14.

I stumble, meager possessions in toe, on over to the U district. It's about 10ish in the morning and I should probably try and find a place to live. I've been up far too long and I would really rather not spend all night walking around again. And if I'm gonna sleep anywhere I'd rather it be someplace inside. I need to find some public space with computer access, like an internet cafe or something. There should be something like that on University Way, locally referred to as "The Ave". The Ave is the commercial focal point of the university district, though it's honestly something more like a glorified food court. I start to cross the University Bridge but stop half way across. God's piss has stopped drizzling and the sky is almost clear. I look out onto Portage Bay and feel envy creep behind me. Lots of boats. I wish I had a boat. Poseidon's out there yo-yoing all day long I bet. The bastard. Along the bridge are these weird chunks of concrete that stick out along the structure. Maybe two feet wide, two feet long. Placed atop are these six inch long needles evenly positioned. Methodically. It kind of looks like a bed of needles you'd see in some stereotypical representation of India or a circus. Weird of those two get lumped together. Maybe they're put there so kids don't climb down and sit on these ledges? Not sure. I hit the ave and I slip into this news stand shop. There's coffee being brewed for sleepy students too hung over to notice the price and magazine racks full of shit magazines full of shit articles written by shit heads. The baristas and clerks seem too busy to notice the filthy traveler wander in, for which I am fortunate. There's some public computers situated on a counter along the back wall so I trek on over. There's five stationed but only one in use. I take the corner unit opposite of the other patron and put my load of shit between me and the wall. I dig into my pockets and fish out some quarters to offer up to the ancient 90's relic that controls just how long I can have internet access. Even if computers with internet access hadn't become a common household thing, I'm pretty positive that the ridiculous rate of 25 cents a minute would have killed the industry anyway. Fucking internet cafes. What a fucking bizarre pointless thought, a fucking blip on the time line of failed concepts. I’m awfully ungrateful for this outlandish opportunity to use the internet. I should have just joined the local fucking library. Christ, I could have just snuck into a computer lap on the UW campus. But fuck it, I’m already here. Laziness and availability are outweighing practical frugality. I give up 2 bucks for 8 minutes and I think about the bum wine or beef jerky I'm giving up. Necessity will make a man do strange things. The computer loads at about the speed a 400 pound amputee could run a mile backwards. Fucking shit. I'll be dumping all my change into this trap it seems. I mourn the loss of future gumballs and temporary tattoos.