What year of college is Jim in?

I want to photograph that corkscrewed, loop-to-loop-trunked tree on my street.

I want to figure out what kind of film and lens and F-stop and shutter speed to use to take pictures at night of that carnival down the street.
12:09 PM F 4-14-99
Anna knew my birthday was coming up.  I'm done with the paper.  She won't be at the workshop this weekend.  We were in the lunch room.  Whatever.  I took a little nap at recess.  I'm amped on coffee right now.  I've got to ride over to Larchmont after school today.  What else?  5:43 PM  Larchmont.  Chardonnay.  Green tablecloth.  I feel like a poser out here, writing on the sidewalk.  I don't know what else I should be doing.  The Greek Petit.  I ate spaghetti and a donut and an elementary-school-cafeteria hamburger.  The air is cool.  My bike is locked up across the street.  Anything worthwhile is painstaking.  A couple just sat down beside me.  They're tending to their dog.  [ink line sketches of trees]  Could you come to the desert.  A kid just walked by with his retriever.  "Hi," he said.  "Is that an Australian Shepherd?"  "Yeah..." the lady said, alarm in her voice.  She knew what would happen. "...but I don't think--" she began to say urgently when her dog attacked the boy's dog.  There are couples everywhere.  Leslie, the unmarried, middle-aged lady I work with who seems to want me told me she had a dream that a plane left without her and she was left behind with a lot of baggage.  The couple right next to me are actually at a whole nother café.  What should I do next?  I haven't read any Nin yet today.  [ink line sketch of man pushing baby in stroller]  "I'm totally out of it," says the guy next to me.  I brought it into the lounge.  Someone or more called it Erotic Literature. The lady is talking about a woman who's a dog and they love each other. "Are you gonna show it to me?" the guy asks.

What Makes Easy Reading

5-13-99 Th 11:24 AM
The kids are running wild.  I have some more Xeroxing to do, and I have a union meeting to go to at lunch.  I went to Jack in the Box at recess.  I ate a breakfast sandwich.  I got a hamburger that I didn't eat.  My horoscope today read, "Hard writing makes easy reading."  I don't really see how that helps me.  Maybe I should press harder on this pencil.  If I can finish these pages at lunch, I can read Nin through silent reading until we go to music.  I'll make my copies after school.  Then I'll do my third-person page about jealousy.  Watch some sports.  Give Jim the rest of that paragraph.  12:27  The meeting was pointless.  The village chief's daughter took an interest in the Nin book.  I found the part with prostitutes demonstrating Kama Sutra positions with a strap-on for her to read.  She said she'd had a dream just like it.  She mentioned another Nin title with strange sexual shit, bestiality and so on.  Whatever.  It's sort of warm, but the sky is gray.  Javier gave me a bag of chocolate chip cookies.  I'm hungry. I have to put my thermos in my bag so I'll remember to take it home.  The Van Gogh bar will be going on this weekend.  I have to go to that fucking class Saturday.  The kids are reading silently.  I'm done with the paper.  A guy was getting a paper from the -- what is that thing called?  a newspaper machine?  a newspaper stand -- that you put your quarter in? --  He was getting one and saw me coming.  He pulled another one out and said, "It's on me," but really he stole one and gave it to me.  I thought of putting in a quarter anyway, because I appreciate the newspaper and its writers, and that the Times has the faith in us to just take one, but I thought -- I don't know -- the guy might be insulted, or maybe I just didn't care.  Whatever.  What else?  I've still got to ask Steinlunch about the bulletin.  We've got to leave for music now.  "Hello, everybody.  One two three four five six seven eight I love music one two three four five six seven eight."  The music teacher always has damp palms when we shake. It gives me the willies, like he's nervous from the guilt of some perversity (me, the guy reading Nin) like the dampness derives from some semen-soaked jack-off session in the bathroom on his break.  That's just what they call "projection," though, isn't it?  What else?  After music, we're meeting with Miss King's class to re-enact the Battle of Puebla.

11:14 AM 5-12-99 W
I was trying to get advance tickets for the new "Star Wars" movie, "Episode One:  The Phantom Menace," but I only want to see it at Grauman's Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard, which will be the epicenter of "Star Wars" hype, but they didn't list that theater on Moviefone's 777-FILM line, so now I don't know how to go about it. Lunch is in about fifteen minutes.  I'll go for a croissant.  I have to ask Steinbauer about the bulletin. I skimmed through the paper today.  I'll knock off twenty-five pages of Nin today.  I already forgot what I'm supposed to do for a third-person page.  I've got to do some more on Jim and his GPA and outlook for the future and then get them to K-Mart. More NBA playoffs tonight.  I have to go teach night school.  Night school has put a serious crimp on my drinking.  Ugh.  My writing is so mundane. I have no inner life.  I have no circle of friends.  There is no climate like inter-war Paris for me. What if I quit my night job?  Yeah, right.  Shirelle pitched a bitch fit this morning.  She feels persecuted about something. She -- whatever.  Whatever.  Whatever. Whatever. Too bad I give up so easily.  I really don't have any of the qualities for this.  Who cares?  What else?   11:43 AM  I'm at Lee's Donuts now.  No one's here but the proprietress and me. It's always so busy when I come in the morning. Someone's having trouble with a Rolls Royce out on La Brea.  I saw Lauren on the way here.  She said, "Hi."  Maybe I'll go to Blockbuster.  I was thinking of renting "Kundun" and "The Last Temptation of Christ."  ~~~~~~~~ I feel like destroying myself.  Drinking and drugs.  Slam beers at Papa Rico's, roll up a smoke with what's in my backpack.  There's a poodle in the Rolls Royce.  A butch lady cop is helping push the car to the side of the road.  The driver has long braided hair. He is of African descent.  What else?  Maybe I'll just sit here and read Nin until lunch is over in a half hour.

5-11-99 1:24 PM Tu
I have to get someone in the office to put an item in the bulletin about the STEPS training.  I'm going to lose a hundred bucks to be here for stupid Open House tonight.  I ate Taco Bell for lunch.  The kids are making flower numbers for the May calendar.  What else?  I ran off their homework.  I sent Hyna, Javier, and Chris to the office because I'm sick of their stupid asses.  What else?  I don't want to teach anymore.  Shel Silverstein died.  In his obituary, he is quoted talking about a freedom I do not have.  I read the whole stupid paper.  I'm behind again, though.  I still needed to have read Nin before I went home to be on schedule.  There are hockey and basketball playoffs I want to watch [sketch of Dr. Seuss's old man sitting on a cactus in Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are?].  I'm going to have to run off new copies of crap for the STEPS training.  What else?  I wish I could do some more painting.  I wish I had more time.  Maybe I should do children's books.  I think I'll be able to give Jim another page tonight.  I'll have to call LACAS when I get home.  Have to put more acid on my wart. What else?  I forgot to send home the Open House reminders.  Oops.  DID I EVER TELL YOU HOW LUCKY YOU ARE?  Yeah, right.  But at least that took up half a page.  I'm going home and watch pornos after this. Then I'll read Nin and watch some playoffs until I have to come back here.  I'll have to type up a checklist for the art center.  I hope Lunchstein doesn't come through, but she probably will.  Ugh ack ick fuck.