(click the picture
above for the high definition
video - but also click
YouTube
for me!)
7:30 PM, Sunday,
November 9th, 2008:
When Jess and I
first got to LA we had little choice but to look for
discarded furniture as we were literally on fumes. At
the time it was completely embarrassing. In fact, I
even wrote about it in Entry #7:
"We found
some dumpsters that looked full, and just maybe it
would have something we could use. We need shelves
really bad. We can't unload our boxes because
there's no place to put anything. And of course
some sort of bed. As I put the truck in park and
got out, I kind of watched myself from Jess's point
of view. Is she proud of me? How long is it going
to take before she thinks: "Jesus, my fiancee is in
a dumpster looking through trash for our
apartment...what am I doing..." I didn't feel like
a man anymore. It just really hit
me."
Rereading that
makes me tear up. It was a difficult moment for sure.
That urge to provide a life for Jess actually still
pings at my heart when I talk to her sometimes.
Overwhelming need and hope that she's alright. Wow
that isn't there for others. Crazy. Anyway - this is
SO not an emotional story. But it's the last time I've
had to dumpster dive. I certainly have my share of
hand-me downs since but actual discarded trash - I
really thought those days were done.
Wrong.
Doin' my
weekly run and a little over a mile in I run
across a furniture set that's being
discarded. Nothing new but usually always
bad. I always think: "Hey, free stuff..." and
then it's VERY clear why they're throwing it
out. However, as you can see - this is
unbelieveable.
No stains,
no rips... the right color - huh? And it
wasn't on the front of their lawn for pick-up
- it was in the STREET. A couple pieces had
the feet removed, but they left the feet on
top of it so... I. Was. OFF.
Now, I've
attempted some ridiculous things by myself.
Unfortunately for me, I avoid catastrophe so I
continue to think I can pull the next one off. These
daring acts of stupidity by myself
include:
-Moving my
piano, in and out of my house/guesthouse (so
completely out of one house and into the other I
believe now 4 times) with nothing more than a hand
cart. Each time I take pride in this and each time
I am unbelieveably lucky. No one moves a piano by
themselves. No one. It's very very heavy. It is a
piano.
-Putting up
my Basketball hoop by myself (the big, real ones
with a pole and cement - yeah), balancing on the
wall behind it and - fucking barefoot? Barefoot? I
was halfway in when I realized - oh shit I don't
have shoes on... and there was nothing I could do -
I had to adrenalize that thing up and into the hole
I had cemented the day before. It was terrifying.
But not a scratch on me or the hoop/pole. How is
that possible?
-The entire
guesthouse. Really. The wall, the CEILING, the
FLOOR - the stupidest being taking off the garage
door and coming inches away from caving my skull
in. Yes, there's
video.
That same spirit that makes me believe I can get
onto the debate stage also allows me to do this
craziness.
So at no
point did it really hit me as I was sprinting
back to my house to grab my car, that this
couldn't be accomplished by one person.
Especially without a truck/trailer (my 4tvs
trailer has now been relegated to permanent
status as a storage shed in my backyard) and
all that's left is my CAMRY. So I drive it
back there, certain that I'm seconds away
from someone else finding this jackpot, and
proceed to pick up each piece and just put it
on TOP of my car. No rope, no cords... just a
firm belief that... "sure it won't move too
much if I go slow..."
And it
worked. One by one (4 pieces and a side
table) I pulled this off with the last
being absolutely ignorant. If I didn't
think someone would have taken it before
me I'd have called Paddy. I mean I still
don't know how I picked up something this
size and put it on top of my car without
scratching the car OR the furniture. After
I finally got everything into the house
(which was actually harder than on top of
my car) got everything arranged it just
seemed surreal. The real oddity of it all
was this morning when I felt like I walked
into someone else's house and thought:
"Did I just steal someone's shit?" I mean
it looks that good. And it matches THAT
good. It's not really my style per se, but
what the fuck ever. I feel all adult now.
I feel like I walked into my dad's house.
Crazy.
My muscles hurt
like crazy today though. I was all down on myself for
not completing my run yesterday until I woke up this
morning and could barely walk. LOL. And therein lies
the rub with all the he-man stuff. Oh I can still
attempt it (that will end in my 40s I'm sure) but I
pay for it 3 times as long as I did in my 20s. But I'm
honestly in the best shape of my life so I can't
complain.
Alright, the big
4tvs "Flux Capacitor" entry tomorrow! And look at me
getting through a whole entry without mentioning
Obama.
Doh.
Adam
PS - And don't
give me shit about bein' mean to the pup:
My love for
Shizzle was not healthy. It's a good thing CeBe isn't
up there. I can't handle much more pain right now
if things were to happen...
