32

places i visited:
jamaica
LA (2 times)

obviously it was a slow year in terms of travel.

(wouldn't that be a nice first sentence in a short story?)

32 was a year where i i stopped socially smoking. i joined the gym. i am becoming stronger.

i'm excited about the new number 33. not a jump up & down excited - just a mellow excited. i'm excited about my new apartment. i'm excited to start a little life in a new place. i was thinking it might be nice to have a little space with a chalkboard, so i can write whatever i feel on the walls.


(my hand was caught in some odd lighting this morning, so i snapped a quick picture, all the while make the letter "b" in sign language... i'm so weird sometimes.)

review

hm. the movie margot at the wedding was interesting.
about half way through i wanted to turn it off.
but that was last night. tonight i took a bath, and then watched the other half.
i got it, and i liked a few things about it.
the east coast waspy setting. but beyond wasp - the maine/vermont set.
the manhattan new yorker connection
the car being an old bimmer
the son's long hair and big lips
the part where the groom says to the bride after a fight "lets make love"

noah bambaugh? i don't know how to spell his last name - is so waspy and quiet and complex and simple. i also watched greenberg recently. it seems like his characters are always a little tormented. with regular things.

favorite parts of into the wild -

some people feel like, they don't deserve love.
they walk away quietly, into empty spaces,
trying to close the gaps of the past.

the seas only gifts are harsh blows, and occasionaly the chance to feel strong.

when you forgive - you love.
and when you love - gods light shines down on you.

thoreau quote - "rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth."

bike history

my first bike was a bike that my mother rode when she was a kid. it was given to me at christmas one year. my grandfather (her father) painted it purple for me, and fixed it up. i loved it for about a year, and then it was more of an embarrassment. it was so old and creaky and wasn't fast & flashy like everyone else's bikes. the bike was cool - but i was caught up in the bmx thing.

then i was given a bmx bike. it was fun for trails and kid things.

my next bike was a black huffy 10-speed with pink graphics. i loved this bike, and it lasted me through high school. with this bike i gained a bit of freedom from the house. my parents let me bike all around town & to friends houses, etc. it was GREAT.

the first bike i purchased was a shitty raleigh mtn bike. it was 1994, and i was obsessed with BIKE magazine and needed a mtn. bike. surprisingly we and had limited options in my small town in alaska. anywya, i didn't really every love that bike - it weighed a ton, and it was all the wrong colors. i left it at home for my brothers when i went to college. amen.

the second bike i purchased was my gary fisher kai tai. medium matte gray finish. i loved everything about my bike. it went everywhere with me. i was telling friends last night about the states that bike had been in, and i was just sitting here, thinking about it again, and realized that i left a few states out. here, i would like to document the life & times of my 1996 kai tai.
colorado - purchased & ridden.
idaho - college bike - ridden on many trails near idaho falls
alaska - shipping my bike home - ridden to work & various grueling trails*.
new york - shipped bike to ny. lived with me there for 10 years. college bike, commuter bike, etc.
massachusetts - nantucket - marthas vineyard. i actually purchased a basket for the bike in nantucket. it was great.
michighan - taken on a various trip to michigan. biked some roads with rich & miles.
connecticut - biked through lower connecticut - near my college
california - shipped it out here to be with me. the shop owners laughed when i took it in to get re-assembled. at this point the bike was 10 years old. they thought i was foolish for spending money on shipping.

last night i was about to give this bike away. i almost started crying. luckily the tire was busted, something i hadn't noticed until the new potential owner pointed it out, and in turn, refused the bike. so, all is well with the world, and i still have my kai tai. whew.

current bike: stella - my 2nd road bike, 1st road bike purchase.
1982 Trek - made in waterloo wisconsin - steel gray/silver
california - purchased 2008
oregon - biked around oregon.
this is the bike i'd hope to ride across country some day. its rad, and i've already put a zillion bay area miles on this beauty.

*please note - trails in alaska are absolutely grueling. untouchable. they simply haven't been maintained by the cute crews that other states have. its too wild of a wilderness to tame.

sunday afternoon







i thought it was cute that z has a breifcase for his stencil. adorable.