jeffrey + upstairsloft

My beloved compact film camera, the Olympus XA, is retired. My Lomo LC-A is an awesome piece of crap for its sentimental reasons but it just doesn’t cut it as well as my XA. But my XA called it quits and I’ve just been denying the truth since last August.

On my list of online errands is to shop for a new Olympus XA. I scored only having to pay $80 for this one. So I made a bid on ebay (I hate ebay and I hate it even more now) and had about 18 hours left on this newish Olympus XA. It was set at $22. I bid $50. It wasn’t enough. I bid $55. No deal. Then I latched onto the pattern. Every time I bid, of course, the asking price raised. In just a matter of a minute, I raised the price from $22 to $81. Kate witnessed the joy on my face as I ruined some pricks evening by raising the price in a matter of moments, 18 hours before the real bidding chaos normally begins. It was like I was 6 years old again and I discovered what happens when you shake salt on snails. I just kept at it, viciously laughing. I’m evil but whatever. There’s tons more asses out there mean to me. Even steven.

I failed miserably when I tried to route water through my nasal passage. I saw this on Oprah some years ago and random people have told me about how awesome the nose badet, aka neti pot is. The chick at Painted Bird, this awesome thrift store in the mission, said her friend swears by it. Well, since turning 25 doesn’t give any wrinkles, it does introduce me to allergies. I remembered to try this when Kate and I got home from biking today and I failed. I couldn’t get the water to drip out of the other nostril. I was also afraid of that feeling when you breathe in water through your nose when you’re swimming.

What’s going on with Hawaii. It’s such a headache trying to book a flight for my cousin’s wedding this summer. One after the other, airlines are going out of business, jacking up ticket prices, feeling unrested and uneasy about getting reasonably priced tickets. Why is Hawaii still a state? How come China hasn’t take them over yet? Kidding. Kidding.

The price of rice has doubled. I don’t eat much rice but that still gripes me. That’s like charging us to breathe air. Gas prices are over $4/gallon. I hardly drive now but that gripes me too. American Airlines (and other airlines will soon follow) are shutting down, causing a shitload of delays. That gripes me. During Wednesday’s protests, the pro-China protesters’ countered the “Free Tibet” protesters with “Tibet is free!” and “Liar liars!” How lame is that. Did the holocaust really happen? Did George Washington really cut down that pineapple tree and ‘fess up to it?

From Tuesday. Me and Kate are somewhere in there.

I haven’t spent a weekend in the city I live in all throughout March. April came quickly. I declared that I ‘ll try real hard not to leave SF on any weekends; I’ve gotten real stir crazy. But that declaration also leaves me alone on a Friday in the city. Kate went home to spend a weekend traveling to San Luis Obispo with her family and I refused to go home this weekend.

Speaking of loneliness, 3 years ago, I wrote in my book that my circle of friends would decrease by half every year but my bonds with the remaining people would strengthen twice as much. Three years later from that entry, Jun and Paul have become what I can consider “best men” status for mine and Kate’s wedding, and next year, that two is down to zero, as Paul will most likely be in LA working for Dreamworks or Disney and Jun will be in New York. Nobody will be within arms reach.

Even the expanded list of my friends and my friends’ significant others who I’ve gotten closely attached to, are scattered between Sacramento, Southern California, and New York. I see how It takes too much effort to chill and how it’s far more easy to declare defeat. It just sucks to realize how lonely the next stage of adulthood will be. Kate and I will basically have to fly out to see our friends and schedule to see them months or a year in advance.

Even living close to home, I don’t see the faces I expect to see often. My brother and cousins are to preoccupied with their lives and I only wish I can take my family out on trips every other weekend like I was a kid again.

If anything, I haven’t been photographing because, ahem, there isn’t much that interests me to go out there and snap. My favorite subjects to photographs are the people near me and around me; and the moment I point a lens at a co-worker, I’m greeted with bashfulness or an awkward look like I am some sort of freak.

I don’t know what else to say. I don’t want to think too hard on it. It’s all shitty to me.

For the umpteenth time, our neighbor decided that half of a quarter laundry load (don’t question my math abilities) is worthy enough to wash and dry. He also, again, left his small, unworthy pile of undergarments out for two nights. Someone also tosses the lint from the dryer’s lint trap on the ground though our garbage container is just inches away from the dryer. Number 1. That shit isn’t Earth-friendly. Number 2. That shit hikes up our electricity and water bill. Clueless. Fucking clueless I tell you.