iBianchiBook!

Everything was going fine until we hit Iowa and entered into the freak vortex. The first stop, a bunch of Iowans moved into my previously nearly empty car. Now I'm sharing a seat and there is no hope I can sleep before arriving in Chicago. Word is they have been booting lots of cars in my neighborhood and my car is definitely boot ready. With the move happening this weekend it isn't that big a deal, but there won't be much moving if I can't even drive.

They're showing the movie "Meet the Parents" which was funny on the trip out. Now the tape is stretched out and the screen is barely made out.

Good God, the Iowans are everywhere. Other freaks have shown themselves.

There is one guy named Peter but I am calling him Train Rage because he keeps blowing up at everybody, especially when the Iowans got on. Another guy is definitely weird, his name is Dante and he does security for three Mexican bars in Wichita Kansas. The really crazy thing is he's one of these guys who carries on conversations with himself as though anybody is listening. Well, you'll be pleased to hear he puts on amateur wrestling matches back home and he has a good character named Blind Rage. His bad character (whose name I forget) wears a t shirt which says "YOUR TOWN SUCKS." He has a patented move called the Camel Back except his move has a twist, he uses an orange extension cord to pull up on the victim

Can't sleep. We just went through Topeka and stopped briefly. I wanted to stretch out my legs

This is the uncomfortable part of getting where you want to go. On this trip there are more young people. David quit his job in LA and left his girlfriend to go back home to Western Mass. One woman was in a convent. Martina is from Poland and a linguistics PhD candidate in Montreal. Jamie is a musician and we sat in the Vista Car last night and listened to each other's music. Since David and I were drinking Budweisers, I had my guru face on. Full of advice: "Don't trust anybody, the music is most important."

The train stopped in LaJunta CO for a 30 minute stop. Last time I was able to run across the street and get some smokes. This trip has run the same way, except we are late, so I figure we won't be there the whole 30. I was right, and made the train. The funny thing is, everybody was looking out for me as the train was boarding, while Bobby was sittin back with a long one

It's a weird sort of sunrise, we're cruising along a river. Must be the Wichita.

I have boarded the Amtrak home to beautiful Chicago, Illinoize. In typical fashion I have gotten on with about $30 and just ran out of cigarettes. Will iBianchiBook ever learn?

There is an update on the dead body: turns out the man had a drug overdose and somebody dumped his body on the road. Cerro Gordo is kind of an upscale neighborhood, and usually does not have peope laying by the side of the road, so everybody kind of jumped up and paid attention

A discussion that night over dinner raised an interesting concept: If someone knew CPR would they have been obligated to attempt to revive the guy? Certainly I am not qualified, but others in the discussion were. Would they have gotten down on the side of a desert road to revive someone they didn't know? If he was homeless? I guess we could all ask ourselves that question.

My brother once saved his dog with CPR

Last night the Indiana crew, plus two, went for drinks at St. Francis, a cool bar. Jesse, Dylan, Mindy M., Brett, his friend Mike (they both hail from Connersville), and Jesse's super cool roomates Adrianne and Liza.

All this and a new job too! After eight weeks of Team Jobless, I accepted an offer to join the Interactive Department at Young and Laramore, a successful advertising agency in Indianapolis.

If anyone knows of a cool sublease situation In Indy, email me. For now I'm signing off to get some snacks

I have been slacking on my entries, but I did see Psycho and Dancer in the Dark.

The best thing is that I got my Beautiful Bianchi back from the repair shop. Since the accident, the bike refused to shift properly and that simply will not do when tracking up and down mountains. They have some nice trails here and traffic moves slower than in the big city. When I went to pick up Binky at the shop, the cashier said everyone agreed it was the dirtiest bike they had ever seen, and a perfect city bike because nobody would want to steal it. I told them I actually cleaned it up before I brought it in and they did not believe me.

The worst thing is Dylan and I found a dead man on the side of the road today. We called the cops to check it out, but the brother was blue and not breathing. Dylan swears he never smokes before noon, but he did today

With no camera, i skip the whole moral dilemma of whether to photograph the body. My traveling photos never seem to turn out so I just skipped the whole thing this time. On these dial up lines, it isn't like I could post pictures anyway. You'll just have to be satisfied with the following links:

What can I say about the last few days? It snowed yesterday and today it's 75 degrees. Some amazing highlights:

I helped a student filmmaker with a little bit of puppetry and set work for his film. Although I didn't really understand the entire story, there was a straw lion sharing a locket with the main character, reverted into a child like doll.

Two movies I'd always wanted to see: Altered States and Being John Malkevich.

New Mexico cooking is awesome. The green chilis are out of this world

My friends Jesse and Dylan have been very hospitable sharing their mountain home and their roomates, Liza and Adrianne are really cool. Jesse and Adrianne are film students at College of Santa Fe and Liza is a graduate. Dylan is like me, visiting, helping out, learning, and digging the scenery. His dog Beats is very rambunctious and full of puppy.

Also most hospitable is my friend Brett, who has come to Santa Fe from Chicago to make it all happen here. He's got mad skills so he'll be bringin home the large bills.

Perhaps some of you are thinking right now about New Mexico, here's an mp3 of "New Mexico" which I wrote a few years ago. I always play it when I need a little luck. Since I'm sunburnt, I need a little lotion.

Santa Fe is very cool. It isn't very warm but the air is clean and dry and the desert Spring is much different than in the Midwest. I have been staying with my friend Brett who is house sitting. Also been hooking up with my Indianapolis friends Jesse and Dylan who are working on some cool video interactive pieces.

I never did get much sleep. Rick was bumming smokes and he left D.C. to marry a woman in L.A. He has no cash because he sent all his cards ahead. Why do people ask me to loan them money when I am totally unemployed? The next station is Lamy NM, where I catch my shuttle to Santa Fe.

The Tao Te Ching is highly recommended for a trip to recharge your spirit. I have lots of times to examine the more fundamental nature of things. I did alot of writing last night as we tore through the flatlands.

What will happen next? Shutting down for now.

I am hurtling through the plains on a high speed train - destination Santa Fe. Amtrak has a deal where you buy a souvenir travel mug for $7 and you get free coffee every time you ride. Maybe if I hadn't tried to get my money's worth on the first day I could be sleeping right now like so many others. The stories here are amazing and they mostly get told on the smoking car.

Tip: bring plenty of cigarettes. I'm already out and there is no dignity bumming smokes off teenagers. Do they all smoke menthol now?

The iBianchiBook format is coming together on this train. The whole concept is undefined but I'll try to provide an explanation. My best tools now are this iBook and my sturdy mountain bike, a Bianchi. The extra I is because I want to provide commentary on my own life somewhere. Don't come here looking for a lot of New Age philosophizing although it may be found from time to time. Also, I'm not here to exagerate exploits or toot my horn, I can do that in person. My opinions do not reflect the corporate mission statements of anybody in this forum.

Two people thought they were on a 16 hour ride from Chicago to LA. I was there the moment they realized it was actually another full day longer than they thought. They are drunk and chain smoking, so you know they'll be smelling fresh by the time they get to LA. I'm thinking they must be in love.

They are travelling with a white guy who is 250 pounds and hates his GF so much he won't move out and save both their feelings.

One guy is traveling with his sons. He is in the HR Department for a chemical company in Racine. He has bad skin. I am under negotiations for a job in Indianapolis right now so he was telling me the upper limit of what people expect for relocation fees, bonuses and other perks.

I spend my time reading the Tao Te Ching, which is the only book I brought. It is very nice to travel this Way. It makes me smile.

Well, I'm going to wrap up this entry. Though everybody seems honest, I don't want to advertise I'm carrying this laptop, since it ain't even paid for yet.

Today is 4/13/01. It is now 11:17 AM

April 12, 2001 It is 1 a.m.

April 10, 2001

April 4, 2001