Hair of the Dog

The cab driver is hacking. The kind of hacking that comes from deep in the chest, but doesn’t seem to be doing any good. Between hacks, he wheezes, trying to get air some air in behind his coughs. He pauses for a moment, and says Mind if I smoke?

All the Wrong Places

I found a flyer on the street a few days ago for an escort service. It’s called “Teeky’s Got the Hook-Up.” According to the flyer, “Teeky” offers student and senior discounts. Sweet.

Happy Valentine’s Day, all. I’ll be in Utah for the next few days, so updates may be erratic/non-existent.

11:55 a.m.

Overheard

Scenario: Two girls working at a bead store on the Haight.

Girl 1: The weirdest thing happed to me a few days ago. There’s this bum, right?

Girl 2: Yeah.

Girl 1: And we start talking, and he says, Do you mind if I ask you something? and I’m all, Sure. So he’s like, Are you on your period?

Girl 2: GROSS!

Girl 1: I know! I’m like, None of your business, pervo.

Girl 2: Seriously.

Girl 1: Yeah But the weird thing was, I was.

Girl 2: On your period?

Girl 1: Yeah.

Girl 2 :Sick!

Girl 1:Isn’t that sick?

Girl 2: Well, how did he know?

Girl 1: I don’t know.

Girl 2: Weird. I wonder how he knew.

Girl 1: Yeah.

2:54 p.m.

What Kate Says

Kate 1 has been trying on wedding dresses: An actual, living person just told me that this bra doesn’t hold my boobs high enough.

Kate 2 had an Amelie moment: Today I got real, honest gratification from peeling a Clemintine orange.

5:07 p.m.


GOOD WORD

Weltschmerz

The unhappiness of eternal disappointment in life as it is.

5:07 p.m.


MY COSMOPOLITAN LIFESTYLE

The girl at the video store knows what movies I want to see.

Her: Hey! How are you?

Me: Good! You?

Her: Good! Are you renting two?

Me: Yeah.

Her: Want to see Ghost World? We just got it in.

Me: Yeah!

Her: Should I put it on your book?

Me: Please. Thanks so much, I’ve really been wanting to see this.

Her: Well, that’s what happens when we get to know you.

No, sweet thing. That’s what happens when I need to leave the house more.

4:13 p.m.


OLYMPIC INSULTS

Bryan is working at the Olympics. This is from his site:

Overheard Yesterday

How male skaters dis’ one another:

“Dude, you looked fat in Sports Illustrated”

3:29 p.m.


LADIES NIGHT EXCERPT

Lady 1: I totally saw scrotum in yoga class.

All: UGH!

Lady 2: What do you mean, you saw it?

Lady 1: Like, it was right there, like hanging out.

Lady 3: Couldn’t you just look away?

Lady 1: Well we were doing this swan-dive thingy where you bend over (bends gracefully at waist with arms extended behind her), so your face is right at someone’s butt. And his scroat was, like, right there. Huge ball sack.

Lady 2: Hanging out of his shorts or something?

Lady 1: Yeah.

Lady 4: Yuck.

Lady 1: Yeah. I was traumatized.

3:29 p.m.


THESE THINGS HAPPEN

Friday Night

  • Two boys are making noise on 2nd Street. One is yipping, one is mee-meeping like the Road Runner. The dog-boy sees me as they pass and lunges, BARK Right in my face.
  • On Clement Street the cable car driver plays the bell like a steel drum. ding-ding-ding, ding-ding-da-ding
  • At Kell’s I realize I’ve forgotten my ID. The doorman will not believe that I am 26. He asks where I live. He asks about my favorite neighborhood bar. He asks what the bartender looks like.
  • I’ve arrived in the middle of a conversation: That would be a great band name. What? Dermatological Opposites.

Sunday Night

  • I meet someone who uses the same online dating service as my sister. I ask if he has read my sister’s ad. He has. This stranger and my sister share an exact demographic profile. For this reason, I like him more.
  • We put in a Stevie Wonder CD in the boombox resting on the kitchen table. It is too loud, so we move the radio to the floor. We decide Stevie on the Floor would be a good band name.

Last Night

  • My cab gets in an accident, the other guy’s fault. The two drivers make an agreement to pull to the side of the road to further inspect the damage. As we are pulling out, the other driver guns it across three lanes of traffic and takes off the wrong way down a one-way street. God has His finger on that guy now.

This morning

  • I drop my magazine in the bathtub.
  • There is a leaf dangling from the orange tree on 25th Street. It is twisting from a single strand of spider web.

11:06 a.m.


FIGHTIN WORDS

Many nations are realizing (that) when we say you’re either with us or against us we mean it, Bush said. There’s no middle ground when it comes to freedom and terror.

Switzerland, watch your back.

10:26 a.m.