Thursday, March 29, 2007

reign on me

San Mateo, CA - warm and barely a breeze in sunny San Mateo - this blog represented by the Law Offices of Dewey, Cheatum, and Howe

Alright. Lets talk about the car.

I drive a 93 Acura Integra LS. I bought it in August of 2001 with 95,000 miles on it. My Accord was dying and I dropped by a Honda dealership in Burlingame. As soon as I saw it I really wanted it, it reminded me of the Generation 1 Integra my dad had owned in the late eighties. It was white, two-door (four-door integras were, and still are, out of the question), had these great tinted windows, and a manual transmission.

And a sunroof. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunroof)

And it was in good condition. My interest in the car was obvious to the salesman. I went home with it the next day. The car has done well since. I've taken it on one road trip before to Colorado to see Bjork play at Red Rocks. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bjork) The trip was a load of fun and the concert was spellbinding. Chad and I camped in Nevada, Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah. The car held up pretty well. The only thing that happened was the power steering belt snapped. I think it was several months later when Zack installed a new one for me, back when we were working together and just starting to hang out.

Fast forward to December last year, I hit 200,000 miles. I was so proud I took a picture.

Yesterday I washed it and detailed it, and then took it for a drive to the Presidio and Crissy Fields.

Today I've taken it to the Honda Hospital (http://www.hondahospital.com/) in sunny San Mateo. I lived in San Mateo for three years with Chad before moving to San Francisco in 2003. I'll say one thing for it, its sunny and nice almost all the time. More than I can say for fickle San Francisco. I dropped the car off at the HH, who've
worked on the car since I bought it.

While I waited for the car, I got a little breakfast+coffee and then went to the Century 12 a few blocks away and saw "Reign Over Me". It reminded me why I love movies so damn much. Sandler and Cheadle had incredible chemistry in what is so far my favorite movie of 2007. Go see it. Its an important and relevant film. I had to take a minute to collect myself outside the theater. Then I went to check on the car.

The dudes at Honda Hospital told me that, overall, the car was ready for the trip, although the seal on the right axle had been "slashed" (as opposed to cracked by wear) and the axle inside had been done wrong by dirt and other funky stuff. So the axle had to be replaced which, since 2001, brings the grand total to:

new Left Axles : 3
new Right Axles: 3
----------------------
fricken axles: 6

The axles on my Integra are its weak link. I'm pretty sure my dad had similar troubles with his Gen 1...ANYWAY, they did a minor service and recommended I get new tires before I go. Thats on my list for next week. Otherwise, she's ready to go.

As of this post the mileage is at 204,850. I could add on another 10,000 before all is said and done with this trip. Ultimately, I think I'll be ready for a new car when the Integra (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acura_Integra) hits 250,000 or so...but first things first.

More soon.

Andy

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

windy city















San Francisco, CA - a bright & sunny but very windy day in SF, hey uh, how you doin' kids?

The forecast was for this morning to be filled with rain and fog, so things were looking up when I woke up to sunshine. Hooray! Diane and I had some coffee talk and breakfast, and then she left for class. After that I put on a bunch of sunscreen and went for a run. It started with a bus ride down to Ocean Beach (top pic). I wanted to begin the run with 1/4 mile or so oceanside, but the wind was whipping and sand was blowin this way and that, so I made for the park. I ran through the park back home, waving to the buffalo along the way. It was a pretty good run. After that I walked over to the de Young museum to see what was new. (next 4 pics) They had this new fashion exhibit, displaying Vivienne Westwood's 36 year career, spanning from her anti-establishment punk t-shirts to her modern-day gowns. It made me think about clothing for much longer than I usually would. It also made me consider designing and making my own t-shirts, as I've daydreamed about before. Then lunch.

Then I took a nap.

After that, I met with this photographer down at City Hall for a photoshoot. (http://benkistphoto.com). Seriously. I was looking through the "volunteering" section of craigslist the other day when I saw a post for photo volunteers. The guy was posting to recruit a dozen or so people, at random, to photograph around SF. He shot a couple dozen pictures of me out on the lawn in front of city hall, and that was it. Ten minutes. How random is that? I thought it was fun, all these suits walking by, wondering who the hell I was. If the pictures come out well, I'll put one or two up on here later (with Ben's permission).

After that it was grillin and dinner-time with Zack and Diane. How I love my little Weber. (see grillin) Steaks, salmon, shrimp, asparagus, burgers, sausages, ... pork chops, shish kabobs, veggie burgers, hot dogs, MAN I love that Weber. I'll miss it when I'm on the road, trying to cook up dinner on that Coleman stove.

Although the stove is pretty sweet, must be said, its a loaner from my buddy and co-worker Lorrie. Thanks Lor!

More soon.

Andy

Sunday, March 25, 2007

summertime in the city







San Francisco, CA - A cool, overcast, and misty day in SF. Lets get this started

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday this last week were glorious in San Francisco (photos taken friday). Warm weather, pretty sunsets, and no job. Doesn't get much better than that. Nope. No sir. Its been about a week and a half since I finished with my job with J&J and I'd say I've managed to relax a little. I'm starting to get some new anxiety dreams though, set at my last job, which make a nice addition to my existing collection of waiting table and college exam dreams. I dream that everyone I worked with is back there, expecting me to return, as though it were a part of the severance that I didn't fully grasp...the horror.

But, in waking life I'm trying to soak up as much of San Francisco as I can during this rare period of my life. Its so much fun to explore and observe the city during the work week. I've spent the last six years of my life working in Redwood City and have had few chances to roam the city mon-fri.

Ok, so, the roadtrip. My plan for the roadtrip goes something like this: At mid-April I depart SF for camping in the southwest. Yosemite, Joshua tree, Bryce Canyon, and Zion are the national parks I'm targeting. At the end of April I go to the Coachella Music Festival:

http://www.coachella.com/

After that I take off for the southeast, via 10 or 20, Vegas, Austin, New Orleans, Atlanta, and Miami are destinations I have in mind right now. After that I head up the coast, with stops in New Jersey, New York, and Boston before I reach Maine. Ah Maine. I'll spend a couple weeks in Maine visiting my family and camping. After that I'll head for Washington state, taking the northern route, maybe 90. Then I head back down to SF. The trip should take about two months, and, obviously, there are still a lot of details to iron out.

I want to camp as much as possible along the way (or stay with friends). I want to see as many old movie houses/palaces as I can along the way, as well as a bunch of baseball. Camping, movies, baseball, friends, and family. Thats the outline of my trip. I want to see America. I mean, I want to take a good look at America. And write about it. I've been dreaming of taking a trip like this for years, pretty much right after I drove across the country, moving to California, with my good friend Chad. That trip opened my eyes in a big way, and we were only on the road for a week or so.

Imagine what I could do with two months?

That question keeps me up at night sometimes, I get so damn excited. But, for now I'm not yet done relaxing in San Francisco. I'm going to play tourist in my own city for the next couple of weeks.

More soon.

Andy