E Meets West

A study in hypocrisy

2011-03-24T09:02:00.000-07:00

I'm not much for war. I've got even less quarter for a dictator using his military to kill people so he can cling to his palace. So, Libya is tough for me to reconcile. It's obvious that Ghaddafi was, and is, laying siege to cities within his own country. And when homes go up against tanks, tanks win.

So in the end, I hesitantly support an effort to slow those tanks down. To stop them in their tracks before the people in them are commanded to attack neighborhoods they might have grown up in. And I'm glad that the President consulted with congressional leadership first. I'm also glad that there was a rather emphatic UN resolution and that the Arab League is supporting and participating in the military action. I'm also glad that the President has declared again and again that we will not be committing ground troops to the effort. If we must fire a bullet, this seems like the way to do it. Decisively, quickly, and with global support.

Back home, you'd think that those who benefit most from the military industrial complex would support such a move. But instead, there's talk that the intervention is unconstitutional. That we should defund the war and take the supplies away from our troops so they can no longer participate. I find this despicable.

Where were these voices of leadership when we were lied to about Iraq? Where were these brave politicians when we were told there were weapons of mass destruction? When we were led to believe that somehow Al Qaeda was being harbored within Iraq's borders when the real intelligence said Saddam Hussein did not trust the group and wanted nothing to do with them? That he feared they would destabilize his country? I'm not saying that Hussein was any less the dictator than Ghaddafi, I actually believe he was worse. But the stories I've heard were not among the reasons given. The truth about his genocide against his own people was not the evidence and justification provided. And many of the politicians in office now who are crying foul are the same ones who beat the drum of lies that led us into Iraq.

I give Dennis Kucinich a pass. He has always been against armed conflict in other countries. The rest of the House of Representatives appears to be more like a house of cards. And most of them are jokers. They are scoring political points on the graves of dead men, women, and children killed by a dictator. They are toying with the bravest of our society who voluntarily agreed to be in our military. Yes, goals need to be defined. Yes, we need to understand the scope of the conflict and understand what constitutes victory. We also needed to know those things in Iraq. Instead we got a President declaring from an aircraft carrier that the fighting was over months before it ever really got started. And by the way, the last time Congress voted on a declaration of war, was World War II. No such declaration for Korea, Vietnam, Iraq I, Somalia, Afghanistan, or Iraq II. Not saying they shouldn't have, but they didn't.

The intervention in Libya is giving the voting public an opportunity. A chance to look at their politicians and see what they are worth. To see how they react to a terrible situation. To take a measurement of their values. I sincerely hope the voting public takes it.

Should a house have more than one very excellent TV?

2011-02-08T22:37:00.000-08:00

I was just reading a snippet of The Cosby Codex, a series of writings about The Cosby Show on the McSweeney's website, when I was stopped dead in my tracks by an observation. The Codex mentioned that the Cosby house was home to only one TV.

10 years ago I wouldn't have found this particularly interesting. But today, we hear stories of TVs in bedrooms, on computers, in cars, and even in bathrooms. Yikes. There are lots of declarations that a television in the bedroom is bad for a couple. There are even more that too much TV is bad for children.

I personally try to avoid the latest and greatest show that everyone is watching because I like my free time. And I find I already have too little of it to dedicate hours each week to a show. Particularly when that show is filled with pitiful excuses for story lines manufactured around sheer stupidity. I'm looking squarely at you Jersey Shore. In fairness, my downtime is often spent in shows that are self-contained. Thirty minutes of The Family Guy doesn't force you to come back next week to see what happens next. And it must be said that my aversion to such inane shows was founded in a precursor to the Jersey Shore: the original Survivor. Yes MTV's Real World was first, but that was blatantly manufactured. At least Survivor had a thin veneer of reality. Or at least real dirt. And I found myself addicted. I was there every week with many friends watching that train wreck wash up on shore. Afterward, I smelled like shame. I can only imagine that the more screens, the more opportunity for addiction and shame.

Now back to The Cosby Show. This is one of those singular shows that should be watched. Because, unlike the pseudo-reality shows, it does show us the truth and presents it with heart. Th real reality is we don't need a TV. We need food. We need water. We want TV. Preferably in size XXL. But let's keep it to just one so that the family can all be there together. Let's watch movies and basketball games. And let's watch more of The Cosby Show. It will give us something worth talking about.

Dearest pig, how do I miss thee? Let me count the ways.

2010-11-27T07:39:00.000-08:00

One way really. Slow roasted and served in a barbecue sandwich that doesn't have slaw on it. I understand some places need the slaw to make the meat more moist but I just think that's cheating. Troutman's gave me my fix this trip. The pig was rich and smoky. The t-shirt we bought for Stephanie was even more epic.

If I did anything this Thanksgiving, I ate well. Mom and Stephanie made ridiculous cinnamon rolls. I made Chili that was pretty good. Dinner at Grandma's was as good as it's ever been minus the missing family members. Everyone had somewhere to be, though I'm sure we'll catch up soon. I can't wait to hear stories of Popsicle businesses, senior years and living with girlfriends. Those are all sure to be big adventures with stories worth telling.

I also was unable to catch up with so many friends that I would have liked to. There simply is not enough time in this world for all the goodness I'm lucky enough to be surrounded by. That's not bragging so much as a wish for a 30 hour day.

I hope your Thanksgiving was as stellar as mine. I think I might have even gained a pound or two.

Fox News officially becomes an entertainment channel.

2010-04-09T11:20:00.000-07:00

Once again, Jon Stewart skewers Fox News for blatant hypocrisy, complete disregard for facts and being plain stupid. And he managed to do it by using their ultimate hero, Ronald Reagan.

If you're not going to use any semblance of the rules of journalism, you're entertainment. It's outright sad to me that Comedy Central has a show that has more respect for truth than the highest rated news channel in the country.

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The exceptionally interesting case study of OK Go!

2010-03-24T23:08:00.000-07:00

By now, you've most likely seen this music video. It's quite a cool interpretation of a Rube Goldberg machine.

A couple weeks back, I first saw this at about 8:30a.m. in my work email from a friend on the east coast. Bastards have a 3 hour head start. Then it showed up in my Twitter feed reader posted by a friend. I then saw it there again. And again. And again. And yet again. Then it was sent around to the youth of the office (No idea how I was included) so back in my work email. Again. Then I saw it on the Huffington Post and Fast Company websites. Then it got buzzed up in my Google Buzz which was reading the same Twitter feed I'd already seen earlier.

OK, so what's the point? Most likely, my parents still hadn't seen this video. Unless it makes it onto The Rachel Maddow show or The Daily Show, they probably wouldn't.

So what's the other point? With the rise of internet driven communication, there is a huge splintering of media. Twitter, Facebook, Email, Google Buzz, Google Wave, My Space, and on and on and on. These are just the biggies. The fractionalization of media is causing audiences to get smaller. We can't all pay attention to all the channels (and I don't just mean TV and radio) that we used to. As a result, there are fewer of those epic, big common experiences that bind us together. There are fewer and fewer things that are so epically big, or at least epically experienced, we all can mark it in the timelines we're living. Landing on the moon for example. Sadly, it seems those markers have become tragedies in order to be big enough for all of us to pay attention. 9-11. Earthquakes being the latest example. It used to be that everyone knew Johnny Carson's skits by heart. Everyone knew his sidekick's laugh. And his name (Ed McMahon, just in case).

This splinter effect is making it easier for those who wish to divide and conquer to do just that. As we focus more and more on the media we like, it often tends to be the media we agree with. As a result, our greatest hopes and greatest fears are reinforced and thus become turbo-charged. It seems like our greatest fears are being repeated everywhere. The balance gets lost. Also, as the common experiences get fewer and far between, there's less and less common ground on which to build cohesion, understanding and community.

So, how does all this relate to the music video by OK Go? It relates because this video is an exceptional case study in the strengths and weaknesses of Internet driven communication. And thus, Internet driven living. The video got to me quickly. And repeatedly. But it did not get to me from a source that was either unexpected or shared with the masses. By that I mean the mass masses, not just the Twitterverse. Also, there was a bit of generation gap. One that will close as the Internet generation grows up, but my guess is the trouble my parents have with computers, cell phones and iPods today will be the troubles I have with the Internet of the future.

All that said, as my parents are pretty much the only ones who read this blog, they've now seen the video. Eventually anyway.

P.S. By the way, seven days after the first viewing of the video, it's brought up by a client during a presentation. Eight days later, it's being shown in the office to the creative director and a few folks who hadn't seen it. Odd.

P.P.S. The irony of posting this on a blog is not lost on me.

Prediction: Good enough is going to stop being good enough.

2010-02-12T17:51:00.000-08:00

There's an interesting phenomenon that recent leaps in technology have created. In the mad rush to create the next big thing, good enough has become good enough. Netflix digital movies are fine even if they aren't as high-res as my TV or as high in sound quality as my stereo can push. Also on the sound front, MP3s are somehow fine even though they're missing a big chunk of the spectrum that a violin or symphony can create. Digital book readers can be black and white to save battery, no worries.

This has created an odd dynamic. I'm watching low-res on the highest-res screen I've ever owned. People are fine with big epic music that sounds tinny and movies played on a screen 1/100th the size of the original format.

This isn't going to stand for much longer. And the tide has already started to turn so this isn't some big revelation. The iPad, whether you want one or not, has drawn a line in the sand saying color for digital books and magazines is a must. Hulu and YouTube are pushing higher res through the pipes as fast as they can.

So what's the prediction? Three things: 1. We're not going to take good enough for much longer and the companies that recognize that and work to make our media / digital experiences as high quality as possible will thrive. 2. Our network has to be upgraded. Third world countries have networks faster than ours simply because the first pipe they put in the ground is fiber optic instead of the copper we originally put in. So we've got to invest. Thus, the companies capable of modernizing our network will also thrive. 3. Digital storage is going to boom. As digital files get better, they get bigger. So something's got to hold all that info. Hence, bigger drives, more storage, more demand for storage media.

While I still don't have a jet-pack (see earlier prediction) the past ten years have been pretty cool digitally speaking. Time for all that innovation to become quality.

Hypocrisy

2010-02-10T10:12:00.001-08:00

Rachel Maddow does a very nice job of calling out the Democrats by pointing out the hypocrisy of the Republicans.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Sarah Palin is a F--king Retard.

2010-02-09T10:31:00.001-08:00

Retard is a word that shouldn't exist but does. It's degrading. It's vile honestly. It's also unconscionable that Sarah Palin would draw a line in the usage of such a word so as not to offend a political base. This is political hackery of the lowest kind. This also demonstrates to me that her politics are based on politics, not principles.

Thankfully, Colbert brings it all home. With actual satire, not fantasy satire.

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The lessons of history.

2009-12-17T09:58:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was December 16th. The date of the original Boston Tea Party was December 16th, 1773. On that day the colonists decided they could no longer put up with taxation without representation. A day which became the symbolic shot across the nose of the British government and the East India Co. The shot eventually led to the American Revolution.

Why is this important today? It's important because this moment in history is being invoked by those who would dupe citizens who care deeply about their country. Abusers and corporations are using this bit of history as the platform to convince patriots that healthcare reform automatically means all care becomes government run. They are even duping people into believing that Medicare, which many of them love, is somehow not a government run healthcare plan.

Now, I applaud the Tea Party cause of lowering taxes and watching how and why dollars are spent. I believe there should be more accountability for where my hard earned money goes. However, it seems that this one unifying factor is being manipulated and branched into other areas for the purpose of creating noise. For making the original will of the majority seem unthinkable.

When this whole process began, almost 60% of citizens and 70% of doctors supported healthcare reform. Among the citizens, that number has dropped dramatically. But consider that the healthcare industry now represents a full sixth of the United States' GDP. That's simply unsustainable. From personal experience, there is no doubt in my mind that we must have reform. For example, a physical that used to cost me $40 with blood work, now costs over $300. Out of pocket. This is personally unsustainable. Costs have spiraled out of control and I have never spoken to anyone that is happy about it. Including healthcare professionals. Doing nothing only perpetuates the ridiculous climb in prices.

So, what can be done? Sadly pure capitalism isn't working the way it's supposed to. Rather than lowering costs and increasing quality, things are going the exact opposite way. Why? Because there is no real competition in the market. The current condition of healthcare has become too much like four gas stations on a corner. One raises its price a penny. The others do the same. Another one raises its price a penny. They all do the same except one. Now he has the advantage, but it's only a penny. This process continues until gas is a full 15-20 cents more expensive on that corner and all the brands are within a penny or so of each other. This is basically price-fixing. Nothing is said, no coordination is involved but it's price-fixing. Which is illegal.

While unprovable, the same thing seems to be happening with healthcare. Costs continue to climb at an astronomical rate compared to history. Every provider has figured out they can charge more because others are charging more. And must charge more. Providers' focus has shifted from providing a service to their customers to providing a dividend to their investors.

The needs of the patient have become less important than the demands of investors. Which means Wall Street is effectively standing between you and your doctor rationing care. If you are profitable, please, by all means see a doctor. If you are not, please by all means die.

What's interesting about the gas station mini-monopoly is the parallel to the East India Company who had a monopoly on providing tea to the colonies. As the price climbed, because of both the monopoly and outlandish taxes, the people revolted. And the Tea Party was thus born. What's interesting though, is that the modern-day Tea Party is effectively trying to stop the actual tossing of the tea into the harbor. The only organization with enough power to stop the absurd price increases is the government. Short of going to actual war (American Revolution) against companies, the law, and thus real competition, is the only way to fix this mess. And yet the Tea Partiers are the ones attempting to stop the revolution.

How ironic.

Jon Stewart is news.

2009-11-20T09:21:00.000-08:00

JS does it again. The best use of professional wrestling since the invention of professional wrestling.

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style='padding:2px 1px 0px 5px;' colspan='2'Gaywatch - Peter Vadala & William Phillips

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Common sense: A cool refreshing drink.

2009-11-18T13:19:00.000-08:00

Elizabeth Warren sure does sound like she knows what she's talking about. I often wonder why things are more complicated than this.

Jon Stewart Calls Dems to the mat. And pins them.

2009-10-01T09:38:00.000-07:00

Sometimes things just need sayin'. I hope Dems have their ears on and hear him.

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SF Profile #9: Tom and his partner in crime

2009-09-23T23:26:00.001-07:00

I'm lucky in that my major form of public transportation is a rolling historic landmark. To get home from the gym, I take two different Cable Cars that are the descendants of the originals created in 1873.

Well, while waiting for my ride yesterday, I got a glimpse of two men who've probably seen the city evolve around those lines.

As I stood at the start of the California line staring at the news on my iPhone, I heard a shout: "Tom, Tom, where are we going?" I looked up to see two men who have seen quite a lot of things and probably done even more, one ten feet behind the other. They were slowly shuffling along as fast as they could, "Tom" leading the way. Both were dressed sharply. They also wore scowls appropriate to their wrinkles of experience. The man who was following looked as confused as the man in front looked resolute.

And so they made their way past me and toward the underground mass transit station. Tom decided, to my surprise, to take the stairs. His friend nearly did too until he realized at the last possible second that an obvious escalator was right next to the stairs. He shouted to Tom repeatedly to come back but finally gave up and backtracked a bit so he could take the effortless moving stair case.

Nearly all of the 20 people around me were transfixed by these gents and their possible adventure. My Cable Car pulled up and as I rode living history, I pondered the two old men now riding modern mass transit. What were they up to? In some less guarded part of my brain, I hope they were off to spend their last dollars on much younger women. Good luck Tom and friend. You've truly crystallized in my imagination that age is a state of mind.

Prediction: The future is making a comeback.

2009-09-12T19:45:00.000-07:00

(Every now and again, I'll make a prediction. There's really no way to measure the success of these, but I think it's fun to put some thoughts down with a date next to them and see what happens.)

Now that we've been through the downward muck of this economy, I think optimism is going to make a bit of a comeback. Even if the economy stagnates a bit over the next few years. (Please note, I'm in no way predicting that the economy is done sucking, I just think the population in general has some downward spiral fatigue.)

With the return of optimism, I think we will also see a return of the future. If you used to read Popular Science or other such magazines during the 80's and 90's, you probably remember the artists' renditions of moon bases and flying cars. Cartoons had sky cities, people were trying to build hovercrafts in their backyards.

Now while the early 2000's have seen some incredible innovations, especially in the areas of technology and medicine, we haven't seen as many innovations in the physical world we all interact with. Yes there are new robots, but those robots went from waving to you in the 90's to climbing stairs or playing a trumpet today. Meh. Yes it's cool that I could watch Carolina play football on my computer this weekend. It would have been cooler if afterward I strapped on my jetpack and picked up some lunch across town.

So, my prediction is that the future will make a comeback. We might not see actual jetpacks, but we will start to see more visualization of innovation and futurism. Particularly in pop culture.

Strikingly Brilliant.

2009-08-06T16:19:00.001-07:00

I so admire Rachel Maddow's ability to find and deliver unvarnished truth about the healthcare debate. It seems in the joy of Barack Obama getting elected, I've taken too much of a honeymoon. Time to engage again in the national debate.

DRAT! Video was removed from YouTube.

Allow me to then recommend Rachel as a purveyor of perspective and truth. She's good at what she does.

Seperate and nowhere near equal.

2009-08-05T23:52:00.000-07:00

During segregation, there was an excuse for the treatment given to African Americans. That excuse was that all things were equal. Buses were buses no matter where you sat, water fountains were water fountains and an education was an education.

This is obviously wrong. Equal is only equal when everything is equal.

It's time to stop treating any United States citizen differently simply because they are gay. If they wish the right to marry, they should marry. Why should we keep them from a 50% divorce rate?

The perfection of a bike

2009-08-05T00:00:00.000-07:00

Bikes are perfect. If you need proof, notice that the essential design hasn't changed much since the addition of the chain. Two wheels, a triangle in the middle, another in the back, a chain and some gears to make it go.

Of course the materials have changed drastically. Steel is still available and has become quite fashionable with city bikes. Aluminum is a lightweight option and carbon has created the stiffest and most efficient frame. But outside of lighter, faster, stronger, the frame and design are timeless.

I think the design being so simple and so perfect, it creates a connection with the rider. Riding a road bike has become almost addictive. The speed that your legs can push you. The feeling of conquering a hill, beyond the obvious quad wrenching burn, and watching the miles add up.

Or of course it's just the endorphin rush and I need my fix.

Hitting the restart button.

2009-06-30T18:51:00.000-07:00

If I'm going to be at all serious about posting to this blog then there's no time like the present. I've been lackluster at best and I realized that while a blog is not even a poor substitute for a good phone call or quick-witted email chain with a friend, it is important. Why? Because if nothing else, my parents still read this.

So, let's get going.

My man Nathan visited this past weekend. One of my favorite things about our friendship is that every time we see each other, it's as if no time has passed. We fall right back into our rhythm of conversation and enjoying each others company. It's good to have a friend such as this. I highly recommend picking one up if you have the means. So choice. (Bonus points to all who got the Ferris Bueller reference.)

We spent a great deal of time on bikes. For his first serious bike ride ever, Nate did spectacularly. I did everything I could to remember my first serious ride and be sure he had fun. We rode across the Golden Gate Bridge, down through Sausalito and back. The back part of course including the giant hill we had enjoyed racing down earlier. The grand total mileage: just under 27. I bitched and moaned the first time I did 18. Nate didn't say a word until we had dropped his back back at the shop. I was quite impressed. As I always am with him.

We also spent a great deal of time making a rather spectacular steak dinner. Nate put together a rather awesome grapefruit and apple sushi that I made a balsamic reduction for. My roommate Keith also covered sautéed broccoli in a decadent amount of cheese sauce, Steph put together a most excellent cheese plate and salad and Jess was quick with the wine glasses and the bacon crumbles for baked potatoes. Eating all this was not hard.

So, I also post this as an open invitation to any friend who might still be reading this blog. Please come visit. If you want to earn your dinner, we certainly can with a stunning ride. If you'd rather earn your dinner by eating other dinners, that's good as well.

What has fear done to us?

2009-04-26T16:39:00.001-07:00

The recently released torture memos have made one thing very clear: Fear is the terrorists' greatest weapon. A bomb can't change our values. A plane flying into a building didn't change what we hold most dear. Instead, the threat of it happening again changed our values. Even the mere thought of it happening again makes our threat levels yo-yo between frightening and terrifying. All as a plan to keep the populous in fear. To keep us wanting to be saved. To keep us looking to our government for solutions.

See compromise happened. Our nation compromised those truths that we hold self-evident. We compromised our belief that all men are created equal. That all have the right to fair trail and the law. We compromised our belief that we don't torture. We compromised our right to privacy and habeus corpus.

Thus terror won. Thus, the terrorists forced us to look to those who are ignoring our constitution for our salvation. Thus they forced us to reckon with the idea that our constitution isn't all we'd believed. That was then. In the here and now, it's time to reclaim our morals. Our dignity. Our belief in the human spirit.

The reason? Because we proved ourselves to be right. We created the greatest nation on the planet. And we created it by doing the right thing, not by compromising our beliefs. We created a democracy that is possibly one of the best social experiments the world has known.

We must return to that. We must believe again. If we don't believe, if we don't be who we are, that's when terror wins. When we stop being us. When we stop being Reagan's shining light on the hill. When we stop being American.

And if you still believe torture is worth it. If you still believe that in special cases, in those moments where we must find the dirty bomb, torture is worth it, then read the following article. Those who know how to get information, and actually got the information we needed, don't believe torture works.

Torture does tear things down. It tears us down. It tears down our democracy.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/195089/page/1

Presented without preface or comment:

2009-04-13T08:10:00.000-07:00

The Most Important Network in News? Comedy Central.

2009-03-13T10:13:00.000-07:00

Last night, John Stewart and the Daily show finally made sense of the utterly confounding economic situation and stripped bare for all to see how complicit the media and Wall Street have been in the entire meltdown.

If you haven't seen this interview with Jim Cramer, please watch. Stewart just got my nomination for a Pulitzer.

http://blog.indecisionforever.com/2009/03/13/jon-stewart-and-jim-cramer-the-extended-daily-show-interview/

Snowboarding - Attempt #2.

2009-03-09T18:15:00.000-07:00

Much, much, much, much better. Steph and I went back to Tahoe with some friends and went boarding again. I have to say, once you can start to turn, snowboarding is one incredible time.

I may never be quite as death-defying as my younger cousin Eric who seems bound and determined to master any sport where his feet are on a stick of wood, but I am having a good time. And in the end, what else matters?

There is also something about turning on a snowboard and getting it just right that is more satisfying than skiing. There's a rhythm to it that just isn't as much a part of skiing. The shift in weight, the kick and hold of the turn.

You're also more connected to the mountain. This is good and this is bad. If you get to a flat part, you're screwed. Take off your board and walk. This is also the beautiful part, you are entirely dependent on the mountain for speed. For providing the inertia that makes going where you want possible. It's a dependence that automatically makes you pay more attention and engage the mountain in a different way. This connection is what surfers must feel with waves. With skis, if you don't like where you end up, skate until you do. Now the reverse is also true. Ski boots limit you to walking to the toilet. Snowboard boots limit you to walking where ever you damn well please.

I'm sticking with the board.

George Bush and I finally agree on something

2009-02-07T17:21:00.000-08:00

Believe it or not, it's true. George Bush actually gave a lot of money to fight AIDS in Africa. It's one of the only things I give him credit for.

I'm also doing something to fight this terrible disease. Getting my skinny self on an even skinnier seat and biking 545 miles from San Francisco to Los Angeles. There's only one slight problem. I've got to raise $3,000 for the opportunity to punish myself like this.

This is rather daunting.

If you've got a spare fiver or thousand, click over to my fund raising page and do what you can. I truly appreciate it.

http://www.tofighthiv.org/goto/eamon

SF Profile #8: Queen of the Ten Dollar Bill

2009-01-18T23:19:00.000-08:00

So today, while waiting for a friend to come by and pick me and Steph up on our way to brunch, I was treated to quite the spectacle.

While standing on the corner of Jones and O'Farrell, I see two cops go into a little shop. Soon after they come out with a woman in tow. She's screaming to high heaven about getting justice and how she wants to see the cops computer to look up her ten dollar bill.

An older black gent comes out of the shop and begins to regale us with the story. Turns out, she was trying to spend a fake $10 bill. I caught a glimpse of it when the cop held it up and I have to say, I was fooled.

Apparently she was too. By reality. She insisted that the cops show her their computer where they could track the bill and see who had given it to her. She knows, without any doubt apparently, that they are tracking her and know where she got the bill from so she can go and get justice. After the cops asked her a few more questions, it turns out most likely she got the bill from the local Jack in the Box. Seriously.

The gent then proceeds to inform us of how some of his "friends" can make a damn fine fake bill. How you starch the paper, how you press the fake paper between starched bills and then iron them so they all look new. And on, and on, and on.

I was quite thankful that 1. the cops didn't overhear our conversation and that 2. our friend Jay pulled up shortly thereafter to whisk away to brunch. I had some very authentic corned beef hash.

Apparently, I am the church type.

2009-01-15T19:32:00.000-08:00

Church has never been that comfortable for me. I like the idea of community. I like the idea God's love without condition. I like the idea of celebrating life and our ability to live it. To me, that's not church. So many churches seem to try and draw lines between people. We're right, they're sinners. Our word is the only word, God told me so.

As a result, I haven't done a lot of church.

That may be changing. I think I've found a place that I can feel good about. A place that reads the Bible but also reads the Hebrew Bible. A place that is open to all sacred texts and what they have to teach us. A place that puts love and acceptance ahead of divide and conquer.

It's a church called Glide and they definitely take a different approach. All are welcome regardless of belief, sexuality or situation. They have a 60 million dollar budget that almost all of goes to feeding those in need, providing shelter for those who have none and job help in times that certainly need it.

Oh and these folks know how to sing. Loud. Not to mention preach. With fire. And in ways that you know in your heart is right but ways that aren't always easy to hear.

Next time I might even need one of the tissues they hand out throughout the service.

1 out of 2 wrists agree, snowboarding not fun.

2009-01-15T19:16:00.000-08:00

Spent the days after New Year's on the slopes trying to do something I should have done when I was young and still made out of rubber: learning to snowboard. Those who snowboard say that learning takes three days. On day one, you get comfortable standing on the board and falling on your head. On day two, your sort of figure out where your edges are and start to turn. Usually one side is easier than the other. On day three, you link a couple turns together and you begin to understand why skiers become snowboarders and snowboarders don't really become skiers. Basically, when you're not being whipped onto your face, it's awesome.

Things heard on day 1:

1. To me while we're sitting on the lift: "Sweetie, did you know your nose is bleeding?" No, no I didn't.

2. From high above on the lift: "Ooooooooohhhhhh." You know you've wrecked good when you're upside down, on your helmet and you hear that.

I also managed to invent new four letter words when I landed on my right wrist several times. My first purchase off the mountain that night was a set of wrist guards. These were the only reason I made it through day 2 and 3.

All those complaints aside, I do own my board and boots so I guess I'm stuck with the awesome.

Ya Voté

2008-11-02T14:12:00.001-08:00

I voted yesterday. Went down to the San Francisco City Hall and cast my ballot. Or ballots I should say as there were 4 of them. Propositions, declarations, local elections national elections. All done yesterday. I had to do some pretty hefty studying to make sure I got them all right.

I could see how some might think that San Francisco is over the top liberal. There were propositions on there to have the city encourage the end of ROTC. I voted against that one. Military service is an honorable act selflessness and if that's the path one chooses, so be it.

Another proposition stated that it was San Francisco's official position that the only funding made available to the troops should be for their deployment out of Iraq. Personally, I think they should be able to buy boots and have lunch so while I agree with the larger idea of making a graceful and honorable exit from Iraq, that one was simply too broad in its scope for me to get behind. Another effectively legalized prostitution. Nope, couldn't get behind that one.

But there were also good propositions on there like more funding for hospital programs and earthquake proofing for clinics. Both good ideas.

Anyway, I guess I'm now officially one of those far left San Francisco liberals who gets vilified on Fox News every night for the viewers in "real America." They just can't stand a part of the country that has universal healthcare, one of the most successful homeless veterans programs around and generally speaking one of the strongest economic regions in the world. Those are apparently all terrible things. If you believe that, here's something else you should believe: the world is flat.

Go Vote. Make your voice heard. Otherwise, you give up your right to complain for four years.

Good information

2008-11-02T14:10:00.000-08:00

Yes I'm biased but you already knew that.

Here's a video from the Obama campaign on voters rights and making sure you are able to cast your ballot on Tuesday if you haven't already.

Go Vote!

Don't Vote.

2008-10-29T12:01:00.000-07:00

Worst. Words. Ever.

maps.google.com/vote

Grrrr...moving.

2008-10-21T23:35:00.001-07:00

I hoped I would be so lucky in SF that my only move would be from corporate housing to the fabulous apartment I had found in the Lower Haight.

Sadly, while I am the luckiest man in the world, I'm not that lucky.

Trav, my old roommate, and his girlfriend Celeste have decided to nest. Now that I have moved out, they are quite comfortably nesting in a three bedroom, one and a half bath palace. Good for them.

It also turns out to be good for me. I have found a rather fabulous two bedroom place at much lower than market rate in a rather spectacular part of town.

What makes my new castle so castle-y? Well to start, my bathroom looks like it was transplanted from the Emerald City. Being surrounded by green when you make yellow is quite a thing.

Additionally there's Bob. Bob is our landlord and he grew up in the apartment we're renting. He seems fabulous in that old man who's full of good stories kind of way. He's fair, he redid the floors to tear up the old carpeting and get back to the quite stunning hardwood floors and he likes me. He told me so when I came to look at the place. Apart from the obvious signs of senility, anybody who's willing to put up with me is obviously a patient saint.

So, I'm settling in. Well to my room at least. We have no furniture in any other part of the house. But boxes are being unpacked. 250+ movies are being sorted into their genres. New habits are being made. All in all, I can't complain. My address still contains the words San Francisco.

Get registered, go vote!

2008-10-03T13:31:00.001-07:00

As told by a Jelly Donut:

BTW, I do think he's qualified. Now that Palin lady....

Strong

2008-10-02T10:13:00.000-07:00

Someone finally takes the race issue head on. And when he takes it on, he smashes it.

Nearly 800 points.

2008-09-29T14:33:00.000-07:00

Today the market got a knife in the gut. To most of us this is relevant to our 401(k) funds. But the truth is, the market's reaction is a much bigger indicator of a much, much bigger problem: Credit is about to become more scarce than a jackalope.

Credit is the grease on which the economy's engine functions. Without it, any economic engine quickly grinds to a halt.

A figure to keep in mind: 700 billion. That is the amount of cash that is in circulation at any given moment. That is the size the U.S. economy will plummet toward if the credit markets do not get liquid. To give you an idea, the U.S. economy is currently estimated to be 13.84 trillion. 700 billion is not a very big percentage of that. This is an oversimplification but, the point is valid. Unless someone with enough resources (i.e. the Treasury, the only group with enough resources) injects some liquidity into the credit market, we are in a world of hurt.

Without credit, we move fast toward becoming a cash economy. We simply can't do that. Imagine living out the next 3 or so years on the money in your savings account.

So, for a bit more reading, I offer up this economists take: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/9/29/143536/436/784/614495

She's a bit condescending and drops the f-bomb more than I'd like but I guess desperate times call for desperate language.

Burning Man 2008

2008-09-13T13:34:00.000-07:00

I wish I could tell you how awesome Burning Man is. I wish there was a way to show you all the incredible things I saw. Sadly, I realized on day two, Burning Man is not something that can be described. Pictures are woefully inadequate at capturing the scene. There's really only one thing to say: You should go.

It's not for everyone. Actually, it's not for most people. But if you've got a creative appreciating bone in your body, the spectacle and opportunity to do be totally yourself, is certainly worth the trip.

At one point, I was asked, "Why do you do what you do?" The picture below was my answer.

2 New Wheels

2008-09-13T13:28:00.000-07:00

Her name is Skratch Mofro. She's an Aluminum beastie who's tight frame can go lot faster than I ever can.

It was fun the other day when one of my co-workers rode his rather diminutive BMX bike into work and we figured out at half the size, his bike was at least twice as heavy.

La la la la la, I see your lips moving but I can't hear you

2008-06-26T13:42:00.001-07:00

http://www.comedycentral.com/videos/index.jhtml?videoId=174783

Wow. Just wow.

San Francisco Profile #7: My man Ace

2008-06-08T10:53:00.000-07:00

So yesterday was the going away picnic for my friend Alan Ezyaguirre. He's a friend I met through the roomie and he's off to Merry Ole England in a couple days. I'm bummed.

My parents have always said that I surround myself with good people. Generally they are correct or perhaps it's just the "good" are the only friends I introduce them to. Well, sadly, they won't have a chance to meet Ace. Padres are visiting next weekend. Ace leaves a few days before.

He's quite the genius. Does marketing for Apple. To give you an idea of the level, he's in meetings with Steve on the regular. Even got kicked out of one by him. Like the party loyalist he is, he never dishes me any good dirt on what fancy new gadget I'm sure to buy or what isn't. Won't even confirm the juicy rumors I find myself on the web.

To further his party loyalists tendencies, he wears the Apple uniform religiously. All black. All the time. Even his bike is black. His car is black. It's ridiculous.

He has a natural penchant for throwing out of control parties. And for some unknown reason, women thoroughly enjoy having their picture taken by him. Often in less than innocent poses and without any urging from Ace. It's quite funny but kudos to him.

He's also the first friend I feel I've made that is moving away. So I wish him luck even though he won't need it.

San Francisco Profile #6: Me

2008-06-06T13:20:00.000-07:00

A year older, not much wiser but with a couple more wrinkles, Me seems to have a permanent smile attached to his face. He's oddly given up couch sitting for a new addiction to road biking. Still has the same fascination for DVDs but finds much less time to watch them as there's always a new restaurant to explore or outside activity to inflame Me's allergies.

Me particularly enjoys days spent up at Infineon raceway. This past year has seen classic cars, drag racers and daredevil motorcycles. All of which proved money isn't a bad thing.

Me enjoys his job immensely and works for people who are far nicer than they should be. And even if they weren't nice, there's still a fire pole in the office making damn near anything bearable.

Me has also upped his political activism in the past year. Volunteering to register people to vote. Me still struggles with pure advocacy and trying to convince someone to vote in a certain direction, but convincing people to vote can't be a bad thing.

Me's life is good. He is want for nothing. Actually, Me often finds that the wealth of good people and good times that surround him a bit overwhelming. Perhaps Me will eventually get used to the near-unbearable amount of goodness. But if Me is smart, he'll never forget how blessed he is.

Too Far

2008-05-23T13:05:00.000-07:00

Some statements just go too far. Here's an example:

http://www.nypost.com/seven/05232008/news/nationalnews/why_hill_wont_drop_out__bobby_kennedy_wa_112232.htm

Go Vote!

2008-05-05T13:51:00.000-07:00

If you live in Indiana or NC go and do it. 'Nuff said.

Juju is a California girl

2008-05-01T23:02:00.000-07:00

There is a universal rule. It doesn't matter what state you live in. It probably doesn't matter what country your in. The DMV takes all ever loving day. Period.

So, I have taken the CA driver's test, supposedly one of the toughest in the country. And it was hard. You've got to know things like a yellow curb is for the unloading of people and cargo. Or that it is legal to park on the street in front of a garage as long as it's your garage.

Strangely, they don't give you a driver's license when you leave. Instead, the punch a hole in the expiration date of your current license. And like all DMVs, they like to keep you guessing. So while there is a checklist of all the things you need to have when you arrive, not everything is on there. Brilliant.

It was awesome to be in line in front of a guy who was getting his tank driving license.

So Juju the MINI now has her California plates. Thankfully, she doesn't have the CA smog emissions that would take away some of her saucy character. I just hope she never forgets where she came from. England.

An interesting contrast

2008-04-19T12:20:00.000-07:00

Two reporters from the Philadelphia City Paper went incognito and volunteered for the presidential campaigns. One for Clinton. One for Obama.

http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2008/04/17/i-was-a-clinton-volunteer

http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2008/04/17/i-was-an-obama-volunteer

Oh yeah, I live at the beach

2008-04-15T18:21:00.000-07:00

So this past weekend was one of those weekends anyone who doesn't live in California imagines is every weekend in California.

It was flat gorgeous.

And as I tried to figure out how to enjoy the blessed weather to the fullest, I came to a stunning realization. I live at the beach.

I'm so used to a completely different kind of beach, this was quite a revelation. Beaches in NC don't have skyscrapers. They don't have city right up against them.

So I gathered several friends who apparently already knew we lived at the beach and off we went. 30 minutes down the PCH later we were climbing down cliffs (another feature not found in NC.) It's quite the different experience but it's also quite the incredible experience. Watching actual waves crash against jagged rocks creates art.

On the downside the water is mmmmuuuuuuucccccchhhhhh colder. The only people in the water were in wet suits or dogs. My compadres braved it. They quickly complained of frostbitten toes. I demurred.

So, yeah. Nine months later, I figured out I'm not just close to a beach, I live there. Stunning the lack of capacity in my brain sometimes.

Surprise

2008-04-01T16:49:00.000-07:00

Sometimes what needs to be said comes from a very unexpected source.

(Apologies for the less than stellar audio.)

Shenanigans

2008-04-01T11:17:00.000-07:00

Politicians lie. Used car salesmen lie. Even fine, upstanding citizens of the advertising industry can tell a tall tale.

But Hillary's latest fish story is patently ridiculous. In an interview with a news channel in Wilmington North Carolina, Hillary actually says that Obama doesn't want North Carolina to vote. Seriously.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7F1EEA5pOt0

Sadly, this isn't the only instance of her saying Barack doesn't want states to vote. Fight lies with money. Donate here.

EDIT: Here's a clip of Barack saying voting should continue and that Hillary should be in the race as long as she'd like. That particular comment begins around the 2:50 mark.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Iqtc95i7qGo

My own personal Super Tuesday

2008-03-26T17:42:00.000-07:00

I voted yesterday. I haven't officially moved to CA yet. No driver's license or voter registration. So, off to the post office I went with absentee ballot in hand. It's a bit disconcerting that the ballot envelope is so conspicuous. Official voter blah blah blah all over the outside. Plus my signature. Plus the signatures of two witnesses. If someone wanted to get sneaky with the ballots, it wouldn't be hard to pick out. I wanted to send it in early in the hopes that it's counted before the general gets started.

If you've read more than this post, you probably have a good idea who I voted for in the presidential race.

I hope nothing happens between now and then that might change my mind. Barack would pretty much have to strangle some kittens in public at this point. I've been quite disappointed in how Hillary is running her campaign. So negative. So entitled. As an example, there's a survey floating out there that says 30% of her supporters would rather vote for McCain than Obama. This gives you an idea of the effect her negative campaigning is creating. Among Obama's supporters, the percentage of switchers drops to 19%.

I remember on my 8th grade trip to Washington D.C., we were shown a marble sculpture in one of the Smithsonian museums. It was a compilation of 3 famous women. I believe Harriet Tubman was one figure. Think Betsy Ross was another but I'm not entirely sure about that. At the end was a big hunk of uncut marble. Our guide explained that particular hunk of stone was reserved for the first female President of the United States. I was struck by the experience and wondered if a face would be carved in soon.

I once thought Hillary would be the one cut into that marble. But these days, after watching her campaign operate, I sincerely hope it's someone else who's face is preserved for future generations to admire.

Apparently, I buy groceries at the airport.

2008-03-24T21:38:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, I flew to Cape Cod to see my Uncle's art exhibit. So I spent a great deal of time in airports. I became scared when I realized the prices were no longer absurdly shocking. I've gotten so used to parting with my money in huge chunks in SF that not even airport prices are all that scary.

The weekend was a huge success. On Saturday we made our way to the Cape Cod Museum and saw Uncle's exhibit. It was stunning. The walls were a deep red that really helped his egg temperas jump off the wall.

As we walked in, several people recognized my Uncle and he was caught up in several conversations that went entirely too long. I laughed to myself a bit as I heard a woman in the background saying, "Is that Garry Gilmartin? I think that's Garry Gilmartin." She was a docent at the museum and had been giving people tours of the exhibit for weeks. She gushed on and on about how people were asking about the paintings, where could they buy one, what was he thinking when he painted this. My uncle's answers were so simple she just looked flabbergasted. No hoity-toity quadruple-entendre? No meaning of life hidden in the brush strokes? But they are so brilliant. And it's true, they are brilliant paintings. But they are brilliant for the very trait she seemed unable to comprehend. They're stunningly simple. Not over complicated. Not pretentious. Just what they are. Really brilliant captures of life on Cape Cod.

Saying goodbye was tough. Uncle recently went through a pretty major surgery but he's doing well with the whole thing. Easter dinner was great as we had a huge ham with fixins.

Glad I went. Sad to leave. Glad to be home again.

Here's a picture of Yo:

My favorite teacher

2008-03-18T09:55:00.001-07:00

On the playground, a kindergarten teacher once asked me why I was playing with the black kids. I remember my initial reaction so fiercely, it has helped shape who I am.

My reaction was bewilderment. Why wouldn't I play with the black kids? They were my neighbors. They were my friends when I went home, why wouldn't they be my friends at school?

So I replied: "Because they're my friends."

Even today, I cannot think of a more perfect answer.

Since that moment, I have grown to consider racism one of the most vile concerns of our society. Which is why when I heard Obama's speech today, I felt heartened. Heartened to hear someone who was willing to stand in front of racism and address it as a real problem. And address it not as a black problem, or a white problem or even a something else problem, but address it as our problem. As America's problem. As a problem we can face.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWe7wTVbLUU

Higher quality:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/23691239#23691239

Once again, he challenges us to be better. I hope we are strong enough to answer the call. And to my teacher, I say thank you. While I'll never remember your name, I'll never forget what you taught me.

ACC Tourney weekend

2008-03-17T08:08:00.001-07:00

This weekend was quite fun. Took Friday morning off and had some fried Bologna sandwiches, oatmeal cream pies and tea while watching the game with my man Joel. It reminded me of the days when they used to roll TVs into the classrooms so we could watch the Friday games during English. To all my friends who are parents in NC, yes this is why your child is developing an unhealthy obsession for college basketball. And why NC is so addicted to college basketball.

It was good to see the Charlotte Coliseum stands packed. Especially after the debacle in Jacksonville last year where whole sections were empty. This is why the tournament should be in Greensboro. Every year. Yes it gives an advantage to the NC schools. But those same fans also stick around to watch other games. Why? Because this is the greatest NCAA college basketball tournament outside the NCAA national tournament.

So congrats to my boys. Glad they won. Two goals down. One to go.

The measure

2008-03-17T08:04:00.001-07:00

To me, there are two measures of man:

1. What someone does in a crisis.

2. What someone does when there are no cameras around.

Here is a story relating to the second measure.

Union worker speaks with Barack Obama. In 2004.

1950's

2008-03-12T23:36:00.000-07:00

As a journalism grad, a part of me wishes that I had lived in the early 1950's. Not for the rampant smoking or great job I'd get just for being a man, but to see Edward R. Murrow. To see him take on Joe McCarthy at great personal risk. To hear his biting commentaries and feel the visceral reaction. To see his fight against the fear society Hoover created with the FBI.

As it stands, I am thankful to have Keith Olbermann. I imagine that his special comments on MSNBC have the same effect now as Murrow had then. Olbermann seems to get a bit more impassioned but his comments are as well researched as they are powerful. He is the voice I wish our nation could have and hope we would if we paid more attention.

Well, tonight he put aside his usual punching bags. No George Bush, no Dick Cheney. Not a mention of Halliburton or the missteps of our State Department. For the first time ever, his subject was, with great reluctance, a Democrat.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=GQ2JtUmB3kc

The scorched hills of Pennsylvania

2008-03-12T11:18:00.000-07:00

There's a long way until the primary in Pennsylvania. This is bad news.

If the Clinton campaign decides to continue its "kitchen sink" strategy, then PA residents are going to hear fear mongering and half-truths saying Obama can't be the next president for six weeks. They are going to hear Hillary say she's not sure if he's a Christian even though she attended the Senate's Tuesday Prayer Breakfasts with him. They are going to hear her say that he voted for Cheney's energy bill giving tax breaks to big oil even though she did the same thing. They are going to hear Clinton's surrogates say the only reason he's a nominee is because he's black. And then they are going to hear Clinton blame the Obama campaign for distracting from the issues when he cries foul. Yes, all of these things have happened in the past week or so.

Why does this matter?

Mathematically, it is nearly impossible for Clinton to win the nomination. PA is also a battle ground state in the general election. Which means when Obama returns to campaign against McCain, his credibility in a highly populated battleground state will be very low.

She could frame the debate about the issues. She could campaign on the differences in their platform. Admittedly, there are not many.

But if she chooses to continue her scorched earth campaign (which seems likely), and if Obama becomes the Dem's nominee (which seems likely), and if Obama loses PA, the blame can be placed at Hillary's feet.

Religion, Race, Sex & Politics

2008-03-11T15:25:00.000-07:00

I would love to think that a presidential candidate's race, religion or sex would have nothing to do with their candidacy. Sadly, that's not where we are in our history. I've seen many interviews about voting for Barack because he's black, voting for Hillary because she's a woman, or voting for McCain because he's led by his Christian faith.

I find this wrong.

I will not vote for Barack because he's black. I will not vote for Hillary because he's a woman. I will not vote for McCain because of his Christian faith. This is as stupid as saying I'd vote for John Edwards because he's white.

And yet, all three continue to enter into our politics. Recently the conversation seems to be centered around who can play more of the victim.

For example: http://www.dailybreeze.com/ci_8533832

In this article, Geraldine Ferraro, the first woman to be a VP candidate makes some rather astounding, potentially even racist comments. And then backs them up saying sexism is worse than racism. No. It isn't. They are both abominations. Committing one to highlight the other is despicable.

Especially on a day when eight American soldiers die in a war we shouldn't be in, children are going hungry in the richest nation ever to exist, our government is buying bad housing loans just to be sure the economy continues it's false credit bubble and still the writ of habeas corpus can be suspended on a whim.

I plead with all three campaigns. End the BS. Our country needs you to rise above and discuss real issues.

EDIT: Unbelievably, this has become a campaign strategy: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/23582781#23582781

Keeper of my money

2008-03-10T13:50:00.001-07:00

In my time at my new agency, I've been lucky to meet some truly talented people. One of those people is Mrs. Sherry Hastings. An art director of fine caliber, she has moved on to making wallets. And they are brilliant.

I bought one from her early in the process so now I can say I knew her when.

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5494816
http://sherryholliday.wordpress.com/

So, open your old wallet, take everything out, use your credit card and wait eagerly for your new money holder. Your rep will thank you.

Offered without comment

2008-03-10T10:55:00.000-07:00

A Clinton supporter turns in his badge

New ink

2008-03-10T10:19:00.000-07:00

I finally did something I'd been threatening to do for 4 years. Got another tattoo.

This one is in honor of my dad. It's a strip cropped from a woodcut print he did. All black, a band around my arm.

It's something I'd been shopping around to various artists in NC but never quite found someone who I had confidence could do it. This was especially important after getting my first one done by someone I am now convinced was doing his first one. Not good.

At Black Heart Tattoo in the mission, I found a guy named Mike Lucena.

His portfolio can be found here: Black Heart

It's peeled and still looks good. So a great deal of thanks to Mike. If you're ever in need of ink and in Brooklyn, he's moving, Mike's your man.

Careful what you wish for

2008-03-10T09:58:00.000-07:00

There is a great deal of hoopla surrounding the primaries in Florida and Michigan.

One thing to keep in mind: According to Randi Rhodes of Air America, there was not a single dissenting vote in the Florida Legislature against moving up the primary date. Not one Democrat voted against the measure even though the DNC had stated they would punish FL if they moved the primary up.

Why?

Because after the recent presidential election, Democrats were screaming for a paper trail to go along with the electronic voting machines. So they got it. As a part of the same bill that moved up the primary dates.

So to cry victim and say that the Republican Governor and Legislature did this to Democrats knowing their vote wouldn't count in the general election simply isn't true.

BUT, that brings us to the present. Notice the Republican Gov. of Florida is pushing hard to hold the new vote.

Again, why?

Could it be he knows that something to vote against, gay marriage for instance, turns out Republicans like no other? Could it be because he knows the name Clinton unifies the Republican base more than any other name out there? Could it be that he knows the Republican base is lukewarm on John McCain? Could it be that he realizes she likely cannot catch Mr. Obama without a new vote in Florida and Michigan, two states filled with her typical base?

It could be. It likely is. Careful what you wish for.

Now I firmly believe no one should be disenfranchised. I believe we should find a way through this so that a new vote is done with time for the candidates to campaign.

But, I think it is also true disenfranchisement to go out and say the pledged delegates don't have to vote for the candidate they are "pledged" to. Yes, Hillary herself said these words today. It is also disenfranchisement to seat the Michigan delegates when only one of the candidates left was on the ballot. Also a position the Clinton campaign has expressed.

Supporting Barack Obama

2008-03-07T18:54:00.000-08:00

Here is one of the reasons I have contributed monetarily to the Obama campaign:

The Lugar-Obama Nuclear Non-proliferation and Conventional Weapons Threat Reduction Act.

In this instance, Obama crossed the aisle to work with Senator Lugar (R-IN) on a bill that funded and worked to strengthen the Nuclear non-proliferation agreements. Additionally, and equally importantly, it worked to secure weapon caches of shoulder mounted missiles. A weapon used a few years ago in Africa to target a commuter plane as it was taking off from an airport. These weapons have become more and more accessible on the black market according to the co-sponsors and could end up in the hands of insurgents in Iraq attacking our troops. Additionally, these weapons could be used in a terrorist attack against our infrastructure with devastating effects.

This is one of many bills that he has either sponsored or co-sponsored. A comprehensive list can be looked up on the Library of Congress website here: http://thomas.loc.gov/

Donate here.

Politics

2008-03-07T18:45:00.001-08:00

I don't like pushing my political views on other people because I don't like having political views pushed on me. Thus, I find myself in a conundrum. I feel compelled to take action on behalf of Barack Obama. Most of my need to express my support has been brought about by George Bush's presidency. I am not unique in this motivation as evidenced by the record turn outs in recent primaries. It has never been clearer the effect a President can have on our country. But, I approach my advocacy with a conflicted heart. Part of me needing to do something. Part of me not wanting that something to disrespect the sacred decision of my friends' votes.

So I ask your forgiveness. From here until election day, I will be posting some of my thoughts about the race on this blog. I will only post what I find interesting or pushes me further in one direction or the other. Please ignore them if you'd rather not read them. I will continue posting about my adventures out West and hope you will continue to enjoy those.

9 Degrees

2008-03-04T19:17:00.000-08:00

Just got back from a family ski trip to Colorado. And one night, it was all of 9 degrees outside. This of course made for absolutely fabulous snow conditions at the two absolutely huge resorts we were able to ski.

I think John said it best: "You could take a picture of this but it would do no justice. A picture just makes it too small. You have to be in it to appreciate it."

Speaking of large, we also rented a Ford Expedition to handle skis, boots, snowboard and my over 6 ft cousins. I drove it to the airport this morning and that's just too much car. I know some people have 17 children but I'd bet the majority of Expedition owners definitely do not. But of course, I'm biased.

As for the skiing, much fun was had. There was one tense moment where one of my cousins took out the pretty girl on the slopes. Thankfully all were ok.

I had a great time skiing through the trees and the wide trails on various occasions. My skiing improved greatly over the course of the three days. There were definitely moments where I was sucking wind thanks to the 9,000 foot elevation change from my now native SF. The soreness in my legs is testament that I was working hard. And the lack of clarity in this post is further evidence that it wore me out.

On to the next adventure.

Eating Goose

2008-02-15T10:54:00.000-08:00

Yes, San Francisco has a pillow fighting club. Yes, they held their big event of the year yesterday. Yes, I went. Yes, it rocked. And it lasted four hours.

I received several invitations from friends and showed up at the plaza in front of the Ferry Building a little early. There were girls in pantsuits and heels. Others showed up with custom made pillow bashing devices. Two guys geared up with full-on UN Peace Keeper regalia.

And promptly at 6:00, pillows broke loose. I'm in these somewhere:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=MWmv_pA6lHM
http://youtube.com/watch?v=mMyg-LaH9Ec
http://youtube.com/watch?v=KWzxT-w0X6k

You may see goose down explosions in some of the videos. Many pillows blew out after too manly a swing. At some points, it looked like a blizzard. There was one moment where a gust of wind came through and created a feathered tornado that everyone paused to check out. "Wow, that's one of the most amazing thing's I've ever seen," was one guys summation. He was promptly hit in the face. At one point, one of these pillows exploded right in front of me. This lead to a mouth full of goose down and coughing the rest of the night. Next year, I'm not laughing at the guys with scarves over their nose and mouth.

Apparently by the end of the event, the goose down was up to some people's knees. And all of it was gone this morning.

One of my pics:

San Francisco Profile #5: 36c

2008-02-13T17:30:00.000-08:00

I stumble across you on my way home. It's been a long day and I'm absorbed in the thumping beats of my iPod shuffle but the sight of you snaps me back to reality. There you are on the sidewalk. All by yourself.

A bra.

At some point, you were loved. For you are not just any supportive garment, you are frilly. You are pink. Maybe you are even Victoria's Secret. Yet after days and days of sitting on the cold concrete, you have become dingy. Lost that clear pink hue that once attracted someone to pull you off the rack and pay too much money for you. The only thing broken about you is your spirit. Your belief that you had a few more good wearings in you.

A sad sight to be sure.

****

It is the oddest thing. In this town, you will find random clothes on the sidewalk. I think I've mentioned the piles of clothes before. But this was the first time I have come across just one unmentionable. Just sitting there. Waiting to be talked about.

Juju runs the PCH

2008-02-11T12:06:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday was gorgeous. It was the kind of gorgeous that makes you get outside regardless of anything else. The kind of gorgeous that invented sports. The kind of gorgeous that makes men actually want to cut their grass and fix the gutters.

Obviously I had to do something outside. In pondering my options, I also realized that Juju, my MINI, hadn’t been out of her cage in almost 2.5 months. Now she loves the garage. A sanctuary that keeps her paint from getting keyed randomly. (A tragedy a friend's brand spanking new VW recently suffered.) But it’s no place for a pure driving car like Juju to spend a day like this past Saturday.

So what better way to stretch her 17-inch, race tire covered rims than head to the Pacific Coast Highway? We decided to venture south.

Abso-freaking-lutely incredible.

Windows down. Sunroof open. Music blasting. There is no better way, or stretch of road, to drive. There are comparable slices of asphalt. The dragon's tail in NC for example. But few others provide an incredible view of giant waves crashing on huge rocks. Very few have reinforced guard rails to be sure you don't mess up and go spilling into the Pacific. And even fewer have turnouts who's views rival the Blue Ridge Parkway.

For example:

Just trying to keep up.

2008-02-05T20:07:00.000-08:00

I can't keep up with this city. There's so much to do it's amazing.

Starting with New Year's Eve. My roommate was spinning at a club right alongside the best Breaks DJ in the world. Needless to say it was quite an evening.

From there, unfortunately, the start of the year saw some layoffs at our agency. I made it through but several friends did not. That was tough.

I also started teaching a class at the Miami Ad School - San Francisco branch. Finally a chance to corrupt young minds.

The third weekend of the month also marked my first trip to Tahoe. Which was truly one of the most breathtaking ski trips I've ever been on. I have never seen so much snow in my life. It had been pouring rain in SF for days. Downpour levels that mix with wind to turn umbrellas inside out and then dump water on their owners when they get turned right side out.

Increase the elevation 5,000 feet and that means snow. Lots and lots of snow. On the way to Tahoe snow was covering absolutely everything. There is a summit on the way to Tahoe and on the sides of the highway going up to the pass, the snow on the side of the road was easily up to 8 feet in some places. We passed by one Hwy 80 sign that I could only see the bare top of. I must admit, this is quite a different world than the snow levels I’m used to. I’m usually happy if I see ice on the rocks on the way up to the hills in NC.

The actual ski mountains, note the plural, are just as gorgeous. I've never had as much terrain to ski at any point in my life. Or such difficult terrain. Thank goodness I demoed an excellent pair of skis as they kept me upright in spite of many of my best efforts.

From there, we go to this past weekend's SuperBowl Party. I shall say nothing about the game except that I was quite disappointed. My sense of woe was thankfully assuaged by a project I finished with a friend just before the game. 28-layer dip. Yes, your 7-layer dip just hung its refried beans in shame. 28 distinct and tasty layers. Man it was towering. And delicious.

So now hopefully you few loyal readers understand why posts have been so few and far between. There has been much going on. Most of which continues to confirm my love for the city and my life out here. I also renew my promise to bring you more detail as things happen.

Shooting spots

2007-12-23T19:04:00.000-08:00

Shot my first spots for GSH this past week. Here I am posing for the plate shot at Infineon Raceway.

I'm in a rap video

2007-12-01T15:56:00.001-08:00

At least that's what yesterday at work felt like. We went on a wine tour of Napa Valley as an agency field trip. Quite upper crusty one might say. Hardly.

It starts going down hill as soon as the bus arrives. Or more aptly called Party Bus. Overhead neon. Strobe lights. Leather couches not individual seats. Stereo system / CD player / DVD player / Satellite TV on a big screen. It was truly out of control.

Mimosas before we got to Napa, four vineyards averaging five tastings at each, beers in between vineyards. All this adds up to a dance party on the way home that everyone, and I mean everyone, got caught up on some way or another. To give you an idea of the fierceness of the booty shaking, thongs were seen.

We stopped to get beer on the way home because we ran out. We should not have run out. We stopped to get a breathalyser machine at Restoration Hardware. Restoration Hardware should not sell breathalysers. (They do.) Our bosses came in first in the heavy drinking category blowing numbers that declared them legally embalmed. People missed flights. As in, rather than going to the airport when we got back two hours late, they kept partying.

In the coherent moments, the vineyards were gorgeous and some of the wines were exquisite. At Mondavi, we tasted the ninth ranked wine in the world according to Wine Spectator. Deliciouso. Their dessert wine was pretty killer as well.

Well, I'm six months in and I must say this is quite a nice marker.

We lost one

2007-11-29T14:45:00.000-08:00

One of our writers (Philip) decided that love was more important than advertising. The heresy. So he's off to be a freelancer in Los Angeles. To my LA friends, if you see the guy in the middle running around with a portfolio under his arm, hire him immediately. He will make you laugh. He will make you cry. He will make you money.

Get thee to the symphony. Seriously.

2007-11-25T15:53:00.000-08:00

Buy tickets and go. There's really no other musical experience like a full orchestra and for some reason, the music just has a way of soothing the soul.

The show on Saturday was fantastic. Lots of Haydn. Lots of passion from the conductor. Lots of older patrons. I'd never experienced the symphony of a major city. Winston's is quite good for a city that size. But I think they have to stick to the more well known works as there isn't a population that can support less well known works.

Anyway, go. You'll like it. Your ears will like it. Your brain will feel relaxed and refreshed all at the same time. And no, the symphony doesn't make you older. That's time's fault.

Kumquats and Koalas

2007-11-24T12:12:00.000-08:00

This was a brilliant Thanksgiving and once again I have plenty to be thankful for. Lots of new friends to start. An amazing city to live in, a roommate who's company I don't tolerate but actually enjoy. Plus an agency that's inspiring and trying everything it can to do things the right way. Not to mention a healthy family that loves me.

We created quite a feast this Thanksgiving. The attendee list: Jay, Allan, Celeste, Trav, Stephanie and Me. We feasted on brined turkey, savory bread pudding stuffing, asparagus with prosciutto, squash with candied pecans and goat cheese, bread of course, two kinds of cranberries, one with kumquats, scalloped potatoes, and some killer wine. Wine that was purchased and then stored 10 years ago. And then more wine that Mom and John purchased on their visit. Delicious. And of course we topped it all off with apple pie, ice cream and persimmon cookies. Incroyable.

On Friday, we headed off to the San Francisco Zoo. Really a great city zoo. There's not a ton of spare land around but they do a good job of maximizing the land as best they can. Bears and koalas have some room to roam, monkeys have a lot of room to swing and play. Do wish there could have been more but then, there's not a lot of spare room in this city. It's also one of the only zoos in the country where you can watch them feed the big cats. They bring in lions, tigers and siberian tigers. Pretty amazing. I saw one of the lions come in and you could tell he was a killing machine. He kept pacing and pacing until a small kid let out a wail. At that point, he zeroed in and straight up stared down this kid. It was unnerving.

I topped the day off by watching Carolina beat ODU. They are playing in Vegas but I couldn't find another Carolina Fan who would commit themselves to making the trip with me. And then tonight, I'm off to the symphony with Steph. My art director Jessica finagled some free tickets for me.

Yes, once again, I have much to be thankful for.

My Lying Ears

2007-11-14T21:43:00.000-08:00

I heard a most extraordinary thing this evening.

Many of us are here at the agency working late. Big presentation tomorrow to one of our clients and we're presenting two different brand books. One for each of their brands. As a part of that one of our senior production people, Dennis, is here making sure the printer plays nice and that the books are put together properly. Earlier in the day we had sung Happy Birthday and presented this man with an ice cream cake.

So around 8:30 as we're eating dinner, my boss (amazing bit one, he's with us) walks up to Dennis and says, "You're still here? Why are you still here, it's your birthday." (Amazing bit two.) And then follows that up with, "Make sure you take the day off tomorrow and celebrate your birthday." (Amazing bit three.)

What the hell kind of advertising agency is this?

Perma-cloud

2007-11-10T18:56:00.000-08:00

Winter has set in. I was warned there would be 40 days of rain and yet I have built no Arc. And by that I mean, I have not bought a winter coat. Apparently, San Francisco winters are much like Seattle's every day. Rain, drizzle, rain, fog, and repeat. It seems there's a cloud that comes to hibernate over the city from now through January. Supposedly there are some nice days in there when the sun manages to beat the fog back. As for me, its kind of a welcome change. I mean the city can't really be this perfect all the time can it?

I had a bit of a Winston-Salem reunion last night. I went to go see a DJ named Rick Preston. I'd met him through Cory Allison and Jason Cooper, the only DJs spinning house in Winston. Rick would sometimes do a guest appearance. An appearance that would fill my house batteries for many months. It seems here, I can get my fix whenever I please. With some rather top shelf talent to boot.

So now I'm procrastinating. In my head, I'm scheduled to be writing TV scripts for Infineon Raceway. Instead, I find myself here. With you good readers. Thanks for the break.

Parents Weekend

2007-11-04T23:36:00.000-08:00

The padres came into town this weekend. Partially on business and mostly to see your truly. I'm so thankful to have them here to visit. I was able to show them bits and pieces that hopefully whet their appetite for the next return trip.

I felt a bit bad for John as he had a client in town and had to make sure said client was well tended to. He did a fine job. And if that's the excuse that gets them out here on the regular, I'm all for it.

I was tasked with finding eateries for three nights. And if I do say so, I did a fine job. Three restaurants, three fine meals. I even got John into a vegetarian restaurant for lunch on Sunday. A lunch which he actually enjoyed. The enjoyment level was a surprise. Especially to John.

So as my parents are the two people actually reading this blog, thanks for coming. I love you truly and appreciate your taking the adventure. I hope you were able to get a glimpse of how truly special my circle of friends is becoming, how blessed I am to have the job I have at an agency I believe in, how amazing this city is and how much fun I'm having.

I miss my family terribly. I hope they move out here soon.

It was only a matter of time

2007-11-04T23:33:00.000-08:00

I just couldn't help myself. I'm a copycat. I'm a follower. I'm a sheep. I'm a loyal tither in the church of Steve Jobs and I just can't help myself.

My Art Director got an iPhone on Friday. By Saturday afternoon, I found myself at the Apple store. I have one. I love my newly dubbed ePhone more than any other phone I have ever used. I will not lose sight of the fact that the phone is an object. Not nearly as important as people. Merely a thing. But a damn cool, unfreaking believably useful object of my affection.

Spider Pig, Spider Pig

2007-10-28T15:45:00.000-07:00

It's All Hallow's Eve time here in SF. Lots of parties this weekend. Lots of freaks in the street. Good times all around.

My art director Jess, my man Joel and I went to a house party in Bernal Heights. Of course it would more aptly be named a mansion party. The doctor who owns it throws the party every year. It's pricey to get in but all the money is donated to charity. There's also an open bar, Mariachi bands, DJs, live bands, secret passageways around the house. It was nuts.

Some of the best costumes included a giant sized Snoopy, a Miner with a bear trap around his leg, Gumby done in lights, Jess as a peacock, Joel as the bearded lady, and various super heroes including one gent who appeared to be Super Sperm.

I myself was Spider Pig. If you don't know what a Spider Pig is, check the following: http://youtube.com/watch?v=714-Ioa4XQw

It was one of those last minute bits of genius that came after a lot of thinking about the Halloween costume. Pictures to come.

Convert #1

2007-10-21T16:34:00.000-07:00

I moved out here a bit on my own. I had a few people I knew from Ad School. People I'd shared a beer and a few classes with but that's about it. No one who understands my need to watch all things Carolina athletics. No one who finds my car obsession "cute" rather than wholly neurotic.

And that's not to say Joel finds me any more sane, but we have mutual experiences which puts him more firmly into the tolerant friend category. Murphy's Lunch Fried Chicken. Late night games of Quake. Trips to the caves that I bailed on. (Thank goodness, it poured rain.) Screaming at the TV during the Carolina / dook game. And now one more experience we share. He just moved to San Francisco.

It's also been a bit interesting to watch him go through some of the same moments I first had. Starting with, "Holy Crap I'm actually here. I really did this. What was I thinking?" All the way to, "This is a pretty cool place to live."

I'm hoping today was more of the latter for him. It certainly was for me. My new friend and Art Director Jessica ran a marathon today. Let me go ahead and get this out of the way: I'm a lazy-ass. Moving on. Some of the other creatives in the office, Joel and I went down to the marathon route to cheer her on. We actually managed to find a spot close to the finish that she would pass by twice so we could get in twice the cheering. And thus, twice the good karma.

She ran by the first time (mile 16) and we were appropriately loud and obnoxious. And as serendipity would have it, we were also feet away from the beach. On a cloudless, fogless, perfect day. We walked down to the beach and popped open snacks. Mimosas. Little Debbie Snack cakes. Chips and salsa. Threw a football around. Attempted to catch it. Sometimes.

There were also moments where all we could do was stand around and look up and down the beach. It was incredible. Rock formations jutting out into the water. To the North, a gorgeous view of Marin and the few houses lucky enough to see both the Pacific and have a view of downtown SF. To the South, an area appropriately called Pacifica. After a good solid two hours of drinking, eating, throwing, catching, finger jamming, and ogling at nature, we headed back up to cheer Jessica to the finish.

We also cheered for an awful lot of other people. Probably because we had just spent two hours on a beach indulging ourselves. These people had just spent 4.5-5 hours running and raising 18.5 Million dollars to fight Leukemia. So we clapped and yelled for strangers. They certainly deserved it.

Then we clapped and cheered for Jess and her friend Colleen. They looked unhappy, happy, and loony all at the same time. We made a walk down to the finish line but it was slammed with people, DJs, guys in tuxes handing out Tiffany jewelry boxes (it was the SF Women's Marathon) and enough well wishers that we were none too sure we'd actually find Jess. But we were sure she would be well congratulated.

On the way home she called to thank us. She said she cried like a 12 year old. If I'd run that far all just to get a necklace from a guy in a tux, I probably would have too.

So now I've got an old friend here from back East. And it seems like I've got a couple new old friends as well.

SF Profile #4: My favorite pan handler.

2007-10-05T13:40:00.000-07:00

Homelessness is a big problem in San Francisco. Lots of money. Moderate climate. Lots of social programs. All add up to a place those on the margins can actually eek out an existence.

Which means I've seen many different approaches to asking for money. They guy who just sleeps but leaves his cup waiting for your dollar. The guy who's on the same corner every morning in his electric wheelchair. The man who uses a fishing set-up with his cup on a string. Some are truly heart wrenching. Some are angry at the world. I try to respond when asked, even if only to say I don't have any change on me. These are people and by responding I keep track of that. One time a woman actually responded "bullshit" when I said I didn't have any change. I was telling the truth and her response made me a little more callous for a few days.

But my favorite guy, I'm not sure he's actually homeless. His tact is to tell the truth. I pass by him on my way to and from the gym and he often shouts out, "Can somebody help me out here, I'm trying to get inebriated!" The blatant honesty makes me laugh every time. This incantation is often followed with, "I'm tired of lying about cheeseburgers I'm not gonna eat." This is not a new approach of course, but he doesn't hold a sign and let's his voice carry him through. He also seems oddly upbeat, perhaps drunk, all the time.

I feel for anyone who has to struggle with being poor. Especially those who are forced into the streets. The fact that he is able to laugh at his situation says a lot. I just hope it's working and that just maybe he actually is lying and using the money for something more than just a stiff drink.

In breaking news, it rained.

2007-10-05T13:10:00.000-07:00

I realize rain doesn't seem like much but literally I had not seen rain since moving here June 3rd. Plenty of fog. No rain. But, precipitation finally fell.

In other news, I think my partner and I sold some TV ideas to Infineon raceway. Not the ones I was hoping to sell. Not the ones she was hoping to sell. The campaign was a direction they had asked for. We quickly created a version that at least could be interesting. Now we have to make it great. And original. I think we can get there.

Also had a good meeting with a smaller client we are trying to grow into a bigger client. They are a men's barbershop but do things a bit different. When you walk in, it feels like a boutique hotel bar. High class, black leather furniture, big screen TVs all over the place. Basically a man room any middle class guy would kill to have. And most upper class guys probably do. Good hair cuts. Good conversations with real guys. They have big dreams and hopefully, we can help make the big thinking real. The gentlemen who own / run the business are quite smart and the type of clients agencies dream about.

It's cool because in both of these instances, I don't think something like this could have happened at my old shop. Too big for either of these clients. But that also has a downside. Neither of these clients have much of anything for production budgets. Which forces some really creative solutions but also limits some of the things you might like to do.

Most of my time has been spent lately on projects and clients which feels pretty good. I've been expanding the social base mostly by having old friends move out here. Three fraternity brothers have made it out here since my arrival. Another friend from Winston is coming out in a week. And the cool part is that I have people to introduce all of them too.

I'm hoping my time out here is filled with these moments of breaking news and firsts. I have my fingers crossed that new experiences happen all the time. So far so good.

Home is where the plane lands

2007-09-16T19:40:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I attended a wedding in Philadelphia. Home of Liberty. Cradle of the United States. I was actually in the wedding as a part of my continued JBA studies. For those that are unaware of that acronym, it stands for Jew by Association. This was my second stint.

It was a Jewish / Chinese wedding which gave it a certain flair. Two friends from ad school, Mike and Susan, who make the unlikeliest pair. Until you hear them both laugh. At which point you know they are perfect for each other.

Being in the wedding, and flying from the left coast, I didn't have much time to explore. Friday morning, I did manage a quick breakfast with my man Bill. Dutch country French toast floating in a kiddie sized pool of butter. Bill moved to Philly to be Head Art Director Honcho and Master of All Things Virginia Tech at an agency called Stick and Move. A great little shop started by the illustrious Steve O'Connell. Himself a fine man and known for his ability to collect great sums of metal from award shows the general public knows nothing about.

On Friday night, it was great to catch up with several old ad school friends. And to buy them beers. Which were astoundingly cheap. That is to say normal priced. It was also fantastic of my friend Elizabeth to drive all the way from Syracuse just to be my date. That is to say make me look good on the dance floor, meet people awkwardly and be best friends with them in a matter of minutes, stand around a lot as I was off making sure Mike didn't sweat through his tux, generally be wonderful to me and make sure that I didn't get cranky. I can do that at an outside wedding where it's 90+ and I'm wearing a black tux while my precious Tar Heels lose to ECU in the second football game of the season. She handled everything with plenty of grace and charm so I didn't have to. I heard, "She is so lovely," again and again.

Once the happy couple was hitched, dances were danced and cake was eaten, we all went back to the hotel bar for story time and high philosophy. We solved the world's problems, told many tall tales and waited anxiously for Mike and Susan to make an appearance in normal clothes. They did. And left appropriately quickly thereafter. There was a breakfast on Sunday but I missed it as my flight out was set for 8 a.m. and I had to return the rental pig that I had been driving around. Which was bright orange. With Jersey plates. If my driving didn't say I'm an a-hole, the car was screaming it for me. But el pig did have XM radio so I got to hear the last second field goal that sunk my team. Crap car.

Once the car was returned and I made my way to the airport with the other bleary eyed and harried passengers, it was time to check in. At which point the counter person asked where I was headed. "Home, to...San Francisco," was my reply. Hitch and all. I actually had to think to not say North Carolina. And a bit of me was sad. And another bit of me was not. There's a couple things that will never change. Mike will always be loud. Susan will always be razor sharp funny. Elizabeth will always be lovely and NC will always be home.

Just not right now.

One small yo-yo trick for mankind.

2007-08-26T01:54:00.000-07:00

So the not very interesting part of my night last night was peeing next to Al Unser Sr.

Here's how I got there:

For the last race of the season, Infineon raceway hosts a dinner fundraiser for a charity they work with. As Infineon's agency, we had several tickets to the event. I snagged two. Any trip to Sonoma is gasoline well burned. I invited my friend Stephanie and picked up fellow copywriter Philip and his lovely lady Violet. As we made our way to Sonoma in Juju the MINI, we were quite excited because Chuck Yeager was listed as the Grand Marshal for the IRL race the next day and we hoped he would make an appearance.

We arrived at the Jacuzzi, yes the perma-bubble bath inventers, winery fashionably late and found Jessie, account person, and Matt, her man. After meeting and thanking the President of Infineon we wandered about what could only be called an Italian estate replica complete with church and piazza. Quite picturesque. Eventually we were given our table assignment. There were at least 20, if not more. And as my delicious dinner of filet o' steak quickly disappeared, entertainment was appearing on stage. Before I go further, I should mention that Stephanie who is normally a vegetarian finished her steak before I did. Obviously, quite good.

So I was floored when Rick Mears and Al Unser were introduced and brought up on stage. There in front of me were two men who had won a combined 8 Indy 500s. They spoke about their approach to racing and what they loved about it. It was incredible to watch legendary history reflect on itself.

And then it got nuts.

The President of Infineon got back on stage and said they had a special guest they wanted to bring up. Someone who was a race fan and had called him to see if he could get tickets to the race that weekend. Under the table, my fingers were crossed for Chuck Yeager.

Nope. Neil Armstrong. The first man on the moon Neil Armstrong. The Neil Armstrong. Walks up on stage.

So Steve, the Infineon President begins to ask Neil some questions. Neil tells us that the astronauts used to have a little nip off the bottle before they would strap into the rockets. And to be quite honest, who could blame them? But he also said they would be straightened out by the time they got to the moon. Comforting. And hysterical.

Steve then asks Neil why he didn't do a stunt like Alan Shepard and hit a golf ball? Neil responds that he did do a trick but Buzz left the lens cap on the camera. He says he yo-yo'd on the moon. Seriously. He then proceeds to show us a full repertoire of yo-yo tricks. All the tricks from my Duncan yo-yo trick book that I could never ever master. Rock the cradle, Moon launch, shoot the moon, everything. And he's doing them well. So here I am in the audience watching Neil Armstrong doing yo-yo tricks from my childhood. To music. With a little shuffling dance in between tricks that made him appear like the cartoon dog Mutley. Obviously Neil was chosen for more than just his flying abilities. The man is a natural born show man.

Once this was over, the crowd clapped heartily and started to file out. I made my way over to Neil. Surprisingly, not many people did. After introducing myself, I shook his hand. He's a bit short. And obviously an incredibly funny and mischievous man. He is full of personality.

After the shock wore off, I headed for the exit and decided to duck into the bathroom. At which point, Al Unser walks in after me. There's a bit of a line and eventually Al Unser is using the stall right next to me. In my head I pondered the glance to see if his cajones are indeed made of brass, but I decided just to believe that they are. How else could he have driven that fast for that long?

Once I was back outside Stephanie decided she also wanted to meet Neil. So she and Violet went off to find him while I stood in the courtyard still in shock. Apparently he said to her, "No, no, I don't give handshakes to ladies," and offered her a hug. Which, according to Steph, went on a little longer than the standard hug and apparently included some belly rubbing. Sheer genius.

So on the way home finally, we were all in awe of the entire evening. It was beyond words. We just kept asking each other if it actually happened. Well, if it didn't then we all had the exact same very vivid dream.

My first Carolina fan.

2007-08-22T16:05:00.000-07:00

I'm getting more and more excited as football season approaches. Carolina's last coach was a good man but it seems not a great coach. That changed when we hired Butch Davis who has brought plenty of excitement to the program.

Several of my fraternity brothers are moving to the area this fall for various grad school programs so I'll definitely have someone to watch games with. Now if I can just figure out where.

I also met my first real life Carolina fan the other night. Ironically enough, she was my cab driver. She had attended Carolina a few years prior to my arrival on campus and had been a Biology major. From the stories she gave it a good go but in the end she was made for other pursuits. But she couldn't have been happier as we talked. And she certainly had not lost her love for the Heels.

To keep me feeling at home, I'm co-hosting a pig-pickin' here at the agency with an Art Director who also calls NC home. SunDrop. Cheerwine. Pig. Slaw. Buns. All the goodness one could want. We'll sit on the roof in the shadow of the Transamerica building and show CA just how it's done.

So, now that I know there are fans here, and a bit of pig, that's just a little more of home.

SF Profile #3: The Level 7 Towel Fu Master

2007-08-22T15:51:00.000-07:00

Viciously he assaults the firebox without mercy. Strike after strike with what appear to be common dish towels. (A firebox is literally a red box on a pole with a phone in it in case there's a fire nearby. After the "big quake" where half the city burned, they're a bit twitchy about fire around here.)

Back to our hero. As I walked up Van Ness Street, he continued to slay the box with three towels and skills obviously learned from years spent studying Drunken Master technique. The sway. The off kilter, ravishing attacks. The incoherent smack-talk. Eventually one of the three towels fell from his grasp but our hero pressed on. Behind the back. Swirl technique. The fall down fake.

I could not stay to see if he ever found mercy and finished the firebox. I was walking toward a theater up the street to meet a friend for the Simpsons movie. Somehow I think the firebox survived. Being iron and what not.

A gym with a view

2007-08-12T14:27:00.000-07:00

In the workout area of my Y, are several windows that face out over the bay. You can see the ferries going in and out, sailboats depending on the wind, and on occasion great big behemoths delivering more and more trade deficit from China. It's just ridiculous that something as simple as the Y, has this incredible view over the docks of the Embarcadero. Sure my membership is more than twice what I was paying in Winston but I guess that's the cost of wonderment.

Work is good. We're working on a bit of new biz. Tequila client which could be fun. It is after all one of my two favorite liquors and the one that seems to conjure up the best stories among friends. We've been so busy with other clients that not much attention has been given to the "war room." I hope that changes soon. If we are successful, we will have a chance to create this brand from scratch. Having attempted that once before, I hope we are more thoughtful about the process at my new agency.

I have found a favorite client. The San Francisco Food Bank. Right now I'm piggy backing on work that was created before I got there but I feel the radio I've written is pretty good. It's not all world and some of it might even be a bit trite but I think it will be effective for them. Also, it's great to work on something that at one point in my early past, could have even helped my family.

I've also realized just how lucky I am in the roommate scenario. Trav is a good guy and we get on well. We're both similar and different enough that we have good stories and interesting thoughts to tell each other at the end of the day.

I've also found that I now live in a city where there can be too much to do. Sometimes you just want to take it easier than the city will let you. You find yourself craving a movie in the afternoon. A book on the couch. But, it's certainly better than being forced to be that calm because there is nothing else.

I do miss my family and great friends. Although I also find many of them are all too willing to come and visit. And now that there is a futon in our extra bedroom, all of you are more than welcome.

About the only thing I've got to figure out now, is where I'm going to watch Carolina Football games at 9 in the morning.

"I'm covered in Rubber"

2007-07-31T19:08:00.001-07:00

Molten rubber to be precise. The post title is a quote from this past Sunday when I attended my first ever NHRA Drag Racing event at Infineon raceway. The dragsters and their rabid fans were surreal against the rolling hills of Sonoma.

The event was easily one of the loudest experiences of my life. The top fuel dragsters run nitrous through 8,000 horsepower engines. To give you an idea, one piston produces more HP than a NASCAR. They would start with a burnout which would send nitrous fumes and rubber filled smoke toward our seats. The effect of which made me look like I had black chicken pox. And if you tried to wipe the rubber off your face, it would just smear. After the burnout, the cars would line up and the start lights (Xmas tree) would light up. This was the moment where you cover your ears. Even if you have ear plugs. Because in short order, all hell breaks loose.

4.5 - 5 Seconds and 12 gallons of fuel later, the "car" is a half mile away doing 327 miles an hour. And it feels like a thunderclap has just happened right in front of you.

At one point an alcohol dragster, only 4,000 HP, overpowered it's wheelie bar and went over backward. Luckily the car went airborne and landed back on the wheels. The driver was fine. She actually returned to the track and cheered on her teammate. Yes, she.

Another event of the day was Cops versus Kids. Where cop cars would drag race against High Schoolers in their supped up rides. Only 2 cops won. Out of 10. And all the cops got a head start. The crowd was definitely cheering for kids, not the pigs.

Friday was also quite eventful. I attended the Daft Punk show at the Greek theatre on Cal's campus. Took a party bus over. Heard The Rapture open. Pretty good. Then large black curtains covered the stage. Once DP came on, it became one of the most incredible light shows I've ever seen. I'll let the photos and video that my man Alan captured speak for themselves.

Photos: http://public.fotki.com/ace33/070727/
Video: http://www.youtube.com/user/EYZA01

It was also one of the loudest shows I've ever heard. My ears took a beating this weekend. Thanks very much to the angel who gave me ear plugs at the show.

I live in a bowl of Jell-O

2007-07-20T13:40:00.000-07:00

At least that's what 4:42:22 AM felt like. My first earthquake. And a 4.2 one at that. You can find all the details here.

What's amazing to me, is all this information was up and available within hours of the actual event.

So, it really did feel like I was in a Jell-O mold that some kid was having entirely too much fun jiggling. No one was hurt. I think one thing fell off my roommate's mantle. It didn't last long and was fairly quiet. I'm just glad I wasn't standing up at the time.

But I do find it ironic that first earthquake experience was actually in Winston-Salem.

SF Profile #2: The hander-outer.

2007-07-18T10:34:00.000-07:00

They are the holders of dreams. Of fantasy. Of quick fix and faster cash.

They lie in wait. At the top of the mass transit escalator. Sometimes around corners. So sneaky. Some brazen and right in the middle of the sidewalk. Ready to spring their pamphlet on you. Or this morning a simple innocuous card. So innocent. Just take it. Please your curiosity. They stand there hands out in full confidence that what they hold will change your life for the better. Make you stronger. Make you faster. Make you more than you ever hoped more could be.

The secret they carry is just for you. And the thousand other fine people who, while completely different from you, will benefit just the same.

It's the next big thing. Like Soothsayers they proclaim, "My little magic card will be all over the news next week but you can get in now."

But the hander-outer has a nemesis. The straight ahead, I couldn't possibly care less stare. A stare it has taken me a month to perfect. The look that says, "I'm no sap." A stare worth learning. Because the hander-outer will soon make an appearance near you. They might not be as polished. Or as persistent, but they will be there. Those keepers of ambition. Those purveyors of sure things.

Ho Hum

2007-07-16T17:57:00.000-07:00

Just another boring weekend. Friday night found me at a lovely little French Restaurant enjoying a steak with a rather sublime blue cheese sauce. The perfect medicine for the days that preceded it.

SaturDAY was spent working on radio spots but SaturNIGHT and a bit of Sunday morning was full-on dance partaay. A friend of my roomie's birthday party. Julia, she turned 33. Trav (roomie) DJed while in full Band Leader uniform complete with Capo. It was a costume party. I went as a human.

It's a different experience walking into a club with the opening DJ. I was given a grand tour by the guy who designed the sound and light system. And was looked after by the bar staff as if I was a local. Perhaps I kinda, sorta, just maybe, am.

Sunday was another Giants game. This time against the Dodgers. Great rivalry. Not so great performance by the Giants. Barry popped up 5 times. Perhaps you shouldn't always swing for the fences with the bases loaded and down by two runs.

Then it was home for a Sunday dinner with Trav and his girlfriend. A thick pork chop, grape chutney, salad and cottage cheese pasta. All good.

So, just another boring weekend in about the perfect-est city ever.

2,753 Miles

2007-07-12T22:43:00.000-07:00

2,753 miles from home (SF) to home (NC). And I'm feeling every single one of them today. One of our dogs had to be put down. She was 20 and it was time. But it hurts not to be able to be there for my mom. I know it's hard on her. Foxy is now in a better place where you get cookies just for being. You don't even have to pretend to go outside.

There's some other news going on with another family member as well. And it's fairly serious. I knew there would be days where being across the country would be tough. I just didn't realize it would all hit at once. And this hard.

At the same time, all this reflection reminds me that I am the luckiest man on the planet. The job I have. The friends and family I have, even if most are far away. The stories I'm collecting. Every day is a blessing. Staying focused on that will get me through.

Erik Estrada likes house music.

2007-07-08T22:31:00.000-07:00

Or at least his long lost twin does. It's an odd thing. There are a lot of people in San Francisco that look exactly like other people. Today I went to this house music event and there was Erik Estrada. Sort of. And a girl who was throwing down on the dance floor was the spitting image of my friend Anne DeMartini.

Perhaps it's me projecting my wish for my friends to be here with me, but I swear almost everyday I see the near perfect replica of someone I know.

It will be interesting to see if on my visits back to the East coast, I begin to see twins of the friends I make out here.

Or maybe I'm just nuts. That's certainly plausible.

La fete premiere

2007-07-06T09:47:00.000-07:00

A title en francais to honor the French who helped us with the Revolutionary War. I'm sure they showed us many excellent methods for retreating. Glad we didn't use them.

July 4th marked the first party in the new pad. 3 DJs. Lots o' people. A strawberry rhubarb pie. Just enough beverages. A love hammock. Hot fire & John burgers. Several iPhones. One demonstrated by an actual Apple employee. Carrot Cake. Couple dogs. All around a good time.

I met many of my roommate's friends and they are best described as good people. And hot people. And hysterical people. Lots of fun conversations.

At one point, Cannonball Run was playing on the projection screen TV as several of the guys laughed that Jackie Chan's character in the movie was aptly named ... Jackie Chan.

Guest entry from Eric Sykora (Eamon's Cousin)

2007-07-01T21:11:00.000-07:00

I left the East coast early Friday morning and arrived on the West coast Friday afternoon. When I arrived at the Oakland airport I had to find a way into San Francisco. I asked for directions on how to get to the BART station. I took the directions to the bus to take me there where I discovered I needed 3 dollars in exact change causing me to ask the nice ladies behind me for an extra dollar.

When I finally arrived in San Francisco I walked about three quarters of a mile to Eamon's office. When I was walking down Pacific I almost passed the small doors of the old fire station. When I got inside Eamon came down stairs to show me around and introduce me to his co-workers. And about 30 minutes after meeting the co-workers I had taken money from each and everyone of them. Thanks to the 2nd ever game of Wall-Ball.

With my $12 in winnings I was off to the San Francisco Giants game with Eamon. We decided to check out the iPhone madness at the Apple Store on the way. We stopped to admire the 1000+ eager customers ready to get their hands on the greatest thing since sliced bread. Then we met up with Eamon's friends Lee and Bart before heading down to the game. The Giants stadium was nothing short of incredible with it being located right on the bay. We also got to see Bonds 750th home run.

When we woke up on Saturday we headed around the corner to a good bagel shop. Then we headed off to Coit Tower where we got a good look at all of San Francisco. After, we took a walk around the city and walked through some cool shops and galleries. One shop looked like it was stocked full with movie props including a sweet oversize flash light used as a lamp. Then we wandered over to a Mexican place Eamon knew about where we got a Burrito that weighed almost as much as we did. After packing up the unfinished giant Burritos we were off to more exploration. For dinner we headed to a cool sushi place called Tokyo Go Go. They had a huge selection of fish which tasted incredible.

On Sunday we moved about six boxes and two suitcases to the new house. Half the boxes were dvds, which took us about 15 minutes to just sort them out by genre. For lunch we stopped by a cool pizza joint where we picked up a couple slices of pizza with a San Pelligrino Limonata to drink, the killer meal. We also got to take Juju out of her concrete cell in the basement. It was quite fun cruising around town with the crazy pissed off drivers flying by. After a day of moving we stopped by a cheesesteak place around the corner from the new house to grab some dinner. We took dinner up to a park on top of Alamo Square where we could watch the sun go down on the city.

This was my second visit to San Francisco, last summer I got to do a lot of the tourist stuff. This summer I got a chance to just hang out and hit up some of local places that I wouldn't have known about as a tourist. I'd have to say that it is a pretty sweet city and I'm a little jealous of Eamon's new home. I leave tomorrow for North Carolina, its going to be sad leaving such a cool city, but I'll definately be back for more than just a weekend.

Humina, humina, humina

2007-07-01T10:23:00.000-07:00

I want an iPhone.

As a part of yesterday's adventures, my cousin Eric and I stopped by the Apple store to see the legend that is iPhone. It's hard to believe that 6 months after its announcement it has arrived. We jostled for position at the iPhone altar and I was eventually able to hold one in my very hands.

It's the real deal.

Everything works exactly as it's supposed to. The web was quick (no doubt due to the store wi-fi). The screen is gorgeous even after being pawed by masses of people. Movies look incredible. Typing on the keyboard is fairly quick and intuitive.

If you are only considering the iPhone, don't dare touch one. The case must be made of some addictive substance that will have you throwing $600 at the nearest Apple clad individual. The precious was the only thing Eric and I talked about whenever there was a quiet moment the rest of the day. I even had a hard time going to sleep last night because I started thinking of it.

My guess is Apple, and unfortunately AT&T, are going to make a great deal of money as people finish out their contracts over the next year or so.

Apple is now repeating a famous Eddie Murphy joke: "I got this Mot#!@$%&#(#^ now."

750, 25, 3, 2, 1

2007-06-30T10:15:00.000-07:00

750th Home Run
#25 - Barry Bonds
3 good friends
2 hot dogs
1st time at a Major League Baseball game for Lee O'Brien

Last night I saw Barry Bonds hit home run 750 against the Arizona Diamondbacks. It was my first time in AT&T park, and it's quite an amazing place. Big slide for the kids in a giant Coke bottle, miniaturized version of the park for whiffle ball, water jets that spout off when a home run sails the wall, more food than you can imagine, and some pretty ridiculous views of the bay.

My cousin Eric is in town and it was my friends Lee and Bart's last night in town. I was able to grab the agency tickets and off we went. We got there a bit early and saw a bit of batting practice. Lee was amazed by the whole scene. The grass, the size of the place etc. I was amazed by the overpowering smell of the garlic fries.

Many of us got official hats. Another indicator that I'm old reared it's ugly head. I started working the bill of mine into a perfect curve. My 18yo cousin was working to keep his perfectly straight.

I have to admit, I'm a little torn. I'm a lifelong Red Sox fan. But the Giants are my local team. I think I can follow both though. One's American league, one's National. The Sox lead all of baseball. The Giants are way out of the wildcard race before the All-Star break.

Yep, pretty soon this will be my city.

SF Profile #1 - Ghetto Blaster Guy

2007-06-28T16:44:00.001-07:00

This morning I was making my usual walk to work. A walk that takes me right by Washington Square Park. In the park are a lot of morning regulars. There's the group of old Asian men who solve the world's problems quite fiercely. There's the group that does what appears to be a sword based Tai Chi. There's also a larger group that does regular, as in non weapon aided, Tai Chi. Then there are several folks who are practicing on their own. There was also a woman doing Yoga who I had not seen there before. She was also getting her picture taken rather professionally so I think it was for show.

As I got about halfway up the side of the park, I noticed a guy across the intersection with a pretty good size ghetto blaster. And as I got to the corner, I could hear the bass enhanced thump of his speakers while we waited for the traffic to stop. It eventually did and right after we passed each other, he did a very interesting thing. He turned off his beats.

I looked back and it seemed as if he was turning them off for his walk by the park. He was looking over and taking in the scene as he went by. It was fascinating. Here was a guy about the size of Radio Raheem, albeit with a smaller ghetto blaster, who knew his beats were the wrong energy for the park.

It's amazing how considerate of others the mentality here can be. Now this does not apply to personal space as you will brush shoulders with just about everyone on the sidewalk. But hey, I was impressed.

Of course, his 8 D batteries might have just given out at that very moment, but I'm going to choose to believe I heard the click of a stop button.

Guest entry from J-Bizzy

2007-06-26T09:51:00.000-07:00

Visitor #1 here. The past fews days have been a blast... great food, company, scenery, and exercise... yes, exercise. Uphill both ways is no exaggeration. Eamon's apartment happens to sit just above God's throne... and I have a slight gimp in my leg after hiking to and from his scenic space atop Russian Hill.

For those of you who haven't been here, it's a really cool place. And pretty laid-back for such an urban area. Last night we had the "best burger in San Francisco" at Mo's, which seems like it's pretty accurate and might extend throughout the west coast. Quite tasty. Although I don't know if I needed to finish the 98 oz chocolate shake that we all had to have after seeing Eamon's delivered.

All-in-all... very good times. But I must confess, my biggest internal joy is watching Eamon have to take the Mini (or Juju) out amongst the city and see the look on his face as he parks so close to other cars. I don't know if others have shared the experience of walking 4 miles across a North Carolina parking lot with E because "my baby needs her space".... but those of you that have might chuckle picturing my man having to squeeze here into a tiny urban parking spot beside would be door-dingers.... or better yet, parallel park her ON THE STREET.

Priceless.

Everything old is new again.

2007-06-25T10:42:00.000-07:00

This is a sort of the mantra in the advertising world. Everything has been done. You've just got to make it new all over again. Sometimes I believe it. Sometimes I put a stake through its trite little heart.

But, this little bit of language was very true this past weekend. Visitor #1 to SF is none other than the great Joel Bowers. It's been fun to share with him the things that made me go, "oh, wow," and then watch his reaction.

Lee and Tiffany O'Brien are also out here. Lee for a conference. Tiffany for shopping. At one point, they suggested we meet up at a Tiki Bar on the corner of Broadway and Stockton. Turns out, that's Chinatown. Joel and I had a great laugh standing smack in the middle of Chinatown trying to find a Tiki Bar. We couldn't be sure it wasn't there as I have no idea what the Chinese characters for "Bamboo Hut" look like. Turns out it was several blocks down next to the all nude strip clubs. The Hut was shady. We went elsewhere.

Joel also introduced me to Eric and Christine Strohl. As it turns out, I worked with Eric back in the Long Haymes Carr days in Winston. Crazy I know. Eric was kind enough to tell me where to find Cheerwine in SF. I was floored. He seemed amused. Now I'm just giddy that my favorite city also has my favorite beverage. Another sign that I just might make it here.

Also, some of the typically endemic agency conundrums seem to be popping up at my new agency. But the new bit is this place actually seems capable of breaking out the holy water and exorcising the little demon bastards. At least they will if I have anything to say about it.

How the heck did I get back in college?

2007-06-19T13:31:00.000-07:00

At least that's where all indicators say I am. My furniture is IKEA and made out of particle board. I spend money like it's my job. I walk everywhere. I'm learning a ton about life and nothing about academics. Most of my friends are back home. I'm thinking of buying a mountain bike to get around and it will likely get stolen.

IKEA was a blast this weekend. I got more than one warning just to take a weekday day off rather than brave the weekend but I decided to go on Sunday and as Dads typically hate shopping, Father's day IKEA was quite bearable. Found a bed, dresser and bookshelf that should fill out the room perfectly. The actual shopping was quite interesting because there's a path on the floor that you have to follow to make it through the store. And you basically walk through every possible section. It's like a theme park ride that costs lots of money. Including the lines of people waiting to ride. Forgive me if you already knew this, I was an IKEA virgin.

All of the boxes were delivered yesterday to the new apartment. I was able to get off work early to meet the movers and they were magically there exactly when they said they would be. Once the boxes were in the room, I got ambitious and decided to put some stuff together. The dresser was an absolute pain. Too many moving pieces. The bed was dead easy in comparison. The shelves I put off for next time. They are quite large and will probably need a man at arms to get it done. Besides, after the four hours of bent over construction, my lower back decided to remind me I'm no longer in my 20s.

So, I now have furniture. That's cheap, stylish and disposable. And as one of my co-workers mentioned, it's perfect because if I ever do find a soul mate, it's all going in the trash anyway.

My MINI is GINORMOUS!

2007-06-13T17:49:00.000-07:00

Juju arrived yesterday. I had to hike down past Pac Bell park to pick her up and I must admit, that is one gorgeous baseball stadium. The truck that delivered my MINI was not small. 53' was just the trailer. The cab had enough square footage to make most San Franciscans jealous.

Once the car was off the second floor of the trailer, it was time to drive her home. And that's when I realized how gigantic my car truly is. There was a delivery van that couldn't have been more than 4 inches from my left side mirror at one stop light. And there were many more close calls usually involving completely out of control cabs.

Juju and I scaled the steepest hill in SF to get to my building to find that the parking space the corporate housing office bragged about endlessly was basically a shoe box. She said it would be perfect as I'd have two walls all to myself. And as we parted company she casually mentioned I might want to back in. This took me 15 minutes. There's a reason it's perfect for a MINI. Two motorcycles would be too wide.

So, this weekend I realized I really actually do, no it's serious this time, live here. For real. Somehow my subconscious still believed this was all a really sweet vacation. And on Sunday, it kicked in that here is now spelled home. Was a bit of a shock to be truthful.

I have found a place to live. Starting July 1, I'll be residing at 438 Scott Street near Alamo Park. Victorian. Has a garage. Rent will be $1125. One roommate. Projection TV, backyard with a hammock, good sized kitchen. Central to just about all the restaurant and nightlife neighborhoods except North Beach.

This also means this weekend will be the IKEA trip. If a post doesn't come out of that, I'll be sorely disappointed.

The oldest man alive is rollerblading around SF.

2007-06-09T19:34:00.000-07:00

Something really weird happens when you find out a San Franciscan's age: they turn out to be much older than you thought. Apartment hunting, I met this 50 year old woman who I swore up and down was 35. She liked going out, had a boyfriend, loved salsa dancing. I can think of several friends who would have hit on her mercilessly.

The potential roommate I’m grabbing a beer with tonight is supposed to be 29. He probably has a hard time getting into the clubs he’s DJ’ing. Last night I met a 37 yo dentist. I definitely have more smile lines than she did.

Now during my apartment search, I haven’t seen even one that’s got a hyperbaric chamber in the bedroom. There are no Juan Ponce’s Fountain of Youth Cafés. Many of the people I’ve met seem to be very into Yoga. The aforementioned dentist recently made a Yoga specific pilgrimage to India.

Or they are lying about their age in some Twilight Zone reverse kinda way. I can’t wait for everyone will take off their masks and reveal their piggy faces. (Speaking of, spotted a Piggly Wiggly shirt in North Beach Friday.)

I’ve been trying to figure out the formula to calculate my age in SF years but so far it’s just made my head hurt. Here it seems you don’t lie about your age, you brag about it.

A pic:

The view from my corporate housing living room.

More pictures coming but the Fountain of Youth I'm enjoying is closing up shop for the evening.

Uphill both ways but without the snow.

2007-06-05T17:55:00.000-07:00

Today was the first day at the new job. Dig the agency and there are notable differences from my previous office. For one, no one is panicked. There is no one sitting over creatives' shoulders making sure their very important door hanger is done. It's a bit weird to be honest.

So to the point of the title. My walk to work is uphill both ways. Seriously. When I have grand children I can actually tell them that I had to walk uphill both ways. I might even add snow to the stories. Heck, by then global warming and polluting corporate a-holes may have turned SF into the great frozen tundra.

And who knows, with all this asphalt hiking I might even grow a butt. If I could shift the mini-gut that's started to make an appearance into a gluteus magnificus, all the better. Although, given my proclivity for women and most SF men's penchant for other mens, perhaps developing my posterior is not in my best interests.

But this vertical complaint is truly all in jest. My walk today included the legendary Lombard street twisties. Can't wait for the Mini to get here so I can slalom my way down. If you don't know the legend of Lombard, peep this. Once I got to the bottom, I also had an incredibly scenic view of Coit tower. I know, my life is hard.

My last meal turned out to be Cheerwine. How perfect.

2007-06-04T11:38:00.000-07:00

It's official. I now live in California.

I was welcomed by my corporate apartment. Which oddly does not include interweb. In SF. A city that prides itself on being among the most wired. So here I sit in a cafe enjoying a bagel and Odwalla Superfood. Tasty green stuff that I'm convinced only I drink. Mostly because every time I have one, whoever I'm eating with makes a face like a scrunchie and says, "What are you drinking?" Then they taste it. Then they like it. Then they never buy it.

I needed the Superfood to make up for my last meal in NC. Mom made me a wonderful breakfast of eggs, thick cut bacon, love and toast. The vittles fortified my strength when they dropped me off at the airport with my 5 bags of luggage. On my way to the gate, I overpaid for a Cheerwine. I figured it would be the last one I'll see for a few months so I might as well enjoy it while I can.

Little did I know a cherry soda and peanuts would be half my dinner. My plane was a bit late to NY so my layover was short enough to wonder if my bags would make it. They did. I'm grateful for my clean socks and underwear. The rest is clean too, not to worry. But the point: Racing through the airport, I didn't stop for food. My lunch and dinner was a bag of crackers, a bag of cookies, some flat cheerwine and a ginger ale.

We were also late to SF because we had to circle quite a bit. All the while I had to pee quite a bit. And those airline stewards can be bathroom nazis when the plane is on approach. Or more factually, circling endlessly while telling everyone we are on approach.

Arrived at the apartment. No idea where I am. Asked the night guard where to go eat and somehow managed to show up at 4 restaurants as the kitchens were closing.

To make a long story short(er), I wound up with tap water and some granola bars. Made this morning's bagel with cream cheese, basil, tomato and bacon quite delicious. And this morning's Superfood quite necessary. But here I sit. At the corner of Columbus and Newell. I'm now off to see what the rest of the route to work looks like. I can tell you the first part looks like the scary down hill bit of a roller coaster. In Hades. Actually the part below Hades cause this particular "hill" is that damn steep and that damn long.