I worked the graveyard shift this morning.

At 3:15am I saw a SFPD officer run by my building, baton drawn, sprinting down/up (direction is rarely a sure thing in San Francisco) Geary .

Curious, I walked outside to find a police cruiser blocking the cross street, the trunk open. I walked up to the cop sitting inside to find out what/where/why, the explanation being there was 'a situation' a block away.

As I walked back to the building, the person who had been rummaging thru the open trunk of the cruiser rushed past me.

The heavy backpack the cop was now wearing was almost taller than he was, his flak jacket clanking as he sprinted down/up Geary.

In his hand was an automatic rifle, a tactical version of the AR-14, no chrome showing as everything on it, including the magazine, was painted flat black to eliminate reflections.

About 20 minutes later, the cruisers in the area screeched off, signifying an all clear of sorts.

I doubt I will find out what happened, as unless someone dies, what happens in San Francisco never makes the papers.
----
At 8am, I got off work and walked down Hyde street, picking up an early edition of the Sunday paper to check out the after-Christmas sales.

The air was coldly crisp and laden with moisture with a fog-like haze covering the city. It tasted sweet and clean as I took full breaths.

The Tenderloin, with its tall old buildings and fire-escapes on the sides reminds me of the Upper West side of manhattan. A good number of the shops, deli's and laundromats were open for business, which surprised me.

Quite unlike New York, which on Christmas morning is always a ghost town, eerily quiet without the usual rumble, horns and people, with even 24 hour places closed and no traffic.

I made a detour from my usual route home to get something from the Safeway. Open 24 hours, but closed on holidays apparently.
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When I got out of the Chruch Street underground streetcar station, the newspaper vendor had a mechanical santa blowing a trumpet. Cute.

That rated a Merry Christmas.

Normally, a spoken 'Merry Christmas' or 'Happy Holdiays' from me, feels like forced holiday cheer, so I avoid it.

Today I didnt.

It felt unforced.
---

At 10 am, I walked down to the Mission District, close to home, where to my surprise, the local stores were all open, from the donut shop to the fruit stands to the grocery stores.

People have to make a living.

I picked up a roast chicken and other sundries and walked home to catch some sleep...


My first Christmas day in San Francsisco.

An offering

From: "thunder-dog"
To: SFFN@yahoogroups.com (San Francisco Freecycle Network)
Date: Fri, 24 Dec 2004 18:19:56 -0800
Subject: [SFFN] Offer: The Holiday Spirit


I realized I have received quite a bit of extra Peace & Happiness recently and this seemed like the place to pass on.

It wasn't new, and it was a little dinged up when it was being given to me, but when I received it, it shined right up when I paused a moment to appreciate it. It seems to have grown while I had it and I hope someone else out there can use it, or if they get to much they can freecycle it.

Peace
Namaste
Blessed Be
Amen


T-Dog

And, it's free even.

Tish, tosh Mac

I had never used a mac until I started working at AOL in 1995. That's where clint and i met sitting next to each other supporting Mac clients.

One of the ongoing things between us is that he is all about Macs, while I represent the forces of the Dark Side.

(Not exactly true, as i went on to become a cross-platform computing consultant for businesses that used both macs and pc's.)

With the advent of OSX, I felt the need to get back into it. Plus, nowadays, having a mac is the 'in' thing to have.

Now, thanx to him, i have a mac again.

He thinks he will make me a total mac head.. :)


McClint: what have you named your iMac?
McClint: every true mac user names their mac something other than the default "Joe Pennant's Computer"
JPennant: *sigh*
JPennant: Julia
McClint: hehehe
JPennant: so Im weak
McClint: are you just pulling a name out of the air to make me happy or did you really name it that?
McClint: HAHAHA
McClint: one of us! one of us! one of us!

JPennant: I can see you dancing around the room. *grump*
McClint: juuuuust relaaaaaaax
McClint: don't tense up
McClint: dont resist
JPennant: its even got a cute icon for the hard drive now
McClint: oh yeah
McClint: it's all coming back to you
JPennant: well, its been traumatic as a mac owner
JPennant: my first one, I hardly used
JPennant: the second one blew up
McClint: the laptop?
JPennant: yup
McClint: but you havent been the owner of a brand new mac, have ya? always second-hand?
JPennant: i am a mere mortal
JPennant: i cannot afford a brand new mac
JPennant: well, i could back in the flush days, but i couldnt justify it
McClint: yeah it is a tough goal to attain

Actually, i named my Dell laptop Oscar, but i didnt put a cute icon for it on the desktop.

I did put a white Apple sticker on the lid.

Its a Mac thing. ;)

cryptic announcement

UPS ARRIVAL SCAN

Dec 22, 2004
9:20 P.M.

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA, US

Status: In Transit -On Time
Scheduled Delivery: Dec 23, 2004

Shipped to: SAN FRANCISCO, CA, US

Note: Your package is in the UPS system and is on time with a scheduled delivery date of Dec 23, 2004.

The screen, boss! The screen!

Ahh, its just another piece of the puzzle ive had to wait a long time for.
------
Another xmas present came care of Kodak today.

One of the 200 free copies of the lateDon Blair's last book on Portrait photography they gave away recently.

Righteous. :)
----
Today's horrorscope sez:

There are some things you earn in obvious ways and other things you earn in not-so-obvious ways. But you can bet that any gifts you receive now are well deserved.

Sho' you right.

One of the ooh pretty people

JPennant: hey mars, got my mac :-)
mars: yay
JPennant: :-D
mars: early xmas?
JPennant: yup
mars: which mac?
JPennant: an imac dv
JPennant: clint had it lying around, sent it over.
mars: very cool
JPennant: yeah, he really loaded it up for me
JPennant: ironically, i feel like im back in sync with the rest of the world :-)
mars: hahaha
mars: why?
JPennant: well, i like macs, but i couldnt get my hands on one, and it seems like everybody else is jumping to mac land, while Ive been using them for years.
JPennant: plus, i think i felt frustrated because i couldnt get started on alot of my desires and plans without a mac
JPennant: 2 years worth of frustration
mars: and now you can get started?
JPennant: yes

JPennant: heh, cant stop playing with it.
mars: lol
JPennant: so pretty
JPennant: hee hee
JPennant: <--- making the icons dance in the dock, back and forth, back and forth
mars: lol would you stop! hahaha
JPennant: :-D
JPennant: you cant say you dont do it too :-P
mars: heehee shhhhhhhhh
JPennant: heeheehee

Too toasted to think duhrr, eh

I had coherent thoughts earlier, but because i was feeling stressed (the Great Flood in my apartment, the buttards at Bed Bath & Beyond wasting my life, making the mistake of giving a shit about work and coworkers and one who sold me a shitty memory card, walking around SF's shitty mall, my feet killin me..), i felt the need for an alcoholic drink tonight.

why i then picked a sweet raspberry cider from canada instead of a good raspy beer, I couldnt tell ya.

Eh.
--------
Let see,there was some rant about Borders in there..

Expensive? Sure.

Charging the suggested retail prices on DVD's and calling it a sale? Priceless.

Like the Black Adder boxed set for $109.00??

somebody is smoking the wacky baccy there.

AND they didnt frickin have the DVD sets I wanted, eh.
------
An audacious thought entered my head as I perused Ebay this morn.

"Whoa. THAT cheap? Maybe. Nah. But, I really could. Can I? Ooh, maybe I just can. should I?"

G: nice!
JPennant: extremely
JPennant: this beast was 3 grand when new
G: wow!
JPennant: so, by february, i may get it
JPennant: who am i kidding
JPennant: by february, all things go well, I WILL get one.
G: there you go!
JPennant: :-)

Ahh, thats just Canadian raspberry likker fueling the bravado.
___
Its foggy and chilly here in nor*cal.

But compared the wet and cold sweeping through the east coast (even florida) and the midwest, this is not so bad.

Although it was colder tonight in juneau, Alaska.

Must be the canadian alcoholik raspberries doing its job and making me feel toasty...
-----
Clint, is the man.

Date: Sat, 11 Dec 2004 11:36:09 -0500
Subject: Merry xmas buddy
From: "Clint Mc"
To: "Joe Pennant"

UPS tracking # 1Z3WX8060374xXXXX

Estimated delivery date: Dec 20.

:-)

And so it came on the appointed day...

JPennant: woohoo!
McClint: hehehehe
McClint: is Habib your pseudonym? :-)
JPennant: now i definitely need to score a router
JPennant: and order the DSL
JPennant: the UPS is on its way
McClint: very cool
JPennant: yes, verily :-D
JPennant: thanks man
McClint: HO HO HO
JPennant: ((((manly hug)))
McClint: hey now! stop grabbing my ass!
JPennant: wasnt me :-)
McClint: hahaha

Again, its the canadian likker talkin, eh.
------
Heh, I was too knockered to post this last nite,, eh...

Sox, underwear and destruction

The first paycheck, being a short check, was designated for essentials only.

Naturally, i bought a bunch of computer schtuff first. So, Im waiting for a santa claus dressed in brown to bring me a laptop screen, notebook CD burner, a Uninterruptible Power Supply and USB reading light. (What? that's essential. Ive wanted one since i saw fred obsessively using hers, plus i type in the dark a lot...).

So, anyway - theres enough left over for items on my christmas wish list - a coupla DVD's and ... Total Annihilation.

Yes, as regular readers know - that game is jinxed for me.

But i want that game. It brings me peace, blowin' stuff up.

So when the screen arrives from Butte, Montana (my first ever e-bay purchase), I can waste time effectively.

However, speaking of jinxes and destruction - I need to go buy some socks and underwear.

Why? Well, apparently merc retrograde is still running amok, i rolled out of bed yesterday to go to work, I stepped into water on a floor that had been bone dry a mere hour before.

It seems someone's bathtub down the hall had backed up and flowed out into the hallway and under my door, ruining a bag of laundry and other things (My diego garcia print! Ruined by water damage! Aaaargh!).

I tossed the clothes and everything that was sodden out. It was mostly t-shirts, underwear and socks that was bachelor-old anyway, so it wasnt that much of a loss. But they are essentials, so theyve gotta be replaced.

Eh, new boxers are always good. And wool socks for the winter.

And, Total Annihilation. :D
---