fate

the word "disaster" comes so quick


so quick, so quick.

nowhere to run...nowhere to hide

well. that was the strangest autumn ever.

florida's first frost. i saw it this morning as i left my hood.

my...hood.


there's one patch of city grass right as i get to hwy 27. it's not even suitable for a swingset but i saw it: one oddly shaped patch in the naked section, dew in the form of ice, maybe ten feet around, total.

in all of that, i still felt slightly overdressed. gloves, beanies, and bandannas are the best things. two layers of sock.

and a t-shirt in the bag.

welcome to the FL.

it's november.

w - w - w

remember kids:


Wool stays Warm when it's Wet.




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i can count the number of times i've been honked at on my way to or from school this semester on one hand.


one of those fingers was this morning. (ha!)


listen, in case you didn't know:

it's dangerous for cyclists to swerve in traffic. because of this, if i'm on a street that is narrow, and one block down it widens, and then one block further it narrows again, i'm NOT going to take advantage of that extra room for the one block it lasts.

because then i'll have to swerve back into line when the road narrows again. and that's not safe for any of us.

get over it.

besides, i always catch you at the next red light. and pass you.

strongly disagree, disagree, no opinion, agree, strongly agree

just for the record, when you take undergrad psych classes at a research university, you will probably be required to be test subjects in grad student's experiments.

i know i am.

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it's interesting. these days, it's really easy for me to write riffs. but no lyrics. until recently.

i've now got about two pages of random lyrics. which is good. i wish i had time at night to work on it. that's when i'm most creative.


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so, autumn. it's here. and it's awesome. isn't it perfect weather for camping? isn't it?


isn't it??

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here's some haikus i wrote about riding a fixed gear bike:

:cycle:

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cloud of morning breath
quick look over left shoulder
morning comes too soon
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dry and crumbled leaf
you travel with me, lowly
earthen ash and dust

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down this morning hill
legs increasing cadence still
test of faith? or skill?

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red light, o despair!
for i can only stand there
i have no balance!

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bullhorns cold in hand
climb the evening hill fast
over all too soon

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epilogue
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oh god i forgot
my lights and now i am dead
stupid DST
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blazin highs! white castle fries only come in one size...

tuesdays at work are always frustrating. there's never anything to do, because we've done it all and so i have to look busy when the boss is around.

college life is way to easy.

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alright, 32308 and surrounding areas: we need to be done with this rain thing. i'm tired of riding the less fun bicycle.

in other news, the talloween 3 race is this saturday! three or four hours of riding around tallahassee until midnight or later, scavenging for glory. and prizes.

scavenging.

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in yet other news, i'm now in the process of trying to get my gear together to play shows. do you have any gear you don't want? specifically reverb pedals, a/b pedals, any pedals? or any tips on stuff. i've played less than 10 shows in my entire musical...career.

or i'll just do it trial by fire. come watch me play.

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i've got my drink and my two step.

yes i do.

truly guilty of being white

i'd really love to write a diatribe about how much injustice there is in this world, in our society, even in our city. i'd love to write about closed-minded people and lack of a true forum of debate.

i'd love to point these things out and make it mean something, make it make sense but i'm too worn out by it.

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the other night, i got scared. not fear, really. more of a mild panic followed by sullenness and elements of depression. i was heading east and i noticed winter clouds, the ones high up, covering the sky in front of me. i'm not ready for being cold. i'm not ready for shivering and being wet and miserable. i love the warmth, even though i've been wishing for it to go away, waiting for it.

years don't stop. but spring seems really far away.


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it might rain today and so i rode the rain bike. i've been riding the fixed gear and loving it: it fits me very well, and is a pleasure to ride. but today, the rain bike. which is a great bike. but after i got to school, my left hand had arthritic pain. i'm sort of prone to it, but it's been a year maybe since i've had it. maybe it's just the weather.

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history sucks. sorrow is a sage.

damien jurado and school

ride update:
rode my fixed gear today (i will never knowingly drop the "-ed gear" and add an "-ie"
when i describe what type of bike it is. shudder.) and hit almost every light green on the way. it was great. i put a foot down one time between home and class.

while my bike rides wonderfully, i'm also interested in two things:

1. how it looks. yeah yeah. it's stupid, but i like my bike to look classy.
2. experimentation. you know. trying different handlebars, different gear ratios, etc.

so, in an effort to satisfy #1, i took my black seat post collar and decided to make it shiny silver. i found out on the intrwebs that oven cleaner, metal polish and beer go a long way to making this happen.

basically, the oven cleaner removes paint or anodization, or whatever. water removes the residue and metal polish combined with steel wool makes it shiny and reflective. since i don't drink beer, i read a book instead. passed the time nicely. step one in removing as much black as i can from my bike and replacing it with shiny silver or white.

as for #2, i'm going to try some leather straps today, maybe, and see if i can find some of the dreaded RISER BARS!!! complete with oury grips. right right. it's the trendy thing to do, but honestly, i rode a friend of mine's bike with this setup (and a brooks saddle) and it was the most comfortable setup i've ever been on, on a road or track bike.

so maybe i'll like it and you can all make fun of me for being trendy. deal?


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went to volunteer interviews at club downunder the other night, which was awesome. so tryna and i went to CDU to see damien jurado the other night.

he's a good songwriter. "abilene" is a song that stays in my head for days and days. he's been around for a while but doesn't really have the popularity he should, in my opinion. he's been on a few labels including subpop. anyways, when we went to CDU, the kids at the door recognized me and let tryna in for free.

anyways, i'm really looking forward to getting involved with shows and music again. it's been awhile and i really really miss it.

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"hybrid" classes = online classes with face time = bad suck ew. don't be fooled.

fsu = harder than tcc. i'm just ready to be done with school.

crash update

more info that i found out about the aftermath of that crash i told you about a few days ago:

"he got hit while riding in a crosswalk- a dangerous, yet entirely legal (in florida) maneuver. the guy who hit [him] while he was being a pedestrian got his windshield shattered. [the cyclist] got a 120something$ ticket and one of the above-mentioned goody bags. his is a pretty expensive slap bracelet.
this incident was a perfect example of FSUPD not knowing/caring about the law as it applies to motorists."

-courtesy of ddub.




that sort of blows.

#41 9405

coming home from fsu today (on the rain bike), my friend and i were apparently going a little too slow for a certain bus driver's taste.

we were in a two lane, two-way street with a double yellow line, riding single file on our way to an intersection. the driver passes us on the left, in the other lane. not really a big deal. i get passed alot (see the last post, right?) but this is different.

it's one thing to pass a brother, but another to merge back into your lane before you finished passing.

so the best part of all this is:

1) she was in a hurry to get to a fresh redlight. i'm just saying. it's stupid.

2) when i pulled up beside her at said red light to ask her what the deal was, she ignored me.

wouldn't look at me.

i even opened her little slide window on the driver's side and said "you know you almost hit me and my friend, right? right?"

she looked at me, and shut her window.


so. i took her number, noted the time and called her in to star metro.

they're supposed to call me back about it.

oh, by the way, if you ever have to call someone in like that, you don't have to tell them you were on a bike. you're a vehicle (well. as long as you're acting like a vehicle and not like an idiot.) and you should be treated accordingly. and supervisors of bus lines take it more serious if all they hear is "your bus illegally passed my vehicle and endangered my life."

words for the wise:


get it together and see what's happening!

safety slap bracelets

i drove to club downunder last night to interview for volunteer positions.

this is great! i'm finally an fsu student, so i can finally get involved!

no, seriously. usually a story like this starts out with me going somewhere expecting to do something and it not working out for some crazy reason.

no. i'm really excited. this is awesome.

here's a crazy story, though. just in case you were feeling let down:

i drove, like i said, and so i parked in the garage above the bookstore. as i'm walking to the union though, i see campus cops working a traffic incident, probably a fender bender. it had been raining, you know?

it was a cyclist. it looked like a head on collision with a jetta. busted. i recognized him, hung around while he was getting checked out (he was standing, but definitely seemed dazed.)

i gave him my number and told him to call me if he needed a ride anywhere or anything. i've been where he's been. getting hit sucks. his fork was totally destroyed, too. ugh.

anyways, while the paramedics were checking him out, a campus cop brought a bag of stuff over to the kid and said "here's some safety equipment."

it pricked my ears, so i asked the guy if i could have one too.

so, i open it up and here's the contents:

1. bike lights. big and bulky, but free. one white front, one red rear.

2. a yellow reflective "safety sash." think hall monitor here.

3. and i'm not making this up: a reflective slap bracelet.

!!!!!!

yes, the bits of springy plastic we grew to love in elementary school are back! and they're safe!

just thought you all should know.

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ride journal: rode the "rain bike" to school today. no rain so far.

i love riding downtown. people zoom around me, really upset, but i almost always catch up to them at the next red light. a guy honked at me this morning as he went around. i caught up to him (he was second in line), and as i passed his car to get up to the stop line, i asked "are you in a hurry?" he just looked at me. my moral of the story to that guy: don't be a doofus.

i have to say, riding with gears makes for a much easier ride...but i definitely get there slower.

slap bracelet safety ftw!

i'm an ex-spectator

at least, i'd like to think so.

i've decided that trying to start things is difficult.

for example, i've been trying to start playing shows again and it's hard to make the first call. it's not an insecurity, it's simply a matter of time and priority.

how much of life and opportunity is taken up by day-to-day living? a ton. and that's why people "settle in", that's why people stay in routines. it's not a bad thing. it's just how it is. so.


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i've been riding my bike to campus every day (except one, i think) this semester. five days a week for five weeks (i think.) things are working out nicely, though i've been lacking energy the last two weeks. i thought maybe my body was just tired of riding, but then i realized i haven't been eating breakfast, haven't been drinking as much water, and haven't been getting as much sleep as i was at the beginning of the semester.

i'm working to change this.

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speaking of semesters, it's my first at fsu. this is great.

i have lots of opportunities to get involved with stuff that i normally wouldn't. like tonight, i'm going to interview for a volunteer position with club downunder and union productions.

i'm also learning a ton about legislative systems, especially our own. the house and senate are much different from the public's general perception.

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if i made a little cd, would you buy it?


for cheap? or maybe even free?

reasons.

i don't need a reason.


so get out.




okay. i only created this to comment on wnathanlee's blog. there.