song for the day

well, here it is. here's your song for the day. it looks like we've got a hot weekend fast approaching. i know i'm not the only one who's thinking 'finally'. anyway, go out there, have a few drinks, kiss some strangers, dance, and i mean really shake it, have a few more drinks, and let loose. don't worry if you embarrass yourself, it couldn't be any worse then these two girls.

Michel Gondry on levi's

song for the day

my sweet baby

i resented work. i couldn't hang out. it was my first job. i had to present myself every morning, foolishly. you are my best friend. we'd talked about this for years. living together. i hate who i was trying to become. his limitations.

i resented my girlfriend at the time. she was eclipsed. she ate my time. i thought about all that time i could've been spending with you in those last months.

6 months we had. and i blew it. i gave you up. handed you off. i hate everything i passed you up for. want no part of it. am trying desperately to rid myself of it.

you and i used to dream. we had bands, wrote books, talked shit, drank, fought, well, you beat the hell out of me. you had lasted. through all the years. as friends. i think we hated each other for a while too. but we came back. you were solid. there was always you. regardless.

song for the day

180 south

I so want to see this. Check out 180 South for more info.

Rock Creek, Plumas National Forrest

this past weekend we ended up fleeing the dreariness and fog of the city. we scoped out a few places in my swimming hole bible and decided on a little place called rock creek in the plumas national forrest.

it was about a three hour drive and we were leaving around 3 or so on sat afternoon. pat, justin and steve were in my car. zaq and aldana would be following shortly. the directions seemed easy enough, just follow the 80 to the 50 to the 99 to the 70 and then some sketchy directions about scrambling up waterfalls and rock slabs and old fire roads, etc. naturally, we lose contact with aldana and zaq. the last directions we gave them were to find us along the 70.

when we had gotten into it started to rain heavily on us as we drove a three mile stretch about five times. the rain was heavy but luckily it didn't last long. we couldn't find our treasure of a swimming hole so we decided to stop at another creek and play in the water under the bridge. we'd left the truck on the side of the road with the hazards on hoping zaq and aldana would show up shortly. they never did.

it was getting dark and we still hadn't found a place to sleep. after some debate we decided to drive all the way back towards town to find some cell service. we eventually found zaq and aldana in the middle of a breathalyzer test.

again, some debate went on about weather we should drive back to the creek and try to sleep somewhere out there or to go to this camp site. we chose the camp site. little did we know that it would be the camp site from hell. it had all the signs, we were just too desperate to read them.

just for your benefit, here are the signs of impending doom at a camp ground.

1-more cement than rocks, dirt or trees.

2-more handicapped camp sites than regular.

3-more rv reserved camp sites than regular.

4-several cops shining flash lights in faces in several diff. camp sites.

5-angry people telling you all the things that you can't do and unwilling to help when you ask for a little bit of assistance.

6-more rv's then tents.

7-lots, and lots of board shorts, wrap around sun glasses, backwards hats, roxy gear, etc. basically the worst of the wake board crowd.

8-more speed boats than i'd care to count.

9-each speed boat had more speakers than could possibly ever be necessary on a speed boat.

anyway, we decided to sleep there and get up early and go find our swimming hole. so we got up and got the hell out of there and drove about a half hour back along the 70. we stopped at a couple places we though might be it but realized that they didn't match the description and moved on. finally we decided to just head to where we'd been the night before. it wasn't until later that afternoon that we realized that that was the swimming hole we'd been hunting for all along.

it was beautiful. as we hiked up the trial we saw one naked man. he was the color of a penny, bronzed to the max. we passed him up and found a nice little spot. aldana and jack, her dog, decided to camp out here while us boys scrambled our way as far up the canyon as we could go.

zaq scaling a wall at the end of the canyon.

aldana and i posing.

this was the top swimming hole that we got to. it wasn't until later that we realized that this was the bottom of three awesome swimming holes. we'll have to go back and find the other two.

this was our path.

on our way up we stopped in oroville. a crap town, yes, but it has the best fried, excuse me, broasted chicken i've ever had.

these are gas pumps.

neat.

this is the cow on top of the restaurant with the broasted chicken.

that night, aldana and zaq decided to go back to the camp site to find some things they'd lost. apparently one on the hellish people who frequent such places gave them a hard time about being on their property and not paying. they explained that we'd camped their before and that they were looking for something they'd lost to which she responded with 'i'm calling the cops.' so they said to hell with it and bounced. too late, the cops were at the gate waiting for them. they'd had a few drinks on the water but were far from drunk (i'm not supporting drinking and driving in any way here) and unfortunately breathalizing is standard fare in plumas. the cops decided to confiscate all their belongings, take them both in, hold them for a short period and then release them with nothing. stranded in the middle of no where. luckily aldana remembered a credit card number and was able to use it to get a hotel.

the boys and i had gotten a call from aldana saying that they might be taking zaq in for a dui and we might need to come pick her up but never got a location and the cops must have confiscated her phone before she could call us back. so the boys and i spent a good part of that night on the road looking for them. we ended up in marysville at the police station and eventually at the prison asking if they'd been picked up. in the end, we spent about three hours calling every police station, chp, holding center etc. and waiting. we waited until we couldn't wait any longer and drove home.

it was a crap way to end an amazing day. zaq and aldana are back in the city, safe and out of that hell hole.

three things that just happened

1-i ate at a new dim sum place where the old chinese lady didn't treat me like she wanted to kill me.

2-my bff, pat, is moving in next door to me. literally, next door.

this guy

3-my whole office was just moving in rewind for about three seconds. no joke.

bike vs handicapped man in car

today i rode 3.5 miles out to ceaser chavez to drop off my application to the sffd. i had a great ride out, no problems with drivers what so ever, even though there was heavy traffic. on the ride back however, on ass hole kept giving me trouble. it happened on third street somewhere between 20th and 16th. on that stretch there are four lanes, two in each direction, with muni running in the middle. all lanes are relatively thin and there is no bike lane. i have learned that on thin lanes, especially where there are two going in the same direction, it is much safer to take the whole lane. if you stay to the right drivers tend not to give you much room and i've been far too close to being clipped by a mirror far too many times. if you take the whole lane then drivers are forced to switch lanes and go around you. well this gentle man decided to cut as close to me as possible and then to swerve in front of me as fast as he could. literally, his tires squealed. he is in a compact pick up so i can clearly see into his rear view mirror. he is eyeballing me and laughing. as we pull to the red light i stay behind him. i don't want him doing something stupid. so the light turns green and we start moving. as soon as we pick up pace the guy looks at me in the rear view mirror and presses the brakes and then guns it when i get to close. now i'm yelling at him and flipping him off. i look down to get his plate number but he's already too far away and all i can see is that he has a handicap sticker. now this guy was old. like old, old. so old he had a tank and an oxygen tube around his nose. fucking prick. i kept trying to catch him so i could get his plate number but never got close enough.

not that the po would do anything about it. i've been threatened with a car before and when i called to report it the officer or who ever i was talking to told me that, even though i had the plate number that they weren't going to do anything about it. i have a sneaking suspission that it might be because i said i was on my bicycle. next time i'll have to say i'm in a car.

anyway, i was still high on the turn of events my life is taking and all the things i'm learning that even that couldn't get me down.

another day at the office

yesterday was a long one. we were in and out of meetings and briefings. mechanicals needed revising and re releasing. we couldn't get the color match we wanted on the proofs. things just weren't going our way. when 5:30 rolled around i almost cried. half an hour more and we'd all be outta here. that was until millie came out of her office, hair frazzled and said that we'd all be spending the night.

we all holed up in the main conference room and ordered a dozen gallons of ice cream and all the toppings you could imagine. some how in the stress of it the room had broken up into clicks. pat, hillary and i had kinda formed a little team. we were filled with resentment and loathing that our youth was being taken away. it didn't take long for us to come up with the greatest revenge plan. we talked about it for about a half hour more and then broke. in one hour we'd act out our revenge. that hour passed by ever so slowly. pat, hillary and i, making eye contact across the room. giving the occasional nod. as the time drew near pat and hill disappeared and i blended in with the crowd. five minutes later pat came flying out of a broom closet. he was naked except for the newspaper wrapped around his waist. man was he flying. i've never seen him move so fast. it wasn't until he brushed past me that i noticed that he hadn't wrapped the newspaper all the way around. all i saw was an ass crack and stock stats and orange beaming through the room. he was closing in on the conference room table, where all the ice cream was. in the next second he was in the air, belly flop position. floating. soaring. like an eagle. and then he hit the table. it was perfect. ice cream went flying in every direction. onto all the nicely pressed suits. smeared on glasses. into open mouths mid sentence. he started doing the worm on the table. splattering and smearing ice cream all over his naked body. dumping sprinkles on his head. tossing crushed up peanut butter cups and butter finger pieces into the air by the hand full. no one could take their eyes off of him. until, from the other side of the room, a door opened. it was hillary. she was wearing a red, royal looking robe. the collar must have been a foot in width and shimmering gold. she slowly, elegantly walked through the crowd. brushing people aside with a slight sweep of her hand. her eyes half closed the whole time and fixed in the distance. she stopped next to the table, grabbed a mans tie and drew him out of his chair and used it as a step. she was on the table in this beautiful robe, pat in the background flailing about. she slowly untied her robe, letting the belt fall to her feet. she pulled the front apart, the back slowly sliding down her shoulders. and then the robe was on the table next to the belt. and suddenly, the both struck a pose. hill like cleopatra and pat like a break dancer, legs crossed, one hand on his hip and the other behind his head. and that was it. we all stared.

it's been a while since i've woken up laughing. this one was a good one.

friday's song

probably one of my all time favorite bands since i was like 11.

song for the day

i may be a little behind with this but...

sunset, treasure island

more pics from this past sunset

food shame

i can cook. i grew up in the kitchen next to my mother who, it just so happens, my full blooded theas say is a better greek cook than any of them are. i grew up chopping, roasting, grilling, frying, etc. etc. in the city, with out a car, grocery shopping often winds up on the bottom of my list. unfortunately, so does laundry, but that is a whole other post. when i do shop, i usually spend a good deal of time wandering in and out of china town produce markets, fish markets and butchers. i usually end up with some great looking dishes. unfortunately, no one gets to see them except me. this is the part of my eating habit that i'm proud of.
there is, however, another side, an ugly side. this is the side that, when i run out of groceries and left overs, runs up to china town, orders the most disgusting looking thing on the menu (usually because it offers the largest quantity or because it was the cheapest) from the dirties, tiniest place and drags it back to work. now i'm sitting at my desk, staring down this big brown and black hunk of something, that incidentally is staring meaner and harder right back at me. it's got red and green peppers chopped on top of its head. there is fat and gristle showing and it's sort of quivering. someone usually looks up from their desk and asks what the smell is to which i respond by slathering it in more sriracha, eating faster and mumbling something about the other side of the office.
i'd say i eat my meal in the office just about everyday of the week. now, before you go feeling sorry for me saying 'he's got no friends, poor thing.' let me explain my reasoning. i usually spend my lunch out out of the office, hanging in the park with friends, going for a run or a ride over to the water, or having a pint at reds place. i then come back to the office and grub. that way i get all my lunch break for doing things i want to do. this does however mean that everyone sees, and even worse, smells exactly what i'm eating. if i cared, i'd probably be a bit more careful. instead, i just eat like a maniac before anyone can see it. seems to have worked so far.

Saxondale

i love this show

Sunset, Treasure Island

song for the day

the creation on some german show called beat beat beat.

name that frame

what movie is this from?  what is the characters name and what's he about to do.  this should be a pretty easy one.  this movie is basically mandatory for every kid.  the prize, a bear hug.

yesterday i ate

fruit smoothie in the morning. mmmmm.

carrot and peanut butter for a snack.

a whole kashi pizza (chicken and garlic).  my belly did not like that.

more bananas.

and a croissantwich from kk cafe for dinner. 

song for the day.

uh, yeah.

you are a ray of sunshine.

i went through a bit of funk off and on over the past year. i think i'm beginning to realize that i might have been having some self worth issues over the way my last relationship ended, which was not good. i'm a sensitive guy but i also thought that i was tough as nails. i guess this one got through. anyway, no worries, life is looking up these days.

china town

things i observed on my lunch break:
1- an old man with sporadic facial hair pulling up his sweat pants so high that i could clearly see his peen and balls hanging on either side of his pants.
2- watching construction.
3- three old chinese women fight over a cell phone.

what i'm eating

today for breaky i had a carrot and some peanut butter. i thought i hated this until the third time i tried it.
lunch consisted of a kashi mediterranean pizza.
snack will be a banana.
din din is gonna be a tomato salad with feta and herbs.