Life Underground

I will admit the Los Angeles mass transit system fails in providing consistent and accessible actual transporting, not to mention subway trains on the red line stop running at 1:15 am, which to the bar goer like myself often means a long staggering walk home or waiting for a bus for 45 minutes, yet I like going underground. The way your ears pop shut when you climb down the stairs and the erie quiet below the city streets is as mysterious as it is calm. 20 questions on the tracks. Is it animal mineral or vegetable, it was mineral, and it was a AA battery.
I saw the chubby grey mouse again on line 6. I also met a self proclaimed 'thug' from Nebraska. He actually had the words Nebraska Thug 4 Life tatt'd on his arm. I didn't ask if he also had multiple corn stalks tatt'd on his body. People are strange.

Free Money!

Last night Alex took me to the Bounty. If you haven't been there I highly recommend it. One of the oldest bars in Los Angeles, located in mid Wilshire, the HMS Bounty is nautical themed with lots of model ships, painting of ships, and little cannons that point out the windows. It is very sinister, paneled with old dark wood, and adjacent to the Gaylord Hotel, one of the oldest hotels on Wilshire. I find peace here. Anyway after feeling cooped up and worried about my thesis he suggested we go for a drink, which we did. I suggested playing a game of hot spot, CA’s version of Keno. We both picked 8 numbers, 7 of my numbers hit and I won 500 bucks, just like that. If only lucky 13 would have hit I would have won 10,000.

Ok so now you’re thinking, what a boring post, hurray this bitch won money. What I wanted to write about is the conversation that ensued. You see readers, neither Alex nor myself are keen on spending money or simply having money for that matter. We are the type of people who buy new clothing once a year and by new I mean from that giant circus of a thrift store in frogtown. After mulling it over I thought about putting some of it into a tattoo, yet that in itself seemed wasteful. It’s free money. So what do you do with free money? It’s like when I steal a purse from rich girl in a bar and pull out the cash to give to someone else on the way home who needs it more then she did. I am an ethical thief.

So I asked the owner how many peeps work in the kitchen, yes the Bounty serves food. He looked at me oddly, why, I’m not gonna tip the owner- he makes the bucks already. So I gave each of the line staff 20 bucks and we packed up and left. We decided it would be a much more adventurous move to relocate to downtown and see what trouble we could get into. I thought about giving random people 20 bucks on the subway train, just to get smiles from strangers and then thought about distributing it the homeless sleeping on the streets at the station, as its mid month and I know their assistance is gone, but this seemed pointless too- after all, what’s 20 bucks going to do?

So I am sitting here reading the paper, drinking coffee and wondering, what should I do with it? What would you do?

Termites Feast on Money

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7334033.stm

The most wonderful thing happened today. According to the BBC a trader in the Indian state of Bihar has lost his life savings after termites infesting his bank's safe deposit boxes ate them up. I write that this is a beautiful thing because it simply amuses and awes me that there are creatures, other than humans, whom have no concept of money. It would be like watching as a pigeon tore apart hundred dollar bills to build a nest.

To further amuse me, this man had opened the safety deposit box to keep his fortune hidden from his wife and kids- his family, with whom he was in the process of separating from. I trust this meal was good for all members involved. When irony hands you something to notice you better sit up. It is so odd to me, almost innocently so, how much man is obsessed, if not driven by, paper and what that paper represents when to a simple insect no larger than that rich mans nail the same piece of paper represents a snack. Cheers little termite friend.