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Pictures to remind me of Thanksgiving 2K3.

To Lisa--
We met quietly,
In math camp, talking softly,
You said you're from Nebraska,
I said, cool, let's make some angel-hair pasta.

To Sean--
Your hair curly and mine straight.
Smiles on us like liquid hot college bait.
found your number and grabbed a bite
in Santa Barbara as sun to dusk lost to night.

To Brett & Lauren--
You two are too cool,
like a nap that leaves drool,
now I'm watching The O.C. like a crazy fool,
see you again when I'm outta school.

I want to share this with you.
I want to be head-down, folded in a pew.
I've slipped back into writing verse
why not.. concrete and florescents seemed my curse
until shadows darkened
and gravity strengthened.
then rhyming couplets flooded my mind
reminding me of softer voices delicate and kind.

I should be drinking whiskey and beer
to welcome my guests: solitude and fear.
by what coincidence did they arrive together?
flying in here like birds of a feather.

I've never prayed or been religious
only this hour feels heavy and time egregious.
I'll excuse myself to sleep, wearily hide.
dream that I'll wake to the lapping of a gentler tide.

cloudy today,
sweetly rainy;
wet motorcycle,
sit in cool honey;
mashed potatoes,
coffee gravy;

macro inertia,
micro momentum;
on leased time,
can't afford 'em;
wrestling my own
-- cerebellum.

Your assignment should you choose to accept it... TA for ARE 100A at 8am MWF with your buddy Tar as the other TA, the one who will know how to answer the questions that finds you reeling.

8am! That means up by 7am.

Before the rooster crows.

Before the paper gets delivered.

Before my body filters out prior night's excess.

Just as I'm getting into REM sleep.

Just as the light from yonder window stream.

Just as I curse aloud to the ringing digital metronome of labor's song.

Lisa P. and I decided that the sunny day was too good to squander sitting around in Davis so we headed to Berkeley, picked up DJ enroute, for a visit with Ricardo and his wife, Marcela. Ricardo and Marcela happen to be house-sitting for a professor in the Berkeley Hills, a house with a great view overlooking the bay. By coincidence I ran into Steven (who lived with DJ and I for about a month back in 1998-99?) and Terry Park, a guy I knew from high school, all within a matter of five minutes, between Blondie's and the Durant/Channing parking garage. By the way, the culinaryily-challenged looked on with amazement as Marcela whipped up a great apple pancake dessert with flour, milk, and apples. Forgetting that we were already full from Top Dog and Zachary's, we ate it all up. Nota Bene: get the recipe.

Ricardo and Marcela

~60 degrees

~50 degrees

MMmmm....

I'm sitting at SFO, waiting at the United terminal for my 1pm flight to Tokyo. T-Mobile has installed wi-fi hotspots which makes it easy to check email, and post this entry. I'm watching a 757 roll away from me checking its rudder and elevator controls. Everyone in the terminal sit, every other seat, staring blankly around the room, not talking. Sort of weird how people are such social animals yet norms dictate that you not talk to strangers. The guy sitting at 2 o'clock has the same shoes as I do, except they're red Saucony's instead of the blue ones I have. Good choice of footware for travel. He doesn't know I'm writing about him. I could tell him he has nice shoes, but then again, I'm a dude so I'll shut up.

While in the TSA line, an army officer in fatigues was standing behind me. He left Iraq about two days ago and has been traveling to get to Okinawa, where his family is waiting for him. He's off for two weeks before he has to head back to Iraq. I wanted to tell him that I was against the war, but that I appreciated his service. I didn't have the guts to say that for some reason and just wished him a good trip. I'm wishing myself a good trip. I'll be back next year, Jan 1st.

Because the vent that leads to the auxillary power unit on our Boeing 747 failed to close, we were stuck on the tarmac at SFO for an extra two hours. As the maintenance crew tried to repair our plane, they turned off the air conditioning. It got pretty hot in that big aluminum tube of a passenger compartment. It also caused us to be two hours late getting to Tokyo, missing our connections. A group of us, who were catching connecting flights to Bangkok, Hong Kong and Beijing were offered rooms at a hotel in Narita. Unfortunately, Narita is about 1.5hrs away from Tokyo which made a trip downtown impossible to complete before the trains shut down. A cab ride back would've been US $200. I couldn't find enough daring people to go with me in order to make that cab ride affordable, so we just had dinner and sat in the hotel room watching TV - reminding me of 'Lost in Translation'. I met two Davids, two Alans, a Young, an Erica, and a Victoria, plus a few people whose names I never learned.

But now I'm in Beijing. Got here about 15 hrs ago. Jet-lag has me up today at 5am.

When in Japan, wear a kimono and eat steaks that are smaller than the fries.

Victoria and I at the airport. View of Mt. Fuji from the airplane leaving Tokyo.

Nov 5, 1944 - Dec 25, 2003