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United States, California, San Francisco, The Mission, English, Spanish, Casey, Male, 31-35.

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Friday, May 23, 2003

Shows What You Know.

We are all of us in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.

On my way home from work early, I decided to stop for iced coffee at the cafe near my apartment. As I was walking there, I came up behind a man walking a double stroller which took up much of the sidewalk. I walk rather quickly—people here describe it as walking at New York speeds, though in practice I'm on the slower end of the NYC spectrum—and I'm also impatient, so I was off to the side, waiting for a chance to pass. I wasn't coming, so I gave the stroller a break and headed out into the gutter. I'm not proud to admit I had some uncharitable thoughts about "self-centered parents" and "breeders" as I climbed back up on the sidewalk and powerwalked the rest of the block. On my way into the cafe, I picked up a copy of Pride '03, because, hey why not, I love advertising.

I had paid and was waiting for my drink when the guy at the counter asked the person behind me what he wanted: You guessed it, it was the man with the stroller. He was wearing tacky sandals but was otherwise fairly handsome. The back of the stroller was facing me, and I noticed that in the pocket underneath the seats, he had the usual baby things...and also a copy of Pride '03. He smiled and shyly said hi. I did the same and quickly looked at my shoes, suddenly very aware of both some assumptions about gay people and some prejudices about straight people that I'd just been guilty of having. As I was leaving, he was fussing with the occupant of the stroller, so I was able to sidle away quietly. But maybe the next time I step into the gutter, I won't be so quick to drag a stranger there with me.

05:40 PM PST (link)

Thursday, May 22, 2003

Next Time I'll Make Tea.

You know, the soy jerky sounded like a good idea at the time. It landed in my basket in a rush of childhood nostalgia, remembering summer bike rides to the deli on the corner for snacks and "suicide" sodas.

It had a decent flavor, anyway. The "pepper-style" was certainly black-pepper-hot enough. But there's a reason they only show you the package on their website: it's not the most attractive item on the shelf. But after you've been a vegetarian long enough, you've tried a lot of things that might not look so good but are, in fact, pretty tasty.

No, the real reason I'm not sure I'll buy more is this: the one and only time I ever tried psychedelic mushrooms, the texture was identical. And there's a reason why I only tried mushrooms once: the very long, paranoid walk to a friend's house in leave-nothing-to-the-imagination short-shorts when I could no longer keep calm at the club. Not one of my finer moments, to be sure.

So basically, for about an hour after snacktime, I kept worrying that the soy jerky was going to kick in. And then felt disappointed when it didn't. Maybe I'll stick to the Pirate's Booty instead.

08:48 PM PST (link)

Tuesday, May 20, 2003

It's Getting Hot In Herre...

At lunch the three of us were talking about how the warm weather was really pulling our energy levels down.
  "Oi, it's just too hot."
  "Ugh. This weather is horrible."
We pass by a couple of guys outside of Crunch! Gym, who immediately comment to each other about how beautiful they think the weather is.
  "It's too warm to concentrate, is the problem."
I surreptitiously eyed the guys around us with short-midriffed shirts and sculptural arms in short sleeves and thought, Yeah, lack of concentration. What were we talking about again?
  "It's like summer started. And I just want to go lie down and die in it." I think they're overstating the case a bit, but I understand what they mean.
  "A couple passed me on the street yesterday," I begin, "And were very obviously discussing me as they passed by. One said, 'How can anyone wear black in this heat?' Then the other said, 'Oh, I know, that's so dumb.'"
  "They said that?"
  "Totally."
  "How rude!"
  "I know. But I was too hot to say anything about it, though." We laugh.
  "Oh, I can't stand this. I really don't want to go back to work."
  "I think I need to leave early because I'm not feeling well."
  "Uh-huh, maybe you should leave for the Emergency Room right now." We laugh.
  "No really. I don't know how I'm going to get anything done sweating like this."

Then we went back to our windowless, air-conditioned office for another four hours.

04:27 PM PST (link)

Sunday, May 18, 2003

Press A To Continue.

I live. I've been crazy-busy between work, visiting with Jason, and previewing the games Jason brought with him. (I can't decide if I actually enjoy playing Mario Party 4 or if I just enjoy prodding my brain's 10-year-old-boy lobe. And gods protect me if I ever get involved in Phantasy Star Online.)

We're off today on our final bit of sightseeing, a walk down Valencia Street including stops at The Pirate Store and Good Vibrations. We're meeting at Espresso Bravo at Valencia and 18th in about an hour, if you'd like to join us there. Hopefully my mini-camera won't fail me this time, like it did at the Japanese Tea Garden on Thursday.

Update: Good times, good times. Seven of us made the voyage; the rest of you can relive the pirate store with us here. The Bounty!

12:15 AM PST (link)