Written on 9-5-07

Denver Airport…

Hour-long layover between Austin and SFO. I have no idea what to feel right now. I’m not ecstatic at the prospect of starting my new life in San Francisco, although I probably should be. I’m also not terribly sad that I’m leaving Texas; as I’ve said for so long, my opportunities don’t lie there at this moment. I’m just kind bleh. Trying to find the right feeling. I think overall I’m extremely grateful for my vagabond summer that wouldn’t have been possible without the help of so many great family and friends that were ready to take me in and invite me into their homes. Thanks so much to all of you.

My entire last day was spent finally finishing the most important part of my car-project: the painting. I got up super-early to go to the paint shop that makes custom matching paint and I was ready to apply my first coat in Norma’s garage by 11:00am (a very early hour for me!). I sanded down the primer, washed the leftovers, did eight coats of paint; all like I was supposed to do! But when it came time to apply the clear coat, things just didn’t tie together! The paint maintained its matted quality and never glossed up! Even after six coats of clear coat. If none of this makes any sense to y’all, just know that I was extremely frustrated after such a hard day of labor. At 8pm I tried my last coat of clear coat, but to no avail. The job looked like crap. Now I have to try to sell a less-than-stellar car from a different city (many thanks to Tio David and Tia Gloria for having the car at their house). So annoying! But you know what, it’s only damn appropriate when it comes to that car. Whether it’s the air conditioning, or the inch of dust, or the insufficient funds to renovate, this project car has been the most annoying thing ever! On the other hand, I got a lot of good experience with fixing this and that. I feel a lot more confident that I can sell of Olga and get me something a little nicer to fix up. Thank God I don’t require air conditioning in San Francisco!