update: patriotic

the fireworks here were magnificent. I’ll post a picture when I get a minute. I’m sitting here on my terrace, enjoying the warm summer night and relaxing. It feels quite good, aside from the blaring music echoing off the buildings from someone’s apartment below…trance with all treble and no bass just seems to be missing something.

I went to the dirty jerz yesterday and had a memorable ride back courtesy of NJ transit. I took the last bus back to the city and felt like I was a child riding the school bus. Truth be told, I never rode the bus as a kid and managed to avoid every being on a bus to my knowledge until sometime in the summer of 2000 in Rome. That is a story for another day—Imagine gypsies.

Anyways, I caught the bus around 12:30 or so and it is only sparsely filled, people get on people get off, but the capacity always seemed to stay the same. This middle aged woman gets on a few stops after me and is immediately yelling at the bus driver. I can’t understand her. A few more people get on around the Meadowlands and sit right near me. Then the fun begins. The bus driver starts yelling, “ma’am you can’t drink on the bus!” and she starts yelling back about how she’ll do what she damn well pleases. The people (adults) get in on the action and start yelling and ducking behind their seats at the same time. “Let her drink, she ain’t driving the bus” and a variety of other amusing things. Then the bus driver pulls over on the side of the road at no particular stop, and turns on the lights in the bus. “Who’s talking?” Responses from anonymous passengers fly like rain in the summer on the subcontinent and finally he gives up. The bus is a raucous mess of laughter and obscene shouts.

We get to the Port Authority and when I disembark I see the woman at the center of the commotion, she is drinking a cup of coffee.

Can someone please explain to me why, now that we have provided Iraq with a free and democratic society and legal system, the trial of Saddam Hussein is being censored? I’m curious.

In other news Jickiss kindly informed me that my dire financial situation is my own personal great depression. Quite true and keep in mind that one day when I tell the story of my colorful and exciting life that everyone wants to hear/read/see I am going to embellish upon this time like no other. I am going to come from nothing—it is a much more sympathetic story line.

Finally, apartment search 2004 is nearing fruition, it has been narrowed down to 2 candidates and I’m going to hold moderated debates over the next couple of days to see which has a better vision for the future.