adrian is rad

I’ve noticed that there are a number of instances where I use different prepositions when some other people use “on”:

• “on line”: e.g. “Where are you? I’m on line for the movie.” I say that I’m “in line”.
• “on accident”: e.g. “I bought two of the same thing on accident”. I’d say that I’m did that “by accident.”
• “on the…station” [I’ve only heard this once, I think] e.g. “We are now on [the] Civic Center station.” I would say that we are “at the Civic Center station.”

I find it strange that the language hasn’t converged on one usage by this point.

One month from today, my dad and I will swim from Alcatraz to Aquatic Park, San Francisco. I’m not quite as ready as I want to be, but I’m feeling pretty okay about it.

Because I’m a dreamer and after writing this (most of it accomplished in one day, without pain) I’m a little inspired to try the San Francisco Triathlon at Treasure Island in the sprint distance. As Saturday proved, I could probably do the cycling and swimming now. The running I may never be able to do, however, due to lingering knee-bone injuries. Maybe I should just plan on walking it. Or maybe I should just not do it.

I saw Man on a Wire last night. In short it’s a documentary about Philippe Petit’s illegal tightrope walking between the twin towers of the World Trade Center in 1974.

Can a 94 minute movie really fill those 94 minutes sufficiently? Yes. The answer is yes.

There are so many elements to this movie: it’s a thriller and a caper and an inspirational documentary all in one. Philippe is a fascinating individual. I was enthralled and I’d recommend it.

The top article on the front page of the Palo Alto-based Daily Post was the following:

New Homes Under $1M

I kid you not, an ad further down the page was:

Expert Birkenstock Repair

I really need to get out of California.

0.75 mile swimming, 13 miles biking, 4.5 miles walking.

Football: A friend got tickets to the 49ers v Packers preseason game last night. I’ve never been to an NFL game (and I rarely even watch NFL games on TV) that didn’t involve the Steelers, but this was still pretty fun.

Candlestick is an old relic of a stadium, but it’s got some charm to it, even if the winds are pretty chilly. The new Packers guy didn’t look great. The 49ers didn’t look amazing, but they were infinitely better than the Packers and won the game easily.

Also, there was a funny guy next to us. He and one other person tried to start the wave. It failed.

track: The men’s 100m dash was last night. Usain Bolt destroyed. He was so fast that with 20m left he was already showboating, his arms out and then pounding his chest. He was decelerating before the finish line and still easily broke the world record and won gold. It sort of reminds me of that Manny home run when he just admired his own brilliance instead of running. I’d like to see what he can do when he actually runs the race through.

swimming: You know what Phelps has done by this point. I’m pretty inspired and impressed. Incidentally, during the 3rd quarter of the above game, they announced that Phelps had won his 8th gold and everyone applauded.

I also realized that no Olympians look like normal people. Marathoners are stick thin and lack body fat entirely. Sprinters have quads that are bigger than my waist. Swimmers are triangles on top of smallish legs. Pistol or archery are probably the closest to normal people.

I’ll be posting a lot of my trip photos–and some older photos too–up on the collective photo blog over the next week or two. Check in there for new photos. Here are a couple so far:

You Go Girl, Brooklyn

Monk outside Snake Alley, Taipei

I’ve been watching a lot of the Olympics swimming. I like swimming and there are a number of compelling stories in there, including Phelps but also just the fact that world records are being smashed by everyone.

(Incidentally, if you haven’t watch the whole men’s 4×100 video it’s much better than just the highlights.)

One would think that the most efficient stroke would be the most symmetric, but particularly in the short distance freestyle these people (who obviously know what they’re doing) have very asymmetric strokes. They are much slower on their breathing side. I find that interesting.

I don’t know how to do this at all in one post. I spent the last 12 days in Boston, NYC and DC.

The best part was seeing people I don’t get to see very much. Everything else places after that.

Tourism and whatnot:

• New York Transportation Museum is awesome. It’s in a 1930s subway station. On the tracks are 20 or so vintage subway cars from across the history of the New York subway. It’s pretty great.
• Brooklyn Museum is pretty good. A decent collection but definitely a second tier museum
• Coney Island is a lot of fun. The Cyclone’s first drop is heart-stopping and the sliding cars on the Wonder Wheel are pretty amazing.
• Baltimore Orioles vs. Texas Rangers. We had good tickets (3rd row of the bleachers). It was a good game and Camden Yards is a pretty great ballpark.

Music and Film:

• My friend played backup as part of My Brother the Welder‘s first show ever. It was a good time. Good tunes and impressively precise for a first show ever.
• Lars and the Real Girl is an amazing movie. Touching and hilarious and awkward all at once. I really liked it.
• American Teen is a documentary following 5 people (and a handful of their friends) over a year at a midwestern high school. I found this very compelling and I was totally engrossed in each person’s stories. It also serves as a lesson in parenting–many of the parents in the movie just say horrible things.
• Shaun of the Dead. I managed to see this as part of an afternoon of TV. It was good, but I think I liked Hot Fuzz better.
• At my friend’s mostly-traditional Indian wedding, there was a really good dhol drummer providing a beat for dancing and the procession. It makes me want to learn yet another Indian double barrel drum.
• Other Music is a good small record store. I liked their selection and the people working there seemed pretty knowledgeable.

Food:
I ate so much food. Where to start:

• Hallo Berlin is still really good for sausage and fine beer.
• Patsy’s Pizza might have drugs in the slices they’re so good.
• Horace and Dickie’s is a fish and chips/ chicken shack that serves ridiculous portions for next to nothing around the corner from the Red and the Black (see below). I liked my crab cake sandwich ($4.80!) and their sweet potato pie was delicious.
• Three brunches in two days: because vacation is for overeating.

Pure ridiculousness:

• At a sports bar in DC on Sunday night, two guys were watching the PGA Chamionship. They were more into the sport than anyone I’ve ever seen. Our dinner was oft-interrupted by cheers or jeers. One of my favorite moments was near the end of the event: “FUCK! FUCK YOU, SERGIO!”
• On the 6 line in NYC, a 30-something black woman got on at one stop and proceeded to preach Jesus (in a pretty compelling and rousing style) for one stop. Then she sat down and read a book.
• While my friend and his girlfriend were disagreeing about something, I asked them if they were fighting. They responded that if they were fighting they would be yelling into each other’s mouths. They then proceeded to demonstrate: they opened their mouths wide, locked them together and proceeded to scream. I fell off my chair laughing.

Okay. That was the trip. Or some of it, at least.

dunkin donuts. I can’t believe that place exists…I don’t remember them being so ridiculously sweet.

continental still boards by row numbers. I mean, hello! have you heard of reverse pyramid boarding?

12 days, two weddings, with only carry-on luggage. we’ll see how that works out.