at least its still in one piece

Let me start by saying I had a reasonably enjoyable weekend, especially Friday night. Finally watched 300, so I can keep up with all of your “This is Sparta!” conversations now. Dinner was simple, flavorful and gratifying. Blowfish afterwards was well…too much fun. Barry told me he was spinning so I notified random people without any real expectations. Tru surprised me by making an appearence; she sounded sickly over the phone but she looked glamorous in that green slip on. A genuine show stopper. I’m bored and thirsty so a decanter of Nigori is ordered and is shared among Sunny, Barry and Myself. When Haw arrives another is ordered and split among the rest of us plus Tru, her friends and Ryan. Eric and Michelle arrive, then Jen followed shortly. We start drinking heavier vodka, Ryan’s signature AMF, gin & tonics, beer, you name it. I meet Carol and her friend Crystal, we start chatting and I find out that not only is Crystal a more popular name then I’ve once imagined but she is also from Hawaii. What are the odds?! Get this, she’s Japanese, and Irish. I get to tell the other Crystal next week. What a crazy world. The night ends as Paul changes his mind and comes out with his friends. I’m sure more people made it out, but I can’t remember at the moment. I was pre-occupied. Crystal and I decide it’s late so she ends up shuttling me home, since Sunny took off early. Poor thing got lost going home in the morning, I guess I was still drunk giving her directions.

Here’s where things take a plunge into the unexpected. It probably was bound to happen sooner or later. There’s a saying, “There are two types of riders; those who have fallen, and those who haven’t fallen yet.” I’ve been a proud member of the latter until this past Saturday. Long story short; a big black SUV is making a turn then stops in the middle of the path. I freak out and grab my brakes hard. They lock up, and the last words out of my mouth were “OH SHIT!!!!” my last thoughts were about my wheel, carbon fork, ultegra shifters, and frame. I was convinced they were gone. As my left hand absorbed the impact it bent and twisted my handlebars in the process which saved my shifters from further damage. My body was then catapulted into the rear door. Coming down, my right side fell and struck the asphant. My shin is compressed into my frame and my upper right arm/shoulder absorbed the remainder of the impact.

bent handlebar and scratched shifters

Getting back up I realized I had no broken bones. I was disoriented, angry, happy, and a whole mixed bag of feelings. I was angry about what just happened, yet I was happy that I was still alive and my bike looked ok; the wheel still true and unbroken, tire looked fine, carbon fork intact, frame solid and it still looked like a bike. We just waved the guy on and was just glad it wasn’t worse. I didn’t realize my handlebars were completely warped, my bar wrap cut/split and my shifters moved until we started to ride again. I can deal with replacing the handlebars, a couple hundred and it’s a excuse to upgrade to more carbon fiber. I’m just glad I’m walking, although the feeling has just returned to my left index and middle fingers, there’s a nice welt on my right shin and my upper shoulder, arm, and clavicle area is sore. Could of been worse.

Sucks for you guys, I’m still alive!!!

-Wallace

spoiled my dinner

After salivating through picture after picture of decadent, alluring and I’m sure quite delicious food on Chezpei.com I rushed out to the hot dog stand by Layang Layang. Two dogs, wrapped and packed in my Timbuk 2 I was on my fixed gear back home to devour these savory culinary creations. As I arrived home I grabbed what I thought the Heinz squeeze bottle and squeezed a line of what I thought was ketchup. Much to my surprise I squeezed a perfectly straight line of Nestle Nesquik chocolate syrup. What?! How?! Oh. Fuck. - Sounds horrible right? It sure didn’t look too fantastic. To my shock it didn’t taste half bad. Although I’ll admit I wouldn’t do it again and I certainly will not recommend it.

The Gods weren’t done with me just yet. Oh no. The weather looked great and I was itching to ride. I geared up and set out. Wow was it ever windy; cross winds and head winds were abundant. Anyways there is a pretty gnarly drop on Sand Hill Road as you leave Woodside and head into Palo Alto. I’m tucked down, keep a steady cadence and have Mighty Crown pumping through my ear canals, however for some reason my mouth was agape and a lost bee found its way in. The bee was probably as scared, confused, and terrified as I was. I spat it out immediatly but was horrified and unsure if my tongue would swell to the size of a grapefruit. My mouth tasted like pollen and only God knows what else that bee landed on. Woodside is full of horse stables so use your imagination. The pollen was enough to send my allergies into some kind of allergic fight or flight response. I sneezed, my eyes itched and I was miserable until 3 claritin tabs ’saved my life.’ Those of you who are opposed to chemical healing are maniacal. I love my drugs.

That’s it right? No. Although I have no one or anything else to blame for this, we went to I <3 Yogurt after Santana Row. I had a craving, I can’t explain it. In my haste I did not realize they offered a child size, I went ahead with a small cookies ‘n cream and chocolate. By the time dinner came around I had no appitite. However…froyo hit the spot. Screw real food.

I rule.

So did ANYTHING good happen today? Yes. After 3 months tinkering with this Garmin Edge 305, I FINALLY got the thing to work on Motion Based. I can now overlay my cycling maddness onto Google Maps. Pretty cool don’t you think? I think so!

-Wallace

running on 4 hours of sleep

What a weekend!!! Heavenly food, nectareous Guinness, gorgeous women, provacative conversation, sterling laughter, stories to tell and memories that will last a lifetime. That’s mine in a nutshell.

A fantastic 72 hours among the best of friends.

Cheers,
Wallace

PS. I was searching for “Gochi Pictures” and came upon Chezpei.com - Although I’m no stranger to food blogs this one is different; Pei takes pictures of EVERYTHING(and you thought I was obsessive), then writes about it. Sushi, Gochi, Zuni, Hakka, Dosas and Fillet-O-Fish; we might share the same taste buds! It’s almost 1am and I feel malnourished. She makes & eats everything! I’m reading and turning green. How fitting for St. Patrick’s weekend. ugh.

For some odd reason I had a lucid vision of a pure white Porsche turbo dumped on dished wheels with a bright pink face over the weekend. I told Yih about it, and he made it happen. He even added a Hello Kitty sticker! *sigh*

What a week, I’m not even sure how I’ve gotten this far. I guess it’s a bit obvious that I’ve been really absent minded due to recent events. A few people have mentioned my distant disposition lately and having Tu tell me this yesterday over gelato in San Francisco was the kicker. Yep…I’ve been really out of it. Life has finally gotten to me: relationships, friends, family, people in general and even my orange car. (How could a $30 part cost $1000 to install?! ABSURD!)

Albeit recent developments I’ve gotten quite a bit accomplished. Just fingers crossed and hoping things work out in the end. Actually…I’m more then positive things will work out. Just maybe later as opposed to sooner. I’m fine with that. Patience, after all, is a virtue. Looks like I’m going to have to learn it. Doesn’t mean I won’t have fun along the way.

Oh…I also got the ugliest Dunny ever today. Look at this thing!

Paneristi have a tradition of photo documenting their new Panerai arrivals. Since I had the camera out, I figured I might as well document this ‘Dunny arrival.’

-Wallace

Birthday wishes out to Crystal, Jill and Grant.

The last two weeks along with this week has really taught me that I place a much higher value on time then nearly anything else. Although I’m not afraid of making mistakes, hard work, wasting money, doomed ventures, failed relationships, and essentially starting over; I am afraid of losing time. For time is the one thing one really can not make up. I’ve found myself to be more critical of what I do and who I am involved with lately just because I want to optimize every remaining moment of my existence.

That being said, I’ve been so caught up with life, work, relationships in the last couple weeks that I’d like to apologize to those of you I could not be there for. Tu, Jonathan, Ryan, Barry, Jeff, Tam and Melinda…I’m talking to you. I received an unexpected note from Melinda earlier this week on ‘fobby‘ (as she calls it) stationary and it brought and unexpected smile and a moment of calm to my otherwise frantic week. The caricatures made me laugh as I really don’t know what they are, I thought she drew them in herself at first, they look filled in by pencil. I can’t help but think this is part of some ‘get well’ package she picked up somewhere, all the animals have bruises and diapers(?) on them? Strings, stars, a moon and what looks like a slug. Despite the eye capturing stationary there was an message attached. Without going over all the details, I brought a selection of cakes, pastries and confections from my favorite bakery to her place this past Christmas. Her mother enjoyed them so much that she made her way down herself and with the exception of wedding cakes and catered events, obtained the most expensive receipt I’ve seen that place crunch out! Reading this and the other contents of the note reminded me to take a breath. relax. and recompose. I needed that, Thanks Melinda.

So I should be focused right? No, not really…I’m just working my way through this fog, and I can’t wait for this week to be over and done with. Although I’m excited about what next week has in store, I’m going to have to get past this week first. Come to think of it…a visit to that bakery won’t hurt. There’s a piece of cake, a lemon bar, chocolate cup or a fruit tart with my name on it!

-Wallace

PS. Many of you know I’m very particular about architecture, furnishings, design, and automobile modifications. In other words I won’t buy the first house I see and won’t put on the first set of wheels that crosses my path. I think it’s pretty clear when I say I’m a fan of practical minimalist modern design, an orchestrated symphony of warm wood and industrial steel, however going back and reading this I, myself, am confused. Bottom line is I’m very finicky with things I actually have to live with: architecture & design, vehicles & modifications, furnishings, artwork, and of course women. That being said, I stumbled upon Joe’s new video, and the director has done an excellent job of capturing my essence in the shoot. The clean, angular lines with the floor to ceiling windows, a seemless pool, the suspended atrium like walk ways that make up the house. A warehouse or a airplane hanger for a garage, and although I’m a Lamborghini fan, I can’t help but deny that if I were to order a Ferrari F430 Spyder…that is exactly how mine would look like. Ebony paint, on rich, dark black leather trim and sitting on massive semi-gloss blacked out wheels framing those colossal rotors and bright silver calipers. Delicious. Love it. (oh…and check out that bum…wow!)

B7 Audi RS4 Avant w/Black Package & Ceramic Brakes

For you that have known me long enough you will know that among the last things I tolerate are people proclaiming items better in foreign lands, typically where they’re from, and how the same item here is crap. My usual response is a very tongue-in-cheek, “Why don’t you just go home?” I can go on and on about this, but I won’t. However if you did grow up here or have lived here for an extended amount of time you must have realized that we end missing out on many things. Why do we always want that of which we can not have? Anyways, I am just going to touch on three subjects that I am passionate about, but I’m sure there are items which you want or miss that can not be had here.

Vehicles - Ever since high school I lusted over the Honda Integra Type-R. Why? To be honest, I really have no clue, except that it was the pimpest of all Integras, and when I grew up Civics and Integras were the must have car. I’ve only recently come to realize what a car that is, however when the ITR touched our shores it was a watered down version. This all too familiar story goes along with my european car fetish at the moment, I wish we were able to purchase the Audi RS4 avant, BMW M3 CSL, Pagani Zonda, Renault Clio, Mercedes SLK 55 Black Version, Morgan Aero 8, TVR Sagaris, among others.

Threads - We have many talented designers here, but what makes stuff across the pond so desirable? Why are we willing to pay absurd amounts for the likes of Bathing Ape, A.P.C., Clot, Head Porter, Neighborhood, Staple, Visvim, Number (N)ine, Crooks & Castles, Supreme, etc? I guess we all have a desire to be different, but in doing so…we’re all the same. Regardless, these companies across the pond are doing many collaborations resulting in some pretty cool stuff. My favorites, as some of you know - Head Porter, Nike 10AC - Carl Uno, and the Burton Iridium line.

Food - This is probably the one item I am most passionate about, cuisines from all over the world tempt me. If I could I would absolutely travel the world for a year in search of local cuisine. Although I like travelling plenty as it is, the one thing I crave for is the local cuisine. Street market food in Taiwan, China and HK, early morning fish market sashimi in Japan, fish tacos in Baja, Peruvian seafood, Morocaan small plates, etc. Believe me, I can rant on for days about this.

This is just speculation, but living in the United States seems to be a privilege, at least that’s what society wants us to believe. Many car manufactuers view the United States as a challenging market and even if they break in they have to deal with California and New York’s emission standards. After running with Aristokrat Couture for some time, I’ve come to realize making it here is not so easy, in fact it’s down right frustrating. Cuisine? The Bay Area is a niche, the only comparable market in the US is Manhatten. The diversity and quality that the area offers can not be beat. All this boils down to it’s damn hard to run a successful and profitable business model in the United States, that being said, we’re our worst enemy. Open trade, embargos, regulations, by-laws, environmental standards, quality of life, etc. By making our nation a better, stronger, and more politically correct unit, we in turn have successfully and unintentionally talked ourselves out of many items and services that some of us would actually like.

So, why don’t I move? I am actually ready. However, I find the diversity and complexity of the Bay Area just so much more fulfilling. Although I would like to have an RS4 Avant as a method of transportation, I am willing to sacrifice many things for the quality of life this area provides. The weather is generally fantastic, the people are pretty interesting, there are enough vehicles to choose from, there’s no shortage of clothing here, and the melting pot of food is unmatchable. I’m ready to move to a distant country for an extended amount of time, however I can not fully imagine leaving this area forever. Shanghi might have the largest Louis Vuitton store in the world and tomfool delicious chinese food however I doubt I can stand the superficial/materialistic mentality of the general population and the day someone pumps my steak with water is the day I throw a fit in a restaurant. I consider myself very open minded, but where I am not just spoils me. It’s great, I’d rather travel more frequently.

This flat grey is just sex. This car’s interior actually has orange accents, yet another Europe only option.

-Wallace

ps. Happy Birthday Brooks - Sorry I missed the shindig.