Tuesday 3 March 1998

I’m at the Sandy Hut for breakfast—is this the date?—March 3 already—boy, half of March could slip by if I’m not careful. It’s cold and rainy out, so it feels like winter still, which is kind of comforting. It’s taken me over a month to move all my stuff to my new house—this is a record for ridiculous slowness for me. But I guess most of the month was dominated by the film festival—which turned out to be disappointing compared to the past three—but still we saw some really good movies. The best of all, probably, was the Wong Kar-wai movie—Fallen Angels—and lately it has felt like Wong Kar-wai is the real hope for the cinema.

I moved the last of my stuff out of our old apartment this morning—now my new room is so completely full I can’t walk into it. It will be the ultimate challenge making it into a functional room. It’s the kind of challenge I like—as long as I can keep from being depressed. I’m going to be late for work, but I had to get some coffee and something to eat before work—so I stopped at the Sandy Hut—just the same as the last time I was here. And it’s been a while. Got a big steak and eggs and potatoes for $4.75. CNN Headline News on the TV—on the several TV’s—you can’t avoid it—so I watch it. I guarantee that anyone who sits around and watches CNN Headline News all day will go completely insane. Without all the TVs in here, and the Oregon Lottery bullshit all around, this would be the most pleasant place in the world. It’s a little disturbing, people drinking while I’m eating breakfast—but that’s kind of comforting, too. The guy at the counter next to me is getting breakfast but no coffee—the hard liquor has caught his eye. He was probably working all night—now off work, breakfast—a drink sounds perfectly appropriate.