High School Days

I just had some high school days. I meet friends all the time the museum, the library and especially in the evenings but I only sometimes have high school days. They sneak up on me and stir up memories that I had always believed that I had matured beyond. It happens when I�m in my old neighborhood mostly. I find them everywhere and doing different things. I see them on transit a lot. They seem to be coming home from work or sometimes tell me that they are visiting parents. I somehow have friends in common and will often accompany them to events that I am participating in. I tend to meet a lot of them during the holiday season and they often are dressed nicely. I generally think that they super popular and am so happy that we got to talk. But that�s just me.

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 Cup and a Paper

Last Sunday during the storm I noted that the rain�s arrival was oddly comforting. I had woken up at an early hour, which was out of the ordinary for me. When I can�t sleep I get a book out and read. Around 5 I heard an odd noise outside like a metal garbage can being moved. The lights flickered.

While the ocean is already amazing this close to the coast, the rain can be more so. Normally from my house almost a half mile from the beach I can hear the waves at night. It is like white noise in the distance. When I go to the corner of my block I can see them. In contrast, the rain and wind slam against my window and leave me wondering at their power.

At times this kind of weather can be suffocating. I can�t take the bike out for fear of accidents. The bus system always breaks when it rains. I don�t own a car. It is as if I am always stuck when it rains. That morning I got my (broken) umbrella and walked to the local caf�. I wore wool. The southern side of the streets was more protected from the wind and therefore less wet. The power was out all over the place. I asked the paper man in his truck for a paper. He told me to stay dry.

Yet for all its inconvenience the rain can be comforting. Sitting there listening to the locals murmur about recent gossip and politics I felt warm and dry indeed. I reflected on how I awoke thinking of an excuse to stay in bed curled up with my pillow. I realized that as the neighborhood woke up and assessed the storm damage there really wasn�t a better place to be than at the caf� with a cup and a paper.

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.

Far Away Rumbles

It is the holiday season and this usually means friends and family. Ironically, I�ve decided to buckle down and get to work. Yeah, there are parties to go to and friends and family passing through town but every time I return to my desk I discover a mess to organize. There are piles of paper and laundry to do. Meanwhile, recent trips out of town have only dented my finances and the fridge has been looking barren as of late.

I�m listening to Flamenco Sketches as I write this. I think it complements the mood perfectly. Quietudes and far away rumbles aren�t too far off from the winds that stir the leaves in the park and distant rain clouds. The whole package is inspiring.

The waning light of the fall and winter always causes me to look inward. There are fewer hours in the day and I tend towards hibernation. I burn the midnight oil and when it gets wet outside I start contemplating my options for the easiest route home. I can tell that many of the people I would typically interact with in sunnier times feel the same.

The holidays are a time for discovery and reflection. A time for old photos I don�t remember taking and high school poetry. I look at the cluttered array of extra of maps and pictures on my walls and start looking for a place amongst the old magazines and knickknacks to store them. Everyday it seems that I find a new set of bike parts that I don�t need, like patched inner tubes and dimming blinky lights. I know I meant to give them away but it isn�t often that I find anyone as willing to ride home in the rain as I am.

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.

Taking Privileges

Ideas are transferred from person to person and are more difficult to transmit if they are not easy to understand. This is a simple enough concept and by extension the idea, whatever it is, if it is too easy to understand isn�t likely to be much value to its creator.

I recently had a couple of ideas. One was (or is maybe) to be a retail item. I have a pricing concept for it. I rather like the idea. The other is more of a tool and I have some ideas on how to design and develop a prototype. However, I am not so certain about actually pursuing these ideas since I have never been very good at asserting control or taking privileges.

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.

Pay for My Refills

I went to the Mission the night before to see a friend. His girlfriend doesn�t like him taking BART back to the East bay too late so he took off early. I had an appointment in morning anyway.  I woke up on time and made it out there easy coming back was fine too since it� a holiday of sorts. I hate it when I have to comb my thoughts for the solution to a problem. I had to do this all say. I sent that off as an email.  I go to the coffee shop a lot. Lately they have been telling me to pay for my refills.

This is series chronicles my life at regular intervals. This Memo series is meant to be a retrospective of what I have written and experienced. In each of these posts I use my notes in conjunction with memory, mementos and souvenirs to create a snap shot of my life.

Read my Blogs!!

I am doing things different lately and it has to do with my other sociality sites. I am trying to get you to be more interested in the other things that I am writing. For the past two years I have been developing two blogs that do different things. One is a busy site run off of automatic updates from groups to which I am a subscriber. It is called Newsletters and there are about thirteen contributors. I am constantly evaluating ways to make the postings more pertinent to my life and yours. The second site is called the Jobs Page and it contains sanitized emails from people that send me jobs announcements that I like. I say sanitized because I have been scrubbing personal data from these posts. While I am aware that this undermines the value of these postings, my reasoning behind it is to maintain the edge that they offer me while also allowing viewers to see what opportunities are out there.

I have been keeping the Red Phone Hot Line as a way to document my life and let others know what I am up to. These other blogs are useful in this regard and I make them better every day. As of this week I have begun posting to them and making comments about their content. While this complements my regular, incorporating sociality sites (FB, G+ and Twitter) has taken this process a step further because if my socialite network is aware of all the goodies that I have on my blogs it�ll boost readership.

I started writing this on 110512. 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.

�Octopus, why do you have so many arms?�

I wrote that I had had a horrible dream the other night. I was in a back yard but it was a class room. The school marm was absent. I was making a point so stepped into the hall (which was through the back door of the yard�s out-building) and grabbed Octopus. When I had gotten back, one of the students said �Octopus, why do you have so many arms?� I had to step away for something.

When I had returned the students and teacher were gone and Octopus had morphed into two people. They had completely rearranged the yard/classroom and were busily salvaging anything they could get their hands on. I noted that the teacher wouldn�t be happy. We looked at an old school photo where I could make out my own classmates from grammar school. I pointed at one and said I knew him but they were all older in the photo.

I went away again and this time when I returned the people in the yard had become one fat person lying prone. He sat up a little and a look of realization set in as he discovered that the left side of his body�face, arms, legs and torso�had been viciously ripped from his body; entrails all. He lay back down�dead? I suppose.

I walked away from the yard and heard the sound of what I figured were the perpetrators. I was leaning against something that occluded their view of me and looking across from me I saw another person doing the same. That person was discovered. The people (who may or may not have destroyed the body of the person in the yard) shot tasers with cube shaped darts at the other person. As they turned to do the same to me I berated them and discovered that they were only children.

Manhattan Tunnels

Today at around 9:30 am I read in the paper that the Manhattan Tunnels were flooded and this got me thinking, "A hurricane hit New York." This seemed a profound notion.

I had been hearing about it for a few days. The Caribbean and Florida were hit by surges and wind. There were dead and displaced. I know what hurricanes do to the American South. There are even stories of hurricanes in Baja California. I had just never heard about this kind of thing in New York.

So, I made a list of people in my mind that lived on the East Coast. It wasn't long of course and I don't think it was especially complete but hell, I thought it would be an interesting experiment to find out what happened to them.

I sent out the same text to each: "How's the weather?" and waited. The first was from my friend Dew in West Virginia, where it probably was snowing. He sent back, "it's beautiful g I heard your team won the big game. Congrats. How's your weather?" To which I replied, "It's damp but work wasn't cancelled. How was the test?" He said, "The test wasn't cancelled the test was like getting kicked in the balls for two hours and after a while you don't care."

My friend Trout, said, "It was hella windy. Shit is pretty fucked up all over the city, but central Brooklyn, where I live didn't have a bad time. We have power and our street is ok. Several old trees in the park across the street fell, which makes me sad." I texted back to her that the Giants had won the World Series and after she said, "Yay Giants! Transportation is the next big problem here. Tunnels are flooded and it might take a week to get the subways back. Maybe it is a good time to bike around the city :)"

My other friend in Brooklyn told me she was in Peru. I told her that Manhattan was under water and she was in disbelief. She had been out in the wilds for several days and knew nothing.

Finally, Johnny, who lives in Port Jefferson at the end of Long Island across from Connecticut, got back to me late in the day. He said "the weather is fine now, massive tree smashing crazy time last night."

The Final Count

I�ve been working as an enumerator for a while now. Naturally, I�m excited about the job as I have been doing this kind of stuff for a long time now. Basically I walk around a designated route in several places counting things. The job involves three things. First there is the ontology. Since this study is the first of its kind I have to build a list of all of the things that I can possibly count. Next, I need to actually count those things. Finally, I have to indicate whether the things that I am counting are absent on subsequent passes.

Okay, so it makes sense right? Well I don�t expect everybody to understand. I understand it only enough to actually do the job. After all I am a geographer and not a philosopher.

However, up till now I was only theoretically aware of how difficult it can be to simply count things. My biggest qualm with the job is the fact that the swings between counting are so short. On the first swing at each site I have had to spend nearly twice as much time as normal to get the ontology down and this doesn't even account for the fact that subsequent swings have unearthed mistakes that may take even more time. In the end I have had to do my counting and then run run run to the next portion of my path or else be late and not meet my next requirements.

Suffice to say that lately, like when I go looking for a pub to watch the NLCS or World Series, I don�t have a lot of time to enjoy myself.  Celebrating, say, my team�s successes or scarfing down a taco or sandwich has been difficult lately.  Generally, I only have enough time to punch my fist into the air after the final count.

I started writing this on 102112.

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.

Salmon and Beans with Quinoa

On Monday I helped a bike organization perform maintenance on the bikes at a local middle school and cut out early to go to work. The job takes me all over the city and is pretty easy. Before each survey I set up camp at a central coffee shop. On Monday though I had to go the project organizer�s office where we discussed the new routes and procedures. After the meeting I ran off to catch the Giants win NLCS 7 and bumped into some friends. I was really happy that the Giants did so well!

Next day I went to dinner at a girlfriend�s house after I did my route; salmon and beans with quinoa. Amazing. I finally got some work done at home that day.

I was so conflicted over a volunteer party to which I was invited. I had made plans to see the Worlds Series with my good friend. I called the volunteer coordinator and he said they would have a TV but when I got to Yancy�s we decided to just stay there. Good thing too because I realized after the Panda hit three homers that I hadn�t wanted to miss that.

This is series chronicles my life at regular intervals. This Memo series is meant to be a retrospective of what I have written and experienced. In each of these posts I use my notes in conjunction with memory, mementos and souvenirs to create a snap shot of my life.

My Tenure

I am tired of Youtube changing. It has always been this way. I have been trying to keep up with it but it doesn�t really work. From day to day it has only continued. I can hardly get used to it. There is stuff in there that I really like listening to and, well, to be honest I am NOT going to stop. I just keep switching my playlists up so that I don�t get interrupted with commercials. I have to hand it to them though. They have come a long way with a product that basically does nothing but lose money.

I had a conversation with my two friends the other day about an organization of which I used to be a part. We were talking about being a part of a movement or organization and keeping up with change and development. Much like a website or even a company for that matter, groups need to change or they die. My one friend was talking about this with her work; about how changes at work can make things hard. This is when we started talking about my activities organizing in the town I last lived. My other friend made the salient observation that I had started this one club there only to watch it die.

I wouldn�t contest this but I don�t think that this was actually the case. Organizations tend towards dissolution and only the best organized and visionary of us can keep things up�especially in the face of adversity. I didn�t even preside over the failures he identified but I suppose I could have helped to keep them from happening.

It was about four years ago. I had started a campus club and my co-chair and I went looking for members. He set up the website and posted stuff. I made flyers and other types of artsy stuff. It was a public-safety/awareness organization and we were active. There were a lot of people involved. We had a lot of fun. We had events and trips and went all over the county.

There was a club in town�off campus�that was very similar to ours and was oriented more towards fun and entertainment and my co-chair was elevated to being their vice president. The city took notice because there were many elements to the club that fit the local government�s agenda. In time my tenure came to an end at the campus club and I stepped down�giving the chairmanship over to someone new.

From there both clubs stopped functioning in the same way. Both the campus and off-campus clubs both had a fair amount of readership and had even been mentioned in the local periodicals on more than one occasion. I had always tried to steer my organization based upon principles and I felt that my co-chair ran his vice presidency off-campus in the same manner.

This stopped being the case at some point though. I am not really certain where this happened since I moved away. However, I know that neither organization exists anymore in the form that I remember it. What has changed? The principles are all still there. They just require that someone return to them and pick them up. Hell maybe the principles themselves have changed in some fundamental way on a local level. However, those principles or a set of similar ones still inform my character and I am still using them to work.

Which is sort of why I wrote this isn�t it? The songs are still there. I just have to constantly keep reorganize the playlists to listen to them.

I started writing this [rphl] on 101412.

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.

Two Playoff Games

I�ve been surveying parked cars lately and the routes I do are pretty mundane. Basically, I walk around and count stuff. I have to make a list of stuff that I count and then write how many I saw and then return to see how things had changed. Every time I do it it changes and while the whole thing is interesting I only have a rudimentary understanding of what is going on since someone else is the organizer for the project.

I usually get some breakfast before doing a job like this and last Wednesday wasn�t much different. I stopped at Yancy�s to check in on the Giants that night and discovered that the A�s were playing too. There is nothing more nerve wracking than watching two playoff games at the same time!

The next day I saw the last NLDS game and was happy for the Giants moving on to the Series!! I ended up meeting my friends for a show in the Mission. One of them was from LA County. We all went to one of my favorite bars on Market for a beer and conversation. There we saw some of my friends from several state bicycle advocacy groups. I thought that was cool.

My friend from LA and I went on EB Bike Party with his friends. It was liberating. I saw a bunch of people I know and we visited the city of Alameda. As I had never been there before I was glad I went. That town had a lot of older Victorians that made the neighborhoods look generally quaint and livable.

Tomorrow I am planning on going to the Noriega Street Faire.

This is series chronicles my life at regular intervals. This Memo series is meant to be a retrospective of what I have written and experienced. In each of these posts I use my notes in conjunction with memory, mementos and souvenirs to create a snap shot of my life.

Secret Worlds

We all have secret worlds. Sometimes, on the way home from work say, we stop at the store or pass through the park. When we get home, our roommates or spouses don�t know where we�ve been and most of the time it doesn�t matter anyway. These moments are personal and irreplaceable.

A secret world doesn�t have to be one that you hide from those around you. It is simply inevitable. I can open up the drawer at my desk and find six packs of gum. Where did they come from? Each pack tells its own story.  They represent numerous trips to random liquor stores or supermarkets. However, none of these stories ever gets told. Even a pile of pens and envelopes holds a truth that only the hand of an expert interrogator can unlock.

I started this blog to make sure that the world at least has a chance to learn about my life and times. I ride my bike a lot; take trains and buses all over the place. I have reasons for doing everything but I don�t always say what those reasons are. I meet a lot of people in the course of a day but they don�t all know each other.

I suppose I can say that I am still young and maybe I will have a chance to talk to the radio host about my greatest hits in my seventies. However, even by that measure I can�t be certain how many years or decades I have to go. I am not even certain who I am let alone what secret truths I need to record for posterity.

Even now I am beginning to segue into new things. I volunteer at the Botanical Garden and go on less bike rides now. I�ve been working for on a local a parking survey lately. Who are these new people and personalities and how do they fit into my world? I can�t say and I won�t know until many years from now maybe. This is the most important element to a secret world. I can never actually know how many stories are locked up in my mind that other people in my life probably aren�t ever going to hear about.

I started writing this on 100712.  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.

Knitting Circles to Unions

Sameness is traditionally used to define group formation because of the way that addressing problems must involve system wide solutions. Group formation usually involves a class of individuals identifying a certain thing or idea as important and they organize for the sake of having a stronger voice or making that idea a reality. For instance, fatal medical epidemics require huge amounts of money and awareness to be successful, especially when success means saving the lives of giant populations. Other examples may implicate a more narrow range of individuals but by and large organizations from knitting circles to unions depend upon this basic idea.

However, I think it is worth noting how concepts such as work, membership, choice or exchange use difference as a source of energy and development. In fact, these internal differences are hugely important to the idea that each member of a community finds acceptance by way of their unique contribution to the whole. For instance variations in stature and prominence within the membership define an internal hierarchy where some members are more connected to external facilities or projects and other members serve to power the group�s ideology.

In fact the way that groups are constituted through difference allows better organization via this process of specialization. Eventually the group�in the United States at least�has to make decisions on how they can develop their organization because of the way that this specialization affects the membership. For instance, it can combine with the speed of information to provide opportunities for corruption or abuse. Of course society has instituted many safeguards on this process and continues to do so but it only shows that individuals cannot always operate on the same platform though they may have shared values.

This is to say that individuals rely upon an implied understanding of shared values and objectives as they rise up the chain of command within their group and this is why I find it amazing that people are able to work together at all. I have always wondered at how people can trust politicians or union representatives since they don�t always have to make decisions dependent upon their constituents.

Turning to my own experiences with group formation and development, I remember that I was always rather na�ve in my teens. I believed that those around me only had my best interest in mind and it took me a long time to understand what it meant to contribute to a community. However, even when I did manage to make a significant contribution I still didn�t feel like I was necessarily accepted as a member.

Moving on from those experiences I slowly learned the role that power and money plays in the process of organization and it happened then that I was longer so na�ve. I tried to avoid the pitfalls of participation, crafting agendas that were relevant and using each experience for my own benefit. In time I found that I not only was a part of the process but driving it. I now know that there is no way to avoid organization. People must work together to get things done or else failure is inevitable.

This understanding of difference has always driven my interaction with others. However, I lately have been struck by how valuable my na�vet� can be. While I cannot return to my early years, my reflections on past experience and how I intend to move forward in life have indicated that my current attitude towards organization isn�t too far off from my attitude then. I think this is because I have come to realize that thought is action too.

I like to contemplate the question: �What is the relationship between same and different?� because it helps to keep my reasons for organizing in perspective. It stands to reason that we can never actually solve our differences. We can only internalize them. Meanwhile, we have more in common with those around us than we know. I find that simply listening helps and once we know what is going on around us we may then move on.

While there may always issues to attend to, I think that the stories of what makes each issue what it is are what matters most. After all if you don�t know what the issue is then how are you ever going to tackle it? I have found that this method of engagement can often be as difficult as any other if not more. Meanwhile, those in power often misinterpret this perspective as being ignorance. It may even draw the attention of nefarious personages. However, this isn�t so bad if it identifies the weakest link in the chain of organization.

I started writing this on 092912.

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.

Straight Forward and Useful

Progress and what it means. I sometimes look at my life and wonder at the progress I make. However, I have been evaluating the concept of progress and that was a revelation in itself. Up to this point in my life I had always just assumed that education, money and housing were all the indicators of progress that I needed but I have since realized that indicators depend upon time, place and other contextual factors too various to recount.

This is to say that, while useful, my sense of progress cannot always be based upon my preferred measures. Of course I won�t be able to accomplish certain things if I am homeless or uneducated; and of course we all want to live our lives free of financial constraints but that is mostly an inconceivable idea. So, yes my conception of progress is pretty straight forward and useful. However, these three things cannot necessarily be the center of how my life should move along.

For instance, I might be able to say that this blog can be considered an indicator of progress as I have been using it as an absolute measure. The fact that I am able to post anything at all indicates that I am able to get something done. Plus, it actually represents my three core indicators since my notebook, memories and blog posts all help me stay on track and up to date with my priorities.

In the interregnum I have focused on other measures that I may be able to use and have discovered especially valuable ones. Chief amongst these is the raw number of new personalities I may be exposed to in the course of my day. For example, I met a banjo player studying for an anatomy course today and yesterday I went to a party at a friend�s house to which I had never before been. In these instances I am often exposed to new personalities, cultures, ideas and perspectives that may not even differ much from my own.

I started writing this on 092212.

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 Single Hiccup

Last Friday I hung out with my friends in the area around 850 Bryant. One of them works with the Public Defender and so we were waiting for her. The other friend lives in Brooklyn. In the morning the two of us had coffee and after the work day was over the three of us had tacos.

On Saturday I went to Tour de Fat and hung out with another friend in between volunteering. This is a really fun event. I got to ride on a funny tandem where there are two seats side by side but only two wheels front and back. HAHA what an amazing experience. I had to quit when a pedal slammed into my shin. Tour de fat involves beer. Afterwards I went to another friend�s house and ate pizza with a bunch of bicyclists that had been at the event.

On Sunday morning I went to Java Beach and met a cute banjo player.

Today I was filling out a couple of different online forms, a process that can be frustrating. You have to fill out the form and then render it using the online profile thing. The output is a pdf that you can�t save. Then I have to print it out and sign it and if there is a single hiccup in the process I sort of have to start all over again. Egh. Suffice to say I needed a breath of fresh air. So, I went for a walk to Sunset Reservoir. It�s was amazing how many people I saw walking around up there. I was looking for some alone time and just kept bumping into people. Dog walkers, strollers you name it. What is soo great about a former quarry converted into a reservoir for drinking water? I am certain there are several other places in SF where you can get a good view of the Farallones, the park and the bridge at the same time. I just can�t think of any.

This is series chronicles my life at regular intervals. This Memo series is meant to be a retrospective of what I have written and experienced. In each of these posts I use my notes in conjunction with memory, mementos and souvenirs to create a snap shot of my life.

The Cultural Concept and Messaging

In the days before Labor Day I revisited a small town in the North Coast and I couldn�t help but notice how similar my daily errands can be in both the city and countryside. However, I did notice some obvious differences. For instance, the town�s four shops are run by many of the same people and travel times between places are different. In the countryside you know your neighbors a lot better because travel into town can be especially difficult. This is part of the reason for why I bought a bike to get from one place to another. Riding 20 miles between towns for breakfast had quite an effect upon my cultural concept.

At the time I saw the trip as an opportunity to step back from a city life so full of opportunity and ask myself what really matters to me. This helped when I noticed what was missing when I needed it the most. I have so much more say in how a car passes me on a city street as opposed to the highway but the traffic in the country side is way better in general. While I was visiting Oregon to see friends and family, I came to discover that people�even strangers�were way better at recognizing and catering to my needs. I don�t think that this is the case as much in the city but the experience has helped me to recognize this type of phenomenon when I do see it.

I came home believing that the trip had helped me to separate what really mattered from the rest of my life. However, I think that it really only allowed me to see how my city life has already changed over the years. For instance, I had already begun to identify longer term trends in my life and how old friendships take on new roles. I believe that rather than augmenting my self concept the trip really only affected my outlook.  Moreover, I believe that I have begun to be more patient with those around me and have realized that my interactions with others describe a more general message which may only be understood over time.

In the meantime, I have found that it has been especially hard to get into the swing of things; with emails from potential employers and text messages from old friends. Leaving town for a week always leaves a person with a perfect storm of responsibilities. I constantly have to organize my messy room, get on track with appointments and line other things up and it all has to be done a day at a time. Finally, I feel like I am ready for the coming week. I only wish that had been the case when I got back from my Labor Day vacation two weeks ago.

I started writing this on 092212.

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 Certain Waitress

All these people came to visit me in the past few weeks and I got into it.  I went with a few friends to Sunday Streets and walked around the Western Addition and saw a lot of fun stuff.  I also got to see a lot of the locals and their organizations in their native habitat.  This was really fun.  That whole weekend was amazing though.  I went on SF Bike Party and visited some friends in the East Bay.

One thing I didn�t do was pay attention to the things that matter.  For instance the first thing I needed to do Monday was fix my computer (again).  I also have had to stop by a restaurant in the Inner Sunset to see if a certain waitress is working.  Tonight I am planning on meeting a friend to participate in a weekly bike ride.

This series chronicles my life at regular intervals. This Memo series is meant to be a retrospective of what I have written and experienced. In each of these posts I use my notes in conjunction with memory, mementos and souvenirs to create a snap shot of my life.

Amazing I Made it Home at all

I rode my bike on Overlook Drive past a bunch of tree mulch and two trucks that were not city vehicles.  I then rode to the Panhandle where a Ford Mustage took an illegal left from the center lane on Fell nearly killing me.  I rode Grove street across Divisadero, around Alamo Square and down Fulton where someone insisted I get out of his way so that he could wait at a stop sign (I didn't).  I made it to Franklin where a BMW tried to move me out of the way as well.  I also had to fight with a taxi.  I rode to Union Square with less trouble.

After I parked the bike I walked to the art galleries on Post and Geary.  I took the elevator to the top floor on 251 Post and grabbed a postcard at Hespe.  Kim Cogan had a great piece that was straight out of my teenage years.  Also, Scott Richards had a great piece that I liked by Chris Dorosz called Stasis.  I then went to 49 Geary where the Hanes Gallery had a set of fantastic daguerreotypes by Binh Danh as well as a piece from Ai Weiwei.  Finally there was Ansel Adams' Manzanar Project at the Scott Nichols.

I had dinner at Cafe de la Presse and then walked to Visuvio to see my friend Dave who tends there bar there.  I saw Obama address the Democratic convention there talking about Hope and Freedom.  When I left I walked to my bike and then tried to make it out of Union Square, which is impossible by the way.  I only rode the wrong way once.  What is Peter York Street for anyway??

Later I had a lot of trouble on Page Street, where a lady called me a bitch while trying to pass me as I was passing a double parked car near Pierce.  I made it across Divisadero and through Golden Gate Park but at 3rd and Lincoln some nut was taking a left off of Frederick and nearly killed myself and two other cyclists.  Finally, I had a run in with someone who tried to pass me while I was passing another cyclist at 16th and irving.  Amazing I made it home at all.

Is nothing really said?

I have been going on an organized bike ride every Wednesday lately and the last one was especially grueling. Starting at the Ferry building we rode to the Golden Gate Bridge and then to Land�s End. At the end of the ride we then traveled through Golden Gate Park. In the days since, I have been trying to shore my life up at school and as a volunteer in various capacities. These things were mostly house cleaning. I also went to a party at a Haight Ashbury bar for the city�s bike lanes.

Lately I have been going over my interactions with people and what it does to me. I don�t really feel like it is the stuff that happens between me and anyone in particular. What really affects me is how I feel when I know that others are aware of what has been going on in my life. When things are good you can�t say anything really�no one likes a braggart. However, when it is bad, you can�t say anything either. Of course I do, inadvertently, say things and so do others.

When I say nothing and others say nothing. Is nothing really said? What is important is who is saying nothing. From here it is a simple matter of constructing the different relationships into a coherent picture and looking at it realistically. This means answering questions like: Under what circumstances do people really say nothing to one another? Then there are other questions like: Who knows what and why?

Most of the time, I don�t like asking myself these questions. It all seems so Machiavellian. However, it is important to do so because the subtleties of my personal relationships may not be missed. I am loth to miss something critical to a relationship that is of real consequence to my life.

In the meantime I have been looking at the data in my GPS unit and trying to decipher how to use the device. I intend to visit my brother in Oregon. In time I will have to finish enrolling at school, look for a place to stay in Ashland and maybe catch up with a friend before I leave for a week.

This is series chronicles my life at regular intervals. This Memo series is meant to be a retrospective of what I have written and experienced. In each of these posts I use my notes in conjunction with memory, mementos and souvenirs to create a snap shot of my life.

How I Got Here

In the course of my reflections I have found that the world is a big confusing place.  I regularly return to three distinct lines of thought concerning: my place in the world, my relationships with others and how I got where I am.  These thoughts are my touchstone in many ways and I think of them as if I am looking for something solid on which to stand.  I don�t think these thoughts all at the same time either.  I have found that they happen at specific times in my day and life.  I often wonder about my place in the world when traveling from place to place or cleaning my room.  I think about my personal relationships while looking at my emails or paying for coffee.  Regarding that last reflection, how I got here I daily lie in bed wondering how I got here.

I value these thoughts because the fact that I have to ask myself about these things indicates that I am addressing my concerns.  While constantly juggling responsibilities, I have found that I have had a modicum of success in my endeavors and though time constraints tend to inhibit budding relationships but they don�t necessarily die or disappear and they always return.  However, I understand that I need to be focused, prompt and on point in keeping these responsibilities.

Concerning the last reflection, I have lived in so many places the Sierra, Humboldt, Spain, China, Los Angeles and finally San Francisco.  When I think about where I am�as opposed to who or what�my conclusions always depend on how comfortable I am in my current location.  For instance, Yosemite is so idyllic and Madrid bustling.  Long Beach seemed the epitome of Babylon.  However, lately I�ve been waking up to a new thought: how nice it is to be home.

I started writing this on 082012.

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

Wavelengths, Distortion and Interference

Every day I take the courageous step of writing about my life and do so regardless of how difficult, emotional and personal each event is. I do this mostly because it makes for better writing. As I have cycled through this process it has become more sophisticated and complex. I keep notes, post to a private blog space, keep a notebook and edit each piece to make them fit for public consumption. Looking back in this way helps me to find good topics. As the process has become more complex, it has also revealed wavelengths, distortion and interference that would have been imperceptible via a more simple process.

In the beginning, I saw my notebooks and private posts as a dead end. Many of them aren�t understandable to anyone but a short list of people�a liability in and of itself. Also, I have written so many of them that fully editing and posting them publicly would take months to years of work. However, it is useful to see the process I go through for what it really is: write, think, forget, move on, rewrite, reassess and remember. While each and every cul-de-sac or closed circuit may never make it into public view they nevertheless inform each of these steps. At the end of each cycle, I can look back at the network I have created with a complete understanding of the energies that flow through them.

I started writing this on 081312.

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

Very Confused

About a week ago I got laid off but I took it in stride. The contract actually should have ended Friday but this factotum was no longer relevant by the time Saturday came around. I was moving along with other things in my life. I had fixed up my bike and went shopping for a GPS before I went to East Bay Bike Party on Friday. This lady I met told me about an interesting bar which checked out before going to movie Saturday.

This morning I got about forty texts from that girl. I suppose she was bummed that all her friends had gone to a major show in the park and she didn�t have tickets. I met her half way to downtown and we went for a picnic. Later we went for tacos and had drinks at one of my favorite bars. As night set in we took a cold ride to her house where we watched videos. During the day it was fun to talk to her but later on I realized that it was a mistake to go to her house with her.

This is series chronicles my life at regular intervals. This Memo series is meant to be a retrospective of what I have written and experienced. In each of these posts I use my notes in conjunction with memory, mementos and souvenirs to create a snap shot of my life.

Rare Insights

My last post makes it clear that I have no trouble looking for stuff to write about. I try to make it to several events each month; like First Thursdays Art Walk at galleries near Union Square. With nearly 30 of galleries spread over three blocks, there is a wide variety of places to visit and each has a different specialty. I have collected their postcards for years and now a number of them send me an email nearly twice a month. You can find these emails at knfnewsletters.blogspot.com. Another event I go to is Bike Party which is the next day usually. This month we climbed to the top of Twin Peaks and then rode to the Potrero del Sol playground in the eastern Mission. I like this group a lot because we go to all of these interesting places. Sometimes it is the Dogpatch and others Ocean Beach. There are fun activities too.

It can be difficult for me to write each of my posts because the only free time I can find is usually after work. To tighten my procedure for posting to my blog, I have a three step process where I both transcribe my notebook as well as post. With scarcely a day of lag time when a thought goes into my notebook and when I use it to write my post, it almost seems like I am taking each step simultaneously and this can cause a surreal confusion of thoughts and feelings. However, parsing analysis of the resulting content illuminates rare insights.

I started editing this on 072812.

This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an aglomeration of my notebook pages.  In each of these posts I used only my notes to hash out ideas taht I have hit apon in the recent past.

Sandoval Made the Splits

The weekends during this period were filled with trips to the movies (e.g. Batman) and a visits with friends in the East Bay. I rode through the Excelsior once and met a friend who was volunteering for Sunday Streets in the Bayview. I also regularly had coffee with my coworker Rick during this period. I was also trying to update my resume too. I remember that I had been eating at Sunrise Falafel a lot during this period. I like that place.

On this day specifically the Pablo �Panda� Sandoval made the splits catching a ball and pulled a hamstring.  I was having a beer at Yancy's.  It was impressive because he got the out but it left me with mixed feelings. He looked funny�I mean really funny.  None of us laughed though because we knew it was not going to be good. Later it turned out that he was off the field for a week only but that was close.

During this period in my life I was grappling with the fact that having a job also means that you have no free time. In between getting to and from the job it is so hard to do the things that really matter. Later this week I would be looking at some real responsibility at work as well as trust issues with my coworkers. I saw a time travel movie around this time as well.

This is series chronicles my life at regular intervals. This Memo series is meant to be a retrospective of what I have written and experienced. In each of these posts I use my notes in conjunction with memory, mementos and souvenirs to create a snap shot of my life.

(re)Writing:

I�ve been rereading my notes from the last month and have noticed that I am deep into the process for which I was trained at school. All I ever do it seems is document the minutia of my life but in the process I develop an insight unparalleled in the world around me. I reread a story about my parents who recently went to the East Coast for a dance exhibition. I asked my mother about the dances she performed and she said it is hard to remember: when you get out there you just get into the flow of things. I find it is much the same when I am writing. I formulate ideas via a complex of writing and rewriting that I find hard to trace because of its reflexive nature. I am almost inclined to call it (re)writing because it is really a cycle of notebook entries, transcription, analysis and blogging. The transcription and analysis alone can often take weeks to organize and very little of it can be publicly posted. At 25 posts a month for 5 months this can be a daunting task when I am racing to move on to other things.

However, I have shortened my turn around lately and now I am often transcribing things that I had written only a short while earlier. While this can be confusing, I have discovered that frequent posting is the key to success. Not only does it speed the process up it also raises the quality of the final product. There is a certain clarity that comes from rereading, which often highlights my changing perspectives and I am continually aware of how I change small items or add to the narrative. For instance, when I transcribe notes concerned with feelings I am often unable to keep myself from changing the words ever so slightly. Also, I may neglect to write about fact in my notebook and may later feel it is necessary to add that information as an explanation. Hence, it isn�t possible to say that I am rewriting my notes but I try to keep to a principle of revisiting my experiences rather than wholly rewrite them.

When I write I transcribe my various notebooks while simultaneously jotting down my thoughts on the process. This often causes me to experience fleeting moments of d�j� vu where I try to remember what I was thinking when I last shut the computer down. I tend to write mindlessly and sometimes don�t even notice the content of what I am writing until later.

Events and activities:
I have identified several different but easily distinguished strains in my writing. One concerns my career paths, which I chart using a bibliography. In an effort to better understand how I have been developing my career I used Craigslist to build a set of RSS feeds and have since developed a meaningful content analysis. I used the results to boost the bibliography. I have since begun using these resources to build a more effective resume which will intern be reposted to Craigslist.

I write regularly about my life and experiences. Aside from the obvious activities visiting friends in the East Bay, going to the movies or hitting the bars to watch televised sports I don�t really have to try hard to figure out what to do with my free time. Here is a quick round up of my thoughts and the events that led to them.

In late June, I had dinner with the parents for my father�s 72nd birthday. I identified my paging file as the source of my computer problems replaced the rim on my bike. Also, in early July I had a really complicated weekend that wore me out. Friday I went to a Growlers concert but had an interview the next morning at 7 and a day later I went to Sunday Streets. I started my first Monday at that job very tired. However, a few weeks later we went to a ball game with several people that I got to know that weekend. During this period I found myself writing a lot about commitment.

Outings:
I have been out and about town a lot and this always stokes my thoughts. I often find myself at the desk here late at night with a glass of bourbon, my notebook and my computer. I have noticed on several occasions that I mention how appropriate this seems to me. I suppose that drinking and writing may very well be complimentary. There seems to be enough literature on the fact that they tend to go hand to hand with particular authors. They are strange brothers though. Drinking may sometimes take the place of writing but I would tend to sat that this often happens at the latter�s expense.

On the rare occasion that I am out of the house for a beer, I find that I am riding my bike through many of the same places and even having some of the same experiences. Two items I have hit on are parking and Cabs.

The other day I was riding down O�Farrell Street and near Laguna I saw something that I didn�t quite like. Someone had parked their car in a no parking zone and at the entrance to the park there. It forced me to get off of my bike because there was no other way to get into the park but through this illegally parked car. It peeves me that people would so brazenly break the law. While I would like to say that mean that my infractions would be similarly benign, I have only to look at the letters to the SF Chronicle to know that motorists don�t care much for my problems.

Only a few blocks away from there is a stretch of Page Street (above Divisadero) that I often have to take because of where I am heading. Here the Cabs are the source of my malaise. One night I was climbing this stretch of road when Yellow Cab filled with party people and traveling at high speed came within inches of me. The driver yelled, �Do you want to get killed?� this prompted me to design an image of a cab with giant teeth literally hopping on and crushing a cyclist. I spent several hours drawing this image in my notebook and later at home on the computer. I call it, Yell, �OH!� Cab.

I started editing this on 072112 and posted it to the RPHL on 080812.

This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an aglomeration of my notebook pages.  In each of these posts I used only my notes to hash out ideas taht I have hit apon in the recent past.

A Ride to the Bus Stop

I had taken a temporary job at Recology. It was one of those positions that is good for the resume and I did it for that purpose. I had been working there for a few weeks during which mom and dad were on the East Coast. It took me a week to actually tell them that I had a job. They were happy with me. I was supposed to pick them up but in the end Nora did so. I was busy meeting new people at work since so many were away on vacation. This seemed to be the way things were each day I was there. I had a set of procedures that I was working on and every day I received a set of jobs to do. It was pretty mind-numbing. Sometimes my direct supervisor took me out for coffee and we would talk.

On this day I got to work a little late but in the end it was alright. I always went to this one coffee shop run by a guy named King. I didn't really like the place but I couldn't find anything else near that bus stop. I also would go to a shop on Leland Avenue every morning and pick up fruit and bread at a local grocery. The eight hours of updating the database, drawing maps and printing was always difficult and my coworker Rick had the same trouble. I wrote in my notebook that the ride home on the 29 was super difficult.

Rick eventually started giving me a ride to the bus stop after that.

This is series chronicles my life at regular intervals. This Memo series is meant to be a retrospective of what I have written and experienced. In each of these posts I use my notes in conjunction with memory, mementos and souvenirs to create a snap shot of my life.

Luggage Store

It was mid-summer and I had been wrestling with meet ups, transactions, events and personalities. My memory makes me think that it all turned out alright but reading through my notes has indicated that maybe I was a bit frazzled. I had a friend moving to the Bay Area over those few weeks and I felt it was necessary to do the catch up. Meanwhile, I found myself on more than one occasion riding around the city for reasons that became moot halfway through the ride.

However, it was summer and there was plenty going on. I managed to take in Sunday Streets in the Mission and in the process I saw a lot of old friends. I also met this guy who seemed to know everyone from the olden days and my high school years. He hipped me to this awesome art show at the Luggage Store. I took this photo there and was generally impressed with the turnout. Later in the week I went to a couple of interesting Art Galleries. One of them was in the Richmond District.

This is series chronicles my life at regular intervals. This Memo series is meant to be a retrospective of what I have written and experienced. In each of these posts I use my notes in conjunction with memory, mementos and souvenirs to create a snap shot of my life.

Meetings and Meet ups

When I participate in particular movements and events I see myself as collaborating with others to enrich the whole. For instance, a short list of activities form the past few weeks would include witnessing the Transit of Venus, using a corporate website to apply for a job, attending an walk downtown, watching an old movie, volunteering at the Bike coalition and contributing at the Transit Union fundraiser. I think that each item on this short list is related to this process of collaboration and enrichment.

I have noticed that I tend to engage this process from a myriad of perspectives both physical and digital. However, I have also noted that many of these perspectives develop from different bases. For instance, type of engagement, which I will call �meetings�, tends to be scheduled and each event tends to be planned to gain broad support for a cause or pastime. Examples from my above list may include the Art Walk and Sunday Streets, and others may include sports venues. Another, which I will call meet ups, tend to be on a more personal level and are usually organized ad hoc.

Naturally the distinction between instances of �meeting and meeting up� may be somewhat blurred as many may have developed out of planned events or more carefully managed events. However, I can definitely say that I have passed through several turns of this process: going out and bumping into people, arranging to meet again and then starting over. I make the most connections at large events and they often result in meet ups where I get to know people on a more personal level.

These two spheres of engagement, while not exclusive, involve two different types of social activity and these have a lesser digital or automated component. For the larger events, meetings, there is generally a broadcast to a large audience (ads, flyers or posters) whereas meet-ups are via texts or word of mouth. Putting too much focus on the digital/automated or face-to-face and participatory elements of the process would cause a person to miss out on a whole world of interaction.

I see it as a process of sorting, where the basic concept is that one�s consistent engagement in the public sphere is essential. Individuals need human engagement but would prefer to learn about what is out there before committing to anything in particular. At first one may find that they should engage the public at larger events and then later on an individual level. Different scales of activity allows the individual to learn about what is possible before they make a decision about what they want to get involved in.

Here is a GIF I made of the recent eclipse.

This is a regular series chronicling my life at regular intervals. This Memo series is meant to be a retrospective of what I have written and experienced. In each of these posts I use my notes in conjunction with memory, mementos and souvenirs to create a snap shot of my life.

Art and Anniversary Parties

On the 5th of May I visited Twin Peaks and I took this photo. What is it? I have no idea.  I looked at my notebook around the 16th and listed out many of the things that had happened during this period. I ended up attending a bunch of parties that I really enjoyed going to. On the 17th of May, I met a friend at caf� Soleil and then traveled to two Art Parties and, then much later that night, the Suppen Kuche anniversary party. The very next day I had an interview for a job that I wanted.

It occurred to me that this combination may not be too out of the ordinary. My last few employers have made me realize that human resources departments seem to organize their hiring around the first day of each paycheck. For instance, I have found that after my employer would always initiate interviews one week before the end of the pay-period and new personnel would always start on the first day of the pay period. In the meantime I have noticed that parties are planned for the days after the pay period ends.

On the twentieth, I watched the eclipse at the Academy of Sciences. I was sick for a while after that and on the week of the 21st, I spent a lot of time rewriting my notes. I had time to clean house and visit the cleaners and had the house to myself. I started feeling better and on that Friday the 25th when I saw Dark Shadows at the Kabuki.

This is a regular series chronicling my life at regular intervals. This Memo series is meant to be a retrospective of what I have written and experienced. In each of these posts I use my notes in conjunction with memory, mementos and souvenirs to create a snap shot of my life.  I wrote this on the 26th of May and posted it to the blog on June 13th.

Do I Bring a Towel?

I have been having a lot of trouble sleeping lately.  I have always disliked sleeping on my back.  I suppose that if I did more sit ups this would change but I in the meantime just don't do it.  I tend to sleep on my side.  However, in the past month I have even had trouble in this position.  So I toss and turn.

I woke up this morning at 5, which means I really only got like four hours of sleep.  So, I decided, because I had been telling myself to for about a week now, to go to the beach when the alarm went off at 6.

There were all these things that I knew would come up.  Like keys and ID and shoes and "Do I bring a towel?" and other stuff not worth recounting here.  There was the cold.  It was cold.  I was really groggy.  Even after being up half the night it was interesting to realize how much I wanted to return to that tedium.

I kept thinking, "I'm going to hate this," on the way down.  I only live five blocks from the beach so the reality is that I didn't think this too long but it only made the experience that much more immediate.  Every block brought the reality of the sand, the waves, the in-your-face-power of the thing that closer.

When I got to the Lower Great Highway I just kept going up the trail and over the levee, across the upper roadway, over the fencing, through the brush onto the sea wall over to and down the stairs....  I took off my shirt and flip flops and trudged through the sand saying, "Well here goes..." and then I was in the water.

I hate wading into water.  It only makes the difficulty of getting used to the temperature all the more drawn out but with the ocean it isn't the same.  You can't just jump into it.  The waves start small but as you walk (or run) out to meet them the weight of the water begins to slow you down.  Then there are the variety of waves that you have to deal with and then WHAM that big one comes in and knocks you silly.

And then there you are.  In the ocean.

From then on, even on the way home, I didn't once dislike the waves, the temperature, my outfit, the wind, the walk.  I just found myself at home spraying my feet off, showering and getting ready for the day.

Truck Broke Down

On my trip to Oregon I got this iconic photo (through the windshield) of Shasta�s Black Butte.

I took a trip back through Oregon and Humboldt and at the end of it the truck broke down. On the 23rd of April I left Eureka at the Police station and experienced a sad series of events where I had to hire a tow truck and rent a room. That day I met Dave the tow truck driver and countless automobile maintenance, sales and rental personnel. I made about a million phone calls to friends, family and rental dealerships. It was a learning experience. I made a lot of mistakes which I am not certain I can avoid in the future. However, I did learn a lot about how communication factored into solving my problem in addition to the vagaries of the business day.

I ended up missing a party that I really wanted to attend but I was happy that I was able to use my skills to make wise choices and when I was able to see through my own frustration was able to even enjoy myself and even explore the local areas. Many of the steps of getting home were easily intuited from previous experiences and I wrote the whole experience down in my notebook as it was happening.

This is a regular series chronicling my life at regular intervals. This Memo series is meant to be a retrospective of what I have written and experienced. In each of these posts I use my notes in conjunction with memory, mementos and souvenirs to create a snap shot of my life. I wrote this on the 26th of May and posted it to the blog on June 13th.

The Inner Workings of Firms

I was working on resumes and dog walking; riding my bike around town and working at the coalition offices. I was reviewing my old resumes because of an email from an old coworker. I had been reflecting a lot in my writings over this incident and it gave me a lot of insight on how firms work. I believe what happened is my old coworker called a number of us about a job posting and management from the old job heard about it. I thought that the progression in of emails in my inbox told an interesting story since it didn�t seem especially clear to anyone what was going on. However, after reflecting upon the incidents in aggregate I could only conclude that this was part of some back stage tug-of-war over skilled personnel. I never felt all that close to any of the people who had contacted me and that it was terribly out of context for them. So to check on whether I was hallucinating, I told the story to a number of disinterested parties and they all seemed to say the same thing. Clearly the inner workings of firms aren�t very opaque at all.

I went to the Berkeley Map Library. It has the largest collection of air photos I have ever seen.


This is a regular series chronicling my life at regular intervals. This Memo series is meant to be a retrospective of what I have written and experienced. In each of these posts I use my notes in conjunction with memory, mementos and souvenirs to create a snap shot of my life. I wrote this on the 26th of May and posted it to the blog on June 13th.

North Beach for Dinner

I went to North Beach to have dinner friend. We went to several bars that night and I had trouble recounting exactly what we had talked about. She had come up for an interview and we had dinner afterwards to discuss it. I left my bike at BART and rode it home from there. Next day I spoke at length to the librarian at the Mechanics Institute library. I also went to the uptown and met some friends�I met some random cutie that night. She was pretty drunk. During that time I got the Rockhopper and its new handlebars. I remember taking my bike to work via an Owl bus and maybe for the first time. I like to call the area in this photo P-Hill. It is the bridge over Treat Bl.

This is a regular series chronicling my life at regular intervals. This Memo series is meant to be a retrospective of what I have written and experienced. In each of these posts I use my notes in conjunction with memory, mementos and souvenirs to create a snap shot of my life. I wrote this on the 26th of May and posted it to the blog on June 13th.

Yo-Yos

I had been riding the �homeless bus.� This is where the homeless �yo-yo� the owl bus until the early morning. I have never particularly enjoyed riding the Owl�especially during the morning commute. This was my first day at work after learning that we would no longer be making overtime. This was a bummer because I had been trying to make up for the loss of time from my trip to NY. My notes for this period were incomplete because I had received a phone call from an old friend while I was writing them. I remember climbing the stairs on the phone with a bike in my hand. I am still amazed that I was able to run for the train. That day for some reason I thought it was necessary to record what the Transbay Terminal looked like before they built the giant skyscrapers.

This is a regular series chronicling my life at regular intervals. This Memo series is meant to be a retrospective of what I have written and experienced. In each of these posts I use my notes in conjunction with memory, mementos and souvenirs to create a snap shot of my life. I wrote this on the 26th of May and posted it to the blog on June 13th.

Introducing my Friends

A number of people flaked on me at Sunday Streets but they all told me that they would see me the next day. I called a few people before hand to tell them I was going out for Sunday Streets and each one indicated that they wanted to but eventually they flaked. I rode through the Wiggle and then down 16th to the Embarcadero. I passed families and ended up at the Ferries where I had lunch and read the paper. Later I ended up on Polk Street and had some coffee. By that time I had received a couple of calls saying that I go out on Monday. I coordinated these calls on the day I wrote this and I ended up introducing my friends to one another.

A coworker asked me to check if BevMo had any Red Breast. They did. However, I bought the Paddy�s instead.

This is a regular series chronicling my life at regular intervals. This Memo series is meant to be a retrospective of what I have written and experienced. In each of these posts I use my notes in conjunction with memory, mementos and souvenirs to create a snap shot of my life. I wrote this on the 26th of May and posted it to the blog on June 13th.

Zones of Transition

I bought a new notebook at Sunday Streets and was preparing myself for meeting up with a friend from LA county and Bike Party. The bosses had asked me to work Saturday. I had been speaking to a coworker about commuting to work and he gave me his number. The next day when I got a ride from him we discussed Urban Morphology and Geography. For instance, Van Ness and Market seem to have many of the attributes found in the classic Zones of Transition. We also talked about Hayes Valley.

Another one of my coworkers and I developed the beginnings of a lifestyle company we titled Butthead Royale. Look for us at Macy�s, Sunglasses Hut and all major surf shops.

This is a regular series chronicling my life at regular intervals. This Memo series is meant to be a retrospective of what I have written and experienced. In each of these posts I use my notes in conjunction with memory, mementos and souvenirs to create a snap shot of my life. I wrote this on the 26th of May and posted it to the blog on June 13th.

Big Striped Hats and Rabbit Suits

On the 3rd of March,I rode across Polk Gulch on Austin to meet up with the Bike Party. The theme was Dr Seuss and there were a lot of Things One and Two. There was even a four! Big striped hats were everywhere. I was confused by all of the rabbit suits.

So I Googled "rabbits Seuss" and discovered this great children's story called the Big Brag.

A pair of cute animals have an argument. I didn't actually get to read the story because the content is proprietary but I thought it was an adorable premise. Here you have two cuddly creatures of the wild and they have a bit of disagreement which a kindly worm offers to help them settle. Sensing an opportunity for moral reflection and rhyming, I was tempted to learn more.

Some Kind of Devil

I had had a hectic work schedule because I was preparing for a trip to New York. I had to get some 1099�s on top of having a run in with Valentine�s day. I also remember working on my thesis and a lot of meetings and goings on at work. I skipped work one day because of Muni�s Saturday schedule on Presidents day. I also remember focusing on getting to bed on time.

Before the trip I wrote a sketch for a Sci-Fi story. It was about the confusing world that the internet has created and how sometimes it might seem that it is harboring some kind of devil. I included some autobiographical stuff.

On the run up to my trip to NY, I tried hard to get everything done so I didn�t have to worry about cleaning my room when I got back. I was in bad need of sleep for that period too�definitely the night I flew the red eye into NY. I goofed on trying to prepare for the trip but I had enough time between work and the flight anyway. However, my memory is something of a hash. I wrote up a lot of my thoughts on the flight in to NY and when I arrived since I had to wait for a room and then I only got like two hours of sleep.

Here is a photo of my mom, Beverley, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC.

This is a regular series chronicling my life at regular intervals. This Memo series is meant to be a retrospective of what I have written and experienced. In each of these posts I use my notes in conjunction with memory, mementos and souvenirs to create a snap shot of my life. I wrote this on the 26th of May and posted it to the blog on June 13th.

I knew the waitress

I went out with my buddy from LA and my coworkers. The boss was there and it was a little weird. The boss thought my guest was one of his employees. This didn�t stop my friend from taking advantage of his kindness. I thought it was perfectly acceptable actually. I nearly got stuck in Oakland that night because of a bomb scare at the Embarcadero BART station.

The next day I met my Angeleno friend and a coworker at Addie�s where I knew the waitress. We had dinner and then took off for East Bay Bike Party. It was really fun and I am glad that I went. We got to Coliseum station a little late and lost each other in the mix. Later the three of us built a fort out of our bikes at the second BP stop�a parking lot in San Leandro. We ended up at NIMBY in Oakland where I randomly bumped into an old biking buddy from Long Beach.

My mom and I discovered this old church and graveyard in SoHo.

This is a regular series chronicling my life at regular intervals. This Memo series is meant to be a retrospective of what I have written and experienced. In each of these posts I use my notes in conjunction with memory, mementos and souvenirs to create a snap shot of my life. I wrote this on the 26th of May and posted it to the blog on June 13th.

A Cavalier Attitude

I worked out a number of tables in my thesis and note that sometimes my blog titles are indicative of much more than their content. I write often but struggle to remember what I have been doing. However, I think that the real struggle concerns how to record my thoughts so that I can come back to them later.

I have been learning how to transfer rewrite my notebook entries. I would do marathon rewrites and most of the edits are inconclusive. I also start to recognize how important it is to be consistent when I write. It has focused my mind on how I don�t have a lot of time to do this sort of thing. For instance, I have discovered that phrasing is especially important. Also, it can be really hard to rewrite original material when it is written about a specific thing or in a specific medium.

In general, I am happy with my output even if I am critical of how things with specific people turn out. Sometimes I know that it is much better to be light with one�s words to avoid ruining things. For instance, it seems that a manager�s desperation can breed a cavalier attitude in the employees they favor. I have also found that the food at work (doughnuts and take-out) is super bad for me. I have found that when the job isn�t going well I know that I just need to stick it out. I remember wondering to myself without the slightest hint of irony how this experience might be useful in the future.

This is Spider. Somehow when I took this photo I knew she would pass away very soon.

This is a regular series chronicling my life at regular intervals. This Memo series is meant to be a retrospective of what I have written and experienced. In each of these posts I use my notes in conjunction with memory, mementos and souvenirs to create a snap shot of my life. I wrote this on the 26th of May and posted it to the blog on June 13th.

I was happy. It was raining�

I am not creating blog posts as often as I want to but I am definitely using the notebook to write and that is a good thing. I also have been posting for more than a year now. I notice that I like to make comments about my commute and the bicycle stops in SF and Walnut Creek. Some of my coworkers had to go to Oakland to make scans. I also stop to have beers with a coworker at Hennessey�s bar in the financial district.

There was a story in the paper about someone driving their car into the Duboce Tunnel. He was drunk and said, �I�m not from around here.�

My parents went to Reno for a few days and my brother was in town. I forgot my keys and had to leave the bike at the BART station. Later I went to the bar with the coworkers. I was happy. It was raining and I didn�t ride the bus on Friday. I went to the Uptown after watching Tinker Tailor episodes that night. I saw old friends and we went to Homestead later. I wandered around the city over the weekend and watched more Tinker Tailor and worked on the Thesis for most of the weekend.

My only ski trip last season was to Squaw Valley. I had fun but there wasn�t a lot of snow.

This is a regular series chronicling my life at regular intervals. This Memo series is meant to be a retrospective of what I have written and experienced. In each of these posts I use my notes in conjunction with memory, mementos and souvenirs to create a snap shot of my life. I wrote this on the 26th of May and posted it to the blog on June 13th.

Get to Know Each Other

There was this problem with the refrigerator. In the morning I found that someone had distributed my lunch all over the kitchen and I was angry. I ran to the train late as usual and was cursing the whole way. It�s amazing what can happen at 5 in the morning.

At work I advertized my skills to the newbies while working on maps in the back room. That afternoon I concluded that beer Thursdays to be regular but only to a certain degree. For instance one of my coworkers had said to a bunch of us that it was important but didn�t go. I noticed that many of these kinds of interactions have allowed everyone in the office to get to know each other.

I started a plan for reducing my debt and am about to begin chapter 4. I also started to work on my AAG schedule.

I thought that this �missing� sign was funny because of the way that someone had vandalized it. I want to say that the person who drew on it somehow knew about the incident.

This is a regular series chronicling my life at regular intervals. This Memo series is meant to be a retrospective of what I have written and experienced. In each of these posts I use my notes in conjunction with memory, mementos and souvenirs to create a snap shot of my life. I wrote this on the 26th of May and posted it to the blog on June 13th.

It's OK to Say "Ale�

The ale house in Walnut Creek that we went to on Thursdays is written �l but it is ok to say �ale�. I rode to �l with four other bikers. I remember a couple of times when it was a few of us and I enjoyed it a lot. We would wait for each other at the intersections newt the bridges and at the bar. These guys had a special coffee making area in their office. Sometimes during the commute I buy coffee grounds only later discover that none of them cared. I later realized that they were getting reimbursed for coffee on payday.

This is a regular series chronicling my life at regular intervals. This Memo series is meant to be a retrospective of what I have written and experienced. In each of these posts I use my notes in conjunction with memory, mementos and souvenirs to create a snap shot of my life. I wrote this on the 26th of May and posted it to the blog on June 13th.

White Elephant

I have begun to experiment with using MS Word as a blogging medium. I spent a lot of time writing during this almost two week period and the notebook was instrumental in this and However, it is pretty clear that my postings in the notebook and elsewhere cover different dates. I did much of my writing at a caf� in the mountains in Tuolumne County. I would go to this place called the Rock because I was having internet problems at the house.

I used my notebook a lot to during my morning commute. In fact I so regularly write about my commute that I have abbreviated most of the terms that relate to coffee and newspapers where ever possible. During Christmas time, most of my coworkers were away and I am getting rides to and from work from another coworker. I had lost my bike chain and it made me think twice about my commute. I reflected on how I could be fired at any time and how I had been moved between stations. One day I told Jenny that I had an �appointment� that I had to go to and she didn�t really pry about it. I was really going to a civil service exam.

I went to a coalition party at the Elbo. I also met a friend at Yancy�s. I was working on the end of chapter 4 and tearing the room apart on Christmas Eve day. We did a white Elephant. Christmas was simple. It was just mom and dad and me and David was hung over in the garage. My sister was away in Sonoma. My uncle came over and do did David. I watched a lot of TV.

Then it was back to work like nothing happened. I had trouble with getting it the swing of things because of the early dismissal Friday. I got a lot of Thesis work done. I saw a friend from LA that week. She wanted to get away. We hung out in SF and Berkeley. I met her friend.

For New Year�s I drove to work and then to the mountains. Dad was there and we had dinner. He left the next day. The computer wouldn�t work with the internet. I walked a lot on New Year�s Eve.

This is a regular series chronicling my life at regular intervals. This Memo series is meant to be a retrospective of what I have written and experienced. In each of these posts I use my notes in conjunction with memory, mementos and souvenirs to create a snap shot of my life. I wrote this on the 26th of May and posted it to the blog on June 13th.