turn and face the strange

Now staying with Rebecca in the Mission, which is a totally different neighborhood from Gloria's.

On Friday I took the Caltrain down to Google and Stanford, where I had Google lunch with Phil (hooray tasty) and cleaned bike and rode with Max (hooray nutella). Thanks guys. Google is younger and Stanford more brown and taupe than expected. They never checked for my fare (which I did pay for) on the train, which is just one other way it's nicer than NJ Transit. Recognizing the similarities between H-S the Younger and Nick was both unnerving and amusing.

There's a difference between the foci of thoughts of road alone time and surrounded by people alone time. For me I think it's simply recognizing and analyzing personal goals and shortcomings (e.g. who do I want to be in 5 years) versus inter-personal ones (e.g. how do I treat the people I want to be around in 5 years).

I watched "Into the Wild" yesterday and walked out horribly depressed and started to cry. Emile Hirsch's character's too-late epiphany, "HAPPINESS IS ONLY REAL WHEN SHARED," was like a knife stabbed right on the nose of this party-of-one traveler.

But, I just can't wait to get back home and put such thoughts into action. I want to re-invigorate the relationships I have with friends and family (i.e. you guys), especially because I've been a bit of a drag in the last few months. Before I find work, I promise I will be taking road trips (I miss my car!) and sharing beers, lobster rolls, a bowl with with, BBQ, and mostly laughs with many of you.

I should really upload some pictures from my camera to my computer. So many sights so much more interesting than these words! I should do the flickr or picasa thing....

Good news: today is the Folsom Street Fair, "the grand daddy of all leather events." Jessie Spano really expresses my feelings about this best. click, it's great.