Suspense for Nothing?

One of the most important aspects I took away from the reading was something I found in the chapter beginnings, in bold, and other passages throughout the chapters. The chapter beginnings in bold clearly have the purpose of standing out. I realized from chapter 4 that in most chapters Sal builds up this suspense I feel is not at all for the reader, but for himself. He says (in bold), "Now it was time,"(123), which would intrigue anyone. Though the readers do want this mystery and suspense, Sal himself needs it the most. He builds up this ideal in his head that every trip will bring about something great, when he never finds anything he is satisfied with. He continues, "Now it was time for the Western threesome to find new living quarters in Manhattan proper." To me this is a let down because there is new about what is going to happen; just another place to live for a small amount of time. It is his fault he is unhappy with life because he dramatizes everything and even admits to it throughout the book. Repeatedly, Sal exposes his flaw of a need for drama, an obsession with Dean, and changing attitude about life, yet does not seem to realize it or change anything about it. Again he says, "It was there in the morning,"(149), but nothing other than his good friends are there and this "it" he speaks of makes it seem like there is finally something worthwhile. His need for the drama in life attaches him to Dean, and keeps him to this "follower" and even "pushover" stereotype I derive from the reading. He ends chapter 7 by saying, "we were off again for California,(155)". Sal cant avoid the "again," because he knows they are going back to do the same thing they did the last time: lose money and leave empty handed. The "again" is necessary, but Sal eludes its significance by dropping it in the middle of the sentence. To me, there is no suspense from this statement and I therefore do not expect much from their trip.