Thorildsplan

I stepped off of the subway at my usual stop, Thorildsplan. Off of the platform and down the ramp I sidestepped some dog shit. Two mustached men in leather coats waited on the opposite side of the sliding glass doors. When the doors opened they walked in and I walked out. I turned right. I couldn't make out the graffiti on the metal pull-down shield that covered the closed convenience store but from what I can remember it was written in pink spray paint. Who buys pink spray paint? Where can I get some?

Walking down the tunnel I heard a couple talking and walking behind me. Their voices were happy and they laughed while they talked about tomorrow's plan. A solid plan it was. Out of the tunnel and up the stairs. To my right was a newly dug ditch for sewer or water pipes. The ditch was a construction zone surrounded by chain-link fence and stripped tape running through the fence. I thought about how somebody dug that ditch as a job. When I was a kid I was told that if you didn't get a proper education you'd end up digging a ditch. This ditch looked very professional and I was sure not to step too close to it.

Up a quick set of stairs that are dug into the side of a small hill and onto a paved walking path that runs beside a school. The school is a university, possibly. It's where students learn how to become teachers. I have walked by this school or university for about a year now and have never seen anyone go in or come out. For a while though, when I was working nights, I would come home sort of late and walk by the school where I'd hear loud music. I believe the school had a sort of nightclub once a week or something. I couldn't have gone in for a beer even if I wanted to though because I was not a student and surely didn't have the proper ID. Tonight, when I walked by, I looked into that window where the student nightclub was before but all I saw was a refrigerator that said "Falcon" on it. Falcon is a Swedish beer. So that must be the bar area of the teachers school (or university).

Past the school and onto the main drag of my neighborhood. This main drag has, among other things, the grocery store I frequent, a pharmacy and a place where mail that is too big to slide through the door comes. You can also place bets on horses here, if you wanted. You could also buy a snack. Once, when I was sending a box to The States the guy with the beard behind the counter made a crack about George Bush. I don't remember what he said. I do remember it wasn't funny even though I wanted it to be funny. I like topical humor.

Further down the street I passed a restaurant that mainly serves pizza. I have eaten there 2 times (to go) and the pizza isn't all that good. But what I do like about the place is that the guy that makes the pizzas looks just like Super Mario. He looks like a real deal pizza maker. He and the other men that work there sit outside of the restaurant when the weather is nice and smoke cigs and drink Falcon beer.

Almost home. You can cut off of the sidewalk and take a trail that leads up a hill into my part of the neighborhood. It has been steadily drizzling here for the past week or so and the hill has become a muddy mess. I keep telling myself that I won't walk up the hill because it's a slip and slide mess but it really is the quickest way home. I walked up the hill again tonight and my shoes got muddy. The shoes I was wearing are the shoes I wear to work every day. I call them my "good guy shoes." That is the perfect name for them.

When I got to my building I punched in the door code wrong the first time. I have at least 10 4-digit codes I'm currently using on a frequent basis. The first half of the code was correct but the last half were part of the new door code I just got for my new apartment that I'll be moving into in 2 weeks.

Into the building's front door, up the stairs a half flight and into my apartment. I took off my shoes.

I wrote this because, like I said, I'll be moving in 2 weeks. I spent a few hours tonight at the new apartment painting over a blue wall with white paint. This will continue most nights for the coming weeks. But what I wanted to say is that I wanted to write something down about this neighborhood I live in now. I really do like it. I will always have good memories of it. I went through a lot here. My mind always wandered when I would walk home alone from Thorildsplan.