Hunter S. Thompson Feb. 8th, 2010

So I revisited some of my favorite movies recently.  Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and SLC Punk.  I have found myself wondering what life is truly about, since there are other writers out there or preceding my existence with the same self-indulgent attitude.  The type of personality is not uncommon, someone who lives a life of excess.  A life without boundaries, without rules, without restrictions, but most of all without a strong grasp of reality. 

I was in my office (aka the bathroom) at school the other night, and someone began pounding on the door.  The man with the black shoes began yelling about me reading in the stall while I did my business.  Although I wasn't reading anything, in fact I was wiping my ass.  This guy left the bathroom after I asked him if he was on drugs.  He then re-entered pounded on the stall one more time at which point I said what is your malfunction soldier.  He yelled at me saying he was calling security.  I yelled back and told him to go ahead, just stick around after security arrives because when I get out of the stall I am kicking his ass.  He huffed and puffed and left.  Of course when I came out of the stall, he was no where to be seen.  I did see a security guard though, but that doesn't mean the guy actually called, and he didn't say anything to me.  Not to mention I have no idea what the guy looked like, and he never saw me.  I just remember the black shoes.  Now I cannot go around beating up everyone wearing a Payless shoes pair of cheap dress shoes.  However I could wander around campus and ask the question of "Where were you on this day at this time?"  And if the man is truly man enough to say it was him, I could give him a good shot the family jewels coupled with an uppercut to the chin.  But I digress, that would be illegal...And we know I only commit crimes against myself, not others, at least not anymore.

As for life itself, I am back in Hawaii.  I spent my Christmas break on the mainland.  I went home to my father's house for Christmas.  I enjoyed myself thoroughly for the first week.  I got bored fast though.  So I decided to go to South Carolina on a road trip because my roommate Alex said there was a shot named after him called, Fuck You Alex.  I wanted to try it, so I figured it was as good a place as any to spend my New Year's Eve.  However, I made a phone call to my Marine buddy.  I was told of a road trip to Boston.  So I gave my mother back her car and jumped on board to Boston instead of South Carolina.  Maybe next time I will go there and have that shot. 

So on New Year's Eve I found myself driving as a co-pilot to Cleveland.  Arriving in Cleveland was fun.  I drank Casa Nobles Tequila, and it was delicious.  We stayed at another Marine's house in the ghetto of Cleveland.  I felt like an alien, being the only white boy there.  Tashera and Tajid (siblings) are Jamaican, and it was cool.  We got dressed up for New Year's and the original plan was downtown Cleveland, but on the way there a radio advertisement came over the radio for a local bar.  We arrived and there were 6 of us.  Everyone but me avoided the hole full of water, so my right foot when ankle deep into a slush filled pothole.  My converse was immediately covered in mud, slush, water, and snow.  So we went to the bar, but the weird thing is the first bar we passed had all white people in it, and the bar we were going to was Sweetheart's next door.  That bar was all black.  Since I was the only white boy in my group, I took a deep breath and followed my new found friends into the bar.  I was Eminem, and I partied like color didn't matter.  Of course, the many gangsta looking motherfuckers looked at me crazy at first, but shrugged it off since I acted like there was no difference, I mean we all bleed red right?

I gathered some champagne, made some toasts and counted down with the bar.  By 1 AM, I was hammered standing out front smoking a cigarette.  Then I stumbled into the white bar next door.  That was an interesting time, I grabbed a stool in the corner and ordered some JD and Heineken.  There I sat falling asleep at times, and then the rest of my party joined me in the white bar. Now they were the different people.  Some of the barflies started buying me drinks and wanted me to tell about my life in Hawaii.  After finishing off another 8 drinks, I almost threw up, but didn't.  I held it down like a champ.  I stumbled to the car, and passed out in the back seat.  My buddy ended up in the front seat since the white bar kicked out my friends after I left.  I guess color blindness doesn't work from white to black, even though I was accepted in both bars, the same didn't apply for my friends in the white bar.  It was a strange night.  So I was told that there were two black guys tapping on the back window of the car.  They asked my buddy if I was alright.  The response was he is fine, just drunk.  I guess they looking through the window like I was an animal at the zoo.  The conversation would have been like this...

"Hey look at the white boy"  "Is he dead?"  "He looks dead."  "Damn, he's fucked up!"

We ended up at IHOP since it was the only place open at 4 AM.  It was bitter cold, and the six of us waited an hour for a table.  I ordered the most food, a breakfast plate, and a steak sandwich.  The bill was 75.00.  Of course I had to negotiate a tip from my party.  That was a difficult task.  The snow began to fall by 5 AM as we were heading back the crib.  Tajid had to work that day, I admire his work ethic, he partied all night and dropped us off and then headed to work.  We went upstairs and passed out.  I called Claudia in Germany and then fell asleep.  By the time we awoke around noon. 8 inches of snow had fallen.  The snow kept falling throughout the day, so I suggested to my buddy we hit the road.  We decided to head Southeast towards D.C. since there was a good amount of snow falling from Cleveland to Boston.  So we detoured to D.C.  We said our goodbyes, and hit the road.  I took the wheel and headed south, and about an hour out of Cleveland the snow stopped.  We tried to hit Pittsburgh, but I missed the exit, and the snow had started up again in the Appalachian Mtns.  The next part of the story involves a little town called Somerset, PA.  Where the Wendy's sign said, "Happy Birthday Jesus", which meant we had left the Liberal land of color for the Bible Belt Conservative nation known as Palinland.  I will finish this blog later, but the story gets better...

Some highlights that I will write in the near future is D.C., Atlantic City, Hoboken NJ, NYC, and Boston.  It was quite an adventure, not to mention returning to Chicago to see some friends I haven't seen in a decade, like Bobby G, Steve Thomas, Jason Barsanti, and some new friends, like Steve's fiancee, Jason's fiancee, and Bob's neighbor Angel.  Wild times the Kalifornia Dave way, and the times only get better. 

We live in a world with endless possibilities, a world where my rules and personal laws play a huge role in how my life is pursued and lived daily.  Why is the world so uptight and structured, shouldn't everything be done in moderation, including moderation?  That last part was Einstein, and yes he was as smart a man as Hunter S. Thompson, just a bit more reserved.

you will be hearing from me again real soon.

Enjoy life, while you got it!