Getting closer!

In my continuing saga to find a new place to hang my hat, I finally found a spot this past weekend that almost fit the bill.

Granted, I really wanted a view, a top-floor flat, and a deck, but apparently those things are way out of my price range. What I found instead was a flat in a new-ish building on the best street in the Mission (just down from LaLo, Mission Minis, and Boogaloos, for those of you who know 22nd Street), with a great kitchen and fabulous clearly-designed-by-a-gay-man bathrooms.

Looks like this one isn't going to work out, but after three months of househunting, to finally find something almost within my reach — with almost everything I wanted — is almost something to be happy about!

Pants pants pants

Today was the third day that I had to use the next hole in my belt; the first couple times I figured it was just a fluke. Now I think it's for real: I'm back to a 34" waist. I have no illusions that I'll ever hit 32" again, but this is a big improvement. Even my 36's were getting awfully tight this winter.

So, time for new pants! I've lost 10 pounds in six weeks, which I hope is slow and steady enough that my metabolism will keep the pounds off as long as I continue the exercise. I just wonder if I should keep these fat pants around in case I lapse. Crossing fingers.

Bay to Breakers 2010

So a funny thing happened Wednesday night. I flew back from the big conference in Arizona, only to realize that I had left my bike at Sparky's house the weekend before. I had to pick it up immediately, because a whole gaggle of coworkers had agreed to meet me Thursday morning for the annual BIKE TO WORK DAY. I convinced them all to go to my favorite diner "Boogaloos" at 8am for early breakfast and mimosas before we all biked into work together. (I know... mimosas before the office, but hey it's only once a year!)

The problem was, I had already told a friend I would meet him out that night to hear his DJ set straight from the Belgian clubs circa 1988-1990. Serious narrowcasting, yes, but it was his gig and I did actually enjoy that music the first time around, so I figured "why not?". Michalis (a friend from work) came with, and Sparky tagged along as well. We got to drinking... and then all of the sudden we had agreed to run this damn 12k race together that Sunday. As in, a 12k race in just four days with no training. Of course I had no intention of actually running, I just thought we were drunkplanning. As in, notplanning.

Bay to Breakers is a 7.5 mile (12k) race from the downtown SF bay waterfront all the way to the ocean breakers, hence the race name. This was the third time I've run the race; neither Sparky nor Michalis had ever run it. It's more of a street party than a race; it's more an excuse to drink early on a Sunday morning, in a tiger costume or perhaps completely naked, than a real run. It's a bit of a San Francisco tradition, too, this being the 99th year of the race!

Anyhooo, I've been running like a fiend at the gym since Sparky and I broke up at the beginning of April, so I didn't actually think this was going to be a tough race. And lo and behold, all three of us managed to run the entire race without stopping or walking, although we did lose track of Michalis at the beginning but found him again on one of the curves.

It was a great day. After the race we had burgers and beers in the Sunset, and other than Sparky losing his house keys somewhere along the way, I think we managed to pull off the whole spectacle without a hitch.

I can't wait for the 100th annual race, next May. Time to start planning my ouchfit...

Phoenix Liveblogging

Welcome to Arizona! I've heard Phoenix is like Los Angeles without Hollywood or the beach. So far... well, it's not quite THAT bad.

I arrived yesterday, here for four days to present some transportation research at the "Innovations in Travel Modeling" conference. My first experience was in the cab ride to the conference hotel, and the cabbie said he hates it here and is moving to Chicago next week. According to him, more than 40 conferences have cancelled due to the draconian anti-immigrant law that was passed last week, and he can't get any business. I was his third fare in 14 hours. He may have been exaggerating about the fare, but he was definitely leaving town.

Yesterday afternoon was the only free time I had here before the conference got underway, so I decided to sample the local flora and fauna by walking to the one gay bar close the hotel... well, "close" is relative because it was about a two-mile walk. But still, there are indeed sidewalks in Phoenix, a big step up from Houston. The place was nice enough; a bit like the Lone Star in SF with very friendly attitude-free guys. That's always a plus. In fact, I have to say I'm a bit surprised that the bar was actually fun.

Today's presentation on our bike route-choice model went fantastic, and we got lots of comments and positive reaction. I hope some other cities pick up on the research we did and take it further. Tomorrow is our downtown parking price research, and then Wednesday one last preso on advanced traffic analysis methods ("DTA") -- after which I can finally come home.

So far, so good! More to report soon.

Facebook isn't enough.

Bet you didn't think you'd be hearing from me again, did you? :-)

While no one blogs anymore (they're all on Facebook now), I'm finding that FB is just too limiting. Every community has its norms and customs; this is expected. And at Facebook, there is subtle but direct pressure to keep things cheery, light, and short. It's basically like a noisy, fun bar at happy hour: easy to meet new people, everyone's a bit tipsy and being goofy, but it's hard to have a real conversation.

So, I'll keep my Facebook account for "Oh what a fun night last night! Check out our photos!", it's apparent that I need another outlet for things that have a bit more depth. We'll see if I can post a blog item or two every now and again.

More to come.