Kommute Archives for April, 2001
Archival Kwality Kommute Entries. Read through these to catch up, or waste time, or whatever!
April sure did start out kind of crazy. The end of the month got even nuttier what with the
smashing of the original camera and the subsequent purchasing of the new camera.
A Month of Changes! The kommute suffered a little bit, but Read up, enjoy! Dilute! Dilute!

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Friday, 04-27-01
<morning> Technically, I suppose I still came in in the morning. I had to come in a little bit late today, so that I could await the delivery of my new camera yeehaw yeehaw. It's nice, a lot like my old one, but it's got a whole new configuration of the controls, so that will take some getting used to, especially since i'll be using most of the controls without actually looking at the camera itself. I have a sneaking suspicion that the older model was better for my kind of photography, but we shall see. I am including some images from before the smashy and after the smashy (but before the new camera) to compare and contrast. I came across this alarming news story about a bicyclist who got killed today. Yuck. It was all foggy, drizzly and grey in the city, but it's pretty warm and sunny here in San Rafael. Duh! Make up your mind, stupid weather! Jeez! Wow i was just eating a big yummy red apple and about 3 bites in to it, I bit in to a big rotten brownish black chunk. PTOOEY PTOO! Lots of people were looking at me this morning and that and my new camera combined to make me feel oddly self-conscious.

Thursday, 04-26-01
<morning> Feeling a lot better today. No longer suffering the crippling effects of whatever I was suffering from yesterday. This article about pedestrian DEATH is pretty interesting. I woke up really hesitantly today. The alarm went off and I just sort of burrowed down in to the blankets to try to escape the jazz fusion music drilling a hole in my head, but it didn't work, so I tried listening to it, and that definitely didn't work, but I still managed to stay in bed for an extra 10 minutes or so. I did get up, and I got out in time to catch the bus and everything. It was cold and foggy and even a little bit misty out, but I was not fooled, for I knew it would be all hot and nasty up here in San Rafael. I am wicked smart. This is really wrong, and yet for some reason I find myself unable to turn away. Sick. Heaven is defined a moose. I have that stuck in my head, as well as Fatboy Slim - Weapon of Choice. Strange bedfellows. At HAMSTOP this morning, that chatty woman showed up and talked to me for a while and we froze our butts off until the bus came along, and all of us 'regulars', or "HAMSTOPPERS' got on board. I sat behind the chatty woman, but we both kind of kept to ourselves for the most part, and I settled down for some serious Pokemon playing. After a few stops a couple of guys got on, and since the bus was pretty crowded, one of them, this choad wearing a suit and behaving generally like a coked-up junior investment banker type, sat across from the chatty woman, and he encouraged his scruffy friend to sit next to her, and they proceeded to have the most banal, annoying discussion ever about money and work. It was so pointedly loud and full of details that I briefly thought it was like some kind of intricate performance art. They were talking about money and real estate the way that kids talk about toys. Sick! I sneered in their direction several times, to no effect. At one point the chatty woman turned around and made a really goofy face at me, kind of gesturing towards the choads, which was pretty hilarious. Here's a picture I made lasternight.

Wednesday, 04-25-01
<morning> ow. seriously, ow ow ow, ow. Something i'm doing is causing tremendous pain, and i'm having trouble turning my head, raising my left arm, tilting my neck and typing. But not doing these things doesn't make the pain go away, either. Buh. Maybe I slept wrong, or maybe pokemon is injurous. I need to go to a chiropractor and how. There were many great opportunities for photographs today on my kommute. I can't wait for my camera to arrive! For now, what with all the pain and stuff, i'm going to end this installment.

Tuesday, 04-24-01
<morning> Well, first of all, I ordered myself a new digital camera. Same brand, newer model. I feel strange not being able to photograph all the freakish, beautiful stuff around me every day. It wound up costing me about half of what the old one cost me. So, I set my alarm for 6:30, and when it went off I made a very conscious snap decision to get an additional 45 minute snooze. I'm surprised at my ability to make rapid mathematical decisions and rationalizations when i'm barely lucid enough to know what day it is. Sleep is very important to me. I got up feeling much more rested, got out the door, got my coffee, got on Muni and bought a newspaper (which I generally never do) and got to HAMSTOP in time to catch the 50. I was a little bit worried about running in to that woman who keeps inviting me to go out to clubs. It's not that I don't like her or anything, it's just that some mornings, I don't feel like talking to people. Anyhow, she didn't show up. I spent my time at HAMSTOP reading this really cool little Examiner Q&A column which was with Jack Napier of the Billboard Liberation Front. The article itself will probably be online tomorrow, because apparently the Examiner is worse about updates than I am, even. I spent my time on the bus playing pokemon because I am a big nerd. In Marin City, this couple got on, kind of scraggly looking hippy types, with a fat little toddler, and the guy looked a lot like Gibby Haynes of the Butthole Surfers. Anyhow, when they sat down, Gibby found a baggie, the type used for certain illicit substances, and he held it up and peered at it carefully before announcing "Man, I hate it when they're empty!" and then he repeated himself in my direction, so I kind of nodded at him. Weirdo hippies! They were entertaining to listen to. I should have a new camera soon, within the week, then it'll be business as usual!

Monday, 04-23-01
<morning> Today started badly. I had a good weekend, for the most part, but I felt kind of sick on Friday. Saturday was pretty low-key, but I cooked. Later in the day, I was playing with my camera, it's been kind of broken for a month or so since the last time it smashed on to the ground. I was trying to take some photos and the camera was just not cooperating and the lens was doing this weird grinding GUH GUH GUH GUH thing and not closing or zooming properly and this angered me, so I mashed the lens in, and busted it up good and proper. I knew I needed a new camera anyhow, but now I really need to get a new one. Oops. So, for the next few days or whatever, there won't be any kommute photos. I feel weird without my camera. I was getting ready this morning after a somewhat late start, and I couldn't find my glasses anywhere. I spent nearly 20 minutes hunting for them, and eventually found them under my bed. I managed to get out to MEATSTOP in time to see this BMW get munched by a big MEATTRUCK because they had pulled in so close behind the truck that the driver couldn't see them at all. It was kind of silly because, really, if they called the cops or anything, they would all be subject to a $250 fine for parking in a bus stop. Gotta love San Francisco. I got to HAMSTOP just in time to catch the 50, which got me in to work about an hour late. Bad, bad. Time to go price digital cameras, I guess...

Friday, 04-20-01
<morning> It's raining a whole lot today. I'm eating a banana. I got out the door on time today to catch the 9:00 bus, I got my coffee and thankfully I had the correct amount of change in the end. I went over to MEATSTOP and I was only there for a moment before my new kommute-friend came running down the street waving and hollering my name. I like talking to this woman, she's funny and friendly, but it makes my little voyeuristic hobby a lot more difficult when she's talking to me about umbrellas and her wild night of margaritas. She's nice, though, really. I'm not feeling completely good today. Sort of blechy. I think playing with my gameboy on the bus is making me feel sickly, like, motion sickly. It's not the nicest way to begin the day. It's all offset by the wondrous fact that it's Friday, ÞiÞÞilinå is playing with aem, algernon and ctrl-Z at Waziema tonight - aiight! And i'm wearing a fabulous shirt. Oh yeah, Also! Yesterday I made some mention of the weird Guerilla Marketing Tactics being employed by IBM in their Peace, Love and Linux ad campaign, and it made Slashdot and CNN, even. Stupid! Amusing! So anyhow, something funny I saw but didn't get a chance to photograph: two junior-high schoolage kids walking down the street together each taking turns filling their mouths up with Redi-Whip from a can, getting it all over their hands and faces, laughing and walking in the rain. Back to work.

Thursday, 04-19-01
<morning> I didn't end up coming in yesterday. A small task I had to deal with wound up taking much more time than I anticipated, and rather than coming in late as I had anticipated, I wound up not coming in at all. I think I needed the time off, as well, so I figure it worked out alright in the end. Here's something I learned about the other night, Green Monkey Syndrome. It sort of horrified me, but I didn't find it the least bit surprising. I remember Junior High. Anyhow, waking up today was kind of a drag, but my housemate Pippilina came to my door with her laptop and a whole mess of Ali G divx videos and so I got to watch some wicked massive booyakasha hilarity before I dashed out the door on time. Rad. I went to the cafe, knowing I would need change for the bus, and Christian took my order and gave me change. I spent a few minutes waiting around at MEATSTOP, taking pictures of poo until Muni came and I got to HAMSTOP just in time to catch my bus. I reached in to my pocket to get out my $3 and was surprised to find that Christian had screwed up my change, and instead of giving me $18 in change, he gave me $16. Damn, and I gave him a tip, too! I was all panicky and then I spotted a roach coach parked out in front of Kaiser, so I dashed over there, bought a bagel and got my change for the bus. That could have been worse, I guess. I spent the rest of the trip playing Pokemon and reading my terrible book. It's kind of grey and dreary out, but I like it this way. Some news: Um.

Tuesday, 04-17-01
<morning> Everything has been very busy and rushed at work, and so I haven't been working on the kommute as much as I should. On Friday, however, I had a valid excuse, I wasn't at work, so nyeah. I headed out of town for the weekend, too, which wasn't as restful as I had hoped. I've been exhausted lately. I've also got a new gameboy to play with on my bus trips, which distracts me from my photographic duties. This morning's commute was a study in multitasking, though - hooray! Images. I got out the door a little bit late, but it wasn't such a terrible catastrophe. I decided on coffee today, since I found it difficult to stay awake yesterday without it. I didn't have any really interesting or meaningful interactions today, mostly because of the gameboy and the trashy book i've started reading - The Long Hard Road Out of Hell, the Marilyn Manson autobiography thing. I know, i know, cheesy, gothic crap, but it's pretty entertaining. I'm only 2 chapters in to it and it's already chock full of smut, heresy and creepy midwesterners. Good wholesome fun. San Rafael smells really nice today. Flowery and crisp. Time to get back to work!

Thursday, 04-12-01
<morning> Today's kommute started off with me thinking I was going to be late, and rushing rushing rushing to get dressed and out the door just a few minutes late. When I stepped out on to the sidewalk, I saw a fellow commuter walking past my gate, looking up at my livingroom windows. She noticed me and smiled expansively at me, saying "Hi! Good morning! We just missed a bus! Sure is convenient living where you live, isn't it?!" and we both headed towards MEATSTOP, and I peered down the street to see if the 24 was anywhere in sight, and since it wasn't, I decided to head in to the cafe to get some coffee. When I headed back out, I looked down Divisadero to see the 24 heading our way, just in time! We hopped on the bus and got to HAMSTOP in two shakes of a lamb's tail. The HAMSTORE was open for business, which is creepy, because of people all buying their Easter HAMS - Speaking of creepy, and speaking of HAMS, GRIMACE!!! So anyhow, my commute buddy started talking to me about her kids again, and then she did something unprecedented: she told me about a club on Pier 23 where they have live music on Thursdays and Sundays, and she was so enthusiastic about it, and I must have seemed a little more interested than I really was, because she said "We should go together someday!" and pulled out a business card and scribbled her name and home phone number on the back. Whoa! Weird! I mean, she's nice and everything, but I don't know that I'm ready to start going to clubs with her... I spent the rest of the kommute reading Harper's. One really startling piece in the "Readings" section was a transcript from the Black Box of Alaska Airlines Flight 261. Yuck. It's really scary. In the news today: This crazy Boom and Bust Internet Economy finds a venue in the art world. And, this just in: Muni is Still Deadly!

Wednesday, 04-11-01
<morning> Last night, on my long journey home, I had a little adventure. I realized that I was going to miss my bus, so I might as well enjoy my trip, and I spent a while exploring downtown San Rafael. I bought kitschy little chunks of crap in some kitschy little chunk-o-crap-atorium, and then I thought about checking out this truly horrific costume shop I'd noticed down a few blocks, so I made my way over thataway, only to discover that the place was CLOSED. Color me annoyed! Then I noticed a big Goodwill another block down, and headed there to discover that they were open, so I went in and bought some clothes and some goofy shoes, which I am now wearing. Comfort and cheapness. I woke up spouting epithets and anathemas at my clock radio, but I lay there a while, listening, because they were playing negativland. My new shoes are bouncy. The kommute went well. Muni came along in time, people were relatively friendly, yada yada, now I have to get back to work. Goose.

Tuesday, 04-10-01
<morning> Pippilina left for England today, or, at least, she got to the airport. I can vouch for that much since she called me up from SFO and started speaking French at me. Je suis un petit crabe, Oui! J'également voudrais manger un hot-dog! Combien de chiens avez-vous? Je suis puissant, et effrayant. -- That's a lot more sophisticated than the french I can actually speak, by the way. Bless you, Babel Fish. It's mellowed out considerably at work, which allows much more time to learn new stuff. And learning is rad. My camera is acting up, I think it's taken too many knocks and bumps. I am a terrible person for mistreating my poor little camera so. I'm looking in to the idea of getting it repaired vs. the idea of getting a new camera. So, this morning's kommute was pleasant and trouble-free, I thought I was going to come in late, since I left the house about 15 minutes later than usual in order to be able to say g'bye to pippilina. Lucky for me, though, muni was just in time. I got my coffee, even, and headed over to MEATSTOP and several people smiled and said Hello to me. One was this woman I've been co-commuting with forever now and hadn't seen in a while and another was the SuperHappy BreakfastGuy from a few kommutes back, but I didn't immediately recognize him. He's really funny and friendly, but I was busy talking to the commute woman. She always frets about the bus coming, should she get a cab, etc. Today, as we approached HAMSTOP, she said "Oh, good! The bus didn't come yet, we're in luck! I know it hasn't come yet because that guy is there, the crazy old guy who always talks to himself - he always gets here early!" and she was talking about none other than Tourette's Guy. She also surprised me by saying "OH let me show you pictures of my babies!" and she rummaged around in her big purse and pulled out two photos of a couple of enormously tall, young-adult type boys. Haha! I spaced out for the ride through Sausalito, writing in my journal and gazing out the window listening to random snippets of conversation.

Monday, 04-09-01 happy birthday tetsuo!!!
<morning> I was so barely awake this morning, I went through most of the kommute in a sort of a daze, spaced out and stuff. I did manage to get out the door a lot earlier than I had been getting up and out all last week, because I figure the congratulatory grace period for lateness has passed, and now it's back to bidness-as-usual. I'm actually kind of busy this morning, too. It's kind of a beautiful day, not too sunny, not too cloudy. There was an interesting looking hipster-type guy at HAMSTOP, and when I approached the stop, I thought it was Christian, the guy who works at the cafe next to my house, so I walked up sort of confidently, as if I was going to say hi or something, and then I got around to the side of him and realized it wasn't him, but a near-doppelganger of him. So I guess I was sort of staring pointedly at him, because from that moment on he kept staring at me. We were both taking the 50, and it was pretty obvious that he'd never ridden GGT before, and didn't understand the system. I was treated to a pretty sad conversation between a trio of really tragic women, talking about jail, and kids, and substance abuse - I mostly ignored them, keeping myself occupied by reading and trying not to stare at them because they seemed the type who might take issue with me. When I got off the bus in San Rafael, this guy walked right up behind me, totally invading my personal space bubble, I mean, this guy was almost touching me, and he said "Actually, that's a really pretty color, I like it!" and walked around me, not 2 inches from my face. It was creepy. I smiled and laughed nervously and hurried on my way. Whatever, "Actually"? Freaks are everywhere.

Thursday, 04-05-01
<morning> Got in late, I slept for an extra 40 minutes through my alarm and everything. Bad, naughty me. I was concerned about running in to the jesuslovesyou lady at MEATSTOP, but I think she must have taken an earlier bus than me. Phew. I got my coffee and found it alarming that the cafe was completely empty when I went in. SpoOOooky. I went over to MEATSTOP and made a beeline for the blackboard billboard and found that, again, it had been completely erased! I thought of something stupid to write on it yesterday, so I went to it. Tee-Hee. The bus came along shortly, and I saw this woman who i've been chatting with on the commute forever now. I was feeling friendly, so I sat in front of her and turned around and had a little conversation. She's nice and everything, and she has a really amusing british accent, almost exactly like the woman who plays Daphne from Frasier. Like, spot-on. She always eats a banana before the bus comes to HAMSTOP. It's strange, when you see someone day after day over a long period of time, you see these little patterns. I wonder how I must seem to people who see me regularly. I probably seem kind of shifty with my camera and all, even if i'm the nicest person in the world (which, of course, I am) people must think i'm up to something. The bus ride was pretty normal until we passed through Sausalito and picked up some really bizarre folk. Behind me, to my right, was the real Tourette's Guy, a spitting, barking, swearing ball of unpleasantries - and behind and to the left is this ancient, droning humming guy who sort of sings a little do-waaa thing and then HOOTS and WHISTLES every couple of seconds. I was wishing that I had some sort of capacity to record it. I didn't get a chance to photograph them, either, which is a real shame, they were characters.

Wednesday, 04-04-01
<morning> Got a pretty late start today. My mornings have been more struggle than necessary lately. Today, when the alarm went off, I had the distinct impression that it had been going on for 20-30 minutes when it had only been a few seconds. I had dreams about sleeping. That's weird. I went in to the cafe and I was being very cheerful with everyone, smiling a lot. I got my coffee and headed over to MEATSTOP and while I was there, I remembered to check out the new stuff on the billboard-blackboard, and I was surprised to see that it was blank, so I grabbed a green chalk-nubbin and scrawled www.kommute.com on there because I couldn't think of anything wittier than that. As I walked away, another woman walked up to the board and stared hard at it for a moment or two, and then she, too, grabbed a chalk nubbin and went to work. She wrote something pithy about smiling at a stranger or whatever, but it's cool that she decided to join in. That blackboard paint is really cool. I met someone once who had his whole car covered with it, with cups for chalk on the side. MEATSTOP didn't stink at all today. Two Muni buses were approaching, and the first one didn't seem very crowded, but I saw the second one about a block behind it and opted to wait a few moments for the second one, thinking it would be empty or something. Wrong-O! It was jampacked, sardine-style, with Junior High school kids. Loud, tittering, obnoxious. Yay! That was funny. I spent a lot of time writing in my journal and reading the O'Reilly CSS book for a refresher. People smiled at me a lot today.

Tuesday, 04-03-01
<morning> Last night, the web project i've been working and slaving on got launched, and my group was lauded with champagne and toasts. I got kind of tanked. People played with my yo-yo. A good time was had by all. I was sort of giddy all evening, which was a nice change from being stressed out and exhausted. This morning started out on kind of a sour note. I passed on the whole coffee thing, and headed directly to MEATSTOP. Shortly after I got there, the MEAT TRUCK pulled up, and this janitor/gas station attendant looking guy in a jumpsuit hopped out and ran in to the MEATSTORE and wheeled out this dolly loaded with Piles and Piles of Pungent Rotting Meat Scraps! Yaaaay! I whipped out my camera and prepared to be impressed, but then I was hit by the SMELL. It was indescribably foul, and I was downwind of it. I ran around the corner to be out of the path of the stink, and that made me remember to take a photo of this very cool billboard hack someone did with blackboard paint and chalk - very very cool. While I was sort of hiding from the stink, I turned around to see the jesuslovesyou woman, who totally hassles me whenever she's around me now, and today she started in on "jesuslovesyou. jesuslovesyou." and then she inexplicably said "how'showarddoing?" and I said "Pardon?" and she repeated herself, very very slowly, "How is Howard doing?" and I said "I-I... I don't know? Sorry?" and then I tried to get away from her, and she kind of hovered around me, spouting weird bible quotes at me. She really has to stop. I slept a bunch on the rest of the kommute. I want to sleep for 20 hours!

Monday, 04-02-01
<morning> I didn't do a kommute Friday for a couple of reasons. 1.) I worked until 5:30 a.m. on Thursday night (Friday morning) and then 2.) I went directly to my endodontist for a big gnarly root canal. They gave me a couple of Xanax beforehand and I wandered in all blissed out, they set me in a comfy chair and shot me up with anesthetics and left me to watch MTV, which was really entertaining with all the drugs and stuff. I wound up feeling kind of okay after the root canal so I came in to work for a couple of hours and dealt with some broken stuff and won a bunch of sympathy points. So, anyhow, that's why there was no kommute for Friday. Back to the present. I had a really hard time getting motivated this morning, partly because of the whole daylight savings thing (to which I say BAH! let me spend the time NOW, while I am YOUNG and SLEEPY) and otherwise because my bed was so comfortable and stuff. I was almost ready to rush out the door when I noticed that I wasn't wearing a shirt, which would have been kind of awkward on the bus, so I grabbed some random t-shirt off of a pile of random t-shirts and wham, I was out the door. I spun around on my heel for a while trying to decide whether or not I needed coffee, and decided that yes, indeed, coffee was needed. Also a Croissant. I didn't spend very much time at MEATSTOP, but I did leave a little pile of pennies on top of the fire hydrant there. Croissants are messy. I sat at HAMSTOP, chewing thoughtfully on my croissant, leaving little croissant bits all over for the pigeons. I slept a lot on the bus. I am sleepy. I spent a lot of time this weekend just kind of sleeping, decompressing, trying not to get sick and playing Playstation games. Yaaaaaaaah. Back to work with me.

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