lego of my ego: June 2007

Manhattan Island Marathon Swim

It's safe to say the the only way I'll ever be swimming 28.5 miles is if my ship capsizes.

9 Hours of Swimming
Emily B. Hager & Kate Torgovnick, NY Times, 6/14/07

"The worst part of it is that it's, it's nine hours swimming. The best part of it is that it's nine hours swimming."
~Allan Morrison

"The Harlem River could be really nasty. It's like the worst puddle that you can ever imagine in the spring when the snow's melting. If you added like a million cigarette butts to that and old pairs of underwear. That's, that's the Harlem River and you swim through that for two hours."
~Jonathan Farber

Uh, umm, yeah, no thanks on the underwear and cigarettes.

The Harlem River, circa 1852

Seeing Manhattan From Sea Level
Kate Torgovnick, NY Times, 6/14/07

Swim hopefuls must complete an online application, submit an essay about why they want to be part of the race and pay a fee of $1,285

The water conditions can rob swimmers of their appetites. “The Harlem River is brown and viscous,” Farber said. “Trying to hold down food is not easy there.”

Wet suits are not permitted, and traditional bathing suits can rub against a swimmer’s skin, creating what are known as swimsuit hickeys. To prevent this, swimmers coat their bodies in lanolin or Vaseline.

I'll be wearing a wetsuit for Alcatraz. I can't wait to lube up.

123 Sesame Street

Me & My Llama ~ "Now it's Nicky's turn"

Keep on Truckin' ~ "That's the garbage man's blues"

summer time

There is a little space just east of the Camry and just south of the dumpster. It may not look like much now but . . .

I will be canvasing the home improvement shows with pleas for help. Too bad the urge to redesign the carport didn't take hold until after my leg was healed. I've lost the sympathy vote.

my space

my dream

music city

I was in Nashville for a few days last week. Ninety seven and humid one day seventy two and showers the next. Lots of obese people in denim shorts and Reba shirts. Met three elderly dutch women that are huge Dolly Parton fans. They were drinking Red Bull for the first time and found it, "quite good."

Breakfast Day One.

Hot Diggity's is one of two restaurants in the industrial section of Nashville. The place is screaming for a roach coach. Do it, you'll make millions, unless of course the stomper truck roach coach mafia from Joe College muscles you out. Somehow me missed the breakfast place, Dungaree on the next block.

Chicago style dog. Quite good, if not the perfect breakfast food. The nuclear green relish is slightly odd to look at. Tofu dogs available. The owner has a southern accent but has ties to Chicago. $2.73 with tax.

Please do not give money to the vagrants
Most of them are professional con-artists. The others are addicts that will use your money to buy drugs or booze.

They shoot from the hip in TN. There was no seal from the city of Nashville or even a downtown association logo on the notices, which were in the windows of most of the Karaoke joints and Honky Tonks on Broadway and Second.

Billy Graham, right next to the fire hydrant.

Travel Notes:

Nashville is a great airport if your flying any airline other than Southwest. If you are flying southwest allow a few hours for check in or don't check a bag and zip on by.

There is something odd to me about water in a can and the name is a little much.

I noticed a sign on the door to the airplane that said, "Door must remain closed and latched during taxi, takeoff and landing". Not something you think they'd need to make a sign for.

"Uh Bob, let's try this one with the door open."

To the morbidly obese woman who raked my eyes as she attempted to use my seat back to hoist herself up, how about pushing yourself up off of your armrests. To her equally large husband who polluted the lavatory causing the steward to gag, dude, take care of that at home next time. To those that insist on pulling themselves through the cabin via the seat backs, how about putting your hands on the overhead bins. Lastly, overhead bins should be assigned to seat numbers. It really clogs the process if I'm in row two and have to go back to row seven for my carry on.

twenty months out

I had a two month exam on the lego last week. Everything looked good. More video of me walking. I think they'll be a compilation at some point. My range of motion is good for this point in the recovery. Keep working, return in two months, hopefully you'll be running the next time we see you, stay out of trouble.

I was x-rayed in the juvenile room. Yes, it does have a certain horror movie aura to it. I have no idea what the lone glove beneath Mickey is all about.

funny, I was thinking the same thing

This afternoon, I was at Target stocking up on 3 oz travel size liquids. There was a woman on her cell phone whose cart was blocking the aisle. I waited a few moments for her to realize there was someone else on planet earth besides herself. When that didn't occur, I moved her cart so I could pass.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

Followed by an exaggerated attempt to to move the cart I had already moved.

I passed without response. I was more into searching for toothpaste than interacting with this woman.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'M SORRY."

Into her cell phone

"Some people are SO RUDE!"

I was tempted to retort:

"Je ne parle pas anglais."

As I was headed to the checkout lanes, I noticed her cart was in the middle of another aisle.

disturbing

Via Dan

I'd like to cancel my membership

Phone Message:

"Hello, this is Janet with Motorcycle Towing Services. Your account is set for automatic renewal and we had a question. Please give us a call at 1-800 . . . "

I called her back and explained that I'd had a motorcycle accident in which I'd almost lost my leg and would no longer need their services.

I recommend them though. Especially, if you've ever gotten a flat tire on the Forth of July, 70 miles outside of Los Angeles on the 405 north (read as the ass end of nowhere) and had to convince your roommate to rent a Uhaul to come get you.

I think it's eighty dollars for two years. I probably spent three hundred between the Uhaul, gas, straps and having to pay a guy with a front end loader to lift the bike into the Uhaul.

I would have liked to see Montana

Over Memorial Day weekend, some friends and I went down to Long Beach, to check out the Scorpion, a Russian attack submarine. I downlowded some sound clips from, The Hunt for the Red October to listen to while we climbed around the sub.

Part I

Part II

Know before you go: There are no tour guides or security guards in/on the sub. If one wanted to drink some vodka in the dinning room to add to the authenticity, no one would be the wiser.

around town

Apparently, it's a big enough problem to warrant the sign.

Car of the week. Dig the fake rear lights & the sweet exhaust.

Any arachnologists out there? Is this guy/gal poisonous? He/she was hanging out on the railing outside my apartment.

Apartment 2

Apartment 4

My neighbors' welcome mats face inward. I suppose they want to be welcomed to the world every morning, either that or they are not interested in getting to know me.