I finally brought my bike to get fixed.

And I have to go back because I forgot to bring the chain ring for the cranks I am having them swap out from my old bike. The one that got hit by the taxi. Not just any car a bright yellow taxi, the Haitian man driving had probably been working all night. It happened at about 815 in the AM. It was a chance to yell at someone and I sort of got in his face and blocked his car with my bike. Thinking back I wish I had put it ON his hood. That would have been a little tougher of me. My bike wasn't fucked up beyond beyond repair. But it was a shit bike for the most part anyway, I had put some work into it and whatever. I liked the handlebars. I saved them and it looks like I saved the cranks and chain ring too. I had one little stupid looking bruise on my belly and my hat brim was warped from the impact, but thank god for the hat brim. I ended up giving the hat away, didn't even tell her it saved my life.

Friday October 2nd Hazy Continuation

Art murmur was awesome. The stand outs for me were seeing some art film projected onto the entire side of a building and this one gallery with the hundreds of kick ass action figure type sculptures in all sizes themes and colors. I wish I knew the name of the gallery or the artist. But the whole environment was great and everyone was friendly and inviting.

We got to the BART and headed back to SF to meet my old friend Seth F. and go to some bars. I hadn't seen Seth F. for a few years and before that last time it was a long time in between times so it was really nice to hang out. He knows my parents and sister from when we were little kids making stupid trouble so there were a lot of memories to talk and laugh about. We went to this bar close to where we were staying called "Zeitgeist" and hung outside in the nice SF weather. Zeitgeist is set up sort of like a beer garden with a ton of picnic tables, we took over an entire table with our crew, but some of us had some catching up to do, but not I. The conversation was good and everyone was having a hell of a time. It was sort of funny, my dad was having a great time, and he is so generous. He and I got up and went to the bar, he wanted to buy a round of Jameson shots for the whole table! At least 8 shots. But we got them and we are walking back and half our table walks by us and says there goodbyes! Make mine a double!

We hung at Zeitgeist a while longer and my parents and Natalia went back to the East Bay. But us three weren't done yet. We went to one of the darkest bars I have ever been too called The Uptown, it was really close to Natoma St. also. It was a little crowded but comfortable enough on a couch and a coffee table we scored. We had a few more beers. and perhaps another shot? From there we decided we wanted to check out Seth's roof deck. SO we went over to his and met his Cat and smoked a bowl on his roof deck that was above a car dealership or something, Odd combination's are all over the place in The Mission. Another night Seth showed me his favorite block. Taqueria, nail shop, church,porn store, scummy motel,urban fashion, bar, scummy motel, massage parlor, cleaners, cell phones, scummy motel, pentecostal chapel. Everything you need on a block, and you have 3 motels to choose from. I don't know how late it was but it was time to sleep. Seth walked us back to our room which was only around the corner to my surprise. We had a high five and made plans for later in the week. Hardly Strictly was the next day, Saturday.

My recollection of Friday October 2nd. 2009.

I got up and saw Seth was already awake and getting ready to go to work. He was drinking from his own invention the California Coffee Bowl. A netted strainer and a coffee filter in a metal bowl. Ghetto coffee style. But his chemex had busted and he was making due. I had him give me directions to an outside source for my caffeine and before I knew it I was heading up 14th St, on my way to Four barrel coffee roasters. There was a lot of trash everywhere, lots of it had been sculpted into beds for the unfortunate homeless people. I almost got hit by a big white SF city clean up van rolling down the sidewalk. The van and I reached the corner at the same time and the driver didn't see me until a little to late. I saw him though and wasn't ran over. My first instinct was to talk some shit to the driver and be mean. But the guy actually looked at me, smiled and said "Sorry about that brother." That doesn't happen much at home in Boston, people are much more standoffish. I continues on my way looking down the alleys full of cool street art and graffiti until I got to the coffee shop. They take there coffee very serious at Four Barrel and it was one of the best cappuccinos I have had. They got all extra fancy with the foam and made a nice fern design, I felt a little bad even drinking the thing. But I had to wake up and conquer The Bay so I got down to it.

I walked back to Natoma St. to get Courtney up, we had plans to meet my parents and sister at the Downtown Berkeley BART station at 2. First we went to a little Mexican spot on South Van Ness for some breakfast. I love Huevos Rancheros and they did not disappoint. Courtney was also very happy with her eggs and cactus concoction. We finished and went to shower up and get ready to head to the East Bay.

We got off the BART and on an already nice and sunny day it was at least 10 degrees warmer on the other side of the Bay in Berkeley. It was a fast ride and we a half hour to kill so we got an iced coffee and I sat down and watched the street kids beg and be lazy while Courtney bought some socks in a Walgreen's. She got some and we decided to wait right outside the station on Shattuck Ave. This area was teaming with Green Peace, proposition 8 and legalize marijuana zealots all asking for donations or signatures and handing out information. Some Green Peace kid noticed my Red Sox hat and told me he was a Rays fan and he had traveled all the way from Tampa Bay to spread the word. I couldn't believe The Rays had fans so I let him talk at us while I ignored him and scanned traffic for a Subaru Outback. After a few minutes I heard my name being called, we hopped into the wagon and made our way over to Telegraph Ave. to do some drinking and shopping and see where all the freaks be at.

We parked the car in a garage and hit the street. I got a chance to give Natalia a big squeeze, it was so good to see her, I barely ever get to. First stop was Amoeba, to see Ryan and also to do some record shopping. I wasn't really in the mood to be in a store so I said hi to Ryan, looked for a few minutes and then Courtney, Natalia and I went to wander around. They went into some used clothing stores but I was getting impatient. The only store I really cared about was Upper Playground. They have a ton of really cool t shirts and stuff designed by some of my favorite artists. They even had free issues of Juxtapoz Magazine which was cool. I also dipped into a smoke shop and dropped a tenner on my smoking apparatus for the next week. A little black and pink number, I had never seen pink glass before. Or had I?

I was tiring quickly of the shopping and it was past three o'clock which meant it was time once again to tap the bunghole! Ha! Pops and I went to a place called "Manny's Tap Room" and ordered up some nice beers to try and a couple appetizers. Within about a half hour everyone had joined us and we had a number of rounds and plenty to eat. We took a bunch of pictures and I started my series of bathrooms in the bar photos. Everyone was having a laugh it was really nice to be on vacation and to be with family. Much better as a grown up than a kid. I now had the power to stand up and go anywhere I wanted to, if I wanted to. To drink in the open and smoke my herbs, I can't get in trouble anymore! What was the point of ever troubling me anyway?

After a while we decided to switch locations. Natalia wanted to show up this recycling store. They had all types of weird stuff. Some was new and for some reason they had all these art books that Upper Playground had put out for cheap. I bought two photography books. One was of Sao Paulo and one was Istanbul I planned to give them to Shana later on. She was a photo major and a lot of the wall space in the condo we crashed at was covered in black and whites. But once again after just moments in the store the urge for a pint overtook me and this time Courtney as well and of course my dad. We headed a hew store fronts down to The Lanesplitter. It is a pizza parlor with lots of good beers on tap and as I would find out later decent pie. So we had one or two more then all piled back in the car and made our way farther yet down Telegraph Ave. to see where Natalia lives.

Natalia's apartment is on a quieter stretch of Telegraph Ave. on the second floor. Her building was once occupied by a florist I guess since it has "Flowers" painted in huge letters on the outside. I could see why she had dubbed it the "Flowers" building. Her place was a lot bigger than I expected and was very nice. Her and Ryan had IKEA'd the shit out of it. They were putting there lazy spaces to work! I read that in the IKEA catalog. They also had one of the best bathroom libraries I have seen, complete with a nude flip book and a copy of "What Is Your Poop Telling You." Hilarious! This is where I finally got to sample California's finest. I had been putting it off all day but I could wait no longer so I pulled out my new piece loaded and fired her up on the porch. This stuff put Boston's to shame and I felt a little goofy and relaxed after a nice long pull. The taste is its own, I don't know what to compare it too. Maybe in the same vein as a perfect blend of potpourri or something along those lines but with special effects and it tasted like it smells. Natalia also had some left over vicodan's that Courtney and I gobbled up. We had a nice buzz going and my mom and dad started to sing together while my dad strummed one of the many guitars Natalia hangs on her walls. We took some really nice pictures of them happily together. Watching them reminded me of living at home and even though I wasn't a part of there spontaneous hootenanny's back then but I couldn't wipe the smile off my face. I wish there had been a tambourine to bang, or a washboard to stroke.

My old friend Seth F. who I met in the 4th grade lives in SF too. I had plans to meet him for drinks later on that evening and it was getting to be later on so we had to think about crossing back over The Bay back to The Mission. He coincidentally lives just right around the corner from Natoma St. On South Van Ness. I told him I would call him from the BART station when I got back. But first we had to walk through a wonderful thing called "Oakland Art Murmur" to get to the Oakland station. "Oakland Art Murmur" happens the first Friday of every month, it is a group of venues that open there doors to the public for art receptions. It turned out to be awesome and I was really happy that we made it there.

To be continued................Just remembering now, this was a very long day.

Bye Bye Chelsea

My recollection of Thursday October 1st.2009.

I got up and showered and made coffee at about 5 am. Its never a problem for me to wake up early as long as I am doing something I want to. So it is always a pain to get up for work, Because I don't want to.

We called a cab and it showed up faster than we even needed it. Our driver was about the size of our suitcase. I felt bad having him load the trunk but the little bastard had a lot of pride and I let him struggle with the bags. Fuck it, I am on vacation right?

When we got to the airport I was happy to see our airline, since it is a new one, shares a gate with International flights. This made it super easy to check our bags and get through security. The terror threat was at orange! But this is Logan after all.

When we got on the plane we were all very happy to see we all had our own televisions, music, video games, all the entertainment anyone should need. You could even order food off the screens and get very recently release movies. This was not free but convenience has its price. I had to spring for a Bloody Mary and a beer too. Not to mention a little bagel and fruit kit thing.

We got off the plane, claimed our baggage and got on the BART heading North into the city. We were headed to 16th Mission, my parents all the way into Oakland to the MacArthur stop. The BART puts the T to shame. It is cleaner and more comfortable. It has padded seats and is carpeted, which now that I think of it is actually pretty gross. But at lease it is easy to navigate. Passing through Daly City we saw the little houses made of ticky tacky up on the hill. The ones made famous by the song! My favorite version is by Pete Seeger but everyone and there momma has redone it. Especially now since that show "Weeds" chose it for there theme song. It was definitely easy to see where they drew the metaphor from. They were all little houses and they all looked just the same. We got to our stop, made plans to meet my parents the next day in Berkley and went up to the street to see how dark San Francisco's heart was.

Pretty god damn dark if crackheads, crazy bums and tweakers can block out the sun. We had to find our new home for the next nine days on Natoma St. It was only 2 blocks away and we got there in no time. One great thing about The Mission is the diversity. On our street we were staying in a nice condo but there was also section 8 housing, printing shops, auto repair shops and crazies taking stealth poops. I liked it right away! Seth, our gracious host had decided to take an extra long lunch hour to greet us face to face and show us our new digs. We were reintroduced to Judas Priest, Seth and his wife Shana's Wheaten Terrier, we hadn't seen him since he was a puppy. He was happy to see us and showed it by back pedaling and wagging his tail and barking and all other sorts of wicked maneuvers. I had been thinking about a burrito, so Seth took us over to his favorite taco truck. A five minute walk away in a Best Buy parking lot. They had tongue and tripe and all sorts of stuff I was to pussy to try. I settled on the carnitas super burrito with hot sauce and walked back to eat it at the kitchen table. Seth had a business call to make and had to get back to work after that. We ate our delicious treats and decided it was time for an alcoholic beverage.

We walked a big square around The Mission but had no luck, most bars open at 5 there. But it was good to figure out the lay of the land. We ended up back at the BART station and took it down to the Embarcadero. I love it down there but it was better before they razed Justin Herman Plaza. One of the most famous skateboard spots ever. I was lucky to visit when i was 14 or so and got to ride on the red bricks with my tiny wheels. To see in person how big The Gonz gap really was and to grind the ledges at least once before getting removed by security after just a few minutes.

Courtney looked around at the vendors at the bottom of Market St. and I watched some guy ride backwards circles on his fixed gear and do stupid little 180's. She bought a bracelet, I clasped it on her and we crossed Embarcadero to walk around the Ferry Building and get that drink. The Ferry building is huge and beautiful inside, full of specialty shops almost all having to do with food. Or maybe all. We finally found a place to get a beer at The Market Cafe. A sort of touristy place, but we got to sit outside in the sun with the breeze coming off the bay and we were just in time for happy hour. I had been looking forward to having a Fat Tire but when I ordered one it came in a bottle and not a draft. Not so good. I switched it up to Anchor Steam. Courtney and I each had a few and watched a lot of Giants fans walking back from the day game that had just ended a little while ago. It was a good place to people watch. San Francisco is full of eccentric's
and I like that. By this time it was getting to be around 5 or so. We payed the bill and headed back to The Mission, dinner was on our minds and it was the first night of many to try new restaurants!

We decide on A San Francisco institution Pizzeria Delfina on 18th and Guerrero. It was Seth, Courtney, Shana and I. They had us wait on the sidewalk under there heat lamps which I thought they really didn't need. But it was a nice touch. They brought us out beer and wine for everyone. Well everyone except Shana who had just told us she was Pregnant to our surprise! Well, Courtney had a flash of clairvoyance and had guessed she was preggers a little before we left. But it was a surprise to me. Our wait was short and they put us four at a tiny table. Seth and I looked stupid all squeezed in together but the food was really good. I got a side of some yummy Italian collard greens and some home made mozzarella. We got a couple margheritta pizzas too. And a few more beers of course. By this time everyone was tired, except for me. I have so much energy on vacation it's probably almost annoying. But I don't care, I have to use every second to so something fun. We made our way back to Natoma St. where I had another beer or two. Then I went to bed and tried to sleep. I know I must have but it seemed like I was just lying there with my eyes closed for hours. It ended up being like that almost every night. I was up the next day at 730 ready for some more adventure and a big coffee. It was like that every morning.