...and amidst a flurry of firefox tabs...

...i emerge unscathed and ready to apply my laser-like concentration to yet another blog entry! please make sure you are in a seated position, as this is sure to be a wild ride!

berkeley. town of bicycles, raggedy beggars, vegetarian cuisine, gardens thriving with succulents, and a nearly textbook example of gentrification. i live on the unfortunately named "bonar" street, which trails off from university avenue, the road that leads to berkeley university, a magic garden with little bridges over bubbling streams and big concrete structures of learning nestled within the thick canopy cover of massive trees. aparna works there on her philosophiae doctor, and so does becca, although in different buildings.

bonar street is a humble stretch of pavement that miraculously enough betrays nothing phallic. the people who live along bonar street are of many different backgrounds. there are hispanics, indians, asians, blacks, whites. in particular, our building is of the black/white/hispanic persuasion -- an appropriate mix of the most populous demographics in our nation. oh, and my roommate "man" is chinese.

recently, some of the black people in our neighborhood are often noisy, blasting music from their cars, hanging out in our parking lot smoking weed and yelling. but i think our landlord, a middle-aged apprehensive white man, talked to them, and that may have something to do with the peace and quiet we at apartment C have been blessed with the past few days. i really hate singling out a particular race before i blame people, but it is true. i give everyone the benefit of the doubt, regardless of how much melanin their skin holds. and further, this is not a "cultural difference", because whatever culture people come from, disrupting the peace is not acceptable. i only write this defense because i must assume the reader is a scrutinizing judge of my character.

i bought a road-bike from a pothead shaggy-haired dude who i found on craigslist. the frame is yellow-green, the wheels thin, the handlebars jutting out like the horns of a water buffalo, the seat an original brooks. the ultimate hipster bike. refitted with a kryptonite lock and a sleek cat's eye LED light. i rode it to work this morning and experienced firsthand the bumpy adventure of riding a road-bike on a cracked street. it's like riding a mountain-bike over the craters of the moon.

i am a seasonal cashier at elephant pharmacy on shattuck street in berkeley. elephant pharmacy is a hip natural pharmacy that sells both over-the-counter medications and preventative herbal remedies. everyone there is pretty much happy, a lot like everywhere in northern california. i mean, how can you not smile when your commute passes colorfully painted houses with huge cacti and flowering trees bursting out from their yards?

i plan to do many things. among them:
-finally create that creative work of art i've been dreaming about
-read lots of books that will make me more well-read
-improve my japanese by working through my textbook from my school in hokkaido
-get real good at cooking japanese food
-make some friends outside of the duke group, however much i love them
-make a name for myself as an off-kilter eccentric writer who posts his stuff for free around town and reads strange poetry at open-mics

the last has been my dream for the past six or so years. everyone needs to dream. it's healthy for the soul.
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