Taking a break from B.A.

Taking a break from B.A., where I have spent the past three days walking walking walking among the stenches of the city--from the rumble of metal-trap buses spewing black clouds of diesel to the rotting food and dog poo on the street, the sweet smell of copious amounts of cologne the boys wear as they skip down Florida with bags from Musicmondo and the more pungent aromas of old men who sit in their door ways watching the football and you as you pass by. The city is crumbling everywhere, and the facades are forlorn and beautiful and adorned with politico grafitti stencils and you can walk at all hours of the night and feel safe and every once in a while the street you are on will open up onto a square filled with kids smoking, drinking beer (Quillmes) and playing guitar under the canopies and lights at three in the morning. Katie knows this city very well, and she took me on treks far from Julio. The heat has taken its toll on me, and last night I was in a daze as the upper 80s enacted a heavy toll and a tan from me, but today I've prepared better--a Kafkaesque trip to a medical clinic and then water, lots of water, and Fraggo ice creams which taste like heaven. Oh, and more Quillmes. Quillmes Quillmes Quillmes which is like Premium and costs 2 dollars for a pitcher. I'm off to buy some sandals. Yesterday, in my capris and thrift-store Express for Men t-shirt (and dilapitated hair) I was mistaken for an Argentinian porteno no less then three times, folks!

Update: Everyone has mullets here.

Update: And if you bleach your mullet its muy cool.