day 1: los angeles, california to albuquerque, new mexico

we stayed up til four packing what we could of matt's life into crates and trash bags, trying to stuff it all into the rental van and abandoning on the curb those things whose only misfortune in life was either a) not being able to fit nicely into a box, or b) being in the shape of something other than a box. after that we walked to 7-11. i got a tina's burrito. that night i went to sleep smelling of sweat and cigarettes and microwaveable burrito.


we ended up leaving at 9:30, already behind schedule. we stopped for gas and lunch in needles, california. there isn't much to do in needles; there are a few motels, an adult video store, a handful of restaurants, a gas station or two, and according to my count three churches that happen to be on the same block. we ate at carl's jr. it was 100 degrees out, so naturally i was more excited about the air conditioning than the fish and chips. while we were eating these two guys walked in, clad in baggy jean shorts and wife-beaters which left their upper-arm crucifix tattoos exposed. they gave the "bro" handshake and man-hug to the guy at the counter and seemed really excited. as we left we passed their table and saw that they were filling out job applications.



i hadn't a good night's sleep in weeks, so on this first day i did a lot of catching up in the van. i didn't feel like i missed much, because the drive from to albuquerque is pretty much identical to the drive to santa fe (scenery-wise, at least; lots of rocks and dirt and sun), which we already did a few years back on our way to austin. come to think of it, seeing as the whole trip took four days, this account of the country is almost based strictly on observations through car windows and encounters at fast food restaurants, gas stations, and motels.



i took the wheel in flagstaff, arizona; we arrived in albuquerque around 12:30am. at his insistence, ray had us drop him off at the spearmint rhino down the street from the super 8 where we stayed. despite his enticing us to accompany him--"it's only a six dollar cover. SIX DOLLARS!"--we declined. as we entered the motel and approached the front desk, a strangely-comforting scent hit my nostrils, reminiscient of hugs from my grandmother and my apartment from senior year of college. i immediately recognized the smell as nicotene, but my brain was still programmed in golden state code and hence wouldn't process a concept as absurd as indoor smoking. i lit up in the hallway and made a few calls to tell people that i was in a place that was not california.

**if people who reside in california are californians, are those who reside in new mexico 'new mexicans'? and no, i am not being facetious.**