12:04AM - tattoo number two

8:46AM - why is it I only seem to post bad news here these days?

So yesterday I was playing Bike Polo, which is amazingly awesome, for those of you who don't know, when my phone rang. I called back when I got off the field, and someone asked me if I had purchased a $500 stereo system with my paypal account while in Amsterdam. I've never been to Amsterdam, and I certainly wasn't there yesterday, so I said no, and they said they would contact paypal and refund my money. A few hours later, Paypal called and said there were a bunch of transactions, and were they mine, and I said no, and we discussed what the last legit transaction was, and the put a stop on my account. So this morning I go to look at my bank account, as I had some stuff I needed to purchase today, and was informed that my bank account was negative to the tune of $1000+. Needless to say I was pretty pissed, especially as I have a $1000+ mortgage check waiting to be deposited, which I had more than enough funds in my account for. I arranged for the check to not be deposited and called my bank, but there's nothing they can do until these purchases, which are "pending" actually clear through the account. So I pulled down my change jar and emptied it out so I can go to the bank and have some money to eat with for the next 24-48 hours, which is what they estimate it will take to get me some money back.



The thing that really bothers me is that I really don't know how they got into my account. I changed all my passwords when I found out, and I had been using the same one for YEARS, but I have always been really careful with what I'm signing in to and all that. I'm throughly annoyed. I can't afford this, even if I get my money back in 48 hours, I had some time sensitive stuff I needed to order, and I can't really afford to borrow money to do it because I don't know how all this will work out and if I'll end up having enough money when this is all over with.

Current mood: pissed off

Current music: stupid construction work going on at the school next door

1:08PM - These guys kill me. I can't stop listening, and the videos..........

they just make it all SO much better.

11:16PM - basement

Our fucking basement flooded. I bailed out the area near the basement door where the water was rushing in to the basement with one of my neighbors. I went inside to take a nice warm bath, and there's a fucking mouse in the fucking bathtub! I threw him/her outside rather than alert the dumbass cats to his/her presence.


what a night!

11:01PM - So........... I got something

It's pretty fucking cool.


Shading will come once the outline finishes healing. It's a bit disorienting to see it out of the corner of my eye when I'm not expecting it, 'cuz I'm not really used to it yet.

10:00PM - what the fuck?

So I took the train home this evening 'cuz it was crappy out and I was feeling lazy. For those of you who don't know, I live off the southern-most end of the Blue Line. I happened to have brought the book I'm reading with me, so I took my usual course of action which is to bury my nose in it. There were about 6 people in the car I was in. Somewhere in the loop someone got on wearing a dark gray hoodie with the hood pulled up, very dark gray jeans, and brown boots. I was reading, he walked past very slowly, so I looked down at his shoes to gauge what sort of person was eyeing my bike so closely. They looked to be in good condition, as did the rest of his clothes, so I just kept reading, or appearing to read. The guy was obviously trying to intimdate everyone in the car, coming very close to everyone, trying to decide who to pick on I suppose. There was a guy about my age, nicely dressed, sitting near the other end of the car who this guy decided to mug. They were talking, I figured the guy was just asking him for money (which I suppose he was) like so many people do on the train. I kept my eyes and ears open, 'cuz the nicely dressed guy was clearly nervous, and it looked like something bad was going to happen. A different guy got up and walked away from that end of the car and sat down in the seat across from me. The nicely dressed guy got up after a minuite, after he said something about not having $20, and stood near the doors at my end of the car. Mugger dude follows him. Somewhere in the time covered by the last three sentences I noticed that mugger dude is a young black man wearing a neoprene mask. I pulled my knife out and decided that was a bad idea, so I put it away again. As mugger guy is standing next to nice clothes guy, the train stops for the next station, and neither of them moved. Very wise on the part of nice clothes guy, not so smart on the part of mugger guy. Before the train started moving again, mugger guy left the car through the doors that go between the cars. I started talking with nice clothes guy, suggesting that he report it by pressing the little "talk to the operator" button which was near us. This he did, the operator responded, nice clothes guy told him a very brief version of the story, and we watched what was going on in the next car. Mugger guy saw that we were watching what was going on and decided to leave the train. Train operator guy was walking towards us, we pointed down the stairs where the guy had gone, and operator guy called someone on the walkie-talkie. I don't really know what happened from there, other than the train operator getting the train going again and me going back to my book, but it really fucked with me.


I mean, mugger guy was intelligent enough to attempt this kinda late at night, in the underground section of the train system where cell-phones don't work, but he was dumb enough to think that he could get away with it. If the car was totally empty except for he and his victim he might, but it's fairly plain that one is trapped on the train with people who might frown on such things, and if just one person is confident enough to call the train operator while the train is moving or the doors are shut, you're fucked. This guy might have gotten away, he might not, I don't know. Thing is, you REALLY don't know what you're fucking with when you accost a random stranger. The little old lady you're trying to mug might be John Gotti's aunt, or a blackbelt in Hand-ya-ass-too-ya. You might be stronger than the guy you're mugging, but the guy sitting down the train might be a whole lot bigger than you, and not like what you're doin'.


I guess the reason I'm posting this is to remind people that even small actions like calling the train operator can prevent bad things from happening. I don't want to get shot, and helping nice-clothes guy keep the $2 he had on him isn't worth it for me to take the chance, but all I ended up having to do was suggest that nice-clothes guy press the button and not only did mugger guy not get a chance to mug anyone else, but he ended up running off, hopefully into the arms of the station guard or the police. The CTA signs say very plainly "If you see something, say something" and I would like to say YES! PLEASE DO!

10:59PM - philosophy and feelings don't change the laws of physics

So life is pretty good. I feel really busy all the time, which I guess is ok, but I could really use some time to slow down. I can feel the bike season getting ready to explode into craziness, which I'm not ready for, but that's ok, 'cuz you're never ready. Sarah got a job at Rapid Transit with me, which is really cool, and Time Out is goin' great.


I'm not sure if I ever posted about that. I deliver Time Out Chicago on Wednesdays (so does Sarah). It's a fun job, but I wish I had more stops, 'cuz I'm not making nearly as much as I could. It's nice to have extra time though. I'm going to hopefully spend some time tomorrow building my new trailer for that job, which will be way awesome. I've been borrowing different trailers from our friend Alex Wilson, who is starting a business making trailers. It's been nice to have the use of a trailer without paying for it, but I'm really looking forward to having my own permanent trailer. Today one of the wheels on the trailer I'm borrowing fell off, which was less than pleasant, but it was on my way home, so I didn't have any weight on it or anything. I didn't have the right size wrench on me (yes, I've dropped the number of tools I carry to three tools instead of 10 pounds worth) so I stopped at a bike shop and borrowed a wrench and some lock-tite. I also ran into a former participant in the Build Your Own Bike class that Sarah and I teach, who happened to have a new job at said bike shop. Random and pleasant. Now I have to start cooking dinner for our co-op meeting. Fortunately I bought an ass-ton of groceries on my way home, so we now have food in the house.




It's funny towing a trailer. I had a totally random conversation with a couple in a car as I was loading up. They both used to work for Chicago Messenger Service (I think he was a biker, and she said she was a car delivery person). It was just kinda cool to have a totally random interaction with these folks just because I was loading up my groceries. I always get questions from messengers about the trailer too, which I'm happy to talk about. The more I can build Alex's business by word of mouth and extreme product testing the better.



So yeah, life..... how 'bout it.....



I think I'll have another beer.
T

Current mood: relaxed

Current music: Mr. Treat's Beats (live 365 station)

10:11PM

So almost a week ago was the one year anniversary of the purchase of our building. Also, about two weeks ago was the second anniversary of the first date Sarah and I went on. Also also, Sarah's birthday is on Sunday. It seems that January is big month for us. I've been working a lot, I started delivering this magazine on Wed. http://www.timeoutchicago.com is the web address. It's pretty awesome. If I got paid every day what I do for my Wed. work, I'd be in pretty dang good shape. I built a chopper Saturday, I'll post pictures as soon as I take some. It's a lot of fun, although not the most comfortable bike ever built (duh). I haven't ever built myself a chopper that was actually rideable before. I tried to build one a few years ago when I first got into freakbikes. It looked AWESOME. Didn't steer for shit, but it looked great. This one is rather similar, but the steering problem is at least manageable. I'm going to ride it on Critical Mass on Friday, which should be fun. I haven't gone in a while, which kinda bums me out. Sarah is going to visit her family for her birthday, so I'm going to spend some time having fun. In other news, I went a little cleaning-crazy last night in the basement and got everything pretty well organized in the main room of the basement. There's definitely more work to be done, but at this point well over half the bikes are hung up, so one can actually walk around the basement without tripping over every bike ever made. This is very important, 'cuz I seem to keep adding bikes all the time. I hope to build a new tallbike soon, one that will hopefully be more comfortable than my old one. You'd think with all the miles I put on that silly thing that I'da fixed all that by now, but I really haven't, and I think I want to start over again. My next one will be far superior. Well, bein' as this is already the longest update I've thrown on here in a LONG time, and I'm really tired from my deliveries today, I'm gonna sign off. Have a good night ya'll.







..... Ya know, I really do wonder how many miles I put on that damn tallbike. Well over a thousand I'm sure, but I couldn't come anywhere an accurate number.


Oh, and for those of you who like music, brace yourselves! www.mikewest.net

They're really funny, really great live, and their stories are amazing. Whodathunk Sam would like something so twangy?

Current mood: tired

10:51PM

brief update.

You can see some of what we've been doing lately on my FlickR account. http://www.flickr.com/photos/69755195@N00/

Pictures of our new bathroom counter, the basement bike pile, etc. Cat pictures might go up tomorrow if I have time.

11:33PM

So I ask you, why yell?

Sarah and I have been having a discussion for the past hour or so about yelling, and the productivity (or lack thereof) in doing so. I really think that anything that someone won't listen to by speaking normally won't get any better of a hearing just because the volume increases. As a matter of fact, I think it hurts your cause more than it helps.

I think yelling helps when

A. Someone is about to do something dangerous and is UNAWARE of the implications you see (i.e. about to run over someone's cat or something).

B. Other noises are too loud for other forms of communication.

I think that's about it.

What do YOU think?


This discussion led to further discussion of the benefits of TRUE anarchy

I think yelling adds a useless step to what should be a rather straight-forward proposition. You should be able to explain something to someone and they should listen or be aware that immediate VERY BAD consequences will follow. Society should be made up of respectful people who should be aware that being disrespectful brings the displeasure of the remainder of society, which should mean something strong enough to encourage proper behavior. Respecting others still leaves you shit-tons of leeway to do whatever it is that you get your jollies from, as long as it doesn't bother anybody else. All these laws we have really get in the way of this. People suddenly feel they have the right to all sorts of things that do, in fact, cause harm to others, albeit non-directly.

In other news, we're far too busy, but relatively happy. Sarah is looking for work, we're trying to get things together to MAYBE open a bike shop in the spring, and we're trying to get our renovations done in time to host Thanksgiving as a housing co-op with EVERYBODY's families. Should be a pretty killer time. We'll see what happens.

Current mood: happy

Current music: Cake- Short Skirt Long Jacket

10:37PM

I've got a really wacky bike I've just built up, and I want to modify it a bit, but I'm not sure if what I want to do will work. I've got some nice bmx hubs that I'm currently using on this bike, and they're 36 hole. I'd like to build some new wheels, but the only rims available of anything even remotely resembling reasonable quality in this size are 32 hole. My question is this..... Has anyone tried lacing a 36 hole hub into a 32 hole rim using only 24 spokes? I'd be skipping 12 holes on the hub and 8 on the rim, and I THINK it should work, but has anyone done it?


What I've got is a little kids bike with 16x 1.75 rims on it (a 305) and what I want is to build some 16x1 3/8 wheels (349) The rims I have are really crappy steel crap, and the tires are wide and knobby. A 349 would give me a considerably higher top speed and nicer tires to choose from. Problem is, when you get down to 16", it's VERY hard to fit 36 spokes in one rim. So they didn't really make them. Now the 349, which was never a popular size to begin with, is dying out, and rims are VERY hard to come by. Velocity sometimes will send you an undrilled rim if you ask nice (one of my co-workers has put LOTS of miles on his 9 spoke wheel, which was made possible by the kind folks at Velocity sending him an undrilled rim).


When you see this bike, you'll understand. It's a Pacific Hammer with a really tall seatpost, a TTT Mutant Classic road stem and Mountain bars on it. It's pretty fast for what it is, but I'd like it to be faster. It's geared 36x14 thanks to a bmx flip-flop which takes a metric freewheel. I'm going to see what it would be like fixed by threading a lockring on the regular size end and if I like it I'll build up a track hub instead. It's the Lunch Rocket! Also known as the long awaited "fourth Hammer of the Apocolypse". These bikes are extra handy because you can disassemble them and fit them in a suitcase, so they're travel friendly without spending fancy folding bike prices.

Current mood: mellow

Current music: Broken Social Scene- Blues for Uncle Gibb

4:56PM - So we're in Philly

I haven't been this relaxed in AGES. There's a pretty big bunch of trees and such that surround the pool area, the weather is AMAZING, life is great! I wouldn't really want to live here, although it's beautiful, and Sarah's family is awesome, because there isn't any good place to bike around here. We're out in the 'burbs, which means everything is pretty far apart and the roads are all real fast. Other than that, it's really paradise.

We've been really busy lately, I've kinda had time to update, but I've not taken it until now. We went out and visited my mom like last week or something, which was pretty cool. She moved again Saturday, and we're gonna probably go out there next saturday and help her finish up her move. She's doing pretty well, her new place is really cool and spacious, especially compared to her last place, which was TINY.


It's really neat watching Sarah and her family interact. Her dad's jokes are just as bad as mine, which is awesome, and they all really love each other, which is totally awesome.

I don't know how to express in words just how much I love Sarah. This trip just reinforces to me over and over again how much that's true. She brightens everything we do together, and it makes me all warm and fuzzy inside.

One of these days I'll get around to posting pictures of our place. It's a total mess at this point, bein' as how we've got extra stuff in our unit from the people whose unit is currently under construction, but it's still home, and it's really starting to look spectacular.

On that note, we're hosting Critical Mass Happy Hour on the 9th of September. You're all invited. It's going to be a sort of pre-housewarming party. You should come! It'll be fun! I've got to run off and meet Sarah's uncle here and have some dinner.

See ya'll later!

Current mood: relaxed

Current music: Sarah's sister practicing with her flute

9:16PM

I'm pretty drunk, and I like it. Sarah is finally home from vacation, and I'm VERY happy she's back. I was ok with her gone, but having her back is amazing. I love my Sarah. Dan and Laila had their wedding vows renewed today, which was really neat, and we had a big party at the co-op. It was fun, and I'm loaded. There wasn't a whole ton o' food that I was comfortable eating besides cake, so I ended up drunker than I would have been had I eaten more. Oh well. It's fun. In other news, the renovation is slowly progressing. Our unit has yet to be started on, but that's ok.

So last week I spent a whole buncha time with the Rat Patrol which was awesome. Sarah and I really need to un-busy ourselves enough to participate in things beyond our couple-y life. We tend not to because we're just happy to be together, but it is also excellent to see other people on rides as well. Anyway, I'm gonna go be drunk in bed, hope ya'll have fun!

Current mood: drunk

Current music: Mr. Lif- A Glimpse at the Struggle

3:40PM

So we're moved in, I'm using the internet from bed, and as of this morning, our stove works! Hooray! The place is a mess, but it's really cool to finally be here. There's a kitten between my arms sleeping as I type, which is totally cool. Life is GOOD!


Our new address is as follows

2358 S. Marshall Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60623.


We are using one mailbox for the whole building, so no unit numbers are necessary.

9:46AM - I'm a lame-o

Sorry I haven't updated in a while. Life has been busy on a scale I've never seen before. We're moving in to the new building on the 23rd of this month, hopefully that'll be the LAST move for like 5 years or more. Between Sarah and I we've moved probably 6-7 times in the past two years.

In other news, we've got kittens. I think they're close to 4 weeks old now, and they get cuter every day. There's 5 of 'em. We've got homes for all of them, which is nice. We're keeping one kitten and the momma cat. Work is getting hellishly busy, which is only to be expected, given that it's spring in Chicago and I work at a bike shop. Speaking of which, there's totally customers outside and we're not even open yet. What else is new?


So before we move in to the new place we have to pull up all the tile and carpeting and such so that the contractors can refinish the floors, so I'm gonna be down at the building all day tomorrow working on that.


Life is good, I just wish I had more time to enjoy it.

Current mood: busy

9:30AM - holy fuck!

9:45AM

Busy busy busy.

Current mood: busy

8:51AM - wheeee!

~treechunk~

LJ friendsCollage.

Brought to you by pratibha75 and teemus.

9:28AM - pix pix pix

more pix

There will in fact be more pictures when we figure out how to get the pictures off the camera we borrowed.


In other news, my mom's surgery went great. She was out in 2.5 hours instead of 4 like they had figured, she was out of the ICU the next morning and she's gonna be out of the hospital tomorrow some time. The doc said her old valve was REALLY bad and that the new one went in real well and that he expected it to work exactly as her old one was supposed to. She called me last night and she sounded much more like her self than she did when we spoke the morning after her surgery (no surprise right?) and she told Sarah she had been walking around the perimeter of the nurse's station. So we're all really encouraged, and really thinkin' this is gonna be great for her.


Anyway, we're both doin' well as well, and my brother seems to be doin' all right too. Life is pretty damn decent ya know that?


lata ya'lls.

9:57AM - She's fine. No, really, she's fine.

Last night Sarah got hit by a car. She's fine, but one of her bikes is trashed. The guy was driving on the wrong side of the street very slowly after he turned out of an alley. The dumbass didn't see her despite having a blinking light and a safety yellow jacket on. I guess he was looking for a space to get into traffic in the direction he was going. She's got a few tiny scratches on her nose, a bump about the size of two quarters stacked on top of each other on her forehead and slightly skinned and stiff knees. She's gonna estimate the value of her bike at $400 and replace it with money from him or his insurance or whatever. The cops were called before she even got to her phone to call, everything went fine, she didn't need an ambulance, it was really pretty minor except for her bike. Anyway, she called me crying right after it happened and said that she was ok, I didn't need to come home or anything, but I went home anyway and cooked dinner and stuff 'cuz I know when you've just been through something like that the thing you need most is to come home to a warm hug and food and a hot bath. I was kinda freaked out. Stuff like that isn't supposed to happen to Sarah. I know she's tough enough to deal with it, but I don't think I am. Anyway, I'm at work and I should be working, so I'll talk to ya'll later.

Current mood: okay

Current music: Cake- I'm a Dime