December 23rd 2023. What a day today. Woke up early, around 8:15 or 8:25 and got ready for the day. Packed up House of Leaves and The Whalestoe Letters and some receipt paper and my Canon SL1 in my green spotted backpack, asked my uncle to move his car, and then drove on the freeway to the Lexus service location. 15 minute drive, very quiet. Morning light was serene. Arrived, checked in with the technician, got out and waited in the lobby. I took a seat at an inside table cubby space and got to work chewing though House of Leaves, particularly the footnotes and Johnny's sections. Had a cup of their free coffee and an oat bar but the coffee seemed a bit dark for my taste and the single oat bar was sweet enough. Continued reading and writing notes. Johnny's sections used to crash over me. Now I feel as if I am skipping over puddles and waves of his mind, his stream of consciousness, unwinding it into coherence with familiarity. Knowledge telescopes distance. Servicing finished around 11:15 and I checked with the front desk but had to wait another 9 or 10 minutes for my key outside. Was quite cold but I made it out ... into the US Citizenship building parking lot after seriously miscalculating a street. Decided to just walk to the sandwich place I had visited six months prior but was still a bit disoriented. And once I arrived they were closed for the Christmas holiday. Cue the walk back, the Google Maps on Android Auto, and then the drive back to town, this time using city streets and highways, not freeways. Almost missed a couple lanes but it went by smoothly also. The main thing was that I accelerated a bit gently on account of the recent oil change (which made it seem to sound a little quieter), and the fact the technician had moved the chair back a bit and I still wasn't quite as close to the wheel but it was fine since I had better control of said steering wheel. Arrived back home, got a quick bite of a chocolate croissant and some coffee (same ratio and amount, five pours, two filters). Very very clear and very little bitterness but again the flavor had really pushed to the middle. Drove to work around 1 and had work until 8. Cold out, still, and the hours could only drip by. Continued to read House of Leaves. Finished Johnny's section. Johnny is very pessimistic. Zampano's sections are definitely more neutral. Johnny seems to serve more to build the unsettling onset-of-breakdown atmosphere. And while he is unreliable he is more reliable than you think.
"[Growing up] is hard and nobody understands." // https://www.homestuck.com/story/2391