August 31, 2010

Lovely pre-birthday get-together last night at the Usual. I think DJ and maybe Leland organized it, but it was merry and bursting at the seams with my favorite people. Gossip. Ice cream cake. Terry gave me a platinum photo of Wolfe’s angel; Richmond, a gorgeous diary. Bullet made a drawing of me riding on a swan, or doing something to a swan. There was a haul of rude and/or lascivious cards.

Tried to get my license plates renewed. First time thwarted because the car hadn’t been inspected. Got it inspected. Had to tear myself with main force away from buying a pickup truck. Second time thwarted because, as I was standing sixteen or twenty back in the line at the DMV, the printers went out, not only in Asheville, but across the state. It was 10 AM. The big lady behind the desk said, “We’re done for the day.” Renewed online, finally, skeptical every stroke of the keys that it was going to work. Took my dead lamp to get it fixed. It was fine; each of the three light bulbs I had tested in it had been defective. Lost my cell phone while downtown. Spent hours retracing my steps, making phone calls. Got an email from Kyle that the people at Over Easy restaurant had found it, and called one of the numbers in it, his. Over Easy had no phone listening, so I drove downtown, again, to retrieve it. Over Easy is a breakfast joint and was, of course, closed.

Beat my distance running record at the Y this morning. Anger helped, for I aimed a mantra of opposition at heaven the whole while my feet beat on the machine.