Hobo-tastic Journey, part 2

I have successfully avoided spending any more money in Wisconsin so far. In fact, cash-wise I’m actually ahead of the game–I managed to collect on some gas money owed to me under the “Gas, grass, or ass” policy I implemented concerning my car and the use thereof by persons other than me.

Saturday

9:30 AM

Wake up. Ramen for breakfast.

9:45 AM

Commiserate with friend’s roommate who also got ticketed coming to Madison. She was only doing 81; I win by 1 point.

10:00 AM

Wash dishes in exchange for free lodging.

11:20 AM

Waste time at Union South. Blog.

12:30 PM

Odors too musky again. Shower at the SERF.

1:30 PM

Waste time at Memorial Union. Blog. Realize my life is incredibly boring.

4:00 PM

Pick up M and go to R’s house for going-away party. Revert to child-like state of gleeful innocence playing with the little kids.

6:00 PM

Feast on fried pork cutlet (トンカツ tonkatsu), Japanese pancakes (お好み焼き okonomiyaki), some sort of Chinese dish, and etc. Enjoy scintillating conversation about the health benefits of citrus fruit.

11:00 PM

Drive M home. Return to R’s house to break out sleeping bag and crash on floor.

Hobo-tastic Journey

I drove from Minneapolis down to Madison yesterday, as I am sometimes wont to do, and as usual it was a mind-numbingly boring drive. Nothing screams “Wisconsin” like faceless prairie stretching as far as the eye can see.

When my mom does the drive it takes about 6 hours. When I drive it takes about 4, and this time I was punished for my expedience. A cop lurking in one of those obnoxious speed trap enclaves caught me going 82 MPH in a 65 zone, and gave me my first speeding ticket ever: $236.40. Ouch.

Therefore, to show my penitence to the great state of Wisconsin, I have decided that I will spend as little money as possible while here. So far I have spent:

• McDonald’s coffee (medium): $0.98
• 8 packs of Maruchan instant ramen: $1.38

Thus begins my Hobo-tastic Journey.

Here’s a rundown of the events so far:

Thursday

11:30-ish AM

Depart Minneapolis

1:33 PM

Ticketed by Officer W of Hixton, WI: “SPEEDING ON FREEWAY (16-19 MPH)”

4:00-ish PM

Arrive in Madison. Make a beeline to Copps to purchase ramen.

4:20-ish PM

Ditch car in University Houses area “visitor” parking space to avoid campus parking fees. Walk 2.5 miles to campus.

6:00-ish PM

Meet up with friend whose wedding I came to Madison to attend. Crash at his place.

6:30-ish PM

Ramen for dinner.

7:00-ish PM to 2:00-ish AM

Friend has an embarrassment of riches in the form of strawberry pies. We partake. And it was good.

Friday

8:00 AM

Wake up. Ramen for breakfast.

8:20 AM

Friend treats me to coffee at Einstein Bros. Bagels.

9:00 AM

Waste time at Union South.

10:30 AM

Musky odors become overpowering. Shower at the SERF, where my student ID inexplicably still works despite having graduated months ago. Dry self, shivering, with wall-mounted hair drier due to lack of towel.

11:30 AM

Relocate to Memorial Union so as to have better access to free water. Blog.

12:20 PM

Lunch on raw ramen noodles. Surprisingly tasty.

5:00 PM

Japanese conversation group. Apparently everyone thought I was either dead, or in Japan already.

6:30 PM

Tacos + movie at another friend’s house. Saw a Lupin the 3rd (ルパン三世) movie for the first time.

12:00 PM

Crash at yet another friend’s house. Watch a special theme episode of Walker: Texas Ranger in which Chuck Norris’s 19th century alter-ego battles his arch enemy’s 19th century alter-ego in parallel to their modern selves. Disappointingly, there were no roundhouse kicks.

More updates as the story unfolds.