#google maps said it’s a 30 minute bike ride but it took me more like an hour

[hearditinapastlife2019]

i’ve been biking to work since the buses have started striking and it’s kind of beautiful.. i forgot how nice it is to rely on my body to get me from point a to point b and i took it slow and stopped at my favourite park for a bit.. it was so nice

[biking-the-erie-canal]

Hearts a-beating

Google Maps said it was an 17 minute bike ride from the apartment to the Albany-Rensselaer Amtrak station. Yesterday, half-joking, half-serious, I asked Rob whether we should checkout the ride to the station. We didn’t, but this morning I was wishing we had.

Our train departure was scheduled for 6:55am from Albany. Our plan was to leave the AirBnb between 5:30 and 5:45. We were up and out by 5:30, so all good from that perspective. It was dark, cool, and the streets were pretty empty. We were retracing part our walking tour on bikes….down State Street - the Capitol on the left, The Egg and other government buildings on the right. With the night glow of the buildings, it was quite pretty, and it felt like a nice ending.

We followed the navigation on down to the bike trail on the Hudson River, but soon realized something was wrong. We were below the bridge we needed to be on to across the Hudson. We went south on the bike trail a bit more thinking there might be another entrance to the bridge system from the south. Nope. We went back around to try again. It’s still dark, but this time we saw where the on-ramp was blocked and the signs for the Rensselaer bike detour. We went left this time until we got to the on-ramp which took us up this narrow, makeshift bike lane going against traffic. We have not been biking too many hills this past week, and my legs are burning. Rob is in front of me yelling once in a while to just see if I am still behind him. It was nerve racking!

We started on the blue line and finished on the red.

Our first segment from Albany to NYC was on time, and we did make it with time to spare. Even time to buy coffee, the essential ingredient of Rob’s morning.

Leaving Penn at Moynihan Hall was a bit delayed. I still love that we could see this beautiful glass roof from our apartment rooftop back in the day. That building is now behind the left tower that you can barely see through the glass. We are at least pretty relaxed now!

We had a chance to reflect on some of the most memorial parts of the trip. If they are not written down now, they are lost forever.

Favorite meal: Cindy - Chicken Parmesan at Tres Pines Restaurant in Canastota. Rob - Hamburger at B L’s Tavern in Schenectady.

Favorite local beer: Cindy - Utica Club at Saranac Biergarten and B L’s Tavern. Rob - Old Klaverack October Fest bought at Lark Tavern in Albany. (The brewery is south of Albany.)

Favorite riding segment: Loved them all, but Lockport to Holley (wind at our back and smooth riding) and Utica to Canajoharie (smooth trails in the Mohawk Valley) were standouts.

Favorite diversions: Could not narrow this down, so here goes - Watching boats go through the locks. Cahoes Falls was pretty spectacular too. Friendly Bake Shop in Frankfort. Skaneateles Lake (Oh man, that reminds me of the Tuna Napoleon salad at Blue Water Grill. That was fantastic too.)

What we did right: We did well on packing light with the right amount of cloths for 2 weeks. Going to the laundry mat every three days worked out well. Laundry detergent sheets are the bomb for light packing. I think I only had one pair of leggings that I didn’t wear which was packed for cooler weather.

What we would do different: Would prefer to book lodging as we go after better understanding our pace. Originally I was just going to book the first few days but got nervous when so many of the B&B had closed during COVID. I could have relied more on AirBnb if needed. Also, staying in a room in a house worked well and that helps keep the cost lower when you don’t need a whole multi-bedroom house. Also - and a big one - we should have checked the distance and elevation between the trail and the lodging more closely.

Most grateful for: Meeting some great people along the way - on the trails and in the towns (read bars). You know who you are! Also, we are also happy about the great weather and zero flat tires! On the last day heading to Albany, we had a few drops of rain but that was all while on the trail.

What’s next?: Not sure, but a new idea got planted this trip - NYC to Montreal. It is about the same amount of miles. It goes straight up the Hudson Valley, and we heard a few rave reviews. We will see.

[marvels-writings]

Hey so the song body like a back road by sam hunt popped up from my shuffle today and I instantly thought it would make great little drabble. Maybe just morning cuddles while this song plays, or reader serenading at karaoke, or reader making breakfast and singing along. Overall just some cute fluffy shit with either Nat, Wanda, Maria or Carol whoever you're feeling. Sorry it's so long, and thanks for your time.

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A/N: This has been in my inbox forever and tbh i still didn’t get too much inspiration but here we are now, and like I think this song suits Carol best, the vibe is more her than any other character. it might not be that great since I didn’t have inspiration, but still, lyrics in single quotes 

‘Got a girl from the south side, got braids in her hair

First time I seen her walk by, man I 'bout fell off my chair’

Carol grinned at you when you played the song, eyes lighting up at the memories it brought back. You smiled back at her and started mixing the batter together for the cake you were making for your 4 year anniversary. 

‘Had to get her number, it took me like six weeks

Now me and her go way back like Cadillac seats’

The memory came at once in both of your minds, it was when you’d just joined the Avengers, Carol saw you in the training room the day you’d joined, you’d almost taken down Natasha, which took everyone by surprise. It took Carol 6 weeks to get the courage to finally talk to you, she was normally confident and a little boisterous around others, but everything changed around you, she was trying her best to impress you.

It worked, a year later, both of you had moved into a penthouse near the compound and the city, the roof gave Carol easy access to fly off, and it was near your work, it was perfect. 

‘Body like a back road, drivin' with my eyes closed

I know every curve like the back of my hand’

After Carol got all of the ingredients out of the recently stocked cupboards, she took your hand and twirled you around, smiling at your laughter and dancing with you. You whined, saying you wanted to bake but you secretly loved how clingy Carol was being. 

‘Doin' 15 in a 30, I ain't in no hurry

I'mma take it slow just as fast as I can’

You remembered on your first date, Carol took you to some fancy place Tony had suggested on her bike, the ride there was slow than you’ve ever seen her drive, google maps said it should’ve taken 15 minutes, Carol took her time and pulled it into half an hour, treasuring every moment of it. 

‘The way she fit in them blue jeans, she don't need no belt

But I can turn them inside out, I don't need no help

Got hips like honey, so thick and so sweet

It ain't no curves like hers on them downtown streets’

You’d finally gotten back to baking when you remembered Carol had no idea what to do, so you told her to mix the dry ingredients while you mixed the wet ones, she seemed to be doing fine so far, she insisted you let her mix the two bowls together, and you did. Carol had no idea how to mix it.

You rolled your eyes playfully and slid up behind her, wrapping your hands around her forearms and mixing it using her hands, chin resting on top of her shoulder as you grinned. Carol loved it, the normalcy of everything, being with you, it grounded her. 

‘Body like a back road, drivin' with my eyes closed

I know every curve like the back of my hand

Doin' 15 in a 30, I ain't in no hurry

I'mma take it slow just as fast as I can’

On your six month anniversary, you and Carol had come out to the entire team, driving slowly to work in case they didn’t approve of the whole ‘dating your colleague’ thing, instead, they ended up being incredibly supportive, a ton of ‘finally’s and it was amazing, you couldn’t be happier. 

‘We're out here in the boondocks

With the breeze and the birds

Tangled up in the tall grass

With my lips on hers’

Honestly, no one would think Carol would be the type of person for romantic cliches, but she loved acting them out for you. So, on your two year anniversary, Carol took you to a hill where you had said you had stargazed as a kid, you had a picnic there with a lot of teasing and talking about the past and the future.

When Carol proposed, you didn’t think your heart could be fuller, she slid the ring onto your finger, a grin matching yours before you tackled her to the ground, grass tickling her back. You had everything, a fiance you loved, an amazing job, you had everything with her. 

‘On the highway to heaven

Headed south of her smile

Get there when we get there

Every inch is a mile’

All of the memories rushed back to you while you danced with Carol after baking the cake, softly resting your head on her shoulder with her arms wrapped around your waist, your arms on her neck. Your breath fanned across her neck gently, Carol pulled you closer as the rest of the song continued, you were all she needed. 

‘Body like a back road, drivin' with my eyes closed

I know every curve like the back of my hand

Doin' 15 in a 30, I ain't in no hurry’

On your wedding day, Natasha remembered the song and played it for your first dance as a wedding couple, Carol pulled you as close as she could, her blue tux complimenting your dress perfectly. She sand the last few lyrics in your ear before dipping you.

‘I'mma take it slow just as fast as I can

I'mma take it slow

Just as fast as I can’

A/N: Hope you liked it, not the best I’ve written. Also, random question, how old do you guys think I am? Like just based on this blog?

 Tag List: @capcarolsdanver, @versdan, @lesbian-girls-wayhaught, @lovebotlarson, @dhengkt, @5aftermidnight, @hstoria, @natasha-danvers, @veryfunnyal, @xxxtwilightaxelxxx , @ophelias-heart  , @never-didbefore , @justarandomhumanhere, @the-most-unicorn-of-them-all , @thatssocamryn , @lesbian-x-blackwidow , @marvelbbyx , let me know if you’d like to be in any of my tag lists!

[laowai-on-a-bike]

Yinzu, Yinzu, Yinzu… these words echoed endlessly in my head. It all started when I was back from Jiu Gong Mountain, on the highway with my friend Freddy. I was impressed to admire such beautiful landscapes so close to Wuhan. It's weird that we are always drawn to faraway destinations, like Yunnnan, Guizhou or Sichuan provinces but ultimately, there are already plenty of places to explore near our home.

Besides, I will be moving to Guangzhou soon so I might as well explore the area before leaving. And then, starting a bike tour directly from home without the hassle of bringing your bike to a distant destination by train or bus or by mail is really much more convenient. Well, I'm already digressing...

At one point on the highway, then, an exit sign appeared with the name "Yinzu" written on it. I didn't know why, but I was immediately drawn to the name, maybe because it sounds good, I don't know. And then the obsession started: "I'll go by bike to Yinzu". I didn't even know what Yinzu was: a village? A town? Regardless, it seemed like a good pretext for an adventure.

Then Freddy, who speaks Chinese much better than me, managed to find the name in Chinese character. Yinzu was there, on my Baidu Map app (equivalent to Google Map in China), 90 kilometers away from Wuhan.  Ideas for routes were starting to take shape in my head for some time.

In the middle of June, I was having a three days weekend for the Dragon Boat Festival so I said to myself: "Yinzu, I'm coming"!

One day before leaving, I checked the weather forecast: they announced rain for 3 days and a very hot weather (33-35 degrees) ... Ouch ... But, if we are still waiting for the right moment to leave, we will never go on a tour right? “It's raining”, “it's too hot”, “it’s too humid”: these are no excuses! Especially in the Wuhan region, where there are only two seasons (very hot and humid or cold):  that doesn't leave many opportunities to ride if we wait for the perfect weather. So I decided to leave, raining or not.

The last time I rode my bike in bad weather, I wasn't prepared. I ended up with plastic bags around my shoes and a soaked underwear. After this experience, I had searched the internet for the perfect solution to ride in the rain. Overshoes? Good brand raincoat? 10 yuan plastic poncho from street grocery stores? The solution finally came from my British friend Jack: "You must embrace the rain ! Just remove your shirt and ride in sandals"! He was not wrong: in fact, why bother ? Especially with temperatures around 35 degrees, you are dry in 5 minutes ... So I grabbed a 15 Yuan rain shorts (a kind of ugly short made by trash bag material) because I don't like having my underwear wet - yes I know, I'm a little princess -, Decathlon sandals, and for the t-shirt, well… I'm really not a fan of riding with a cycling jersey, so a punk band tee-shirt will have to do !

The day before departure, I loaded my two bike rack bags, I took food (oatmeal and dried fruits for breakfast, and some dehydrated dishes), some clothes, a raincoat which in the end I didn’t use, an Italian coffee maker (instant coffee, no thanks), repairing tools, then equipment for camping (tent, sleeping bag, mattress etc.). Sleeping in a hotel is for a looser, I am a real adventurer... well that's what I thought before leaving…

Sunday 8 am, departure. It didn't seem to be raining, so now was a good time to go. The first 50 km were on a big dusty expressway, I could feel that I was in the suburbs of Wuhan: here and there, construction sites, bridges and roads under construction. I hadn't done 30 km before my bike was already very dusty. No problem, it gives me a feeling of adventure.

The Expressways in China are widely used by trucks… not necessarily super fun to ride, but it allows you to get out of town quickly. Well, positive note, the roads are often very wide here and you really have room to ride. I was trying not to think about the trucks and enjoy my trip, much like when your buddy is snoring next to you, if you start to think about it too much, you will go crazy and it will be impossible to think of anything else. But everything went very well and I never felt unsafe on the road during the whole trip.

The advantage of going on a short 3-day test trip is I learned a lot.

First lesson of this trip: do not trust the weather forecast. The rain they predicted? I hardly saw it…  In fact, it was under a blazing sun that I had to ride the entire trip. They have an easy job, those weather broadcasting guys! Basically they write that there's a 50% chance that it will rain… not a big risk-taking on their part…

So finally, I rode in the blazing sun, and on an express way, there wasn't a single patch of shade. The sun hit hard! As I had already tanned well on my previous bike trips, I figured that I was not too prone to sunburn.

Second lesson: always wear sunscreen, even if you already had sunburns before! And above all, do not wait until you are sweating to put it on, otherwise, it makes a kind of mixture between sticky perspiration, sunscreen and dust...

Well, the sun didn't worry me more than that, at worst a sunburn. ... it was more in terms of hydration that I had to be careful. So I decided to tape bottles on the frame of the bike.  DIY spirit! I also had with me some rehydrating powder to add to the water, since you lose a lot of salt with perspiration.

Anyway, I rode like that for quite a long time, and on the way, I passed a little hand-built house where people were selling water. Seeing me sweating heavily, they invited me to sit on a stool placed in front of a fan. So it was true: when people see a cyclist arriving on a trip, moreover a foreigner coming out of nowhere, smiles and kindness appear.

We talked a bit about the usual topics: Where are you from? What is your job? Are you married? What are you doing here? Then, after a few minutes, the father invited me to eat. At first I politely refused, but eventually I gave in. It is heartwarming to see the hospitality of the people especially at this time, when many Chinese people are scared to see a foreigner, thinking he may have brought covid-19 from abroad. It’s a bit tiring sometimes to see people pinch their noses when they see me on the street, I have to admit. But not at all here. They apologized for only offering me vegetable dishes, no meat, but in fact I was more than happy to eat fresh vegetables from their garden. We chatted about everything and nothing during the meal and it was already time to leave. I would have liked to drink beers longer, but I hadn't come to get drunk. I had a trip planned: Yinzu was waiting for me.

I got back on this big road but after a few kilometers I started to wonder. I hadn't come to go for kilometers on a boring road while being shaken by trucks ... Hence my third lesson of this trip: prepare your route well. Basically there are different types of roads in China that start with a letter: the S and G are the expressways where there are a lot of trucks, little shade, but that has the advantage of going straight and faster. Perfect for traveling for kilometers quickly and out of cities. But the X and Y are much more interesting country roads. Even if it takes detours, it is a change of scenery guaranteed. After these three days of biking, I learned that you have to know the right balance: ride the expressways to go quickly and far, especially when the landscapes are uninteresting. And take the small roads to ride peacefully, to discover rural life and be amazed by the landscapes.

So I changed my route on the GPS. Good decision: I crossed my first rice fields and I was finally over the moon.

Gradually, the landscape started to be really amazing and the colors of the landscapes became greener and greener.

Further on, I began to see mountains in the distance. It was my destination, it was these landscapes that made me want to go to Yinzu !!! The trip was finally starting to make sense. I was as excited as a kid over his Christmas present and all my doubts melted away

I rode like this all afternoon, with a smile on my face, despite the scorching heat.

Gradually, I began to wonder about where to sleep. I am always on the lookout when I ride, looking to see if there is a possibility of wild camping.

Lesson number 4: the rice fields are beautiful in photos but not ideal for camping ... It is not always easy to find a flat and, moreover, hidden place to have a good quiet night's sleep. The rural countryside is incredibly dense with crops and cultivated fields, so it's really not that easy to find a spot to camp. The solution might be to ask people in the area. Well anyway, I was heading to Yinzu and I could decide there.

I arrive near a pagoda and a temple in the middle of nowhere, on the way. What is that ? I asked a passerby, she reply "nothing". I thought she must have been surprised to find herself face to face with a smelly foreigner on a bicycle and told herself that I don't speak Chinese. In fact she was right: the buildings were completely empty, probably a future hotel still under construction.

Finally, a Yinzu sign. I was approaching my goal, but what exactly? I didn't even know what Yinzu was ...

So finally, Yinzu, is a small town which consists of a big main street with its restaurants, its stores. Everyone is surprised to see me there and I have fun seeing children speechless when they meet my eyes: "What can this foreigner on a bicycle be doing here?" I was so excited to have arrived at my destination that I didn't even take a photo of the city. I would also have liked to take pictures of people, but I didn't dare to do it.

I had to make a decision. Get out of Yinzu and find a place to sleep in the wild - I was still quite exhausted from the day's travel and the sunburns - or go and try to check in at the only hotel in the area. I say "try" because not many Chinese know it, but in China, many hotels do not accept foreigners. It is not really out of racism. No one really knows the reason: some say that cheap hotels do not have the computer system to register foreigners, others think that China wants to show only beautiful things to foreign tourists and they must therefore go to beautiful 4 star hotels. Well, I'm not criticizing, it's like that here and I accept it but it's still frustrating to live 15 years in a country, to work there, to be married there and to be refused in a hotel because you're a foreigner…

It makes it hard to plan a bike trip if you're not even sure you can find a place to sleep.

Anyway, whoever tries nothing has nothing and finally, I walked to the hotel without really believing it. The owner who ran the establishment did not even ask a question. I told him that I am a foreigner (sometimes people think I am from Xinjiang Province) just in case. He asked me if I had a Chinese identity card, but I replied with a smile that I only have a passport, that I came from Wuhan by bicycle and that if he wants, I have a photo of my Chinese wife's ID card. But he was very nice and gives me the room card, chatted a bit and even offered me tea.

I went upstairs to take a well-deserved shower. I was really sticky ... I realized that the sun had scorched me today ...

Lesson number 5: apply sunscreen everywhere, including your feet!

I was still a little disappointed with myself. Watching videos of people cycling around the world and camping in nature every night, I told myself that going to sleep at a hotel is a bit cheating, isn't it? But after 5 minutes under the air conditioning, I told myself that it was not that bad in the end. I travel for myself, not for others, and after a little over 100 kilometers in the day, I admit that a shower and a good bed made me feel good. Too bad for my adventurous soul...

I went out to eat something. In the street, I had the impression to rediscover the feeling that I had had when I arrived in China in 2006. It is a felling rather hard to explain. Once again, may be the surprise of people who greeted me with a warm "hello" and wanted to take a photo with me, or the number of street foods vendors who are hard to find in big cities nowadays. I ate a bowl of Lanzhou noodles, returned to the hotel and quickly fell asleep.

 The next day, I woke up feeling very tired. It was undoubtedly linked to the heat stroke of the day before. My feet didn't hurt too much. I had few small blisters on my knees but it could have been worse. I told myself that I shouldn't hang around too much. Better ride early to avoid the heat of the day. By arranging my things scattered all over the place and loading the panniers on the bike, I was already sweating profusely… The day was going to be hot… I put on sunscreen (I had understood my mistake of the day before). I decided to go towards Wuhan but not by the same road because it is boring to take the same route as on the way there. There is a big lake 50 km south of Wuhan, which is perfect because I have never been there before.

The road to the lake was once again beautiful. I passed through villages and small towns, lakes, rice paddies, cornfields. Such a nice place to ride a bike.

Every now and then, I chatted with people at a gas station, or with a watermelon vendor who kindly offered me his stool to eat in the shade and chatted with me.

It was still very hot, but the sun was not too strong. In fact, I can handle the heat really well. I can ride in high temperatures with no problem but on the other hand, when the sun is burning my skin, it's really hard for me, especially from 10 am to 4 pm.

While riding under the sun, I was wondering about my next trips. Since I got back to cycling, I have dreamed of doing part of the Silk Road by bike from Lanzhou to Dunghung in Gansu Province, basically a road through the desert (with cities between). I was starting to realize that my dream was not going to be so easy to achieve. How to ride all day without shade? I guess someone should really be prepare for a trip like that.

I tell myself that in the end, I was smart enough not to jump straight into such a long adventure. Rather than directly embarking on a 20-day adventure and experiencing difficulties, I did things gradually: first short distances in Wuhan to get used to the bike, then trips of 100 kilometers in Wuhan, then a two-day trip, a mountain to climb to test my willpower and finally a slightly longer trip.

Around 11 am, the sun reappeared but I decided to go to the lake without taking too many breaks. I still should have left two hours earlier though (I left at 8 am) to avoid the strong sun radiation.

Gradually, the landscapes changed a little, the mountains in the distance disappeared and the vegetation changed. I would have liked to stay in the area longer but I had to go back to work. Next time I should ride longer.

When I got to the lake, I realized that in fact, I was not really in the place I hoped for. Make no mistake, it was very beautiful, but it wasn't really a big lake. Rather square ponds designed for fishermen.

But I was still super happy to find myself a little shade by the water with my friends the hens who came to visit me and sometimes fishermen who came to chat with me.

The place where I was, however, was not really ideal for camping because it was too close to a road. I didn't want to be woken up in the middle of the night by strangers. Besides, my mate Jack told me that while sleeping near this lake, a farmer kindly asked him to leave in the middle of the night few years before.

So after I had rested for an hour, I left to look for a more hidden place. The camp spot I found was not perfect - It wasn't by the water – but I could be invisible at night. I know that many travelers love to set out to find a place to camp. It’s like a game for them. Me, I always have a little apprehension of doing wild camp. This must be probably related to my inexperience in wild camping. But hey, after an hour of imagining the worst, I told myself that I was not risking much and I had to try to make the most of the present moment.

So I made a meal while waiting for night to fall to put my tent discreetly. I didn't want to attract the attention of the local fishermen either.

As I entered the tent, ready to sleep, I felt really stupid. The tent was like a real sauna!! In terms of insects, I was well protected by the mosquito net but the heat was really difficult to bear. I couldn't open the tent door or else I would be eaten alive by the bugs… I could hear them circling around the tent, attracted by a sweating smelly human and my phone light. So I had a hard time falling asleep. Usually, after a day of cycling like this, you can easily fall asleep around 9 p.m... I still told myself that the hotel in this season is nicer and that would save me from carrying a tent and sleeping gear (and a new lesson learned, a sleeping bag is useless in this season). The hammock could be the solution, I have one with an extra mosquito net, but I don't sleep very well in it... a new lesson learned on this trip !

Finally, I woke up at dawn. After packing all my mess, I had breakfast and a little coffee for the road.

I had around 50 kilometers to ride that day to get home and I had to work in the afternoon. The return went well, I followed a few roads lined with fields of tea and corn, but the landscapes were gradually less pleasant and more and more urban.

  I finally arrived around midday at home. I had ride 230 kilometers with 1200 meters of elevation gain. That was not bad in this heat.  At the end, I was super happy doing this trip: I had learn a lot for my future trips, I enjoyed the ride, saw beautiful landscapes, and met some nice people… I had beautiful memories in my head and only one desire: to leave again as soon as possible!!!

[the-record-newspaper]

The killing of Rhonda Hinson Part 37

This photo was captured by Google Maps in August, 2012.  It is a picture of the residence of Mark and Faith Turner—the house where Greg and Jane McDowell came on January 26, 1996 at Mark's invitation.  Mark's house had been wired by authorities to capture conversation between the two couples.

By LARRY J. GRIFFIN

Special Investigative Reporter

For The Record

 “You know what’s worse than the fear of speaking the truth?  It’s the fear of uncovering it.” –Milton Fine, 2005.

When Greg and Jane McDowell appeared at Mark and Faith Turner’s Bouchard Avenue doorstep on Friday Jan. 26, 1996, neither visitor had an inkling that the sole purpose of the social assignation was to record the Greg’s voice and any incriminating statement he might articulate that would implicate him in the killing of Rhonda Hinson.  

But Mark knew; Faith knew.  They knew about the recording equipment concealed in the crevices of the crawlspace of the room adjacent to the living room and the transmitters carefully concealed within the creases of the curtains.  And though he ostensibly felt ambivalently about cooperating with authorities, Mark acceded to—for all intents and purposes—Detective James “Flash” Pruett’s plan to ‘set his friend up’ for the second time in eight days.  

In his detailed case notes, the detective typed a synopsis of the latter events of the day:

“Greg and his wife arrived at 6:30 PM and left shortly after 9:00 PM.  We had earlier instructed Mark Turner to unplug the equipment after Greg left.  We arranged to pick the system up while the daughter was away from the home at noon tomorrow [Saturday Jan. 27, 1996] Buddy Noles took possession of the items and will transfer the audio to cassettes.”

Subsequently, Detective Pruett called Buddy Noles at Western Piedmont Community College (WPCC) inquiring after the results of the taped visit. The response that he received was—yet again—disappointing:

“He said the audio tape of Greg McDowell recorded at Mark Turner’s home was of very poor quality and of no value.  He could not get any audio of the target voices.  He mentioned Mark stated Greg seemed to be in a hurry to leave and acted really nervous.”

For the third time—in as many attempts—the conscientious investigator had failed to obtain the information that he sought to acquire. At least twice, faulty technology was implicated.  

The next day—January 27th—Flash was on-call and worked from 2 p.m. until midnight.  He dealt with a multiplicity of breaking-entering-larceny (BEL) cases but did manage to interview William “Poncho” Holland in his office.  Of that encounter he wrote:

“He was one of the first county officers to arrive at the crime scene.  In his opinion, he did not feel the shot came from I-40.  He felt the car was moved from the scene to [Sic] early and complained of poor investigative techniques during the crime scene processing.  He pointed out the tire impression to investigative officers, left on the road by Rhonda’s car.  He felt she was in her proper lane and rolled back into the ditch. No one marked the highway where the impressions stopped.  He did not know the position of the overhead dome light.  He did recall being at the victim’s parents home and he did see Charles McDowell step forward when [John] McDevitt mentioned the McDowell’s [Sic] names. This statement would verify what Judy Hinson said about McDowell being at her home.”

[NOTE: It was previously reported that Burke County Sheriff’s Department Officer Bill Holland, was the first county official to arrive on the scene.  His arrival was noted in an undated Valdese Police report signed by Officer Danny Barus. In an article published by the News Herald, dated Sept. 2, 2001, the front page of Sgt. Bill Holland’s report of the events was pictured on Page 4A of the daily newspaper.  Dated Dec. 23, 1981, the typed narrative stipulates that Mr. Holland “arrived on scene at 01:25 Hrs.”—approximately 11 minutes after Lieutenant Harry Feimster of the Valdese PD became the first law enforcement officer of any kind to reach the crime scene.]

In his interview with Detective Pruett, Mr. Holland averred that he and his wife, Wanda, played tennis with Rhonda.  Additionally, he mentioned the name Rick Steiner—a tennis partner of Rhonda’s who purportedly had a “crush” on the then 18-year-old. Notably, in a News Herald photo published circa September, 1981, Rhonda and Rick are receiving checks for winning a mixed-doubles tournament.  The monetary presentation was made by the late Wanda Holland.  

As throes of Winter 1996 yielded to the promise of Spring, Flash’s attention turned to other salient, often baffling details of the Hinson case—specifically the clothing that Rhonda was wearing the early morning that she was killed.  Neither Judy nor Bobby Hinson had viewed their daughter’s clothing subsequent to her murder—they said as much in their initial interview with The Record.  

Detective Pruett located the clothing in the evidence room to of the Burke County Sheriff’s Department and retrieved Rhonda’s shoes to show to her mother and father who had journeyed to his office.  In his file notes—dated Tuesday, March 5, 1996—he recorded their shocking response:

“…The shoes we have were indeed the shoes Rhonda had on when she was murdered, but not the shoes she wore as she left home enroute to the party. Rhonda had called her mother from work [on Dec. 22, 1981] telling her about buying a new pair of shoes.  She and Greg McDowell had gone to lunch and shopped for a pair of shoes.  Rhonda held her foot up when leaving for the party and said, ‘how do you like my new shoes?’ Judy Hinson said they were dressy and darker beige than her blouse.  Rhonda also asked her father to bring her car to the front so she would not get her new shoes muddy.”  

“I really didn’t pay a lot of attention to Rhonda’s shoes; I paid more attention to the clothes she was wearing,” recalled Judy Hinson in a recent interview with this writer.  “I remember that she was on her way out the door when she held up her foot and asked, ‘How do you like my shoes?’  Well, I told her yes, yes I liked them.”

But when the Hinsons viewed the shoes at Flash’s office, Judy was particularly troubled.   “I didn’t realize that there would be blood on them; but, there was,” she said. “So, it was difficult for me to look at them very long.  But I did notice that inside one shoe there were toe impressions—you know the kind a person makes when they have worn shoes for a long time.”  

As he examined the shoes in custody, Flash noted flex marks, worn places, and marks on the straps—markings that would suggest that these shoes had been worn for some time.  However, that observation was not the most puzzling discovery relative to the footwear Rhonda was wearing when her lifeless body was found outside her vehicle by law enforcement on the early morning of Dec. 23, 1981.  The detective explained in his case synopsis:

 “The strangest part of all is the fact the shoes we have are 9 Ds, a full size larger than Rhonda wore.  Judy checked other shoes in Rhonda’s bedroom and discovered the sizes to be size 8.”  

“They were larger than what Rhonda wore—generally she wore a size eight,” Judy explained. “I can’t account for the size difference; however, there is a possibility that if her feet were hurting her, Rhonda may have asked Sherry [Pittman Yoder] if she had some more comfortable shoes for her to wear—or maybe even some that belonged to Sherry’s mother.”

Upon reflection, Ms. Hinson offered one other plausible explanation. “It also could have been that if Rhonda saw the shoes and liked them, then the correct size would not have mattered to her.  I mean, I would never buy a pair of shoes that didn’t fit; however, things like that didn’t really matter to Rhonda.”

The Hinsons still have the footwear that Rhonda wore to work on Dec. 22, 1981—before she came home to change for the Hickory Steel Christmas party. Judy attempted to locate the size of those shoes; but, there was no discernible size denotation.  However, she compared one of her daughter’s to one of her own size 7 and a half shoes and discovered that they aligned with each other.  

“I thought that the shoes Flash showed us were at least a size larger than Rhonda’s shoe size; however, it looks like they may have been at least one and a half sizes larger than hers,” Judy concluded.  

The stunning footwear conundrum raised a plethora of questions for Detective Pruett—he noted the most salient in his file notes:

“…Could Rhonda have left the old shoes in Greg’s car at lunch [on Dec. 22, 1983] and worn the new ones?  The new shoes cannot be accounted for in the inventory of Rhonda’s car.  Could she have met Greg and changed into the old ones before the fight?  Could the new shoes have been left in Greg’s car after the murder?  The new facts cause a problem for the scuff marks on the left shoe.  When was the shoe damaged?”

Then he drew a most chilling inference:

“On the other hand, it would limit the killer to be a person who had the new shoes.  Who else could have possession of the old or new shoes other than the person who shopped with her on December, 22, 1981?”

Six days after he typed his March 5th case file synopsis—Monday, March 11, 1996—Detective Pruett reported that he had sustained a foot injury while on an off-road dirt bike riding adventure with his son. “Unfortunately, I will be out of work for some time,” he noted.  

Unbeknownst to the able investigator, his injury would require extensive surgery and a prolonged recuperative period.  In fact, it would be over 16 weeks before Detective James “Flash” Pruett returned to work and the investigation into the killing of Rhonda Hinson.    

[wfmaqh]

Jeannette

INT-Scene opens with Abby on the floor of her bathroom curled around the toilet. Playing with the palm of her hand.

 ABBY (V.O.)

Jeannette... That's all you remember, Her name. You don't remember why it was so special but if tracing out the ink on the palm of your hand was any indication of the gooie tingly feelings you woke up with, then hell yes it was important. And more important that the last two digits of her phone number had smudged off. 

 Camera pans to Abby’s hand and back to her face. Suddenly, she realizes how drunk she is and shakes a grimace.

 ABBY (V.O.)

If only I could get off this floor and- 

 Abby is cut off by Max entering the bathroom with a bag of McDonald's and gatorade in his hands

 MAX

Jesus, girl. You're a hot mess. Here.

Max passes the bag and drink off like a hot potato. Abby immediately tears through the bag. Cramming fries in her mouth.

 ABBY

Sometimes I wish I could marry you. 

 Max stands akimbo sashaying his hip- Leaning on the door

 MAX

I wish the feeling was mutual. When was the last time you got me McDonald’s when I was hungover?

 ABBY

 When was the last time you were hungover like this?

 Groggy arguing back

 MAX

That's not even the point.

(waving hands)

You seemed pretty  out of it when you got home. You kept going on about this    “goddess” you met. I wish I had snapped it. Girl, it was funny. 

ABBY

Well I got her number but…( shows Max her palm. With a look of desperation )

 MAX

Okay, I have a plan but let me finish my coffee and bring a pen and paper. 

 Abby looks back confused then feels like vomiting. Max turns to leave the room.

 MAX (Cont.)

This is your problem so,you can be my assistant but it looks like you need to pull yourself together.

 Abby slowly gets ready still a bit drunk trying to get a hold of herself, leaving the bathroom she enters the kitchen. The apartment has a lofty open feeling to it there is an island that Max is sitting at sipping from a paper cup scrolling through social media faster than he can even comprehend. Abby places the paper and pen near him. He slides it closer to him. Abby sits next to him. 

 ABBY 

So what’s your plan, oh great master. 

 MAX 

If you don’t want my help then…

 Max flashes a sparkle in his eyes that is devilish and Abby acquiesces. Max starts to scribble numbers.

 ABBY

Well, we can’t call 100 different combinations. That could take all day. 

 MAX

No, that’s insane. Look the first number looks like a 5. It could be a 3,7 or 2. The second number looks like a 6, which could be an 8 or 0. So that leaves us with 12 options. I’d say that’s progress. 

  Max begins typing the numbers 

  MAX(Cont.)

 Hi, this is Maxine from the Human Rights Campaign do you have a couple of minutes to talk about gay rights?

(pause)

 No, okay would you like to be put on the do not call list?

(pause)

Can you verify your name? 

(pause)

...Have a blessed day sir. Homophobic piece of shit.

   ABBY

I mean what did you expect? No one wants give money away for free. And why are you pretending to be ‘Maxine?’

  MAX

Oh my little Abby. So sweet.

 Max continues with the calls.Finally down to the last number we both took a deep breath as the phone rang. This time Max  puts the phone on speaker.

 MAX

Hi, my name is Maxine I work with the Human Rights Campaign. How are you today?

 JEANETTE

(quizzically)

  I’m good. How are you?

  MAX 

Good. Thanks for asking. I’m calling to see if you have a moment to talk about gay rights. Is now a good time?

 JEANETTE

Not really. But I already contribute and I’m not going to increase it at this time. Thank you.

 MAX

So would you like to add to your contribution?

 JEANETTE

 I just said no.

 Both Max and Abby are perturbed by this response.

 MAX

I’m terribly sorry. Can you confirm your name for our records?

 JEANETTE

Jeanette Issing, 602 W 185th Street, New York.

 MAX

Thank you.

(hangs up)

Sounds bitchy to me.

 ABBY

(nervous)

I wouldn’t say that. You did just cold call her.

 MAX

Whatever...Now you have her number so get to texting girl. Work some lady loving magic. I’m going to read my book and take a nap.

 Max leaves. Abby sits staring at the number catatonically trying to figure out if what to do next. She punches the number in her contacts.

 Fade to black “The Next Day”

 INT-Music store that Abby works at. It’s around 4 PM Abby stares at her phone trying to figure if she should send a text. The store if virtually empty but abby cautiously looks around. Abby starts typing 

 “Hey. It’s Abby I just wanted to see what you were up to tonight?”

Then deletes the whole text.

“Hey, sorry to bother you”

Then deletes the whole text.

“Hey, This is Abby from Steamy Bunny. I had a good time ;)”

 ABBY

You don’t even remember that night.

(Types again)

“This is ABBY from the other night. I wanted to see what you were up to?”

 Her finger hovers over the send button, wincing she presses send. And lets out a breath of relief. Dots begin appearing. 5 seconds passes.Jeanette’s message.

“Hey ;)” 

 ABBY

Holy shit!

 Abby looks around the store. Blushing. dots appear again. 

 “I’m teaching until 5:30 we could meet up for happy hour. Do you know Mel’s on Broadway?”

 Abby’s hands are a bit shaky she exits pulls up google maps and types in Mel’s 

 ABBY

111th Street! That’s gonna take me and hour. 

 Her manager pops up behind her.

 MANAGER

Hey.

Abby jumps slamming the phone down. Manager follows it with his eyes.

  MANAGER(Cont.)

It’s fine if you’re on your phone. No one’s in here anyways. 

 ABBY

Sorry, thanks. 

 She doesn’t even know why she’s apologizing.

 MANAGER

So.. Anyways. I was just going to let you off early.I’ll close up See you tomorrow.

 ABBY

I can stay if you need me to? 

  MANAGER

Avoiding plans you made?

 Manager turns and leaves visibility

ABBY (Cont.)

Shit. 

 Sighs and texts back

 “Sounds great. I’ll see you around 5:45?”

Dots appear

 “Works for me.”

 Abby goes to the back of the store and grabs her backpack and bike and begins montage.

 EXT-”Greenlight” by Lorde is playing. Abby bikes from Williamsburg with headphones. She riding across the bridge leisurely while speeding hipsters pass her but she doesn’t care. As she get on Houston she is cut off by a car song stops as she yells at them. Then continues on. Jumps to her biking on the west side highway at the chorus. Jumps to Abby staring at the large mountain cliff sighs has she struggles to bike up it. Finally arriving Mel’s She rushes inside a bit sweaty. She walks into the bar

  ABBY

Can I get a water?

 BARTENDER

ID?

 She sighs and hands him her ID, He rolls his eyes and gets a very fast non icy water

 ABBY

Thanks..

 Abby looks around the bar pretty busy with college students. In slowish motion Jeanette walks in. She has this gorgeous aura and Abby instantly remembered why she woke up with tingly feelings. Jeanette walks in and doesn’t recognize Abby and heads to the bar. She orders quickly and starts to look around. And spots Abby Then waves to her. Abby eagerly walks over. 

 JEANETTE

Hey. 

 Jeannette instantly hugs Abby catching her off guard. 

 ABBY

Sorry I’m a little wet.

 JEANETTE

(laughs in a sultry tone)

Well aren’t you forward.

 ABBY

(nervous laugh)

No! No, I biked here. I’m all sweaty and gross. 

 Abby avoids eye contact. The previous bartender walks up with Jeanette’ drink, vodka tonic

 BARTENDER 

Here you go Jenny. You know, we missed you the other night. 

(winking)

 JEANETTE

Ha, you’re just saying that to tease me. Anyways, Abby, first round's on me. What do you want? 

 Bartender sneers

 ABBY

Um, what kind of whiskey do you have?

 BARTENDER

(sighs)

Jack, Jameson, Wild Turkey...

 ABBY

Mmmm...I’ll just have a beer. Stella?

 Bartender leaves. Jeanette is sort of looking Abby up and down.

 JEANETTE 

You like whiskey?

 ABBY

Yeah. Most places don’t have what I want. But there’s this great place in Brooklyn-

 JEANETTE

(cuts off Abby, sarcastically.)

There’s always a ‘great place’ in Brooklyn.

   ABBY

You know, it’s not all hipsters. It’s actually owned by this nice guy named Steve. Plays great music. The food is awesome too.

 JEANNETTE

I guess you’ll have to take me some time. 

 She takes a sip of her drink. Abby nervously gulps.Bartender returns with beer. Slamming it down a bit. There’s an awkward silence. Both women sizing each other up.

 ABBY

So if I’m being honest, I don’t really remember the other night. 

 JEANETTE

Well, I’m not surprised.

 ABBY

Wait, what happened? You make it sound bad.

 Jeanette laughs whilst Abby swoons.

 JEANETTE 

Well…

(puts drink down)

I was going to the bathroom and there you were. You were on the floor , I think waiting for a stall  but you were pretty out of it. So I sat down next to you and we chatted. You looked like you were going to throw up but you didn’t. Anyways, you asked if we could hang out sometime and I gave you my number. Now here we are. 

    ABBY

Wow, sorry about that. That bathroom floor is not clean. You didn’t have to take care of me. 

 JEANETTE 

(laughs again)

That’s what you said then too. Listen, I  don’t think you would have gone home if I hadn’t found you. But I wouldn’t call that a proper introduction. 

(holds out her hand)

I’m Jeanette, you can call me Jenny. Nice to meet you 

 ABBY

(shakes her hand)

Abby-Nice to meet you sober. 

(chuckles)

 JENNY

So, Abby who drinks whiskey and lives in Brooklyn. What do you do for fun?

 ABBY

Fun? 

 JENNY

Yes, that thing people occasionally indulge in.

 ABBY

Um...I play guitar. So I like doing that when, I’m alone.

 JENNY

You don’t like an audience?

  ABBY

(earnestly)

I have a hard time palying when there are people around. It’s distracting.

 Jenny is distracted staring across the room at another woman.

ABBY (Cont.)

Jenny?

 JENNY

(shakes her head)

Sorry about-.There’s just someone I- I’ve just seen them around recently. 

 ABBY

Oh which one?

 Jenny points to a woman far away. 

 JENNY

(wanton)

Her name is Jeanie. 

 ABBY

She kind of looks familiar. How do you know her?

 JENNY

I’ve just seen her around before. 

 Jeanie catches to Abby looking across the room and begins to walk over. Jenny begins to act nervous. Abby is rather unfazed.

 JEANIE

Oh my god Abby!

 Jenny looks at Abby with confusion.

JEANIE (Cont.)

Shit it is you. Jeanie, we went to Pace together. Max and I acted together.

 ABBY

Oh? I think I remember you and Max did ‘Stop Kiss’ or something? You looked a little different. I guess I didn’t recognize you right away. 

 JEANIE 

(look of disappointment)

Yeah, I chopped off my hair. Who’s your friend?

 JEANETTE

(interjects with her hand)

Jenny, pleasure to meet you. 

 JEANIE

The pleasure is mine. 

 There is an awkward amount of hand touching, then Jeanie turns to Abby.

JEANIE (Cont.)

Abby we should hangout sometime. Max still has my number. Anyways I won’t keep you. See ya.

 JENNY and ABBY

Bye!

 Jenny turns back to Abby.

  JENNY

Sorry, you were saying... you played guitar?

 Music plays over them talking “tip of my tongue” Civil Wars. They continue talking as fast paced people move past them. Seemingly hours past.

 ABBY (V.O.)

I don’t think I knew it then but this was the start of something truly...messy.

 INT-Abby is asleep in her bed. Sunlight is pouring into the room. The decorations are miss mashing of odd strange things that don’t particularly match.  In the room bursts Eliza high energy and jumps on the bed effectively pouncing on Abby. Abby tries to hide underneath the covers and escape.

 LIZA

Wake up sleepy head. 

 ABBY

It’s a Tuesday at 8:00 AM. Why are you here? Don’t you have work?

 LIZA

For your information I have the evening shift and Max told me you were out late with a lady love and I want to hear all about it.

 ABBY

(defensive)

She’s not my ‘lady love’

 LIZA

Whatever...Are you gonna tell me about it or not? 

 ABBY

(pulls off the covers)

Will you buy me coffee from downstairs?

  LIZA

(rolls her eyes)

Fiannneee if you insist.  Get up you lazy bum!

 INT- Coffee shop. Both are seated Abby is cradling her coffee with sunglasses on. Liza is fast away texting a mile a minute.

 ABBY

(disdainfully)

New boy toy? 

 Liza is still paying attention to her phone.

 LIZA

Maybe you’ll find out. Maybe you’ll never know. 

 ABBY

Hmmm. Well you know I have to pre-vet him before you bring him around the boys. We can’t have a repeat of Michael. Jake near ripped his head off.

 LIZA

Yeah yeah. Jake won’t do anything stupid. I hope. 

(Places phone down)

Why are you wearing fucking sunglasses inside?

 ABBY

I had a long night and I don’t give a fuck. 

 LIZA

Because you were up all night with your new lady love?

(bats eyelashes)

 ABBY

(glows with embarrassment)

It’s not even like that, number one. And we were just talking most of the night. She’s nice, her name is Jenny. 

 LIZA

That’s not how Max describes it. Gimme your phone?

 ABBY

What for?

 LIZA 

Cause. Now hand it over. 

 Abby passes the phone over reluctantly. Liza types in the passcode

LIZA (Cont.)

I don’t even know why you bother with a passcode, when I know all of them. 

 scrolls through Abby’s texts.

“Hey winky face?”

LIZA (Cont.)

I wouldn’t call that nothing. 

 Abby snatches back her phone.

 ABBY

Stop looking through my texts. It’s nothing, Okay?

 LIZA

(puts her hands up defensively)

Okay! Jeez. Look I’m happy if your happy. If y’all are just friends I’m cool with it. Just don’t bring her around until you’re sure.

 ABBY

What’s that supposed to mean?

 LIZA

Remember Angie? Max harassed her all night. 

 ABBY

I remember. I’m still mad at him for that. She was nice. 

 LIZA

She was weird and you know it. 

 ABBY

Maybe not a healthy relationship but it worked at the time. 

 LIZA

Anyways, if you like this person, Jenny, then get to know her first. Okay? I don’t want you writing some love sick song about her and presenting it to her. 

 ABBY  

That only happened once. And you know  I’m sensitive about that. Listen, I will be careful. I’m fully aware of the fully beating heart on my sleeve. Mom!

 LIZA

I’m just looking at for you Tabs. Now, I’ve got to go make myself  look presentable for Juan.  I look like a damn bird lady. 

 ABBY

(shakes her head)

No you don’t. You look fine. 

 LIZA 

Thanks for the complement. Real confidence booster. 

 ABBY

You know what I mean. 

 LIZA

I know. I’m just teasing. 

 ABBY 

(stands up and hugs Liza)

Love you Liza. I’ll see you later

 LIZA

Love ya Tabs. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. 

 ABBY 

Like that means anything. 

 Liza shrugs

 INT-Scene opens on Max playing video games in their living room. Abby enters through the front room discarding her sunglasses and hoodie. She vaults over the back of the couch and sits next to Max leaning back and sighing. 

 MAX

So how was Liza? 

 ABBY

(indifferently)

Good. Why didn’t you come?

 MAX 

Coffee isn’t my thing 

  ABBY

I literally saw you drink coffee yesterday. 

 Max pauses the game and passes Abby the remote and they both begin to play “rayman”.

 MAX

You know,Liza and I haven’t exactly been on the same page since the whole thing with Jake. 

 ABBY

(very focused on the game)

You have got to let that go. I know Jake is your brother but that was forever ago and we All need  to move on. 

 MAX

It’s not that simple. Jake says he’s fine but he’s not. I haven’t invited him over in sooooo long. I just don’t want him to cause a scene. But I can’t cut him out of my life. He’s the only family I have. Besides I still think I can keep them separated for at least another 2 months. 

 ABBY

Oooo go back. secret level

 Tapping controllers.

 ABBY and MAX

Yes!

 ABBY

You know I love all of you guys but this has got to stop. This isn’t healthy for anyone. And I can’t be a buffer anymore. 

(pause) 

Why don’t we all get together for my birthday? We can invite John. 

 MAX

Ugh John. 

 ABBY

You know you love him. 

 MAX 

Not since he started dating what’serface. I see them all over facebook all gross and shit. When is the last time he hung out with us. Just us. 

 ABBY

Exactly my point. We should all get together. It will be hella fun. Pleease it’s my birthday!

 MAX

Fine, fine fine. But there better be lots of booze or I am not entertaining. This is my house too. 

 Abby’s phone buzzes in her pocket she pulls it out to inspect it. Text from Jenny 

“I get out of class in at 12 would you want to grab lunch? I had a great time last night. :)” 

Max shuffles in his seat realizing that Abby is still just staring at her phone. Abby doesn’t move for about 3 seconds just looking over the words.

 MAX

Ah Mah Gawd just say yes. Jesus! Let’s get on with our live’s

 Abby protectively pulls away her phone and feigned a shocked look.

ABBY

Ah! What have I said about over the shoulder text reading?

 MAX

(mockingly)

It’s an invasion of person space and boundaries and isn’t fair.

 ABBY

Yeah! The fact that you know how I feel about it should say something. 

 MAX

I’m just a curious cat. Now, are you going to text her so we can beat this level? I want a perfect 100 and no less.

 Abby types away fast then throws the phone to the other side of the couch.

 ABBY

(slightly demonic voice)

Let’s do this! 

 INT- Barnard College. Students are filing out of the lecture hall. Jenny is putting her books in her bag. She’s sporting fake reading glasses. Abby slowly tip toes into the lecture hall trepidatiously. Checking the students as she walks past. Abby walks up to Jenny.

  ABBY

Hey.

(looking down at a syllabus)

When you said you were a teacher I wasn’t expecting this. “Women’s studies a look through an intersectional lense.”

 JENNY

It’s just an Intro class they won’t let me teach anything above a 100 level until I’ve been here for a couple more years. But I like it. 

 Jenny smiles sweetly, a student walks up and stand patiently with her book to her chest, Jenny notices and looks towards the girl and the girl blushes.

 STUDENT 

Professor Issing, I was wondering if you might have some time to chat about the mid-term paper. I wanted to run an idea past you. 

 JENNY 

(cocks her hip and stares at her knowingly)

I am more than willing to discuss it at office hours. They should be listed on the syllabus. Or you can talk to My TA Gerardo 

 STUDENT 

(looks down)

Oh okay. I’ll stop by this week. See you then.

She smiles and looks up as she leaving then frowns at Abby.

 ABBY

(flustered)

So… should we get a sandwich?

 Jenny pulls her bag over her shoulder. And they begin to walk out.

 JENNY 

Don’t worry about her. I’m the youngest professor at Barnard. So they all think I’m available.

 ABBY

(nervous)

But you aren’t seeing anybody though?

 JENNY

Of course not! I mean I’m not available to them. I’m so not doing a student/teacher thing. I’m trying to get a promotion.  And I’m not going to fuck that up. Anyways, there’s great cart I like to go to. We can sit on the library steps since it’s such a nice day. 

 ABBY 

Sounds great to me. 

 EXT- at the cart. Abby and Jenny are grabbing their boxes of food 

 JENNY

Thanks Sammy. I’ll see you around. 

 SAMMY

Okay habibi. Stay safe, these people crazy out there. 

 JENNY 

Always.

 Jenny and Abby stroll along Broadway quietly before entering the campus. Abby looks around amazed. Enjoys her bewilderment. They climb to the top of the steps and sit opening their food.

 ABBY

Pace never had a campus like this or really even one at all. 

 Abby opens her box and pokes food.

JENNY

Well that’s what you get with a $9 billion endowment. 

(takes a bite)

But that doesn’t make it any better. Education is what you make it. You put in the effort then you’ll make out pretty well. Some of the people who go here don’t even have a  clue. 

 Abby looks down at her food. Sad.

JENNY(Cont.)

I’m sorry did I upset you?

 ABBY

No I just think sometimes I’m not on the right path to what I want to do. I have this expensive degree and I’m working at a music store for just over minimum wage. It’s just silly. 

 JENNY

Are you happy? Like on a day to day basis.

 Abby thinks for a moment.

ABBY

I’m happy with what I’m doing. I just don’t know about everything else. You know?

 JENNY

(puzzled)

I think that was the most vague nondescript answer I’ve ever heard. 

 ABBY

(laughs)

Sorry. You don’t want to hear about my melodrama. It’s not even about me. 

 JENNY

(sits facing Abby)

See this is the problem today. Women think ‘oh my problems aren't valid because they don’t speak to some higher purpose’. We can’t elevate the world around us without elevating each other first. So, tell me. 

 ABBY

(takes a deep breath)

I guess I want to play music, which is what I’m doing. I don’t want to be famous or anything I just like playing. Being at the store does give me some time to mess around. I used to be inspired but I was bad at writing things down. By the time I figured that out a system the lyrics kind of left me. But I also feel like I let my parents down because I’m not running some successful business. Which I don’t want to be doing. On top of that I’m trying to hold the balance between my best friends. They’re my family, I love them but they constantly make mountains out of mole hills and in some ways it’s valid but like they just can’t seem to move on. 

 JENNY

(nods head and hums)

So you’re friends can’t get over small bullshit?

 ABBY

Not exactly.Long story short my roommate's brother dated this girl in our friend group. It wasn’t exactly healthy, but we didn’t mind. The problem was Jake, the boyfriend, would get drunk and try to cause fights or get angry and leave, yell at his girlfriend for no reason. Of course Jake's brother is my roommate, Max, so, like I can’t avoid him. And honestly Liza, the girlfriend, did nothing wrong. She just broke up with him and it wasn’t mutual. So Jake is upset, still, this was a year ago. And Max blames Liza for breaking up with him. URGH! It just drives me crazy.

 JENNY

Wow, that sounds messy. So you’re stuck in the middle? Trying to be friends with all of  them. 

 ABBY

YES! And the worst part about it, is no matter what I say it’s like ‘yeah you’re right but that doesn’t change anything. And I’m just like ‘Damn can you just step back and look at your actions’. Like everyone is physically stressed out by this situation. 

 JENNY

I mean people can’t exactly change their feelings that’s what makes things like this messy. It’s illogical but it doesn’t matter because it just is. You can’t fix everyone’s problems, Abby. 

(reaches for Abby’s hand)

 Sometimes you have to take care of yourself.

 ABBY

(nervously swallows hard and stills)

You’re ...Right. I just want...things to go back to normal. If I had a time machine. 

 JENNY

(smiles)

Again you can’t fix everything. Even if you want to-

(looks at her watch) 

Shit I’ve got to get to class. But if you ever need to talk I’m here for you. 

 Jenny Embraces Abby in a deep hug.

 ABBY

Thanks. 

 They hug for a  long moment and Abby nuzzles into the crook of Jenny’s neck. Jenny pulls away and looks at Abby then kisses her cheek.

 JENNY

Maybe we can hang out in Brooklyn tomorrow I don’t have class then. 

 ABBY

That would be nice. 

 Camera pans out and up into the sky and fades into Abby’s notebook, she is writing words to song lyrics at the counter of the music store. While humming. The manager walks up to her peeking over her shoulder.

 MANAGER

Are you going to show me what you got there?

 Abby pulls away some not totally recoiling.

 ABBY

Maybe. It’s a work in progress. I’ll show you when it’s done. 

 MANAGER 

You know I can always lend an ear. 

 He laughs a little at his own pun.

 ABBY

Cute Ed.

(Pause) 

Fine but, I’m not singing I’ll just show you the guitar parts. 

 They walk over to the stands, Abby pick up a cream colored Telecastor.And plugs it into the amp(fender deville) she plays a soft finger plucked song humming softly. Ed picks up a guitar. He lets her play a bit before for joining in. He plays the harmony that she is singing. Abby smiles and stops humming. They play one round and Abby starts to sing some of the lyrics. After a verse Ed stops from the ding of the door.

 ED

Hey, feel free to take a look around. 

 Ed looks down at Abby and whispers.

ED (Cont.) 

She looks cute.

  Abby turns around in her stool. revealing Jeanie. Abby places the guitar down and turns off the amp.

  ABBY 

I got this Ed. 

(Pause)

 Hey Jeanie. Are you looking for something in particular that I can help you with?

 Jeanie pulls out a small Ukulele

 JEANIE

I broke a string on this. 

 Abby steps closer to inspect the ukelele.

 ABBY

Got it. You want me to replace it for you? There’s no extra charge.

 JEANIE

That’d be great. I don’t really know how anyways. 

 ABBY

Sure.

 Abby walks over to the wall of stings and grabs a pack and places the uke on the countertop. Then starts replacing the string.

  ABBY (Cont.)

I didn’t know you played the Ukulele.

 JEANIE

Not really. I know a couple of songs. I actually need to for a prop. 

 ABBY

(playfully)

Oh another play. You starring on Broadway or something?

 JEANIE

I wish. I’m doing this black box thing not too far from here. I mean not many people go to Brooklyn to see a play

 ABBY

(sarcastically)

There is culture and things here. And not just in Williamsburg.

   JEANIE

(does not pick up on the sarcasm) 

I love Bedford ave. They have such cute stores. And there’s this little gem. 

 Abby finish stringing the Ukelele and plays a little diddy.

 ABBY

All done. The strings will slip out of tune for a little bit so you may have to tune it a couple of times

 Jeanie looks puzzled.

 JEANIE

I don’t have a tuner actually. I don’t think I’ve ever actually tuned it. 

 Abby scratches her head.

 ABBY

Um..well.Someone told me you can just remember this. 

(sings while plucking each string)

‘My dog has fleas’. I’m those aren’t the notes but it’s the tones. It’s easy enough to remember. 

 JEANIE

I think I can remember that. 

(smiles and places her hand over ABBY’s on the neck of the uke)

You know I don’t remember you being this cute in college. 

 ABBY

(eyes dart down in embarrassment)

I guess I just grew into myself more. Here

 Abby holds out the uke and Jeanie takes it.

 JEANIE

Listen you should come to the show it’s suggested donation. 

 Jeanie holds out card. Abby takes it.

 JEANIE (Cont.)

Show starts at 8. 

 ABBY 

I might stop by later if I have time. 

 JEANIE 

Well we’re playing all week so you should stop by st some point. 

 ABBY

I will.

 JEANIE

Great I’ll see you around. 

 Jeanie exists through the front door. Abby takes a deep breath.

 ED

She’s a piece of work, ain’t she. 

 ABBY

Ed! 

 ED

What? Oh please fix my Ukulele. Did you even charge her?

   ABBY

You know if that was a regular you wouldn’t have charged her.  

 ED

But she’s not a regular. And she caught you off guard with that little hand thing. 

 ABBY

I am so not in the mood for this conversation 

 ED

Whatever. I’m just pointing out the obvious.

 ABBY

Which is?

 ED

This is why you don’t have a girlfriend. She was flirting with you. She came into this specific store to fix one string. And she wants you to go to that show. So go!

 ABBY

Even if she was flirting I’m sure she’s into someone else. 

 ED

So! Seize the moment. You just have to go for it. Rip the band aid off. Jump in the deep end. Swim with the sharks

 ABBY

OK! I get it. Lay off with the analogies. I’ll think about it. 

    ED

Well don’t miss an opportunity because you’re holding out for something better. If you get a call about a gig you take it then worry about the set list. 

 ABBY

Yeah yeah. Sage advice from my guru

 ED

(points finger) 

You know I’m right which is why you’re deflecting.

 ABBY

I think you should have been a psychiatrist because you love this shit. 

 ED

What can I say. I’m a good read of people.

 8. EXT- Abby is standing outside smoking a cigarette checking her phone before placing it in her pocket.There are other groups of people standing around talking. Jeanie walks up behind Abby and taps her shoulder. 

 JEANIE

Hey. I’m glad you could make it. 

 ABBY

Yeah, well you said to. Couldn’t pass it up. 

 Jeanie check behind her. ABBY shakes her head mouthing ‘what the fuck’ to herself, Jeanie turns back to face her

 JEANIE

You think I could bum one of those. 

 Abby is taken aback reaching in her pocket and pulls out a pack.

ABBY

Sure.

 Pulling out a cigarette and Jeanie places it in her mouth and leans forward for Abby to light it. Jeanie cups her hand around Abby’s looking up at her with hooded eyelids. Then pulls back.

 JEANIE

What did you think of the play?

 ABBY

Um I thought it was interesting and uh….

 JEANIE

You didn’t like it huh?

 ABBY

(laughs)

No. It was hard to follow for me. The whole nonlinear thing didn’t make sense at times. 

 JEANIE

Well that’s the point. To make you question what’s really going on when. 

 ABBY

I’m not a theater person I guess. 

 JEANIE

(places her hand on ABBY’s bicep) 

That’s okay at least you showed up. That’s more than I can say for some of my friends.

 ABBY

I’m glad I could help be supportive. 

 JEANIE

You’re are always so sweet Abby. I think that’s what I remembered the most about you. Max always said such nice things about you. 

 ABBY

Well I’m glad he did because he could say worse. 

 JEANIE

I highly doubt that 

 ABBY

I probably should be getting home.

 Abby starts unlocking her bike next to the pole]. 

 ABBY(Cont.)

Where do you live? 

 JEANIE

I live on the upper west side where you saw me the other night.  I’m just going to the train. 

 ABBY

Let me walk you to the stop. It’s on my way. 

 JEANIE

Thanks I appreciate that. Maybe I won’t be verbally harassed today. 

 ABBY

One can only hope. 

 They continue to walk down the street.

   JEANIE

Speaking of the other night, who was that woman you were with? Jenny?

 ABBY

Yeah what about her?

JEANIE 

Just curious. You know what her deal is?

 ABBY

She’s a friend. She works at Barnard. She’s a professor

 JEANIE

Ah. So you two aren’t together?

 ABBY

No, no, no 

(quietly)

  But... 

 Jeanie cuts her off without hearing the but

 JEANIE

Is she single?

ABBY

Um yeah I think so. 

 JEANIE

Do you think...if it’s not too much to ask, maybe get her number off of you?

 ABBY

Um what?

 JEANIE

If that’s not too weird. Or anything. 

 ABBY

(take a second to think about it.)

 I mean sure why not. Here 

 Abbyr pulls out the phone from her pocket pulling up the contact.

 JEANIE

Wow! Thanks a lot I really appreciate it. I’ll text it to myself so you can have my number too. Maybe you could teach me some of your music skills.

 Jeanie passes the phone back.

 ABBY

Yeah sure no problem. 

 They arrive at the train stop.

 ABBY (Cont.)

  I’ll see you around sometime.

 Jeanie pulls Abby in for a side hug.

 JEANIE

Yeah I’ll see you around. Thanks for the walk. 

 ABBY

No problem.

 Jeanie leaves down the stairs while Abby turns around doubling back the way she came.

 9.EXT. Roof of the loft apartment. Max and Abby are smoking a joint on the roof listening to music and drinking a few beers. Ratatat’s song Nostrand is playing in the background.

 ABBY 

I feel played man. 

 MAX

What did you expect It’s Jeanie fucking Thompson. She’s manipulative. She was like notorious for that shit. 

 ABBY

I had totally forgotten about all that drama. I just thought like she was being nice. She said I was ‘cuter than she remembered’. Like I’ve always been cute. Look at this face.

 MAX 

Tabby, I don’t want to burst your bubble but... you used to wear cargo shorts. 

 ABBY

That didn’t mean I wasn’t cute

 MAX

They had holes in the butt.

 ABBY

Maybe I didn’t have a fashion sense but that is conceded to say that I wasn't cute. 

 Max raises his hands, in defense.

 MAX

Alright. You were cute. But this is coming from the man not attracted to women. 

 ABBY

True. I just can’t believe it. If you were there you would have seen it. 

 MAX

I’ve seen you around girls, Abs. She probably wasn’t actually  hitting on you. 

 ABBY

She totally was! I swear it was just so she could get that number out of me. Fucking cunt. 

 MAX 

So you’re telling me you actually gave her the number. I spent a good time on figuring that out. I’m gonna give her a piece of my-

 ABBY

Maaax.

 MAX

Ok fine I’ll leaver her alone. But if she comes over here I’m doing something. 

 ABBY

What are you gonna do?

 MAX 

I don’t know lick the top of her chapstick. Fart in her bag.

(shruggs)

 ABBY 

You are straight childish. But I support it. 

 Both laugh

 MAX

Alright. So like what’s the deal with this Jenny? Are you going to take her on a real date because this weird grab a drink/ lunch is not sexy.

 ABBY

(sighs) 

I haven’t figure that out yet. She’s smart for god sake. Where am I going to take her? I can’t take her to the ale house.

 MAX

NO! It needs to be romantic. 

 ABBY

I could take her to a performance something at the Met.

 MAX

You have gone to Manhattan too many times. Let her come to you. 

 ABBY

Fine I’ll take her to BAM 

 Abby pulls out phone typing away.

 MAX

Ew Ew you should take her to 5th Ave they have some little places right by there. Have a drink in a quiet secluded bar, dark mysterious like our little Tabs.

 ABBY

Okay- The Principles of Uncertainty. I’m getting them. Done 

 MAX 

Impulsive much?

    ABBY

It was almost sold out and it’s like the premiering night. And it’s next weekend so timing is everything. 

 MAX

Whatever. I do have to meet her at some point. Approve her potential status. 

 ABBY

For all the mothering I do for your guys. This is the thanks I get. 

 MAX

(places hand on Abby’s shoulder)

Love blinds. And you are very weak. 

 ABBY

Like I said the thanks I get 

 MAX

It comes from a good place. 

 10. EXT- Abby is waiting outside the Barclay’s center waiting for Jenny. Jenny is slowly coming up the escalator. 

 ABBY

I’m glad you found your way. I know it’s a bit of a trek

 Abby rubs the back of her head.

 JENNY

It was fine although without the helpful tip about the back of the train I might have gotten lost in the station 

   ABBY

I have literally been lost in there for like 30 minutes, before. So tips from a pro. Shall we go. 

 JENNY

Where will  we be  going to first?

 ABBY

There’s a little strip of bars on 5th. All of them are pretty good so, which ever one sticks out to you. 

 JENNY

You don’t have a special place picked out ?

 ABBY

Maybe ?

 They walk down the street when Abby begins to slow down in front of the place she wants to go. Jenny smiles and takes the hint.

 JENNY

Very subtle. 

 ABBY

I have no idea what you’re talking about 

 JENNY

So you want to go to this one

(points with finger)

 ABBY

You said it not me. 

 Jenny shakes her head and opens the door. It’s a small dark bar with a few older couples drinking wine quietly. They both walk up to the bar and sit.

 BARTENDER 

(places napkins on the bar)

What are you ladies having to drink to night?

 JENNY

Vodka tonic.

  Abby stands on the edge of the chair looking behind the bar. For 3 seconds. Jenny looks confused.

 ABBY

Ooo yeah Blanton’s

 BARTENDER

How do you want that?

 ABBY

Neat.

 Bartender leaves.

 JENNY

So Blanton’s is your kind of whiskey? Neat, how very sophisticated of you. 

 ABBY

It’s good. And I don’t want it watered down by ice. It’s pretty expensive. 

 JENNY

If you work at a music store then how do you afford a $20 drink? 

 ABBY

I have other business ventures.

  JENNY

And what would those be?

 Drinks are placed down. Abby passes her card to the bartender. Then passes a business card to Jenny.

 JENNY

(laughs)

You teach music? That’s so cute! Are they like little 10 year olds learning chopsticks?

 ABBY

That’s piano and more like 40 year old single men. Some younger hipster guys who walk into the shop but, once they realize they aren’t as good as me , a girl, they get pissed and don’t come back. 

 JENNY

Sounds shitty. Do they come to your apartment?

 ABBY

Worse, I go to theirs. I’ve seen things that can’t be shared with regular people. 

 JENNY

(Jokingly)

I’m just regular.

 ABBY

Of course not! 

 In a realization of what she just said her eyes dart down. Jenny searches Abby’s face. They both take drink separately to avoid further conversation.

  JENNY

(calmly) 

Do I ever get to hear you play?

 ABBY

Maybe. I haven’t done an open mic thing in a while. 

 JENNY

You should. I bet you’re great. 

ABBY

Thanks. Encouragement is appreciated.

 JENNY

And tips.

 ABBY

That’s actually what it says on my jar 

 JENNY

Really?

 ABBY

No. They don’t let you put jars out at open mics

 JENNY

Oh I’ve never been before. I’ve been to some poetry slams but those are very different. 

 ABBY

Some people do poetry

 JENNY

Really? 

   ABBY

Some people dance. I’ve seen comedy before.

(with disgust)

 There’s this one guy with puppets it’s not great. 

 JENNY

(playfully)

 What’s wrong with puppets?

 ABBY

The bit is about creepy old men with audience participation.

 JENNY

Ah. Well I’d like to hear some of your works. 

 ABBY

Right now?

JENNY

Is that possible?

(leans in closer)

 ABBY

I- um...It’s well

 JENNY

That’s a  yes. Show me. Please 

(claps hands together)

 Abby sighs and finishes her drink, reaching for her phone slowly. Mumbles in a low voice.

ABBY

Don’t judge me okay.

 JENNY

(earnestly)

I won’t. 

 Abby passes the phone the Jenny looking down at the hands clasped in between her legs. Jenny has the phone cupped to her ear. We can’t hear the music. Jenny bobs her head dictating a slow rhythm. Jenny’s face turns loose and limp. Sadness takes over. The song ends and she passes the phone quietly to Abby.

 ABBY

(concerned by the silence)

Did you like it?

 JENNY

I did. But who is it about?

 ABBY

It’s about my grandpa. He died when I was in highschool. It wasn’t exactly sudden but, my parents weren’t very forward the fact that he was on his deathbed. I just didn’t get to say what I wanted to say to him. 

 JENNY

I’m so sorry .

 ABBY

(straightens up)

This was years ago, there’s not too much to be sorry for now. But I needed that song, then. It just poured out of me. I wrote it in about 15 minutes. Which is crazy. Everything I’ve written that is actually  good it is just in these spurts. And I don’t even see it coming. I just pick up my guitar and there it is. I’m lucky if I can grab a pen in time.

 JENNY

Wow. So why aren’t you out there writing songs?

 ABBY

If only that were so easy. I have only about 5 of those moments in 13 years. And I remember them, distinctly. But there are so many songs that just get lost or unfinished. Sometimes I can’t find the thing that the song is about. So they just lay there in my 2 minute recordings.... I’m sorry I’m babbling 

JENNY

No, No! I want to hear this. I never thought-

(stops herself)

 ABBY

Thought what?

 JENNY

That - 

(pauses to choose a particular word)

You were so deep?

 ABBY

(angry)

What did you think?

 JENNY

I don’t know. You worked in a music shop and you’re funny and cute. I don’t know what I thought. 

 ABBY

Listen don’t get me wrong here but there’s more to me then how I act. I don’t open up to people, easily. I’m more often hurt than helped and...I just want to honest about who I am. That’s all I’ve ever been. 

  JENNY

(confused)

There’s not anything else you want to be honest with. 

  Abby stares off looks up a clock-sudden shock. Turns towards the bartender.

ABBY

Oh my god is that the real time?

 BARTENDER

Why else do I hang a clock on the wall?

 ABBY

Shit we got to go.

 “Queen Bitch by David Bowie starts playing. Grabs Jenny’s hand and runs out of the bar. Running through the streets on green lights skillfully running around people with Jenny trotting behind.

 JENNY

You left your card!

 ABBY

Forget it. I’ll come back tomorrow. The show starts in 5 minutes. I got too caught up there. 

 Stops at a busy intersection. ABBY looking left and right bouncing a bit.

 JENNY

It’s okay if we’re late. I’m sure they’ll seat us. 

 Break in traffic Abby starts to run again.

 ABBY

It’s opening night we can’t be late. Also BAM is hella strict on closed door policy.

 They run up the stairs outside bam. Pulling out the tickets quickly. Getting them scanned and sitting at the house lights close  as they take their seat

 11.INT- Abby and Jenny are walking side by side talking about the show. Abby sees a restroom and excuses herself. Camera follows Jenny outside she walks up to a bike rack and leans against it. Camera pans out showing her playing on her phone. A group of men walk past. One of them pats the other and walk towards Jenny.

 GUY

What’s a pretty girl like you doing all alone?

 JENNY

(looks up from her phone)

I’m just waiting for a friend so…

 GUY

If I was him I wouldn’t leave you out here in the cold. 

 JENNY

Well that’s not gonna happen, okay? I have a boyfriend.

 GUY

Then where’s he at?

 JENNY

(Snarky)

On his way so scram!

  GUY

(turns back to his friends)

I like em feisty. What’s your name beautiful

 JENNY

Nonya….Nonya bussiness

 GUY

How very 90’s of you. Listen if your boyfriend don’t come out here in 5 minutes. You have to give me your number

 JENNY

In your dreams. 

 Jenny begins to walk away. Abby is coming down the stairs. Man is following her. His friends are about 10’ away.

 GUY

Come on! Give me a chance 

 Abby walks faster to Jenny once she sees the bastard. Jenny walks a bit faster catching up. Abby cuts off the guy and stumbles bumping into him.

 ABBY

OH I’m soo sorry. Are you hurt?

 Guy tries to get around her.

 ABBY (Cont.)

No seriously I didn’t mean to 

 GUY

Dude get outta my way! 

 ABBY 

But really though? I don’t want you to sue me. 

 GUY

Jesus lady I’m fine. Now will you move. 

 ABBY

(Feigns shock)

You are so rude. 

 FRIENDS

Let it go man she’s gone. Come’on let’s go. You’re being annoying. She’s a bitch anyways

 GUY

Yeah yeah, Whatever. 

 They all turn and walk away. Abby looks to see where Jenny went. She checks her phone. ‘Around the corner’. Abby walks on a quiet secluded street and is standing waiting impatiently.

 ABBY

You okay?

 JENNY

I hate that I can’t go out one fucking night without some fucking comment. Did you tell him off?

 ABBY

No. I don’t want to piss off the angry/ horny bear. 

 JENNY

(broods)

Sorry, I didn’t mean that. I’m just angry.

(looks at Abby)

 Thank you, you didn’t have to do all that falling business.

 ABBY

Well better then running away.

 Jenny looks down with her arms crossed.

  ABBY (Cont.)

I mean that’s why I’m here. I’m sorry the night ended on a bad note. I had a good time, though. 

 Jenny still looking at the ground quietly.

 ABBY(Cont.)

You alright?

 JENNY

I just hate that this shit gets to me.I teach feminism at an all women's college, for god sake. Now I’m all pissed and shit. And it’s an hour train ride. Probably longer because the trains are all fucked up.  And I am not sitting in a cab with a strange man after that. 

 ABBY

I totally understand . Listen, I live about 30 minutes from here. If you don’t want to go home. I have a nice couch you can sleep on?

 JENNY

Really? What train to do live off of?

 ABBY

Well um, the M or L but we would take the bus it’s faster. 

 JENNY

I don’t think I’ve ever taken the bus before.

 ABBY

It’s not glamorous but it is direct and you get cell service. But I guess you’re used to that in your fancy Wifi manhattan stations.

 JENNY

I didn’t say I was opposed to the bus just hadn’t taken one before. 

 ABBY 

Then let’s be on our way. 

 They are waiting at the bus stop as it pulls up. Abby let’s Jenny enter first. Jenny tries to sit in the front. Abby pulls her to the back. And sit down in the back.

 ABBY

You always take the back seats first. Bus etiquette.

 JENNY

Oh sorry. Why ?

 ABBY

It’s hard to move around. Plus a bunch of older people take the bus and they sit in the front for easy access. 

 JENNY. 

I see. 

 Abby pulls out her phone and headphones and passes a free earbud. Quietly takes it. Better Times by Beach house or  dramamine by modest mouse comes on Jenny stares out of the bus window as they pass through narrow streets. Some people are walking about Abby is looking forward not wanting to look at Jenny. Jenny’s hand twitches towards Abby’s leg just as she’s about to touch it. Abby get’s up and presses the button.

 ABBY

This is our stop. 

 Jenny gets up quietly and follows Abby out the doors. Abby holds the doors open for a little old  lady and her cart

 ABBY (Cont.)

Want a hand?

 LADY

Oh yes.Please 

 Abby grabs the bottom of a cart and carries it down the stairs 

LADY (Cont.)

Thank you sir.

 ABBY

No problem. Stay safe

 LADY

You too.

 Abby and Jenny walk past.

 JENNY

(jokingly)

Such a chivalrous young man. 

 ABBY

I’m not gonna shove my white privilege in people’s faces and I was misgendered for 2 seconds, I don’t mind. 

 Jenny finds the gesture endearing and sweet. Abby is focus on the street ahead. They walking into a building and stop up the stairs. Only hear the jingle of her keys. Jenny leans against the wall while Abby unlocks the front door.

 ABBY

Well here it is. In all it’s glory

 Jenny looks around curious

     JENNY

It’s cute. 

 Abby goes to the kitchen and fixes two glasses of water and passes one to Jenny. Jenny looks down at drink.

 JENNY

I’m sorry that I was being a little crazy back there. Normally that stuff doesn’t bother me. 

 ABBY

It’s totally okay. You should be upset. That guy was an ass hat. I’m just sorry that you have to sleep on my couch. Which by the way-

 Abby walks over to find a Jake (Max’s brother) sleeping on the couch fully dressed. Abby turns back to Jenny.

    ABBY

Looks like we have a problem.

 Jenny peaks over the edge of the couch.

    JENNY

Oh.[pause] Well I can just sleep in your bed. 

 Abby blinks a few times.

    ABBY

I-could sleep on the floor

     JENNY

I meant we could both sleep in the bed. You don’t need to sleep on the floor.

 Jake begins to stir. Abby leads Jenny to her bedroom. Abby starts sifting through her drawers trying to find spare pajamas for Jenny. Meanwhile Jenny is undressing to her underwear and T-shirt. Abby turns around as Jenny is bent over. Abby blushes and turns around and puts the clothes on top of the dresser. Jenny has already climbed into bed. 

  JENNY

Sorry I’m just so tired

(yawns)

 Abby slow follow’s Jenny’s lead and strips to her underwear and shirt. Quickly dart under the covers. They’re backs are facing. Abby is still rustling a bit to get comfortable. 

  JENNY

Abby?

    ABBY

Yeah?

 JENNY

Can we cuddle?

 Abby stills, breathless. Jenny stirs but doesn’t roll over. Abby reluctantly turns over and scoots closer. They are close but not touching. Jenny reaches for Abby’s and pulls it around her.

 JENNY

Is this okay?

    ABBY

  (barely audible)

Yeah.

 JENNY

Good.

 “Run All Night” by Rachael Cantu plays. Jenny pulls Abby tighter. Abby lays awake. Somewhere between terrified and excited. But petrified. 

 INT-Abby’s Bedroom. The sun is barely up but Abby didn’t sleep at all that night. She quietly gets up not to wake Jenny and goes into the kitchen and starts to make coffee. She rubs her head in frustration. She slams the coffee cup down hard. It wakes Jake. 

    JAKE

(Incoherent mumbles)

Abby?

 Abby takes another cup of coffee and walks it over the the couch. Passes it to Jake who sits up. They both sit on the couch.

  ABBY

So what happened?

  JAKE

Why do you assume something happened?

  ABBY

Your knuckles have cuts on them.

 Jake tries to hide his hands. 

  ABBY (CONT.)

I don’t care what happened. Just let me know if I shouldn’t open the door.

    JAKE

I wouldn’t. But for the record it was self-defense.

  ABBY

Didn’t say it wasn’t. Listen I have a someone over so if you could-

 Jenny is holding her coat over her arm and is quietly leaving the room. Her path is aimed towards the door.

  JENNY

Thanks for letting me stay over. I have to get going I have a class in a few hours. I’ll text you?

  ABBY

Yeah no problem. 

Abby stands up

  ABBY (CONT.)

I can walk you down?

  JENNY

No it’s okay. I’ll be fine. I’ll text you. Bye.

 Jenny leaves and the door slams a bit. Jake lifts his brows in surprise.

  JAKE

That was rude.

  ABBY

She had to leave.

  JAKE

She didn’t even hi to me. Bitch

  ABBY

Can you not?

  JAKE

Sorry. Just saying man. 

  ABBY

Yeah, well it’s not cool. Anyways. You coming to my party next weekend?

  JAKE

I wouldn't miss it for the world Tabs!

 Scruffs Abby’s Hair. Abby pulls away and adjusts it.

  ABBY

Just be chill okay?

  JAKE

I’m always chill

 Abby looks down at Jake’s hands.

  JAKE (CONT.)

Okay. I’ll be chill. Just don’t be lame and   puss out. We gettin you fucked up!!!!

  ABBY

I won’t puss out. You just worry about yourself.

 Both sip coffee at the same time. 

  INT-The Apartment. Party night with the gang. Abby is prepping the house with drugs, booze and tunes. Max idly helping out but also playing different music than Abby wants. Door knocks Abby goes to get it group of Jake, Eliza, John and John’s girlfriend. Liza enter first and pinches Abby’s cheeks

 LIZA

Oh Tabby!

 Jake does a sort of dab hand shake

JAKE

Hey man what’s going on.

  John does the same hand shake

  JOHN

Hey Abb’s this is my girlfriend. I hope it’s cool I brought her. 

    ABBY

Of course. Nice to meet you nameless girlfriend.

(Abby smiles)

   DENISE 

Oh, uh my name is Denise. Nice to meet you. 

 Chaos ensues. All the pre-party planning destroyed in one fell swoop.Jake is poking through the drawers looking for something. No one knows. Max and Liza are cackling and making weird cooing noises at Abby’s efforts to maintain calm while John and Denise are make themselves a drink being disgustingly cute. Abby hangs her head.

    ABBY

Jake, stop looking for drugs. They’re all laid out on the table for you. 

 Jake puts on Abby’s sunglasses

  JAKE

I’m not looking for drugs. But these sunglasses are awesome. Can I have them?

   ABBY

No!

 Jake ignores Abby and sits on the couch next to his brother, sunglasses on. Abby walks behind Liza fiddling with the music.

    ABBY

You know I did make a playlist. Guys.

   LIZA

Oh Mama Abby. 

(pats Abby’s hand)

You know I got to play my boy Bob before    John plays his weird ass dubstep

 John walks over to the couch, Denise follows 

   JOHN 

You guys don’t like my music?

   ABBY

No one said that. Liza just wants to be the DJ for once. alright?

   LIZA

Yeah! Fuck you male privilege!

(fist to the air)

   JOHN

Let’s play Medusa!

   ABBY

Do we have to jump right in? Can’t we enjoy each other’s company for 5 minutes. 

   LIZA & MAX

(Talking over each other)

Come on Tabby Abby get in the game! It’s gonna be a long night. You don’t even have to work tomorrow. Or drive or get home. Pleeaaasee.

    ABBY

Fine.

    MAX.

(Mimics Abby)

Fine 

(then smiles)

    JOHN

(to Denise)

Okay so, the game works by everyone putting their heads on the table. When I say go we all look up. Whoever is looking at someone and they are looking back at you they have to drink. Kay?

   DENISE

Um, I’ll sit this round out and watch until I figure it out. 

 John gives her a reassuring side hug

    MAX

I mean it’s pretty simple game. 

    JAKE

Yeah, even Abby is doing it. 

    ABBY

Wow. Didn’t know I was setting the standard.

     LIZA

Abby Tabby (shake head)

      JOHN

ANYWAYS! Get your drinks so we can get started. 

 Jake and Max run to the refrigerator as if they were racing. Abby and Liza follow behind and return with their drinks.

    JOHN

Head’s down

 Everyone but Denise puts their heads down.

JOHN (CONT.)

1,2,3 GO!

 Max and Abby make eye contact

 ABBY & MAX

Damnit!

 ABBY

We must be in sync. Fuck.(both drink)

 MAX

I don’t have a vagina so. Don’t know how that’s possible.

 Montage of lots of drinking  few rounds, everyone has had a turn except Denise. Door knocks( music stops). Abby gets up.

 MAX

Who’s that?

 ABBY

I invited Jenny.

 Liza puts her finger in his open mouth and gags, Max laughs both Denise and John are clueless. Abby opens the door to reveal Jenny in a fancy trench coat holding a bottle of wine.Very much dressed for a dinner party.

ABBY(CONT.)

Hey, come in. 

 Abby opens the door further and lets in Jenny. Once the door is closed Jenny pulls Abby in for a firm, long sensual hug.

 JENNY

Hey

 Everyone else is watching this for the entire length of the hug.Shocked and taken aback at how Abby and Jenny do not seem to realize they are still in the room. Jenny pulls back and turns to the room noticing the drinking is already taking place.

  JENNY (CONT.)

(Awkward)

I brought wine but I don’t think anyone wants it. So I’ll just put it in the kitchen. 

 Liza springs up from couch and runs towards the kitchen.

  LIZA

Oh I’ll have some. White wine spritzer!

 Abby stares coldly as Liza takes the bottle from Jenny. 

  JENNY

Sure, go for it. 

 She passes the bottle at an arm's length distance.Liza opens the bottle and pours nearly to the brim of the glass before returning to the group. 

  ABBY

I do have vodka if you want that?

  JENNY

Sure. You know what I like by now. 

  ABBY

I suppose. Go and sit down make yourself comfortable. I’ll fix it for you.

 Jenny approaches slowly, careful to not feel too comfortable. She sits awkwardly in a single chair. 

  JENNY

So what game are you guys playing?

 Liza is sprawled lazily drinking her wine regally.

  LIZA

I’m done playing. I have a headache. But I’m interested in hearing about you Jenny. Abby hasn’t told us too much about you. 

  JENNY

There’s not much to tell really. I’m a professor at Barnard. I teach women's studies but mostly intro classes. I only started working there last year. 

 LIZA

And what were you doing before that?

  JENNY

I was getting my master’s at Barnard. 

  MAX

So you like all women’s schools?

 Abby returns from the kitchen and hands Jenny her drink.

  ABBY

No interrogations before midnight.

 Abby winks at Jenny. Jenny ignores it, still focused on Liza.

LIZA

Well we just wanted to get to know Jenny your...friend here.

  ABBY

Well like she said she teaches women’s studies and you all know how we met. So what more is there to know?

  LIZA

But how does she feel about Bob Dylan?

 Everyone in  the friend group eye rolls and sighs. Denise and Jenny are lost. Jenny searches Abby for any indication of the right answer.Abby won’t answer.

  JENNY

I guess he’s alright?

 Liza passes her glass to Max and leans forward.

  LIZA

He is possibly the great musician that has ever existed. He is more than alright. 

 Stands up abruptly and walks to the speakers.

  LIZA (Cont.)

If you are not converted after this song. Then I don’t know what. 

 Abby knits her eyebrows and rubs her head. 

  ABBY

Really? Do you have to do this?

LIZA

Tabby, don’t be such a downer. You know you like him too.

 Liza puts on “going going gone” by Bob Dylan. While the friend group rolls their eyes again as they have hear this song for the umteenth time. Denise being on the outside looks at Jenny and they share an awkward exchange as if to say “is she for real right now?”

 Abby sits at the table and rolls a joint, some how in a way to bridge a divide. Once finished rolling she lights it and passes it to Jenny

  ABBY

(while holding in the smoke)

Guests first. 

 Jenny Semi-reluctantly takes the joint and takes a baby puff and passes to Max.

  MAX

(Earnest)

 We do puff-puff pass. If you want.

 Max passes it on to Liza who is still very much into the song. Once finished, she  passes it to Jake. They share a devilish look. Jake stands up before passing it to John. 

  JAKE

I’ll be right back. 

 Abby and Max exchange a knowing look and follow their eyes to Jake going to the bathroom. John and Denise are whispering over how Denise hasn’t really smoked before and John is assisting with the joint. Max leans over to Liza to have a side conversation. Abby turns to Jenny

  ABBY

(in a whisper) I’m sorry about Liza she can be...forward. 

JENNY

It’s okay. 

 Jenny wants to say more but John leans in a passes the joint to Abby.

  JOHN

I’m John by the way. This is my girlfriend Denise. 

  DENISE

Nice to meet you. Abby, thanks for having us over. I’m glad to finally meet you. John talks about you alot

  ABBY

No problem. I just want to be around people I love on my birthday. I hope John hasn’t told you any horror stories.

JOHN

Tabby I would never. 

  JENNY

Why do you guys keep call her Tabby?

 Max and Liza overhear this and jump over to where Abby is sitting and pinch her cheeks and rub her hair. 

  MAX and LIZA

Because she’s cute Tabby cat

   MAX

She’s soft and cuddly

 LIZA

Gets all angry and flustered when you don’t do things her way.

  JOHN 

She’s just Tabby. Don’t know how to explain it any other way. 

  ABBY

(disheartened)

I’ve learned to accept it. 

  LIZA

You know you love it. 

 Abby grunts. Meanwhile (in the background) Denise has left to use the bathroom. The bathroom door swings open. Jake appears to be doing something secretive and closes it. Denise asks to use the bathroom.

  DENISE (from across the room)

Can I just get in there for a minute?

  JAKE (from across the room)

Give me a second. 

  DENISE

I got to go (Opens the door knocking into Jake.)

  JAKE

What the fuck, Bitch! I said wait. 

  DENISE

You did not just call me a bitch!

 All the friends have been alerted by this time. Abby and Max share a frantic look. John turns into ultra protective mode and stands up. Jake emerges.

  JAKE 

John, you need to keep your bitch in line!

 Denise pushes Jake’s back

DENISE

You are not gonna let him talk to me like this? You call this guy your friend?

  JAKE 

John Seriously, no manners. 

 John is now chest to chest with Jake 

  JOHN 

Dude, you need to calm down. 

  JAKE

Me? she’s the one acting all crazy and shit!

  JOHN 

I’m serious man. You need to chill

 Jake pushes John. John lunges into Jake and grapple each other. Max and Abby spring from their seats. Abby pulls Denise away, who is in shock. Max prys the two of them apart grabbing Jake by the shoulders and leading him to the front door. John still angry tries step forward Abby steps in front of him. 

  ABBY

He didn’t mean it. You know that. 

 John looks at Abby and steps back and walks to Denise and asks if she’s alright. 

  MAX

You need to leave now. 

 Max is livid but calm. He’s done this many times. Jake steps back and sniffles his nose and pinches it. 

  JAKE 

Com’on I’m family. You’re not gonna kick me out, are you? Look I’m cool man, I’m cool. I swear. 

  MAX 

You need to leave, go home calm down. Ride it out. 

  ABBY

Jake, just go and cool down.

 Jake looks around the room expecting someone to defend him. Just silence. 

  JAKE

Fuck you! I’m outta here.

 Jake leaves and slams the door. Abby nods to Max who follows Jake out into the hall. Abby turns back to John and Denise.

  ABBY

I am so sorry Denise. Jake can lose his temper,sometimes. I suggest you guys wait a bit, if you want to leave. If you need some space,you can use my bedroom. 

Denise looks at John.

  DENISE

Thanks.

 John and Denise walk off into Abby’s bedroom. Abby looks at the front door, murmurs of yelling are going on in the hallway. Abby goes to sit down next to Liza and downs her drink 

  LIZA

God, I hate it when he does this.

 Abby is too afraid to acknowledge Jenny’s presence she is embarrassed and remorseful, that all of this is happening.

  ABBY

Yeah. I think he’s had a rough couple of days. 

 Jenny looks at both of them curious

  JENNY

You’re not seriously defending him? He just did blow in the bathroom and yelled at that girl for no reason!

  ABBY

I’m not defending his actions. But he’s still my friend. 

  JENNY

Friends don’t have angry bursts of rage at someone else’s house on their birthday. 

 Abby wants to rebuttal but Liza cuts in 

LIZA

Listen. It’s complicated I wouldn’t try to understand it. Don’t think you can just come in here and get.It. 

   ABBY

Liza, please. Jenny, I don’t expect anything sort of understanding but Jake is our friend no matter what. I don’t like what he did anymore than you do. Neither does Liza. But we have to support him. 

  JENNY

Why? He doesn’t seem to support you?

 Door opens and enters Max. 

  ABBY 

Hey, did he leave?

  MAX 

Yeah. Do you have a cig I can bum?

  ABBY

Yeah I’ll come down with you.

(turns to Jenny.) 

Do you want to come?

  JENNY

I think I should leave. 

 Liza and Max exchange a look, as though they realized they messed this up. Abby is disappointed but knows she can’t fix it. 

  ABBY

Yeah sure. Whatever you want. 

 Max, Abby, and Jenny grab their coats down stairs. Outside it’s cold Abby lights a cigarette and passes the pack to Max They are standing next to each other and Jenny is across from them. Jenny doesn’t know how to talk to Abby while Max is present. 

  JENNY

I wish I could stay but I think you guys should enjoy your night without me. 

  MAX

I’m sorry about my brother. But, honestly it doesn’t have to ruin the rest of the night. 

 Max elbows Abby’s side. 

  ABBY

We can just listen to music. 

  JENNY

Another time. I’ll text you?

  ABBY

Yeah sure. Get home safe. 

 Abby and Max take a long drag and exhale, standing in silence. Shortly John exits with Denise behind. 

  DENISE

I’m sorry things got messed up on your birthday.

 Denise nudges John.

  JOHN

I’m sorry I got physical in there. I’m a little tipsy. 

ABBY

It is by no means your fault. Jake lost it and you responded like anyone else would have.I’m just sorry it happened. 

    JOHN

Anyways, we’re gonna get home. I’ll see you guys around. 

  MAX & ABBY

See ya.

 Shot from across the street. “Let it go” by James Bay starts to play. Max finishes his cigarette and leaves Abby outside. Abby leans against the wall alone, cars and people pass. She’s reflecting on everything. Why Jenny left, why Jake has to ruin everything, why is she still alone. It feels futile. She checks her phone and starts to type then stops. She looks at her phone then stops and puts her it in her pocket and goes back inside and enters the apartment. Max and Liza are sitting on the couch. Abby sits and places her head in her hands. Max and Liza wrap their arms around her. 

  ABBY

I like her. And I fucked it all up. 

 Max and Liza look at each other over Abby’s back and rub gently. 

EXT-roof of Abby’s apartment Abby and Max are sitting in lawn chairs wrapped in blankets. Max is fast asleep. Abby is watching the sunrise. She’s moves to stand near the edge of the building with the blanket wrapped around her. She pulls out her phone and calls Jenny. Jenny’s hand slams the phone, she pulls it under the covers. 

  JENNY

Hello?

  ABBY

Hey. Sorry to wake you.

  JENNY

Are you okay?

  ABBY

I’m fine. I’m just...watching the sunrise.

(pause)

It’s beautiful. 

 Jenny shuffles to get out of bed. We can see a lump but it’s unclear if it’s a person or just covers.Jenny walks over to her window and manages to get to the fire escape and see the sun rise.

  JENNY

It is. You didn’t call me at 6:00 AM to tell me the sunrise was beautiful did you?

  ABBY

I did. 

Both laugh 

ABBY (Cont.)

I guess I was sitting here thinking about being another year older. Realizing that things can change in an instant. Given what happened last night. And I just feel sorry-

 Jenny cuts her off.

  JENNY

You don’t need to be sorry about anything. Last night wasn’t your fault in any way. 

  ABBY

I should have just talked to Jake-

  JENNY

I bet you apologized to everyone at that party?

(pause)

You shouldn’t go around apologizing for a man’s action. That is so classic just make everything about fixing the situation without it even being caused by you. 

  ABBY

Jenny, don’t get all theory on me. I just wish things had gone differently but there’s something-

  JENNY

This isn’t theory. Sexism isn't a theory it’s a reality we live in everyday. And you aren’t helping Jake be a better person. 

  ABBY

That’s not what I meant. I don’t even want to talk about this I just wanted to tell you-

  JENNY

That’s the problem you don’t want to talk about it. Jake has clearly had this problem before but you and your so called “friends”. Who‘ by the way’ seem to take advantage of you and demean you with that little nickname. 

  ABBY

Hey! You’re totally out of line. You met them for ,not even, an hour and you’re already judging them. You know what, I’ll talk to you later.

 Jenny tries to speak but Abby hangs up. She throws off the blanket and carries it back to where Max is sitting and sits next to him. 

  MAX

Why are you yelling so early? 

  ABBY

Just cause. How you holding up?

  MAX

I’m fine.

  ABBY

I know when you're lying

  MAX

Well I don’t want to talk about it. 

 Abby looks off in the distance. 

  ABBY

I think I’m gonna take a break for a bit. Take a minute. Just not worry about anyone else... besides you

  MAX

Aw thanks Tabs. You know I love you... I just hope Jake didn’t ruin whatever you have going on with Jenny.

  ABBY

I think it’s beyond repairable.

  MAX

Well I’ll give him a piece of my mind

  ABBY

I just hope Jake can get off coke soon. He’s already in trouble. After last night I don’t know what’s gonna happen to him. 

  MAX

He’s grown. He can make his own choices. Unfortunately, the ripple effect is wide. I am going to talk to him later today. He was being a dick and you didn’t deserve that. 

  ABBY

Or Denise.

  MAX

Yeah, yeah.

 Abby stands up and stretches. 

  MAX

And where do you think you’re going?

  ABBY

I am going to bike a bit . Clear my head, get some exercise, be productive. 

  MAX

Gag! Exercise. 

  ABBY

I wasn’t asking you to come with me. I already know the answer. 

 EXT-Abby is biking across the Williamsburg bridge with headphones on.”Land of a Thousand words” by the scissor sisters. Very slow and dragging. It early morning the city is waking. Abby isn’t really sad but enjoys the moment. She Bikes up the east river and parks her bike against the railing near southstreet seaport and watches ships. She returns back to the apartment and picks up her guitar and starts writing a song furiously. The song is written over several days back and forth between the apartment the shop and over again. Tolling over the details. 

 INT- Abby is in the apartment watching TV with Max. Jake enters 

  JAKE

Hey. What are we watching?

  MAX

Downton Abbey

  ABBY

Because it’s relatable

  JAKE

How’s that?

 Max and Abby both giggle

  ABBY

Because it’s my name

  JAKE

Wow...Been partaking in a little wake and bake?

  MAX

Loosen up a bit. It’s good. I just love Mary and Matthew they are too perfect. I love them. 

 Abby tears up

ABBY

So beautiful. 

 Jake looks down at Max and Abby who are enthralled in this british melodrama. 

  JAKE

So…. Anyways, I have a surprise for you Tabby.

 Abby turns around, confused and holds out her hands. 

    JAKE (Cont.)

Not like that. I signed you up for the open mic night at the Underground.

  ABBY

Wait… What?

  JAKE

I got you in. I heard you playing your guitar again. And I thought you should show everybody your new song.

 Abby fully turns around on the couch. 

  ABBY

How do you know about that?

  JAKE

Because I have ears. You’ve been playing it like every day. 

 Abby turns back around in a flop.

  ABBY

Well you shouldn’t have.

  JAKE

Come on Abby! You got to get out there. You are so good people need to hear you. 

  MAX

You’ll be be fine. Just picture everyone in their underwear.

 ABBY

You know that stresses me out.

 JAKE

Well you can’t puss out. It wasn’t cheap. 

MAX & ABBY

You paid?

 JAKE

Not like that. Listen don’t worry about the details.

(pause)

Listen, let me borrow your phone for a second. I think I misplaced mine. 

 ABBY

Here.

 (hands phone)

I’m mad at you, by the way. 

 Jake takes the phone and waves Max over. 

 JAKE

Max help me out I think it’s on vibrate. 

 Jake gives Max his phone. They pantomime there conversation 

 Max: What are you doing?

Jake: go with it. 

 Jake pulls up Abby’s contact for Jenny and sends her a text. “Underground tonight at 8PM. No questions.”

Jake and Max give each other a thumbs up. 

  MAX

Oh here it is in my pocket. 

 Jake mouths ’what?’

  MAX (Cont.)

Anyways, let’s pick out your outfit tonight. 

  ABBY

I don’t want to. 

MAX

I want to dress you up. Can I put makeup on you ?

   ABBY

NO!

  MAX

I’m just going to go through your closet.

  ABBY

No! I don’t know what you’ll find

  MAX

A big pink DILDO. Oh my!

 Max runs to her bedroom and slams the door shut. Abby follows but it’s locked. 

  ABBY

Open up Max!

  MAX

Oh it is big. 

  ABBY

I know you’re lying 

 Max opens the door with one of Abby’s sports bras over his shirt. 

  MAX

Such a party pooper. 

  ABBY

That doesn’t even fit you.

 Abby and Max are bickering. Jake still has Abby’s phone. Text appears from Jenny “I’ll be there ;)”

 INT- Open Mic night. Abby is nervous holding her guitar as Jake and max stand tall behind her. She nervously walks up to the stage and places the guitar down then returns to stand next to the boys. Jake passes her a drink.

  JAKE

To ease your nerves.

 Max starts messing with Abby’s hair. Abby swats at his hand. 

  ABBY

Thanks dads! Jeez there’s a lot of people here. I don’t know if I can go up there. 

  MAX

Trust and believe. You are gonna do just fine. 

 JAKE

Yeah. You’re not playing until the middle so it doesn’t even have to be great.  

 Max slaps Jake’s arm

JAKE (cont.)

I mean, no pressure. 

 A few people get up to play. They're all fairly good. Abby is less tense but still nervous. Jeanette walks in and slips in the back she can’t see Abby over the boys. Finally it’s Abby’s turn. She get’s on stage and keeps her head down and focuses on setting up her guitar. She pulls out a small metronome and places it on a still next to her. 

    ABBY

This is a new song I wrote. It doesn’t have a name.

 Abby starts the metronome and starts to sing “stranger things have happened” by the foo fighters or new song

“It's like the river and the rocks always fighting back 

It's like the sky and clouds always moving past

 It's like daydream that’s always out of grasp.

 Will the moon and sun ever meet?

Or spin round looking down at their feet 

 It’s Lonely feeling being so meek. Staring straight into the sun

 You make me angry and worthless. 

 I make you feel nothing or less

 And I'm laid bare for you

And means nothing at all”

 Abby never looks up from her guitar but Max and Jake look on proud. Jenny stares impassive, not really understanding the song is about her until the end. Abby finishes the song and looks up and sees Jenny. It’s upsetting, frustrating and whemling. Abby walks off stage and returns to Jake and Max. Who suddenly realize Abby is pissed. 

  ABBY

I can’t believe you invited her. 

  JAKE 

I wanted to help.

 Jenny is walking over.

  ABBY

Well don’t.

 Abby begins to storm towards the front door. Trying to get past Jenny. Jenny grabs Abby’s arm. 

  JENNY

Hey? Where are you going?

 Abby pulls away. 

  ABBY

Leaving.

  JENNY

Well you invited me. I was hoping we could talk. 

  ABBY

Well that wasn’t me. And I don’t really feel like talking. 

 Abby pushes past and walks out onto the sidewalk. Jenny looks at Max and Jake then follows Abby.

 JENNY

Abby wait!

 Abby turns around. Jenny pauses.

 ABBY

Well?

 Jenny doesn’t know what she was going to say. 

 JENNY

I just wanted to catch up. 

  ABBY

Catch up? Really?

 Jenny steps closer and and grabs Abby’s hand. 

 JENNY

I miss you.

 Abby looks down. 

 ABBY

I know but...

 JENNY

What?

 Abby looks up. 

 ABBY

Nevermind.

 Awkward silence.  

 JENNY

Just come with me to Steemy Bunny on Friday. Please?

 Abby just nods and Jenny hugs her a little non-consensually. Abby isn’t exactly a fan. 

 EXT- Max and Abby are waiting to enter “Steamy Bunny”. Abby is anxious and Max doesn't want to be there. 

  MAX

I hate lines. Especially with a bunch of horny lesbians. I can smell the pheromones from 4 blocks away.

   ABBY

Well you only have to bear it for a little bit. You can leave after Jenny gets here. 

  MAX

Why didn’t you just come with her?

  ABBY

She lives super far away. I don’t want to be waiting by myself like a fool. 

  MAX

Well you better be buying my drinks. 

 The line starts to move forward. 

  ABBY

2 drink limit. 

 Max crosses his fingers emphatically. 

 INT- “Loophole” by Etta Bond  - Slow motion dancing. Abby and Max are dancing with each other and actually having a good time. Others are dancing around them ignoring their bad dancing. Time passes.The slow motions stops as a slow jam song comes on. “Don’t go” by Reece. Max looks at his phone. 

  MAX

It has been an hour. Where your girl at?

 Abby pulls out her phone. No notifications. 

  ABBY

Don’t know. But maybe she’s here already. Go grab us some drinks.I’m gonna look around. 

 Max disperses into the crowd. Abby stares at the women dancing slow with each other with melancholy. She weaves through the crowd to get a better look from upstairs something catches her eye so she turns. Her face turns white. Shot moves to Jenny dancing with Jeanie very closely. Abby is frozen in place. Jenny moves into kiss Jeanie, it’s slow and sensual. Abby watches in horror. Once, their kiss breaks Abby shakes her head and storms upstairs. Max at the bar sees a flash of Abby rushing out the front door. He’s confused but stays. Abby is outside smoking a cigarette.Just as she puts it out, Jenny comes outside stumbling. 

  JENNY

(to herself) 

Shit, I’m drunk.

Abby! What, um ,how long have you been here?

  ABBY

Long enough.

 Jenny ignores the comment. 

JENNY

Oh my god. I just kissed Jeanie. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I don’t even like her.

 ABBY

(beyond frustrated)

I saw.

 JENNY

I need to get out of here.  

 Looks like she’s going to hurl.

  ABBY

Do you need me to get you a cab? You don’t look good. 

 Jenny is a bit shaky. Abby looks around and sighs. She walks to the corner and waves a cab down. She pulls Jenny over and tosses her in a cab. Abby goes to leave but Jenny pulls her in. 

  JENNY

Take me home. 

 There’s a moment of indecision. But it’s too late the door is closed and Jenny has given the driver the address. Abby acquiesces as Jenny leans on Abby’s shoulder. The driver steady’s on. Abby shoots a text to Max that she’s left. The ride is quite. Abby stare catatonics out the window until Jenny’s hand wraps around her. Abby looks down and places her hand over it. 

 EXT-On the corner outside Jenny’s apartment. Jenny stumbles out of the cab. Abby follows suit. Jenny fumbles with her keys, as she’s opening the door and turns to Abby and places a kiss on her cheek. 

  JENNY

Thanks for taking me home. You always take such good care of me. 

 Abby blushes averting her eyes. 

  ABBY

It’s no problem. It’s kind of late do you think..

 Abby looks up to see Jenny closing the door behind her. 

  ABBY

Jenny? 

(realizing that she’s left her)

Jenny!

 Abby turns to see if the cab is still there it’s not. The street is dark and quiet. Abby looks at her phone it’s 12 something. Throwing her head back she starts to walk. “Pendulum’ by FKA twigs plays as Abby takes the train. Taking the C train downtown. Waiting for her transfer on the platform next to sleeping people on benches and couples holding hands. Finally she is walking down her block and opening her front door slowly trudging up the steps. She opens the door to her dark apartment. She plugs in her phone it’s now 2 something.There’s a text from Jenny. Abby ignores it and flops on the bed. 

 INT-Eliza’s dirty messy apartment clothes all over the floor. Fluffy cat perched on the kitchen table. Abby is sitting on the couch while Liza flings her clothes about. 

 ELIZA

(from a closet) 

Well, if you want my opinion…

ABBY

Not really

  ELIZA

She’s a bitch! Like what the fuck?! If that were me I would just venmo request her for that cab ride there and back. Why didn’t you take a cab again?

  ABBY

I have no money and I wasn’t exactly in the mood to be in a car with a stranger for an hour back home. She practically lives in washington heights. 

 Eliza comes out of the closet in a thrift store dress with a few holes in it. 

  ELIZA

You can’t see my nips in this?

   ABBY

No but your ass is hanging out. 

 Eliza looks in the mirror, shrugs and pulls off her dress with no bra on. Abby’s hands fly up. 

  ABBY

Give a girl a warning. 

  ELIZA

It’s nothing you haven’t seen before. 

 Eliza returns to her closet. 

  ABBY

I’m just looking forward to this concert.And I’m looking for your support. Okay? I haven’t talked to Jenny in like two weeks so it would be great if we could just drop the subject. 

 Eliza comes out of the closet in a sequin dress looking in the mirror.

  ELIZA 

I don’t know. I look like whale in this. 

  ABBY

Oh my god! If I have to tell you one more time that you look great I’m literally going to tackle you. 

  ELIZA

Tabbs I know you’re just saying that. But thanks. 

  ABBY

(sighs)

 Girl you look fine as fuck. Now can we go we need to pick up Max?

  ELIZA 

Why didn’t he just come here?

  ABBY

Because he has no patience for this 

(pointing to Eliza) 

like I do. 

  ELIZA

(rolls her eyes) 

I didn’t know I was such a burden. 

  ABBY

Can we just go? 

(melts into the couch)

  ELIZA 

Fine. Fine. Let me say bye to snugglepuss

 Picks up cat.

  ELIZA (CONT.)

I love you boo boo kitty. 

(kiss)

 Abby walks over cat to try and pet it. Hisses. 

  ABBY

I love you even if you don’t love me. 

 INT-Abby and Eliza are knocking on the apartment door. 

  ABBY

Max! Hurry yo ass up. 

 No response. Abby looks a Eliza. Abby pulls out her keys and opens the door. Max is talking to Jeanie on the couch. Abby clears her throat. 

  ABBY

I didn’t know you were having a party without me. 

 Max mouths sorry. Abby is a little perplexed until she walks in further to find Jenny is there too. 

  JENNY

That’s not a pleasant greeting to a friend.

 Jenny gets up to hug Abby. Jeanie has a smirk that isn’t pleasant. 

  ABBY

Sorry, I wasn’t really expecting you. 

  JENNY

I’m just messing with you. 

 Eliza walks in with a stank face. 

 ELIZA So what are you doing here? We’re on our way to the concert in Prospect Park. So…

 Abby’s eyes widen she looks at Eliza

  ELIZA (CONT.)

Sorry. Just curious. Max are you ready?

  MAX

Actually no, come help me pick out a shirt. 

 Max nods his head nonchalantly to his room. Eliza and Max leave turning to check on Abby who could quite possibly petrified. 

  ABBY

So?...

 Jeanie stands up from the couch. 

  JEANIE 

We just happened to be in the neighborhood. I hadn’t seen Max in a long time so we thought we would stop by. 

  ABBY

Cool. Well, Liza was actually right. We were literally here just to pick up Max. 

  JENNY

Well we were just talking to him and it sounds like a fun concert. Would it be cool if we came with you guys?

 Abby looks as Jeanie. Jenny looks at Jeanie. It’s Awkward. 

  ABBY

I mean, its free so… It’s up to you. It’s kind of far from your house. 

 Jeanie steps forward and wraps her arm around Jenny’s waist. 

  JEANIE

You can always stay at my place. 

 Jenny nods then looks at Abby, who is fidgeting. 

JENNY

So is that what you’re wearing?

 Abby looks at her clothes.

  ABBY

What’s wrong with this?

  JEANIE

There is definerlty going to be some queermosexuals there. 

  JENNY

Yeah, we want you to get some ladies.You got to gay it up. 

   ABBY

I mean, I’m fine like this. Just really want to be comfortable. 

 Jenny starts towards Abby’s bedroom. Jeanie follows.

  ABBY (CONT.)

Um, where are you going?

  JENNY

Going to pick out an outfit for you. Duh?

 Abby rushes to stop them but it’s too late they are going through her clothes. 

  JEANIE

Ooo...Yes these pants! This is going to make your butt looks so good. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in skinny jeans. 

 Abby shuts the drawer. 

ABBY

Really it’s fine. And I don’t really wear those pants too much. There’s no pockets!

  JENNY

Oh! This hat is so cute. 

 Jenny comes out of the closet, standing close to Abby while putting on the hat. Jeanie hangs the pants in front of Abby.

  JEANIE

See won’t these look so good.

 Jenny steps back.

JENNY

Oh yeah. Put them on. 

 Abby looks confused.

  ABBY

Right now?

  JENNY

Yes? 

 Abby takes the pants and is holding them waiting. Jeanie and Jenny wait in anticipation. Abby twirls her finger for them to turn around. They do. Abby checks to make sure no one is looking and slips off her pants. The door opens as her pants are at har ankles. 

  MAX

Damn girl! I leave you for one minute and you on some voyeur shit.

 Abby falls to the floor. Jenny and Jeanie see her exposed.

  ABBY

EVERYONE OUT!

 They all scurry as the door shuts. Back to Abby on the floor face covered. 

  ABBY (CONT.)

Can someone come shoot me now?

 Leaving the apartment. Abby, Max and Eliza stay to lock the door. Jeanie and Jenny are ahead.

  ABBY

Not a word.I don’t want to hear it. 

 Max and Abby raise their hands and walk away. 

 INT- at the music store. Abby had her hand placed on her hand place on her chin and is staring out the window. 

  MANAGER

Now I know you’re not sitting here because the new loop pedal doesn’t interest you. 

 Abby turns to face him. 

  ABBY

Sorry, just lost in thought. 

  MANAGER 

I can tell. Listen,I’m not gonna pry into your personal life but, if it’s something serious I hoped you know I can be a person to talk to. 

  ABBY

Ed, I know I can talk to you. I just don’t want to talk about it. It’s all my friends want to talk about. It’s all I focus on. Like a vicious cycle. 

   MANAGER

Hung up on a girl. 

ABBY

I never said that. 

  MANAGER

Okay. Fine. Just know your are worthy of time and respect. If you’re not getting that then they’re not worth your time. 

  ABBY

Mmmm…

 INT-Abby is pulling out her keys to go into her apartment after work. She is visibly tired. Before the key enters the lock the door cracks open, stretches his neck out. 

 MAX

Um… What are you doing here?

 ABBY

I live here?

 MAX

Didn’t you get my text?

 Abby pulls her phone from her pocket showing Max’s text.

 ABBY

I’m sorry. I didn’t see it. Can I just be in my room? 

 Loud talking erupts from the living room. Max leaves into the hall closing the door behind him. 

 MAX

Look you can’t be here right now. 

 ABBY

Max, I live here. You can’t just tell me to leave whenever. Who do you have over, anyways? 

  MAX

(Sighs)

It’s my parents. They… (in a whisper) they want to put Jake in rehab.

  ABBY

Oh my god what?! Your parents are here? What the fuck Max?

  MAX

Look I’m just trying to get this all figured out and I don’t want you involved. Okay?

  ABBY

Max..

  MAX

Please just let me work this out. I’ll text you.

 Max backs up into the apartment. Abby lingers. Shouts are muffled through the walls. She turns and walks down the hall. 

 EXT- Abby is out on the sidewalk at night. She’s aimlessly walking. She finds a coffee shop and goes inside. There is one lone barista. Not very tall, friendly face charismatic in energy. ”Medley:Kendrick Lamar” by Jessica Domingo is playing softly in the background, to an empty store. Abby walks up to the counter. 

  BARISTA 

What can I get you?

  ABBY

Can I have a latte, for here?

 Barista looks at the clock

BARISTA

Actually, we’re shutting down here soon. I can get you a drip?

  ABBY

Then why didn’t you just say that?

  BARISTA

Sorry habit. So a coffee or no?

  ABBY

 Sorry, that sounded rude. Yeah a coffee is fine. 

 Abby pulls out her wallet shaking her head to herself. Feeling ridiculous.

  BARISTA

Here you go. Did you you want any milk or sugar?

  ABBY

Yeah, both. I can get it-

  BARISTA 

I just put it away. I’ll grab it. 

 Abby looks around anxiously.The barista returns and starts to pour. 

  BARISTA

How do you like it?

  ABBY

(cooly)

Light and sweet.

  BARISTA 

Like your women?

 Abby blushes while the barista laughs at her own joke. 

  ABBY

Oh no, no…

  BARISTA

Which part?

  ABBY

Huh?

BARISTA

The color or women?

  ABBY

(stammers) 

I uh, you know, like not like..

  BARISTA

So both. 

  ABBY

I didn’t say that. 

BARISTA

She speaks!And in sentences. 

  ABBY

I don’t appreciate the taunting. 

 Abby picks up her coffee and sips it and passes money.

 BARISTA

It’s okay. It was the bottom of the thing so. No worries. 

 ABBY

Well, thanks. That makes up for the comment. 

 BARISTA

Uh huh. Sure. Anyways, we are closing so…  

  ABBY

Oh. Shit. Sorry I uh, just need to not be at home of a bit and-

  BARISTA

Nothing else is open.

  ABBY

Yeah…

  BARISTA

Well I mean technically, you could just be here while I clean up?

  ABBY

You’d be cool with that?

  BARISTA

I am here alone and clearly you have a silverfish infestation that’s out of control. 

  ABBY

I wish it were only that. Thanks, I’ll just sit over on the couch. If you don’t mind. 

  BARISTA

I don’t. 

 Abby walks over sheepishly to a couch and sits. The barista follows her with her eyes, then proceeds to start closing up shop. She finishes behind the bar and begins to start wiping the tables down making her way back to Abby who is sipping and playing with her phone. The barista is within ear shot. 

  ABBY

Is this a cover of Kendrick Lamar?

  BARISTA

Ah someone was paying attention. 

  ABBY

I like it. I’m always down for an acoustic guitar mash up. 

  BARISTA 

Especially a woman with a guitar.Mmmm 

 Abby blushes furiously and has no idea what to do with her body. 

  ABBY

So do you want me to give you a hand? I know I’m not supposed to or what ever but I feel bad just sitting here doing nothing. 

 The barista stands for a moment thinking then tosses the rag to Abby and walks away. 

  BARISTA 

Start  wiping the tables. I’ll flip the chairs.

 They both work together cleaning and closing up the shop occasionally getting near each other but focused on the task at hand. 

  BARISTA

Thanks for helping out. You didn’t have to. 

 ABBY

Thank you for letting me stay. I just hope I can actually go back now. 

 BARISTA 

I hope so too. It’s too late to be not at home in bed. 

 Abby shrugs. 

 ABBY

True. It was nice to meet you…

 BARISTA

Shawna. It was nice to have a helping hand. 

  ABBY

Well with an awesome playlist like that, wasn’t a trouble at all. 

 SHAWNA

I’m glad you liked it. 

[pauses]

Wait a sec.

 Shawna reaches over to a cup and pulls out a pen and starts writing on it. Then passing it to Abby.

  SHAWA (CONT.)

Just in case you have another invasion of roaches. 

 Abby reveals the number on the cup and nods. 

   ABBY

Will do. 

 They both get ready to walk out the door awkwardly weaving until both outside. Shawa locks the door while Abby waits. 

  ABBY

I guess I’ll see you around. 

  SHAWNA 

I guess you will. 

 They both go to leave but end up walking the same direction, continuing to walk. 

  SHAWNA 

You’re going this way?

  ABBY

Well this is awkward. 

SHAWNA

Nah, nah. I’m not going that far. Just to the bus stop.

ABBY

Yeah, I just live a couple of blocks away.

 SHAWNA 

It’s weird I’ve never seen you around. 

 ABBY

I suppose. I don’t really buy my-

 Abby freezes.

 SHAWNA

What? What it is?

 Abby darts over to a wall looking down the street. Jake is walking out with his parents and getting in a car while Max stands by the door. Abby looks back at Shawna. 

  ABBY

It’s nothing. You can go ahead. I’ll just wait here a minute. 

 Abby looks on silently while Shawna watches it all unfold. Max is standing by the outside door, eyes fixed on the sidewalk. 

  SHAWNA

You know him?

 Abby is still silently focused on Max.

  ABBY

Huh? What, oh yeah… um it’s a long story. Seriously you don’t have to wait for me. 

 Shawna looks back and forth. Disappointed. 

SHAWNA

Okay...I’ll see you around. 

 Abby still focuses let’s Shawna leave. Pivoting back around the corner she stews in frustration, for a moment then walks up to Max. 

  ABBY

So what the fuck happened?

  MAX

I-I tried to convince them but…

 Max looks down.

  ABBY

Max… I 

  MAX

Can we just go inside? It’s been a long day. 

  ABBY

Sure whatever you want. I got you. 

 Fade to black. Text across the screen. “Three months later”

 INT- The gang in playing settlers of catan together. Jake is back and healthy. Liza is getting along and is excited to play together. 

  LIZA

Ha-ha! Give me longest road bitch!

 Liza celebrates

JAKE

You know the game isn’t over. Right?

  LIZA

I don’t care. I win fair and square. 

  MAX

We haven’t even moved the thief. Liza that’s not how the game works. 

  ABBY

Unfortunately, they’re right. 

  LIZA 

Whatever.

 Sits with a plop. There’s a knock on the door. 

  GROUP (coos together)

MAX

Must be Shwana….

 Abby rolls her eyes to get the door as she shushes them. He opens the door. 

  ABBY

Hey.

  SHAWNA

Hey, yourself. You ready. 

  ABBY

Yeah. Let me grab my stuff. Come on in. 

 Shawna enters quietly and looks at the coffee table. 

  SHAWNA

Oooo. Catan. Who’s winning?

  LIZA

Well that depends on who you ask. 

  MAX

I didn’t say you weren’t actively winning just that you hadn’t won. 

  SHAWNA

Well, someone has the longest road. I would say that’s winning. 

  LIZA

I knew I’d like you. 

 Abby returns to the living room. 

  ABBY

Ready?

 Shawna nods. Abby turns to the group. 

  ABBY (Cont.)

I see you guys later then. Don’t burn down the house. 

  IN UNISON

Yes… Mama Abby

 EXT- Abby and Shawna are walking hand in hand. 

  SHAWNA

Jake looks good. How’s Max holding up?

  ABBY

He is. He’s been back a week or so. We’ve been trying to keep him close. Max is doing a lot better. I think her felt like everything was falling apart. But now he’s sort of realized he can’t control Jake and Jake wants the best for his brother. We had a little talk about it. 

  SHAWNA

That’s good. He probably needed to hear that from you more than anyone else. 

 Abby smiles 

ABBY

It’s just good to have things a little calmer. For while I thought it was all going to fall apart, there for a minute. 

  SHAWNA

Mhmm. When you’re trying to stop smoking and your best friend goes to rehab, being stressed out is pretty normal. Speaking of which. 

 Shawna holds out her hand. 

  ABBY

What?

Shawna lifts her eyes brow.

  ABBY (Cont.)

I have to ween myself off.I can’t just quit cold turkey. 

 Shawan waves her hand. Abby pulls out a pack of cigarettes. 

SHAWNA

See that wasn’t hard. 

 She takes them and throws them in the nearest trash can. 

ABBY

You’re cruel sometimes.

  SHAWNA 

You’ll thank me when you don’t have lung cancer. 

(Pauses)

I’m going to go ahead and get our tickets from will call. Wait here. 

 Shawan kisses Abby on the cheek. Abby waits and pulls out her phone. There’s a text. She’s opens it to see that it’s Jenny. “Hey.” Abby looks up a Shawna getting their tickets and looks back at the phone. She pulls up the keyboard, fingers hovered over. Then stops. She taps the contact button thumb hovering over the delete contact. Shawna walks over. 

  SHAWNA

Who’s that. 

 Abby looks up. 

ABBY

Oh. It’s nobody important. 

 She presses delete and puts the phone in her back pocket. She wraps her arm around Shawna’s waist and walks into the venue. “Somebody that I used to know” plays the outro. 

 THE END BITCHES.

[bikingb1tches]

DAY 27

Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA to Plaskett Creek Campground, Big Sur, CA

Hours: 8 hrs

Miles: 60 mi

Elevation gain: 4,961 ft

Elevation loss: 4,875 ft

Clip-in falls: 3

Flat tires: 0

I don’t know why I was killing it today, but I did. I made it through most of Big Sur.

I got started a little late today because I just took my sweet time getting ready and packing everything up at Marilyn’s house. She was a lovely host and left me coffee, left me breakfast, and had to leave in the morning but said to stay as long as I wanted. What I wanted to do was stay all day and not get back on the bike yet.

I didn’t get on the road until about 9 AM but the ride out of Carmel was pretty easy. There was some a variation of climbs, downhills, and flat sections, but for the most part, it was pretty simple. Soon, I was entering into Big Sur and the elevation was noticeably changing.

There was a big climb right before I stopped for lunch, which I was happy to finish the first half of the day; the second half of the day is always harder to be motivated for. I stopped at the Big Sur Deli and Bakery and sat there for about an hour. Even though I had completed 30 miles in Big Sur, I still had another 30 to go. I was doing really well on time but the second half of the day would be a lot of climbing, so I let myself have a big break for lunch before beginning again.

It’s interesting to talk to people about the trip and where I’ve come from and how far I’ve gone. Kate and I have experienced this on the trip pretty much the whole time--people are always shocked and amazed that we’re doing this trip from Seattle to San Diego. I had one guy today say I must be some sort of professional biker, and my answer is always no, definitely not. Kate and I both didn’t own bikes until about three to four weeks before we left, and I did not try clip-ins until the day before we left. Kate and I were not professional bikers--still aren’t, by any means. Maybe things like this seem less impossible to me because I know quite a few people that have accomplished other big tours like this, but it’s really just one of those things you have to try and you learn as you go. You kind of just have to throw yourself in, sink or swim, because you don’t know what you’re capable of until you push your limits.

I think what I’m learning on this trip is that there is a lot of things I don’t feel like I can do, or I’m too hesitant to try, and a lot of people feel that way. Things feel impossible, but if you don’t push your limits, you don’t really know you’re capable of. I certainly didn’t feel like I could finish this when we first started--day two was particularly discouraging--but as the days go on, things get easier; I learned more about what was going to work, and I got stronger and into a rhythm. I’ve found I’m capable of a lot more than I thought I would.be. That’s kind of how I live my life in general, though--I typically throw myself into something so that I HAVE to figure it out. I’ve needed to be bailed out a couple of times but I don’t regret really anything I’ve ever done because a lot of it has worked out and given me really incredible experiences.

After lunch, there were a lot of hills, but the grade was not as steep as that first climb. It was very doable and the downhills were steeper than the up hills. Plus, there’s actually a lot of construction going on right now, which sounds treacherous but is actually really nice; a lot of times, there is one-lane traffic with either stoplights or construction workers telling you when to stop and when to go. This means someone almost always knows where I am, I get to go first or am last a lot of times, and I get to ride on the side of the road or shoulder that no one is on while everyone has to drive slow around me and is more aware. It also means that bouts of traffic are being held up at any given time, so I could be biking for 15 minutes and not have one car pass me, and then all at once there are 25 cars, and then there’s none for a while. Plus, all of the construction workers are very friendly and helpful--one asked if I had enough water today.

It was just a fun and encouraging day in general, which is nice to have on a more strenuous day alone. Plenty of motorcycles gave me the hand sign or nod,  and I had some ladies cheer out the window at me as I was pushing up a hill.

The views of Big Sur after lunch were far better than the ones before--it’s just these giant cliffs, jutting out of the water, and the water is so expansive and blue with the clear skies and sunshine. And like I mentioned, I made really good time today--it should have taken me much longer to bike through 3/4 of Big Sur, but either I was killing it or Google Maps is very wrong.

I did hit a rumble strip earlier today, my water bottle flew out of its holder, and then I ran over it, squishing it and all of the rest of my water. I then proceeded to go to this ‘reservations only’ institution, walk down the steep driveway to see if I could fill up my water, and the guy at the gate said that it was not open to the public.......and that there was no potable water. I have to wonder, what people are drinking down there? Also, if there is no potable water, that’s fine, but why would you first mentioned that it’s not open to the public? Either he or the institution needs to get its priorities straight. Luckily, a little bit of the road, I asked some tourists if they had any extra water, and they were more than happy to give me all of their water. There are still good people left in the world.

I finished up the day at camp at Plaskett Creek Campground at 5 PM. I walked down to Sand Dollar beach to watch the waves,  cleaned up, made some macaroni and cheese, and now I’m drinking hot chocolate as I watch the sunset.

I have a couple of big days in front of me--tomorrow should be about 72 miles, and I’m still not quite sure, but I might try to push from San Luis Obispo to Santa Barbara the next day, which would be 112 miles. I have to get to San Diego by July 2 because I fly out July 3, so I’m a little crunched for time but I know I’m capable of finishing.

Tonight is my first camping night without Kate in our tent--it’s a little lonely and different, but soon we will be reunited.

[seecourtneytravel]

October 7th, 2018 (Sunday)

Osmeña Peak

Sunday I woke up the Oslob hostel feeling the absolute worst. Throughout the night I kept adding additional clothing and was at a point where I had my towel as a blanket because the aircon was blasting. When I eventually got up at around 7am I had the worst sore throat, headache, and head cold. I walked to the bathroom and spit thick sputum in the sink and looked in the mirror. My eyes looked like I’ve been crying all night with huge dark circles and bags. I asked Anna if she felt like shit as well and she said her throat hurt with the puffy eyes.

I notice the aircon or places with air conditioning throughout the Philippines made me sick every time I was exposed to it. I’m not sure if there was some kind of antifreeze in it or if it was always just pumping out pure mold. I would feel absolutely terrible. Air conditioning in the car would make me extremely nauseous here as well.

We stayed in the room until almost 8am. Sam and the guy from the Congo walked in the door looking wide awake. The guy from the Congo’s name was Charamant. They apparently already did the whale shark tour in the way early the morning. I started telling them how shitty I was feeling. The guys said, “yeah the aircon was absolutely blazing when we got up at 430am.” They said it was winter cold. I’m not sure what makes the aircon machines take a cruel freezing turn or turn off in the middle of the night. Its the worst waking up scolding hot like a dry sponge or freezing with a cold.

I asked the guys how their tour was. Charamant said, “it was pretty good. I couldn’t really see anything.” I said “well did you swim with the whale sharks! You can’t miss them!” He said, “nah I stayed in the boat because I can’t swim.” I thought that was interesting. He came all the way to Oslob in Cebu to see the whale sharks from inside the boat! I was laughing and asking if he was kidding. I felt bad but hey if you’re a sinker you can’t really enjoy the whale sharks if you’re panicking and kicking them to stay afloat.

After talking with the guys, they packed their stuff and headed to Moalboal together. We got ready to see osmena peak. The girls were saying the hostel owner was trying to convince them to do the osmena peak tour with him including transportation for 1000 pasos a person. We now learned that we were a bit ripped off with our whale shark and waterfall tour so we weren’t going to go through that again. I had to break it to him that we were going to head that way ourselves.

The girls left their stuff at the hostel, I took my backpack I came with because the hike was already towards Cebu city where I’ll be returning right after. My flight was at 740 that evening.

We walked out of the hostel and started walking on the road. As Anna was asking, “how do we find a bus that goes that way?” a bus came around the corner as I flagged it down. It was one of those big tour buses. I told the ticket collector we were going to osmena peak and he nodded. I never know if they would remember where I’m going so I just monitor our trip on google maps. It was only 50 pesos to bus from the hostel to about 45 minutes north. Once the bus stopped where we breed o get off, the ticket collector pointed to a corner where men waited with their 50 motorcycles.

The previous evening, I was warning Anna and Carys that the motorbikes here have up to 4 people on them. I quickly became comfortable to the idea (after I first overreacted). Anna was used to it living in Vietnam for a while and even having her own bike while there. She still said we would get two bikes.

When we arrived to the guys, we told them where we wanted to go. I read online it would be about 300 pasos a person for to and from transportation which was about 30 minutes away or so. When we asked the men they said, “100 a person and one bike.” Anna responded saying, “that’s too much.” I was impressed she wanted to cut the price even more down when it was barely $2 a person in USD. We accepted the price and all piled on.

The driver took my backpack and wore it on his chest. The order when you stack a bike is heaviest to lightest, specially affective with climbing hills and going down hills. The drive waited, Anna hopped on followed by myself. Carys was lightest so she sat last.

The drive

During the drive I was thinking, we should have said we wanted two bikes as the real danger to the idea was now surfacing. It’s funny how cheap you get living somewhere like the Philippines. You try to save a few pasos when it’s literally a dollar or two difference in reality. The drive was full uphill climbs and turns. We had to all lean forward to crawl up some of these steep roads. I felt like we had a scooter from dumb and dumber when Harry and Lloyd ride to aspen on their moped.

When we arrived we paid 30 pesos to enter and our bike hire waited for us until we were finished with the hike. During the hike, it wasn’t even a difficult climb but I was breathing heavy. I thought, “oh man I’m in trouble for when it comes time for base camp.” I felt like I was really winded and hot. It only took maybe 20 minutes to reach the top with some beautiful lumpy hill views. It’s so weird how lumpy they were.

On the top, there was this older guy with a big white beard from Oregon. He was super friendly and outgoing. I was interested in his story. He had a cane but looked in good shape at the same time. He said he and his Filipino wife live over there- as he pointed among the rolling hills to one house that was present. He said he was undergoing radiation for having cancer of the vocal cords. He has his treatments in the Philippines and said he hasn’t been able to travel as much as he would like due to the treatments. He hadn’t been in one spot for more than three months and it’s the longest he has been in one spot. He handed me his business card and said, “here’s my card, call me anytime you’re in Oregon. I own this winery here, and you can stay for free anytime you want! You tell the guys there you know me.” The man also opened his own orphanage in the Philippines many years back. I was just so intrigued with his life and who he was. He took our pictures and that was that.

We headed back down. Instead of leaning forward, we all leaned back on the motorbike while going steeply downhill. Once we arrived at the main road, I had to say my goodbyes to Anna and Carys. They were a blast and I was super thankful they let me in their duo.

I waited at the bus stop and saw them take the bus back to Oslob in the opposite direction. As I waited a curious woman began talking to me. She asked where I was from and where I was going. I told her I had a 730 flight to catch. She pretty much told me I wasn’t gonna make it due to the buses unpredictable arrival and multiple stops. It wasn’t really something I wanted to hear but at the same time I just shrugged my shoulders. If I miss it I miss it. I couldn’t change the future and it was already 2 o’clock. The drive back to Cebu city was 3 and a half hours. Then I would have a 30 minute taxi to the airport from the terminal.

The woman also asked if I was alone. I said yes, and she gasped saying, “oh so lonely!” I feel like the people who believe it is utterly lonely to travel solo are people who tend to get lonely.. Some people are not very good at going to the places where it’s easy to meet people or starting conversations when they are in those opportune places. I had just left two awesome chicks from different parts of the world. They were complete strangers and after only two days I felt like I knew them for years. And when we said our goodbyes it just felt like a goodbye like “alright take care, see you soon sometime.”

Some people are very uncomfortable with the thought of solo travel. I would always much prefer to have a companion, friend, or family but I’m also not the type to wait around until it’s convenient for them. That could be months or years delaying my opportunity. I think people think I get a hotel alone. Or a lodge. They think I go snorkeling alone or do solo tours with just me and the guide. I would not allow myself to be totally secluded like that, if I did I would accept the response of “oh so lonely!” Then i'd day.. “yeah it is lonely..” but for being a solo traveler I’m making the most of it.

So I nicely said to the woman. I’m travelling alone but I’m not really alone. And I’m not lonely. I smiled and my bus came.

The bus was SO much smoother than the private driver on the way back. Three hours or so go by. I get off at the terminal and wave a taxi like mission impossible. I jumped in the passenger seat and said, “if we can hurry please that would be awesome, I got a flight to catch!”

I get to the airport with “plenty of time” to spare. I was distracted walking in and out of shopping spots and spritzing myself with expensive perfume when I heard, “May I have your attention please. Will Courtney Bishop please come to gate 12, your flight is boarding.” I hurried and oh shit ran to the gate. It was weird because they boarded 30 minutes early.

I get on the plane and it rolls out. But then sits aside next to the runway. It sat for about 20 minutes and then we were informed that other planes were landing and we had to wait. As I looked out the window I saw planes taking off not landing.

Another ten minutes go by. “This is your captain. We are uh having some uh trouble with the hydrolics. Stand by.” Another 15 minutes go by.. “folks were good to go, the problem has resolved. We’ll be leaving soon.” ANOTHER 20 minutes… “This is your captain again, we’re gonna turn back to the gates. The hydrolics gave us problems again. This is for your safety.”

It was a first for me so I just followed the crowd. We all got on a shuttle that took us back to the airport. I sat in the far back next to another foreigner like myself. I was getting vibes she wasn’t a talker so I just kept quiet. As we were coming to a stop I made eye contact with this hooded Filipino guy. We locked eyes for a good 10 seconds and I was drawing in closer like I was examining him. “Mayor!! Is that you!” I said. He started smiling then removed his hoodie and I was right! I have now seen Mark the mayor in Guiuan, Cebu city, and now on the same flight!! Craziness.

We were super excited to have each other to hang out with while we waited for the long line to the service desk. After a little waiting, the mayor jumped the line and talked to a woman and got his voucher for a free hotel. He then spoke in waray upon my behalf. It’s nice to know people, judging by the size of that line they could have ran out of rooms or only had crappy far away ones.

We shared a taxi to the hotel, and I got a two bedroom hotel with hot running showers and it even came with a robe!! The air conditioning scared me because they’ve been making me sick lately so I remained sticky cool but the AC was just not agreeing with me here. I took the hottest longest shower. It was already midnight and I was taking my time enjoying the freedom of the hotel amenities. I had to be up by 4am to catch the shuttle back to the airport for the first flight back to Tacloban.

[jessicaptain]

A few weeks ago, I was given the opportunity to visit Strava’s headquarters in San Francisco. It was a great opportunity to meet my co-workers and visit somewhere I’d never been before.

San Francisco’s Ford GoBikes are much like Denver’s B-Cycles in that you share these bikes across town, park them in designated areas, and try to stay under 30 minutes to avoid paying a rental fee. They also weigh like forty pounds or so I’ve been told by their frequent users.

During a rookie cookie conversation at headquarters with Simon, I learned a group of people joined him in racing Ford Gobikes up Hawk Hill, Lookout Mountain’s equivalent.

My interest piqued.

I had already grown familiar with the Ford GoBikes with my commute to the office from the hotel. I was also told that Hawk Hill had the best view of the Golden Gate Bridge. It really took no convincing on Simon’s part for me to agree to riding up Hawk Hill on a Ford GoBike.

Simon sent me the video from last year. It looked like a blast. I saw it as a challenge while most saw it as probably stupid.

It was supposed to be a recovery week, but I woke up in my hotel room, pumped to get this ride started. I threw on my exercise gear, filled up my water bottle, zipped my jacket, and walked to the Ford GoBike location.

The plan was to meet at 7:00 AM to give us enough time to be back at the office. 7:05 hit and I figured, “he’s probably just late.” And then it was 7:15 – still no one around.

Once i saw 7:20 AM, I assumed I was stood up. I sent Simon a message on Slack that I was heading out. I secured my backpack in the front hole on top of the bike with a small bungee cord, entered the code to unlock the bike, mapped the route with google, and with a surge of anxiety, I set out on my solo journey to Hawk Hill.

Rarely do I fly by the seat of my pants, or any seat, for that matter. I was worried I’d get lost or end up on a highway or arrive to work super late and get fired.

I listened to google in one ear while commuters zoomed past. If it weren’t for their sunglasses I would have seen the weird looks I’m sure they gave me, like, “why is she taking a Ford GoBike this far out of the city?”

Google directed me all the way to the Golden Gate Bridge with only a few minor I’m-going-to-pull-over-and-double-check-this. By the time I reached the bridge, I knew there wasn’t enough time to climb Hawk Hill and get back in time for work, so I turned around at the other end of the bridge and headed back to the office.

When I parked the bike, I read through my Slack messages. I wasn’t stood up. I had the date wrong. I was a day early.

I’m not totally sure where I thought I read Wednesday, so I felt quite stupid having waited around for Simon and then biking my solo journey to the Golden Gate Bridge on a Ford GoBike.

Thursday rolled around and I didn’t want to stand up Simon so I planned to ride again, but this time up Hawk Hill with a friendly face. Simon showed up at 7:00 AM, just like he said he would.

We both had on our Strava kits. We packed our belongings in the semi-basket on the front of the bike, started our Garmins, and were off on our Hawk Hill adventure. Because I had Simon with me, we took an entirely different, yet more direct route (although with more hills) to Hawk Hill.

We got the same crooked neck response as I did the day prior because who takes a 40-pound bike up a hill, outside of city?

Once we hit the hill of Hawk Hill, it was frankly pretty moderate. I settled into a steady pace and watched the fog hide the Golden Gate Bridge from us. Without my clip shoes, it felt a lot like mountain biking, since I still have flats on my bike. Pushing down on the pedals all the way up to the spot that I was told had the best views of the city.

As cyclists bombed down the hill, they smiled and laughed at Simon and I as we pedaled our 40-pound bikes up to the lookout spot. All I could do was laugh as Simon rang his Ford GoBike bell at the passerby’s.We’d smile and wave at the cyclists, and I couldn’t help but think that this is the cool thing about life: going on adventures, doing things out of our comfort zones, saying ‘yes’ to opportunities, and making friends.

We stopped at the spot I was told had the best view of the Golden Gate Bridge, but it was completely hidden by fog. Nothing but a white cloud laid in front of us.

I joked about where I SHOULD be seeing the bridge and that I’d just imagine the sight. We couldn’t relish in our effort for too long so we kicked back the kickstands and commenced our descent.

The 40-pound bikes flew down the hill. I started to second-guess the brakes. Simon, being all-too familiar with this rode and the Ford GoBikes bombed down the hill, while I slightly tapped the brakes every few minutes, to confirm they were there and working as they should. Honestly, I guess I don’t know what I would have done if I tapped the brakes and they didn’t slow me down.

We took a different route back to the office – directly through the city, but also through the Presidio with the tallest trees I’ve ever seen. I ended up riding 20.16 miles that day. Definitely didn’t recover much on the trip.

Moral of the story: say ‘yes’ to new experiences, even if it’s your recovery week.

The post Riding the Ford GoBike up Hawk Hill appeared first on Jessica McWhirt.

[rdgpcg]

The morning had been beautiful, especially after the first heatwave of summer. Despite the windy conditions, the weather was otherwise ideal for cycling or really doing anything outside. I bounced on the pedals climbing a small hill. Glancing to my left I looked over a green valley with Amish farms as far as the eye could see.

A sprawling view beautiful Amish country in Pennsylvania

A starburst of bright goldfinches, startled from their roadside feast, took to the sky against a backdrop of blue chicory. I let my eyes feast on this scene as I crested the hill and began to roll quickly down the other side. A noise snapped my attention back to the road. Suddenly, instead of Amish farmland I found myself staring down the business end of a front-end loader full of Amish cow manure.

It’s surprisingly hard to find a good photo of a scoop of manure coming at you. 

I barely managed not to become one with the scoop of fertilizer. The young farmer had exited a lane along a barn with only a glance and hadn’t seen me. Close calls with large amounts of cow poop is not necessarily on the list of high-points for a day of cycling. In this case it was just the dose of reality I needed to balance out a ride otherwise filled with cuteness overload.

For the uninformed, “cycling” is how people who are serious about riding bikes refer to their sport. Bikers have Harley Davidsons, Triumphs, or Kawasakis.

Biking on a Harley

Or Suzuki Boulevard

Cyclists have Treks, Pinnarellos, or Specialized. (Among others).

City cycling

Racing cycle

Until recently, the extent of my cycling had mostly been to train and race triathlon. Now granted, I have always enjoyed getting out on the bike but there was always a goal: Heart rate, wattage, distance, time, etc. Gotta get ready to race. No time to have fun.

All that is changed now. Triathlon is off the table along with marathons, trail running, 5ks, or escaping rubber monsters in B-rate thrillers. (Technically, I guess that last one would be okay. Someone has to inexplicably fall and get eaten.) With divine guidance from the powers that be, I had coincidentally purchased a new all-road (or gravel) bike this year with the intent to try to mix things up a little.

Carl: My all-road bike.

What a fortuitous decision that has turned out to be. I posted last week about my first gravel trail rides and how delightful they were. I still think my future lies there but after the last few days of riding around Lancaster County I would be remiss if I didn’t praise the general merits of road cycling as well.

I will always love running, and my heart will always hurt a little when I see a runner out on a beautiful morning. But cycling lends a certain freedom to the day that running can not. How often have I been out for a run and thought, I wonder what lies over that hill? Checking that out while running may have meant adding several miles, difficult for most of us by foot. On a bike, a few extra miles is just not a big deal. (Assuming the hill isn’t Mt. Washington.) There are also baby horses. Who can resist the appeal of a tiny foal standing under his mother’s legs swishing his little tail or rolling around in green pasture grass?

While you certainly take a look as you run by, it is no big deal on a bike to ride a few hundred yards up a farm lane for a closer look or, if you are lucky, get a chance to stroke a velvety little face. On a related note, it isn’t such a big deal to carry an extra granola bar or two on a bike either. It turns out a piece of a granola bar gets a cyclist in good graces with a momma horse and makes a little guy positively giddy.

A bit of granola bar helps to make a new friend.

Often times I think my wife and I are looked at as old fogies because we don’t have kids. That doesn’t mean we don’t like kids. We do, just as long as they belong to someone else. Children are really cute but none cuter than the little Amish girls in their flowery dresses and bonnets or the little boys in their suspenders and straw hats. Over the last two days the kids have been out in force. I saw a group of girls playing on some sort of open buggy, and a bunch of little boys and a puppy chasing butterflies across a field with a net. Seriously, how sweet and innocent can you get!? But nothing is cuter than the brother and sister peaking out of the back of a buggy as it clip-clops along the road. Well, unless the little girl is also cuddling a tiny, black and white kitten!

Adorable! I didn’t take pictures out of respect. The Amish don’t like you taking their photos without permission. 

This was my ride yesterday with a steady climb up the cute continuum. I slowed down and followed the buggy with the two children and kitty until the little boy shyly gave me a little wave. The ride and the day had featured all that is good in the world. I was beginning to lose touch with reality. I was just thinking of creating my own intervention by stopping and perusing all the political bickering on Facebook to bitch-slap myself back down to earth when I nearly plunged head-long into the scoop of manure. Certainly this was the lesser of the two evils.

In other moments of my vacation bike rides, I found “roads” that didn’t really exist that I had planned to ride using on-line maps. Were I running instead of riding, this could have been a crisis as an unplanned detour could add unsustainable distance or cause the delay in getting to a critical aid point (and by “critical aid point” I mean a bathroom). On a bike, this is no biggie. Just look at the map and find another route. A few minutes of extra pedaling really means nothing on a 30 mile ride.

I’m not sure when the last time the Google Maps car went down this road but it doesn’t look like this now. 

One of the awesome things about running when we travel is I often stumbled across hidden gems for us to visit later. Farm markets, shops, wineries, parks, you name it. I’ve even found great new hunting and fishing spots while out running. It turns out that cycling provides even more opportunities for such finds just based on the additional distance typically covered. A short bike ride is the equivalent of the very longest of runs. I can strike out each day in a different direction and see what I find.

A bit of a gem I found yesterday while ultimately taking a mis-guided route on my bike. 

This strategy of “bike and visit” can backfire though. While returning to camp after visiting a newly discovered farm market yesterday we drove up a hill I had ridden that morning. I was just telling my wife what a tough hill this was to climb on a bike when we came across a Mennonite man riding up the very same hill. He was on a steel three speed bike with a child in a trailer in tow. My wife’s sideways glance said it all.

The Amish and Mennonites can put out some wattage.

Right now the 2018 edition of the Tour De France has begun. For the next 20 days or so, the cyclists will ride some of the most spectacularly beautiful parts of Europe and they won’t pay attention to even a tiny bit of it. Their focus will be winning the stage or helping their potential Grand Champion teammates get to the TdF podium in Paris. Their view of France will be restricted to the 3 inches of space and the 23mm tire in front of them. Former pro riders turned NBC announcers Bob Roll and Jens Voigt have both said now that they are in the booth instead of racing, they love having the opportunity to go back and ride the places they ignored in their race days. I truly appreciate the scenery from atop my saddle.

Just part of Le Tour route.

And another.

I haven’t decided for sure on gravel racing and I’m really skeptical about aquabike (triathlon minus the running), but be it trail or road this riding thing is okay. Especially when there are foals, kittens, puppies, and little Amish children. A little manure not withstanding.

The Merits of Cycling The morning had been beautiful, especially after the first heatwave of summer. Despite the windy conditions, the weather was otherwise ideal for cycling or really doing anything outside.

[andrewdburton]

Mr. Money Mustache, UBER Driver

Special Surprise: Did you know there is now an MMM Android App? It’s really good. Beautiful offline reading. Alerts you to new articles automatically, if you want. Thousands of users already. Free. Many more features (plus an Apple version) to come. It’s on the Google Play Store.

—-

About two years ago, I switched from taking my personal car to the airport, to hailing Ubers and Lyfts. The math of it was pretty simple: Uber was cheaper than paying for my driving and parking*. And that was before the considerable joy and time savings of not having to park in the airport lot and cram in among the huddled masses in the shuttle buses. Nowadays I sit in the back and get some work done like an Executive, leaving the driving to someone else.

Once I arrive at my destination city, these ride sharing services have replaced at least 90% of instances where a car rental would be useful. Between walking, renting a bike, public transit and calling a Lyft, a car rental is only useful for destinations deep in the boondocks such as a ski resort or a distant beach cabin. Which is another great improvement, since renting a car at an airport has never been a fun experience.

But during all these Luxury Executive rides, I’d often get to talking with the driver. We would talk about life, family, money and business. I always inquired about their experience with rideshare driving, and the response was inevitably something like this:

UBER DRIVER: “Oh, it’s pretty good. On a good day I’ll make a hundred bucks, sometimes even two hundred if I really work it and stay up late.”

MMM: “Is that your profit after subtracting the cost of driving?”

UBER DRIVER: “No, that doesn’t include gas. But I’ll only use, like, not even a full tank – maybe thirty bucks”

“Hmm”, I would think to myself.

“If this driver is burning through $30 of gas, (twelve gallons), they’re probably covering over 250 miles. Whether they realize it or not, it’s costing them $125 in direct car costs before even accounting to the damage to their health or the risk of injury. Thus, the net profit might be as low as $50 for a big day on the road, or five bucks an hour.”

There’s no way Uber could be such a successful company if the pay rate were really this low. Is there?

But on the other hand, some of my Uber drives to the airport have included a Dodge Ram pickup truck (V-8 engine, fancy wheels, bought brand new on credit), a BMW X5 and even a Hummer H3 (with over 250,000 miles on the odometer). Maybe people really are that  uninformed about the cost of driving. As my friend Bill said when we talked about this:

“Imagine developing a company specifically to take advantage of people’s ignorance of how expensive it really is to drive their own car. What would this company look like? “

(the answer is of course that it would look like very much like Uber or any other ridesharing company)

To resolve this mystery (and as a way of getting some test miles on my new electric car), Mr. Money Mustache decided to go deep undercover in September 2016, and sign up as a driver for both Uber and Lyft services.

The Initiation

Using another driver’s referral code, I signed up on the Uber system and started to follow the instructions. I needed a background check, medical exam, car safety inspection and a few other daunting things. Luckily, Uber runs facilities called “Greenlight Centers” which put all this stuff in one place. The closest one to me was about 40 miles away in Denver, so I charged up my new Leaf and headed down.

When I arrived, I found an interesting scene that nicely personifies our new sharing economy. It was a mashup of an Apple Store and the DMV. Modern design and furniture, good music and glossy tablets everywhere, combined with an ocean of slightly desperate and bored looking people waiting to start their new driving careers. And Mr. Money Mustache, trying to blend in.

It was a funny feeling, spending those three precious hours of my Tuesday morning, waiting in queues and filling out forms. I was keen to learn about the driver experience and how things work in the New Economy. But I also felt a bit of the nervous “I’m applying for a new job” energy of the other applicants, and like a bit of a fraud for being here when I had absolutely no interest in truly having a job.

There was a trendy little cafe in the corner of the room, so I strolled over and picked up a Clif bar and a coffee. Due to my naive privilege as a former tech worker, I expected it all to be free – after all, don’t all offices offer free coffee and snacks, along with a keg of local beer and another tap for Kombucha? But a man popped out from around the corner and rung me up for $3.85. On top of that, it was a bland coffee in a small cup. This was an interesting reminder that working in a lower-training job is a different world than the one you and I probably both inhabit, here at the top of the economy.

When the process was finally done, my 25-year-old Uber concierge looked up from his iPad and issued me a genuinely warm congratulations and we shook hands.

“So that’s it?”, I asked

“Yeah! That’s it! You could go out and get in your car start making some money RIGHT NOW!”

“Hmmm…”

“Nah”, I thought to myself. “Eighty miles of driving plus three hours in an office building is more than enough wasted indoor time for me for the next little while.” 

The spoiled retiree in me loves hard work, but only the right kind of hard work. The sedentary locked-indoors variety of work always falls to the bottom of the list. As you can tell by the low frequency of these blog posts.

My First Ride

Eventually, I was ready to give it a whirl. I cleaned up my car, stuck the Uber decal on the windshield, put on some nice clothes, mounted my phone on a sturdy dashboard clamp, and fired up the app. Within minutes, I had my first ring.

RIDE REQUESTED! John, 5 minutes away.

The ring was deafeningly loud, because (as I later learned after half an hour of looking unsuccessfully for a way to change it) the Uber app overrides your ring volume setting and sets it to !!MAXIMUM!!  I was so startled that I could hardly slide the “accept” button, but I eventually got safely on the road.

I recognized the address as Longmont’s “Pumphouse” brew pub, right downtown. I headed down the hill and scoped the area, and eventually found John. As he hopped in the car I slid the “start trip” button and his destination was revealed as the local Marijuana shop, just 1.9 miles away away.

John and I exchanged pleasant conversation and he was impressed by the quick silence of the electric car. I dropped him off at Native Roots and then parked nearby, expecting another fare to pop up just as quickly.

Ride 1: 5 minutes waiting, 5 minutes driving, 1.2 miles unpaid, 1.9 miles paid. Net fare to me: $3.37

But the second fare wasn’t quite as quick. Fifteen minutes later, the Uber app rang again. It was John, now properly restocked and thrilled that I was still there in the weed shop parking lot. We headed back to the Pumphouse.

Ride 2: 15 minutes waiting, 5 minutes driving, 1.9 miles paid. Net fare to me: $3.37 … plus TIP $5.00!

Hey this wasn’t so bad: that five dollar tip really brought up the average. I was thirty minutes into my career and up about 12 bucks, minus five miles of car costs.

After another five minutes of idle time, the app rang again. This time it was a suburban address listed as 12 minutes (which turned out to be almost four miles) away. I decided to take the ride anyway, in the spirit of experimentation.

I got to the house, but nobody was there. After a minute, I used the Uber app to send the customer a text message. “Oh sorry!”, he said, “My phone GPS isn’t working well because we’re inside so it probably shows us in the wrong place! We’re just on the next street.”

I drove around a bit more and eventually found the young couple, and the app revealed a nice surprise: they were headed all the way to Boulder, which was over 12 miles from this part of Longmont. Surely now I would start earning the big bucks.

After 24 minutes of smooth, expert driving and pleasant conversation, I dropped them off at a restaurant. But I was surprised to see that the total wasn’t that impressive:

Ride 3: 10 minutes waiting, 4 miles unpaid, 12.4 miles paid. Net fare to me: $13.96. No Tip.

Driving in the Happening City

Now I was in Boulder, which has a much bigger scene than Longmont. Everybody is rich, every night is a big night, Colorado University is right downtown and it’s all action – there are no real suburbs. Due to high rider demand, the city operates in a perpetual “Surge Mode” which means Uber Fares are 20-30% more lucrative, and there is virtually no wait time for fares. And now, I was right downtown. So the app shrieked its notification tone immediately.

The customer was only a mile away, but due to the incredible slowness of trying to drive a 14-foot-long, 3300 pound Racing Wheelchair in a dense city it took me a lot of slow gliding in traffic and waiting at long traffic lights to get there. It was a couple of younger guys, heading back downtown.

We slogged through the dense traffic yet again at roughly one third of bicycling speed, and I earned my five dollar fare.

The app rang again, and I saw from the map it was yet another non-downtown person, probably looking for another ride downtown.

I decided not to play this game anymore, contributing to car traffic in a city that needs fewer cars. So I let this ride request go to another driver and set my destination to Longmont, hoping to find a customer heading that way so I could get paid for the ride home. There were none.

So I flew the Leaf back along the highway to home, and stopped at the grocery store to pick up some fresh food and a free battery charge for the car.

Total stats for the day:

4 Rides 1:51 hours 18.6 miles unpaid 17.2 miles paid $32 including tips ~$18 of car costs roughly $7 per hour net

Ongoing observations

After joining Uber as a driver, it was easy to add on a Lyft license: you can submit scans or photos of the same examination info to both companies. So over the next few months, I fired up both Uber and Lyft apps to do a bit more driving and collect some more observations. I had a lot of fun, but made very little money.

One time, I was summoned by a 13-year-old girl coming out of the middle school, effectively turning me into Mr. Schoolbus Dad. After finding her in the school lineup, she directed me to the elementary school, where we picked up her little brother. I dropped them both off safely at home in a rusty suburban area nearby.

Another ride was from a college student, deep in the Colorado U campus. It took me forever to navigate the throngs of after school foot and vehicle traffic and find this young lad in the crowd. During the ensuing 3MPH transit of Boulder, I couldn’t help but remark, “Wow! I apologize for how slow this trip is going. I’m usually on my bike when I cross Boulder, which is a lot faster.” Our final destination was a strip mall, and he directed me meticulously through the entire parking lot so he could be let off within 20 feet of the front door of the restaurant. End fare for about 35 minutes of work, even with surge pricing, was another six bucks. My resolve to avoid driving cars in Boulder was reinforced.

My favorite times to be a driver were Friday nights. It was fun to feel the energy of people going out on the town, and find out what was going on.  I could see Uber driving to be a good escape for single people looking to meet new friends (or romances), because I almost always got along well with the customers, often exchanging business cards or email addresses with people when we found something in common. On longer rides with people over 30, the topic almost invariably led to life, business, and money, which led to Mustachianism, which led to me admitting my secret identity. Thus, some of my past Uber customers may even be reading this article today(?)

But in the end, it was hard to stay motivated to keep doing this experiment. There is just usually something better to do than driving around in a car, and I wasn’t willing to sacrifice too much of my life to gather more data. And with the financial gain of rideshare driving being negligble, I am surprised that there are so many people who do it.

How to Make the Most of a Low-Profit Situation

Still, as with everything in life, I did my best to optimize Uber driving for both fun and money. From my experience as well as reading online forums, the best way you can do it is:

Use the referral and bonus system heavily. Actual driving doesn’t pay well, but I have seen bonuses pop up on my app offering between $100-$500 to refer other drivers. There are also “weekly guarantee” offers that come up occasionally, offering more pay in exchange for meeting a certain threshold.

Use the lowest cost and most fuel-efficient car you can find. Uber requires you to have a fairly new (under 10 years) car, so get something on the older side of that spectrum, but with low miles. A 2009 Prius, for example, uses less than half the fuel of most cars of similar size.

Focus your driving around on “Surge Pricing”. By watching the app throughout the days and months, you will learn when your area enters periods of higher demand. Special events like Halloween, late weekend nights or major league sports events are popular times.

Try to find trips involving highways. Since you get paid mostly by the mile, you earn almost ten times more more money at 60 MPH than you make in on a long trip through central city where you might average only 6 MPH.

Experiment with the “set destination” feature to filter for rides going your way. Taking fares with you on your commute to work or to an airport.

Make the most of your downtime: there will still be lots of waiting between fares. If you bring a book, podcast, laptop or make business-related calls that help you learn a trade that pays more than driving, you can get yourself into a more lucrative trade.

Suggestions for Uber and Lyft

During the course of this experiment, I happened to receive emails from relatively senior people at both Uber and Lyft for unrelated reasons. So I took the opportunity to make some suggestions to make things friendlier for drivers:

Report the total driving time and miles for each ride and each shift, clearly specifying paid and unpaid miles and hours.

Provide an drivers an estimate of the car costs incurred, and estimated hourly earnings after these costs

Allow drivers to specify the types of rides they are willing to accept. For example, “only ring me for riders within 1 mile”, or “I would like to be paid for for both pickup mileage and rider mileage.”

Provide drivers with the details of where the person is going, or at least how long of a ride it is. Right now, Uber has all this incredibly useful information at the time of booking, but deliberately withholds it from the driver.

I was surprised that none of these suggestions got anywhere. This was a disappointment to the Economic Libertarian in me, because it seems obvious that  an open market between buyer and seller is the key to more efficiency.

In fact, early in my driving career I learned how much the unpaid driving was hurting my profitability so I stopped accepting distant fares. The app quickly sent me this note:

  Yeah, right. How about you just stop ringing me with fares that are ridiculously far away, instead?

When these companies deliberately tilt the field, they are being sneaky, which causes them to lose public trust, which causes the public to vote in a bunch of sclerotic regulation to protect the drivers and the public. If you, as a company, just avoid being a dick to people in the first place and treat them with complete openness and good old-fashioned honesty, they are more likely to let you run free.

Since I started this experiment a year ago, Uber has fallen into a world of trouble and bad publicity. Their internal culture of sexual harassment was blown wide open, along with the misdeeds of the wild and temperamental former CEO. From specific programs to evade government regulation to annoying treatment of drivers, Uber triggered a widespread backlash which became the #deleteuber campaign. Saying “Uber” is now a bit like uttering the words “ConAgra” or “Philip Morris” or “Exxon”.

Meanwhile, from the very beginning I noticed a friendlier tone in the way Lyft operates – see this 2016 interview with Lyft more laid-back founder John Zimmer.

In the End..

In general, I really want companies like Uber and Lyft (and Tesla, AirBnb, Google, Amazon and many of the other tech companies that have been stirring things up so much lately) to succeed, because the benefits to all of us greatly outweigh the inconvenience of the disruption.

For example, some people worry about what will happen to driving jobs as self-driving vehicles gradually take over. But I’m excited about the ways this can make our lives safer, quieter, and less expensive as we give up on owning personal cars, ride bikes much more, and use automated cars as a service whenever the bike is impractical. Technology provides a lumpy ride, but it also provides change which is an essential ingredient in every human life to avoid getting into a rut. So, share on.

Further Reading: How Big Oil Will Die – an interesting walk through the changes today’s technologies have already set in place – leading us very quickly to a place where nobody in 2010 would have even guessed.

  * this sentence surely made you ask, “but what about the BUS, Mustache?!?” – good question. Of course I’d always choose biking, then public transit as the first two options, but the airport is 45 miles away (well over 2 hours by bike) and the bus requires a transfer in Denver, which makes it even slower than biking. Also, both Uber and Lyft have referral programs which give you credit for referring friends – I still have a few credits in my Uber account.

If you want to try Uber or Lyft, sign by randomly choosing one of these codes from friends, and you’ll get $5-10 off of your first ride (and give a small surprise to some of the members of the MMM-HQ coworking space!)

Uber #1 Uber #2 Uber #3 Uber #4 Uber #5

Lyft #1 Lyft #2 Lyft #3

from Finance http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2017/11/22/mr-money-mustache-uber-driver/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

[skrskrskr]

I filled out a calendar for 100 days and this is what I learned

My biggest takeaway: writing down “Nothing” or “Just Chilling” is humiliating. My second biggest takeaway: adding a question mark (“Nothing?”) helps disguise it a bit. At least there was hope that I’d only forgotten the important thing I was doing.

But let's go back. I became interested in tracking a year ago, after reading how Buster Benson kept track of his life. Unfortunately I wasn't willing to put in the effort to reap the full reward of his favorite app Reporter. I wanted to use it to see how my runs affected my day-to-day and if I was addicted to coffee, but neither showed enough correlation to warranted the daily notification. God I hated that notification.

Half a year later, I tried again to organize my life. This time because of Serial, or... the lack of memory in Serial. As irritating as it was, I realized that I wouldn't have an alibi either. I tried to remember what I'd done just two weeks earlier. I went back in my messages, read what I was texting about, started getting a lead, but I checked my calendar to suddenly realize it was the weekend my sister had visited. And I'd completely forgotten.

So July 21st I began expanding upon those limited calendar events and I started to fill in even more. Important events and out of the ordinary occaisions were first, like my 'soft' collision on a bike ride to work. And harking back to the last time, I continued documenting my runs and caffeine intake too.

It was pretty sparse, so miscellaneous things like lunches followed when I realized how satisfying a full calendar was. I used Google's own Timeline (which... um wow, love this thing) to get actual data. That allowed me to typically enter events 2 times a day: in the morning, of the night before, and in the lull towards the end of the work day. I ended up with something like this:

And look at it, it's glorious!

I am a visual person. I need words to read, maps to direct, and calendars to know when something starts. Taking a few minutes each day to enter a few details let me see my life in an organized and quantified way. Now I could see that there was 2 weeks until my rent payment but I'd get paid by then. I could see I shouldn't go out for dinner because I had a big dinner with friends the week before. I could see that my morning coffee and lunchtime pho were making my afternoons feel terrible. Right now I'm getting back into running, and it's shocking to realize how quickly a day or two can pass since my last run.

So I became a little obsessed with filling in the calendar. As the white spaces dwindled, they began to bug me more and more. That's when my biggest takeaway materialized. "Nothing." Yikes. Is that what I did? Nothing? I couldn't write that, that was embarassing. And yet it must have been true, I couldn't remember doing anything else. Of course I often waited to record my weekends on Sunday night or even Monday morning, so some of that I hoped was due to poor memory. But, really, how productive could I have been if I still couldn't recall what I'd done?

Either way, it felt humiliating to record my unproductivity. I began to confront just how many hours I was wasting. I'd go to input something and realize that, although I got home at 5:30, I didn't start making dinner until 8:30. On just a normal night, there were 3 hours that I couldn't even remember doing anything. Now, it's time to take control. Those three hours can't be YouTube and Reddit, they need to be more productive. As I said before, creating content is the ultimately goal to a furfilling life, and it only took a few hundred calendar events to remember.

[sophieridesherbike-blog]

west coast trip days 1-3 (eugene to coos bay, 118 miles)

day one (eugene to mapleton, 47 miles)

packed up the bike in the morning, and after panicking for a few minutes over how much it weighed, said a final goodbye to mama tina, who reminded me to wear sunscreen and stay safe, much as my own mama would have done, then hit the road. after hitting an immediate navigation snag (thanks google maps), i decided to get myself out of eugene the old fashioned way, by looking at a map.

while this probably took longer than it should have, the route i chose took me through the cute downtown area of the city, and onto a bike path that cut through the swampy wetlands to the west of eugene. after hopping off the bike path and taking a few back country roads that paralleled the main road, i finally turned onto 126, which would take me all the way out to the coast. the riding wasn’t too bad: there was a particularly steep climb early in the day, and a few challenging hills that each stretched about a mile each.

the only bump in the road was an actual bump in the road, that threw off the alignment of my always precariously aligned rear wheel, and left my stranded on the side of 126, unloading my rear rack and tinkering around with the bike. although i was able to get the wheel temporarily fixed with minimal emotional duress, it put me around an hour behind, so i decided to put in for the night in the nearby town of mapleton. between the spot i broke down (is that the right word??) and mapleton, i had to pass through a huge tunnel. luckily there was a button i could press which activated lights meant to alert drivers that there was a cyclist in the tunnel. still, zooming through the tunnel with half my usual braking power (the temporary fix from earlier had been to disengage the rear brake) with massive trucks passing 2-3 feet away from me, in the dark, was not fun.

the campground in mapleton was right on the river, and very sweet, but expensive. i hung my hammock between two trees, ate some cold thai peanut noodles that i was definitely meant to cook, and crashed pretty early. day one: over, even if i didn’t end up where i intended to.

day two (mapleton to florence, 20 miles)

oregon is cold. used to the heat of virginia, even in the very early morning, and i guess i didn’t pack well enough. when i first woke in the morning, at around 6 am, it was so cold that anytime i tried to poke my fingertips out of my sleeping bag to grab my phone, they went numb within a few seconds. i decided to burrow down into my sleeping bag, and wait for the sun to come out. by 10 am it was finally warm enough to exit the hammock, and i had a nice, easy morning, enjoying a hot shower and finally hitting the road at half past noon.

the ride into florence from mapleton was a lark, and beautiful to boot. that particular length of 126 stretches out next to the siuslaw river the whole way, and there’s a nice, wide shoulder on which to ride. once i got into florence, i grabbed a coffee at the local starbucks, slightly comforted by the coast to coast consistency and familiarity, and then road a little ways up 101 to do some laundry. while my clothes spun in the washer, i wrote out a bunch of postcards to friends, and figured out where i would sleep that night. after a quick stop at the post office and a camping supply store on the way out of town, i bikes a few miles down the road to the jessie m. honeyman memorial state park.

the park had a nice hiker/biker area, and gorgeous sand dunes. i ate a quick dinner, chatted with some of the other bikers there (taught a 57 year old german and a 60 year old from los angeles about the game of never have i ever), and then biked over to see the dunes. i’d never seen sand dunes before, and they’re amazing. the sand is hot, soft, silky, and moves almost like water underfoot. walking across the dunes is good exercise, as the ground constantly shifts under your toes. i walked about a mile into the dunes, and scrambled up a few steep hills until i could see the pacific ocean in the distance. this was my first sighting of the ocean since i was on the train, just north of la, and it took my breath away.

as the sun dropped in the sky, the sand lost its heat very quickly, and i was soon freezing cold. i headed back to camp, where i got to chat more with the other people i was camping with. many of them advised losing a lot of the gear i had brought with me (they were shocked/horrified that i was traveling with five books), so i’m going to try to find a post office tomorrow and ship a box of stuff i don’t need back home. after they went to bed, i read a little, chatted with some friends back home who were still awake, and fell asleep around 11. this time i was more prepared for the cold: two sweatshirts and a pair of fuzzy socks.

day three (florence to coos bay, 51 miles)

despite my extra sweatshirt, it was still pretty chilly when i woke up. hoping that i’ll eventually adjust to the cold, as it doesn’t seem to both the locals. a few more people had shown up after i fell asleep the previous night, so i chatted with them as i ate (apples, peanut butter, granola bar– yum). after a quick morning walk around the rest of the park, i packed my bike up and hit the road. there was a post office a few mikes down the road, in dunes city, so i biked there, but they were apparently only open between 9-10 AM.

i biked on, stopping for water in gardiner, a tiny town of about 250 people, and stopping in the slightly larger reedsport, across the river, for a huge lunch of veggie fajitas. the cycling today was really lovely. lots of huge hills, but coasting downhill for 2-3 minutes once i got over the peak made it worth it. i got into coos bay around 4:30 pm, and had to bike over a skinny strip of road surrounded by lapping waves on both sides. the wind on this road was so strong i almost had to get off and walk my bike; i was scared of being blown in the water.

after a slight mishap with the campground (i had come to a federally controlled one, which charges $25 per night, as opposed to a state park, which has a special $5 per night rate for hikers and bikers) i sweet talked (and by sweet talked i mean ‘stared at pathetically’) the woman in charge agreed to let me stay for free. currently lying in my hammock in the freezing cold oregon evening, enduring numb finger tips for the sake of this blog. you’re welcome, devoted readers.

tomorrow i’m going to aim for cape blanco state park, which should be a long, hard day, but after that i can post my stuff back home, and have a semi rest day in gold beach. i may even treat myself to a hotel room there!!

[togreeceandbeyond]

June 25

We decided to drive to Andorra in the non-conventional way. Google Maps had us driving way south, then east and then north to Andorra. The map showed some alternate routes that took us through the Pyrenees. We programmed intermediate points to fool Google Maps. It always wants you to go on the so called fastest route. We wanted to go on the most scenic route. It worked out very well. We went through some beautiful countryside and small villages through the valleys and over at least four peaks. I believe the highest elevation we hit was about 1500 m. The map we have is a little outdated but some of the roads were as we expected, very narrow and winding, some not even a two full lanes wide. It was beautiful though. We stopped along the way to take some pictures and met a couple from the Netherlands who were traveling around Europe after having dropped their children off somewhere in France for a 600 km bike ride. He was an engineer and worked on the motors for a crane company that went bankrupt. He was able to retire at 55 because of the bankruptcy, but his wife is still working at a library in Rotterdam. They were traveling in a small RV like ours. We made it to Andorra without any incidents and drove across the border without being stopped. When we crossed into Andorra, they didn't stop any cars but they had a watchful eye and I bet they stopped someone whom they thought needed to be stopped. We had booked a hotel the night before and found it very easily about a five-minute walk from the pedestrian area. We arrived around 3:15 so we had a lot of time to walk around on Sunday afternoon to see the town. Andorra is known mostly for its shopping since it is a duty free shopping area. It's a very nice walkable city with a river running right through the middle of it. There is an interesting statue or sculpture by Salvador Dali near one of the main squares that is a distorted clock. One of his surrealistic crazy sculptures. We wandered down to the historic old district to look around some of the smaller streets. We ended a very nice evening having Italian food again. There are a lot of pizzerias and Italian restaurants around. We can't figure out what the cuisine is of Andorra. It seems to be a mixture of everything. Many of the restaurants don’t open till 8 or 8:30 but we get hungry before that. When we got to the hotel, we realized we had booked a double room instead of an apartment which I thought we had done for the use of a refrigerator. The staff was nice enough to move us to a small apartment with a refrigerator because the cost was the same. The downside was that there was no air conditioning and our room was right on the street, but we managed. It gets cool at night in Andorra La Vella so air conditioning wasn't necessary yesterday. The street noise died down soon after 10:30. During the day we didn't see one postcard so we will have to look again as we leave.

June 26

We awoke to a slight drizzle and we are now headed back to Spain.  We still didn’t find a post card.  They are missing out on a good money maker.  We bought gas before we left because it’s 10 cents cheaper per liter In Andorra. It rained the whole time we were leaving Andorra and for a while when we got into Spain. We just started heading for the coast toward the sunshine. Again we took some out of the way roads to see the countryside. It was a beautiful drive and we did hit some more small highways with only one and a half lanes. When we reached 1790 meters, the  GPS set me off on a different direction than I thought we should go. However, I took the GPS suggestion and down the mountain we went. The road split at one point and we ended up at a small village where they were repairing an electric line. The truck in front of us almost backed into us trying to turn around. I guess he didn't remember we had been following him for the last 5 miles. Luckily the horn worked and he stopped 2 inches from my bumper. He turned around and went back, but I couldn't see any value in that. He must have been from around these parts.  A lady came out from her yard speaking French and asked if we were going to Barcelona, I think. We said yes and we figured out that she said go straight ahead after the work is done. Well, the lift truck moved out of the road and the car in front of me had backed up to park so I headed up the road the lady told us about. By that time the lift truck with a bucket on it had blocked the road again and a worker told me not to proceed. The lady came out again and spoke to me in French. We figured it out that she meant turn around and go back and take the right fork of the road 300 meters behind us. I did and it did link up with the other road in about 5 km. When we got to the intersection, the car who had stopped in front of us and waited was just passing the intersection as we merged onto the other highway so no position lost and none gained. It was an “uneventful” ride from there down to the coastal town of Roses. We found a nice hotel about 100 m from the beach for the night. We took a nice stroll along the very beautiful beach. The beaches on the Costa Bravo are very wide and sandy. They are very different from Costa Del Sol where the beaches are 100 yards below the road in many cases and are very rocky. We found a neat little bar to have dinner and a beer. The waiter was very friendly.  Dinner time is very late over here so by the time we got back to the hotel we just chilled out on our balcony with an after dinner drink. In the morning breakfast was at 8:30 and the lady asked us in four languages what we wanted. We had a very nice breakfast and then I found a room for us in Barcelona after I was able to change our flights from the 4th of July to the 1st of July. We didn't want to spend 3 days driving 120 kilometers just to spend 4 days in Barcelona. For all intents and purposes the trip is over so we will have 3  and a half days in Barcelona.  It was a “trip” trying to find the hotel because again GPS tried to send us down streets that we thought were only for pedestrians. Technically they are only for buses and taxis, except for people looking for their hotel. Once we figured that out, we drove down the side street to the check in parking place by our hotel and checked in. I moved the car to a parking garage 100 m away and everything is wonderful. We only booked the hotel for one night because we have been burned booking longer stays and paying up-front on Orbitz. This one is a winner and it is right in the thick of things. I reserved it for 3 more nights so we can take a taxi from the hotel to the airport. Tomorrow I will turn the car in and spend the rest of the day in Barcelona. We can throw a rock on a Metro station right outside the hotel.  Most all the things that are recommended for Barcelona are along the street we are living on. Sometimes you can be just too lucky!

[talldarknsexy]

Guatemala Pt I: Land of Extremes

Usually these posts have a positive vibe to them, but this one includes plenty of bitching. So, I'll start by saying I didn't quite know what to expect for Guatemala. But, genuinely, I knew next to nothing about the country. Having traveled in Mexico for the last 2.5 months, I didn't anticipate a huge difference. This was pretty wrong though. Traveling through Guatemala on a bicycle turned out to be a little fucking nutty. Riding here I experienced all the highs and lows of all of Mexico in each and every day. Most things happened here more frequently and at a much faster pace. Getting over the border was fairly easy and everything on the other side appeared similar to south Mexico, albeit a bit seedier. I reached my destination town that afternoon and had to take cover under a tire shop's awning for a passing storm. This was about the first solid rain I'd seen since leaving California. It down poured for about two hours. I can't recall a time I'd ever seen it rain as hard. I started to wonder whether biking through Central America during the rainy season was indeed a smart idea. The two teenagers at the tire shop I hung out with suggested to me it wasn't. I found a hotel and spent the next two hours trying to withdraw money and/or exchange pesos. The bank would only exchange mint condition bills and a bit of a scene occurred for the entertainment of the dozen or so people in line behind me. The ATM in town also claimed it couldn't process the transaction at this time. Which is just their subtle way of saying go fuck yourself because they don't have any more money. The wife of the hotel owner helped me exchange my leftover pesos though. It felt similar to a drug deal with multiple phone calls back and forth, negotiation, and the money passing through different hands. Ultimately, though, I did end up with the money and it was in fact more than the bank would have given me. The next day I made it to a set of two hostels adjacent to a water park. I was excitedly planning to lounge by the pool and hit some of the slides to get out of the tropical afternoon heat. I was greeted by a few guards at the gate, who helped me begrudgingly come to the understanding that hostel meant the same thing as hotel here. The prices of these resorts would have blown my budget for a whole week, and the water park wasn't even open until tomorrow anyways. I got lunch at a roadside restaurant nearby and had a really good conversation with a guy named Victor. Interestingly, aside from Spanish, he said he spoke another language that stemmed from Catalan in Spain. He was extremely friendly along with the other people there and he even gave me a handful of Mangos for my ride. About five minutes later, a guy on a motorbike pulled over to reveal me his ass and slap it for me. This wasn't quite as inviting as it sounds though, by his choice of the word puta. I then passed over a bridge a moment later with graffiti cussing out gringos and Jews (for whatever reason.) Accordingly, I found Guatemala to be a place of extremes. Some of the nicest people, along with some of the shittiest. I rode another 30k and made it to the town of Mazatenango. I was fairly seedy, so decided it would be safer to just go get groceries for dinner and for riding the next day. On the walk, within about two minutes of leaving the hotel, I watched someone get the shit beat out of them on the street. The next day would be my most difficult day of riding. I had just 50k and over 1,500M of climbing to do. It started by some teen jumping out at me to scare me. My route took me through a semi paved road through many agricultural villages in the mountains. It felt like another world as people mainly spoke their native indigenous languages and everyone was wearing traditional clothing. The children would be helping their parents labor in the fields and the few privileged enough to go to school would jump on to the back of trucks already at speed to get to school. I got lost twice due to me trusting Google's driving directions which had worked so well in Mexico. First it took me up a dirt path that hadn't been trafficked in what looked like months. About 30 mins in, I was stopped by a girl outside a hut who told me I couldn't continue due to landslides. I tried to reason out with her how obstructive they were, but an old man nearby kept shaking his head disapprovingly and saying it was my life. Despite me understanding their Spanish, even the word for landslide, the old man still went on to insult me to everyone else. "Pinche ingles" he said at one point. I had to backtrack a ways, but luckily there was another route. Eventually, I got up to a high point and was able to see the landslides that had washed away the entire path that would have indeed resulted in death had I been stupid and stubborn enough to try. The alternate route was extremely steep though. A pickup stopped at one point to inspect the silly gringo and I inquired about a lift as I was starting to feel slightly crampy. He accepted, but also mentioned it was about 30 mins to the top on foot so I continued. I don't always trust locals perception of distances or time regardless of the county. But, another pickup a few minutes later confirmed it was only 15 more minutes up... About two hours later I finally made it to the top of the pass. I made it to a small town and had a plate of meat for an afternoon lunch and the owner asked her husband how much they should charge me... I don't understand why people here don't think I can understand them. I got lost again that evening and Google maps tried to put me down some very sketchy single-track. I had to then backtrack over an hour. FYI, if you ever find yourself driving through Guatemala, don't trust Google maps for shortcuts... I finally made it into San Pedro that night just as it was getting dark... About eight hours after I'd expected to arrive. I checked into a hostel by the lake and luckily, my new riding partner Jess was already staying at the same place. Jess was an Australian girl I'd encountered on Facebook. She was extremely well traveled and had already been to six continents, alot of which on bicycle. She was touring with a friend who had just left abruptly, so I'd planned to meet up for a few days. It was a party hostel we were staying at. I was quite taken-aback to be surrounded by fair skinned travelers after having not seen another gringo in 6 days. I kept accidentally speaking spanish to the Kiwi girl checking me in. The next two days of riding with Jess were splendid. Our route took us around a volcano and through a lush valley gushing with coffee plants. We had one hiccup where locals insisted we hitch a ride or bus as there are thieves that ambush motorcyclists and cyclists. I inquired whether it was machetes we were dealing with. But no, they reportedly have guns. We didn't really want fuck with guns... So we hopped on a collectivo. We had a great stay in a place overlooking the lake and the next day we stopped midday in the town of Putzan to check a festival and parade we'd heard about. I had some pizza. Jess was ambitious to try ceviche. I probably need not mention that ceviche from a fair in Guatemala probably isn't the best choice. It wasn't. Nor was me trying a bite. We arrived in Antigua late afternoon and I was excited to rest my ass after having ridden straight for the past week. Riding with Jess was superb, but Guatemala had taken a lot out of me and I was super keen to get off the bike, climb the nearby volcano, and see the city I'd heard so much about. But after 6 days I was most excited to rest my ass. Which I did... Once the ceviche left my system, that is.

[adventurejack-go-blog]

April 15th, Post Quake

(suggested listening: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3iYU-15yoA) 

On the trek back from the Joumonsugi I was treated to the sight of two wild monkeys roughhousing near the trail. The rest of the walk was uneventful however, and I made good time. Jumping out the jungle, I found my trusty bike where I had left her, tucked away from the cars and buses of the parking lot. Next to my bike was a motorcycle with a large sign attached to the rear proclaiming, “Traveling all Japan!!”. It seems I was not the only one on this kind of adventure, a reassuring fact that kept popping up later on in my travels. I didn’t realize this until after I took the photo, but the license plate shows that, by an amazing coincidence, this fellow originated from a city (Ichikawa-shi) a few towns over from where I used to live in Chiba prefecture.

(All Japan or Bust!) When I kicked off, it felt good to be back in the saddle. It had been about a full day since my feet touched the pedals. The ride down the mountain was a thrilling, nonstop-coast at high speeds, and my lack of a helmet made the experience all the more of an adrenaline rush. The weather continued to be marvelous and I could see the azure shades of the harbor at the foot of the mountain. Leaning into the curves, I cut the tight corners, or “toge” as they are called in Japanese, which wound around the mountain. In no time the small streets of the harbor town Miyanoura (and Anbo port) greeted my wheels; the 15 minute decent was a stark difference from the three hours it took to hike up. 

Before the climb I had deposited the majority of my baggage in a locker at a tourist center near the foot of the mountain. When I dismounted and checked my phone, a rush of messages started pouring in. The mountain was an absolute dead-zone, but to receive over 100 messages in one day?! I’m not usually this popular...What was going on? I read through the urgent tones expressed by those close to me and learned that a massive earthquake had hit Kumamoto City just the night before. I quickly replied to everyone explaining my silence and reassured them I was safe. Experiencing earthquakes becomes a trifle after living in Japan for a few years, so I was not too worried at the time and it wasn’t until later I realized the gravity of the situation. The sun had begun to set by this point, and despite the unfortunate news I was in high spirits after the long downhill ride. I decided to swing by the local super market overlooking the harbor to pick up some sustenance for the ferry ride back. The time was approximately 18:15. While waiting In the checkout line my eyes gazed lazily out the large front windows of the store. I could almost see the ferry terminal. The small town streets were mostly empty at this point. With the sun setting and the island folk taking their time with the last few errands of the day before turning in for the evening, their actions moved to the slow beat of island life.   There was a suspicious lack of activity around the terminal when I finally rolled up. You guessed it. Closed! The last ferry left around 17:00 it would seem. After sending Muro a short message letting him know I wouldn’t be seeing him until tomorrow, I sat staring out onto the bay. The evening was calm and pleasant, so I really couldn’t complain about staying one more night in this magnificent place.   

There seemed to be two choices in front of me. Scout out a park or secluded beach to set up camp, or try my luck with finding a local hostel for short money. Having spent the last two days traipsing around in the wilderness, I was rather in need of a bath, so I turned to the power of Google hoping an affordable room was not far off. Being able to conduct research at the flick a finger with an iPhone makes traveling by the seat of your pants almost too easy. I got a hit. Yakushima Youth Hostel was listed at about $30 a night. It seemed reasonable enough, so now the problem was finding it. Google maps revealed that it was not far off, only a quick ride down the street. In fact, I could see it across the small harbor from where I had my dinner. What luck! Upon my arrival the hostel staff were friendly and I was pretty lucky to get a bed, as it was almost a full house already. I would be sharing a room with a British-Japanese fellow about my age. First things first, I went off to clean up and after planned to join the growing number of voices coming from the common room.

Hostels are an often misunderstood beast. They seem to catch quite a bit of flack in popular media as being crowded, dingy, and potentially dangerous. My personal experiences with hotels have been nothing short of lovely however. The concept seems rather romantic to me, evoking images of old-world inns from days gone by, places to meet and converse with travelers from far and wide. Whether your reason is monetary, or you simply prefer a hostel for the camaraderie (for me it's a mix of both), I’ve found them to be a great to place to interact with like minded individuals, in an atmosphere comfortable and nostalgic. “Nostalgic, you say? How so?” Well, I’m glad you asked dear hypothetical reader. And with your permission, I’d like to delve into my own international background. 

For those of you internet strangers who have stumbled across this blog, you may be asking yourself, “So just who is this Jack Xavier fellow anyway?"Well, I'll try to keep things as concise as possible. Let’s begin at a relevant point in history for this particular narrative. My alma mater, Josai International University, is mysteriously located in rural Japan, exactly where you would not expect a young American high school graduate to be. The campus, with its near-skyscraper buildings, is quite striking in contrast to the surrounding rice fields, and set the stage for my various intercultural adventures. From the age of 19, I found myself in this foreign land interacting not only with the natives, but also a constant influx of both European and neighboring Asian comrades. New students full of excitement, thirsty to drink from the well of foreign knowledge, appeared, were befriended by yours truly, and shipped back home, some for good, others to return for a second tour. It's amazing how motivated people are to live life to the fullest when they know their opportunity has an expiration date. We never passed up the chance to bike to the beach and throw a Thai style full moon party around a bonfire, or stay out all night in Tokyo exploring the neon streets and ludicrously themed restaurants, only taking the first bus home to the countryside when caffeine could no longer keep our eyes open. After two years, I took on the role of the veteran who had seen the sights and run the gauntlet of adapting to Japan-life. I managed to find vicarious pleasure in living the world through the double lens of my own repeated experience (delving deeper into certain realms of Japan’s culture and history) and through the fresh eyes of whoever my company was at the time. By paying attention to others' personal experiences, I came to a better understanding of each country’s unique national character. For example, the pure and simple joy of Filipinos playing in the snow for the first time is a fond memory, but one not my own. While this was my college life, the study abroad program for them was an experience with a definite start and end, and eventually, those few months would escape us. Farewells were said and promises exchanged to stay in touch and journey to each other’s native soil. These golden opportunities either fulfilled or neglected, would lead to a bond in the face of distance and time, or would be left to taper out. Some of my more cherished friendships are those I was not certain would last, but surprised me year after year by a flame that refused to die in the form of a message or a short visit. Fleeting friendships, forged and tempered quickly, will be a familiar to any expat. Nights spent talking of our varied home cultures while seated on the floor of sparsely furnished apartments, places lacking the worldly accoutrements gathered in our familial homes. These empty shells of personal space become filled with memories rather than belongings. The shared struggle of living far-flung from friends and family allows for an empathy more rare among folks who can always wait until tomorrow to become intimate with one another. Abroad, one find themselves stripped and vulnerable, forced to humility, and urged to accept one's own ignorance in the face of a mysterious language which leaves you stuttering, attempting to form phrases with childlike syntax. However, this struggle can allow for a kind of rebirth, a chance of multiple lives, and though one may feel like a child again, the accelerated growth you experience as an ignorant foreigner gives a greater appreciation for the little things. Just being able to go to the post office and fill out a shipping form can seem like a huge victory. So, a few days spent at a hostel, a land without boarders, feels like a chance to dive back into this microcosm of humanity and swim in the warm waters of my youth. In truth, there seems to be an acute cultural friction whenever I am back in the US. Perhaps this is the curse of a Third culture child, to be forever adrift in society, searching for those small pockets of space one can truly feel comfortable, wonderers of the human condition. Let’s move on to the characters I encountered that evening. 

The common room was split into two sides, a raised platform with Japanese tatami mat floor seating and an adjacent table and chairs A seat had my name on it on the tatami side of the room, mostly as no one else but the British Japanese fellow was sitting there. It seemed the others preferred the conventional western style of seating. During my conversation with him early in the room I learned the Brit was also on a long journey, traveling across Asia, and now adventuring and retracing his youth in Japan, excavating childhood memories. As it turns out, this fellow attended university in my hometown of Boston for a few years. He was agreeable and friendly, and I was happy to be sharing lodging with him.   

Next to us around the table were seated a middle aged French woman who was visiting Japan before starting her PHD in film. She was developing an equation for quantifying…something in film. Deliberately vague and guarded about the details, she kept her intellectual properties on a tight leash. It’s a shame that people are so scared of others stealing their ideas. It seems apparent that if your idea is sound and the research yet to be done, what difference does it make describing it to a room of strangers. If it’s truly your speciality, than no-one but yourself should be able to breath life into the concept. Everything in life is a remix anyway (http://everythingisaremix.info/watch-the-series/).

She seemed to enjoy her short time spent traveling around in Japan and spoke passionately about the country. Across from the French woman sat a young Canadian, aspiring (?), successful (?) (It was hard to tell) actor deep into the world art house and film festivals. When the conversation inevitably turned to film, as the two aforementioned individuals were both in that field, the Canadian began using loads of argot and making obscure references. Obviously he knew his stuff, but it's always bothered me when people in a field of specialty refuse to explain argotique words that are obviously unknown to their audience. I gather they are trying to seem smart, but they just come off as disconnected with the rest of the room. 

Next around the table was a bearded German fellow. He was reserved in his commentary but would occasionally flash a knowing smile at jokes and offer insight at times. 

At the far end of the room was a Swedish couple in Japan for holidays. These two were quiet and slipped in and out of the common room with little words. I’ve found that Northern Europeans tend to be reserved upon first encounters. There is stereotype that, "they are cold, like their countries", however the great number of Norwegian friends and acquaintances I have gained over the years have taught me once you break the ice (see what I did there) they are very warm and friendly people, who really know who to drink and party. These sons and daughters of Odin bring the good spirit of Valhalla with them wherever they go, with the aid of some alcohol anyway. Aside from the Brit, none of my companions had spent more that a few weeks at most in Japan. They spoke of the country with vigor and praise, but any previous temptations to one up each other with their knowledge of Japan ended abruptly when I mentioned I’d been here for nine years.   

The repercussions of the earthquake dominated the early conversation, with talk of last minute plane tickets being bought and the re-routing of paths. There is nothing like a common threat to bring people closer together. I recall hearing that people who live through natural disasters, even those on the periphery who were completely unfazed, feel physiologically stronger afterwards, having "survived" the threat. It was certainly a point to bring us all a bit closer and fueled the conversation. After the speak of doom and gloom faded, the conversation turned to the passions of the larger personalities the room, art house film. Admittedly, I stoked this fire with investigative questioning, and in truth it was quiet interesting and a world I knew little about. Anyone who speaks with passion about their life or work is worth listening to I reckon. Eventually, we all shuffled back to our rooms and settled in for the night. 

Sleeping in a real bed felt amazing after laying my head upon wood planks the night before. This compounded by the strenuous activity of the past few days brought sleep quickly. A gloriously sunny morning greeted me on the fourth day of my trip. Last night’s talk of travels all over Japan re-ignited my wanderlust, and I was absolutely itching at the prospect of getting back on my bike. It occurred to me that the voyage had really only just begun. This island stop was more like a small vacation, and life on the road was still very new to me. 

I took my breakfast in the common room and saw some of the faces from the night before. We bid our farewells and parted with encouraging words. When spotting the Swedish couple again in the ferry terminal, we exchanged "the nod” and were on our way back to the mainland. 

(The common room)  

 (Yakushima Youth Hostel)

(The return high-speed ferry) 

And so ends the first chapter of 'Adventure and Beyond!'. There would be two more bastions before I returned to Japan’s main island of Honshu, and the true struggle was yet to come. Kyushu, that southern island of Japan, would play host to some of the greater highs and lows of my journey. Constant rain, sleeping next to a graveyard, visiting JAXA (the NASA of Japan), and touring the Hells of Beppu were all in written in the stars.

I’ll leave you with a quip from Orson Welles. "That's how I started, I began at the top and have been working my way down ever since."

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Back from the dead! Sort of... I missed posting this at the one year anniversary of my trip by about a month. Shucks! For those of you who have been asking me over the last year “What happened to your blog??” I apologize. Getting caught up in life and whatnot. Excuses, excuses. I spent a lot more time on this entry than the ones before it and changed things up a little bit, hopefully the wait wasn’t too disappointing. Ultimately, I suppose I want this this blog to be way for me to gain some writing experience, so your comments and feedback are more than welcome (seriously, leave a comment or private message me would ya!?) If my track record is any indicator, I should be done with the next entry in 2019?? I've got a few other projects I'm working on at the moment, but I really want to dedicate more time to writing, so we will see.