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May 27, 2005
movement and packing
i'm sitting in the living room at the purple house, looking at my clothes and junk piled in the corner. i've only been back here a short time, but within days i was clued into the goings on of all my friends. One of the weirdest things about being in this city for this week and a half was not having a job. during the day most friends were working, so i had time to do some things i had always wanted to but was too busy to find time for. i also did a lot of old comfort things, like riding my bike through the park and getting burritos downtown. i hung out with nessa a ton, which i knew i would and greatly enjoyed. she's on tour now with the international noise conspiracy for a week, sounds so fun.
so alongside catching up with megan and all the rest of my friends, kelsey forbes from philly happened to be out here for a few days, so we've been hanging out. yesterday i went with her, her cousin, her ma, and her grandma to see the universe within, which is billed as "an educational exhibit comprised of actual human bodies and organs that have been preserved using a method known as plastination." Looking at actual preserved human corpses in various states of disection was an experience i had been looking forward to for years since if first heard of the exhibit, though at times it was hard to believe that the muscle, bones, organs and veins in front of me had been living breathing people. if anyone is coming to the city i highly recommend checking it out, the most impressive example is a man who's had nothing removed except all of his skin, which is hung from a clothes hanger he's holding in his outstretched hand. pretty amazing.
tonight we're gonna ride critical mass, then meet eric carter and company at the great american music hall to see old crow medicine show, before they drive maggie and kelsey to sacto and me all the way back to reno. i fly to new york again on monday, so i get one weekend of visiting friends and folks in reno before i jet off again for cross country adventures with cousin mikey. as mikey and i joke, it's a tough life these days.
Posted by bendan at 01:03 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 20, 2005
where but California?
That's the question i've been asking myself since i got back here. When i left this city nearly 5 months ago, i had decided not to return. somewhere along the trip i got a little tiny bit homesick and started thinking about all the good there was in this city, and i poked a few questions around. out of the wonderful ether of the internet, an offer to live in my old house came flying my way, which involved the old roommmates bending over backwards to make it possible for me to travel during the summer and still have a room. with little hesitation, i said hell yes.
now i'm back here, and i'm looking across the country, where the grass is always greener. I realize that things are so easy here, because i've already put in the foundation time to build a fun busy life here. and while it's so nice to know where the good spots are and to have excellent friends, part of me longs for the difficult again, to be happily lost on my bike in a huge city and wondering when i'll run into a street that sounds familiar.
the chance stands that i could back out of here and bum those kindly former roommates out, but that leads me to question, to what am i going since i'm leaving so much good? the east coast seemed so new and different and ready to explore when i was there, and i'm chomping at the bit to head back on the 1st for 2 good months driving around the u.s. with my cousin, mountain biking and having adventures, but how will i feel if i'm out there in january and there's snow and the same crummy jobs i've been working out here? i'm not sure if i'm gonna throw everything to the breeze just yet, for a new colder wind.
Today i took the bilingual fluency exam at SF State. it was difficult, at least the spanish portion was, to the point where there were multiple students in there taking it for the 2nd, 3rd and even 4th time. if i don't pass (even odds on that) i can retake it in august, which will leave me with plenty of time to register and get into the interpreting program i've been considering.
If i don't get in, or if i lose interest, i can always stay here and save money, or bug out across the country. other options include going back to Colombia, visiting Steve in France, or trying to disappear completely.
USF gets out this week, and the dumpsters have been overflowing. megan took some photos, and i've been halfassedly filming with my new camera, even though the picture quality is crap. i still may make something of it though.
This weekend includes a birthday party, a special graduation party/punk rock breakfast on sunday, hanging out with Nessa of course, and trying to see many friends, including James and some other folks who are gonna be splitting town for for the summer. Even though i feel like i should keep my distance, this city draws me back in.
Posted by bendan at 04:02 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 17, 2005
San Francisco, California (may the circle be unbroken)
my time in reno was spent falling back in love with my bicycles, visiting as many old friends as i could and only missing out on seeing a few, becoming better friends with carter and trying to keep up with the 2 faced monster that is daveo when he's drinking, riding out to my mom's house and getting to hang out with her, her husband, and her myriad of animals who endeavored to shed all over my clothes and face. much time was spent as well hanging out with my father, who continues to work too hard even though stepmom Jane and i admonish him at every available opportunity to slow down. sadly, he does not. i had my first opportunity trad climbing with mr. springer, who has progressed beyond me and did a fine job explaining the intricacies of placing pieces of protective climbing gear in cracks up on beautiful donner summit. the road biking on my track bike made me so very happy, and i had 3 good mnt bike rides on old trails that i know and love a lot.
at times i wondered why when i left reno i had animosity for a city so nicely set amidst excellent outdoor sites, and at other times i craved badly to be away from so much familiarity and cringy memories.
now i am back in San Francisco, California. the first evening i was tired and wondered if i had made the wrong decision, and then i spent yesterday at ocean and baker beach, hanging out with 2 friends who are soon leaving for the summer, and i managed to make a new friend named damien. it was beautiful and the city quickly draws me back in.
Posted by bendan at 04:24 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 07, 2005
Reno, Nevada
so weird i used to live here. i'm at daveo's house, gonna go ride my trackbike. i think i'm gonna be drinking a lot while i'm here.
Posted by bendan at 04:41 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 04, 2005
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Grandma picked me up from the airport last night after a mellow day of flying. i caught the subway from mikey's apt. in Chelsea around 11:30, and easily made it to laguardia for my 2 oclock flight. the folks next to me asked where i was going, and i told them i had been in new york, and was heading to albuq. before returning to SF, and they said "wow, you do a lot of traveling." hehe.
my granny is doing well, she's 85 and says she feels like she's 85, but she still gets around and pays attention to the news and throws out the funny one liners here and there. since i finally bought a digi camera, i went around shooting fotos of her house so i remember it, it feels so strange to look at the small backyard and imagine how giant it felt to me when i was an 8 year old. you can't do anything about time i guess.
New York still sits in my mind. i had such a good time there, especially since i was able to spend time with so many friends and relatives. i'm already looking forward to buying my ticket back out there at the beginning of may, after i hang out with kelsey and maybe anthony from Philly in S.F. my last night there i went out with Mikey, some of his friends, and my buddy Nick. We ate amazing vegan chinese food and then went to this bar called swifts, which had something like 100 beers available. Nick inspired us to go with Belgian beers, which are admittedly spendy but the quality makes it worth it.
Today i booked a flight back to reno, arriving sat. at noon (grandma freaked out and vetoed hitchhiking). I guess this means that my trip is over, though the fact that i won't have a room to live in until august makes me feel like i'll still be living it up. i'm actually kind of excited to get to reno, many plans for mountain biking and madness in the bars are already underway.
ok, gonna go look at the indoor flea market. good old albuquerque.
Posted by bendan at 01:28 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack