Entries this day: Park YRUU zzz_out

Park

11:23am CDT Sunday 4 August 2002

This morning Marta and I walked around the nearby small lake with 1/8th mile markers all around it. The markers are lines of brick in the sidewalk and say "1/8th mile" on the right hand side when viewed from either direction. They all said 1/8th mile and bore no other specifically distinguishing marks that might allow a person to more easily count how many 1/8th miles have been walked.

After 4 or so 8th miles, we found a large wooden climbing thing with walkways and sturdy handrails and chains and poles - perfect for climbing all over. I followed Marta around for a bit in a game of follow the leader where anyone who steps on lava must go to the end of the line (short line with just two of us). While crossing a suspended bridge thing and leaping to a corner of the structure, Marta's foot touched the ground and I got to be the leader. She followed me along the shakey foot chains and even up to a different level, but was unwilling to go down then back up a slide and balance on the handrails throughout the structure.

We met a kid name Brandon, who looked to be about 3 years old. His dad would have lost follow the leader 100 times faster than Marta, but he wasn't playing so that's okay. Marta was standing on a table and Brandon was all, "you don't stand on tables" and I debated debating him that it was an outdoor table and the world is not as simple as you think and all that shit, but I chose not to. But I also chose not to step off the seat around the table even though "you don't stand on a chair" but instead climbed over to the fence surrounding the playground.

I wound my way along the fence while Brandon watched and presumably searched for a statement regarding climbing along walls, but he remained silent and soon was climbing on the wooden structure again.

My goal was to leap from the fence to the wooden swingset structure, but when I leapt it sorta cracked (the swingset support) so I aborted mission. I don't think I could have done it without touching lava even if it hadn't cracked, but I definitely didn't try again.

Balanced up on handrails with the goal of climbing all over this thing without using my hands. Did pretty well considering the handrails changed in height every few feet, and they weren't ridiculously sturdy (they were only fairly sturdy) and there weren't super great places to fall since the structure was so mazelike in its design. No big flat landing areas. Fortunately I didn't need to use any.

I tried to climb where Brandon couldn't see me and get some tall ideas in his mind quite yet. I touched the ground while dangling from the side of something trying to step up to a nearby fence or something.

Then I discovered a marble track type thing. It was metal ramps and pegs and a single marble (that I actually doubt was the original designed for the track) and lots of bits of wood and bottle caps and crap that stupid people put in there without regard to those who might want to play with it later.

I searched briefly for a stick and found none, but noticed some reeds about 50 yards away and jumped the fence (making sure Brandon couldn't see me) and ran over, found a stick, jumped the fence (again) and used it to clean out all of the bottle caps and most of the wooden bits that clogged the toy. I got most everything out so the marble would consistently make it down the whole thing. Totally awesome.

I was also totally sweaty having been climbing all over, running around, standing in the sun, so we headed back to the apartment for lunch.

YRUU

11:57am CDT Sunday 4 August 2002

Just finished our YRUU meeting at Plano. Had three visitors via Jordan: Sarah, Ayla, Amanda. David is on his way out; he wasn't at the lockin, but he was here tonight. Everyone else was at the lockin. Jackie was not here today.

We played a name game, and then Ten Fingers, and then two rounds of Mafia. I was a townsperson both times. Fun stuff. Jordan was God first and then Marta. Each time Mafia woke up, I pointed at different people or myself, but usually pointed to myself and mimed "no no no I'm an angel." One time I did The Chicken Dance, and once I did The Macarena. Twice, actually. It worked pretty well: A couple of times I could hear people laugh, which gave them away as mafia.

Now Marta and I are going to Dallas to hang with some of her friends and then I'm going to the Bibby's for a few days.

zzz out

11:38pm CDT Monday 4 August 2002

Just got to Bibby's after going out to Stan's Blue Note with Marta, Jenae, Cris (short for Cristy), and Cris's brother Mike. Mike is loud rude and funny. At least rude with his friends. They are incessantly calling one another motherfucker and ass and stuff like this over the phone: "fuck you fuckin' motherfucker I'm not buyin' I bought last three times. Okay, call me." That's just how they play, it seems.

Mike got Marta and Jenae each twice with "hey what's on your shirt?" or some variant thereof. He was all "I'm gonna get you three times tonight, watch." I left before their night was over; but he had gotten both of them twice. "One more to go, and I win."

"Win what?"

"Nothing; I just win."

"He wins the story," I interjected. "'Hey remember that night I got you three times?' That's what he wins."

He told me he'd get me, and I bet him five bucks he would not. I stood next to him intentionally to give him ample opportunity, but he never tried.

We played about four games of pool. One time the game was lost due to scratching on the 8 ball, and I pushed new quarters into the machine and then sank the remaining two balls (in exactly two shots; I was doing great compared to my regular ability) and realized, "oh fuck" when whoever was racking the balls was like, "we're missing two balls..?" Aw man. Three more quarters in to recover two balls.

I went up to the bar, requested and received three replacement quarters "cause the machine jacked us," which of course, was a lie of sorts, but the bar will get the quarters back anyway, plus Mike says he is here almost every night for the past 3 years, and dropped $2800 at the bar last month.

(And he asked me why I don't drink.)

Twice we played doubles: me an Marta versus Cris an Jenae. Twice Cris and Mike played. At the very end of Mike and Cris' second game, Cris was intent on sinking the 8 ball, then she would win. It was a weird angle so Mike was all, "I'll bet you twenty bucks you don't make it," even though a big sign directly above the table explicitly says "NO GAMBLING for money or beer. Violators will be kicked out." or something like that.

Cris only had ten bucks, so Mike said, "fine your ten against my twenty. And if you miss, I'll let you try again." She missed. She missed on the second try as well. On the third try, he was all "if you miss you have to clean my apartment for two weeks." She missed. Then he was all, "okay, double or nothing." but Cris refused to budge from her seat until Mike set up a pretty direct easy shot down the table. She went for that and made it. Zero weeks of cleaning the apartment.

We got bored of pool and went back to our valeted (past tense of valet) vehicles. I chose not to join them on their next adventures; didn't want to get to Bibby's too inconsiderately late.

Good night.