he's breathing through his eyelids...

San Francisco, CA - A mild and clear night at 669. Redwood City! Rock City!

Inspired by clear skies, I got up earlier than usual today. I made an appointment to get the car smog-checked at 3pm and took the Integra for a ride down to Redwood City. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redwood_City%2C_CA) It was time for new tires. I can't tell you how many times I did this exact drive, to and from work. In the morning the commute would take 40 minutes, and the evening commute would last between 40-80 minutes. This morning it took me about 35 minutes to get to RWC, the mood on 101 was ... combative, as per usual.

ANYWAY, I drop the car off at America's Tire Company and go for a walk down Broadway. Strolling along, I'm gazing up at that big arching sign that says "Best Climate By Government Test", thinking about a good place to take a picture, considering the bright sun, worrying about the upcoming smog-check, wanting more coffee - when I trip over this concrete curb along a building. Lurching forward, I regained my footing, barely avoiding a faceplant. I stand up, and start looking around to see if anyone had seen me...

She saw me.

This woman in a station wagon, three cars behind a red light, is looking right at me with this grin on her face. I start laughing, which prompted her to start laughing. Within seconds she's rocking back and forth in her seat, roaring in laughter, and I just had to walk away. Ah life.

So, continuing down Broadway I passed the courthouse, which was a high-profile spot for a while during the Scott Peterson trial (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Peterson). The spot in that photo was the scene of many a media frenzie back in 2004. Then I go back and get the car. Squeaky new tires in place, I drive over to Malibu Gand Prix for some batting practice. BP at the cages didn't go so well this time, the fast-pitch cage was locating low and outside the strike zone on every pitch. In order to reach that pitch I had to practically stand on the plate. That made me grumpy. In the medium-fast cage and I fouled a ball off my shin (!!!) and had to withhold all expletives, out of consideration for the little potential major leaguers all around me. Next was the softball cage, where I couldn't help but hit fly-balls and fouls to third. Its a good thing the scouts didn't show up today, or my future in the MLB would be over. http://www.malibugrandprix.com/park/redwood/bcages.html

I go back to SF and drop the car off at the smog check place. The 93 Integra is statused in California as having a "high emitter" profile. This means that you have to take it to a "Test Only" facility, where they can only test the car, and not repair it. At these facilities the mechanic can't "help the car out a little" before testing it. I was a little nervous about the car passing, remembering that it had barely passed the last time. I drove it for forty minutes right before the test, just to make sure the car was running warm. And the car passed, with slightly better results than last time. (sigh)

After that I hung out with Diane and my friend Nick, a former co-worker and band-mate, who's currently persuing a career in acting in LA. I'm looking forward to hanging out with him down there soon.

Also, today Ben Kist sent me a photo from our shoot in front of City Hall. I think it came out well(bottom). Have a look at some of Ben's other work at: http://www.benkistphoto.com

More soon.

Andy

Photo by Ben Kist - March 2007