little things that you've said and done

sunset district, san francisco
north to south


photos: mchl mchl

countless beers and a tri-tip sandwich

sigur rós
greek theatre — berkeley, california

3 October 2008

we came prepared for rain.
or, at least i thought we did, until we got to berkeley.
the girls had their brand new ponchos, but matt didn't. an oversight
and some miscommunication on my part. i felt bad (and still do). but the weather gods
were kind enough to wait until the last possible moment to give us what we knew
was coming. and that last possible moment was a priceless
moment. the most priceless moment
of priceless moments!
it was awesome!

close your eyes for a moment.
imagine you're seated at a concert
in an historic amphitheater. the light mist in the air
comes and goes, but it hasn't rained. sigur ros has just
run off-stage after playing gobbledigook—a pefect finale song
accompanied by a jaw-dropping display of confetti being blasted
from air cannons. the crowd is roaring, pleading for more beautiful music.
a few seconds later, the band returns. they begin to play popplagid. the crowd
respectfully goes silent. everyone knows that what they are about to experience
will be something great. something to tell the kids some day. the light mist returns.
slowly the mist turns to a heavy sprinkle. the crowd quickly begins to cover up.
sigur ros, probably noticing the fortuitous events that are about to transpire,
seem to be playing with renewed energy. the waves of falling rain are
illuminated by the stagelights. the crowded floor is pulsing with
excitement. it's a small sea of hands reaching up to the rain.
screaming. clapping. you can feel the intensity.
you think to yourself, "this is perfect."
because it is perfect.
utterly perfect!
but then, ...
then, it's all over.
just like that, the stage goes dark.
you see the crowd. you know they're roaring,
but in your head there is just silence, as you scan
the mass of screaming faces. it is wonderful. brilliant!
you're standing there, in the rain and you say to yourself,
"the most priceless moment of priceless moments. wow!"
and immediately, you think that that's what you'll
write when you blog about this tomorrow,
because this was something special.


here, this is for you. enjoy:
sigur rós — sæglópur

deeds were done

the following notes were transcribed from my moleskine, exactly as i wrote them as i rode the train, ate my donuts, sat at a picnic table and observed. they aren't very intesting, but here they are. that's your warning.


18 august 2008

— apparently the train i meant to catch at 9:20 AM didn't show up. for some reason. so this train is filling up w/the people who've been waiting an hour.
— we've stopped in 'suisun-fairfield' and i've managed to keep the seat next to me open, despite having put my bag at my feet after the lady conductor instructed the passengers to do so.



— the metro ride down to the beach was uneventful. there weren't any vomiting asian dudes. there was a large pack of foreign teens that got on in the upper sunset. some french kids sat near me. extremely obnoxious and loud. in a french way. maybe not obnoxious, but french!
— i stopped in at the java beach. got a white hot cocoa this time. and 2 old-fashioned donuts for the road. then walked along the running/bike path.
— just barely caught the about-to-depart metro going back up the sunset district.
— it's a little after 2 PM and i've made my way to cole valley. via the sunset and ocean beach. i didn't want to go straight to brakfast, knowing that it would be crowded for brunch/lunch. don't know if that strategy was even needed, but i assume it was. anyway, i'm here now. i forget the name of this place. zayzie? it starts with a z and it sounds french.
— i ordered the 'french toast tahiti', an o.j. and water. the water comes in chilled clear wine bottle with a rubber stoppper. quaint.
— after brunch, i walked from cole valley to a bus stop at haight & masonic. took the 43 to california. crossed the street & caught the 1 to fillmore. this proved to be a seriously huge mistake.
— got off the 1 at fillmore. crossed the street and immediately went to peet's coffee. i bought a medium in a large cup, but really just needed to use the restroom.
— afterward, i went to the little bookstore next to peet's and bought more murakami. sputnik sweetheart and blind willow, sleeping woman. score!
— okay, so it's 6 PM right now and train 542 should have arrived at 5:45 PM. but for some reason... the announcement just now said that 542 had engine problems, so now 'train 542 is towing 544 to the yard and should arrive here shortly after that'.
— i'll be patient and find something to draw outside, at one of the picnic tables under some shade trees. there're bees in this tree! freaking out. not a fan of bees. traumatic childhood bee incident!



— wow! that sketch made time fly by! i didn't really think i'd be waiting for the train that long. the 544 came and was already getting tight from people getting on here and in oakland earlier. so, i waited 10-minutes for the 546. that's how behind these trains were. they probably have an empty 548, if there is one.
— i'm afraid that i'll get mugged on my walk home tonight. bus 30 and 31 stop running kind of early, so i'll have to hoof it for 20 blocks. or i'll find a kind taxi driver that'll take me home for $6. maybe. maybe not. i'll offer him $5 w/a $1 tip. is that insulting? is it worth it to him? who else in sacramento will need a taxi at 10:30 PM on a monday night? nobody. i'll probably end up walking home.
— i walked home. didn't get mugged. but very tired. it's 11 PM. fuckin' a, man!

steiner at clay

do you mind if i close the door?

the following notes were transcribed from my moleskine, exactly as i wrote them as i rode the train, ate my roast beef sandwich, sat on a bench and observed. they aren't very intesting, but here they are. that's your warning.


7 August 2008

— walked to bus stop at 7:55 AM.
— bus came a few minutes late. i think i might miss the train leaving at 8:30 AM.
— after a brief stop (not so brief), bus got me to amtrak.
— i let a woman go ahead of me in line. she took forever doing something, not buying a ticket. another ticket window opened up just in time.
— don't know why i sat backward. normally, i'll sit at a table and face forward (to see what's ahead?). don't really know.
— listened to the arcade fire when i left my apartment. right now, it's bonnie 'prince' billy. kind of fitting, for these views. beauty...
— that bridge they were building the last time i rode the train, is now complete. i'm unimpressed with it. it's just another freeway bridge. nothing special. unfortunate.
— they knocked down that really really old bridge at crockett.

it's 4:01 PM. i've been so busy walking around, i forgot to keep writing in here. so let's back up a bit. i'll summarize:

— got off train at emeryville. bus took me to the ferry building.
— walked around the ferry building a bit. bought a few macarons & a cupcake. i've heard a lot of raving about these cupcakes. my cupcake sucked. the macarons were delicious, as always. i love em. didn't eat any until i got to the beach.
— stopped at java beach for a cocoa (and two old-fashioned donuts!)
— walked along the running path that parallels the great highway. crossed the highway at the promenade. onto the beach. walked back along the tide. nice and quiet. just me, joggers and the birds.
— caught the n judah. got off at cole valley. ate a chicken pesto crepe. tasteless. even ketchup couldn't save it. too crowded to even read comfortably.
— was going to catch the 43 masonic at cole, but hoofed it over to haight & masonic, before the 43 arrived. just barely made it. kinda crossed ran across on a red hand.
— got off at california. and caught the next 1 california.
— got off at fillmore. bought a 'smarge' at peet's coffee. walked over/up to... what's the name of that park up there? the battery on the rebel died at the top of the hill. started using the a80. took several really cool shots of buildings/angles.
— walked down and then up washtington. and up clay to lafayette park. more cool photos.
— walked down to franklin. re-caught the 1. took it all the way to embarcadero center.
— started walking to the ferry building, but i didn't want to leave so early. all the cummuters are gonna crowd that bus/train anyway.
— walked around soma near the gap building. took a photo of a long row of parked motorcycles/scooters. and more buildings. new highrises.
— stopped at a place called the toaster oven. that's where i am as i write this. got a roast beef, but not really hungry. just killing time i guess. also got a yogurt parfait. not bad. i just asked the guy at the next table what street we're on. spear street.

(wow, this is all very exciting stuff. going home.)

+++ while riding the metro to the beach (backward again. this might have some deeper meaning), some asian dude w/a tall can of bud in his hand, jumped off and proceeded to try to make himself vomit. he stuck his fingers down his throat (to the knuckles. he's a pro). people on the street watched with disgust and curiosity.

clay upon steiner

modern, decades apart

"Life goes by pretty fast.
If you don't stop and look around once in a while,
you could miss it."
-ferris

see the world

if you're not smiling while you watch this video,
then the terrorists have already won.

i especially like the dancing in gurgaon, india.
and the dog that 'dances' with him in kuwait.
and the image of his silhouette in front
of the erupting geyser in iceland.

where the hell is matt?

or what i did on my lunch break

if you could do a trip anywhere in north america
(say you have 2-3 weeks for this trip)
where would you go and
what would you do?

i never think of traveling,
until someone suggests to me,
'you should do some traveling.'

when i was going to school in s.f.,
i'd wake up at 3:45 am five days a week,
and catch the first train out of sacramento.
i miss the feeling of getting to my destination
without the responsibility of getting myself there.
i'd sit at the window and stare out into the openness
or sleep and dream of the possibilities.
(i just wrote that and suddenly
wanted to kick my own ass)

traveling by rail,
with it's many stops,
allows one to see all the inbetween spots
far from the major highways and thoroughfares.
and traveling by plane would be out of the question.
rail is pretty much worry-free.
no gas needed. no speeding tickets.
no worrying about other (drunk) drivers.
so that's what i've come up with this morning.
(the last hour was spent making this sweet map!)


(click it to see it bigger)

i'd start in sacramento,
head south to los angeles.
and then make my way eastward.
obviously, i would get my ass off the train
and dive into every town and wilderness i found myself.
who knows where i'll end up.

fyi: i took liberties drawing the dashed line.
it isn't meant to be accurately representational.
but it gives you an idea of the path i'd like to take.

also, i'm too lazy
(and running out of time)
to go into detail on the reasons
i'd visit each of those places.

if i were rich, no.100

i'm sure throughout this blog
one might find many products
which indeed fall into a price range
that is ridiculously incongruous
with my personal shopping price range.

so i won't pretend
that this isn't the first time
i want something i can't afford.
that would be disrespectful to you
(aka, no one) and myself.

i came up with a not-so-clever title
and i'd like to continue using it
to designate all the overpriced shit
i write about — which, between you and me,
is mostly everything i write about.



33" extra-deep suitcase w/wheels, $2,400.00

the so-called globe-trotter x j.crew luggage is...
if i were english, i think i'd say 'bloody brilliant!'
but i'm californian, so i'm inclined to say 'hella rad!'

'smart' and 'sexy' also come to mind.
am i wrong?!

Rosie Cheeks And Goosebumps

i took the trusted old mountain bike
up to trader joe's in search for some dinner.
it took only thirty minutes round trip!
i impressed myself with that kind of time.
now i have a good burn in my legs.
legs that are so tired from the workout,
i can't walk without wobbling just a bit.
i feel good!
all of a sudden i want to go up to the sierra!
adrenaline is pumping. i'm pumped!
let's go!
no wait. dinners ready.
i'll go some other time.

i missed the registration deadline for eligibility
to vote in the california primary election.

Drive and...

video: mchl mchl

Pâtisserie et Confiserie et Bâtiment de Bateau

The plan for today was to wake up at nine o'clock, catch the bus to the Amtrak station, ride the 9:20 westbound train and be in San Francisco by 11:30. That was the plan until last night when I discovered that prices for a one-way ticket on the Capitol Corridor have gone up. What used to be $16 (I think) is now $21. That's $42, round-trip! It's not worth $42 to be in SF for only 2-hours.

All of this planning was made just so I could get to the Ferry Building and buy some parisian macarons. Silly, yes, but I want some. I've never had them, but I hear they're pretty tasty. Now I'm all gung-ho for some. Anyway, early last week, I almost bought some online, but the shipping fees were so expensive, I thought it might be better if I went in person and enjoyed some nummy french pastries looking out at the Embarcadero.

The thought of ruining my day-off to get to San Francisco was enough to get me to jump online and order some macarons last night. And just one-minute ago, I received an e-mail stating that my order has been shipped and on the way!