Leaving my apartment at the usual time, the weather looks fine. It isn’t until I approach Flamingo that I notice the swath of black sky somewhere past Eastern. There is no weather in central Las Vegas; the HVAC systems that insulate the Strip casinos from real life have this odd side effect of negating the weather patterns that affect the rest of Clark County. Perhaps it’s just the golf course.

I’m tired. I got a ride home last night, but didn’t ask to be dropped off at the store, so I had to walk back and didn’t start drinking until about an hour later than I normally do. I got a 12 pack of some beer from New Zealand last night and drank 8 of them. My roommate had one. He still doesn’t have a job or money so he’s taking it easy on the beer. I think he’d gotten hammered at the Crown and Anchor the night before anyway. He kept wanting to talk. Maybe it was “relationship building” time. Necessary, I suppose, since we’re stuck with each other and I’m footing the bill for the moment. He might be nervous; I know I would be. We watched some short films on IFC. It seemed angry uterus night but the films were enjoyable. I lived with a Woman’s Study major for a few years so I can handle anything. I didn’t feel sleepy or even that drunk (never getting that beer again) but climbed into bed about 04:30, which meant only six-and-a-half hours of sleep. I skipped my normal long bath for some extra sleep.

The Flamingo bus was exactly on schedule for the first time in recent memory. It was also rather full. The two don’t normally coincide. I think the Pecos bus was also on time, but as it pulled up to the light I got an unexpected ride from a former coworker who also happens to be a somewhat famous musician. She’s finished recording her new album and is shopping it around to different labels. She hopes to tour in March. I think I’d like to get to know her better, but I don’t know if that’s ever possible. Just read her biography and you might understand. Plus she has a young child. Doesn’t leave much time for a social life. I found out that she was at the Ministry show and I didn’t see her. Then again, I was very drunk that evening.

Inside, reading the news, I wonder what the hell France is thinking. I don’t know if sending troops into Cote d’Ivoire is such a bright idea. With problems in Colombia, Somalia, Afghanistan, Sudan, Nepal, Congo, Iraq, China, India and the rest opening up another quagmire seems hasty. Still, at least they realize that sometimes events demand direct intervention by world powers. It might help them (and everyone else) that we have to work together as a world to keep our shit together.

As JFK put it: “And if a beachhead of cooperation may push back the jungle of suspicion, let both sides join in creating a new endeavor, not a new balance of power, but a new world of law, where the strong are just and the weak secure and the peace preserved.”