i want to share a gift from my parents with you. this is a picture my dad took of me sleeping on the floor. it was taken in october of 1976, so i was a year and a half old. today i turn thirty-five.

it’s taken years to implement, but now the future of public transit is here — or so i thought.

in the bay area, there are many public transit agencies and systems, and they all have their own payment systems. translink is supposed to the solution to this. you buy a RFID translink card, put stored value (“e-cash”), put electronic transit passes on it, and then use the one card on all systems.

i purchased a translink card at my neighborhood walgreens, and after registering it online, several days later it was fully functioning. i used it on bart, on muni, and on caltrain with little problem.

then on friday, january 29th, i tried using my card at the 24th Mission BART station and the card reader said ‘see station agent’. i tried multiple readers and got the same error. i eventually went to the station agent, who said my card wasn’t working and to call translink. i was running late, so i purchased a BART ticket and used it to get to my destination. later i called translink, who asked that i try holding the card to the reader for 5-6 seconds. i tried this with no luck.

i talked to translink again and determined the fastest way to get service back was to purchase a new card. i bought a card for $5 and called them back to have my card registered and the e-cash balance transferred. i then logged into my account on the translink website and didn’t see the card and couldn’t register its serial number. so i called back and they reset my account, so i could login and see the new card. i tried purchasing a fast pass on the website but that transaction failed, with a message asking me to call translink for resolution. i called in again and was asked to log out and log back in and re-try the transaction. i did so, and was able to purchase the pass and had translink verify the transaction went through while i had them on the phone. then i was told it would take up to 3 business days for the pass to go through.

i waited a few days and then tried my card again, with no success. at this point i am getting really fed up wth the whole thing. while adding value to my real bart ticket i missed my intended train and ended up being late. later i called translink and was told that there was no balance transfer yet, but that they would do that now and everything should be ok in the morning (after midnight).

today i tried my card today and again it did not work. when i came home later i called translink back. i was asked to call back in front of an add-value machine. at this point, i got on first-name basis with the support rep. i let them know how fed up i was getting, and that i just wanted them to tell me where to go and what to do, to get this resolved.

i walked quickly to 24th/mission, took bart to civic center, and called back in front of one of their machines. the girl i talked to was not available but i did not want to wait. i explained my predicament to this other person, and they only offered to mail me a new card. she said it would be quick since they were local, so i offered to drive to their office. not open to the public, great.

i asked if the new card would have my e-cache balance and my muni fast pass. the answer was yes. we’ll see about that.

so in summary, my original card stopped working with no explanation. i bought a brand new card, which has never worked, and it took translink several days beyond the normal processing time to get everything transferred and it still doesn’t work. and now i am waiting for a third card, to be sent to me in the mail.

here are some pointers i’ve learned along the way:

1. if your card stops working, call them immediately and have them send you a replacement card with everything transferred over.

2. if you talk to their support folks, do not let them end the call until you are completely satisfied. i literally called them 5 times, each time getting one specific task done, hanging up, and having to call them back.

3. have a back-up plan. a bart ticket with plenty of value on it. correct change for a muni bus.

4. if your card breaks, budget at least a week to get back into using the system.

if i receive this third card and it does not work, i vow to drive to their office in concord and insist on speaking to a customer service manager. i will also be writing up a letter to them concerning this pathetic follow-through.

zbigniew pik was a foreign exchange student from poland, who attended our highschool in indiana. we recently re-connected on facebook. he told me he bought a bunch of broken-and-repaired cameras and accessories in sweden. he sold a lot of it but had a few items left. he saw that i was shooting with a pentax 6×7 and had a waist level viewer for it. he sent it to me in a padded envelope — the one pictured above.

when i received it, i saw a lot of the address had been eliminated due to some sort of moisture on the sticker. it still found its way to me, thanks to human oversight in package delivery. when i opened it, i was surprised by seeing the WLF, and laughed. one of the few pentax accessories i don’t have yet. my system is one step towards being comprehensive.

i love seeing packages from foreign countries. what struck me most about this one was the stamp, which seems like nylon or some sort of fabric. it’s iridescent and very detailed — beautiful.

thanks pike, for the great gift.

a week ago i went to the annual folsom street fair, an event that draws a crowd of 400,000 people to vendor exhibits, food, demonstrations, live music, and dance parties. in the past i’ve gone to a friend’s house party, since he lives at the end of the fair site. this year, i had a very different experience.

i started my day with breakfast with a group of photographer friends, wandered through the fair with them with our cameras. i rendezvoused with my friends reese and frank, and later met up the party folks.

folsom is quite an eye-opener for the uninitiated. there is a lot of public nudity, bondage and leather, and spanking going on. it’s interesting in that private fantasy and behaviors are on display. you see a lot of extreme preferences.

i was out with two cameras, both loaded with arista premium. the 24×36 frames are from a canon ae-1 program shooting at iso 400. the wide frames are from a widelux f7, shooting at iso 200. all film developed in rodinal 1+50.

this was the scene last tuesday, as a few thousand citizens rallied at san francisco city hall in response to the court upholding proposition 8. i was on the steps during the initial speeches, just a few steps below the press photographers. i was there primarily to be a part of the crowd and to support the movement, but at times i felt like an embedded photojournalist.

it still feels strange to be to be chanting in protest, and surreal that i found myself again marching down the middle of market street in a huge crowd. this is going to keep up until same-sex couples regain the right to marry in california.

both shots shot on ilford pan f+ 50, developed in rodinal 1+50 for 15 minutes. shot with a widelux f7.

i’ve been home sick since wednesday. it was a bad stomach thing, possibly food poisoning. it reminds me of getting sick in mexico in 2003. this morning, i had some gatorade, took a shower, and got dressed. now i feel exhausted. ugh. i hate missing work, especially since i’ve been more sick than usual this year. but in my current state i don’t think i would be of much use. what’s a good way to rehabilitate one’s self after becoming weak/dehydrated?

i was driving down to san jose yesterday after work when i noticed my throat was real sore. i looked in the rear view mirror and, sure enough, my throat was super red. i had gotten a little worse through the night until it was time for bed, when i decided i should just stay home.

i haven’t been sick in a long while. i did take the opportunity to walk to the market to get some granola and yogurt, to recreate one of my favorite morning meals. walking back with my ingredients, i reminisced about my mom making fresh yogurt at home. i’d mix in some wheat germ and honey.

ryan and i have both been very busy lately with the new condo. figuring out where things go, making small repairs and touch-ups. replacing and adjusting bulbs and fixtures. trying to find some time here and there to relax. i guess i’ll get some relaxation in today.

i took this shot with our canon powershot g3. light is 50 joules through a large softbox, camera left. i like having a living room that’s plenty large enough to do stuff like this.

I’ve been kinda bummed lately, but OTHER PEOPLE ARE NOT HELPING.

At work, I’m standing in a short line in front of a cafeteria food station while the cooks are dancing around, making noise signals from one station to another, and burning items and messing up orders. I recently had something prepared incorrectly while I was the only one in line.

I went to a mall food court today for lunch, where I placed my order as one customer of many in a line that moved sequentially. They managed to somehow mess up the order of the dishes and I had to tell them whose plate belonged to which customer. I paid for my food but was still waiting for one last item. The girl behind the counter asked me IN SPANISH what I was waiting for.

Later today, hoping to get a predictable service, I went to a Starbucks in which the barista incorrectly prepared a Carmel Macchiato. I’m no barista, but I’ve had the drink enough times that I know how it is made. Shouldn’t someone employed by Starbucks know the procedure better than a customer? After all, I haven’t read the training manual. (Didn’t they just retrain 135,000 employees?) About three years ago I challenged a Starbucks employee who misconstructed a drink. They dug up an employee manual to confirm the procedure — and I was correct.

Maybe it’s not me. I feel that somehow (and lately), everybody is just not caring. I mean, is it difficult to warm a hamburger bun on a grill without completely charring it? Is it difficult to keep plates of food in order? What about following well known, published directions?

I know it is not my job to police, educate, and train the masses at large. But when I am dealing with stresses of my own and need some predictable, reliable services, where can I turn to? You do your job, and I’ll do mine.

well, it’s happening again two years later. our landlord is selling the property we’re in.

i already know what it feels like to have a bunch of random people walk through your place with their dirty shoes and their attitudes. . . .

but this time, our landlord didn’t give us the schedule in advance. i had to look it up myself, only to find our place will be open for 6 days out of the next 11, including even open houses.

:(

i’m sore, badly sunburned, and mentally exhausted. but i’ve had an interesting and productive weekend.

so i’m helping build this hen house.. well, it’s more of a chicken condo.

saturday, boman and i poured over books (including ones specifically covering the care and raising of urban chickens), and collaborated on the design of a hen house. a full featured structure, it will include two nesting boxes with easy access, a roosting bar, plenty of room for storage, and multiple windows and doors. doors for humans and chickens.

on sunday, we purchased all our materials and rented the necessary equipment. interestingly, spent roughly 1/7 the price of a pre-made chicken coop. before it got dark, we mananged to build a level floor, a back wall, and framed in the other three walls. we also did some preliminary yard work to prepare a flat area for the house to sit on.

we got some great ideas and help from the folks at discount builders in the mission district – that’s where we ended up buying our build materials. we rented an air compressor and two nail guns from action rental. one of the guns jammed badly, but with some careful disassembly, we managed to unjam it. that burned a good few hours of daylight.. but hey. these things happen.

so there you have it. us two computer nerds managed to start from a book and some ideas, to a framed structure large enough to stand up and move around in.

i’ve posted pictures in the urban chickens set in my flickr account. there are also pictures of the chickens from saturday breakfast.

IMG_2289.JPG
Originally uploaded by Jason Schlachet

on this long weekend the lot of us went to spices ii in the richmond. even after choosing less-spicy fare, this restaurant’s spices plagued me for a good twenty-four hours. i think i’ll pass on the next opportunity. i still find it amusing that popular chinese restaurants have such bad service. for example, as we sat down a waitress poured tea in front of me but a lot of it spilled onto the table and i jumped back. she looked at me, laid dropped a napkin down onto the mess, and walked off. she never poured tea for anybody else and never attended to the spilled tea. what is that?

on sunday, ryan and i decided on a late dinner at chez maman. we waited quite a while, but ended up talking with a couple outside the restaurant. they live down on indiana street, not far from us. they’re foodies too, with tastes similar to ours, so we had a good time trading tips.

monday was a bar-b-que at jonathan and adrian’s. the picture is our grillmaster for the day, galen. monday’s weather turned out to be glorious. we had yummy grilled greek fare and great company.

unfortunately for me, the day ended with me gouging a chunk of rubber off my front passenger-side tire. i misjudged the curb trying to park on folsom street. it’s hard to keep your cool when you do something stupid with a car full of friends. anyways, ya.. the brand new tire. it dampened my mood for the rest of the day, despite picking up a pair of new balance 992 shoes. those are comfy! i purchased new balance on the recommendation of the podiatrist i saw. got that task crossed off my list.

after such a social weekend, work feels like a different world again. i have lots of things to wortk on now: photo project, replace the tire (i’m afraid to drive on it), replace windshield (crack is growing again).. and with the new apple desktop coming, i’ll be upgrading the home networking to gigabit speeds.

today on my day off, i also got another significant task done. i went to a podiatrist.

i did a little research in finding on on san francisco. the financial district foot & ankle center came recommended. my experience there lived up to the reviews i saw. very strict scheduling (which i love), very friendly. they emailed me the new patient forms, which i brought with me 15 minutes before my scheduled appointment. the doctor was right on time and the session lasted just as long as they estimated.

doctor park made several observations about my feet, the way i walk, the way i put pressure on my feet, etc. she’s suggested two things for me. the first, is physical therapy to help correct my walking. the second is orthotics; they had enough time in the schedule to get the casting done today, so i will be able to pick them up in three weeks. the combination of the two should help me dramatically. she also suggested what kind of shoes i should be looking at for my particular feet. i’m very pleased overall with my appointment. i would definitely recommend their office.

i’m glad to get this rolling.. everybody’s been telling me i should get orthotics. literally, even my hair dresser has given me a hard time about it. at my next haircut i’ll tell bethany the good news :)

new bike. i’ve been slowly working up to riding regularly. last week i went on a couple short rides. this week, another more strenuous ride. today i biked up the pennsylvania ave hill, zig-zag down to 17th over to the UPS building (where they were cooking dinner on a large BBQ outside their warehouse), back down 16th to 3rd street then home.

i ended up finding an bianchi eros at a discount, since it was an ’05 model, from the good folks at pacific bicycle.

so i have this credit card.. the APR is stuck at an insane percentage but their website is decent and the limit is high. i’ve used it for large purchases i pay off quickly and keep the card around for emergencies. though now i’m wanting to change it out for something slightly less insane.

i made one recent purchase on the card for $1136.11. i called yesterday to see if they could lower the APR but was told they “proactively” monitor accounts for offers and changes and couldn’t do anything for me over the phone. i was surprised, since my credit is at its highest score ever (according to their own website) and i’ve paid the card off in full for quite a while now. fine, i wanted to cancel my account. only my last transaction hadn’t posted yet…..

today it’s posted, so i called back. i was told there would be an “estimated close out” of $1170 and that paying the balance over the phone would cost $14.95. what?! first, it’s great to not even ask why i’m closing the account. second, not being able to realize my current balance is silly. and trying to squeeze a few more dollars out of me.. nasty. what a great way to say, “well screw you for leaving us!”

so i’m paying this card off in full right now online and will have to wait for that to clear. then i can call them a third time to close the account. i am really looking forward to it.

finally saw the movie sidways. sigh.

this weekend was very active.

we went bike shopping with john. ryan and i may buy bikes soon. looks like we’re both eyeing steel-frame road bikes. ryan’s eyes are on a surly. me? probably a bianchi.

at the suggestion of my coworker chris, i went down to santa clara early on sunday to check out an electronics surplus sale. i picked up a bunch of goodies, including a wire-wrap board labeled “tactical control and status”. i found some new items that would go well with this vintage-electronic series i’ve got going.

also managed to make a few open-houses, to re-wet our feet. one place we saw, the entryway reaked of urine and the place was not that great. on our way out, a car was coming down the alleyway but had to stop because there was a guy laying down on the street. and once we were on our way out of the alley? we noticed this place was just around the corner from 1015 folsom. ya, no on all accounts. no wonder it was listed cheaply. i dont think i’d even rent it.

sunday we returned to bike shops to mull things over, test ride some bianchi bikes, and discuss our thoughts. on the way home (wayyyy out of the way) we stopped by irving to shop for monday dinner. cooking indonesian again, new dishes (straits-inspired) this time.

some of my friends, and my mother too i think, laugh when i say this. but tonight, we have to clean our place. why? because our house cleaner is coming tomorrow. that’s right, we clean our place to prepare for the house cleaner.

let me put some context around that.

the individual who cleans for us came with recommendations from multiple friends of mine. i was at a place and time in life where i wanted to have someone clean for us. you know, stuff you don’t like doing.. like the bathroom, mopping the floors, etc. all the dusting.

on one hand, our cleaner is very anal-retentive. he cleans everything and leaves no item untouched. we come back to find things arranged neatly. maybe a day later we realize all our kitchen toys are sorted. or the vase full of corks is centered on the counter.

things like that. on the other hand, our cleaner is very picky. there are certain things, which he does not do. he does not do dishes or pick up our laundry. he won’t pick up all the photography toys if they are scattered about. he will certainly not clean graduated cylinders and stained development trays. he’s just not our parent.

which makes sense, if you think about. if i’ve disected a camera shutter on the table, would i even want someone messing with it? i should also be able to pick up after myself to some reasonable degree. who wants to deal with my dirty clothes? sure, there may be dirty surfaces in the house but he will approach them with the appropriate liquids, powders, and tools. there’s nothing between him and unclean other than the solution.

a few times we were slacking off in our pre-cleaning and it merited a firm message from him in email. i felt so bad because of it. he laid out very plainly what he does and does not do. and he said he was sorry, but that’s just the way [he] works. on another occasion, things got worse. he left another nastygram, more stern than the first. he basically quit on us because of it.

i will admit, we had crossed the line. we had moved from the place where we started subscribing to his services. the new place was smaller, more difficult to take the bus to, and was easier to mess up. for days, the dear john email he sent stayed in my thoughts. for much longer, actually. so much so, that after he eventually returned to service our place, we began our ritualistic pre-cleaning.

in preparation, we put everything away. we clear the floors. all the laundry is put where it belongs. all the toys are put back in their boxes or shelves. the wine bottles on the floor are put on shelves. all the photography equipment makes its way to the second bedroom. the burke and james camera is reset with all its accessories and tripod to its display mode. the desk is cleared of all mail and papers. all the empty containers are put in a bag for recycling. even the laptop is stowed in its bag with its cables.

i now live in a small, but measurable fear of our house cleaner. we have a schedule now, so we know when to expect him. and the day or two before his arrival, i get so stressed out and preoccupied with making sure our place is ready for him.

so that’s why we frantically clean before the house cleaner comes.

i have been on the lookout for ghost towns.

i decided to take a few days and go exploring. on wednesday i drove down to the town of barstow, california. all day today, thursday, i went around exploring. i took my car off-roading on some pretty ragged dirt roads. my car is filthy! it was so much fun.

i have my two big camers with me. on tuesday night i finished making a lens board adapter so i could fit technika style lens boards on my burke & james 8×10. i’m finding a couple of my 4×5 lenses have enough coverage for the larger format.

i’ve been shooting down here.. not so much, but having lots of fun. polaroids, 4×5, and 8×10. it is so hot and the days are so bright, my film is too fast for what i need.

oh, i came across a place called “Dunes”. it is about 5 miles out of town, west i think. i think, because the compass in my car doesn’t know where to point. anyways, there’s this big road-side sign that says Dunes. behind the sign is a couple short palm trees. behind the trees there is a driveway and 5 boarded up shelters. what is so weird about this, is it exactly what a nightmare i had looks like. i discovered the Dunes site last night, and when it was getting dark i actually got spooked. as in, i felt scared to stick around there.

i went back today to go shoot it. i got a shot of the sign, but the sun wasn’t right to shoot the shelters. i came back later in the day, but there was a guy there. i guess he lives there. i didn’t want to mess with someone living in an abandoned building, so i took off. that place really creeps me out.

i’m disappointed i didn’t shoot the buildings themselves. they really remind me of my nightmare. i have at least the sign.

i’ve learned today that you shouldn’t judge a building by its appearance. just because the place is sealed, completely wrecked, boarded up, or otherwise behind a fence, that doesn’t mean someone doesn’t live there. barstow and surrounding area is littered with such places. some places i would have guessed were long since abandoned, had it not been for vehicles parked out front.

anyways.. there’s a 60% chance of rain here tomorrow. i will head back north.

here’s my list from the trip so far:
- i need a hand-held gps device so i can mark locations and return to them. that, and tell what direction i’m headed!
- need the windshield replaced on my car. a rock hit it and made a big crack. the crack was growing about 1cm/hr on my way down.
- car dirty filty. washie washie.
- i need to make a new lens board adapter. this one won’t last, and i love having shorter lenses for 8×10. 4×5 seems small :)
- if jason goes to the desert, remind him to bring slower film.

this weekend was fun. i think.

here are some random bullet points:

- shot some portraits of ryan and made contact prints the following morning. i still have some sheets to develop, other poses i’m anxious to see.
- saw a concert up at the warfield. up because it’s north from home.
- talked to my director at work. formulating a response. he must know it already. i am both impressed and disappointed. but i think we both understand.
- realized i am quickly running out of rodinal :(
- local photo shops do not carry ilford delta in 8×10, but they do carry txp320 and it did REALLY well for portraits.
- enjoyed more “la lacie” beans from zimbabwe, my favorite ever.
- i’m in denial that a police officer wrote a fix-it ticket and put it on my car at 3 in the morning. both the ticket and i were soggy later that morning.

here are some non-bulleted points:

tomorrow is lunch with one of my favorite coworkers.
we have a good amount of wine that needs to be enjoyed
i have an embarassingly large supply of refridgerated delta 100 in 4×5.
i’m cooking peruvian food for dinner tomorrow.

i should make some resolutions.

and..

don’t forget..

every day is a special occasion.

today i was contacted by a guy named adam. he started school at purdue university and was there for only one year. he lived in wiley hall and spent time in the computer lab downstairs.

the interesting thing (besides the fact that he now does sound work on major hollywood pictures) is that he remembers me and the little interaction we had in 1994. he looked me up and tracked down my AIM screen name and got in touch with me. i wished i had remembered him better – but he knew the guys i met and befriended that year. and me helping him out with vi.

it’s neat to run into people that way. we both live in california now, though 500 miles apart. we might have exchanged as many words today than we did back then ;-)