small, small world

On the 38 Geary BX (which, incidentally, does not stop at Spruce, transit.511.org LIES) I moved to the back of the bus to make room for the swarming masses and who did I run into but Bringo! We had a very interesting conversation about the death of critical thinking, the rise of Google, and I didn’t mean to correlate those two but I was in a bit of a huff. I got to find out what Bringo would love to do for a living, but I’m not telling. Let’s just say it’s slightly more death-defying than riding the 38 Geary next to me, although not by much, because I was accidentally pummeling everyone around me each time the bus would, say, move at all. San Francisco is handily small, like a purse dog, or a bullet pen, or an iPod nano, or … hey,...

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Posted on 30 Nov 2005 | 1 comment

links for 2005-11-29

LegalDocs.com This site allows you to prepare customized legal documents and legal forms directly online. (tags: law forms free) Infinite Bloom Lou Rhodes, the singer of Lamb, has set up this new recording label. I can’t wait to hear her new stuff. (tags: music) UJeans.com Custom tailored jeans. I have a hard time finding jeans that fit, so I might try this. (tags: clothing custom) Do-it-yourself: Stop junk mail, email and phone calls A free guide to reducing unwanted or intrusive advertising. (tags: free junkmail spam telemarketing...

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Posted on 29 Nov 2005 | Comments Off

things people say where I work

I need a book. The printer is down. I swear to fucking god I have slept through every class. We have to pay for copies too? I’ll call Facilities. The teacher said it was okay if I brought my dog in. Sign your timesheet. Turn off your cell phone. The network is down. But I returned it! I need to make some copies. The printer’s out of ink. I’ll call the Registrar. No, it only takes fives. Do you have any books about religion? The machine is down. Halsted knows. Ask Halsted. We’re out of fives. I don’t know. Please turn off your cell phone. Do you have any books about Martin Luther King, Jr.? I have no idea. Put it on the wiki! Did you sign your timesheet? Is it on the wiki? I’m sorry, but we closed at 5. I’m sorry, but that...

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Posted on 28 Nov 2005 | Comments Off

links for 2005-11-28

Weebls Stuff – Gothic Absolutely hilarious animation. “I have become a goths!” (Thanks, Roe.) (tags: humor goths animation) The First Annual MySpace Stupid Haircut Awards! I especially like the “Marvel Superhero Alter-Ego” parts. (tags: humor style...

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Posted on 28 Nov 2005 | Comments Off

on the way to sacramento

On I-80 there are fields and fields of dull things. Buildings, some husks, some bustling, metal and brick and wood loom or lurk. Auto dealerships yammer chrome. Any chain store you never wanted chirps all-caps. As we head east, Orion’s belt brightens. I don’t remember when I learned to find him in the sky; I don’t remember liking stars overmuch as a child, and I don’t have a head for arbitrary points of light. Still, like most things I’ve learned, the name “Betelgeuse” surfaces, a single leaf on the curb by the mall, to be sifted out and tossed by the rain with all its flame-colored friends in the gutter, to the river, out of sight.

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Posted on 27 Nov 2005 | Comments Off

links for 2005-11-24

Lorem Ipsum: Call for subs: She’s Such a Geek Thanks for pointing this out to me, Claudine! (tags: writing submissions) Monket Calendar An Ajax enabled online calendar. Drag and drop events to change dates, drag the start/end of an event to create multi-day events, create and edit events without refreshing the page, all with an iCal style interface. (tags: GTD calendars ajax web) Tiny Alarm: Alarm Software for Mac OS X TinyAlarm is a very small, yet very useful, simple alarm clock application for Mac OSX. (tags: macosx software...

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Posted on 24 Nov 2005 | 1 comment

nudge

When I got hit by the truck this summer, I wasn’t philosophical about it at all. Ow, I thought. That hurt. And then I had to heal, and tell the story, and move on. Riding BART makes me philosophical. I don’t know why; maybe it forces me into that place between places, movement suspending all of us between where we just left and where we’re going next. Tonight I leaned against the faded train seat with one shoulder so I wouldn’t have to remove my backpack, and suddenly I thought, ow. The universe was nudging me. I get it. Outside your head, Halsted, the universe said. Get out of there and feel what’s out here. Throw yourself at this life. You will fail; in the wise words of someone I love: expect failure. Through failure...

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Posted on 23 Nov 2005 | Comments Off

don’t look a day over

Cheryl tells me I don’t look a day over twenty-one. We’re alone on the street. She’s listening to slow beats on her portable radio; she carries an aluminum cane. She has three children and her oldest is thirty-four. Just starting menopause, she says, and shifts her navy baseball cap back. Her ponytail is falling out and her glasses are safety-pinned on one side. Slow beats, she repeats. I’m with you, Cheryl. Slow beats and a dark street, we’re all sisters tonight.

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Posted on 22 Nov 2005 | Comments Off

hello again

“Hardly?” she asked, knocking on the door of my office. “Halsted,” I prompted. She smiled. “Close.” Hardly, I thought. ._.-. The best part of hearing stories about your boyfriend when he was younger is that you finally get to connect those wiggly dots, the ones that you couldn’t focus on until someone helped you see the line. Aha, you think. So that’s where that mischievous grin comes from. ._.-. Every time I get off the ferry in the city, I think about taking a taxi home. But I don’t do it. I wonder why I think about it every single time if I don’t do it. Now I’ll think about it because I’ve put words to it. ._.-. Hello again.

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Posted on 21 Nov 2005 | Comments Off