7:52 AM 5/5/2007

I woke up this morning to discover that I have the whole day already mapped out. I've got to do laundry before lunchtime, when I'm going to Arlington for Tony's Luchador (Mexican Wrestling) author event. I'm hoping to get good pictures of the scripted farce that is supposed to take place. I don't know if it will be as crowded as the times WWF wrestlers came to tour their books, but I'll let you know.

16th St. had a water main break, and it completely messes up the bus. They leave one lane open in the dominant rush-hour direction (in other words: not mine.) I got off around Irving St. because it was faster to walk at that point, but instead of going straight home, I walked down past the blockade and tried taking pictures of them working on the road. I just kept shooting until the camera was tired, and it gave me a battery warning.

Thursday night and Friday morning were consigned away to complete leisure: At home, I watched a bit of TV, and tried to do some chores around the house, then I went to The Reef for a little bit. Second floor was nice and quiet - It felt like I had the place all to myself. Kim and Corina were a little bored, so they danced around as they worked. I tried the fish tacos, and they were really good. At one point, I decided to check the rooftop, which is much more crowded because it is one of the few places in the city where people are allowed to smoke cigarettes. My plan was to get one Scotch and say hello to Brian the bartender, but soon I was roped into a few different conversations. One couple - Tony and Megan - proved very talkative. (I should take time later to go into a big discussion of the Japanese word "Amaeru" - there's a whole book by a Japanese writer explaining how Japanese people have a habit of indulging each other's childishness. I mention it because I looked behind me to see Corina taking a smoke break. I confessed sheepishly to her that "I got lost", even though I new there was no problem. She indulged me my apology, and it was a nice feeling. After all - I was sitting right next to the door - how could I possibly be lost?)

If the conversations were not so stimulating, I would have dwelled too long on the fact that Brian seemed frustrated with the clientèle - he does get tense working with big crowds, but it was more than that - he seemed genuinely annoyed. The conversation was good while it lasted, but when a particular group of people left, I found myself talking to a really drunk guy who's claim to fame was that he had returned home to DC to work on the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Brian couldn't get the computer to access my tab from downstairs, so I paid him for the Scotch and went downstairs to drink water until they kicked me out.

Friday I indulged in a lot of extra sleep. It was nice to get the rest, but I was a little worried about throwing off my diurnal rhythms. I was on Tucker time. Which, by the way, did I mention that John and Tucker went to Europe for two weeks? I have the place to myself. I saw their itinerary, and I think it included Copenhagen, Berlin, Munich, Brussels, and Amsterdam. It sounded like a beer tasting tour, which it probably is. She mentioned another Brickskeller somewhere that is supposed to be an archrival of the one she works at here in DC.

The weather has been so nice, it's a shame to sleep so late. I made sure to get out and about for a few hours. I went to Tenleytown for dinner at Guapo's and another one of these plastic file boxes for old letters I'm trying to organize. Guapo's was full of drunken college students. I had a really good plate of slow-cooked pork with plantains and onions.

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