My thinking has always been “if I publish it in this blog, then I don’t have to keep a copy of it that I run across every three or four years.” With that in mind, I am forced to return to the year 1998 or 1999 when I worked with one other guy in a warehouse, writing slang dictionaries. Sometimes I remember life being really cool back then, but it was actually just sort of lonely sitting, for the most part, alone in a cold cement building. I had a lot to focus my attention on since the office pace was very mellow: doing the NYT crossword, writing extremely long letters to friends, drinking coffee, looking at a periodic table of fruits and vegetable, obsessing about my Ashtanga yoga progress. I sent out a lot of “snail” mail, I would keep track of when the USPS would arrive, since it was easily the highpoint of the day. I also kept some “notes” on it. Please note: this is only of interest to myself. And even I don’t give a shit. It’s refreshing to look back on yourself when you were 24 and on the beginning side of an exciting and vibrant decade, and then realize all you did was take notes on when the mail arrived.

I sometimes think the only mailbox worth checking is one that has mail poking out of the top

tues oct. 5: sometime after 4, but before 4:15. (not the normal mailman; lots of construction on street)

wed oct. 6: 3:45. (not the normal mailman; lots of construction on street)

thurs oct. 7: 3:15. (not the normal mailman, minimal construction). the mail has been very empty these last few days. there is a bunch of stuff I should be getting. where is it?

Friday oct 8: score! 2:40

Monday: columbus day

tues: don’t remember

wed: took the day off

thurs: 3:00. I think the regular mailman is on vacation.

I should have mentioned that an Ikea catalog came yesterday. I played “one item on every page” this morning. Today: only work related stuff.

Monday: I have decided to give up coffee. drinking coffee always makes me feel dirty anyway. I did have three pixie sticks immediately after riding my bike to work (4 miles). My roommate can drink five or six cups on an empty stomach. that would make me feel like I had the flu. I have that David Letterman “Viewer Mail” theme song in my head: “we get letters, we get letters/we gets lots and lots of letters”. I don’t even know if they still use that songs, or if the words are right, since I haven’t seen the viewer mail segment in a long while. Is that the Henry Mancini song that he wrote?

1:41-no mail. But I am tired. Why is that, since I went to bed early. I have never understood that. If only we’d be as tired the next day corresponded to the hours slept.

2:45 mail. the postman rang the bell because there was a registered mail item. My dad also sent a richard nixon mask. know what? i taped two snapple bottle caps together but before i did that, i placed a glow in the dark star inside. this will make a nice gift for someone.

tues: 4:30—that’s very very late. I had to verify that the mail didn’t already come and we got none. our faithful mailman is back. he was forced to take two weeks off. he did not want the gum from my pocket, probably because it was right next to my tissues.

2:45—had to sign for some registered mail. The Lighter Side of catalog arrived. Cat hammocks, t-shirts

fri: hot beverages have a window of opportunity of about ten minutes. then they go tepid. unless you have one of those insulated mugs. I had one once, but it smelled after a while, of a bad tea.

oct. 28: noon arrival. mailman did the fake out: carrying many large boxes to the address one over.