A T-Rex Pin

On the twenty-first of February my friend and I got the bikes together and started up the Wiggle to meet some friends in the Richmond District.  We got a big table and Kristen got a special plate and the rest of us had dim sum.  the youngest didn’t like mushrooms, our mutual acquaintance told me about his home in the North Coast and the father of the family shared his experiences living in the Richmond district.

My friend speculated that his sharing gave her buddy, the mother of the family, the confidence to share with us a present to help us on our upcoming trip.  It was a photo album with pictures cut from travel books with bills where our ticket stubs would go.  The whole thing was comical because then she gave us the guide books she had taken the images from.

We met at Toy Boat later.  They beat us to the shop and our mutual acquaintance bought Pez which the youngest ate nearly all of.  We said bye then and the two of us rode back down the Wiggle.

In the morning of the day that I wrote this I woke from a deep sleep and met my friend at the cafe for eggs, biscuits and coffee. The waitress gave me an extra cup and was wearing a T-Rex pin.

We took Page and Market to the Ferry Building where we found my riding partner’s wife but we were still twenty minutes late.  The girls sat talking for a while and I surfed the twitterscape.  Later we rode Embarcadero and I noticed the cars tended to keep pace with us almost the whole way.  At North Point we had trouble with the turn.  We rode up to Hyde where a bus was honking and pushing at us.  We were climbing Polk when a driver took his car around a turn too quickly and I slapped his rear view.  He immediately stopped to yell at my friend and I got him to leave.

We continued down Francisco and took Octavia and then curved around to the Marina and on to Crissy Field where we looked for good picnic spots.  We sat there for a while and talked about good routes before we went back to the Marina Green.  This time I suggested we go behind Safeway before heading back to Francisco.

Our partner didn’t like the idea of using Van Ness but she took us the wrong way and afterwards was amenable to doing so.  We passed some ladies on North Point after that and they were rude.  We also saw a guy using a blower near the North Point Safeway.  We rode to Embarcadero and saw a bunch of double parked cars that were especially rude.  One guy yelled at the girls.

We needed to inspect Font before the end of the ride.  Old Ship was closed so we opted to meet my riding partner at a bar.  We hopped on a BART train and went to 16th.  There we almost missed our stop.  My partner was a bit late but we didn’t like the patio and chose to ride up Lexington to another place.

There we had appetizers and discussed our experience.  The waitress slipped nearby and it was sad.  I had to replace a glass.  When we finished up I rode down Valencia.

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.

Door of the Exit

On the twentieth of February I wrote that my coworker had driven me to the station the day before.  I tried to keep things light by relating the wishing well scene from Goonies.  I suggested we have a drink together sometime and he chuckled.

I boarded after a short wait and transferred at Mib.  At 16th I walked to Uptown.  There I interacted with the hipster I met in college and discovered he had had a baby.  I sat with a general contractor then and I talked to an off duty bartender until her husband came in.  She was really excited about the birds and my big changes.  My friend, who had had trouble getting in from the East Bay, arrived a little later.  She and the husband talked at length about art school and she was really impressed that we wanted her to enroll at UC.  They traded a lot of notes and he said she had a good chance of getting in.

We went to Venga then and had a delicious meal while I related the interactions I had had at work.  I noted that I was skeptical about stuff.  We walked to the apartment where we got ready for a trip to the theater with my parents.  We caught a cab then and went Powell.

Dad was at the door of the Exit theater when we got there and I got a beer before we sat down with Mom and my sister to watch a small theater rendition of la Bohème.   My mom’s friend played Musette.  I saw some similarities in the story to my experiences regarding young people living in tenements.  Dad got me a beer.  After the show we walked to Powell and took pictures on the train.

In the morning of the day that I wrote this we got up early.  I headed to Mint Plaza where I had breakfast with my friend.  She saw an old coworker and when we were done we went to Nordstrom Rack.  We caught a nine and then an 8 to North Beach where we went to a bank.  The banker was so impressed she gave us hugs.

We were dressed for the Vintage Streetcar ride that morning so decided we had enough time to visit de la Presse instead the apartment.  Everywhere there were signs that the Chinese New Year Parade was going to happen later as we took a 45 to Sutter.   I told my friend about how famous that location was while we walked down Bush, especially regarding the Maltese Falcon.

While we ate we talked about diffusion and genealogy regarding art and bikes.  Afterwards, I bought a pair of shoes that she loved.  There was a singer in the window.  We ran for the L on our way to Castro Station.  I flipped the handicapped seat up when we sat down.  We took the escalator and saw a fundraising desk for trans youth at the exit.

When we got to the plaza near the streetcar turnaround we saw a clothier we knew and a clutch of dancers.  We decided to head over to Hearth then and had some refreshments.  Later we returned and stood with them for a while.  I met a lot of ladies and my riding partner and his wife appeared a bit later.

There was a band and we stood in the corner with the organizer.   I fed my riding partner facts about work and friends.  There was a lot of dancing.  I told people about Long Beach and South Pasadena.  The girls made sure that the clothier would get help from them for his ride in the East Bay using a EBBP route.  There were only a few F Trains but we managed to get a few photos.

Eventually we boarded an F and headed to the Orbit room.  The train was packed and the guitarist was playing while we headed out.  I got everyone drinks and we got a pizza.  We ate and drank.  We talked to a few people and I tried to help with route planning.  We said bye to everyone then and walked home.

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.

I found Krusivice

On the thirteenth of February I wrote that I rode the Brompton to RWC and was going to take the trains to DC and on to my house.  However, my friend and I talked on the train and decided to meet at 19th Street in Oakland.  I played with the phone on the way adopting new apps all over the place.

I got off BART and opted for Farley’s because we hadn’t decided on a place to meet.  My friend showed up with a guy she new from work.  We went over to Drake’s but settled on Telegraph instead because of the wait.  I ordered a shot and we all had a sandwich.

After a brief review I identified a route up West and across Adelaide to Lowell and Acton.  We found this great beer store on University where I found Krusivice.  I bought a few bottles and we made North Berkeley with plenty of time.  I spoke to an acquaintance about my buddy for a while and he even rode the Brompton.

My riding partner and his wife were there with us as the ride left.  I interacted with an aquintance as we pulled out.  I decided that I had been a bit too talkative but later my friend told me not to worry about it.  Her friend from work had melted into the crowd.  We rode through Albany to a spot above the tunnel and then took Sutter into downtown Berkeley and onto Willard Park.

I stood with the guys and the ladies went for a walk and talked to people.  I saw the guy from the paper and when we regrouped I went off alone for a bit too.  I had been watching the bikes.

the ride left then and headed down Claremont and I got to talk to an old acquaintance.  I knew that everything she heard from me would end up being relayed to other people so I said as much as I could.  I told her I saw a lot of her’s and another person’s posts on the listserve.  She asked all the right stuff and I asked about her band.

We all regrouped at Mosswood and I finished a beer while the others walked around.  There was a recumbent trike with disco lights and a giant music set up.  The girls went for a walk and when Rod Stewart came on it was time to go so we rode up Macarthur to the station and waited for a train.  We saw the guy from my friend's work.  She told me later that she had remembered a bunch of stuff about him.

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.

A Losing Proposition

I got the bike and headed to Oakland.  On the way I set up my phone for Twitter and FB.  Some cop cut me off crossing Telegraph as I made my way to Telegraph Bar.  Once there I ordered a BLT and sat with my acquaintance the programmer and a lady from the coalition.  Another lady , who I had met at ZG was walking out and the organizer was about to.

I sparred with them about VC but didn’t push too hard because it is a losing proposition.  I liked the allusion to the perspective as similar to being chased by zombies.  I made the point that LOS is the reason why we feel so much pressure on the roadway.

When she made to leave I took BART to Civic with the programmer and we discussed mutual friends.  I noted that I saw him as a role model and a source of inspiration.  We parted at Valencia

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.

I Buy the Brompton

On the ninth of February I wrote that I left the office at 330 and took the Brompton to RWC to catch the trains to DC.  I missed the connection but at 16th I was able to take the alleys and make the apartment by five.

My friend had made a pillow and we talked about our life goals as she was transferring the stuffing from an old pillow to the new one.  I noted that I had been coming around to the idea that I had enough.  Her roommate came in but he was in his world.  We grabbed the foldies then, sorted out the lights and headed to see her old coworker, the DBA.  My friend had had trouble with the seat on the Friday and so we switched.  She said she enjoyed modeling the seat on the Brompton for me.

We took the Wiggle to Broderick and the coworker let us in.  Almost immediately she suggested I buy the Brompton.  We went upstairs and ate cheese while she and her husband the programmer congratulated us.  My friend told them about the birds.  He had already known but didn’t show it.  We toasted an older bottle of sparkling wine that was very good.

The DBA was making spanish tortilla and she was impressed that I had spent so much time overseas.  I asked the programmer about Mexican data and we discussed Paris and Berlin.  Eventually we sat down to eat.  They had these neat spices and he gave us a couple of hot sauces.  There was further discussion of travel and they shared their trip to Disneyland.

I noted that they tell a good story.  I engaged him further on technology, data and images.  He said he knew a local archivist and then I shared our encounter at the book bike ride with my acquaintance.  I also told them about having a company-- at least on paper-- that supported my ongoing cycling efforts.

They had been discussing tax preparation and how they had ridden bikes to their accountant’s. My friend described her old boss’ obsession with bikes and the DBA talked about her brother’s.  I told some stories about traveling.

The conversation went on longer but essentially we determined that I would ride the Brompton home and send a check for it later.  I was ecstatic.  We went down and the DBA sorted out the lights and then we gave hugs and I gave the programmer a firm handshake and we left with the bike.

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.

Finished Off the Bourbon

On the seventh of February I wrote that I left work around 320 and walked to the trains and took the 28 but missed the 48.  I was home at 5 and waited downstairs until dinner.  While eating I learned that they had plans to go with my nephew to the museum.  I went downstairs and posted and later I updated my february notes and then sat for an hour of TV after mom had gone to bed.

In the morning I knew I was headed to Soda Springs so forced myself to stay in the room until I was mostly packed.  I had to make certain that I had my tax paperwork and information from the phone account before I tidied up and headed upstairs to say bye to the parents.

I walked to the coffee shop and an acquaintance said that she had returned to the city to get her things together before heading to New York.  The owner greeted me like she knew me.  They both congratulated me and I didn’t pay a cent for my drinks.  I then talked to the local mechanic and he was happy to give me advice about bikes for birds.

I caught the N with two newspapers and walked from Safeway to the apartment.  My friend had just begun getting packed.  I emptied and repacked my bag then and we had a nap before she took a pre trip nap.  In the meantime I had spoken to our ride and when she arose and we were ready we walked to the store to shop and wait for him to pick us up.

The walk was difficult but I managed to get all of our things.  She had had to drop mail so I had to do the last block with both the bags and the mattress.  We put everything in our carts and went shopping.  When we were done I left the bags with her and went to a restaurant for a cup of coffee and then returned to find her shopping with our ride.

They had packed the car up and so we got in and went to Alameda and got his wife from her job.  Then they used Waze to get us to the eighty.  There was a lot of traffic so we got off the freeway a few times.  After that the ride went fine until we got to Fairfield and stopped at a random burger place off Texas street.  There was traffic in Davis and Sac but the rest of the trip went quick.  I pointed things out to the car as we passed through Auburn.  My friend was totally nauseated by the drive.

Once we were at the cabin though we made our way through the steps of unpacking and I set up the mattress.  I sat drinking whisky and eating soup.  Some of our party showed up late.  My friend was in bed a few moments later and I fell asleep soon after.

I noted that the mattress deflated in the night and ran the pump once.  My friend had gotten up around 7 and was with her nephew making cinnamon rolls when I got up.  I went away and later found that a party member had made strata.  I sat at the table with two couples and their children to eat.  Later some others in the party asked me to go skiing but I told them my ankle was recovering.  One of them borrowed my sunglasses.

I had a second helping of the delicious foods and then went off alone again.  I did dishes for a bit and later my friend’s sister, our hostess, took everyone that was left in the house cross country skiing.  My friend and I sat around for a while and later one of the families returned with their friend.  I was tempted to eat more of the food but settled for fruit and other things.  We found some good spirits and I tried everything.

I had asked my friend to go on a walk but it wasn’t until much later that I got my stuff together to go.  My friend’s sister had returned with her group when we walked out the door.  While walking around my friend threw a snowball at me.  We sat in the snow and made some talk.  I noted that I had a dentist appointment on in a few days.  We passed the water utility and a lakeside lodge.  We talked and school before walking back to the house.

I wanted to start writing then but my friend’s sister said we were going to eat.  We hung out in the living room instead.  The last person in our party had shown up.  I moved my mattress and other things to the mudroom.  At dinner we had a simple salad with soup topped with mashed potatoes.  My friend’s sister had us share our fun thing from the trip and I told everyone that my friend had thrown a snowball at me.

She took a nap and I tried the dessert before going outside for some air with some of the people.  She had returned by this time and had the dessert as well.  After that we sat on the couch with everyone and I finished off the bourbon before going to bed a little later.

The mudroom was less loud but it was also a thoroughfare so we had to cope with one of the families passing through.  I got up at around 7 and one of the families was already getting things together to depart the house.  I made two pots of coffee but our hostess had used the rest of the cream in her biscuits.

I did some coloring for a while.  I played with one of the kid’s animal hats.  At that point our host had started doing the laundry.  I went down and deflated the mattress and I started to get ready to go.  My friend was entertaining her nephew at this point so when I was ready to go I told her that I was going outside.

I shoveled snow and chipped away at the ice in front of the house with a little help until everyone was ready to go.  Two cars had pulled out while our ride and I were catching our breath and that was when we pulled out in the zip car and loaded up.  We followed some of the party to the highway and passed some others near Yuba Gap.

I started writing at that point.  We over shot Ikeda’s so back tracked and we sandwiches.  We bought some fruits then and passed by the supermarket where we got coffee then and stood in the open air talking about an optometrist on Polk thwarting bike lanes.

I finished up my writing while we descended to Sacramento and then took the causeway in traffic.  Davis, Vacaville and Vallejo were all problematic due to the way that our driver was driving.  I noted that she tended to drive very fast but follow very closely.  I had an especially hard time in Richmond where the 580 meets the 80.  At the Central Freeway she took the Mission Exit and dropped us off at the liquor store where we said bye.

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.

At Coffee Garden There

I was trying to finish writing when we got to the station.  I ate an orange and a chocolate and downstairs only one person hadn’t taken his bike down.  We took photos on the platform and then headed to H and took 7th.  On S street one of the ladies had misgivings about the traffic.  My riding partner got to Safeway first.  The girls went in to shop and half the group watched the bikes.  I bought beer and felt assured that I would bought enough for everyone.

We rode away on 18th and I got confused with the streets but 21st and 4th avenue came easily enough.  At Coffee Garden there was already a few people there for the event.  We took a table on the curb and I went into order my friend a chai.  I stood next to one of the ladies and met a lady that was recruiting for Eroica.

Ordering was difficult because the crowd was beginning to grow and staff was short.  There was a man in line in a brown top hat.  My friend’s drink made it out alright.  I saw a whole lot of people coming in when I brought her drink out.  She was seated with my riding partner and his wife.  the engineer and academic were wowed by the vintage bikes.

One of the Sac Tweed organizers showed up and I was looking at an RV with bikes and I noted that a lot of bikes had shown up by then.  I sat back down at the table and new people were there.  I met a nice lady in an especially old world outfit.  A gray bearded acquaintance from the foothills appeared around the same time as my college classmate’s family and I greeted them.

I went and got my jacket and they thought I was a bit too warmly dressed.  I talked to the guys from Chico.  The main organizer was still nowhere to be found.  I was in a photo with our group.  I met a lady named who was wearing an outfit of which my friend really approved.  Two people from a political campaign in Davis appeared in natty outfits.

I was finishing my water when the ride was about to leave.  I dropped things off in the cafe and we grabbed our bikes.  One of the organizers’ bikes fell over and I noted that the mechanic had been standing very close to it.  A lady got out of our way and we were ready to roll.  With the main organizer missing two old hands shepherded us down 4th as we started rolling.

I saw my old classmates wife and youngest and gray beard but it took a bit for me to find my old classmate who was spying on me from the other side of the street with his eldest son.  We rode 4th until we took a right at the block with the ceramic house.  I went slow so he could catch up to me.  We rode with old grey bear who spoke at length about Sacramento Bike Party and that was nice.

We took a couple of muddy alleys and the riders on the taller bikes--like the one with the guy in aviator goggles on a farthing mashup-- had to dismount.  We were on 21st for a brief moment and I was back with my old classmate again.   Old grey beard went for a burger but said he’d be back.  The route went to Land Park Drive then and we rode discussing the kids in their younger years.

We ended up at Land Park where we discovered the crits were taking place so had to walk in the mud and other stuff.  We managed to get to the pond then and rode a bit more past the botanical garden.  The academic had made it ahead of us by then.  I noted that the main organizer was purported to make an appearance a bit later.

At the amphitheater I rested my bike with my group and noted that the girls walked away with the youngest.  I handed out beers to the men.  We ate cheese and crackers and I got lost alone behind the stage while the engineer and academic looked at all the bikes.  They later had everyone line their bikes up for a photo.  I stood with the engineer for a while and talked about diffusion of innovation theory.

My old classmate’s wife left because her youngest needed a nap but the other two played catch while the rest of the ladies sat picnicking.  The main organizer had shown up at some point and I spoke with her brother.  My friend was with the other organizers.  I noted that old grey beard had returned and was watching the band-- all of whom he knew and had played with.  I stood with him drinking port from a mini-snifter after the main organizer had made some announcements.

I was able to count nearly one hundred participants while we were taking group.  Later old grey beard told me that he would follow us to the Shady Lady.  I realized then that he needed me because the band had gone and he wanted to follow the ride further.  I introduced him to the Chico group and my friend.  He pointed out the different buildings in the area around his aunt’s old place.

I left him and my friend to run into the bar alone and ordered.  I locked up while she went inside and I sat next to her for a bit.  First we sat with the Chico group and then with the Sacramento organizers.  I said hi to my group around then and went for another drink.  My friend won a prize that the main organizer’s brother thought was really nice.  He had received a guest guest by then and I noted that one of the other organizers wanted to share his tomatoes.

I learned that my riding partner had gone and that the guys were about to leave as well.  I sat with two of the other participants and then a couple of the organizers had me and my friend stand with the nice lady for a photo.  I went outside and bid farewell to the guys and then I went in and grabbed my friend’s new basket and we made ready to leave.

She was on the phone with her aunt for many blocks while I checked the map.  We passed under the freeway around 11th on our way to the cemetery where we stopped.  We followed 2nd to Vallejo and took Cordano as a way to access Land Park before heading farther south to look for my old classmate’s new place.

There we locked up and his wife gave us a place to put our stuff.  My friend and she talked a lot and I had a beer.  Dinner was served a bit later  and we ate proper.  The talk centered around the kids.  We were set to watch “The Book of Life” which one of the kids had gotten from the library so I helped clear the dishes while the youngest played swords.  We all went to bed around 10.

In the morning of the day that I wrote this were were up around 7 and my old classmate was already making food.  I was helping toast the bagels when his wife arrived from her run saying bye to a neighbor.  My friend played with the youngest kid until breakfast was ready.  The older kid was still asleep-- probably exhausted from the bike ride-- so we ate without him.

the youngest had to be induced into eating his eggs.  They gave me a book called be prepared.  We cleared the table and I was in the back alone for a while.  I noticed that I had bookmarked the academic’s YouTube but didn’t watch it.

We broke the room down then and had coffee.  Our hosts started into town and we packed the bikes.  That was a breath of fresh air.  We looked at the route and used some of what we had done the night and day before.  When we got to Cordano we discovered that Land Park School actually had a path through it.  We took 16th and the basket was fine.

We sat first at the bar and then in a booth and ate a minimum.  We talked about stuff and I shared my concerns.  I mentioned a lifestyle company/agency in connection with Adventure Cycling.  We got the bikes and rode to the station via 10th.  The ride was problematic due to the one way streets.  I got tickets and breathed a sigh that we were able to leave early.  We boarded and Charlie got my notebook out.  I got a drink and cheese.  We ate it near Martinez and Port Costa and I finished writing as we pulled into Emeryville.

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.

Started to Share Stories

On the thirtieth of January I wrote that I left work thinking I was done with work.  I rode to RWC in the rain and made the 553 train.  I went to 22nd and took Duboce but realized that that isn’t much fun.  At my friend’s apartment it turned out her roommate was out but his guest was still visiting--he helped with dinner, which was similar to the dinner I had made on Tuesday.

He was especially talkative and I had a good conversation with them.  I walked to Uptown to meet my buddy and saw the bartender that I knew.  He was finishing up his shift and having register problems.  The new shift had just come on.  I sat away from the regulars this time because there were so few places to sit.

I told him about my new developments and he was impressed.  I told him that I thought it was my job to make the rounds.  Meanwhile, my buddy was having trouble getting up Mission Street but when he finally arrived the bartender bought both of us a bunch of drinks.  I told my buddy about the birds and he told me he was considering a move to Atlanta.

In the morning of the day that I wrote this.  I put on the suit I had found in SR and though I wasn’t happy with it at first it turned out alright.  My friend and I thought we were late when we went over to 16th together but we discovered that our planning assumed that we may be late.  My riding partner and his wife were on the exact same car as us.

We sat together smiling and pointing at each other until Lake Merritt where we met a beared guy we knew on the escalator.  My friend knew him but I was blown away that we were riding around with the guy who had originated the SF Tweed ride.  He said that a famous cyclist had come to the first ride in a suit with reflectors woven into the fabric.  He showed me his jacket at Blue Bottle- it had a bunch of punk rock stuff.  He said that he had gone to the Edwardian Ball previously but not most recently.

My partner’s wife was worried we were late but when we arrived at the station we met our academic traveling companion and his old college buddy the structural engineer that, again, our planning had deceived us and we still had about a half an hour.  I noted that the train’s commander was wearing jeans but the conductors wore uniforms.

We boarded as a group but the academic ran for bagels and when he returned we were ready to leave.  As the train pulled out I remember we started to share stories. The academic told us about his career and shared his Twitter profile picture with us and said the artist was an SF muralist who had studied under Diego Rivera and had a lot of connections to the current muralist community.

The engineer told us he worked in San Mateo.  He said that he had previously been working in Bakersfield for a firm owned by Native Americans that was really just a front.  He said it was a job meant to tide him over through the recession.  He and the academic recalled a bar called Trout’s which was apparently the oldest Okey bar in California that still exists.

We had oranges and chocolate.  The conductor made a joke about my partner’s wife’s bike falling over and she believed him.  My friend sent a tweet and we learned that there had been a lady that had been interested in attending the Sacramento Tweed ride with us.

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.

I Made a Manhattan

On the twenty-fourth of January I wrote that we got off the bus at Piner and after a brief wait alone my friend’s mom picked us up and we stopped at the Bottle Barn where I got whisky and then we climbed over to Rincon Valley to go shopping at Olivers.  I got my friend cheese and almonds to tide her over.  We drove back to her mom’s then and made soup and store bought pizza.

I was helping with the meal and heard my friend talking to her step father briefly.  He was watching the Godfather.  She and I sat talking to her mom for several hours.  I didn’t want to ice my foot but she got me some.  I noted that my friend was rather mean to me on several occasions.  There were a lot of stories to tell until midnight.

In the morning of the day that I wrote this I were up around 9.  We had eggs, toast and coffee and my friend's mom ran off to get my friend’s sister.

When they got back we were sitting in the living room and we decided that we would go to Macy*s anyway so the four of us piled into the car and headed over to the Coddington Mall to look for stuff to buy.  We looked for watches and later I left them alone before we finally paid.

Back at the house we met my friend’s sister’s family who had just arrived and once we were settled in we started to watch a bit of NFL.  I made coffee and then my friend started to make supper.  She figured that it would take a bit of time.  I helped out and later we sat in the living room for a while until several people went on a walk.  Eventually we had to pick them up at Whole Foods.

We started making dinner and I made a drink before we sat down to eat Lamb and spaghetti.  I helped clean up until they told me to quit.  My friend and I got ready to go but in the middle of packing I realized I would need to confirm with my old classmate our accommodations in Sacramento.  He told me he and his family would attend the Sacramento bike ride.

The five of us jumped in the car and after some slight issues we returned to SF on the 101.  I made commentary about the bike paths along the highway as my friend and her sister sang to the baby.

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.

Get to The Majestic

On the twenty-third of January I wrote that the day before I had to walk to CT and took the breach in the fence to save time.  I ran with my bad ankle and made it to the train which was late because of a wheelchair.  However, I still made Mib with time.  I got off at 16th and walked to the apartment.

My friend texted about getting pizza so I did that but otherwise I had a bit of time alone.  Later she showed up but I had to leave her alone to let one of the girls in and get our order.  My foot was a real problem.  I realized before I paid I had not gotten a gluten free option and felt terrible.  On the way back I got drinks but passed up the whisky.

the other lady had appeared at this point and I offered to make her a drink but realized there was no whisky.  I went back to the store and when I got back put on my tails and had some pizza.  Meanwhile the girls did their hair and discovered that we didn’t have enough time to get to the Majestic to meet other revelers.

My friend’s roommate appeared and took a photo and then we took a cab.  I muttered about his driving as we approached the destination.  The ride turned out fine though and we only had to wait in line for a short while.  My foot wasn’t terrible as we entered.  A couple of us dropped off the jackets and the other ladies got us drinks.

We got in line for the photo booth and that took a long time.  I went to see what was taking so long and discovered that the photographers, who seemed French, were really just doing a lot of photos.  However, there was no line at the bar so I got another drink.  I went and looked around at other stuff too.  I spoke a bartender I knew and he said that he was managing the line.

When I got back to the girls I discovered that we had all taken our own individual walks.  I saw some acquaintances and they asked me where the others were.  I directed her attention to them and they were all bonkers.  We went upstairs then and sat next to God’s telephone.  My friend got a photo of me taking a call.  Then we walked around until we found ourselves in the Grand Artique.  That was where we bumped into our acquaintances again.  I played with a strange recorder on a gourd with three feet.  It also played funny.  There was a handmade deck of cards and someone had forgotten their umbrella.

We went downstairs then to the basement.  There was a food stand but none of the food was good.  My friend got nachos.  We walked around looking at the vendors then.  Eventually we decided as a group to go.  We walked across Van Ness and caught a cab.  We dropped one of the ladies off and then the other grabbed her stuff from the apartment before taking the cab to her house.

In the morning of the day that I wrote this I had breakfast with my friend then though we both knew that this would only add to the time it took to travel to Santa Rosa.  We had coffee and pancakes and talked about caring for birds and how to manage an apartment.  We talked a bit about roommates too.

We settled on a scheduled pickup and walked to twentieth-century and got a coffee.  Then we went to McAllester and discovered the bus was late and that our street was closed to traffic.  I called 311 and 511 but no one was there to help so we instead opted to catch a 47 and wait for the bus at Jackson.  I got a picture of my friend talking to a lady cyclist there.

We spoke to a few other people and learned that the train was terribly late.  That was when a bus labeled Not In Service - Try Transit showed. up.  We told him the sign was wrong but after pushing some buttons the sign had not changed.  He said he was only going to San Rafael.  A passenger said that the bus was in fact a 101 but I surmised that it was the short haul scheduled for around 1254.

I started writing and we switched seats at Toll Plaza. There was another bus waiting for us at San Rafael the transit center

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.