busblog

the whiners whine about it which is boring and predictable but the rest of us use Waze and manage just fine.

it was hot yesterday and will get hotter today because it’s the summer, the season we’ve waited for

and the whiners whine about it which is boring and unpredictable because omg its summer whattya want

which is to say fewer uber drivers were out there yesterday because who wants to be out there in the heat

and the traffic and the road closures and etc: the answer is i do.

because when there are fewer drivers there are more chances that you’ll get beeped

as soon as you drop off your passenger, which is the goal of five star customer service.

for some reason i agreed to something impossible yesterday at my real job because

at the root of five star customer service is this phrase: yes. of course.

i may need to renegotiate later today but i would like to see how close i can get to the crazy goal.

why? because we who are Cubs fans appreciate it when someone says, yes we can do this.

even if all signs point to: are you crazy fool?

accidentally called these beautiful Dominican girls Black yesterday.

they were all, you hear us speaking Spanish don’t you!

will come into my uber, sit in the front seat and either take pictures the whole time

or touch up some intricate and fascinating make up design while yapping it up with me.

today her name was melody and she was a welcome relief because the previous passengers

well, they werent my cup of tea lets say

melody somehow picked up on that while she worked the pencil

i bet you get a lot of jerks in here, huh?

we were at a stop light. i said, all of my passengers

are the most wonderful gentlemen and ladies

and then turned to her when she laughed.

you could probably write a book, she said, focusing into the compact mirror.

i could but one should probably just work super hard to be great at their job.

well youre doing that, arent you?

part of the job is getting people where they wanna go, true, but part is doing it in a safe environment

she was all, yeah, i guess so.

and i said, i mean this isnt the nsa or nothin

Sir John Gielgud directed the play of Twelfth Night which starred Vivien Leigh and her husband Laurence Olivier. 

Leigh was a manic depressive but Gielgud didn’t know how to work with that. Here’s something he wrote in his diary about entering the job of director of the play

Perhaps I will still make a good thing of that divine play, especially if he will let me pull her little ladyship (who is brainier than he but not a born actress) out of her timidity and safeness. He dares too confidently … but she hardly dares at all and is terrified of overreaching her technique and doing anything that she has not killed the spontaneity of by overpractice.

Maybe her OCD lead her to that terrible sin of overpractice?

Since when is being prepared – or in this case over-prepared a bad thing?

When it infringes on the magical moments when freestyling and improvising, even when rocking the eternal words of The Bard.

As I approach my 560th birthday i have been thinking about writing an autobiography, a memoir of sorts.

I feel like I’ve finally lived enough of a life to have some interesting tales to tell and I’ve learned a few valuable lessons.

But the thing that keeps holding me back are the thoughts I have about some of the influential people of my life.

Gielgud’s criticism of the two-time Oscar winner is fantastic. Who knew people thought that way, especially about her? But we’d never have that realization, especially today, if he hadn’t thrown her under the bus, in a way and wrote honestly in his own autobio.

Any good bio has heavy doses of sex drugs and rock n roll and my first inclination is to write it and tuck it away somewhere until my death when it will be unearthed.

But the problem with that is what if it’s misunderstood? Who would be around to set the record straight?

What if it became a hit? Who would go on the book tour?

Maybe I’m just as troubled as poor Scarlet. Doubt it. Maybe I should just wait to bust with it when I’m 600 and say fuck it here it is.

- hes at a Cubs game

- he doesnt have a magical xbi-issued Cubs hat (lost it? was it stolen?)

- he is not holding an Old Style

- he has forgotten that winning is not the point of going to Wrigley Field

- he is not in the bleachers

- he is at a night game

- theres not one black person around him

- he is just realizing that Harry Caray is no longer the announcer

- the Cubs are at least two years away from a world series (but probably three)

- no one knows the words to his new hit single and thus cannot sing along

- Chicagoans are lovable but keep calling him Jack Black (honest mistake)

and you hear these little bits of wisdom, mostly from people who are now dead.

but the things they say from the grave are still valid:

be prepared, more prepared than the next guy.

try new stuff. first a western. then a drama. then a comedy. then an epic.

sure most good things are impossible,

but theyre super impossible if you dont begin.

the ants are so hungry and twice as thirsty right now in east hollywood.

impossibly thirsty.

they sit on the window sill of my bathroom and wait for me to finish my shower

some are there just to check me out.

cuz im so sexy.

get yours

as did pretty much everyone with a costume

there was tons of confetti in the shape of sea shells and hearts

amber got us amazing seats super close to the stage

she also interviewed a bunch of wildly dressed pretty ladies which will turn up on her blog soon

things that surprised me about Lady Gaga:

1. she’s not that wonderful of a dancer

2. she only had about 5 costume changes

3. she alternates between telling her fans they can do anything and then saying “i cant hear you mother [effers]!”

4. she doesn’t do an encore

things that surprised me about amber smith blog:

1. she knew every word to every song

2. she bought 4 tickets well in advance for no one in particular because she just knew ppl would wanna come

things that surprised me about The Little Monsters

1. they almost all dressed up in costumes of some sort

2. they didn’t sell out Staples Center (maybe because there are two shows: one tonight as well?)

3. they threw clothes, stuffed animals, even a rainbow flag at Gaga while she caught her breath

ironic, dont ya think: some of the best concert merch, but this crowd really doesnt buy concert merch

ive been to a zillion concerts, this was the only one where there werent bootleg tshirt vendors in the parking lots

now i wanna see the Katy Perry show to see who had the most confetti.

it’s been nearly four years since ive seen gaga, and even that was just briefly.

it was for yoko onos 75th birthday celebration.

yoko did duets with all these famous and interesting people

and at the end did two songs with lady gaga.

which were amaaaazzzzzing.

do i remember what the songs were: no.

did it make me run out and buy either lady gaga or yoko ono records: no.

was it one of the best live music moments of 2010 for me? yup.

am i the weirdest person? si.

amber texts me during baseball games and asks good questions.

for example yesterday the dodgers and the cardinals were playing on espn, so LA got to see their first place team for the first time in a long time.

hanley ramirez got hit with a pitch at his shoulders

and then when the dodgers took the field clayton kershaw plunked one of the cards right in the leg.

the ump dramatically pointed at kershaw, then the dodgers’ bench, and then the cardinals bench, to warn them that if anyone else got hit theyd be thrown out.

but then later in the game hanley got beaned again and nothing happened. no one got ejected. in fact the pitcher struck out the next two batters, but then adrian gonzalez drove in the winning run.

amber texted me and asked why the pitcher wasn’t tossed after both benches had been warned.

i said, life isnt always fair. especially in st. louis. the skid mark of the midwest.

is because if youre doing it right, you learn every night.

the biggest lesson i learned last night was patience young jedi.

patience.

at my real job we recently had reviews which made me think about

what are my weaknesses there.

so that made me think about my shortcomings on the road.

and the most obvious one is chilling while waiting for the ride to start.

maybe people dont know that we’re going crazy inside when we rush

to pick them up on a busy street or at their home

and it drives some of us a little koo koo when they see us, wave

and dilly dally on their way to the car.

or worse, never appear until you call them

and they act like youve interrupted something in their lives.

this week i had one party who called me from the In N Out line

and another from a big raging party.

i was so mad waiting and waiting. i thought, why wouldnt you call me later?

but when they finally got in the car, they were so wonderful.

the very last ride, though, tested my newfound enlightenment

it was past 2am and the dude wanted to go home but first get drive thru.

often at that hour the lines are loooooong

and if i have patience problems waiting to get a ride going

i have 99 problems waiting to get food from minimum wage workers who dgaf.

but things lucked out and it was mellow but as we were halfway there

he squeezed the drink too hard between his knees and it spilled

all over my back seat, the same one i had just gotten detailed.

in my head i was all, you cant blame him, hes drunk and you coulda said no.

and he goes, wow, almost all of it spilled on your black floor mats.

thank you Jesus.

new rule: no open food after 1am.

i did 15 rides on friday and 16 on saturday.

everyone gave me 5 stars. everyone.

was encouraged at the real job

hit my goals on the  sidehustle

watched a few good movies

discovered a couple secret things about LA

learned a few things about myself

felt healthy.

only drank a few cokes.

but ate far too much candy.

and didnt exercise. at all.

yep, a good week.