My parents don't know I'm homeless...

That's a funny thought.

I'm sitting in a diner in downtown Albuquerque that could have been clipped right out of the 1970s: brown and orange vinyl seats, paper thin place mats, and strange glassware. I don't know where I'll be sleeping tonight. Most likely in my car, possibly a residential area, and in a well-lit region.

I thought I would come to Albuquerque to visit a friend but the more I thought about it, the worse of an idea it became. I was already a few hours down the road and couldn't turn around. So here I am. My show is on Wednesday so I few days early and too shy to ask my hosts to sleep there tonight. So I've been loitering ever since.

This isn't my first experience with loitering. Some friends and I loitered in a Greek cafe in Thessaloníki after arriving at the train station at 1 AM and while waiting for our train to 7 AM train to Athens. We ordered a sandwich and ate it in the upstairs loft where other winos had gotten the same idea we had: chill/sleep here until morning. They all sat with their heads on the tables passed out. The owner came up yelling and pushing people out of chairs. He also accused my friend Rheu of being drunk because he was sleeping. That brings back a chuckle...

A few hours ago, I was reminded me of my home away from home: Prague. How so? Police brutality exhibited on homeless and inebriated men. I sat down at the Wendy's across the street and watched the whole thing happen while eating a chili cup--my first taste of meat since I became vegetarian. I'm getting too skinny. Gotta eat more meat.

I wish I had my bike. I would love to ride through this city.
I might take a walk later. The waitress is giving me a funny look for being here too long.

In another effort to save gas I've begun to drive extended lengths of road with only the vent to cool me down in the desert heat. Today I reached an all time low as to my frugality.

I drove naked.

That's right. Not only was I sufficiently cooled down but there's a rush that comes when people drive by completely oblivious as to your nudity. The only thing to look out for is truck drivers because they're up higher. My theory is that fellow sub-compacts can't see too far into your car and if they can, your midsection is most likely out of sight. Now, I'm not a really naked kind of guy. In the words of Woody Allen, "I prefer not to get naked in front of a man of my same gender." But the experience was really quite liberating. And I mean, how often do you get sun on that part of your body. The answer is probably not very often considering America's Judeo-Christian prudeness.

Another experience of today: I am documenting my trip via Polaroid film. It's harder than you might think. My viewfinder is screwy, I think. In any case, I tried taking a picture of the road while driving and stupidly stuck my head out the window while wearing my hat. Needless to say, it was blown off my head. I started freaking out because it's literally my favorite hat and I have only been reunited with it for a month after its year-long furlough in Jonny's car. I thought about leaving it back there but I couldn't stand leaving it all alone on the road. So I pulled off at the next bridge, jumped out and took my picture (which was at a better angle on the bridge), jumped back in my car and drove back east. I thought it would be torn to pieces from traffic but I kept looking for it. Finally, I spotted it across the median in the middle of the road! So I pulled off and waited for a few minutes until traffic cleared and booked it across the median. I knew it had blown off near a broken down car so as I pulled off the near the ill-fated vehicle, I spotted my hat right next to it. I guess some cars had kicked it over there. I got out and picked it up to survey the damage. Fortunately, damage was minimal. The bill wasn't even broken just scratched up and bent a little. I was so proud of myself! I got the polaroid and my hat. I was seriously on top of the world. Nothing could've brought me down from that high--not my financial situation, my ridiculous gas prices, or homeless nights. I was a giant.

Anyway, that's all for now...