Utter Disappoinment

I always thought that I was a huge fan of Australia. I mean what isn't to love? Home of the "Thorpedo" some of the most unique Green Architecture in the world and last but not least, Crocodile Dundee
It wasn't until 2009 that Australia began to disappoint me. I mean, what negative things can possibly be said about the great land down under?
My emotions began to grow sour when I saw a film that played as a catalyst for disdain...

Jackman and Kidman.........

It all started with you! The two of you had to go and make that rechid movie.
But this was only the tip of the iceberg......

I had never heard of Hugo and Treats before, but they give a whole new name to bike hipsters....wowza! I've never been so proud to ride a fixed gear
no "FREEWHEEEEEEEEEEL" for me...

This Australia based Hip Hop group thought it was a good idea to write a silly little anthem on riding bicycles. watch it all the way through and be sure to catch the part where they sample Queen into the song (O'too Predictable!)

All I have to say is that I'd better see some better things come out of Australia
of the beautiful land down under will have lost me forever!

Peace Friends :)

Jacob In Real Life....

The Out Crowd...

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN,

I don't know how else to describe it. At this stage in my life, I would much rather think that there is no in or out crowd and that social groups are designed around common interests rather than any sort of shallow interpretation of ones personality. But I must say that we have to leave room for the socially obscure and out of he ordinary.....

But aren't all common interests obscure to those that don't share them?

I know that you can see where I am going with this. Last night I found myself in a basement with some of my closest friends, all dressed elegantly to relive the prom that we never enjoyed. This was no ballroom polluted with penguin suits and Dillard's dresses, but rather a small gathering of people expressing their inner classiness on their own terms. A purple haze cast across the room as the black light met the disco ball, and the keg ran all night. There was dancing, photography, and even a little romance. This "Prom" night was all that many of us probably wished our prom would have been. As I came to think about it this morning, I thought of what people would have thought had they randomly stumbled upon our little gathering, walking into a basement full of oddly dressed young adults, intoxicated by the moment. Whether they would have joined the party or considered it uninteresting is not important. Whats important is that It doesn't matter what they would have thought. This moment for us was beautiful, no matter how out of place or obscure its nature was.

The night preceding the prom was also quite the eye opener. I rolled my bicycle down Central to Downtown with a group of bike friends. We were met with hundreds of cars, all headed in one direction like spawning salmon. They were obviously very entertained by 7 guys riding there bicycles down the heavily trafficed street as they proceeded to honk and shout, both good and bad things. To many of these drivers, both on this night and any time, we as cyclist are part of some kind of "counter culture". For those of you who know me, I do not only mean this about fixed gear riders, but urban cyclist in general (whether you ride a hybrid, road, mountain, or fixed gear bike). But the reality of it is that to us, we are doing something completely normal and familier to us, just as driving is to them.

This brings me to my point. We are all the out crowd to somebody. There is always going to be someone that is going to look at you, your group of friends, or even your family, and say "you are weird as fuck!" as you may do the same to them. But I call everyone to action today! Embrace your out crowd! Be bold! Stand out! No matter they way that you choose to do these things, just do them, because you will find yourself in a much happier place when you embrace all of these things!

Peace,

Jacob In Real Life....

PS: Always feel free to share experiences via comments and emails! And Special thanks to all of my great friends that inspired this one! Prom Night was killer as was Anodyne!

WA.....Continued and completed

U Dub... ( UW aka the University of Washington)

Walking up Roosevelt showed me the side of Seattle that one tourist may never see. The streets are cluttered with bars and pizza joints. Small houses are neatly placed on slopes, decorated with uncut grass and unpainted doors. As I come upon the campus I am greeted by a large chime. It was put in place to bring good fortune anytime one rings the small bells. I, of course, took part in this ritual. I began to near Lake Union, a body of water that separates Seattle Metro from North Seattle (Where Greenlake and the university are located). All along the shores of the lake are small docks where personal fishing and rec boats bob slowly in the calm water. I've come to realize that every time I get within sight of any large portion of water, the air becomes significantly cooler. This may seem a bit obvious but its reality hasn't struck me until I've felt the brisk wisps run across my face. Hayley has told me time and time again to ask one of the people for directions to a place where we can rent bicycles, but me being the "guy" that I am, I stubbornly refuse. After a period of exploring the area, I decide to give up on finding the mystery bike shop that will rent us bicycles, and Hayley and I begin to cross the bridge over Lake Union to move back towards our hotel. On the other side of the bridge, we come upon a classy pizzeria and decide to stop on for some lunch. Hayley being one to not touch a nibble of meat to her mouth insists that we order the four cheese pizza. Upon receiving our order of what I expect to be a bland array of simple cheeses and simple sauce, we are both pleasantly surprised by the taste of the pie. The trick es the extra sweet marinara spread over the soft crust and the clusters of feta cheese hidden strategically underneath the other four cheeses. The pizza and beer leaves me satisfied to continue our trek to the space needle. Up unto this point, I have had the luck of stumbling upon secret land marks and corners of Seattle. It leaves me wishing that my stay could last much longer. Unfortunately the walk back to the hotel only proves to be segments of low income housing and regular urban huh ha that can be seen in any city across the country.

All in all though, the 10 mile walk day turned out to be quite the adventure and gave Hayley and I the kind of idea that we needed when considering a move to Seattle. The remainder of the trip did not involve the kind of attention to detail as the time is Seattle mainly because we went from house to house, driving hours to get from one place to another, leaving the remainder of the trip as quite a blur. But if you have any loose ends you would like tied up or other details revealed, please feel free to ask! Thanks for Joining!

Jacob In Real Life.....

WA

Here I am, Day 6 in the beautiful state of Washington. We've been staying with some friends of Hayley's dad on the Okanogan River, and I mean literally on it. I am actually looking out the window at the flowing water. Anyways.....

In the past six days I have seen the many faces of WA. We spent 2 Days in Seattle, that being the unconcluded part of the story, as I will be headed back there tomorrow for one last visit.

But let me say....

There are very few cities that I have seen that can top the unique persona of Seattle. I walked from Seattle Center to Pike Street, then down to the Bay.

PIKE STREET

As you near the water, the thick smell of salt caresses the air, along with the potent scent of fresh fish. Pike Street Market is alive with shoppers and vendors, a place where both tourist and local come together to shop amongst and array of vendors selling every thing from fresh fruit and flowers, to leather bound journals and hand made soaps. Live music rings from the streets, mostly blues and folk music. A young guy, not much older than myself, was actually playing the fiddle and singing with no other accompaniment, offering an all treble ballad to the passing shoppers. I walked wide eyed over the damp rock floor, sipping my Tully's coffee that I picked up at a local bagel shop for breakfast. The fish market is surrounded by a crowd, all gathered to see the famous fish tossing. Two men, each seasoned in there profession shout at one another as they toss the fish orders back an forth. The crowd applauds in excitement.
I entered a small book store on the lower level of the Public Market, greeted by the middle aged owner. "So how about this heat wave?" He asks me. This morning as I left, I found myself putting on a flannel button up over my t-shirt to cater to the crisp air.......its anything but a heat wave. But I realize, for him, 75 degrees is a heat wave in Seattle... nothing like the upper 90 degree temperatures of Albuquerque. After I explain to the owner that I am from somewhere that is much hotter, we chat for a bit about the unique culture of Seattle, and a little of some books that I enjoy. This was the last stop that I made on Pike Street Market, But there was still some things that I had in mind for the day.

GREENLAKE & THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON

Hayley and I caught a bus the the Northern Part of Seattle in hopes of finding a place to rent some bicycles. We came across a large shop called GREGG'S GREENLAKE CYCLES.... Coming into the shop, it seemed just like any other. I spoke with one of the employees about the local following for cycling, when he invited me to the pro showroom. The showroom was set up like that of a gallery, the bicycles lined against the walls, hanging individually like large paintings isolated to be properly viewed. aside from the beauty side of the bicycles, there was a certain functional aura in the room that shouted "PERFORMANCE". I was not allowed to be unsupervised and was not allowed to take photographs. Some of the bikes cost more than (believe it or not) a new car. ((((CUSTOM PINARELLO PRINCE)))))).... After I gawked for more time than Hayley was happy with and shot the shit with my new Seattle bike shop friend, we were told that the shop didn't do bike rentals, but that there was a place not to far away that did. We were given directions on a small napkin and Began our walk through the University area...this turned out to be an adventure......................

But I'm sure that you are tired of reading by this time so this will be continued in a series of blogs..... hope you return to explore WA some more :)

Happy 4th o'July

O How I do love the summer time! Its the Fourth of July again...

I have disappeared for some time but am going to go on a posting frenzy starting up here. I will be leaving to Seattle on Tuesday and will be documenting much of that. I also have borrowed a book from a friend and am looking forward to reading that before and during my trip.

I'm sure reading this memoir will fuel the fire of many thoughts in my skull...so look forward to that. Especially all my little Right wing monster friends :) I'm sure you will enjoy talking about this with me later.
But, back to the better part of this! 4th O' July and SEATTLE!
TONIGHT!!:
http://www.cranks505.com/2009/07/this-saturday-4-11-pm-dont-miss-this-if.html#links
Check out the link above^
Fixed and Free bike shop 1 Year Anniversary Party. Its going to be wild, Live Music and all!
Then on Tuesday im off!

I'm sure most people know this, but Hayley and I are very VERY strongly considering this as a city to start our new life after graduation. We will be spending a week there coming in a couple of days. I can't wait!

Well thanks for reading friends! Keep looking me up regularly as I am looking forward to having some real 'blog' material coming up Including a weekly Entitles "To Whom it May Concern". Talk to you soon!

Jacob In Real Life...