In progress

In progress
Originally uploaded by altoloco.

Seat's off, tank's still on. We were going to take more pictures but got too involved in the project. More next round.

Ants

Hey.......could we do that again? I know we haven't met, but, I don't wanna be an ant, ya know? I mean, it's like we go through life with our antennas bouncing off one another continuously on "ant" autopilot with nothing really human required of us. "Stop," "Go," "Walk here," "Drive there." All action basically for survival. All communication simply to keep this ant colony buzzing along in an efficient, polite manner. "Here's your change," "Paper or plastic?", "Credit or debit?", "Do you want ketchup with that?" I don't want a straw. I want real human moments. I want to see you. I want you to see me. I don't want to give that up. I don't want to be an ant. Ya know?

-Waking Life

Ants 1
Originally uploaded by altoloco.

Another shot from Friday night. I love this sculpture, it's right in the middle of a 3-way intersection in Rosslyn. Any ideas for how to get a similar shot in the daytime with all the people walking by?

Route 66

Route 66
Originally uploaded by altoloco.

Went out for a walk Friday night after spending the evening with Minkus. Took this from overtop the tunnel you drive through right before leaving Virginia.

Minkus and I ripped the bike apart, drained the tank, checked the carbs, charged the battery. Little more work and a bath and she should be back in business.

Asinine

So Minkus and I were trying to figure this one out. The problem: my motorcycle has been sitting dormant for the past 2 years (I know, I know, a crime against humanity but drivers around here are utterly insane and I'd prefer not to test my luck). So in the interim, the gas in the tank (and carbs) has most likely turned into sludge. The mission: to clean the ol' sumbitch out and get her running again.

So, most people know that you can't dispose of petroleum products the same way you'd, for example, dispose of cooking oil. What most people don't know is how one can go about safely disposing of these materials. So, of course, I hit up the ol' intarweb in search of answers. And what I found disturbed me. The results came back with all kinds of less-than-helpful advice to the effect of, "Never dispose of gasoline or motor oil in your normal refuse, contact your local dump or waste processing center for disposal." Some specific searches for places in Fairfax that do this processing came up empty.

So now, my confusion is this: if it is so imperative that we not throw out gas and motor oil willy-nilly, why in the name of Zeus' butthole do they make it such a pain to do so safely? At the very least, they could make it easy to find places that will do it (not to mention the fact that often you have to PAY to have it recycled). It just seems bass-ackwards to me. "Hey these are dangerous waste products that absolutely should never be introduced into the environment, so let's make people jump through hoops to have them recycled properly." Asinine.

For the record, it seems that some gas stations will accept gas for recycling. Of course, I had to find this out by calling around to a few different gas stations...

On a happier note, can I just say that the Italian Store has the most ridiculously tasty subs ever created by the hand of man? If any of you ever feel so inclined to bring unimaginable joy into my life, the magic recipe is: "Large Capri on soft, no hots, no onions, extra sweets, and mozz." Boo. Yer. Kasha.

Cambio

I've had a lot on my plate the past several weeks. Had a few things I should write about in-depth up here but just couldn't work up the motivation.

A couple weekends ago, I spent the afternoon with Minkus and Megan playing disc golf for the first time (good stuff), then had the pleasure of joining them for a delicious dinner, followed by a fun-filled night of developing B&W prints. Some of mine came out really decent and it's pretty exciting to have shots you actually are proud to show off.

Then last weekend, my cousin Kennard got himself hitched. Congratulations to both him and Lauren (and Lauren, welcome to our [crazy] family)! Right now they're honeymooning at some warm beach whose name escapes me at the moment. All in all a most excellent weekend. The service was very nice, my liver got quite a workout (if you know our family, you understand), my great uncle scared us all to death when he started choking at dinner (he's okay now though, thank goodness), and Sam and I were in *top* form at the reception, if I may say so.

At this point, I must let some (most) of you in on a little secret...

I am moving to California!

That's right, you heard me. West coast, baby! My head's all over the place over it right now. I'm excited as hell for the opportunities this move will bring, but I am constantly being reminded of all that I'll leave behind. I'm taking a job with my buddy Dave's company and it sounds like it's going to be a really great environment to work in. But at the same time, it's going to be hard leaving my current job, and especially all of the awesome people I've gotten to know and work with this past year and a half.

This, of course, is not to mention leaving my entire family and everyone I've ever known 3000 miles behind. I must give credit to my parents for raising me to be as independent as I am, so I feel little anxiety about making such a transition, but I know it's going to take some adjustment on my part. Leaving the safety net behind is a necessary step, I think.

The job starts Aug. 1, which seemed like forever in the future when all this happened but it's coming up really quick. The current plan is to roll out of NoVA on the 14th of July and take my sweet time driving cross-country, which should give me a few days to get settled in LA. This time is going to fly and there is a ton to do between now and then, but I'm pumped.

Not sure if posting this up here is a good idea or not, but I think it's only fair to anyone reading this that I share my big news! And now, it is bedtime.

Inevitable

Those of you who know me know that I'm a bit.... meticulous about keeping my apartment clean. You also know that I'm a bit of a klutz. So, here I was, about to sit down at "my" "new" G3 iBook (now running Ubuntu Linux) and type up my sixth epic blog post. I had my topic all ready, a glass of Merlot poured, and the computer half-way out, when I noticed the glass of wine was half-way en route to the floor. Unsurprising, to say the least, except perhaps for the fact that it took this long for it to happen. I paused for just a moment to put on some music and briefly considered taking pictures of the damage... what can I say? Ars has me well trained.