If taints could talk, ears would be bleeding

Sooooo....had a dentist's app't yesterday: had two fillings replaced. One hours' time and me $330 poorer!

I did my first "Butter Lap" today; the Butter Lap is a circuitous bike ride o'er hill and dale, following a counter-clockwise pattern around the northern part of the City. I started at the Ferry building on the Embarcadero, whistling happily, and blithely unaware of the horrors that awaited me. The first inkling of doubt lent a gentle furrow to brow as the headwind gently slowed my roll. Past countless tourists either waddling along or wobbling back and forth on their rented clunkers. Past Aquatic Park and those brave fools splashing along in the Bay sans wetsuits, up and over Fort Mason and down to Marina Blvd. Aeolus whistled merrily as I wove thru packs of sightseers. Past Fort Point was my first of several navigational catastrophies. I ground painfully up a short, nearly (seemingly) vertical mountain (medium-sized hill). I made a left when I should've gone right, continued on, and almost got lost in the Presidio.

Called on some friends in my time of need... only half of them didn't answer their phones and the half that answered had never done the Butter Lap, so directions were vague and confusing at best. So, after circling the general area, cursing loudly enough to startle several passerby and rueing my utter lack of direction, I half-heartedly headed towards the parking lot/tourist area of the Golden Gate Bridge, having to again grind up the seemingly vertical mountain/hill...then past the parking lot/tourist area.. (mistake!) This wrong turn had me on a dirt path with a sheer precipice to my right. More cursing, phone calls and a few choice gestures aimed at the heavens and I finally found Lincoln Blvd. Some climbing, some great views (see picture to left) then a monstrous descent, which had me jealous of roadies' optional coasting capabilities! Spinning like I was going for the gold at Goldsprints I swept down and down, then it was a gentle climb to the land of the uber-rich: SeaCliff. Another left and I was headed to the Legion of Honor, and a climb that had me praying for gears or a motor. A roadie and I had a short conversation on the way up the hill, me grunting my responses as he looked on with a bemused look. He gave me grudging respect for doing the ride fixed; I bade him adieu as I started slowly sidewinding my way to the summit. A pic of my bike next to the fountain and a quick chug of coffee later, I was speeding off down to 34th Ave, Clement and Seal Rock Drive, then rollercoasting further to El Camino Del Mar and Pt. Lobos to the Great Highway. It felt good to blast by tourists in those little yellow racing-striped go-carts, gray skies and greenish ocean churning away to my right.. Down the Great Highway for a stretch, then a left on Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd and a pit stop at a gas station for a Snickers and more caffeine. Then the best part of the ride: smooth sailing along JFK thru Golden Gate Park.

The Zoo (depressing/desolate), waterfall, meadows, etc. Accosted a couple on a Segway so I could get another photo to send my beleaguered girlfriend.

Out of the park and blasted down Oak, ran into my buddy Andy French who had just taken a nasty spill on Sloat..he'd rodeoed over his bars and scraped the shit out of his knee. We rode for a bit, then parted ways as I headed for Zeitgeist. Said hi to the bar-flies, then snuck out and back to the TL for some Chinese food lunch.

Oh yeah, on the left:

-my GPS (directions scrawled on a scrap of paper and taped to the top tube)

-Water you say? Ha! Hydration is for fools! Diuretics; it ain't just a book by L Ron Hubbard.

Oof. That was really bad.

-and lastly, my custom pump-holder:

packing-taped to the downtube. TL-style, what!

-- and (not shown) my teal fanny pack.

Next review: the Paradise Loooop.

Another great weekend

There's some old-school "Kevin partying" pics. Ha! "Hangovers Installed & Serviced" as the sign over the bar at Zeitgeist says.

Had a fun Saturday w/the gal: a 4-hour bike tour led by Chris Carlsson that focused on the little-known side of San Francisco labor history. We saw the oldest industrial building west of the Mississippi, visited Maritime Hall (where I used to go to shows back in the day) ...it was nice to see parts of town I haven't seen in a while, some I'd never seen before, all the while absorbing anecdotes and unhealthy amounts of sun whilst biking in a group environment.

Then the B.A. and I headed to Whole Foods and bought a bunch of foodstuffs for dinner. The awesomeness that is MK then sauteed some kale and other greens w/garlic and lemon, and made some of the best veggie chili I've ever had. Then some bouncing between TV shows while the crackheads outside clucked, swore and threw bottles.

Today I bought some jeans at the Goodwill and turned them into shorts, puttered online while chowing on cherry tomatoes, blueberries and a plum bought at the Civic Center Farmers Market (supplemented by my usual 2+ cups of coffee). Off to Benders tonight for my mellow Sunday, then the fellas and I are meeting up tomorrow to clean/organize for a bit, followed by another ass-dragging Monday at Zeitgeist. Cheers, all!

New computer!!

Just got my new iMac desktop yesterday; so far I'm happy as a clam. I've had a few naysayers try to dissuade me from buying one, and right off the bat I'm glad I didn't listen: the monitor has amazing clarity/resolution, wireless keyboard/mouse, no bulky hard drive. I just wanted something simple and efficient.

Lack of posts here means, like all of you I'm sure, that I've been a busy bee. It's been 6 weeks sans alcohol, and the effects on my life are pretty great: I've been sleeping much better, stress levels are way down, I've been riding my bike to work every day. There was a time a few months ago where I was cabbing to and from work, to the tune of approx. $22/day. Yikes!

People have also noticed, and this is pretty much across the board, how much my attitude has improved. I'm WAY calmer, more centered. The sweating has nearly evaporated. My life still seems amazingly overwhelming: just trying to clean/organize my apt is a seemingly endless Herculean task, and hopefully not Sisyphean!

My goal for the next month is to go through and eliminate most/organize the rest of the 10 years' worth of paperwork/effluvia and hoarded detritus I've amassed. Now I'm off to Benders for my longest of workdays. Addendum: My happiness has also been greatly bolstered by the love and support of one of the most amazing women I've ever met. "Motivator, please!"

Buzzes from a bar-fly

Yours truly in Times Square, NYC, 2 weeks ago. One of the more hectic places on our planet, and daylight bright even at midnight. So I'm back in the saddle at Benders; 24 hrs worked in 2 days, and it feels great. I've been sleeping much better lately, and ruminating on how much time, energy and money I was wasting doing the bar-hang thing. You pretty much wind up sitting around talking about the same old stuff, enabling/commiserating and frittering away hour after hour. Don't get me wrong, hanging at yr local bar, or any bar for that matter, can be a wonderful past-time. There are friends, music, laughter, conversation and a sense of family, of community. But I think too often it becomes a rut that is dug deeper as time goes on, and a way to avoid facing being productive or dealing with your current situation. Life requires so much energy and focus to keep things running smoothly! Alright, I'm off to Benders to put in some work on the day off.

First blargh!!

Here's my first foray into blogdom. I'll be doing my best to keep this blog up-to-date, so all can get a peek at what I'm currently up to.

Just got back from a 2 week trip to NYC/New Jersey. Brought my partner, M, with me. We had a great time; I saw more of the City in a week than I'd seen in my 4 years living there!

It was hot, humid and absolutely gorgeous. Museums, street life, great food, awesome hotels.

M left for SF after the first week; I then headed to the folks' house in Jersey. I slept like a rock, ate like a pig, watched movies, spent quality time w/the parents, took long walks (I think best when walking) and bookwormed out!

I really needed this vacation: recharge the batteries; take a step back from Life for a bit.

In other news, I haven't drank booze in a month. It's difficult to change ingrained habits, but the rewards are worth it. Who knows how long this will last, but it feels good to give my body a break for now. Life w/o hangovers is a wonderful thing!