Thursday, January 26, 2012

jN 26

12:02-12:22

The road to advanced jazz harmony is paved with honey-roasted peanuts.

He felt his pupils dilate and his head spin, wondering if his whole day would feel just like this. So far, a few hours in, there are no signs that it will cease. He downs a bottle of water, a breakfast sandwich, vitamins C and B12, and a free medium coffee. And waits. Lazy enough to start working on anything after noon. Stop kicking yourself. He writes this on a notecard and thumbtacks it onto some free space on the wall in front of him. When he sits at his desk he will see this and hopefully it might remind him that to feel guilty about every commitment dropped or lapsed would be a detriment. For instance, he made some goals about becoming a better guitarist. Someone who knows an awful lot of music theory and can conjure up a solo in any particular key. This requires daily dosage and he can't get anger with himself if he skips a day. This is like the exercise routine he planned to engage in for the term. Roommates and friends drinking pre workout and post work out protein shakes to build solid muscle. He is interested in a more natural pursuit of fitness, although he doesn't practice what he preaches. An irony here, he attempted a health kick, bought salad and carrots and bananas and a water bottle and vitamins and croutons and apples but got sick not 4 days after beginning. Something cruel here. He wants to believe that if his body is happy his mind becomes happy. He wants to believe whatever evils stir around in his skull can be tamed. If not, he is doomed. If not, he is doomed to become a cog in a great wheel of indifferent faces. All traveling in circles, a daily repetition, until replaced by someone younger and more agile, until he too is crippled by time and destroyed by the machinery. He thinks eating more spinach might reduce these thoughts. They find release in poetic expression, but he has never been good at poetry or much of anything artistic. Dust plays his guitar more than he does. His girlfriend, I mean ex-girlfriend, used to get so mad at him for being so paralyzed and inactive in the face of so many possibilities. Now he gets mad at himself because she is dead to him. He wonders numbly if it's better to be paranoid his ex is sleeping with his friends, or from her perspective, that he is sleeping with absolute strangers. Blonde ones at that. His sense of humor gets him in trouble sometimes but he doesn't change his ways. Often, he feels like a bad impersonation of himself. Like an undertrained actor portraying a well-known character and butchering every other line. No one believes the actor is anyone but the actor when seeing the movie. He can safely say he took command of his life enough to stop smoking cigarettes. They are bad for you. Bad for the singing voice he dreams about one day having. A beautiful singing voice. Beautiful in its darkness and proximity to pure emotional screaming. He wants simply to make his voice sound a little bit better so he can sing tighter harmonies, and eventually, if he ever becomes the artist he wishes to be, write his own important songs. Songs that jab at the hearts of the wicked and cheap. Songs that make honest love  birds feel. Songs that make cold nights warmer and also warm nights colder. Happy and sad songs. A whole spectrum of emotion. There are these dreams that he has. He tilts his head to the left a bit and zones out, seeing himself becoming this person. Then reality comes back to focus and he turns on the television.

---later----

"whoah buddy, how bout some lights or somethin'?"

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

jan 25

8:08am-8:28am

This morning, coughing up familiar red stuff, sneezing up strange orange-yellow stuff, of course I miss you. My windowsill is not big enough for two humans to share a black n' mild. Wood tip, passing slobber back and forth like ravenous dogs fighting over the final bone of a week old kill. I swallowed my headache and it hurt my throat for awhile. I drank a lot of tea, green, chamomile, roibous, and whatever makes up her sleepytime formula. And my sore throat crawled up to my nose, blocking passage of air with thick mucus. Secondary effect was that my gums hurt. Incredible soreness. It felt like my teeth were relocating themselves to different parts of my mouth on their own accord. I haven't, nor has an orthodontic surgeon, advised these movements. I had horrible visions of my teeth moving to the sides of my cheeks, roots and all. For the tooth to be removed I would have to have a chunk of my cheek removed with it. My jaw is sore from either the subtle movements of my teeth or from anxious grinding. Top and bottom like two pieces of sandpaper until a finely ground dust. Cough this up it gets to my eyes and now I have pink eye. Of course I miss you when I know you could alleviate most of these symptoms. My anxieties would diminish. I would get everything done I wanted to. Also a neck massage to reduce building tension, the tension that risks to explode my brain like a stack of dynamite. The pressure that builds the deeper towards the center of the earth you go. The pressure that reduces in the high Andes mountains of south america. The ones with the plane crash, cannibalism movie based in them. Always snow. Cocaine everywhere. Nose running red like high mountain river. Any slight movements in bed from my fat upstairs neighbor can be heard. Paper thin walls. A lot of things I'd rather not hear. Those lovebirds getting at it. What was your name again? Oh yeah. Cool. Put the bed half in the closet and a girl will grip the cross beam your nice shirts hang on and ride until all occupants of building complain about the noise. Heat up old coffee. Wipe the sleep dust out of my eyes. Turn on my brain. I dreamed about pastel colored houses and whirlpools. The creatures that hide 100 feet under a layer of ice. An ecosystem that has never experience the conditions of the world outside of their bubble. Americans wish to break through and discover, dying, the beautiful possibility of life down in these cold depths. There are creatures. Life will find a way. Or I dream about dying dogs and college kids who contemplate what type of folk song to write. Maybe this kid breaks up with his girlfriend and records a demo in time for a small concert at the same time. His vulnerability will be on display and after his set, in dark brooding complication, cute girls will come talk to him. I understand your songs, they speak to me. I fall in love with every girl who smiles at me. Hold your head up champ. These days are fantastic. You will look bad and sigh as you did not yet understand this fact. You are living a 20 year old dream. Many wish to be you now. And what's gotten into you? Do you understand that nearly 99% of the people you have ever known have to wear more than a t-shirt to be comfortable for their day? This is warm weather. It needs warm persona. Warm countenance. Warm aura. Don't mope. Sit and write, sure, but look happy at least. There is no time like now and fuck all that stuff about 'not fitting in'. This has been established. You will never fit in with the majority here. They are shallow and will never understand you. You are not superior though.... Find a comfortable niche where your anxiety disappears with time spent here. And time's up.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

jan 24

A taste adventure, deep in the Arizona wilderness. The darker sand usually tastes less dry. And the cacti shake their heads at our desperation, for they hold abundant water and could be deep fried and dipped into prickly pear sauce. Cactus fries. I slept 15 years last night. I dreamed about many people or things I once loved and they passed by me like cars on the freeway in slow motion. Infinite time to get a word out but I held my tongue and watched. Everything was in a police line up and I was supposed to make a decision. Who would remain and who would disappear. One I could make vanish. I want to forget some things I used to love. Some girl maybe. Some cat who ran away. No woman no cry. Simple messages. The fact I'm writing these words represents a contradiction, a confluence of motives, positive and negative. Writing is remembering. If I wished to forget about a person or a cat I would never write about them. This is impossible for me. What will benefit me?


What do I need to do to assert myself. I want to ride out into the sunset on horseback with my cowboy brethren. Gambling with guns and whiskey. Ten gallon hats. Blue jeans, boots and spurs. A lasso. In command of the time and the environment. I wouldn't abuse my power. I wouldn't hurt the innocent for fun. Okay. Well I have a pair of jeans and I drink enough whiskey. I gamble with emotions like a bipolar shock patient. A russian roulette table where red represents happiness and contentedness and black represents pure cosmic misery.

Yesterday the last remains of the superglue on my left thumb scraped off. This was from Halloween when I glued a fake spider into the corner of the elevator. It must have scared someone. But if it didn't the lingering glue has represented my failure.

Begin 20 minutes of writing every morning. 

Sunday, January 22, 2012

January 22nd

Sometimes I have visions of myself as a perfect model citizen. 'How does he do it?' they whisper to each other, astounded. I wear nice yet modest clothes. Nothing name brand or flashy, just clean. Lint-rolled. Conscious of appearance for reasons that no one could mistake as vanity. My jeans, when I wear them, are not ripped up at the 'cuffs'. They fit and I don't tread on them. On a rainy day I don't have to worry about my ankles getting wet due to my pants fitting over my shoes completely. Or I intervene with the problem and roll them up slightly. I wear colors that work together. Maybe there is something more innocent and beautiful in the fact I wear ripped up pants. I'm not sure.

Either way I'm smiling a wide knowing smile. I smile like I am conspiring with the world to promote positive social change. I'm the reliable, innovative man whose extensive knowledge of people and situations helps me to fit soundly in with any group of people, while at the same time standing out. In this vision, I have an aptitude for reading people that borders telepathy. Rivals clairvoyance. The word is TASTEFUL. I know what to say and I know how to say it. I help get things moving and am always available to assist friends launch their ideas. When my mind wanders, it wanders to the right places. The places where answers can be found. I can think on my feet. I am confident. In this vision I exude an air of confidence. I completely understand thick accents and know how to reply to make the other people feel comfortable. I have a mastery of how words are used in the English language. I never stutter. When I wave it does not look accidental or sardonic.

I spend time cultivating various talents. In this vision I am good enough at the things I love to share my talent with others. I can write beautiful poetry. I can write symphonies based on feeling alone, with no academic knowledge of music theory. I can paint naked portraits on sinking ships before a cold and imminent death tears us away from each other. I can focus on a single project until its completion before moving on to the next. I am an efficient perfectionist. I don't hinder myself by flirting with erroneous detail. I speak clearly without mumbling and when I speak off of my guard I still do not sound sarcastic. My self-esteem is high enough that is raises the hearts of all around me. Hey it's not so bad after all, thanks Nate for comforting me, they say. I can patiently listen. I can fix my broken skull candies. I have at least partial mechanical knowledge. you know. To know the things a modern man needs to know if he wishes to save some money. I do not squander money, in this dream. I am aware of my bank account balances and the compounding interest. I find loopholes in the system to make modest profit off of simple things. Counting cards. Stock market. Sending in stories to be published in literary journals, to be torn apart by bored critics who wish to release alcohol-withdrawal anger on some poor newcomer.

I usually imagine myself walking into some sort of high tech building where everyone knows who I am, as if I own a business or something. We have ethical concerns about how to run a business. I am in charge and I make damn sure that we never embezzle or steal or borrow unlawfully or work with shady individuals. I would implement a rigorous application process where the final test is to go out to brunch with me, in a casual suit without a tie. Because we have ethical concerns we will never come out on top. That is not what it is about. For me, it's about keeping my head, and my employees heads above water. The dark churning waters of darker temptations. My reputation precedes me and I always smell nice.

I eat healthy and fair trade products. My body is a biological example of the perfect body. I have a rare blood type and I donate regularly, directly at the hospital so it can save lives faster. My knuckles don't crack. (Where my dream, my image, my idealization of myself becomes troublesome is the fact that the majority of these things, to come true, require a certain commitment and a regularity, a set in stone schedule that I live by in order to achieve these goals.)

In the dream. This perfection. My aspiration. I am committed to every goal I can conjure up. Every little idea I execute to some extent. Simply to try out perhaps. If I like the rough draft then I can rewrite the script, revise the experiment, and try again with more gusto. More zest. I have myriad ideas. I realize these ideas and bring them straight from my head into reality. Once there I can hold meetings with esteemed colleagues to revise and edit the ideas. So many ideas. I have the courage to present ideas to board meetings. I have courage to ask women on dates and many of them are decently successful although I'm not in it for a lay. I could get laid if I wanted to, mostly based on how genuinely nice I am. Amiable. Amicable. They want to be around me and I try to dish out my time to all of those who are important to me. I never "try too hard." I always try just hard enough but tend to appreciate when a relationship simply falls into my lap. Some cosmic connection between a sovereign heart and my own. Something that snaps and scatters like a bottle rocket. In this dream I am given the decision to choose exactly who to hang out with regardless of where in the world they may be. I invite a teleportation agency perhaps. I have extensive knowledge of the universe and its inhabitants. I sleep well every night and wake refreshed every morning drinking coffee as a reward rather than an inclination.

I keep dreaming about this person. And if, one day in a mirror, I will be introduced to him. I'm trying but it seems I don't have enough hours in the day. This man is a stranger to me. He never procrastinates and always knows how to react to a situation. He has experience. Life experience. Genuine life experience and he doesn't cry when others need him to be strong but he has shoulders to cry on when he needs them. These reliable friends. The favors are reciprocal. He is organized, clean. Wastes nothing. Never wastes time. Wears a watch if he cares to know exactly what time it is. Mostly he operates on gut instinct because he is so incredibly tuned in to the world that every action seems to be catered to his way of operation. The world was made for him. Billions of years of evolution. Failed prototypes of human beings. He is the real thing. He is real, tangible. Radiant. There is a positive glow about him. He is god. He avoids conversation about religion but tends to nod towards the Eastern ways of thought. The Buddhist mantra. And of course, loving thy neighbor. Strangers in the street rush to greet him because he looks like such an interesting person to talk to. Strange and beautiful girls do not shy away into their phones or their oblivion as he walks by them. He is polite and obeys the rules of etiquette that he believes in. He does not say bless you when someone sneezes but says thank you if someone says bless you for him.

He is a walker and a talker. A go getter. A spark plug. The essential comic relief in any solid group of lifelong friends. He never tries to hurt any living creature. He will hurt himself to avoid trampling some poor cricket hopping across the sidewalk. He is a martyr to his beliefs. He has unconventional but realistic beliefs about the world but never shoves his opinion down anyone's throat. If someone insults him, he counters smartly but non combative. He always knows what to say and how to say it.

I make lists. Constantly lists. To bridge the gap between myself and him. To take those first steps. I would be a waste of existence. I must become the model citizen. The model citizen in my own eyes. Not what others project. They project bad things. Drugs and tasteless jokes.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

jan 17

Leave discouraging messages in fortune cookies. Call them misfortune cookies. Apply the same idea to the discarded message in a bottle. I have stared through the bottom of hundreds if not thousands of bottles and have never found a message of comfort. The prevailing message: to grab another beer. Brewskis with the broskis....

Roses with hands made of weeds wrap around the double neck of a poorly drawn guitar. There are two sages in the corners, casting dirty spells. Rum advertisement although I've never had the brand. Stumptown coffee roaster postcards, stolen accidentally from the location downtown near the food carts. Magazine tear out of Omar Rodriguez Lopez. My guitar in the corner below with a bandana wrapped around the top. The source of my power. A token from someone I once loved. These words seem dry. Erasing punctuation now because this is about the flow of ideas rather than correction english, the strings are old and truthfully i dont know who the bandana belongs to. it is kind of a table cloth rainbow design and has been tied around the top of 'chenae' for nearly a year. maybe it was the night she left her clothes in the hallway/kitchen and we exchanged horrible stories about our families, waking up naked without having even kissed. some confounding variable. something we never saw happening again because we tended to give into foul temptation other times, never more graphic than a comic book. beside the guitar on the wall to my left is a strange little lyrical poster i made with words from the song 'sweet talk' by dear and the headlights. this was made in the heat of some sort of passion. i must have been sad and stoned and angry at whatever i was drawing so i wrote straight over it. the failure of a bouquet enters the background. on notecards quotes from thoreau and palahniuk. above a giant grateful dead poster that defies easy description. to its right is a stolen poster of buddha in his meditative pose surrounded by a sort of symmetry attributed to a mandala. a tattoo possibility. a mandala. buddhism. big shit. not bad to remember to be nice to people and peaceful. bad expression of character to say i need a reminder like this. speakers on top of stacked drawers. top drawer full of odds and ends. passport and headphones. sometimes money and candles. this assumes the role a desk drawer would have. hand sanitizer. a buck knife. duct tape. cds and cd cases. a picture of my dad and i in the woods. near a river. wine and cheese and marijuana. a box from haiti with my name carved into it. there are fortunes inside of it. a tiny paper crane. toothpicks. a mug used to hold change and my wallet and my keys. behind me is a fear and loathing in las vegas poster. just above my head, the wall i am leaning against. in front of me are my feet on my desk and my window. the blinds are almost always closed because the sun blinds me if i sit here while it is out. in the dark i feel like i am being watched, backlit, while they are shrouded in darkness. whoever they are, the bastards. i have a semi-color-coordinated giant calendar on my desk. a lap top case that says ASU in the corner. a color coordinated agenda with full semester syllabuses fleshed out from here until may. my biological anthropology textbook. my art of the story, intro to fiction book. a gatorade bottle with water filled up halfway up the label. i broke my water bottle by accidentally freezing it and then trying to break the ice apart. ended up cracking the side open. a mug with my favorite cat printed on it. full of pens and crayons and a pair of scissors. dusty lamp with vibrating light. gluestick, erasor, and hand held pencil sharpener. bottom level of desk has the other textbooks and art supplies. a few old psychology todays. (lets call them psychology yesterdays). some printer paper. a power strip. a small trash can with vanilla scented trash bag. my backpack is on the ground. next to it, under the bed is a collage in progress on drawing paper. two different incarnations of buddha hang out on the headboard of my bed. watching over things. a white bandana is tied to the post for no symbolic reason. above it two more note cards. must not sleep. must warn others. above all of this is a huge american flag with three tacks because when i turned the fan on it made an almost sexual slapping sound because of the air pocket, other side of bed is my sisters first painting, shoes and fire and a river, on the wall to my right is my closet which has sliding mirrors. i can see myself now i wished to look over there. for some reason when i am singing or playing guitar i look to see what i look like. im sure if i was with a girl in this empty bed i would be equally curious. could i be camera worthy. inside closet. longboard, laundry, tiny fan, best dad ever sweater, suitcase, t shirts, ties, back heater, to right of closet, shelves. books and old homeworks, miscellaneous hats and painting materials, weird christmas gifts, a frisbee, linens and a cooler that may still have water balloons in it. its only use thus far. there is also a dreamcatcher on my ceiling. a weird retro absinthe poster. a small drawing of mount rainier. the door to my bathroom. and the door to the outside. i can see the fridge from the second door. the first door i can see my van gogh poster. that is all for now