the sweating

morning hassle
we had to meet up at the far gate this morning. the far gate requires two buses of unreliable frequency, the near gate a single line that comes practically every five minutes.

i got on the first bus on time this morning, but alighted at the next stop to briskly (in the heat and humidity) walk home and fetch the hospital papers i'd forgotten. i sent my commander an sms to inform her that i'd be late, but as i got on the first bus the second time around nystire called me to inform me that i was running late... i had no idea.

i did tell him that i was on the bus already, and he had the grace to tell me to hurry up. of course, i could always begin whipping the bus-driver and yelling "giddy-up, horsey!", but i have a feeling that wouldn't really get me to my destination at a greater pace.

as i got off the first bus he called me again, which didn't really make things happen much faster than they would have otherwise. i asked if it was possible that the group could move on without me, to which he responded in the negative. i hesitated to consider the possibility that he hadn't thought to ask our commander, but had merely assumed the irrational... a pity, because i would've been right the first time.

the third panicked phone call was completely unnecessary. i caught up to the group before they'd completed entering the base... and we all walked through to the near gate. i would've made it there about twenty minutes before they did.

once we got there i found our commander, who told us to go find something to do. all that hurrying was worth it, right? right?

the shameful report
after coffee and a little work, i had to walk back to the far gate to hand in the forms from the hospital...

i had to explain to the girls working there why i thought i needed to be there, and i don't think they really appreciated the whole "low blood pressure" angle, especially considering that it's not mentioned much in the official documentation.

i call this "suspicion of alcohol poisoning bias".

lunch hassle
we were told to call at noon to find out the plan. i wanted to eat at shinto, off-base, but i was told not to leave and to meet back at 1pm for lunch with everyone. about four of us were hungry and bored, so we visited the officer's mess.

at a quarter two, nystire started getting antsy and demanded that we leave. i stopped for an ice-cream on the way, which put me about two minutes behind everyone else... when i caught up to them (around 12:58) they were on the phone with our commander: being informed that we'd been released for the day.

i hung around another hour or so and finally, for the first time in months, managed to clear my inbox!

rollerblading into trouble (explosion)
i bussed home and changed, put on my blades and made myself coffee for the run to singer's to say goodbye (she's leaving for the states).

the light in our kitchen - a nice, round bulb - is not adjusted for people above 6'. every time i raise my hands (like when trying to fold sheets) i bump into it... unfortunately, my blades make me even taller and this time i knocked the frame out. causing the (and i watched this in slow motion, unable to react) heavy bulb to tear off and slowly arc through the air, crunching into the ground and exploding (luckily for me, as i only managed to partially cover my face) horizontally.

the point of putting on my blades was to get to singer's faster and more comfortably, but i swear the city council has it in for me: not a path there that wasn't under construction. a five minute journey took me about twenty, every block forward taking me one sideways.

the hat
singer liked the hat. she was sorry she didn't have for the whole group - i'm rather proud of my design.

dnd blade
after making noise with singer's acoustic (the strings feel so much less sharp and harsh than mine) and shooting the breeze, i made my way home through the park so that i could listen to part ii of the 4th edition DnD from penny arcade and pvp.

it's such a wonderful piece that i really want to resume tabletop gaming... not that i've ever really managed my time well enough to play seriously before :(

bulb 'n coffee
after a shower, i bought a replacement bulb and had a long cup of coffee while reading the fall of hyperion. it's great, except for the bit where silenus manages to spew while on the tree. we're talking about an entire fantasy universe, but he's still human to some degree. i can't buy the scene.

gassing up
the kid and i missioned to replace our gas masks. the security guards had no clue what we were talking about, and when we finally figured out where to find the guy it wasn't because there was a big sign saying "replace your gas masks here". we then had to suffer his oddball sense of humour and his not-so-funny "getting older means losing your ability to get an erection" speech.

tough buddy
the kid is a dangerous gym-partner. i'm feeling all sore and twisted. good, healthy even, but i'm hurting. i did have a few moments of feeling like a monster, but they passed.

philosomatika
the station's been on a roll the whole night, playing crazy beats non-stop.

a good supper
i did some quick shopping, we ate well, and in four and a half hours i'm getting up to wake up egg for coffee so that i can get the ambulance papers back. poor bastard.