23 RIMS AND TIRES

Better Days, by The Goo Goo Dolls

I don't know how to make what I want clearer. You know, I know, we all know at this point. It's role reversal of last year, swear to god. I'm not really a fan. I liked my role better, but can't I be this year, and you can be the last?

It honestly doesn’t matter how tired I am. Last night I was so exhausted from studying bio all night. To the point where I couldn’t think straight, and it wasn’t doing anything to stare at my notecards for any longer. So I went to bed. Want to know what I did? Stared at my ceiling for an hour and a half. But you’d never know. People are so caught up in themselves to realize their surroundings.

I’ve never been one to sit in the back, especially not for this class. Morning just kind of flew by. Whole day did, truthfully. Bio seems to go a hell of a lot faster when you’re taking a test. Staying after school for an hour seems to go faster when taking a test. English seems to go faster when you actually like the book. French just goes over my head, honestly.

Can we at least fake it? Fake knowledge, fake understanding, fake participation.

I’m the biggest supporter of the truth, but some cases cause for a little bending of the truth.

She’s such a threat to me, even though I know I’m better than her. I know I’m just an all around better person. Why are we so willing to forgive someones flaws so easily? Why are we able to overlook the facade?

Took pictures, did math, did art, drank tea, and watched One Tree Hill. A good evening, by far.

I’m getting you back into my life, but I don’t know how to make it clear it isn’t that far. It’s an immediate trigger for me when people are jealous. I’m not that type of person. I’ve had bad experience trying to deal with jealousy, so I just distance myself from it. The minute you let it slip that you were jealous of a friendship, I was done.

Insert things I’d like to say, but can’t. I need to remember I have an audience, and I never know who’s decided to show up for todays showing.

Dear fake photographers of flickr: stop adding fake bokeh to your photos. It’s cheap, trashy, and shows that you rely on editing to make your photos look good. I’m sorry, but at least put the bokeh where it would naturally go.

You can't tell from this image, but this guy was about 6" - 8" in diameter. I'm not exaggerating.

After 4 days of trekking through the Andes to Machu Picchu, I spent an extra night in Aguas Calientes so I could have an extra day to explore the area. My hotel was up hill about a mile from the center of town. I had spent the afternoon drinking with my fellow trekkers and was somewhat saddened that I was the only one who was staying on an extra night. Drunk, ragged, tired, smelly and weighted down with all of my gear, I hauled myself up to my hotel.

This guy was waiting for me in the bathroom.

I needed a shower so badly I didn't care.

Knowing that my Spanish was not going to be good enough to explain to the attractive, young Peruvian girl at the desk on the overnight shift I took a picture to show her. She gasped a "what do you want me to do about it?" smile that translates beyond any language barrier and transcends any cultural differences.

I flashed my best, "I know, but I'm tired, drunk and just want to be taken care of," shrug.

She came upstairs with me and shreiked when she saw the thing on the shower door. She went down the hall, returned with a broom and dust pan and took care of it for me. I had such mixed feelings of entitlement and inadequacy, all tempered with extreme gratitude.

The next day as I was wasting time in the town square before my train back to Cusco, I ran into her with a bunch of her friends. She made me take out the camera to show them the spider. One of them was a tour guide and naturalist who spoke English very well. He told me I was right in getting rid of the spider because it was poisonous and had no business in a hotel.

I took them both out for lunch and drinks. She got smashed on a single glass of wine. He was grateful I taught him the phrase, "cheap date," and resolved to use it with his next tour.

Travel begets good stories . . .