Entries this day: skate_and_imax

skate and imax

11 July 1998

Each day this week, I've been working at the New Warrior Lodge. (see Men In Mission for details) The biggest thing we did this week was mail out a couple hundred directories of men who have completed the training. The coolest thing about the work is I get a hug each time I come in to the "office" and I don't have to wear shoes.

Today after working at the Lodge, I did email and caught up with a lot of messages and updated the two youth group websites that I maintain, and actually updated the front page of a third youth website.

I was stir crazy (whatever that means) and decided to go skating. I skated to the bank and deposited a check and went to Walgreen's and got some solution for my contacts. That took only 10 minutes and I wanted to skate more.

So I dropped of the contact solution at my apartment and went back to the intersection of Taft and Allen Parkway.

It's been totally hot as hell... like around 100 degrees, so I was sweatin' like crazy just getting near the intersection.

Panting, I watched the traffic light down the hill from me. I counted off the 60 seconds until it was time for me to race down the hill to the intersection. I got to 40 and the light turned green... waitasecond! I was expecting it to not change yet..

So I stopped and recalibrated my timer.. I needed to count only 30 seconds. Okay, fine.

I skated back to the fire hydrant which is my starting marker. The traffic moved, indicating when I started my mental timer. 1...2...3...4... all the way up to 30 and

go go go go go go go

down the hill and the light turned green perfectly on time and zoooom across the intersection to the first median and I paused there. None of this instant across the street .. wait it's a big enough gap, so I zipped across the last 4 lanes and to the safety of the sidewalk. Too easy.

"Too easy!" I yelled. "Too too easy."

It was not so easy getting back across.

Like a caged beast, I paced up and down the sidewalk, looking for a break in the rush hour traffic. Up the sidewalk.. nothing but cars whizzing by at 50 to 60 miles per hour.

Down the sidewalk and nothing but cars whizzing by at 50 to 60 miles per hour.. It was the ultimate game of Frogger.

and then I saw it, a break in the traffic and I skated off the curb into the first lane and then zip a car changed lanes, closing off my chosen path. Back onto to the curb I stepped.

Back up the sidewalk, looking for my moment to cross.

Back down, and finally on the back up again pass, I found it and zipped across to the median. Yeah.

From the median I zipped across the remainder of the street and up to my starting point again. Well maybe not zipped... I was plenty hot and just ambled my way up.

I had to do it again.. that first time had just been too easy.

From the fire hydrant I counted off 30 seconds. Many cars and a two pickup trucks were now in line at my light. I reached 30 seconds and began my race down the hill.

Down between the two lanes of cars I cruised, hoping that they wouldn't squish me as they got to move.. I changed my concern, though, as the light seemed to take spectacularly long to turn green, so I hoped simply the light would turn green for me.

Just at the moment of abort, green and I zipped into the intersection before any of the cars began to move. Aww yeah.

To the median I sped and stopped there.. didn't even try to go all the way across. I had to get back home for a shower before meeting Wende, Maggie and John for dinner at La Jaliscience.

I ambled across the street and up the hill even more slowly and was so totally sauna-style hot and sweaty by the time I got back to my apartment..

Took a shower, starting with pretty warm water so as to not send my body into shock.. slowly cooled it down till the hot water was totally off and I was basking in only cold water.

Out of the shower and I was still hot, but had recovered by the time Wende and I got to the restaurant.

(it's 11:30pm and I'm about to go to bed so I'll be quick)

John couldn't make it, so we called Eric and he said he would join us and then John showed up and then Eric showed up so all five of us ate and chilled and John decided to not join us for the IMax movie.

I rode with Maggie in her new red Ford Mustang soft top convertible and we chilled at the museum until the movie.

AMAZON was the IMax movie, and the images were incredible, reminding me how much I really wanna go there.. especially seeing a railroad track wind around the sides of mountains!! Totally wild. The storyline they added was pretty hoaky, but oh well.

Movie ended and we came home and here I am.

I've decided to sleep outside on the top of the back staircase of my apartment building.. just because I can.

good night.