JOURNAL

10/25/2001:
Well, today is my last day of freedom. Tomorrow I start substitute teaching. Actually, I’m just going to my orientation. I won’t sub until Monday. I’m getting a little apprehensive, but not too much. It will be nice to earn some money again.

10/16/2001:
I actually had a productive day today. I got up around 7:30 AM and watched CNN while eating my breakfast. Then I read more of Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction. I took a long walk. Watched L'Atalante, which I liked, but I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone else. Then I spent a few hours burning Talby/Quetalby songs to CD. Then I spent some time updating the Talby site.
Oh yeah, Saturday night I saw Quasi at Emo’s. They rocked hard. They played a lot of my favorite songs and about five that I didn’t recognize. Janet was getting crazy playing drums and keyboards AND singing all at once. Then they closed with a cover of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs,” which is, unfortunately, a very appropriate song right now.

10/10/2001:
I’ve been going Daniel Clowes crazy. When I first read Ghost World and Caricature awhile ago, I wasn’t very impressed. Everything seemed too Kafka-esque (and I’m not a Kafka fan). But having reread Ghost World and Caricature recently and reading Lout Rampage! and Orgy Bound for the first time, I’ve changed my mind. I especially liked Orgy Bound. It had lots of short funny (and weird—-really weird) stuff. Maybe I should give those Kafka books another read.
I’m also reading the shit out of Rabbit at Rest. I’m embarrassed that I’ve been carrying the book around for a year. It always takes me a long time to get through the first one hundred pages of an Updike book, but I’ve broken the seal and may even finish it today.
I watched two over-rated comedy classics, Sons of the Desert (with Laurel and Hardy) and It’s a Gift (with W.C. Fields). I just don’t find frustrating situations very amusing. The movies reminded me of Roadrunner cartoons where everything goes wrong for the coyote. When I was a kid, I’d get depressed, ‘cause I couldn’t understand why all his plans would fall through. Why did he keep using ACME products, when they never worked properly? I guess I was a strange kid.

09/19/2001:
I talked to a homeless ex-con for over an hour today. Maybe his sob story was true or maybe it wasn’t, but it still reminded me how lucky I am.

09/11/2001:
What a depressing day this has been. I’m surprised at how upset I am, but I guess it’s normal, since I spent the morning wondering if my brother had died. I couldn’t take my eyes off the carnage on TV. I talked to a few people on the phone and was reassured that no one close to me had died. I finally forced myself to take a walk. I went over to a neighborhood park and watched some kids playing (hopefully they were oblivious to what was going on). It made me feel a little better.

09/09/2001:
Today I went to my first (and hopefully last) UT football game. I got a wicked sunburn. It really hurts.

09/04/2001:
I’m still taking it easy—no work, all play! Somer and I went to my mom’s for Labor Day and had fun. I gabbed with my brother and Tim. I ate steak. It was good. Tomorrow reality sets in, ‘cause I’ve got to take my car to get fixed and then get to work!
I’ve been tearing through The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy. There’s so much stuff I don’t know—-everyday sort of stuff. Have I been under a rock? What the fuck, man? I need to read some Greek tragedies or some epic poetry. My brain needs some food! My brother tells me that my dad’s reading Moby Dick. Damn! What am I doing? I can’t even finish Rabbit at Rest. When’s the last time I drew a comic? I don’t even want to think about it! When’s the last time I wrote a song? I-yi-yi! I have been practicing the piano (in my own way), but I think I’ve hit a wall. The same goes for the guitar. Man, I need to break out my drum set. It’s fun, plus I’d get a workout at the same time—get my blood pumping. I used to have buff arms and legs from hitting the skins (what a dumb phrase).