just go for happiness..

a couple of things should be brought to light:

#1.) i’m coming to seattle from january 7th-18th. best be ready for me to sleep at your house and watch you when you’re sleeping. my main goals while there are: punch the space needle; hit a golf ball off of a mountain; and ride a bike down a big hill with no hands (with or without sparklers, depending on what is available).

#2.) i’m coming to san francisco from january 18th-31st.  brace yourself for me wanting to ride a trolley whilst leaning out the side; walking from one end of the golden gate bridge to the other and back again; taking my shoes off at yosemite; and organizing a really awesome game of capture the flag.

today i made ginger ale and creme soda.  both are awesome and both are christmas presents for my grandparents.  a few years ago, i made them this really terrible mulled cider that i never once tasted.  so i have some ground to cover for my soda making rap.  my last root beer was really, really good.  i’m making eleven bottles of ginger ale and eleven bottles of creme soda, so if you want some let me know and you have have a bottle for free.

today i also remembered a few things.  first, i love living somewhere that i can walk to the store once again.  this is a huge deal to me.  in wisconsin i had to walk about 20 minutes to get to the store; boston was a solid 30 minutes.  but i needed a few thing from my soda (turbinado sugar, raisins, a lemon, and a vanilla bean), so i grabbed my book and took a quick walk to the grocery store.  i think that i’ll always want to live within walking distance of a grocery and a library.

in walking to the store, i remembered something else i love: reading while walking.  this afternoon was spectacular – a kind of watery light lit everything.  it was late afternoon and the sun hung low in a crowd of thin clouds.  i get in my own world when i walk and read.  i’m very aware of cars, mud, and puddles.  but i definitely start reading at my house and, almost instantly, i find myself at the store having covered five or six pages.  same on the way home.

but while i was waiting for the crosswalk to change, i glanced back to see a rather tough looking guy peddling his BMX hard towards me.  since most people can be real jerks, i expected him to tell me to get the fuck out of the way or somethin.  rather, it went something like this…

Dude: [nods] ‘Sup?

Me: Not much, how you doing?

Dude: [still peddling] Good, you?

Me: Great!

Dude: [moving past me] Nice to hear.  Have a merry christmas!

Me: [confused] Yeah, you too.

it was  awesome to have someone not be a jerk when i expected them to be.  but it was a completely friendly exchange with a complete stranger on a BMX bike.

i also found this yesterday when i was looking for a digital recorder at best buy – left behind: eternal forces.  “the antichrist is coming” and you “conduct physical & spiritual warfare : using the power of prayer to strengthen your troops in combat and wield modern military weaponry.”  awesome.  if only they made it for mac…