Smoke Gets In yer Eyes

There are about four fires that have been burning around L.A. The closest one is in La Canada-Flintridge. Temps for today were predicted to be around 100. Which is why I only signed up for a half-day. Tuesday it was only about 90 and it was a hell day. Plus, I was working with a girl for the first half of Tuesday. Many chicks on this crew will try to avoid pulling the trash can.
Like today. This chick was just lazy. They make such a big deal about picking up the cig butts. And it was almost as if that was the only thing she was picking up. She left plenty of other garbage behind. I never tell my crew-mate what to do; and as a result, there've been too many times Julio came and made us go back and he'd kick the butts out in our face and pick up the trash we missed so why not just do it the first time around?
On Tuesday, the sun was hot on our backs by 8:30am. But because of the fires, this morning there was a thick brown haze holding back the heat. I had taken a Claritan-D, thats the strong one, along with 3 Aleve and a Welbutrin, and I was getting dizzy spells. Despite the Aleve, my back was threatening to go into spasm by 8:30. You know how the pain shoots up your sides almost to your waist? Welcome to my world.
And the pain would not have been so bad if whats-her-name had pulled the can an equal amount of time. Our route had been up Fairfax from Santa Monica to Fountain. That bitch gets heavy.
Plus, I was hungrier than usual. So when we got to Hayworth and the 7-Eleven, I got a Sweet & Salty granola bar and another water.
Of course, 'lazy' goes in, too. She'd been texting all morning, which is a big no-no. When they do this texting against the rules, and many do, they often will go on a side street and hide behind a tree or a car. But she's just standing on the side of Fairfax in that bright orange vest, punching away.
When she finally came out of the 7-Eleven, she really got busy. She crossed over to the other side of the street and just stood there punching buttons.

I just kept going, slowly pulling the can, making sure I pull in my Pilates powerhouse to protect my back. I don't know why I kept looking back at her, but I did. We had only seen Julio twice so far, and I had a feeling that he wasn't far. He always rolled around just when.

Sure enough, when I looked up the next time, I could see the light on top of the van, parked down passed the stop sign. Julio was acting busy, so I did, too.
Eventually, he moved the van closer and told us to get in, we're going somewhere else. I noticed three stalks of these little cream colored, bell-shaped flowers, about 20 on each stalk, laying on the passenger seat of the van. I asked Julio if he was going to give them to his girlfriend.
"No, I am going to eat them," he said. Of course, I laughed. "You think I'm kidding?" Julio is from El Salvador. His accent is kind of thick. We joked a little. Then he explained that the flowers are used in El Salvadorean cooking, and are especially tasty as an added flavor to scrambled eggs.

Sure enough, you DO learn something new every day.

August 25

So I made it the full 8 hours.

August 24, 2009

Back on the job today. Its been a weird, gloomy August, but the sun is back. Knowing this, it was tough getting out the door this morning. Despite my ambitions to start putting in full days, I signed in for a half-day.
My partner was brand new on the job. Another nice, single gay guy close to my age. He's working off a fine for riding his bike on the sidewalk. Eighteen 8-hour days for riding his friggin' bike on the sidewalk. On the day he went to sign up for this duty, the offices were closed due to the furloughs(sp?).
We worked the southside of Fountain from La Brea to La Cienega. A pretty easy route actually. No hills and not much foot traffic. Not much trash. I make sure to tell the new guy that obviously we have to pick up the trash, but cigarette butts are the main thing. And if you don't see them, our man Julio will come point them out for you.

For whatever reason, my back didn't bother me either.
I was 43 when I started this. I'll be 45 when I finish.

Day One

The first day I performed of my 492-hour Community Service trash pick up penalty was mid-July 2008 in sunny Los Angeles, Ca.. I had no idea what to expect. To be prepared, I wore long jeans and packed a backpack with food and anything I could imagine I might want to have during a long, hot day of labor. And because my driver's license had been suspended for a year, I hopped on my bike with plenty of time to spare. It was 6:00am.
Honestly, though, I believed I deserved some such punishment. I did some damage and was willing to pay the piper. But the D.A. took advantage of the Patriot Act and used my life history to throw the book at me, and my lawyer practically helped her. Maybe I'll tell his name one day.
It took a little longer to get to West Hollywood park that morning than I'd anticipated. By the time I got there I was sweaty and anxious and wired. First I wandered around in the dark looking for a place to lock up my bike. Then I wander some more looking for an office or something. There were a few figures around, some wrapped in blankets on the ground or a picnic bench, a couple walked by. Finally, I spot a guy in an orange worker vest. He must know something, I think.
But he doesn't even acknowledge me when I speak. So I just follow the sidewalk until I luck out and see the dimly lit hallway that leads me to the classroom where my community service supervisors, Raymond (supervisor) and Julio (more like crew chief) have the morning sign-in set-up. There were a couple of other crew-member guys already there. No one really acknowledged that I even walked in the room, so I present my court papers and i.d. to one of the guys sitting at the table.
This guy is Raymond. He asks me to read and sign a contract. After asking me to remove my earbuds, he informs me that absolutely no use of iPods or cell phones will be tolerated and doing so will result in being dismissed.
After signing in and learning that there is no secure place to store my backpack and I'd be carrying it with me all day, I smiled, turned and walked back into the dawn, following in the direction that the rest of the people were heading.

And here's something 'bout me: I believe in a Higher Power and occasionally pray, or at least say "HI".
That morning, I was praying.