Thursday, January 25, 2007

reconnecting

there's something about a fixed gear bicycle that allows you to completely ignore the elements (a little wool doesn't hurt either). It was about twenty degrees with a wind chill this morning, but I was lovin' the ride in to the store. Sliding around on the fresh snow in front of the house, and my favorite part of the ride; this little 100 yard stretch along the Allegheny (that's the 40th Street Bridge there). I duck through a bit of a park, across the railroad and another block beside the tracks. It's great. It certainly beats sitting in some heated car on the parkway for 2 hours everyday.

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

all this samsara

sometimes i can't handle all this worldly shit! it's pretty amazing how many people are out there in this world, all over the place. without seeming trite, it just blows my mind in an almost crippling way. And the sadness that I feel when I reach for the truth that I know is out there, comes in the form of the realization that there are a handful of people out there that I've met, spoken to, "know", that may actually have the foggiest idea of what I'm talking about. And then there is the notion of an entire society that's completely based on it...being wiped out. Somewhere in the middle...everyone else. Literally, everyone else.

Aside: Currently Goodyear Blimp Overhead!

Is it possible that the man who actually has the answers was a prince who went and sat down under a tree? Is it possible that when I close my eyes and breathe, it gets closer? Is it possible that me, a simple man who live in capitalism, who works for a living, who has cats, and a fiance, and a car, and lots of bikes, could possibly, in this lifetime, ever get even slightly closer to what he knows is truly enlightment?

Sometimes...i feel as though I'm not really trying hard enough.

Sunday, January 14, 2007

bomb scare

being as i'm finally an adult, i almost never get yelled at like a child. aside from the occasional voice raising argument with someone (generally my better half) I haven't had the opportunity to really be made to feel insignificant, like i'm being "bad". So yestereday i'm on my way to work, and super siked cause I just re-built my bike into a fixed gear and was off for my maiden commute, all fifteen minutes of it. (8 1/2 of them uphill!) Nearing the top of the hill, and passing a giant new hospital construction site I encounter a jersey barrier and a cop car, oh and an angry, arm waving police officer. She yells, "you can't go this way you have to go around!" So I take the nearest side street a block over. This particular section of Pittsburgh is quite steep and most of the streets are one way up or one way down. So, not wanting to divert my commute much more then I have already I continue on the sidewalk of a one way down street. As I get to the top of the hill where the street comes to a "t", I find my self smack in the middle of what I soon realize is a bomb threat that has been called in to hospital construction site!! Immediately, another cop which surprising enough could have been the same one from before (same physical description at least) starts screaming at me. Now I do understand that I was in a cordoned off area, roughly twenty feet from the big, strange looking truck that says bomb unit on it. But I was faced with a left and right decision, there was no straight option. So, I go left, the way I would have gone had there been no police activity. This was clearly the incorrect choice. Cop "B" was not amused and continues to yell...reasoning with her was certainly not an option. So I turn right and ride around the corner to take an alternate route to work...nuff said. Then of course the construction workers who have gotten themselves an oh so convenient half day off, lay into me. "Hey buddy, what's yer problem didn't you see all dem cop cars!" Fuckers. So i give'em the metal sign and pedal on to work....what a way to start your day. Oh, and guess what they turned up at the construction site. Not a damn thing. Oh, the power of a telephone call.

Thursday, January 11, 2007

i likes bikes



so, i thought i'd finally let the world in on a little secret. i have a secret obsession that occupies my mind daily and nightly like cats think about mice. it's bikes, i love them. and fortunately i'm not alone. its clearly something that makes a lot of people happy. and i'm clearly not feeling all that poetic about it today, just thought i'd put it down, for posterity. thats all.