In her twenties she was pretty, by her thirties beautiful. And now, finally, she was as ugly as she’d always felt.

The inexplicable burst of popularity he had enjoyed in his youth dissipated quickly as his contempt for the audience became all too obvious.

It smelled sort of like a toilet, but in a good way.

Yellow, the last color to leave.

There’s the chair she sat in, facing the door, hoping for a visit.

The warm cascade of neurotransmitters he received from making false promises dwarfed the inevitable damage to its recipients. That may even have been some of its appeal.

A grid system was developed in order to rationalize intuitive choices.

Yesterday: the temperature dropped to 97—the 42nd straight day it has topped 90 degrees.
Metropolitan Forecast: Intense heat and humidity will prevail once again across the region. Wednesday will continue hot and humid. Readings near 100 degrees. Thurs, same. Fri, same.
Horoscope: The best of all worlds may be offered to you soon

Their rigorously maintained veneer of civility lasted 90 seconds into his birthday toast.

Who’s the asshole, somebody asked, and when he repeated the question I realized he was referring to me.

The billion flinches that rebuilt your face.

The seventies were shit; the eighties sucked ass; he barely remembered the nineties; and everything after 2000 was lost in a haze of self-loathing.
Things were looking up.

Book II:
After the booze ran out.

At first I was flattered, but after further reflection understood it hadn’t been intended as a compliment.

We all fell apart, while they just got younger and younger.