Sunday, October 25, 2009

saturday night riding and thirst quenching

lastnite ben and i drove to downtown miami and rode into miami beach. it was a nice night for riding and pretty uneventful until i got a flat on my back tire, whose tube i had just changed that afternoon. luckily, right before we stopped at fritz's and bought a spare tube.
we were able to make it to la sandwicherie and i changed my tube there while enjoying a smoothie. we stopped at love-hate tattoos to say what's up to my buddy jimmy and then rode back into downtown where we hopped in ben's car and drove up to ye olde falcon pub in davie for a few pitchers and some very delicious chicken wings, which we devoured like a couple of chicken hawks, or whatever other animal tears through a plateful of wings in minutes...perhaps a mighty large football fan. a pretty uneventful night of riding and hanging but good nonetheless.


our bikes tightly secured to ben's car


on the corner of alton and 16th waiting for our turn to cross


my coffee at la sandwicherie which was in desperate need of heavy amounts of sugar but only cos i'm used to drinking cuban coffee from sarrussi or chuchi's in hialeah that is sweet as fuck


ben adding loads of sugar as well


"steve's got the crazy eye"


once again our bikes tightly secured for the way back


ahhh...first beer of the nite


and the fourth pitcher of the nite right before wings. no pics of those as i wasn't trying to waste time with pictures whilst tasty wings were in my vicinity.


it was also a nite of awkward conversations with strangers as we told a new waitress at the pub that we thought caning should be allowed in schools as a way to treat A.D.D./A.D.H.D., ben being more and more of a creep as he drank more beer towards another waitress that he's known for some time (but p.s. she enjoyed it) and lastly amusing ourselves with 2 off duty pompano cops, basically ragging on their job and the fact that one of them cleared the room with a fart. nice guys tho. hopefully one of them will come into the shop for a tattoo (yes rita, we hustled).
sorry for the lack of posts. been busy working and whatnot. hope everyone reading this is awesome.
ride on!

Saturday, October 10, 2009

clouds

today, being another sunny and beautiful day here in south florida, i decided that we should talk about one of my favorite reasons to wake up before the sun goes down...clouds.
there are basically 4 common types of clouds. those being stratus (low clouds), altostratus (middle clouds), cirrus (high clouds), cumulus (clouds w/vertical development). here in south florida i've noticed we have mostly cumulus clouds which are basically puffy and look like floating cotton. this cloud group is pretty low, usually 350 ft. above ground, compared to cirrus clouds being around 20,000 ft. above, which from the looks of it now is what we have going on today and they generally mean fair to pleasant weather. these clouds usually appear to be thin, sheetlike in formation and often cover most of the sky.
actually, in retrospect and as i look to the west, there appears to be what looks like altostratus clouds which are usually made up of water droplets and are sometimes rolled out in parallel waves. the appearance of these clouds on a humid summer day, like today, usually means thunderstorms may occur. this is why south florida skies, in my opinion, are so unique. i've been to a few places in my time and although there are definitely other beautiful skies elsewhere, south florida definitely has some pretty specific ones.
i'm not really sure tho. i'm no meteorologist. i just enjoy looking at clouds and imagining that they're shape looks like a certain animal. its abit of magic that i retain from my childhood. keeps me young at heart.
here are some pics i've compiled. enjoy and look up every now and then...you might see something cool. or you just might decide i'm a fucking nerd. either way, you can't lose.






























Wednesday, October 7, 2009

R.I.P.

well the time has finally come when i have to put yet another pair of shoes to rest. this is no ordinary pair of shoes tho (i say this about almost every pair i put down). the thing is these shoes and i have been through alot in the 2 years i've had them. for one thing this is the pair of black slip-ons that made me decide i was only ever going to wear black slip-on Vans (i might sport a pair of all white classic shoe lace ones too every now and then, but mostly all black slip-ons).


i've had many pairs of these very same shoes and one day while sitting in front of the shop thinking to myself how i've owned so many of these very same type of shoes, i decided i was going to make the conviction once and for all of only wearing these type of shoes for the rest of my life (or for as long as i can help it).
what do you expect? i'm all about simplicity. i take pride in that. whats more simple than the same type of shoe forever? not having to fuck around at the store looking and trying on new shoes. "you got these in black in 8.5 or 9? BOOF i'll take'em! now lets get out of this shitty mall and get on with our lives", cos that's what i'd say. they go with everything. they're easy to clean. no tying laces involved. they're comfortable. they're classics now and always will be. great for bike riding (the rubber sole helps get your foot in that toe-cage, right mario?). they look sweet on my feet. what else is there? i'm into it. i've committed to this. can't commit to a woman or many other things but a pair of shoes...i'm in.
this particular pair and i have been through alot. where to begin? well, for one i remember when i first got them. it was on warped tour 2007. as part of that tour your allowed one pair of free shoes. these were my one free pair. i think deep down inside i knew then i wanted only to wear black slip-ons so i tried to get another few pairs (they were discounted) but they never stocked my size for the rest of that summer. what a bummer!


i had another pair that were on they're way out back then (see above photo) so i didn't actually sport these til after summer. (quick side and strange note about the above mentioned pair, they use to make my left foot sweaty. not so much my right but only my left. weird right?)
anyway, i've walked all through this north american continent in this most recent pair. they were with me throughout the first year of my apprenticeship. they were with me through my first year of riding a fixie too. these are milestones, man! suffice it to say i've had pretty sweet times in these shoes. i've also had some pretty shitty times in these shoes as well but thats just how it goes. all in all, i will miss them. but like all good things, and everything else under the sun, the end has come.
this is no ordinary ending tho. to me this particular pair of black slip-on Vans was so epic, i feel that they deserve to be inducted into the halls of Valhalla. i feel as if i should have a ceremony for them to be laid to rest, nothing short of a kings burial. like i should build a small boat and ship them off to sea and just as the tranquil waves are pulling them far from shore, i shall light the tip of an arrow on fire and shoot it up in the air so that it may come down into the little boat and burn this magnificent pair until it is swallowed up by the ocean's vast nothingness.
perhaps i will simply stuff them into a corner of one of my parents closets and resurrect them again one day when you least expect it. very much like Jesus, with a few minor exceptions. knowing me, that would be most likely what i'd do. although the boat idea sounds pretty cool and it'd be a good reason to finally drink mead.
either way, i have brought out my fresh new pair of black slip-ons, which i got about a year ago once again anticipating, what now seems like, the almost inevitable commitment of wearing this one particular shoe for always. they are new, clean and, like me, are primed and await new adventures. bring it on, sancho!!
so whatevers on yer feets...ride on, junkyard dogs!

Monday, October 5, 2009

day off today

today is my day off. so far its been glorious. tea at 7:30 am, 2 mile run and exercise, shower, breakfast, got blood taken out of me, went to the main library in downtown ft. lauderdale, some lunch, gonna do laundry later, maybe draw abit or work on my lettering, perhaps a documentary after dinner and then read some more Moby Dick before bed. damn!!! this is the life...the life of a fucking nerd that is. oh well, someone's gotta live it.


cafe con leche and toast w/cream cheese for breakfast. notice i spilled some coffee...i'm kinda messy. check out my mom's sweeeeet china. pimpin' in the morning, player! and i made the cafe con leche. that milk is frothed from the lil thing on the side of the coffee maker that heats the milk...thank you very much.


thats my mom loving her coffee and fine china.


this is patti, my brother's ex-wife. she's abit of a clown. i love her for it.


making a fist


and whammo!...ketchup anyone?


all done. the nurse was laughing at me and thought i was a weirdo for taking pics.


mid-day traffic


botanica/pet shop in front of hialeah schwinn. does anyone else find this as funny as i do? a one stop shop for all your santeria and pet needs, including sacrificial animals. in case you don't know what a botanica is check it out here. basically its a store that caters to the voodoo or santeria religion.

p.s. i haven't ridden my bike in over a week. i know...i'm the worst. i guess thats what happens when you get hit by a van and the flu in the same week.

Friday, October 2, 2009

Happy Birthday, Bapu!

today is Gandhi's birthday. he would've been 140 years old today had he not been assassinated in 1948. i personally believe he could've lived that long. his birthday in India is regarded as a national holiday and is also recognized as the international day of non-violence throughout the world.
he has always remained a constant source of inspiration for me and i've tried to make it a point to educate myself on his life, principles and struggles. if you have never done so, i urge you to do the same. you too may pick up something from Gandhi that you may put into practice in your daily life. that said, i leave you all with one of my favorite quotes:

"an ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching"
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869 - 1948)

peace, love and bike rides...