Nearly everything is packed, took me an hour. Now I'm starting to bring my stuff downstairs from my attic oasis. Next to load everything into my City Car Share truck. Then over to the new place to do a condition inspection, unload the truck and then wait for the Door to Door container delivery.
When the container arrives I'm then heading back to Alameda High Street to hire two day laborers. Stacey, my current housemate, is going with me to help with the hiring. Then back to the house to pick up a few final large items. Finally, off to the new place to unload the container. All this and then I take the truck back to Fruitvale BART, pick up Ike the Bike from Alameda Bicycle's valet parking (bike day care) and then take BART to MacArthur, my new station.
Off we go!
Showing posts with label fruitvale bart. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fruitvale bart. Show all posts
September 1, 2009
June 19, 2009
Morning Bike Ride in Alameda
This morning I was up at the crack of dawn because last night I lost my keys and I had to find them. They were in my hands when I locked up my City Car Share vehicle. Then I went to Alameda Bicycle to get my tires filled. From there I cycled home from Fruitvale BART. Arriving back at the house I went to open the storage room door to park Ike the Bike for the evening...no keys! I didn't fret. What's the point. They're only keys.
As soon as I opened my eyes this morning I called Alameda Bicycle to see if they found my keys. Nope. Okay, I pulled myself out of bed, put on my sporty biking clothes (what a nice change from biking in fancy business outfits) and started retracing my route back to Fruitvale BART. I figured the keys could be anywhere along the route or even on the fender of the City Car Share vehicle - hopefully.
Just a few blocks into my ride I stopped to adjust my seat and when I looked down at the ground - there were my keys! What were they doing on this side of the road? If I hadn't stopped I certainly would not have seen them. They were run over by a car and a bit mangled but most of them still work and just one was lost in the accident. Ah yes, another lesson in not fretting and just getting on with the search.
Took advantage of the beautiful morning and did some bike riding along the beach. Alameda is so beautiful.
This image got a bit weird because I moved the iPhone mid-shot. But I'm liking the effect.
June 6, 2009
Rusty Love
Hanging out at Alameda Bicycle in Fruitvale BART waiting for my City Car Share car to show up I took a little rest in the sun and was awakened by Rusty. Nearly every day I give rusty a little hello as I either drop off my bike for valet parking or ride by on my way to the train. Pretty much he just looks at me and that's about all. This time he nudged me as I daydreamed and then snuggled up to me for a cuddle.
April 24, 2009
What Would You Do?
Last night I was riding BART home from SF to Alameda. It was a crowded 8:45pm train filled with all kinds of folks, some gathered in small groups and others riding alone. As the train doors closed at the Montgomery Street station a man leaped onto the train and grabbed the overhead handlebar as we began to speed away. Nothing unusual here.
The man, who appeared to be in his late 20s, early 30s, was dressed in a suit but had a very strange behavior that was out of step with his appearance. As the train began to travel he spread himself out like a bird, using one foot to touch the ground and one arm to hold on to the overhead bar. He began to talk to himself and make strange facial expressions. Again, nothing unusual here.
As we reached West Oakland BART and folks began to exit, some of the seats opened up and he sat in a spot next to the door. He was surrounded by women of various ages, some traveling alone and others with friends. As the train doors closed and we began to move he started grabbing his face, bending over, swirling around, talking to himself and acting generally insane. All the women were looking at him curiously but no one asked if he was OK. I was a few rows away watching the scene.
Next we stopped at Lake Merritt BART and here he stood up, then bent down, crouched, stood, leaned out the door, leaned back in and then grabbed his face. Now he was green. Again, everyone just stared. Frankly, he was quite scary and I for one thought he was either insane or... I don't know what. The doors closed and then for some reason they opened again. All the women were staring at this man, waiting for his next move. I got up, ran out the door with my hand in the air to get the attention of the driver. Then I ran up to the front car (we were in the last one) where the driver was leaning out waiting for me. She was a very nice woman who wanted to know what was wrong. I told her that a man seemed to be going insane and was very sick in the last car. She called for help. We waited a few minutes until help arrived and then I ran with the officer down to the last car.
The train had now been stopped for about three minutes, very short time and an excellent, quick response by BART officials. Some people were looking out the doors but generally passengers were fine with waiting a few minutes - even if they didn't know what was causing the delay.
When the officer and I arrived at the final car there was already a BART official standing inside keeping an eye on the guy. A woman in a seat near the door looked at me with fierce eyes and screamed at me, "did you do this? Did you call the police? What is wrong with you?" Thankfully the officer said, "we are from health and safety, to arrest anyone, we're here to help this man." Still she screamed, directly at me, "how dare you have this man arrested, what is wrong with you?!? That man didn't do anything wrong!" (I noticed that during the entire journey this woman talked to herself and didn't look up from here lap.) I looked at her flabbergasted and said, "I thought that this man was ill and I was worried. My intention was to help him, not to hurt him." She was still furious with me.
The BART officials helped the man out of the car. He was green, sweaty and could barely walk. As the doors closed I sat down in the sick man's seat. The woman continued to screamed at me while a man tried to get her to back off and calm down. Now I sat amongst the women who were sitting around the sick guy. They started to talk. "He was very drunk. I'm pregnant and if he puked on me I would have puked too. What if he had gotten into his car and driven away? I knew he was going to get sick and I was afraid it was going to be on us. You never know with all the violence on BART what is up with someone. You did the right thing. Don't listen to that lady. He is going to get arrested for being drunk in public. He'll be put in a holding tank to sober up..."
I don't regret what I did. Working in a city you see mentally and physically ill people all around you every day. I suppose that this time I decided not to stand by. The one thing I could have done differently was to talk directly to the man to see if he needed help. My instincts told me he was dangerous - seemed like he could freak out. In reality he was drunk beyond his senses. I probably helped five women stay clean and dry. Perhaps I stopped a man from driving drunk. In the end I didn't let that angry woman get to me. She was scared by the presence of the cops (something to hide?) and took it out on me.
Just another evening in the City by the Bay.
The man, who appeared to be in his late 20s, early 30s, was dressed in a suit but had a very strange behavior that was out of step with his appearance. As the train began to travel he spread himself out like a bird, using one foot to touch the ground and one arm to hold on to the overhead bar. He began to talk to himself and make strange facial expressions. Again, nothing unusual here.
As we reached West Oakland BART and folks began to exit, some of the seats opened up and he sat in a spot next to the door. He was surrounded by women of various ages, some traveling alone and others with friends. As the train doors closed and we began to move he started grabbing his face, bending over, swirling around, talking to himself and acting generally insane. All the women were looking at him curiously but no one asked if he was OK. I was a few rows away watching the scene.
Next we stopped at Lake Merritt BART and here he stood up, then bent down, crouched, stood, leaned out the door, leaned back in and then grabbed his face. Now he was green. Again, everyone just stared. Frankly, he was quite scary and I for one thought he was either insane or... I don't know what. The doors closed and then for some reason they opened again. All the women were staring at this man, waiting for his next move. I got up, ran out the door with my hand in the air to get the attention of the driver. Then I ran up to the front car (we were in the last one) where the driver was leaning out waiting for me. She was a very nice woman who wanted to know what was wrong. I told her that a man seemed to be going insane and was very sick in the last car. She called for help. We waited a few minutes until help arrived and then I ran with the officer down to the last car.
The train had now been stopped for about three minutes, very short time and an excellent, quick response by BART officials. Some people were looking out the doors but generally passengers were fine with waiting a few minutes - even if they didn't know what was causing the delay.
When the officer and I arrived at the final car there was already a BART official standing inside keeping an eye on the guy. A woman in a seat near the door looked at me with fierce eyes and screamed at me, "did you do this? Did you call the police? What is wrong with you?" Thankfully the officer said, "we are from health and safety, to arrest anyone, we're here to help this man." Still she screamed, directly at me, "how dare you have this man arrested, what is wrong with you?!? That man didn't do anything wrong!" (I noticed that during the entire journey this woman talked to herself and didn't look up from here lap.) I looked at her flabbergasted and said, "I thought that this man was ill and I was worried. My intention was to help him, not to hurt him." She was still furious with me.
The BART officials helped the man out of the car. He was green, sweaty and could barely walk. As the doors closed I sat down in the sick man's seat. The woman continued to screamed at me while a man tried to get her to back off and calm down. Now I sat amongst the women who were sitting around the sick guy. They started to talk. "He was very drunk. I'm pregnant and if he puked on me I would have puked too. What if he had gotten into his car and driven away? I knew he was going to get sick and I was afraid it was going to be on us. You never know with all the violence on BART what is up with someone. You did the right thing. Don't listen to that lady. He is going to get arrested for being drunk in public. He'll be put in a holding tank to sober up..."
I don't regret what I did. Working in a city you see mentally and physically ill people all around you every day. I suppose that this time I decided not to stand by. The one thing I could have done differently was to talk directly to the man to see if he needed help. My instincts told me he was dangerous - seemed like he could freak out. In reality he was drunk beyond his senses. I probably helped five women stay clean and dry. Perhaps I stopped a man from driving drunk. In the end I didn't let that angry woman get to me. She was scared by the presence of the cops (something to hide?) and took it out on me.
Just another evening in the City by the Bay.
April 1, 2009
Survey Says: Allergies
Friday night I was sitting downstairs participating in a pre-Passover sedar and suddenly I felt a tickle in my throat. Was it Passover or was I getting sick? The tickled turned into scratchiness and it lasted for a couple of days. I dosed on Airborne thinking I could battle the cold before it hit hard. No such luck. Finally I bought some cold medicine which eased it a little but in the middle of the night I kept waking up choking for air.
Last night, while taking a cab home from Fruitvale BART, I was chatting with the driver and he said, "get Claritin, it's allergies." He was kind enough to drive me to Walgreens for no extra charge. The Walgreens generic version of Claritin helped somewhat but today I went one step further and bought Zyretec to see if that does the trick.
I am not the only person walking around coughing, sneezing and with watery eyes. The checkout woman at Walgreens says that people are really suffering this year. Believe me, she is the authority. This is a difficult year for allergies. They say it takes something like seven years living in a place to develop allergies and the funny thing is that when I previously lived in the San Francisco Bay Area I didn't suffer. Now that I've been gone for three years and returned I'm feeling it.
Last night, while taking a cab home from Fruitvale BART, I was chatting with the driver and he said, "get Claritin, it's allergies." He was kind enough to drive me to Walgreens for no extra charge. The Walgreens generic version of Claritin helped somewhat but today I went one step further and bought Zyretec to see if that does the trick.
I am not the only person walking around coughing, sneezing and with watery eyes. The checkout woman at Walgreens says that people are really suffering this year. Believe me, she is the authority. This is a difficult year for allergies. They say it takes something like seven years living in a place to develop allergies and the funny thing is that when I previously lived in the San Francisco Bay Area I didn't suffer. Now that I've been gone for three years and returned I'm feeling it.
August 1, 2008
Commuting by Ike
Today marks the official close of my first week at work. I've been riding Ike the Bike for a portion of my commute. The first three days I parked Ike at the Valet Bike Parking at Fruitvale BART. However, yesterday and today I had dinner dates in the Mission so I took Ike all the way into San Francisco, parked him all folded up under my desk at work and then biked to my dates. How cool is that?
I think I'm getting stronger at biking too. It is so easy to just tootle along since most of the ride is flat. Plus, I'm working my large Gluteus Maximus muscles which are no longer on a holiday. Since I have to carry Ike up the stairs at BART and various other places I think I'm developing some rather good shoulder muscles too.
By the way, my new title is Manager of Consulting Services. Really cool.
I think I'm getting stronger at biking too. It is so easy to just tootle along since most of the ride is flat. Plus, I'm working my large Gluteus Maximus muscles which are no longer on a holiday. Since I have to carry Ike up the stairs at BART and various other places I think I'm developing some rather good shoulder muscles too.
By the way, my new title is Manager of Consulting Services. Really cool.
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