Recent Events, part 2

Before I go further, there's some background information to go over. Since the beginning of the year, Heather has been planning a bicycle tour from Fairbanks, Alaska to Portland. I was invited, and very excited at the prospect of going. But eventually I felt I'd be too out of shape and the prospect of camping for a few months on end wasn't all that appealing to me. A friend of ours, Matt Brown (Ned), agreed to go with her, which was a relief to me since he had bike tour experience. They began riding from Fairbanks around June 10. By this point in the summer, they were staying at the Num Ti Jah lodge on Bow Lake in the Banff area of Alberta, Canada.

Chicago, Illinois - August 7 - 12
The flight leaving Jacksonville was delayed due to storms in Atlanta, so I arrived too late to catch the connecting flight. I was eventually put on another flight to Chicago that was to leave significantly later. I think the flight didn't leave until about 8pm, where as my original flight would have gotten me to Chicago at 6pm. I wandered around the airport during that time. Ate pizza, wandered some more. Finally I sat by the gate, at which point two younger girls sat next to me. I was listening to music but peaked over at what the girl next to me was writing, it was a journal of traveling through Germany. I asked her a few questions and we chatted a bit, finally boarded the flight. The flight was fine, pretty short, and a nice view of the sunset despite not sitting at the window. I arrived at the airport thinking there would be drama with my bags being on the wrong flight but it turned out fine. I met Thomas at the airport as well and we hopped on the Blue Line and chatted on the way to Amanda's. That night we three went to this bar across the street from Amanda's place. I don't remember the name, but it was mariachi themed. We ate quesadillas, drank margarita and then called it a night.

On Friday Amanda and I took the trains to Evanston to meet with her boss and borrow her bike. Her boss was really nice, and reminded me of my mother a bit. The bike was an older white mountain bike that turned out to be surprisingly reliable. From Evanston, which was very picturesque, we rode to the lake front then down the shore on a pretty big bike path. We rode a little past downtown and ended up in this nice area near some museums and planetarium. We hung out there for a bit, got a hotdog, walked around. Then we rode north a bit, towards home, but stopped at the beach for a while. Finally we headed home, at which point we met Amanda's friend Fiona at the bakery by Amanda's place. We sat and chatted with them while waiting for Thomas to come hang out, which he eventually did with his coworker Katherine. While we were there, there was a little neighborhood cat who was at first shy, but eventually had the audacity to jump in my lap a few times. She also began stalking and attacking smaller dogs that would walk by on the sidewalk. At this point, Amanda goes to run an errand and Thomas and I went to eat at Sultan's, where I got one of the best falafel sandwiches I've ever had. After that we headed back to Thomas's, and, while waiting for a bus, ran into his roommate Andrew, who apparently had been drinking at a wedding or an engagement shower all day. He was pretty trashed, asking the same question several times. At Thomas's we played some PS3 and waited for Amanda to show up. When she did, we headed over to this bar and met up with Katherine and some of her friends. She was wearing a red dress, really cute. We drank some, played Girl Talk, eventually called it a night.

On Saturday Amanda, Thomas, and I decided to go see Pineapple Express. We rode the bus downtown and I noticed I started feeling a bit sick and headachey on the way. The people next to us were all friends and talking about new jobs and people getting married. I wonder if I ever seem as uninteresting when people overhear me talking to friends. The theater and was full of arcade games. I would much rather spend money and time shooting things than watching a stoner film in which most of the jokes and plot elements are given in the trailer. We met Julie there, watched the movie, sitting near the front. The movie was fine, but by the end I had a huge headache and no medicine. Nearby drug store didn't sell single servings, I got huffy, Amanda got huffy, she bought a whole bottle of Excedrine for me. We all took some and rode the bus back. Thomas, also with a headache, headed home while Amanda, Julie and I went to a bar near Amanda's place and ate and drank for a few hours, catching more Olympics on their TV. Afterwards we visited Tricia at her job right near Amanda's and drank another beer. Finally we loaded up on Sparks and began walking to the "viaduct" or whatever, an unused raised train track that's now overgrown. The place was dark and felt secluded and secret despite being in the middle of a pretty nice neighborhood. Eventually the alcohol caught up and we began fantasizing about zombie scenarios, climaxing in us singing the Cranberries' Zombie to people walking by. A few calls later and we're meeting up with Julie's friends at some bar that's pretty far away. By now I'm trying to sober up because Sparks is kicking me in the stomach. I don't remember much else, mostly the cab ride home.

On Sunday I got a voicemail from Heather that left me in disbelief. She told me that Matt had gone kayaking the day before and went missing during a storm. Rescuers found his kayak with his belongings but not him. With that news weighing heavy on my mind, Amanda, Thomas, and I decided to go to the Luxor something or another for lunch. It's a popular restaurant that ends up being pretty good. The wait was long, the menu extensive, and the portions huge. Afterwards we headed to Borders and then south a bit to the Bean and the large outdoor theater. We wandered around, sit a bit, got ice cream. At that point Heather called again and I get more details on Matt's disappearance. The authorities have labeled it a drowning and Heather is the one left to let his friends and relatives know about it.

On what I believe was Sunday night, Amanda and I ate at a pizza place across the street from her place. They gave me an extra slice since they got the order wrong. Then we walked a few blocks to Wicker Park. We sat in the swings and walked through the jungle-jim when Heather calls. It was then that we decide I will be driving up to the lodge to pick her up after arriving back in Seattle.

On Monday, Amanda and I chose to return the bike I borrowed to her boss in Evanston. On the way, we stopped at the zoo for a while. The most exciting part was the pair of polar bears swimming laps, and perhaps the male lion who was lying in the sun such that the telescope had a perfect view of his testicles. Afterwards, we rode along the lake front. It was again a very nice day and the ride was at a vigorous pace. As we approached the house, I asked Amanda if we can switch bikes, so we did, and went a bit further along the lake. Amanda's bike is pretty amazing. It's a very sexy fixed-gear that is a joy to ride. It's inspired me to look at getting a fixed-gear bike. At the house, Amanda chatted with her boss then we took the train back into town.

At one point, likely on Monday night, we watched the Bourne Ultimatum at Thomas's, after which Amanda and I went to a free show at some venue nearby. We each drank a PBR and split another but the music was so bad we left early. Plus I still had Ned weighing on my mind.

My flight on Tuesday wasn't until the afternoon. With the big plans to rent a car and drive to Canada immediately upon arriving in Seattle, I left early for the airport in hopes of getting an earlier flight. Unfortunately there are none so I was forced to wait 4 hours in the airport for my flight. But I realized immediately after checking in I should have tried to book on another airline. Perhaps they allow that without much additional cost. I walked around the airport. Finally ate something, walk more. By that point the waiting was annoying. I spent some time the previous night plotting out the drive and looking at rental prices and was very impatient to get that leg of the journey started. Finally the plane boards and I'm stuck between an attractive blond with big tits and a middle-aged women who seems mentally challenged.

Recent Events, part 1

The past few weeks have been particularly hectic. I've explained it to several different people in several different ways by omitting several different details, but I guess I'll finally compile all my thoughts on the subject and use this as the definitive repository for those details. I believe that was actually one of my motivating factors for creating this.

Gainesville, Florida - July 29 - August 7
I had an over-night flight back home. Layover in Dallas or something. The flights were pretty uneventful. I was stuck between two people the first flight and on the second flight I could have sworn I was sitting next to Helen Mirren. After landing and waiting outside in the stuffy heat, my mom finally picks me up. We then go run a bunch of errands around Jacksonville. I was fine at first but lack of sleep was making me antsy and I guess I don't remember too many other details after that. I don't feel like going through events day-by-day since most aren't particularly exciting so instead I'll summarize the activities.

• I hung out with the Get-Fresh crew a few times. Once at Brophy's pub, where Greg was completely out of control and somehow I was spilling all these drinks despite being sober. I also got to see Suresh there. He has a boss-fight to implement and only a few more weeks to do it. The other time was at Ryan's, and we played Soul Calibur 5 and ate donuts.
• I hung out quite a bit with Laura. This involved watching TV and a movie at her place, going out to some bar a few times, meeting up with some friends of mine, and a few more things that I'm not going to admit to since this is technically a public forum, and not that it was that bad but I'm a gentleman and don't share secrets.
• I saw my dad a few times, either for dinner/lunch or to help him manage his automobiles. We ate at El Norteno on one day and the last day at Mr. Han's. He was nice enough to let me borrow his car, which allowed me a bit more freedom than I was expecting, especially since I was hoping to go out of town a few times. He may be moving soon to the Panhandle of Florida, meaning he won't be "home" anymore.
• I visited Taylor and Kristin in their home in Orlando. They live near downtown near Lake Eola in a neat little house by a neat little pond. They're both doing really well, and really into Crossfit, which seems rather fun and is something I'd like to try eventually. On the drive back I somehow had missed the gas station I always go to before getting on the Turnpike so had no money for tolls, forcing me to write a check for $2.50.
  
• I was an esteemed guest at the wedding of Jamie Marks in St. Petersburg. I had no idea what to expect. I came in with expectations that it was going to be very awkward for me since I don't know her friends all that well. Most of the guests were not her friends but rather friends of her parents. It ended up being rather nice. The ceremony was nice, bi/tri-lingual with some Cherokee rituals involved. Then there were cocktails while the dinner tables were being setup. At first I was just sitting around, finally got a drink, sat some more, got some crackers. I was soon approached by Tracy, a friend of Jamie's from highschool and chatted with her and two of her friends for a bit. Then I ran into Bethany, another friend of Jamie's who I was in Jamie's student film project with. I ended up spending most of my time with her, especially since we ended up sitting together for dinner. At one point she asked if I had a hotel room and mentioned she was sharing one with some of the bridesmaids, and I enjoyed briefly relishing the ever-so-slight chance at that being some sort of come-on. Needless to say even if it was a come-on, my skill at missing such obvious signs ensured I wasn't going to be ensnared. Jamie was beautiful, and unfortunately and understandably could only devote a few minutes to catching up with me. I never got the chance to meet Pau, though. I left during the dancing and made it back to Gainesville early enough hang out with the guys.
• I rode and attempted to fix my bike. It was in pretty bad shape with the not-having-been-ridden-in-over-a-year and the chlorine fumes that make anything rust. I'd have done Hawthorne trail but I still had no idea where it was. I need more spontaneous-bike-ride friends, both here and in Florida.
• I had dinner with some former co-workers at Ichiban. It was good to see them, and good to talk about nerdy things that I thought I could only talk about with people here in Washington.
  

Things I didn't do that I wanted to include eating at various places I enjoy, such as Satchel's, Burrito Brothers, and El Indio. I didn't go to any of the old haunts like Common Grounds or Atlantic, and it would have been nice to do so and run in to some old acquaintances I met through Heather. I also didn't really connect with my brother. In fact I barely saw him but once. I'd like to try some day to talk with him, despite having lived under the same roof we're pretty much strangers. Finally, I didn't see Stephanie. I think I would have liked to, and I think I'm "ready" to see her happy and have that remind me of everything I did wrong, but time didn't permit.

On August 7th, I flew out from Jacksonville airport to Chicago.

Blog.StartUp()

So this is the start of my blog. Here I am finally joining the 21st century, entering the whole Web 2.0 blogosphere universe where everyone voices an opinion and nobody cares about anyone else's. For me, the only real purpose of it is to keep track of events and trivia in my life, and how they occur chronologically. It'll complement my memory. Perhaps even substitute it. Maybe it will be occasionally introspective. As soon as I get over pretending like I'm writing for an audience, I'm sure I'll become comfortable with it.