November 2nd – Finished moving in – both the bedroom AND the living room are now furnished with my total of five bits of furniture. The bathroom I’m leaving as it is. This house really is a piece of shit – three rooms, one garage, and ten feet from the highway. God knows what sleeping’s going to be like. This job had better pay off…
November 3rd – Apparently when someone says “we’d like to hire you” you should know that they are also saying “if the five better-qualified applicants all drop dead of heart attacks within the next two days.” Assholes. Now I’ve got nothing to do but sit around in this shack, with nothing but fifteen boxes of Kraft Dinner for company, and check the classifieds. And I don’t know if I can take much more of this… last night was hell. I just sat there in bed with my eyes wide open listening to that goddamn highway; the noise was almost hypnotic. I could barely blink. My eyelids are so dry that I still don’t think I can.
Well, it’s nine. Time for another night from hell.
November 4th – The classifieds suck. But they did offer me five minutes of entertainment when fashioned into crude paper airplanes and hurled across the room. Then one bashed into a wasps’ nest that had been quietly sitting unnoticed in the corner of the living room and I had to spend the next hour fighting for my life. I really do hate this house.
Now for another restful sleep.
November 5th – What is it with this town; did all the jobs fly south for the winter?! Out of the five thousand, nine hundred, and forty-two cars that passed last night, not one stopped in this cow-pie village. Yes, I counted. In addition, two thousand, three hundred and seventy-six trucks went by last night. And one boatmobile.
Three nights with no sleep and no blinking – strange, I don’t seem to need to anymore – have glued my eyelashes together into two solid masses. It’s almost a good thing – gunk had started to accumulated on my eyeballs, but now I can kinda twitch my cheeks and these things brush ‘em off.
Night four begins in five minutes.
November 6th – I can’t blink anymore even if I try. I’m getting better at the eyebrow wiping, though. Now I can do it almost as instinctively and periodically as blinking. Whoop-de-do.
I’m starting to get more used to the highway sound, but I still can’t sleep. Not that I care anymore.
November 7th – Yeah, still no sleep. I think my eyeballs have enlarged; somehow, there doesn’t seem to be much room left for my nose in the middle of my face now. Also, my premature baldness has accelerated. It’s like the house is determined to drag me down with it.
November 8th – I couldn’t sleep last night, so I moved into the garage. I won’t say I fell asleep, but I got some rest. I’ve just noticed that my skin’s getting all weird now – almost calloused-hard, but smoother – so maybe that has something to do with it.
Time for another evening of highway music. Y’know, I almost welcome it now. Though since my days are spent looking at the classifieds without really reading them, I guess anything’s an improvement.
November 9th – Rested in the garage again. I think I’ll move in here.
I’m getting fat. Not sure how, since I’ve only been eating Kraft Dinner, and that’s twice a day. All I know is that I have to go sideways through doors. Getting harder to turn myself around, too. I’m looking forward to a good evening of highway.
I think my eyeballs met this afternoon. My perspective just went “bink” and there they were. Makes spotting flies before they land on me a helluva lot easier.
November 10th – When I came out of my rest this morning, I was listening to the Pussycat Dolls somewhere behind my left ear. What was left of my hair had twisted itself into a little aerial overnight. Found out I could change channels by sticking my finger in my ear and swivelling it, switched it to a classic rock station, and left it. Useful. I’ll turn it off for the highway tonight, though.
November 11th – I lost my nose this morning. I’m pretty sure that no one else besides Michael Jackson can say that. I just came out of rest and it was gone. Feh, the thing was too big anyways. Although it had been getting smaller recently. Commemorated the moment by switching my head to Michael Jackson for five minutes, then turning it off when I remembered how much I loathed his music.
November 12th – Stopped eating Kraft Dinner. Not really hungry anymore, although I keep getting bulkier. It’s getting harder to even use this Dictaphone – my fingers are getting stubbier.
Highway was nice last night.
November 13th – Gasoline is surprisingly tasty. No, really, it’s great. If it tastes bad when you drink it, you’re just not doing it right. The trick is to pour it into your ear.
That’s odd… my other ear vanished. Probably not important.
November 14th – I’ve discovered that it’s far easier to move around on my hands and knees than any other way. Well, I think they’re my hands and knees. They’ve kind of blended into my arms and legs. Eh, same difference.
November 15th – My teeth have intertwined into some sort of grill. This is really, really, REALLY bad news. I hate rappers, and I hate bling. At least the grill isn’t gold – it’s more shiny, like stainless steel.
November 16th – Thought I saw something on my grill, looked in a mirror, and realized it said “Honda” right in the center of it. Also found out that my nose hasn’t vanished, it just shrank. It looks like some kind of little ornament sitting on my hood. I mean face. Whatever.
November 17th – Der grill haff competely fealed off my teef. It’f getting hard to tark. Feh, who caref. Der highfay iff ‘ooking ‘etter and ‘etter. I fink Im gonna go for a drife foon.
Problem iff… the garaffe door iff fhut. Im gonna haffa get fhrough it fomehow, an’ my handff are gone.
Hey… there’ff some high-octane fuel in here. Wonder who left it?
November 18th – Vrrroom, Vrroom, Vrrom, muuuuuuururrrrrrrr – screeeeeeaaaaaaacccchhhhh…
–CRUNCH clANG CRunK!
Vrooooommm…
Copyright 2007, Jamie Proctor.