Learning the ropes |
Today at lunch I sat with a man who got beat up by a transsexual. He actually was my cellmate for a short time and isnât a bad guy. No one is really sure how the fight began, only that he lostâŚbadly. Poor guy will never let it down. He spent about 3 months in the SHU (aka The Hole) before coming back onto the compound just before Xmas. Since then heâs been very quiet and has kept to himself. Wonder why? Iâll never really get used to living in a place where things like that are really normal. Before coming here the idea of men getting sex changes was something you saw on TV, thought, âWell thatâs just weird,â and then immediately forgot about it. Now I live in close proximity to two of them. Who would have thought having D cups didnât disqualify you from being placed in an all male facility! The things you learn here are absolutely amazing. After lunch I trekked through the cold back to the dorm to enjoy some reading. We donât live in cages by the way; in fact we donât even have doors on our âcells.â My home is basically an office cubicle, 8x10 foot square made of cinderblock and only about 5 feet high then open to the ceiling about 8 feet above that. Itâs really just a barracks with a tad bit more privacy. I share mine with a great guy who, like me, is totally normal and baffled at the insanity of our world. Weâve got a nice big window that looks out onto a pretty scenic pine grove, so itâs really quite pleasant all things considered. My cellie works all afternoon so I have the room to myself. Iâm reading Beautiful Creatures right now. Great, great book. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes intelligent, supernatural stories. Yeah, itâs been compared to Twilight but itâs much, much better written and is way more mysterious and interesting. Iâm trying to conserve my energy this afternoon. Earlier this week I began a treadmill class and itâs kicking my ass. Our instructor is a very cool Spanish guy who is here for killing a politician in a bar fight like 25 years ago. Openly gay and really a great teacher; but he is a task master â one hour of interval training on inclined unpowered treadmills. If this class doesnât help me get into shape nothing will!! (In case youâre wondering Iâm 6 feet tall and 310 pounds â built like a linebacker gone slightly to seed). Youâd be shocked how difficult it is to lose weight in prison. Our meals are filled with carbs and protein but not much else. We have a commissary where we can buy food but most of it is junk food and soda. There are a few healthy things buy of course they are monde expensive. The biggest issue is that the mess hall feeds us tiny portions (think a drumstick the size of a large Buffalo Wing) and within an hour youâre starving, so of course you have to snack â on crap. No fresh veggies, no fruit, no bread. In fact if youâre caught with that stuff in the dorm you can get into trouble! So weâre left with chips, cupcakes, cookies and Ramen noodles. Eww⌠God I miss real food. And pie!! |