Day 305

Day 305 in the real world awoke quietly.

Birds chirp, grey skies send cloudy light into the pickup cab. My shift starts at 11. Phone says it's 10 and I lie for a minute, just soaking in the stillness. Check email - still rolled up in my sleeping bag - nothing.

Morning truck shuffle. Pillow to the corner, flip sleeping bags to dry. Drop the tailgate open to a rubbery thud. Hang up my damp towel with clothespins. Whatever San Francisco did last night must've been crazy, cause the streets are empty. I hear a single car's tires rolling up 5th Street. City's still asleep.

Breakfast sounds good - something warm. Noodles? But I just had D&A on Clement for dinner last night, and don't feel like walking into Chinatown. I decide to go halfway, to my favorite Japanese curry place on Kearny. It's still closed (damn, knew it!), and I spot a Subway around the corner which'll do. At least it's cheap. Spicy Italian, OJ, and yogurt, ahhh. Breakfast of champions.

The Chron photo lab is calm. No one's been in yet since I left last night. My chair is in the middle of the room, where it rolled when I got up to leave about 3:30am. Drop backpack, plug two batteries into the communal charger.

Pigeons coo on the windowsill. Fog murmurs down alleys, mist hissing on pavements. More tires hum down Mission now, and a fire engine blares.

Don't wake up yet, San Francisco, I just want to have this quiet to myself a little bit longer.

Happy new year.

Day 275

Ship sailing halfway
around the world. It's cold here,
and it's cold there too.

Day 268: All Quiet on the Western Front

Not much to say when things are going well.
You savor it, knowing it can't last long.
Bliss is fleeting.

Day 257

Sleeping in the rain
inside a truck or a room,
sounds just as sweet.



I know, missed a syllable.

Day 251: still truckin'

Last 2 weeks in list. Too much going on!

1. Gotten cold enough in SF that I'm using my second sleeping bag now. Thought my original bag was supposed to be rated to 20 deg! I guess that's if you eat right before going to bed.
2. Russell showed me a secret shower at the Chron. Thanks man. It's not hot....just cold-to-lukewarm. But it's a shower.
3. Got Droid. Makes being a photojournalist so much easier! And yet not.
4. Underwater hockey. Played 2 games, I'm addicted.
5. $3300 saved up in my account. $3260 going to a housing and ports. Cause the Eddie Adams folks said to just get the shit together and shoot. Shoot underwater, shoot marine bio. Do what I came to do. Dance with the girl you came with.
6. The parable of horseshit, by Mike Dougan.
7. Neverending yogurt. Now that it's colder, I was considering keeping some milk in my truck (in a cooler) for breakfasts. Then Kimi told me that in Japan, his mom made homemade yogurt. Every morning they'd eat it out of a jar, leaving a little at the bottom. Then pour fresh milk in with the leftovers. Let it sit at room temp. Next morning, new yogurt! Repeat. Sounds like it could be the perfect truck-living food. Will try this soon.

Day 234: the sequel

My first day interning at the Chronicle was Fred Larson's last day. Fred was a 30-year veteran staffer, and local moon-legend. When I walked in, he said, "Oh, you must be my replacement." Ouch. All I could nervously mumble was, "Uh, um...I doubt it".

It wasn't mean-spirited. He said it in a good-natured, joking way that made obvious he didn't want to leave, but understood the times we live in. It still sucked. As I learned workflow, I watched Fred turn in his gear and keys, have a few last yucks with photo staff.

He had a knot in his throat when he said goodbye, smiled at us interns, and turned quickly for the door.

A couple days later I got the keys for my (temporary) gear locker at the Chron. It's Fred's locker. Fuck me.

Won't or Can't?

On the first day of photojournalism class, Kobre said: "Those who succeed in photojournalism are the ones who either won't do anything else, or can't do anything else".

When I first started on this path, I was definitely in the "won't" camp. Some days now I'm starting to feel like I'm in the "can't" category.

But that's a good thing...right?