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October 27, 2005
so bummed
this afternoon at 3:15 i was on standby on 2nd street. my bike was locked up to a pole on the sidewalk. some delivery driver made an illegal uturn in the intersection with stevenson, and his bumper overlapped the curb. it crashed into my bike and totally destroyed it. i was sitting right there, and i heard the tire exploding, then saw the guy trying to drive away. i chased him down and got his insurance info. then i called his insurance company, and now i get to try and wrangle money out of them. meanwhile, i have to find a different bike to go to work on. maybe i'll try and buy a new one this weekend at the bike swap. eventually i'll get paid by his insurance, but it's gonna take a while, and i'm sure they'll be shitty about it.
the worst thing is that i lost my bike. i remember scouring the shops here in SF, looking for a frame to build a project fixed gear out of. when i bought it, it was all rusty, and i lovingly stripped the rust and put paint on it. i would look at ebay every night, trying to find the parts i wanted. my friend eric carter built me up a set of really nice wheels, and after taking a trip to alameda to get the bottom bracket recut, finally it was ready. i was only able to ride it a few weeks before i went on my trip to s. america, and i was so excited to ride it again when i returned to the west coast. then i rode it at work these last 3 months, all over the city, and also in my first 2 alleycat races. it felt so nice to know all the parts and all the things i had done to it to make it how i wanted.
now it's sitting in our bike garage all mangled, and i'm a sad guy.
R.I.P.
Posted by bendan at 07:21 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 26, 2005
livin' it
good things: alleycat bike races, weddings in reno, visits to places in california besides SF, jobs with better messenger companies so i'm not exhausted anymore and can better take advantage of where i live, friends visiting me here in the city, excitement about halloween, gonna learn to play drums, trying to see more art and see more shows, evolving future plans about work, writing, and where i'll next call home, ect...
bad things: general confusion about what i really want to do in life. not that that's unique, or something that keeps me up at night.
at the wedding
my wedding bros.
alleycat in santa cruz.
Posted by bendan at 11:27 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 02, 2005
Catch Up
I was looking through old entries i made during my travels, and it struck me how much less i have to write about. Back then, i was seeing new places and having new experiences every day, and now i'm working and living in the same house and seeing the same city.
What spurred me to revisit my old travelogues was a visit by 2 friends i made on the coast of Venezuela, Ade and Ally. They were part of our crew when I got stuck looking for accomodation during Semana Santa, in what turned out to be the best time i had in that entire country, sitting on the beach all day, reading and swimming and drinking cold watery beer. This was 6 months ago, and yesterday they arrived on my doorstep at 2 pm, with those road-worn weary cheerful smiles i remembered. in the 6 months since we'd seen each other, they'd traveled through all of central America and Mexico, and were just now winding up a solid year on the road. we went for a walk and saw some bluegrass at the bluegrass festival in Golden Gate Park, and then came back here to drink beer and wine and sit on our lovely back porch, talking about traveling. They admitted to being a bit down at the prospect of going home, and hearing of their next move, namely to move from the U.K. to Australia, got my feet itching to up and go as i've done so many times before, though this time i will have to wait a while to save some money up.
That same thought process of planning what countries when clicked back in so easy, and it wasn't for a few moments that i remembered all my plans to have a serious job and be stable and grown up. the thought of leaving fills me up so, but then i consider the prospect of returning and having to start from zero again. it's daunting, and i promised myself i wouldn't do that again, so i'm gonna have to find a way to strike a balance. that's gonna take some time to figure out, but i'm in a good place, back in saving mode and surrounded by friends, so i'm happy and comfortable for now.
after spouting all that about wanting to go again, my existence here feels pretty ideal. working for the company i'm with now is not so great, so i'm working on getting more connected into the messenger community, if only to get recommended for a better job, which might be on the way sooner then you'd think. cross your fingers. I had this bad image of messengers as being very drunken and filled with machismo, and of course that is always present, but there are also some nice, smart folks who just love the freedom to ride a bike all day and not be stuck in an office behind a desk. The weather has been amazing lately, and when i walk into these high rise buildings and see the receptionists staring out the floor-to-ceiling windows at the blue sky, i know that i'm so much happier doing what i'm doing then if i were up in one of these buildings.
it was amazing to see my brother last weekend and the weekend before. in some ways we are so similiar, all of the interests in traveling and music and languages, that it's funny and ironic when we hardly see each other but once or twice a year, because we're always moving in opposite directions. he flew out last tuesday to Paris, where he expects to reside for at least one year and possibly 2, and his casual suggestion that i come and crash on his couch for a while sounded so appealing that i instantly wondered where i'd stashed my passport. again, that's a while off, at least until the spring or summer.
I'm off to Reno next weekend for drew's little brother Charlie's wedding. I had classes at University with his fiance, she's a good one, and i'll be glad to be there to toast to their health.
yesterday and today were the SF bluegrass festival in golden gate park. i saw dolly parton. she was great, her voice sounded the same as the recordings i've heard that were made 30 years ago. all young and spunky. which is cool, considering she turns 60 in january.
view of oakland from the bay bridge on my trip to reno 2 weeks ago.
Me and billy spaceman in Reno. he just moved to Australia yesterday. good luck billy.
drew in the Hideout Lounge.
my little brother proves that.. well, that he's a dork sometimes.
owen rocking some small bike through downtown reno to go drinking on a sunday night. naturally.
mom, steve and I near her favorite mexican restaurant in the barrio of Reno.
flying the dumpster flag at punk rock breakfast.
my backyard during punk rock breakfast. they totally had the food fight while i was upstairs. i was bummed.
see the lady in the bottom right corner?
they built a ski jump on fillmore street. i didn't get to see anyone jump, we were too busy at work. i heard it was great though.
critical mass. peter, megan and i road near the rear, drinking beer out of brown paper bags right in front of the cops who were escorting us. this city is amazing.
my friends ade and ally, who i met in Venezuela. this was their last night on a year long trip, and supposedly the last night they would ever smoke cigarettes. good luck you guys.
this dog belonged to the homeless guys who were collecting bottles and cans at the bluegrass festival.
dolly parton, digitally zoomed.
Posted by bendan at 09:28 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack