First Day.

Not much time to write tonight, but I'll say the first day was great.  Just like a "grown-up" job: my own semi private cubicle, direct phone line, computer, no sign in sheets.  We are actually treated like responsible adults in this division.

One of my pet peeves about management in the DMV Field Offices is that they treat everyone as if they were an errant child needing to be kept on a short leash.  I suppose the system has been abused in the past and that is why this style of management has evolved, but it feels really demeaning to be treated in this way.  What a relief to be moving on from that mind numbing environment.

Everyone in the training division seemed bright and committed, a fun group of real people.  I think this is going to be a very good experience.  Certainly a step forward.

After work, I returned to Dolphin Manor.  This was the first weekday she had been parked in the Hallmark Spot and I was pleased to find her unharmed.

Here's a funny story.  I went to the local Whole Foods Market and as I was checking out, the cashier insisted that he knew me.  I thought, no way, he is just mistaken, I just moved here.  But he persisted, saying that he had been on a commercial drive test with me in Mountain View and further, he had failed the test!  He even mention my hat, so he must have been legit.  I still did not remember him - but that would not be unusual.  Small Frickin' World!  I'll have to make sure he doesn't short change me in the future!

Oh well, it's off to the gym now. Time to prepare for another day.  Tomorrow will be the first rehearsal with the West Sac Community Orch.  We'll see what that will bring.

The Beat Goes On.

Incident at City Suds

On my downtown wanderings last week, I stumbled upon what seemed to be a uniquely comfortable laundromat, City Suds at 19th and L.   It was spacious, with cafe tables, free wifi, ac outlets, big screen tv, snack machines, microwaves and a restroom.  Plus it was laid out in an attractive manner with the machines in a kind of "S" formation rather than then usual box shape.

So, when I decided to do some laundry today in preparation for my first day at work tomorrow, I sought this place out.  Things seemed to be going fine, the lady who was attending the place even brought out a box of free doughnuts for the customers. How homey!  I had my laptop out and was working away as my laundry went through it's cycles. Then a couple of homeless (or nearly homeless) guys came in. Both seemed on the edge, but decent enough.  They began to talk and as it turns out, the night before, one of them had been drunk and had gotten robbed.  Another tale of woe!  I needed to use the restroom, and although I had concerns about the safety of my laptop, I left it unattended on the table.  Thankfully it was there when I returned.  My trust in humankind was confirmed, at least for a brief moment.

As I worked away, one of the guys wanted me to look up on the internet a number for "Crime Stoppers."  It seems he had witnessed a crime recently and he was looking for a way to cash in with a reward.  I saw no reason not to help out the guy and found a number.  He then pulled out an ipod and mentioned something about downloading some music.  I'm not sure if he was offering some music to me or if he wanted me to download some music for him.  I just told him, "I don't mess with that stuff...."

Well, he plugged his ipod into the wall to charge it and when he wasn't looking, a third guy came in and stole his ipod.  Of course, minor mayhem ensued.  All kinds of yelling and cursing.... The third guy was apparently known to all parties, including the laundromat attendant.  It turns out I am not the only one attracted by free wifi, microwaves and alternating current; this is a bit of a hang out for the local low lifes.  I am sorry for the guy who lost his ipod but feel very fortunate I did not get ripped off!  I surely could have been a victim had that guy come in a few minutes earlier.  My laptop was unattended and right by the door.  How stupid am I?  This is a city, dummy! OK, in the future, the laptop goes to the bathroom with me.

I didn't actually see the the theft occur as I had my back turned, but I was later walking around the neighborhood, and saw a guy who fit the description to a T.  He was drinking with some buddies in a vacant lot on L Street between 21st and 22nd. As I strolled back to the laundromat, I saw the guy who had been robbed and I couldn't resist telling him that I had seen the thief.  For a nanosecond I even considered offering to be his back-up, but thankfully thought better of it.  He then took off running.  I am not sure what the results were, but I did my part to rile things up.

I am not sure if that was the right thing to do.  The sad part is how ethics erode with desperation.  It's an age-old story.  These are all probably decent people underneath, but when you've got nothing, you've got nothing to lose. And you need to get by... you commit desperate acts.  That's my 2 bit analysis.

Yep, that's life on the road.  Incident at City Suds.

Night on the Sacto Town

Ok, first thing I have to do in Sacto:  stop wearing cowboy shirts.  One of the by-products of my thrift store obsession for all things Western, Southwestern, Cowboy, Native American and National Park has been a new found fondness for pearl snap cowboy shirts and western wear in general.  Well, now that obsession must end.

Last night I happened upon a street festival in downtown Sacto.  I think it is something that happens every second Saturday of the month. There were art openings and bands playing in the streets and other venues.  I saw three bands representing three different genres:  Rockabilly, Alt County and Emo/Indie Rock.  Oddly, they all wore more-or-less the same uniform; a plaid pearl snap cowboy shirt and blue jeans.  The only difference were the shoes.  Rockabilly = pointy, Alt County = hiking boots, Emo = Chuck Taylor's.

Now, when I wear a cowboy shirt, there is a touch of irony (at least I am aware of it), but in Sacramento there is no irony.  Going forward, I must approach the pearl snaps with caution.

Most of the art I saw was not very interesting:  that gimmicky crafty type work.  I did see one really good painter, though. Pretty straightforward landscape material, but very dark and moody, yet with touches of real light.  Very dramatic and emotion laden, considering it's just a farm house and some hills.   Nice work.  It reminds me of someone else, but I can't place my finger on just who.  I guess that's a good thing.

The other highlight of the night was a hot dog from Capital Dawg.  Good stuff.  Nicely grilled with a crunchy skin, grilled onions and spicy brown mustard.  This place may become a habit.

One interesting observation about Sacto is that I have seen more deaf people signing here than anywhere else I have lived.  It started when I noticed a group signing in the local Starbucks near the Hallmark spot.  I thought maybe there was school for the deaf nearby or something.  But then last night at one of the music venues there was another fairly large group signing as well - who knows maybe their hearing was fine but they just wanted to have a civil conversation over the music?  No, I don't think so, as they seemed completely ambivalent towards the performers... And then again this morning, as I write in yet another Starbucks,  there is a couple signing.  Who knew Sacto was the deaf mecca?  That's one bit of unique local charm.  If Justice is blind, maybe this is an indication that the State Government is deaf?

On my way "home," driving the rental car (a conspicuously new Mazda SUV), I passed by the homeless encampment just to to the west of 16th Street and Avenue A.  I made a loop around the block, and, man, it was truly scary!  As mentioned before, numerous groups of people are camping on the street here.  On this night I saw a group of men huddled around the open hood of an RV and other groups passing the brown bag, but many were already under their blankets, lumps doting the sidewalk.  Several vans and few RVs, obviously lived in, were lined up by the curb. There is a very visible and active community here, but clearly not for me.  In the dark it took on a hellish hue. Were there fires blazing in oil drums or am I super imposing that cliche image on my actual memory?

By contrast, the deserted street on Hallmark seemed pristine: nice clean concrete.  I did see a woman walking a dog, though.  This seemed really out of place in this semi industrial neighborhood, but I'll take it over the denizens to the west of 16th.

Oh well, that's life on the street.  Take it where you find it.  Dogs welcome.

Good Bye Mtn View, Hello Sacto.

Well, it has happened.  I have left Mountain View, presumably for good.  Well almost... (more on that in minute).  The last week at the office was full of hugs and tears, but it really was a nice send-off from everyone at Mountain View.  Tuesday we had a mega pot luck in my honor.  Special kudos go to Sabrina for arranging the party.  Everyone made their special dishes and it was quite a feast, from lasagna and chicken enchiladas to shrimp salad, roasted chicken, chicken wings, mint rice pilaf, salad bar fixins', marshmallow pistachio jello salad (believe me it was great!), mint chip ice cream cake, and a special "GoodBye Jeff" cake.  Not to mention all the chips, dips, cookies and sodas.  Yes, it was quite a feast indeed.  We had left-overs for days, which were extended when Cheryl brought in some Spinach dip to sop up with the left over bread.

Monday night was my last night working-out with the Stanford Judo Club.  I didn't announce that I was leaving until the end of class.   When I mentioned it to Raul (the head coach), he announced it to the class and there were some warm goodbyes.  It was nice to feel appreciated by the students there.

But throughout all the festivities, I was dealing with getting the Subaru fixed.  I was sure the insurance company was going to try to wiggle out of paying for the full damage - since the school maintains that they hit my car going "0 miles per hour."  But...  I must say the insurance company, State Farm, surprised me and actually accepted full responsibility.  Their claims adjustor came out and wrote up an estimate that included more work than the body shops had originally quoted for me.  Although there was some initial reticence and "coolness" on State Farm's part,  once they had their adjustor's estimate and pictures, they accepted full liability and their customer service has been just great.  They are paying for a rental car while the work is being done and when I explained that I play double bass and need to transport the instrument, they agreed to pay for an SUV.  So far so good.  The Subaru should be ready by next Saturday, so the plan is to pick up the rental in Sac today and use it for work during my first week at DMV HQ, then drive it down to Mountain View on Saturday to pick up the Subaru and give one last good bye to the old neighborhood.

The last day of work was generally uneventful, although Sabrina and Marie put together a really nice gift basket with a book of Crossword puzzles (lol), a nice framed picture of us four examiners, and various and sundry travel-sized toiletries (perfect for the RV!).  And... Sandy made two peanut butter pies in my honor.   For the original pot luck on Tuesday, she had asked me for suggestions on what to make or bring.   I suggested the pie, but (as people often do) she steered the suggestion process towards what she already had in mind to bring:  salad stuff.  So I said, "Fine, salad sounds great!" But... in the end she did make the pies for the last day.  It was a nice send-off.  Hugs all around to all the staff....  It was (is) a really nice office.

Then 4:30 came around, and I hit the road, Jack.   I had a few stops on the way to get out of town, and made Sacto by 8pm. Stopped by the Safeway and saw the same security guard (I think his name is Jim) and said, "Hi."  Then to the Hallmark Spot (as my spot on Hallmark between Ethan and Howe shall hence forth be known).  Once again, no incident.  Strangely deserted, except for the one large RV that has been parked in the same spot for at least a month now.  That's a good sign.

Today should bring the rental car, a trip down to Berkeley for Parents Weekend at Audrey's Co-op, and then I'll return to Hallmark.

Life on the road. TTFN.

Back to Mountain View.

Finished the weekend in Sac without incident.  The neighborhood I've been checking out is just north of the city, near Arden Blvd.  Specifically I was staying on Hallmark Ave, between Ethan and Howe.  There is one other big RV parked on the block.  I believe it has been in the same place since my first exploratory probe two weeks ago, but it seems to be vacant.  There is another RV around the corner on Ethan.  That one seems to be actively lived in.  There is an actual "RV Park" at the end of Ethan, so that may be a resource to empty my holding tanks and refill my fresh water, which I seem to need to do about once per month.  All in all, not too bad of a spot.  It's about 15 mins from work, 1 mile from a 24 Hr fitness.  Whole Foods, Safeway and Trader Joe's are all within about a 2 mile radius.  Not quite as convenient as Mtn View, certainly not as picturesque, but workable.

My second night in Sac I went to Safeway to pick up some juice.  It was getting late and I was hoping to get in before closing.  As I pulled into a parking spot, I saw a security guard approaching me.  I thought, omg, here we go again, shades of the 24 Hr Fitness Parking Lot Nazis - I guess RV's are not welcome in Sac!

Well, as it turns out the guy just wanted to ask me some questions about the Dolphin, as he was thinking of buying a similar RV.  We started to talk and it soon came out that we were both from Santa Barbara and went to the same High School(!) - but he was 10 years behind me, so although we wouldn't have met, we knew all the same hot spots.  Small World.  I kept trying to pull away to get into the store, but he just kept jabbering away. I finally had to insist and got in just under the wire - the store clerk was standing at the door, keys in hand, and she informed I had just 3 minutes left to shop!

The trip back down to Mountain View was not without incident however.  It was Easter Sunday and I had made arrangements to meet with my brother Bart, his family and Audrey at Tilden Park in Berkeley.  I had set a meeting time  that would allow for me to get down to Berkeley, pick up Audrey and get to the park.  Bart insisted on moving the time up a couple of hours.  I tried my best to meet the new time schedule, but as it turns out, try as I might,  Audrey and I got to the park just at the original time on the nose.   By then Bart and family had wandered off, and we could not find them.  Oh well.  Audrey and I had a nice time together, although we missed meeting Bart, Shana and the kids.

But wait! There's more fun was to come.  As I returned to Mtn View, I decided to drive by where my car (recently purchased 2001 Subaru Outback) was parked.  As I approached the car I noticed it seemed to be at a odd angle.  As I examined it a bit closer, I saw that it had been struck at the left front corner and pushed up on the curb.  The front bumper was damaged, the left fog light smashed and the right front wheel dinged up as it was forced over the curb.  Arrrrrgh!

Luckily there was a note stuck under the wiper: "my student hit your bumper."  Duh.  But they did leave a phone number, thank god.

As the note would seem to indicate it was a driving school student that did the damage, how frickin ironic. The DMV examiner's car gets smashed by the out of control student.  And oh, the student happened to be from a certain south asian country (that shall remain nameless..) that has no stop signs .  How am I not surprised?

So today (Monday) I've been dealing with the damage, trying to get it repaired this week before I move to Sac, 'cuz it'll be hellish to have to deal with that in a new place, in a new job.  At first the driving school wanted to skip the insurance company just pay cash to get it fixed.  But after I got a couple of estimates that were $1100 -$1300, not including the front end alignment (and maybe more) that needs to be done, they decided they better run it through their insurance company.  This requires filing a claim, and waiting to get all the paperwork in order before work starts.  Oy.  I am doubtful that I'll be able to get this accomplished before moving north.

So then what?

Fun, fun fun.  Life on the road.

Ok, End of Another Day of Sac Searching

I spent the day cruising Sac in search of ????  What? Not sure.  Substance? Validation? Basically, I explored the area by making the Thrift Store circuit.  Oddly, I did not buy anything.  Maybe I was burnt out,  having just taken all those pictures of the Dolphin's insides?  Cowboy Kitsch overload?  Quite possibly.

I DID finally find the heart of the Sac Gypsy encampment.  A really large group of homeless people are huddled together just to the West of 16th Street as you head north from downtown towards the hinterlands.  Many are just living directly on the streets.  A few have tents and there are maybe four or five small campers and vans.  The whole encampment covers a couple of blocks.  Quite a few people there.

I am afraid it would be just too depressing - and just a little scary - to live there.  But... it does seem to indicate that the police must be leaving them alone.  So maybe I will be OK.

Sac has an overwhelming midwest vibe.  Oy, not sure if I can handle that.  I find it really depressing for whatever reason.  Maybe it's the River City thing.  Most major midwest cities are on one river or another, and so is Sac.

Oh well, I think I'll head over to 24 hr fitness for a workout, sauna, shower and shave.  Let's see if I can't give the security boys something to get their panties in a bunch about....

Interior Views, El Ranchito de los Delphines

On the Road Again.

Well, to get started, let me give you some background.  I've been living in my camper, known as Dolphin Manor, since October 2010.  It is now April 2012, so as of this writing it has been one year, seven months.  Mostly, I've been "going rogue" - living for free on the streets around Mountain View, CA.

Mountain View has been pretty congenial.  During the day, I've been parked on the block where I've been working (I work at the DMV as an Examiner for Commercial Truck Drivers).  At night, I move the camper to a slightly more industrial neighborhood about two miles away.  One main advantage to this spot is free high speed internet: one of the businesses there has an unprotected linksys wireless router that I've been able to nick.

The general neighborhood has been great.  Whole Foods (with free WiFi and electrical outlets), Trader Joes, 24 Hr Fitness, Target, Walmart, my bank branch, all within a block, all in a clean, wooded and safe area.  The police have left me alone, although at one point I was afraid they where staking me out.

The morning after my very first night sleeping in the camper I popped out of the side door to see a cop sitting in his patrol car just across the way.  I was afraid that the next night there would be a major raid because at the time there were about 5 campers parked in the area.  So that next night I moved to a different neighborhood.  On my way to work the following day, I saw a patrol car sitting in the same place.  I then realized that they were in a perfect - yet hidden - vantage point to observe cars as they rolled through a 4 way stop sign at the corner.  They really had no interest in the campers - they just wanted to ticket the drivers.  I guess it's all about the revenue.... and since they wouldn't make much on me (or the other gypsies) they have let me be.  This may also be due to the fact that I try to maintain a low profile.

So much for background.

I am now in the process of moving to Sacramento.  I've accepted a new position with the DMV to become a trainer and will be working out of DMV headquarters in Sacramento.  My first trip to Sac did not turn up much in the way of Gypsy Communities - whereas Mountain View seems to have an active band of gypsies just around every corner, all living off the grid.  The only place I could detect people living in RV's in Sac was a depressing little spot under the freeway.  There seemed to be about four or five campers huddled together, but nowhere else could I find fellow gypsies.  I did find a couple of spots where there did not seem to be any parking limitations/regulations and have chosen one spot to try out this weekend, just north of the city near Arden Blvd .  What I like about this spot is that it seems to be centrally located near my favorite haunts: Whole Foods, 24 Hr Fitness and Trader Joe's.  Plus it is not too far from work, about 15mins. But... without any other RVs on the street I wonder if Sac police enforcing "no living in vehicles" ordinances or what.

I made it through the first night without incident but am missing the free WiFi that I had down in Mtn View.  I did, however, have a bit of a run in with security at the local 24 Hr Fitness.  I pulled into their parking lot my first night in town, just to check out the facility.  A couple of overly uniformed too straight macho boys who probably didn't make the cut at the local police academy were patrolling the  lot and snapped a picture of Dolphin Manor, presumably to use as evidence if I parked there too long.  Jerks.  Oh well, I guess it comes with the territory.

Now on to explore Sac for the rest of the day....