Fuck...

~ 7:13p ~ Admittedly, I haven't gotten a whole lotta use out of the DVD player since having this car, but it sure comes in handy when your waiting for roadside assistance, smh. I'm currently watching 'Hustle & Flow' as I wait on these peoples to come change this tire. Last weekend I cleaned out the trunk, but neglected to put my tool bag (the 1 with the all important tire-iron in it) back into the trunk - so of course, I 'd catch a flat in less than a week of driving without my tools, smh.

It's still pretty much the heart of rush-hour, so who knows how long I'll be here. Talk about God having his own ways of slowing you down, lol. Glad I'm not hungry... I was actually on my way to a function I consider rather important though. I figure I'll still make the tail-end of it, but damn - I really did want to be there for the entirety of the program.

Couple of kats in a wrecker just pulled up & tried to see if they could get some coins outta the kid, actually woulda taken 'em up on their offer if I had some real cash on me - so it turns out fate just screwed me again, lmao. $45 bucks would've gladly been surrendered to get to this event sooner. Oh & guess how much emergency cash I used to keep stashed in my previous ride? Yup, $50... think I'd like to scream right about now, lol. I'll certainly be getting back to that practice very soon to avoid this again.

I'll say 1 thing about my roadside assistance provider, they keep callin back w/ status reports & shit, so at least somebody's actually awake on the other end, I guess. I really hate having to wait on help for something I can absolutely fix myself :-/ But it beats having no power, gas, or climate control - so I'll stop my bitchin' right here, lol. I'm approaching my favorite part of the movie anyway so I'm really not all that conscious of how time has passed. "Whoop that trick!"

A good samaritan pulled-over not long ago. So... good people still exist, eh? Maybe anyway... he kinda had violent, sexual deviant written all over him, so perhaps he was just hoping he'd rolled-up on some possible action, lmao. Needless to say, I sent him on his way. Shit... now I've gotta piss. I'll give it another 20 mins, then I'll be pissin off the side of this highway (it's okay, I'm a stranded motorist, lls).

~ 8:03p ~ okay, just got the call. Supposedly, the guy is about to pull-up on me in as sec...

~ hol-up, there dem peoples go ~

~ currently posted safely on the other side of the car, holdin lugs, while dude braves the rush-hour traffic whipping by us, along side Interstate 495 ~

~ yea, let him earn that bread, while I continue to blog, lol ~

~ it appears dude has his girl ridin' along with him, she's posted in the passenger seat of the truck, guess she's literally a ride or die chick ~

~ dude has got like 4-5 different hustles currently goin-on, think I'll definitely be taking advantage of this highly unorthodox networking session, lol. I meet the most helpful folk, in the strangest of circumstances ~

~ he's just about done, I'll edit & post later tonight ~ 


~ *Update*/ 11:11p ~ so the event ended at 9, I got there at 8:50, lmao. But it's cool, still somehow managed to accomplish what I set out to do this evening, even tho I missed the entire event itself. As a bonus, turns out I didn't even scrape any part of my rim (during the quarter-mile or so I had to drive on a completely flat tire to find a safe place to pull-over). Looking back, I think it's pretty hilarious that my biggest fear through-out the entire ordeal was a scraped rim (lol). All & all, no complaints - another day in the life... now I'm home, watchin' Person of Interest, just can't get enough of Ms. Taraji P. Henson :-D

Hit the Ground Running...

Last month I officially got back into my jogging routine & after the 1st few tough runs, I finally felt like I was back into the swing of things? This month I even started tracking my runs again, using the RunKeeper app I discovered for my phone last year. Not sure why I'd stopped tracking each run in the 1st place (perhaps I was a bit ashamed of myself for getting out of my normal routine, idk-lol).

I broke in some new footwear in April, very pleased with 'em. More-or-less a New Balance/Vibrams hybrid running shoe, they feel really light & seem to conform to the shape of my feet (I believe they're called 'NB Minimus,' or something to that effect). I try to run 3-4 times a week & it feels sooooo good each week I'm able to accomplish that task - I've got my 2nd 5k race coming up later this month, another race in mid-July & just today, a good friend hipped me to a 5k zombie obstacle course run in late-October. That should be fun, terrifying & exhausting - I'm really looking forward to that one!

Im general, I'm an independent worker by nature & I'm very comfortable with that, so it puzzles me why it took such a long time for me to get into running. I absolutely hated the idea of participating in track & field while involved with other sports as a youth, but I'm so glad I've come across what has become such a therapeutic release for me over the past 2 years.

Whenever I run, it seems I'm able to tune-out the noisy world, including the people in it & whatever it is I think they currently owe me, lol. So my recent return to the roadway actually comes at a great time for me. This is the time of year when I typically remove myself from the social scene & go underground for a bit to re-focus/analyze myself. This year's round of self-analysis has been productive so far... I've tightened up some really loose ends, now I'm on my way!

Though I ran far less this past winter, I didn't stop flagging good music to listen to while jogging. Thusly, I've managed to create several themed playlists to run to - as a general practice, I take the various music playlists I create VERY seriously, so I'm glad I made note of certain songs & artists for such purposes. I think I'll go with my 'hype mix' when I run this evening (today's Vitamin B dosage has me sittin at my desk jittery & really amped to run, lol).

Thinking of You...

Hey VAM,

While sitting at my desk a few hours back, I couldn't help but constantly think of you on your birthday - so fuck-it, I left. Now I'm back in my car after having just visited your grave for a bit. I played Erykah's "Gone Baby, Don't be Long," a moment ago - never seemed more appropriate than now.

I know it was one of your favorite songs from her. Now I'm playing John Mayer's "Gravity," we both loved that one! Interestingly, this one's appropriate too - but you know all about that, lol. As far as the news goes, Teacy's having a baby girl any day now, & guess what she's gonna name her??? Anise!

She's gonna know so much about the woman she's named after, I'll make sure of it! Oh & Shaun is still VERY much in love with being a daddy. From what I can see, he's a good one too - you'd be proud of him. He's doing all of the right things. Avril seems to be doing well. We don't communicate often, but from what I can tell, she's enjoying life, so I'm happy for her!

Speaking of the old gang, most of us will be gathering for your birthday dinner tonight. We still haven't missed a dinner since keeping the dinner reservations you set just days before your passing 2 years back. So that'll make tonight our 3rd birthday dinner in celebration of your life, doesn't seem this new tradition will change anytime soon, but your friend's birthdays were always so important to you, so I'm all for keeping the dinners going.

Over the past few days at home I kept glancing across the bedroom at a letter I'd avoided opening since Christmas. I certainly never intended to wait so long, but later tuned into the next day, the next day became next week, before I knew it, a month had passed & well... life happened. This morning I opened it.

The letter was from your mother, each time I looked at the letter over the past 3 months, I'd notice your mother's handwriting - its very similar to your own penmanship, perhaps that's part of the reason I found it so difficult to open. It was a Christmas card she'd personalized to both my brother & I.

In case you're wondering he's doing ok, he tries not to show how your sudden passing affects him still, but it's rather clear to me - he misses the hell out of you, we both do! I'll be sure to touch base with your mother in the coming days - perhaps I'll give her a call today.

As for me my dear friend, I struggle daily with your leaving. Though I know you'd very much disapprove, it's made me a cold & rather impatient person. Sometimes I can't help but to think you took a part of me with you when you had to leave, it certainly feels that way - haven't been the same since.

But I'm trying... it's difficult to replace even half of all the love you showed me over the years as my friend, & I doubt I'll ever come close in that regard - but again, I'm trying... to be strong, to keep an open & receptive heart, to see beyond the short-comings of people, shit - just to be more like you.

I love you VAM, always have, always will - Happy 31st.