jeffrey + upstairsloft

I’ve been spending a lot of my leisure time working on bike stuff. I love it. It’s a great way to past time and it’s also my main way of transportation in this city. Public transportation is awesome but I’m sensitive to disease, it takes a bit longer than I like, and biking is just way funner. Anyhow, I scored a new bike over a month ago. I bought me a 70’s track bike built up with classic Campagnolo components. I love it. To me, it’s equivalent to a BMW 2002, a 67 Fender Jazzmaster, a Nikon FE, the PowerBook Titaniums… beautifully designed classics.

Anyhoots, today I scored an awesome classic Steyr Clubman (by Puch) bike from the 70s. In the same day, I stripped the bike and salvaged the frame, fork and stem. This bike will be my neighborhood crawler and something that will take me about half a year to slowly build up with parts. Yep. Gotta take it easy on the ol’ pockets as the wedding day inches closer. The future misses and I have been writing checks to vendors. Eeek. We should get married already. The waiting is killin’ me. Anyhow, a few things savory visuals.

Not much going on here at the moment but I thought I’d send an update into cyberspace. A lot of my time is spent riding my bike, going to work, squeezing in as much time as I can with Kate (who is working now) and just breathing in as much of this beautiful, late-in-the-year San Francisco weather. I’ve also spent a good amount of time trying to figure things out, you know, the next steps kind of thing in life. Job. Friends. Family. Life. Future family. Marriage. Past time.

In the past few months, my best friend shifted gears and moved to New York. Another one of my closest friends, and long time neighbor, moved to New York. And another one of my closest friends in nearly non-existent in my social life. The adjustment is harsh only because Kate and I have always been the couple who focused as much energy to be in others’ companies than just in our own world. So much of my time during this adjustment period is spent riding around the city and hanging out with non-regulars, which has been awesome (co-workers, the upstairs neighbors, and old friends who I never really hung out with much in the past).

There’s lots to figure out and the year is wrapping up, but at least my head is above water, I have a job, an awesome fiancée and a hobby. I’m just figuring out ways to fill the empty voids with hobbies, allocating time towards a new group of people and trying to pile on a good list of freelance clients.

I’m here. Still alive.

While brushing my teeth this morning, something in my stomach pushed bile up my esophagus, out my throat, and into my mouth. For a good half second or so, I was brushing my teeth with toothpaste and puke. My toothbrush is soaking in a cup of Listerine. Yum…

I went to sleep with a lot on my mind. I’m super nervous and anxious about the results.

7am. Up earlier than usual.
I dressed in red, white and blue, committed to passionately drawn straight lines and exchanged three hi-fives with “No on Prop 8″ rallyers. Today I voted for my first time. At 19, I was too cool to vote. Very stupid. I know. But I learned. 4 years later, I never received my absentee ballot and my poll place was in Milpitas. I was living in Sacramento at the time. I was registered to live in Sacramento, too.

I voted and I’m proud. No on hate. No on 8. I’m anxious, excited, nervous but I have to admit I love the energy and the vibe in San Francisco. The streets are alive, the rallyers are full on and the horns are honking.

Interesting tidbit:
I voted at the Columbarium, a mausoleum for human ashes, most notably, Harvey Milk’s and Carlos Santana’s dad.