im in flagstaff

its not so hot here. mostly because its 6000 feet above sea level.

youd think being closer to the sun would make it warmer, but weirdly the reverse is true. i will never understand Science, unless its a way for God to have us TOTALLY believe in Him or be totally confused by this great experiment.

im in a Burger King. they gave me a free coke cuz their shake machine was broken. im using the EVDO card which is pretty fast for being in the middle of buttfuck.

i took a lot of pics that are on my Buzznet on a different gallery than the one on the left there. so click that buisness over there and hunt for the Summer 06 Gallery.

the car is good but its making me nervous. sometimes i will hit the gas and black smoke will come from the tailpipe. im about to go to a mechanic to ask if that means im burning oil. i dont recall it doing that in LA but who knows maybe i diddnt notice there because with all the smog its hard to tell what your car is doing.

my mom called and got off the phone when she realized i was actually driving.

i should talk to more people but im shy. secretely im very shy. id rather not talk to people when im on the road because theyre just going to tell me to go places that i have no time for. plus anything naturey just makes me want to eat shrooms and get naked and climb trees. so i keep to the roads.

being here is waaaaaaaaaaaay better than that cheapass Motel 6 in PHX. fuck that shit. next time i might spend the extra $10 not to have a dirty ass handicapable room where there are wide open spaces of sadness and dirty floors. i didnt walk on the floors i floated because of germs. then i used my sandals. then i wore my sandals in the shower for two reasons

one i didnt want my precious athlete-foot capable feet to get athletes foot – or worse in that shit. two i felt bad for my flip flops for having to walk on those floors.

usually i tip the maid but i didnt this time. also it was the shadiest place. people honking at night, people honking in the day time. people following me to my car to ask me for money at 2am. i gave the guy two bucks and when he introduced himself to me i said something that everyone should say when they want to freak out someone who is either about to mug them or break into their car at 2:45am

“dude if you knew who i was you’d keep walking.”

and when he said something else i said, “you’d keep walking.”

he took the money and kept walking.

mom if youre reading this, you should stop

basically i was driving down Route 66 listening to devil music with no gas no oil and no chance to make it to the gas station if it wasnt for the Lord.

i dont know why He takes care of me. i dont know why im so worthy of the good shit.

i thought i was doing the right thing in Pomona by getting an oil change and then allowing myself to get traded up to $250 worth of other shit. but i had the cash and i would rather pay them then than have to pay a tow truck driver in the middle of nowhere AND his mechanic. and you know that would have cost more than two fiddy.

anyways it appears that the Pomona people either didnt screw the oil plug in tight or didnt put any oil in my car after they drained the old shit out because right as i was coasting into the Mobile in Zona, my oil light flickered and when i checked the oil the dipstick just laughed and laughed and laughed.

i asked for a little help from the mini market guys and one of them, a young guy who claimed to be the top ranked HS quarterback in AZ crawled under my car, checked the seal, got into his truck and jacked my shit up and did this and did that and told me to buy some oil from inside the store and then filled it up and sent me on my way, scoffing at my $20 bill.

you have a long road trip to go, tony. he said. but did accept my myspace email address so i could Add him.

as i drove off i kept thinking of all the different things that could have happened if i hadnt gone into that particular gas station, if i hadnt totally done all the things that i did.

but then i was all, who am i kidding, the angels had my back the entire time. i wasnt even in the formulae. i was meant to be on that road, one whose gas stations are few and far between during certain stretches, and whose shoulders are lined with stories dating all the way back to the 20s.

i nearly got kicked by Route 66, but instead i was kissed from above.

and here it is 447am, im at a Super 8 that is frequented by truckers, and the truckers have been frequented by hookers all night. tempting, but sleep is even more tempting. and you bet tonight i wont fall asleep without saying my prayers.

laist interviewed tonight’s hero