A few days ago, a buddy of mine was talking about how he didn't have any gas money to go home for the weekend. Of course, the first thing to come to mind were cans.
i had about $5 worth at the house and offered them to him, so long as he cleaned up the house a lil in the process.
He said he was gonna come on Sunday.
then Monday,
then Tuesday.
The house needed to be cleaned and the cans were in the way.
i'm sorry Tom but i returned the cans yesterday.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
"Insanity is like" a link roundup
Insanity is like the atmosphere,
an invisible barrier between us and space
and we are on earth.
Of course humans are naturally inclined to look up.
Once someone discovers the ability and comfort
of looking up rather than the neck-straining
action of hanging your head low.
one may start to leave a wandering head tilted towards the sky.
With curiosity,
for the stars,
celestial bodies, galaxies and the like
your head floats higher and higher.
Until it reaches the troposphere, the stratosphere, the ionosphere.
before you know it
your head's so high in the clouds,
people will mistake you for insane.
an invisible barrier between us and space
and we are on earth.
Of course humans are naturally inclined to look up.
Once someone discovers the ability and comfort
of looking up rather than the neck-straining
action of hanging your head low.
one may start to leave a wandering head tilted towards the sky.
With curiosity,
for the stars,
celestial bodies, galaxies and the like
your head floats higher and higher.
Until it reaches the troposphere, the stratosphere, the ionosphere.
before you know it
your head's so high in the clouds,
people will mistake you for insane.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Detachment and Dave
This weekend i collected cans, but not for myself. Let me explain.
It was Saturday night at 2 in the morning and i was outside a party with my friend’s older brother Tony. We were smoking a cigarette when a black man walks up to us with a shopping cart half full of cans.
The guy looked like he was hurting. He appeared about 40-50ish and was wearing a black skull hat, a worn out Carhartt, and filthy khaki pants. Although the clothing seemed sufficiently warm for the weather, he was missing teeth and his eyes rolled uncontrollably in their sockets. He had a limp as well.
The man stayed on the sidewalk with his cart and asked if it was alright if he could pick up the cans that were scattered across the front porch.
Tony didn’t make eye contact or answer him. This guy is from NYC, so i feel that he has a little more of a precautious attitude when it comes to talking to wandering strangers in the night.
So with Tony opting out of the conversation, i replied “of course, let me help you” and together we began collecting the mess of cans in the front yard.
Naturally, i was interested in this stranger, so we began talking. i mentioned how i was collecting cans for a blogging class but i don't think he knew what a blog was. Putting that topic aside, i asked him how often he can hunts, he said three days a week…
“Three days, that’s not too bad, how much ya usually make?”
“Well I s'pose I make ‘bout $300 a week.”
“Really?”
“Yea, yea. $300 a week.”
“Whoa, that’s pretty good money.” says the middle class college student who has a job and ignorantly looks at $300 as a good chunk of money.
“Well it’s not ‘nough fer me ta get ‘n apartment, but once my compensation check comes, Ima get $100,000.”
“Compensation man, for what?"
It was Saturday night at 2 in the morning and i was outside a party with my friend’s older brother Tony. We were smoking a cigarette when a black man walks up to us with a shopping cart half full of cans.
The guy looked like he was hurting. He appeared about 40-50ish and was wearing a black skull hat, a worn out Carhartt, and filthy khaki pants. Although the clothing seemed sufficiently warm for the weather, he was missing teeth and his eyes rolled uncontrollably in their sockets. He had a limp as well.
The man stayed on the sidewalk with his cart and asked if it was alright if he could pick up the cans that were scattered across the front porch.
Tony didn’t make eye contact or answer him. This guy is from NYC, so i feel that he has a little more of a precautious attitude when it comes to talking to wandering strangers in the night.
So with Tony opting out of the conversation, i replied “of course, let me help you” and together we began collecting the mess of cans in the front yard.
Naturally, i was interested in this stranger, so we began talking. i mentioned how i was collecting cans for a blogging class but i don't think he knew what a blog was. Putting that topic aside, i asked him how often he can hunts, he said three days a week…
“Three days, that’s not too bad, how much ya usually make?”
“Well I s'pose I make ‘bout $300 a week.”
“Really?”
“Yea, yea. $300 a week.”
“Whoa, that’s pretty good money.” says the middle class college student who has a job and ignorantly looks at $300 as a good chunk of money.
“Well it’s not ‘nough fer me ta get ‘n apartment, but once my compensation check comes, Ima get $100,000.”
“Compensation man, for what?"
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Heating that can: tools of the trade
As you may be aware, i have been using my mom's car to transport collected cans to the deposit station. Although it has been amazingly convenient, all good things come to an end; i suppose a better axiom would be "all good things in all good time." Good vibes circle in 360 degree waves.
With the looming anxiety of being car-less, and the relief of not having to deal with parking, i encountered an uncanny surprise outside my house last night.
While returning to my dwell-pad, i found a shopping cart posted right in front of my house. To those of you not in the deposit scene, finding a shopping cart on the streets is a stroke of luck; namely because it bypasses the need to borrow a shopping cart from a store.
i was with my roommate at the time and although i was quite enthralled upon this discovery, he was kinda apprehensive about the idea.
In a brief background check, one might say our landlord is not on amiable terms with us (we reached the 2nd strike mark a month into the lease and he probably wouldn’t appreciate the collectivity value of a shopping cart). So when i wanted to hide the shopping cart in the back of the house (so no one would reclaim it), my roommate contested it to be a bad idea.
Alright, i could defiantly see where he was coming from.
So instead of moving the cart to the back of the house, i moved it off to the side of our porch, out of the way of the sidewalk but still visible to anyone walking by. I angled it to look as if someone abandoned it there; hoping my landlord wouldn’t get wise to the antic.
That night i immersed myself in googled shopping cart pictures, to get a feel for the industry of course. Here are the top three pimped collecting machines that i 'm planning to use as a template for my own cart-whip.
"Your gonna need more powah Mcfly." A motor, off-road tires, and a shopping cart oh my!...bring it Biff.
This may be a little too intricate to try at home, but if this was abandoned in front of my house, i'd risk the landlord's wrath to keep it inside.
My personal favorite. Forgot your head phones? No worries, we got sub woofers
Monday, October 12, 2009
Recognized and Recognized
Often, we don’t see in layers; we scan the surface and lose interest. Last time i went to deposit cans, i saw in layers.
First, i was noticed by two men who were depositing as well. They had ragged clothing (dirty sweaters and ripped jeans) and glared at me, like they were staring at something new. Both were obvisouly from a different economic class and while the one guy was really friendly to me, the other was more taken aback. i began depositing bottles and saw the shyer one was waiting to use my machine for his handful of refundables. i took my ticket and offered to let him go ahead (because i felt bad that he would have to wait for me to finish). He hesitated a moment (?maybe he was unused too the politeness), but gave a nod of appreciation and began feeding his bottles into the machine.
i got thinking why this was, why they were acting so polite to me and realized that there was some underlying factor which, blatant from their expressions, set us apart. Aside from appearance (we probably looked equally unkempt) i had cans and bottles that were unrefundable. The other two guys only had cans they could return.
i must've looked goofy with my unrefundible bottles of Steel Reserve, Bud light, Arizona tea cans and Joose. This project was started because i wanted to throw myself into a new community, one that people don’t notice and don’t really pay any attention to. i got lazy, collecting cans at a house party is cheap, it is an excuse to stay in my comfort zone and undermines myself and my goals. Next deposit session, i will properly prepare for and venture to the streets for my collecting. i have also noticed that bottles are a waste of time; they’re heavy and take up more space than cans.
Although i’m disappointed in my progress to involve myself in another world, i feel good about what i’ve done so far. i have become more aware of my environment and more mindful of my place in it, which is the first step. One cannot be involved in a community without first being aware of its existence and simultaneously allowing the community to recognize your own existence. Last deposit trip i was recognized and i recognized.
First, i was noticed by two men who were depositing as well. They had ragged clothing (dirty sweaters and ripped jeans) and glared at me, like they were staring at something new. Both were obvisouly from a different economic class and while the one guy was really friendly to me, the other was more taken aback. i began depositing bottles and saw the shyer one was waiting to use my machine for his handful of refundables. i took my ticket and offered to let him go ahead (because i felt bad that he would have to wait for me to finish). He hesitated a moment (?maybe he was unused too the politeness), but gave a nod of appreciation and began feeding his bottles into the machine.
i got thinking why this was, why they were acting so polite to me and realized that there was some underlying factor which, blatant from their expressions, set us apart. Aside from appearance (we probably looked equally unkempt) i had cans and bottles that were unrefundable. The other two guys only had cans they could return.
i must've looked goofy with my unrefundible bottles of Steel Reserve, Bud light, Arizona tea cans and Joose. This project was started because i wanted to throw myself into a new community, one that people don’t notice and don’t really pay any attention to. i got lazy, collecting cans at a house party is cheap, it is an excuse to stay in my comfort zone and undermines myself and my goals. Next deposit session, i will properly prepare for and venture to the streets for my collecting. i have also noticed that bottles are a waste of time; they’re heavy and take up more space than cans.
Although i’m disappointed in my progress to involve myself in another world, i feel good about what i’ve done so far. i have become more aware of my environment and more mindful of my place in it, which is the first step. One cannot be involved in a community without first being aware of its existence and simultaneously allowing the community to recognize your own existence. Last deposit trip i was recognized and i recognized.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Snap: unbalancing peace prize nobility
So last night was my 21st birthday. Things were very colorful (particularly) before i started drinking and mostly black after. No...i was not on the can budget, but do you blame me?
This morning, my stomach sounds like a song from Explosions in the Sky. i have build-a-bear at 4ish(?) and a long night of budget-worthy-$12-a-liter Captain Tequila after. Thank God for balancing songs and beautiful women.
update: JESUS OBAMA CHRIST, SOMEONE GAVE HIM A NOBEL PEACE PRIZE??
i'm bloody FUMING. As you know, i work at build-a-bear and lately i've gotten into the habit of talking poltics with the kids' parents...i hope i don't get too preachy.
unbalanced.
This morning, my stomach sounds like a song from Explosions in the Sky. i have build-a-bear at 4ish(?) and a long night of budget-worthy-$12-a-liter Captain Tequila after. Thank God for balancing songs and beautiful women.
update: JESUS OBAMA CHRIST, SOMEONE GAVE HIM A NOBEL PEACE PRIZE??
i'm bloody FUMING. As you know, i work at build-a-bear and lately i've gotten into the habit of talking poltics with the kids' parents...i hope i don't get too preachy.
unbalanced.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Canning that heat: lotto gamble
i just deposited some cans yesterday (it was a very crazy experience this time, but i'll write on that tonight). i made $6.50 and bought a $1 lotto ticket.
i haven't scratched the ticket yet because i'm planning to do it on my birthday tomorrow, hopefully i'll get some extra luck from it.
update: The lotto ticket was a dud.
i haven't scratched the ticket yet because i'm planning to do it on my birthday tomorrow, hopefully i'll get some extra luck from it.
update: The lotto ticket was a dud.
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