and use copious exclamation points and "xo's"

Kristin arranged for a guy to bring pizza to the front door. We sat around eating pizza and being generally safe enough. I scored tickets for a Smoking Popes show on New Years, and that should get me some points since that's something like her favorite band.