The Ballroom on Sutter

On 22 January I wrote that my friend and I crossed the street in front of the apartment to enjoy the women's march with the neighbors. People kept asking us is very nosy questions and it started raining. At ninth we walked up to Civic Center but the crowd was too big so we returned to Market. Then we walked to the neighbors’ and had mulled wine and appreciated the quiet after crazy march.

After that we spent some time at the apartment until we were all dressed up and fancy Edwardian Ball outfits and I called a cab. When we got to our fellow revelers place she greeted us in a similarly fancy outfit and we sat down for had cocktails. I hung out with the cat until the ladies were ready before we caught a ride to Van Ness and walked to the ballroom on Sutter.

At the door we all had tickets but my friend had to sign in. The coat room had a huge line so we went to the ballroom. We decided it was fine that there was no place for our coats so we went upstairs to the third floor. I immediately saw a local tailor and his entourage.

Later we saw a volunteer we knew and she told us she hold on to our coats for us. Then we started watching the performance in the upper ballroom. I stepped away to enjoy the room for a bit. Later the volunteer told us whe would hang out with us between volunteer shifts.

The four of us went to the front hall on the same floor and some drinks with an acquaintance from Sacramento Tweed. We saw several people we knew.

After that we walked around for a bit and then descended to the main ballroom. A bit later we continued to the ground floor to see the vendors where we bumped into two other people from Sacramento.  After the for ladies and I took a selfie my companions and I returned to the main ballroom. I noted that the master of ceremonies was a fancy lady that one of us had worked with.   

It was around one in the morning by then and we were all worn out.  We all went out into the rain then and knew that we had a great time when we bid each other a good night.

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 Photographed the Stratosphere

On 17 January I wrote that I had gone to West Oakland a few days earlier for a trip to Las Vegas with my friend’s family.  We had left around six and made Bakersfield pretty late near 11. Having stopped for take out on the way to BART had improved things. The next morning we went downtown Bakersfield and got coffee at the only worthwhile coffee shop in the city and then headed into the Tehachapis.

My dad had asked me for pictures but I couldn't get one of the snow and trains.  We stopped at a Starbucks in Barstow and were underwhelmed by the amenities there.  Later we drove to a bakery and picked up Greek food. I noted that the multiple stops were nice in comparison to the day before because I liked getting out and enjoying the air.

After that we rode through the mountainous desolation that is the Mojave and Death Valley until we got to Pahrump.  We briefly visited my friend’s grandparent’s house before heading to the only worthwhile Thai restaurant in town to get take out.  We then settled down in the hotel room and later we went to the for a drink.

We all ended up in Las Vegas the next day at a hospital named Summerlin. My friend’s grandfather was fine as long as he had the attention of a nurse. He was making his grandpa comments and was noisily excited about everything.  

Much later we drove to the local Persian restaurant. The meal was great. We ate across from a lady and her family. We all talked.  I noted that there was a lute on the wall and the plates were good. We drove to Sunset Hospital then. I photographed the Stratosphere.

When we were parked we carted around the parking lot before going up to see grandma who was doing all right. I tried to take photos.  Later we drove to a gas station and headed to the hotel. I went and did laundry and eventually we all met in the lobby for drinks. I was asleep by 11.

On our last morning in Nevada we packed up and drove to Mom's restaurant. During our conversations over breakfast I learned about their grandfather.  He had started a dairy as a teen and later, during world war two was placed with a rag-tag artillery group.  He made it to sergeant but the other guys in the company would have protested so they took his stripes back.

Later he got picked up for to work for the Nuremberg trials where he interviewed German officers and their french wives.  He also helped care for POWs.  When he was done with that tour his superiors suggested he continue his service in Sweden but he declined.

We finished our meal and stopped at a local coffee cart before taking a side road to Death Valley Junction and descended down into the valley. We stopped at Furnace Creek and I walked to the general store.  Later we passed through sand dunes and visited Mosaic Canyon to take in the air, go hiking, climb and take photos.

After this we drove to Towne pass and spent next two hours driving into the sunset through Trona and past Ridgecrest. We headed to Tehachapi and stopped at a barbecue place.  We really liked the fry bread.

We then drove to the I-5 and onwards to Oakland. The tube was closed so we rode through town to the house where we unpacked and wound down before having a bedtime drink in the kitchen.

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.

TV and Some Excedrin

On 7 January I wrote that I was at the Sacramento Amtrak station. I took the Amtrak ramp to the stations west side. I rode through old town. I passed near the bridge and then rode to the river to 24th. My old drinking buddy opened her door immediately. She gave me a drink, chips and a bag full of clothes and stuff. I shared stories about mutual acquaintances and places with her and her man.

Later I rode Riverside to 14th and 15th and stopped at a taqueria before riding to meet the bike partiers. My host opened the door as the whole group rode up.  After talking extensively about Tweed Ride we rode to the meet up for Bike Party. There was a journalist that kept taking pictures of us. I thought we started late. The ride went to bike kitchen and I spoke with my hostess the whole time about Tweed.

When we got to Bike Kitchen near the end of the ride the neighbor kicked us out of their parking lot so we decided to go over to a local bar to see a washboard player and his jazz band.  He did a great job of entertaining and was a really great guy. We took a group photo and I wasn't certain why.

Later my host and I ran to his house with a few others because they wanted to avoid the rain on their ride home.  When he went to bed he left me with a glass of water, TV and some Excedrin and gave me a spot next to the dog.

I woke up at seven and I told him that I was catching a bus because of the rain. I rode with an umbrella to the stop and eventually made it to my old college friend's house when breakfast had just been finished. They gave me coffee and a lot of books. We talked about family and other stuff.

I decided to bike to the train station because the weather had cleared up. I took 17th, crossed the freeway 18th and the light rail at 19th. I took F St. and got stuck around fifth on the new lots. The ticket printed easy and I boarded. I went to the concession and heard that the next stop was Martinez. I texted a friend to say I would be getting off in Richmond .

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.

Buddy About New Year's

On 1 January I wrote that my old college classmate and I left for the Roastery. I had tried to fix the screen door but it didn't happen. We parked and looked at the menu. I ordered what he got.  I told him about my thing as of late and about our relationships.

He wanted to go to the reservoir but I suggested we walk the creek. He showed me some of the locations he had inspected as an environmental officer. He got a call from a buddy about New Year's eve.

I complained about the bike paths through the area.  We looked at a bike shop and LUther Burbank's house before walking around the town center. There was construction. We visited a bookstore and then went to get a beer.

We hatched a plan to get his girlfriend on our way to the house. At his apartment I got to know Bleach and noted that their tree was really dry. At the house my friend was napping but we made a bunch of noise. I said bye to my old classmate and his girlfriend a short while before she came out.  We had dinner before the party texted to say they wanted us to be there so we got ready and left early.

Once there we got some wines out and I had some whiskey. I had sat across from a bunch of acquaintances and some neighbors were at the end of the table. A lady from a solar company sat with my friend.  I got to try some 101 N. beer before we went to the bonfire to watch a bunch of dudes burn green wood.  We sat next to the host of the party while his associate sang the classics.

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.

Got a Second Boothby

On 12 December I wrote that around 4 I headed to Market and caught an F car. I spotted the Emperor’s group just as one of the revelers texted to say they were nearly to House of Sheilds.

I stood and watched the tour guide do his Emperor Norton impersonation outside the Palace.  It was very convincing. Later at the House of Shields the guys were all there and we took our Boothby cocktails upstairs.

They had friends to talk to so I stood with a few others. There were cookies and steampunk. I got a second Boothby and asked an acquaintance about my pedestrian crossing idea. She gave me a few leads but it also told me about herself. I know that she had started reviewing for a new newsletter.

Her husband and  and I commiserated over some of the basics and then the toast happened. When that had passed an acquaintance had to go so we talked for a minute about a bike ride. Then I went back upstairs. I interacted with a new goup for a bit and then I said bye to the organizers before leaving.

Oddly enough I nearly missed out on interacting with a Tweed Ride organizer because I saw him while leaving. I rode the F with an Emperor’s reveler. When we got on the F train he said that he would be by the apartment sometime.

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 Glitch at Fourth

On 10 December I wrote that the K was seriously delayed because of a glitch at fourth and King. The ride was all right but my phone was nearly dead. I found the laughing Monk and talked to a group of people I had come to regard a my crowd when I came in. One of them, a database administrator was excited to see me and we talked while I made myself a plate. The organizers spoke then. I posted an image and tagged them. I saw other acquaintances come in. When the fundraising pledge ended I went for a beer – which the proprietor was providing for free. Later I was at the bar and a transit planner was standing there. She told me that she remembered me from our tweets. After that I had a conversation with the owner and his business acquaintance - a caterer. We tried to be as quiet as possible in the conversation went on and on. The caterer had a restaurant near by. Later I had a conversation with one of the organizers who I thought was probably one of my most favorite personalities. The core group left a bit later and I stood with some Canadians and eventually a couple of my acquaintances and I walked to the station. Some guy was talking to us too much. One of them took the train with me for a long while and we talked about car free stuff to Van Ness. She told me that she and the gang (this was about twenty years previous) used to go to a Chinese restaurant on ninth and the executive - a mere activist at the time - would hold court. They would be there as long as needed and no one complained. A local print shop owner who shared their fervor allowed them to print their newsletter at his shop on Cole. The ride took a while since it had to get through the tunnel. I told my acquaintance about the first time I saw her roommate and shared my feelings about her personality. I later asked her about about local political leadership. I made it clear that I had a lot of respect for what she did in the neighborhood.

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.