Away

2004-03-04 4:08 p.m.
So as I was saying, before I rudely interrupted myself with some of my usual senseless babble. This trip has been absolutely perfect. I left home to get away so I could open my head up a bit, and it turns out I�ve been beyond successful.

Friday night was gravy� Met some old dude at one of the only smoking bars I could find in SF. He ended up introducing me to a few heads and we got a few stories on. Then I got my rental to the garage asap, as I didn�t need to be driving it anymore. Not that I was too wasted to drive, as I�d only had 2 beers but I didn�t need to be at the wheel with breath smelling like brew.

So I dropped my car off at the hotel garage at like 2 am and decided to stroll for some eats. Not a block away� a tall lanky dude came up trying to grab my attention. I was in my own zone until he nodded..

him: �Can I get a square?�

me: �Er� uh, yeah�

him: �Where you from?�

me: �

him: �I�m just askin�

me: �Chicago, and now Brooklyn�

him: �Chicago!! Where the real gangstas come from�

me: �Uh yeah man, where can I find a burger round here?�

him: �Come on man lemme show you around�

me: �Umm.. I have any reason not to?�

him: �Hell naw, come on�

me: �Aiight man, no funny shit."

him: �Don�t worry, I�ma show you the food spot and the rest of the neighborhood... lets walk�

You see, the strange part started with the first question. I�ve never met anyone anywhere outside of Chicago who called cigarettes squares. I still do out of habit, but the rest of the world give me a funny look when I say it. I�ve trained myself to say cigarette when I�m not in Chicago. So hearing it threw me off instantly.

Then it got even more fun. This cat was a regular crack seller/smoker. 2 leg limp. Yeah 2 leg. Not the regular old one leg limp you practice when you�re young and tryin to be a pimp. Naa. 2 leg deep limp with a swerve. Go on, act it out� I�ll wait. You�ll love it.

So he proceeded in walking me through the neighborhood for about a good 8 to 10 blocks breaking down the whole local game. Who buys what from who, who�s whoring for who, what girls 'he' owns, how long so and so has been running that block over there and so on.. oh, and here�s that burger joint, and to the left here is a guy who is about to buy a rock from me right quick and to our right, a couple hos I had to let off the payroll. They waved.

I stopped him a few times to ensure nothing was about to jump off. No, I don't want a ho, not my style, I don't smoke shit, and I don't burn smoke from people I don't know. He assured me of no intentions and continued the tour. After a few blocks he went to grab a bag of smoke and I went back to grab my burger. Now mind you, this was NOT in some kind of terrible neighborhood. Seemed fairly nice� think it�s called nob hill or something. Just a bit surreal.

Next night with was dope. I went out and hit 5 stores looking for some shoes and a decent shirt so I could actually look presentable. No luck. I�m too fucking picky to do the quick shopping thing, and trying to find some nice shoes that I will actually like and fit a size 14 is just plain impossible. So I grabbed some plain white sneakers which were an improvement on my 2 year old grey (once upon a time white) sneakers.

Of course I was still largely underdressed. N. looked damn good, and was a sweetheart about not making a huge deal of it. Had a dope salmon dinner and a few drinks for change.. I think the bartenders hooked it up. Couldn�t hit the club due to my shitty attire so we hit the bar and talked. Then a trip to a chill spot to look over the bay. Beyond my inability to be visually pleasing for the evening, I would say the night went pretty damned well. Just another addition to a perfect weekend.

Finally, I get a call at noon the next day. The dude I wanted to meet up with, M, calls me up and asks for some help on a very well known project. I say hell yeah, and proceed to lend a hand. High profile gig with a high profile developer. Perfect ending.

And now in Chicago, it�s all smooth and comfortable as usual. Thousands of stops to see kids (not mine), spouses, old friends, new girlfriends, ex girlfriends, a couple breaking sessions and some turntable show-offery, and all the other shit that goes on over here. It�s impossible to find an internet connection out here though as I�m one of the few people I know out here with any computer savvy.

I ended up grabbing a wifi card and �wardriving�, which basically entails having my laptop scan for open wifi connections while I drive around the city. I�m sitting at one now as a matter of fact, on some side street on the north side.

I figured and found a lot of shit buried in my skull in the past week. That�s what I�m gone for. To clear my head and organize things a little better. And today is the perfect day for it. Raining and gray in a smooth riding 2003 Monte Carlo. All I need now is to turn off this laptop.