10:30 pm

I wanted to relate Friday night's activities. Gitta and I went out to dinner then met María José and some other friends at Casa del Conde. Then we went out to Bar Salsa for a while and danced. It was nice to see María José again. And going out with Gitta is always fun. Unfortunately, she drank a bit too much and got sick on the taxi ride home. We had to stop on the beach half-way home. We stayed there about an hour. She'd get sick, then sleep, then repeat. She kept telling me to go on and leave her. That she would be fine. Right! Passed out on the beach with her purse and all. I just sat tight. Finally, I got a taxi and we made it back to the campground this time. But just barely. How funny. Reminded me of Carnaval in Cádiz, of course. Andre and I getting sick and walking back to the car. Today I went on quite a long bike ride. It was so nice. I went east, past Rincón de la Victoria along the beach. A much less congested stretch of road than the 340 towards Torremolinos. And there was a decent breeze, so it wasn't too hot. Finally, after about 20 km, I saw a sign for Playa Naturalista. I thought it meant Nature Beach. It was a nude beach! Well, of course I stayed. Pretty interesting. But an awful lot of old naked men. There were a few families and couples, too. Both nude and un-nude. I was un-nude! I had planned to go swimming naked, but before I got the nerve, the waves got real big, so I didn't go in. Actually, I'd have loved to, but no one else was going in then, so I didn't either. I'll have to go back some time. The ride back was hell! A helluva head wind. But I survived. I really need to ride more out into the campo. Or just out to clean beaches! I started thinking that I should travel on my bike for a week around Andalucía. Those are the kinds of things I wanted to do! Fuck this work shit. I'm glad I went. I really needed that lift of doing something different. Of traveling! Andre arrives tomorrow. Another adventure beginning. Alyssa's friend, Karen, is supposed to be in Fuengirola starting Wednesday, but I don't know where exactly. I wonder what Dan Quayle will say about the presence of torch-bearing demons in the Closing Ceremonies of the Olympics. Against family values, I'd say! I'm reading the book Transitions again. I think it'd be good to read now -- 6 months later. Where am I in my transition?

// Now this is interesting. The athletes are staging a revolution. They've invaded the stage and are acting like hooligans. Ouch. Big black eye, folks. They're climbing up the sides, jumping up and down. I doubt the stage was built for this. Absolute disaster waiting to happen. How many people have died in stadium/stage collapses? And the world's best athletes? This is really scary.