May 15th: town bike ride and mosquito concerto
[ posted by mcdeviltoast ]
Day 241
The weather broke for half the day, so Mike, Heather, and I went on a bike ride around town, Mike ahead, then behind, launching off whatever he could to achieve some air. We rode into an older section of town that gave way to a garbage-stewn stream likely teeming with mosquitos. Nearby, an odd scene of a handful of goats under the watchful eye of a Sharpe. We headed back to more developed roads and by the time we completed half a circuit our sunshine had taken an extended coffee break behind an overcast curtain.
I stopped by the post office to ship a box to my parents, and despite having shipped four boxes of Pocky not even two months ago, I was told this time I could not ship snacks. It's not like it's fruits and vegetables, these are processed favored crackers sealed and all. Captain Combover had woken up with red tape in his pomade and decided to take it out on everyone else. A guy with a vest came out, clearly outranked Combover, and said we could, then recanted a minute later. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I will not miss this about China.
Whatever form they were shoving in our face about "food bioterrorism" dated 2003, they still shipped foodtsuffs not two months distant. And it wasn't taht they just don't do it, they said it was possible in Shanghai where they have the "right stamp." China adores its red stamps, as they legitimize everything. Perhaps if I'd stamped the snacks, all would have been kosher.
Next we headed to the DVD shop, and then realized we hadn't eaten lunch. A quick trot up to the sausage noodle place revealed they had none of the regular variety. I opted for the spicy meat noodles and they were more spicy than meat. Delicious once the pain subsided.
The wind picked up a bit and I needed to change clothes so Heather and I rode back to my flat, then I went to the arts building to practice. Because the windows had been left open, mosquitos were having their annual ball in there. I would stop songs to smash a bunch between two music books. I abandoned my jacket (since the buggers are fond of dark colors) and they nauseatingly hovered and danced above it like some gravitron for insects.
I ran out of daylight and patience, cut the set short. We biked over to the hotel to join Erin, Matt and the rest of the crew. They had chicken sandwiches, but they curiously didn't have the dressing. After a few exchanges with our server guy in which he brought over butter and then jam, he informed us "may yo." The scariest part is this is a 5 star hotel.
We stopped by a mom-n-pop on the way back, got some Pop Rocks (chocolate covered, anyone?) and watched the remake of "The Manchurian Candidate." I found it neither better nor worse, both films are flawed in their own special way, but the story and concept are compelling enough to forgive them little logistical flaws and narrative gaps.
Managed to work in some sleep between coughing fits.
The weather broke for half the day, so Mike, Heather, and I went on a bike ride around town, Mike ahead, then behind, launching off whatever he could to achieve some air. We rode into an older section of town that gave way to a garbage-stewn stream likely teeming with mosquitos. Nearby, an odd scene of a handful of goats under the watchful eye of a Sharpe. We headed back to more developed roads and by the time we completed half a circuit our sunshine had taken an extended coffee break behind an overcast curtain.
I stopped by the post office to ship a box to my parents, and despite having shipped four boxes of Pocky not even two months ago, I was told this time I could not ship snacks. It's not like it's fruits and vegetables, these are processed favored crackers sealed and all. Captain Combover had woken up with red tape in his pomade and decided to take it out on everyone else. A guy with a vest came out, clearly outranked Combover, and said we could, then recanted a minute later. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I will not miss this about China.
Whatever form they were shoving in our face about "food bioterrorism" dated 2003, they still shipped foodtsuffs not two months distant. And it wasn't taht they just don't do it, they said it was possible in Shanghai where they have the "right stamp." China adores its red stamps, as they legitimize everything. Perhaps if I'd stamped the snacks, all would have been kosher.
Next we headed to the DVD shop, and then realized we hadn't eaten lunch. A quick trot up to the sausage noodle place revealed they had none of the regular variety. I opted for the spicy meat noodles and they were more spicy than meat. Delicious once the pain subsided.
The wind picked up a bit and I needed to change clothes so Heather and I rode back to my flat, then I went to the arts building to practice. Because the windows had been left open, mosquitos were having their annual ball in there. I would stop songs to smash a bunch between two music books. I abandoned my jacket (since the buggers are fond of dark colors) and they nauseatingly hovered and danced above it like some gravitron for insects.
I ran out of daylight and patience, cut the set short. We biked over to the hotel to join Erin, Matt and the rest of the crew. They had chicken sandwiches, but they curiously didn't have the dressing. After a few exchanges with our server guy in which he brought over butter and then jam, he informed us "may yo." The scariest part is this is a 5 star hotel.
We stopped by a mom-n-pop on the way back, got some Pop Rocks (chocolate covered, anyone?) and watched the remake of "The Manchurian Candidate." I found it neither better nor worse, both films are flawed in their own special way, but the story and concept are compelling enough to forgive them little logistical flaws and narrative gaps.
Managed to work in some sleep between coughing fits.
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[ posted by mcdeviltoast @ 5/15/2005 12:29:00 AM ]
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The dumbtronica act Montana & McDeviltoast, along with their friends, keep each other updated on their activities. Much fun having by all, and Pockys fear for their lives!