Double Flee A

The buildup was enough that I owe you an explanation of how it went on my first day back at school, after ten years off for bad behavior. The class convened at eight o'clock, and I was practically jumping out of my skin to get there and whatnot, so I found myself in the parking lot at six-fifty-three this morning.

First we unpacked tools for a couple of hours. There are so many tools in watchmaking it's almost silly, but I guess that's the way it has to be. I spent three and a half thousand dollars on them, so I'm glad there are a lot.

For the second half of the day we "dressed" the safe (flat) edges of files, which consists of grinding them against coarse "India" stones and then against smooth "Arkansas" stones. The latter is pretty much a polisher. My hand is a little sore but as far as that goes, the instructor said that it's like the navy seals, where they say the only easy day was yesterday. My hands are going to hurt before this is over. My right index finger hurts right now, and it will probably continue to for some time, especially since we're going to be grinding away like this for months.

It's an eight to five thing, and that's great. All I need to do is find something to listen to in the car and I'll be content. Drive time radio is as bad as can be. Every advertiser wants to "break through the noise" and be heard, and in the process, of course, becomes yet more noise. Every radio channel save public is unbearable with advertising, and sometimes you don't want to listen to public. I need either tapes or a cd player. I can make my own cds but I can't make my own cd player. And tapes are scarce. A creedence tape would tide me over but I don't even have a damn creedence tape. What is the world coming to when you can't easily locate a creedence tape? I should trip over them when I walk out the front door. All western civilization's greatest triumphs are a direct result of creedence. And me without a tape. Sheesh.

The lovely J just dubbed a videotape for me (though it was as much for her), which is famous as the best videotape ever. It has: Dancing outlaw, a show about how we never landed on the moon, Plan 9 from outer space, and Ed Wood. And that, my friends, is just about the last word in entertainment.

I mail the original back to him soon at school in Knoxville, where he's busy with premed. Watching this tape is sure to liberate a few brain cells. I know it does for me. It's the closest thing to nothing that you can watch. The feeling you get from watching it is a lot like having slept. I love it, and am sad to see it go. This is one hundred per cent true.

posted by dale @ 7:45 PM