Saturday, February 28, 2015

A Ride in April

On the eleventh of February I wrote that the night before I had made plans with different friends for Wednesday night and learned that another was not available that evening so decided to stay in.  I finished writing and quit.  I interacted with the parents a bit and then spent the rest of the night watching TV.

On the morning of the day that I wrote this I was up at 10 and saw the cross-bore guys outside.  At Java Beach I learned that my friend was planning a ride in April and we organized it for the eleventh and I posted it and a bunch of other stuff to Twitter and FB.  I saw my old coworker—a cross-bore guy—and asked him about the project.  He had not been contacted by the recruiter and had taken over another guy’s job when he got moved over.  He said that his company had about 140 workers.  I told him about my work back ground and he said that my old coworker in the other division had gone to Morocco and his coworkers had had a party at his place for the Super Bowl while he was out.  I went home and explained cross-bore to dad and he was outraged.


This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

Allowing Them to Pass

On February 10th I wrote that I went to Four Barrel with a friend and then climbed up Page.  The road was unbelievably crowded.  Some guy ran me off the road saying to share.  That made me really angry.  A passenger in a car behind me tried to mock me for my misfortune and a lady on Irving was following too close.  I detained both of them and then made a big production of allowing them to pass.

At home I wound down.  I still had the angry words of the first incident in my mind but the unpacking made it fade a little.  I found the pre-employment emails just like I thought I would and completed them.  I had to email my recruiter a few times and he had called my references—according to my old coworker who had texted me.  By the mid-afternoon I was typing out the NA.  My friends asked me to join them at the Latin American Club but after thinking about my state of mind I declined.

I noted that I interacted with my mom and younger sister.  Mom had made a request for someone to accompany her to a show on Valentine’s Day and I asked her about it but decided that the timeline was unworkable.  I spent the rest of the evening watching TV and as I was falling asleep I learned that my friend hadn’t responded to my messages because her roomies had been entertaining her.

The day that I wrote this I was up at 930 and went to Java Beach to read the paper.  I recounted to my friend via text message how I had succeeded through various means at instructing my father to take my mother to the show she wanted to attend on Valentine’s Day.  I went home then and finished all of my paper work for the new job.  About 230 I was interacting with my friend about life’s milestones—a conversation that lasted several hours and covered everything from Marriage to pay and future intentions.  I then had a sandwich and started typing again.  I was looking through emails and other stuff.  I had dinner around 630.


This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

Friday, February 27, 2015

We Got Pretty Soaked

On February eighth I noted that we had gone sledding pretty soon after lunch.  The insiders had gone our earlier when the snow was still nice.  Our neighbor friend and his girlfriend, the farmer, my companion and I got our winter clothes on went over to the closest lift.  There was a lot of snow but the rain had ruined it.  I was having a hard time keeping up with my companion because she was practically running.

On the slope we followed the runs from the earlier group but only had two sleds so trying to plough the runs didn’t do much good.  We just let loose and had fun.  My companion had brought some bourbon in a flask and we got pretty soaked.  On the way back to the house she and I took the time to sit for a bit in the rain.  Upon our return the insiders told us that their experience had left them drier.

My companion and I went upstairs to be alone and dry off.  Later we sat on the couch with our arts and crafts.  I was trying to find a picture of a bike for her in the book cases.  The machinist and the client were discussing business.  The client told me that he managed a lab on the Embarcadero and knew a friend from college.  I noted that his reaction to my questions about a certain manufacturer was revealing.  It seemed to indicate that they were partnering.

Around then the baby was placed in my arms and as time went on my companion and I went upstairs with him.  I told her then that I was petulant about learning more from the client.  I grabbed some beers then and was even able to get some of the beers that I had purchased out.  I noted that there were a lot of appetizers left from lunch around.  I drank a bit of bourbon.

We eventually sat down for hostess’s birthday dinner.  The machinist had made a cake and the hostess had made us polenta and there were several other dishes out for consumption—quinoa and salad.  She had us back fill the table and this caused a few of us to trade places because I refused to sit on the corner.  We finished eating and we started a word game with stints of jokes making thrown in.  When the hostess was supposed to do the game we brought out the cake and we sang happy birthday.  My companion was really enthusiastic throughout all of this.  She and I played a word together.  She eventually left the table for some air.  We interacted upstairs for a bit.  She went to sleep and I returned to the kitchen until most of the people went to sleep.  We had all eaten a lot of food.  I had a conversation with the insider about movies and turned off the lights when he went outside with the others to enjoy the night air.

When I got up the morning of the day that I wrote this, one of the insiders was in our room packing and the other roommate was already downstairs.  It was around eight and I was alone upstairs so I tidied.  When I went downstairs there was coffee that my companion had helped to make.  She kept asking me to clean and refill the press and that only made things difficult for the machinist.  A few others were helping her make food.  I kept trying to sit at the table but my companion would keep calling me back to make more coffee.  We had potatoes, cauliflower, guacamole, leftover polenta and fruit salad.

When we were finished one person washed a lot of dishes.  Some of us cleaned out a lot of stuff.  I ended up sweeping behind the tables and kept losing my coffee cup.  I tried to figure out the compost but the farmer talked to the host about it.  I had broken down my cot and we moved the table back to where it had been.  We eventually got the kitchen and dining rooms organized and I went upstairs and did more.  I helped move a bunch of stuff downstairs to the mudroom.  I ended up putting my shoes on then and so stayed out of the house for the rest of the time.

The machinists had been doing the laundry but they got in their cars to go a little later.  Jamie and I threw snowballs at them and the insiders as they drove away.  Our neighbor friend I packed the bear boxes and the other family moved their car for us.  It was snowing when we locked the house up and said bye to them but the road was mostly clear at that point.

We were watching a DVD about Kestrals on the entertainment system when we left Soda Springs but eventually we put a on a podcast about entanglement.  The snow turned to rain and then stopped for the most part.  I noted that my companion had trouble with the curves near the gaps and Colfax but they straightened out quickly enough.  I noted as I was writing that we were making good time.

Later I wrote that we got dropped off at her place and once we unpacked we went to Patricia’s Green and Brass Tacks.  On the way back she went to the store and I went to her house and started typing.


This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

Thursday, February 26, 2015

Up The Un-Tracked Streets

On the seventh of February I wrote that I thought my companion had had one of those hot totties.  I started drawing in the graffiti book called Walls.  She was in the kitchen for a bit but while I was writing she sat down with her embroidery.  I sat with her.  The host and hostess—her sister—made sourdough.  I got some air for a bit with some of the people.  The pizza came and I was seated at the table with the hosts and my companion.  Later I played poker with a couple of the insiders.  Then I sat near one of the clients—they had shown up earlier in the day.  The other came out with a little pizza that he set on the ottoman for us.  That was when I returned to the table and the hostess ended up sitting next to me.  We had more pizza.  However, when even more pizza came, my companion, who had come to sit next to me by then, said I shouldn't eat it because I had had enough.

I ended up going through the scrabble board around then.  I had wanted to make it happen earlier but a number of people had been playing a word game online.  My companion was still sitting next to me. We ended up exploring the games closet together.  I had found that few pieces were missing and ended up organizing the whole thing to closet to find them.  Eventually I discovered that there was another board and got the needed pieces from that set.

My companion gave me some sourdough with avocado and cheese around then.  I asked one of the clients about his pants and we talked about Al's attire.  I had a lot of celery then.  I went out with one of the machinists and our neighborly friend but ended up instead walking around the neighborhood for a bit.  My companion and I went for a walk shortly after this.  I put my shoes on and waited.  I kept being nervous about upsetting her.  It was snowing heavily then.  We walked up the un-tracked streets and talked about un-charted stuff.  Then, when we went down the tracked streets, we talked about more serious stuff like relationships and work.

Back at the house, snowfall had caked my jacket and hat.  I had to find a good place to hang them.  I had placed them on the deck but later I found my hat inside.  After that I moved everything upstairs.  After that I started rounding people up for the scrabble game.  One team ended up being the mother form the other family and one of the machinists.  Our neighbor friend, with the help of another machinist, ended up putting down a fifty point word and winning eventually.  My companion and I came in last.

The rain was violent all night long.  I had spoken with Betsy about going skiing before I went to bed but it had rained all night long and I gave up when the alarm went off around 645.  When I came down there was bacon, French toast and fried chard with feta.  I started helping with the cleaning after hearing the machinist and my companion discuss the formation of a Machinist Mafia headed by our hostess—who called herself the dictator.  I think I had been upstairs alone around hen.  I collected the bottles and brought them and the garbage down to the garage.  Later I swept the kitchen and then went upstairs to get the notebook.

I sat at the table through the Mediterranean lunch and I noticed that my companion had been making a ginger concoction.  One of the machinists had found that the burner had gone out.


This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Rain and No Snow

On the sixth of February I texted my date for the weekend and rode up past the Polo Fields and out to Panhandle.  I waited for her reply over coffee at Central.  She told me that her roomie would let me in.  I went down and buzzed and went up with my cot and other things.  She told me that she and a friend were getting burritos so I agreed to meet her at the bar.  They were talking to a Venture Capitalist and I was seated next to a Community College Trustee.  She and a guy from NYC Metro were talking about organizations.

A friend from the MTA was across from us with a guy from BART and some usuals were at the other end of the table.  When the professor came in, he and the commissioner took a new table.  I went over there with the guy from NYC MTA to introduce him.  I noted to the car share guy form the SFMTA that I had seen him on Page a few days earlier.  I introduced him and the commissioner to my companion.

She had to get her jacket so we stopped at her place on the way to Cat's Corner.  When we checked in for the classes I discovered that I should have signed up.  We got with the group and learned the Charleston from the instructors.  When the dancing was over my companion asked me to get more involved with the next class but I didn't feel comfortable because I hadn't signed up.  We had drinks and watched the next class instead and when that was over we did the drop in and that involved a lot of turns.  Then we sat and ate French fries while watching the band.  We went out and danced a bit.  We sat down and talked about it.  We left soon after that.

Next morning we went to Four Barrel I said something about a man who was clearly drinking Vodka and she wrote it down.  We had some pastries and walked to her place.  We then got into packing and she asked me to list ingredients and filled the flask.  We called a cab to her sister’s and we discussed dance on the way.  Then the three of us and a toddler hopped another ride and went to Rainbow.  I was getting cinnamon bun ingredients and they were getting everything else.  In the midst of this I got a call from a mapping company and we made plans for an interview.  I saw a friend that we had gone to Alcatraz with.  Eventually we got ready to go but our departure was delayed by a call from a recruiter telling me I had not been chosen for a job as a business analyst.

Forty-five minutes later my companion and I went to Blue Bottle for coffee and returned to her sister’s house to pack the rental van for our trip to the mountains.  We swung by our neighbor friend’s place on the way.  I remember there was discussion of Brompton's as we passed the old Bay Bridge.  We then passed through the Vaca Mountains.  The youngest in the car cried a lot near Davis and my companion figured out that he just needed to have a conversation.

We listened to music to Auburn and went to Ikeda's fruit shop and diner.  We had fries and I had a garden burger.  I got a call from a recruiter to learn that I had gotten a tech job at a better rate.  I told my companion that I would have trouble with deciding between the two jobs about which I had been contacted.  Some of our friends showed up in the machinist’s car.  We continued up the highway through the gaps listening to Invisibilia about expectations for the blind.

At the house in Soda Springs we unpacked and started making soup.  When the machinist’s group arrived I sat outside for a minute with them listening to the wind.  I grabbed a spot and helped unpack.  I then sat and ate the appetizers laid out for the group.  The insider and his group showed up then and we started eating.  I had a few beers.  The soup was crazy hot and spicy.  One of the riders from the machinist’s car was babysitting.  Later the second family showed up—they had a two year old.  However, a number of us had finished eating and were already in bed.

On the morning of the day that I wrote this I was going to get up for a ski run but gave up when I saw the weather was just rain and no snow.  My companion and I were up at nine and she ground the coffee beans.  I finally got to meet the second family.

We decided to go on a walk with five others then.  We found the cross country trails and a lift.  We walked above the climbing rocks and sat in the warming hut and drank the rye from a flask.  Two from the insider’s group had a snowball dual. We continued on to the ridge top. The machinist, my companion and I returned to the cabin because the rest wanted to play in the rain.

As we descended to the cabin it started to snow.  We found the house and learned that the others had had their own adventures.  I made coffee with and we discussed Tom Swifties on the porch, while the host and hostess threw snowballs at us.  Our neighbor friend’s girlfriend—the tester—was care of the baby.  I made her some soup.  My companion gave some advice and our friends from our walk had returned.  I noted that one of them had made hot totties which I had screwed up.  I ground coffee to make up for it.

My companion kept telling me to be quiet because people were napping on the couch.  I decided then that I needed to be alone but we ended up interacting later.  While I was writing, the group was downstairs playing games and making pizza.


This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

The “Snow Cabin” Trip

On the fourth of February I wrote that I had to figure out my address book so ended up loading a google vcard to AT&T and tweeting to FB and Twitter.  One friend was the first to get back and that was in the middle of the night.  I did a great job of not conveying my confusion.  Another replied when I awoke on the day that I wrote this at around 830.  I was in the dining room right after mom and dad went to his eye appointment.  I read the paper and tweeted.  I was back down typing after that.  I noted that I had just finished the mail when I started to look through the email for the “Snow Cabin” trip.

It was from my buddy but contained a bunch of emails from the participants—including one that had to call off.  I checked while reading and found that there was even more snow coming than predicted.  I also noted that I would need a swimsuit and a bunch of CDs.  I noted the different meals that we would have but didn’t think I could do anything,  I did note that I should bring the full complement of wool.  I predicted that 16 people would be along not including any babies.

I also noted that my buddy would be bringing cinnamon roll fixins.  When I had an hour before it was time to got to ZG I had everything out.

This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

Monday, February 23, 2015

The Tag is Available

On the third of February I wrote that I finished typing and then spent about two hours preparing for my interview.  I remember one friend had sent some encouragement via Twitter.  Another was bouncing off the walls trying to get my attention.

On the day that I wrote this I was up at 530 and left at 6.  I was surprised at the speed at which I arrived at Central Coffee.  I also was able to catch the 656am Caltrain but managed to forget to tag myself in.  I brought it up with the conductor and he indicated where the tag is available at Milbrae.  While I did almost get off at Menlo but was able to get off at Mountain View.  I went to Castro and chose Red Rock—a huge coffee shop.

I had coffee and used social media.  I sent a bunch of messages to a friend and called a recruiter.  When I left I took Stevens Creek to a park and then passed through a small park on my way to Ellis.  I had little trouble finding my way and was impressed at the ease of use.

I sat at the site for a half an hour rehearsing my speech and then went in to find the hiring manager, which was a surprise.  We met the lead analyst and then went up to the top floor of the building and sat down.  He set up his spiel like on the call but with more detail.  At first I thought that he was referring to an FME process but he explained that there was a data catalogue so much of what we would do would be to identify issues within it or what needed changing improvement.

I checked to see if we would still be creating and storing data but again my job was as an analyst.  I talked about CSULB and then role of the geographer perhaps too much.  I also talked about Apple and Google workers that I had met at Maptime which I explained in line with Mapbox.  He then talked about his engineers.  Then I talked about the DE and FME processes at PG&E and the details of documenting and using standards.  He was a bit late in saying that he liked that.  I also told him a bit about my old boss.

We got up to leave and in the hall I met the developer and the project manager.  We discussed their roles and then the hiring manager brought me downstairs where we discussed the interview further.  She indicated that the rate was from Boulder and that she would check with the group.  She made certain that I was interested in the job and I told her that I found it attractive.

I got my bike and got lost on the way to the Caltrain station.  I cut some corners and that made things work.  I also barely made it onto the train in time with my clipper card tagged.  I was alone at least.  I transferred to BART at Milbrae and at DC noted that the trip had taken an hour.  I went to West Portal and got a haircut and a sandwich and then rode home.  After that it had taken three hours.  After I had gotten my stuff in order I noted that the sandwich made me sleep.

When I woke up I interacted with a friend and saw mom.  Dad had trouble eating quinoa and he mentioned that he had to go to the doctor for a few different reasons for his eyes and seemed bummed out.  I then went to the bike shop.  My bike may still need an adjustment.  When I got back I noted that the Emperor’s Campaign was having a birthday party.  I posted Kate Bush to FB.


This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

Sunday, February 22, 2015

Christopher Guest and Friends

On the second of February I noted that on Saturday night I wasn’t able to get any food before it was time to go.  I rode through the park and had to adjust my bike seat.  I took Central and McAlester and parked at Opera Plaza.  I told the attendant about some suspicious stuff near the bike racks.  I walked looking for food but found my buddies.  We went to the Jazz place for a drink and then went to see the Sketchfest tribute to Christopher Guest and friends.

It was great and wasn’t only about Spinal Tap.  They made a lot of funny comments and covered many of their characters and relationships.  The questions included what they thought was funny and why they did the scene about eleven.  We went to Smugglers to discuss the show and speakeasy bars in the city.  I had a Capireno.  One of my companions noted that she would be in Fairfax the next day. 

Next morning I was up around 830 and left soon after.  I had been riding with a companion by this point and we had gotten coffee to go at Central.  Eventually we passed by Pacific Overlook and continued across the bridge.  We stopped at the Bay Model where we had a snack and saw an acquaintance from Bike Party.  My companion took photos of seals and then on Miller we looked at Mount Tam and an older gentleman gave us directions.  Later we were talking and I learned that she had been in the Navy.

We continued through Corte Madera where we saw an old railroad bridge.  She was really impressed by the homes in Ross and took a picture of the seminary in San Anselmo.  When we got to Fairfax we took out a big sheet at the Cascades and had a picnic.  She kept feeding me while I was fiddling with the phones and mapping apps.  Eventually I discovered that I was still hung-over.  We really enjoyed ourselves overall.

We contacted my friends and discovered they wouldn’t be around Farifax until after we were on our way out of town.  So we instead went exploring the area around Sir Francis Drake and then headed to San Rafael.  I noted that there was no easy route through that town.  My companion was impressed by Cal-Park Hill and the tunnel underneath.  At the landing there was a children’s show with singing about the monkey god Hanuman and Yoga and she wanted to yell at them.  I noted that the beer at the brewery can be good at times.

On the boat we took photos and made smiles as is normal and discussed dinner.  Eventually we disembarked and were on our way up Market.  We stopped only when we got to the grocery store near her place and fond her roommates.  I saw a twitter friend there.  Later the four of us had a taco dinner.  We discussed the days and drank a bit of wine and tried to watch Spinal Tap.

I was up the next morning at 750 and went to Soleil to have coffee and look at my emails.  I noted that I only really had one job prospect for the week and wasn’t very happy about it.  After that I rode through the Wiggle and on the way discovered that I had a broken spoke that needed to be attended to.  I decided to replace the wheel when I got to Swell and then I walked home.

I fielded a few calls after this and became disenchanted.  I told my friend that my problem was mostly the commuting.  I noted that Google Voice only works when my phone is on an in range.  I typed a lot.  I spoke to a lot of recruiters about the same “100% travel” job.  I swapped the bikes out at Swell and yelled at some guy on Irving.  I went to Park Chow where I looked through the internet stuff.  On the way back I lost the pannier biking fast over rough pavement.  I spent a lot of time typing then.


This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

Saturday, February 21, 2015

About Clothing Subscriptions, Underwear

On the thirty-first of January I noted that I made the mistake of calling at the wrong time for my call but fudged it.  The interview went okay.  Right afterwards I sent out a message to my Saturday night friends.  Meanwhile, my buddy had asked me to come to the party at her office so I rode to Irving and ninth and then onto Page.  There I saw my twitter friend and we talked about stuff as we rode along.  I told him I would sent him a message.

I continued onto Tradesmen and my buddy came and found me.  Many others were there. I had a beer and a slice of pizza and then went into the bounce house.  Later I watched an executive horse around with his kids and I met his wife.  I also saw another minor executive.  My buddy and I then went with her coworker to Two Sisters and the ride was easy.  We talked about clothing subscriptions, underwear and how no one wanted to close the door.  Then we went to the rotisserie a few doors down.  One of the Saturday friends and I had solidified our plans by then.  The coworker took food home and my buddy and I was in bed at 11.

In the morning my buddy and I ate at Arlequin.  The food was good.  I interacted with the Saturday people.  I noted that my buddy was really starving apparently.  We went to Blue Bottle and the Green.  We also went shopping and Public Bikes.  Later we went to Pedal Revolution.  She liked the SOMA ES.  I brought my bike parts to her office to drop at the Kitchen and then I went home.  I noted on the way that 19th and 18th streets both sucked.  Then later I also noted that 19th Avenue sucked too.  I went to Nomad and saw the parents when I got home.  They were headed to a railroad party.  I noted that I would ask my buddy about lunches.


This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

Friday, February 20, 2015

The Secret Stuff

On the thirtieth of January I wrote that I got off the train, tagged in to BART, got my bike and then went to the elevator.  I had left my portfolio in the lockers but when I got there I found it.  I rode to 16th and by then my friend had moved onto the Tradesmen where I met her with her coworkers.  I met her old boss’s dog out front and her neighbors from Clinton were there too.  I made jokes with all of them and was introduced to everyone and then we departed.  They had been celebrating the final preparations for an industry conference they had organized.

We went to my friend's sister’s then where they had prepared for us to take care of her child while they went for a date.  Then my friend left me for a bit to go to the store.  I cut up some apples while the baby was napping and when she returned she made a great meal and I ate all of the cheese.  She got a few texts from friends in Sonoma.  The dinner was great when the four of us sat down to eat spaghetti with big mushrooms.  I got to play with the cat and we had apple crisp.  There was a lot of nice beer too.  We discussed the snow trip that they had been planning.  I eventually started feeling tired and that was when we left.  I was asleep pretty quick after that.

In the morning I was late getting up but I met her at Linea where she apparently knows everyone.  I tool a call from a recruiter there and said bye to go home.  I stopped by Swell on the way but they said that they couldn’t get to my bike until Monday so we made plans instead.  I looked at their step-throughs and sent some messages to my friend about them and then I went home and did some catch up.

Later I wrote that I entered a call with a big tech company for an interview.  I noted that there were two rather than one person on the call and realized that the recruiter had given me the wrong time.  He was interviewing a lady and she seemed competent but a bit older.  I also noted that the interviewer was a good contact to have and that made me sad since I didn’t want to commute to Silicon Valley for the job.

I noted that he talked about ArcInfo, Unix and Spark Station.  She then talked about UC, planning, HUD software.  She trained herself in using ESRI software.  She said stuff ArcGIS Server, SDEs and desktop.  She said she had worked with developers for software rollouts and had used ArcIMS.  She said some stuff about private sector work in insurance.  She said stuff about geocoding and the oil and gas industry.  She had set up stuff from scratch.

I quit around then and started over about an hour later.  I called in and the same guy answered then.  I noted that he just dove in without acknowledging the fact that I had called in at the wrong time.  He talked about his 40 years of experience and how he initially believed that raster data wasn’t spatial.  I discovered that he was an acquaintance's superior a long time ago when she was in drafting.  He was a consultant in DB systems and worked for a lot of pertinent firms.  He helped deliver the spatial components to a major brand.

He told me the job would entail preparing data for ingestion for in a big web based platform/API.  He said there would be some data editing and they used SAFE.  I noted that I was not expressly involved with the software but could make it work.  He told me about ETLs and SQL.  He gave an example with Tiger Files and FIPS codes with FME.  There were three types of software involved in his operation: FME, SQL and ESRI.  He thought that I would be familiar.  He then gave me some blog posts and websites like Geo-names to look at.  He also talked at length about spatial data types in SQL.

I told him about my core competencies and noted that FME was new to me.  He noted that initially we would be getting used to the job.  He noted also that I would be taking over some of the more routine jobs that he would do on a daily basis.  Then he told me about some of the things he had done for the project and how things were changing fast.  I told him about linear referencing and he noted that SQL didn’t have that.  Then we discussed SQL and how my skills were good.

He then talked about the secret stuff.  Machine Learning Scientists, Lidar, Terrestrial Lidar.  Sign reading and other stuff.  He told me about his commute and then opened the floor to questions.  I asked about leadership opportunities and training.  He noted that some companies were different from others in this regard.  Then we ended the call after he noted that I may talk to him in the future.

This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

Thursday, February 19, 2015

She was Choking Up

On the twenty-ninth I wrote that I did a bunch of sit-ups and then I wrote that I rode form the house to GGP and up to the waterfall.  I called the printer and went there next.  I had to have some stuff reprinted.  I then went to around Powell and Eddy.  I got a call then from a recruiter.  They interviewed me and escalated my resume immediately for the job.  I was not exactly thrilled with the prospect.  I went to the Embarcadero and locked up.  While I wasn’t thrilled about leaving my stuff I had done it before.

I caught a train to 16th and went to the Uptown where a friend was serving.  I washed the BART brake dust from my hands and said I would be back.  I walked to Shotwell’s and my friend introduced me to hers.  The girls talked while one of the guys cleaned up at pool and bought us a beer.  I had a delicious sour.

When they left my friend and I went to Schmitt’s and ate Kessler.  I saw a lady I know from Sunday Streets.  There was fire raging nearby on 22nd and Mission.  We went to my friend’s office and got her bike and then went to the Uptown.  I introduced my friend to the guys and the bartender seemed to know her.

I had a dream that night where Darth Vader destroyed an ATAT with which he was competing with for the power while Luke interacted with the Emperor about it.

I noted that I had set the alarm but didn’t get up till 650.  I ended up on a 6 Parnassus which was glacially slow.  I got my bag from the station to prepare for the interview I had scheduled and contacted my recruiter.  I entered the wrong building and then went to the correct one.  The interviewer and I took the elevator to a higher level and sat down.

I began with a bit of discussion of process mapping and I showed her the images I had made.  She noted that I was a “statistics person.”  I tried to stress my supervisory experiences.  When I got to the last job we really connected on the different layers of the process.  She kept using muni as an example.  I mentioned cycling and the example of 13th and Division.  I had to explain my thesis and said that I did a lot of training and shareholder meetings.  We moved into management.

I spent time talking about clients, vendors and support.  I explained the pivotal role of computer science and programming in my last job.  Eventually she asked me why I wanted the job and if there was anything else I wanted to know.  I told her that I wanted to know about SMEs and regulations.  As if to close I told her that I really wanted the job.  I noted then that her effusive response looked like she was choking up.  In our conversation in the elevator she avoided discussion of her personal life in asking me about mine and said bye in the lobby.

I got my bag in the station after sitting in Peet’s and I spoke to two recruiters while riding the N.  Eventually I was walking to the house where AT&T was fixing the phone connection. I read the paper and complained to mom about the internet. I was going to write everything up for the Lenovo pad but I was able to get internet so I typed on the computer.  I sent an email to the interviewer and her boss as well as the other recruiter.  I had to bite to eat and then said bye to mom.  Dad was out.  I got on an N then and went to the Embarcadero.


This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

The Theater was Empty

On the twenty-eighth of January I wrote that I had sent a message to my friends but by the time I had ridden to Central and down Pierce to Post neither could come to the movie.  I ate my chips and sat down for my movie.  Another friend texted me in the theater and it was alright because it was only a moment and the theater was empty.

I enjoyed Inherent Vice.  The main character is forced to step through all of these hoops in the process of doing his job.  He turns out to be more of a hero than a quixotic character.  There are some very Pynchon-esque moments in the story.  Martin Short’s dentist character is perfect.  The scene where they get pulled over is great.  The psychedelic hallucination that follows him around is clearly also seen by Sierra, the girlfriend character.  The Junior DA and the Cop characters are both straight out of Vineland.  I was surprised by all of it.

I rode home then and was in bed late.  Next day I went to Java Beach and then commenced upon an epic editing session.  I did the majority of the 20 posts.  I had a sandwich at one point and my friend and I interacted a bit.  I returned to posting twice.  I was going to go out but after mom and dad had finished eating I decided to eat at home.  I had to wait for dad though so I went down and edited and then gave up and went to Giorgio’s.  Then I went to 540 where I watched the Warriors and talked to a random.  My friend was with her GFs in the East Bay and one of them was pregnant.  I watched Family guy till midnight.

I got up at 830 and was done eating in the dining room at 1030.  I then typed and set up for my interview.  All my stuff was in a backpacj and I was setting things up with a print shop.


This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Bar in the Creek

On the twenty-sixth of January I wrote that the day before I only worked on typing but did go upstairs and read the magazine around midnight.  I then went to bed.  I woke up around 230 with a start and I think that was the effect of the afternoon coffee.  I also had a dream.  I was walking in a creek with people and stepped on a bar in the creek.  The couple were in the water still and there were amphibious cobras.  I felt a pinch of some kind through the rocks in the bar and woke up.

I got up at 7 and told my friend about the dream.  We had been interacting all day.  I rode to Java Beach and read the paper.  The guy I knew from Celia’s was there until around 8 and I left around 9.  I got a call from Kelly Mitchell and noted that I had an interview on Thursday.  I started typing and later got to editing a new NA.  I noted that I should post to the RPHL.

I rode to Swell and then to Gordo.  I noted my bike could be fixed by Saturday.  I read the Examiner and checked my messages.  I noted that she had my sweater.  I rode home and wanted to start editing the 21 items in the new NA.  I took a nap on the couch instead.  I ate with mom and dad then and noted that I was a quarter of the way through the new NA.


This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

Monday, February 16, 2015

Unbearable for Some Reason

On January twenty-fifth I wrote that I was trying to shore up my blog and the NA before I left the house on the Friday before I wrote this.  Mom and dad were making dinner.  I had found some papers earlier and had the occasion to ask mom about them.  I noted that dinner was happening so I called my buddy and she said we would eat together.  I made plans to pick stuff up and grabbed my bike discards.  I bought a bottle on Irving and my buddy let me know that we wouldn’t be making anything.  There were a lot of bad car situations on Page and when I got to Waller and Market I avoided the median.

I had to ring my buddy’s bell at the gate.  She was winding down from work when I asked if I could leave some bike stuff with her because of the bad timing.  She suggested she bring the materials by the Bike Kitchen after work sometime.  She had ordered pizza and we sat in the kitchen with the roommates drinking the whisky I brought before going to pick it up.  One was at work.

We had been discussing a movie and eventually settled on Big Eyes.  We got the bikes out and headed for Octavia and Grove.  I knew my Long Beach friend would text me but didn’t know when.  We passed through the Safeway parking lot and parked in the garage.  We got a drink and talked before the movie started but had to sneak our drinks in via the elevator.

The movie was Amy Adams playing a woman that allowed her husband to take credit for all of her art.  I thought it was good and it was a fair portrayal of SF in the 60s.  I remembered the Walter Keane pieces from that era floating around a Richmond District flop house in the 90’s and that was the impetus for wanting to see the movie.  It seemed that my buddy had some reservations over the film but in all liked it.

My Long Beach friend and my engineering friend got in contact with me before the end of the movie.  I let the Long Beach friend know that I would send her a message the next day but never got back to the other.  My buddy and I went back to her house then the same way that we had arrived.  I remember that she had some misgivings about my riding style.  I remember that her roommate may have been in the back with a window open.  I went to bed around 1130.

Next morning my friend and I were riding up the Wiggle to Marin.  She was wearing a magnificent a green plaid skirt and with a matching scarf.  We went to Central Coffee where the barista recognized me as someone from Java Beach.  I introduced my magnificently attired companion to her and she served us outside.  We had an interesting conversation and she tried twice to cut the conversation short—a bit disconcerting.  As we cleaned up and started back to the Panhandle she explained that others were listening and that she was shy.  I understood then why I was being too talkative.

We took the Shrader Valve and went to the roller skating spot.  There we took Cabrillo to 15th Avenue—she thought we were headed down Park Presidio.  At Lake we entered the Presidio and climbed to Pacific Overlook.  We looked at the view and she told me a story about a trip she and her father took on a sailboat once where they knew more about boating than the owner—the boat was essentially sailing backwards.

We took Ralston to a spot where she could put on a cute sweater matching her outfit and continued to the visitor center.  Then, after a few photos, we stared the bridge crossing.  There were a lot of jerkoff roadies and she clearly approved of my behavior towards them.  After that we took the main road and descended to Sausalito.  I noted that my companion had passed many people on the ride and was smugly satisfied that someone attired in such a her proper sweater and skirt would be able to do so.  We used my lock to secure the bikes in front of Benetton because she had forgotten her keys and went to an antique store.  I saw a Girl Scout book on how to use a compass that I really liked.  She was peeved she couldn’t touch the fur jackets.

We wanted to go to the burger joint that fronted on the road but went to the Barrel House instead.  We had a bunch of whisky and a burger.  A number of people complemented my friend for being stunningly beautiful.  We noted the bartender monocle and a flat cap and learned that he lived in the Inner Sunset.

We got the bikes and passed the Tall Ship warehouse on our way to the Richardson Bay bike paths.  We stopped under the freeway bridge and a little later were passed by some roadies.  One of them was a lady that noted she was slow in conversation to her friends and my companion engaged them in that moment.  Later we passed a bearded guy with his girlfriend.  They had a lot of panniers.  My companion had no trouble claiming the freeway frontage into Corte Madera.  After passing the mall and heading back under the freeway she told me about driving around Corte Madera in her Sebring.

We arrived at Sir Francis Drake below the 101 and I sent my Long Beach friend a message.  Then we went to the Landing Brewery and saw the bearded guy as well as the roadie girl and all of the people that both groups had been with.  Ironically we had arrived there before everyone.  We had a couple of beers and then followed the crowds and cyclists to the ferry.  We boarded despite the fact that the gate to the facility was on the fritz.  We got to meet many of the riders on the boat.  My companion wanted to take photos of me in the wind.

At the terminal we headed to 21st Amendment Brewery because my Long Beach friend had suggested we meet her there.  We took Embarcadero and then doubled back.  We found my Long Beach friend at the bar and took a table.  I was surprised that she was traveling alone but she apparently had done this many times to celebrate her birthday.  I congratulated her for making it another year and she clearly hit it off with my companion.  She told us that she had gone to Chicago on the same type of brew tour and that earlier in the day she had gone to the Blue Bear too.  As if to reassure us she told us about some of the jetsam from a few of her trips.  Our friends in Long Beach had taken her out to breakfast the day before.

We then went to Mekkler walking through the SOMA and Union Square areas and I locked the two bikes up in front of the bar and then we descended to the lower bar and the girls talked among themselves.  When my Long Beach friend finally bid us adieu, my companion and I headed up market.  Later we noted that her roommate had made some steak—the smell was unbearable for some reason and we let some outside light enter the room and even lit matches.

In the morning of the day that I wrote this I helped a friend clean her house—even though I noted that this would cause us to miss Lindy in the Park.  I helped out by going to Whole foods and to buy food and wine.  Later I made appetizers.  Eventually the roommates were gabbling about in the kitchen and the dishes needed doing.  My friend said several times that she and I were going to the mountains in a week.

My friend and I got on the bikes then and went through the park to Andytown.  I showed her some of the ways to go and she took over at the shop.  She knew one of the owner’s pretty well and one of the other owners seemed to recognize me possibly as a Java Beach regular.  We had coffee and then my friend made plans with her buddy and then we swung by my house to grab some beers.

We then rode up Ortega to the reservoir for a few beers and the Sunset.  We told each other about our lives and I looked at the map and we looked for stuff on the horizon.  After that we headed up to 16th and Lawton and then down to Park Chow.  I saw a bartender I knew from SF State while we ate our salad.

I noted that it was around then that we discovered that the birthday trip to the mountains was scheduled for two rather than one week.  I noted that this made things a lot easier and when we went to the Shamrock and refined our plans.  I made the embarrassing decision to sit in that one seat reserved for the more regular of regulars and when he said not to worry about it later I was further diminished.  We spent some time talking about our ideas for the future.  We rode to the park after that and were alone near the racketball courts for a bit.  When I got home I did a bunch of Twitter and FB stuff. 


This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

Sunday, February 15, 2015

Cat Was Super Cute

I wrote that I thought that it wouldn’t be a good idea to see a friend that night when I went to Park Chow.  I had the same thing there that I always had and read the NYT.  I saw a friend that writes poetry then and that was a surprise.  She said she would send a poem to me and I noted that she had when I sat at the Shamrock a bit later.  I spoke to the bartender about the Edwardian Ball and noticed that a friend of a friend had posted something about a birth day and so I messaged her on FB about it.  My friend suggested I come to her sister’s house so I got the bike and rode down.

Her brother-in-law let me in and she was with her nephew.  Her sister was making dinner.  I realized that I was going to be stuffed around then.  They fed me crackers and beer.  Their cat was super cute.  I held the babe for a photo shoot.  We sat in the new dining area that they had prepared.  We ate kale and pasta and talked about geography, college, vacations to Turkey and, of course, babies.  Eventually we were on the futon watching the cat and baby.  We had tea and did the dishes.  We left a bit later.  I felt full.

In the morning of the day that I wrote this I learned that my friend had not in fact had a birthday.  I had coffee with my friend on Valencia near 19th around 9 in the morning.  She bought a pastry for my mom which was nice.  While we were getting ready to leave she realized she had misplaced her phone so I volunteered to find it for her.  That took about 20 minutes.  After that I rode to Central Coffee where I used my iPod in lieu of the internet at home.  In the meantime I got a call about a job.  My friend asked me to go to the Lindy Hop in the park.  I sent an email to my poet friends.  My friend from Long Beach texted to say that I may see her when she was in the city.


This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

Saturday, February 14, 2015

Get Some Tobasco Sauce

I wrote that the SOTU was on when I was nearly finished writing and that I spent a lot of time organizing my room.  I was communicating with a friend and had dinner with the parents.  I posted a picture to Twitter that a friend had posted to FB.  I interacted with my frind in Mendocino Scott who was evaluating a job in Sonoma.  He said that I should visit with a friend some time and complemented some photos on FB.  I went upstairs and drank the rest of the Dickel I received for Christmas and watched a couple of hours of television.  Some friends texted me while I was falling asleep at midnight.

I didn’t reply to them until the next day.  I awoke at 930 and went to Java Beach to read the paper and play catchup on FB.  When I got home I sent them messages.  I was having issues with the bruise on my arm but it was healing.  The pressure in my shoulder had subsided.  The parents were in the kitchen so I settled for a small meal at lunch.  I did more organizing of the room and I received a message about the CFHH.  One of the regulars had suggested I go with a friend but there was a potential conflict.

I spent a long while throwing stuff out and typing.  I was nearly done when I sat down for dinner.  I remember that dad left for his meeting around then.  He had said that he would help mom when he was back and it would have seemed like sweet thing too had I not made a snotty comment about taking her to a movie.  Mom and I talked about the glasses in the liquor cabinet.  I had no choice to start working on the really bad scotch that was left over from one of dad’s functions nearly a year ago and was in the midst of texting my friend about our plans for Friday when I sat down and watched a couple of episodes of Family Guy.  I went to bed at 12.

On the day that I wrote this I was up at 630 and found that my phone was off so the alarm had not gone off.  I went back to sleep until around 1030 when my friend messaged me about getting up late.  I heard dad talking about the internet but wasn’t interested in hearing about it.  I went to Java Beach to read the paper.  I did the usual.  A lady at a table asked me to get some Tobasco sauce for her.

At home again I discovered that the internet was out for good.  Mom yelled at dad to do something.  Dad said that the internet had to be U-Verse and he didn’t seem thrilled about it.  I decided to type up the rest of what I had and go to the mailbox with my unsent letters.  I then got ready and went to Swell.  They said that they didn’t recycle rubber and asked that I let them know about any alternatives.  I then went to the UPS store and disposed of my bank statements.  I then went to the Beanery and started to use my iPod as a supplement to the broken internet at home.  I noted that some Long Beach friends might talk about me later.


This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.