james willett

2009-02-07T23:56:00.000-08:00

note to self: dont eat too many bagels. they make you fart a lot.

2009-02-04T07:09:00.000-08:00

Been a while.

I had a work "meeting" a second ago.

My pay is getting cut 20% and one of my scheduled runs is getting dropped

that equates to; on a day i have the possibility of making $100, I will only make $60.

Fuck this economy bullllllllshit. thank god for school. thank god for trust funds. thank god for parents.

2009-01-25T21:27:00.003-08:00

ive been building a lot of things lately. getting ready for my life as an electrical engineer i guess.

school tomorrow. i havent been to school in 3 1/2 years. this is going to be weird.

2009-01-24T21:44:00.000-08:00

today i was in a bad mood until a band covered "in my eyes". the good mood lasted til the end of the show. now i want to die again.

2009-01-05T12:44:00.000-08:00

I've been moping a lot lately. feeling really lonely too.

Last night i drove up to pittsburgh with jen erik and brad. i thought it was a good idea. half way up i realized it was a bad idea. then when we got there i decided it was a good idea again.

i havent worked since like the 17th. I was supposed to work today but i didnt get home til like 530am. maybe ill go in tomorrow.

i feel like my moodswings are going to come back. this isnt a cry for help at all but i cant deal with shit on my own. not in a pathetic way. if no ones around to talk to i think up a friend and have a conversation with them out loud. its weird.

i dont know what i want to do with my life. i dont know why i want to do anything with it. i want to go back to school to make my life easier. not in the long run; NOW.

2008-12-29T22:26:00.001-08:00

I really need to start writing again. will update soon when i have time.

2008-12-29T20:36:00.000-08:00

you motherfucker. you should have left it alone back in '78.

2008-12-15T17:42:00.000-08:00

I AM ON THE RADIO RIGHT NOW

I haven't had the internet so I can't blog.

Last bervin show ever. Tomorrow. Go.
929 farragut street nw.

Katie dance has many songs now. Demo out by end of Erik's winter break.

2008-12-07T17:29:00.000-08:00

i spilled water on my laptop the other day. the l, m, n, t, 5 and half of the "F" buttons dont work. Instead of getting it fixed i bought this fancy new (refurbished) wireless keyboard!!

Cargo bike has been KILLIN it past few days. I retired it for a few weeks but i think im going to stick with it. At least ride it downtown to work with my road or mountain bike in the front and locking up the cargo bike at like farragut or something. Somewhere i can get to it quick if i need it.

Moving again. 51 T, NE. Can see capitol building from living room. cool. Cheap rent again, too!!!

2008-11-26T14:34:00.000-08:00

SO...

I thought I broke the shifter on my NICE bike. Turns out the cable just came off the spool inside of the shifter. I also had a fork on layaway at shitty bikes so I head down there.

got the fork, fixed the shifter. headed home to put back together the NICE bike.

forgot to take my mountain bike off the bike rack. remember 10 minutes later. go outside. GONE

So i was like fuck this shit im going on a mission. went riding around the neighborhood looking for my bike. Stopped by Chris' house to let everyone there know to keep an eye out.

Stepped outside. Texting on my phone. Dude almost hits me on the sidewalk. riding my bike. fuck yeah gimme that shit back yung.

Today I celebrated by not going to work and instead of riding my bike at work I rode my bike for fun.

Winter training time. Watch out newbie cat 5ers ima kick yo ass come spring 09.

2008-11-22T13:30:00.000-08:00

i still havent gotten out of bed

2008-11-22T12:59:00.000-08:00

Whenever I think about Arizona I think about what things would have been like if I stayed. It reminds me of what's happening here, now. Things didn't work out there, things probably won't work out here. But I'm staying. Maybe that is the difference. Maybe things happened the way they did because I was leaving. I don't want to think that things will work out. I don't want to be a dude about it. I don't want to have a shitty attitude about you. I'm not going to let myself. I kind of want you to hate me. But that would just make me.. i dont know.

I just made a mixtape for someone. I haven't done that in years.

2008-11-18T17:50:00.000-08:00

Work is good.

It snowed today.

here is a haiku about my back;

I need a backrub
Knot in my back hurts a lot
make it go away

ugh i dont know anything anymore.

less serious post

2008-11-16T15:29:00.001-08:00

I need an oil change. Maybe I just need to add more oil. I can do the latter by myself.

The Ergs show was FUCKING AMAZING. Hunchback was annoying. Jim said they would be.

Ergs played all the songs I wanted them to play that I have never seen them play. "Hysterical Fiction" and "Aja" mainly.

In between shows we went to the most ridiculously expensive vegetarian restaurant and left immediately after looking at the menu. I stopped at Wawa and got 2 hoagies and a bag of chips. Chris found a Caribbean place on his fancy phone that had vegan jerk chicken and shit like that. SO GOOD. Pretty cheap. After eating we went back towards the show.

When we got back most of us had to use the bathroom. We went to the venue and they wouldn't let us in because there was a private party there. So we walked towards a hotel that was across the street.

We got across the street and heard some yelling. There was this guy getting roughed the fuck up by some cops. We walked toward them. By the time we got over there the guy was in the back of the squad car and being driven away. We look up at the building we were in front of. Staind was playing there. With Papa Roach and Seether. Across the street from The Ergs show. We walked around to the front of the building and saw that YES was playing at the same place on a different stage. We go in and use the bathrooms. There was this weird open air food court inbetween the 2 venues that you could just go into and not pay. I pooped while Papa Roach played "Last Resort". Fuck. Yes.

After bathroom time we moved over to the merch tables. Annie tried flirting with the merch dude to get a pair of pink panties that said "Fuck Me Like You Hate Me" on them.

The second ergs show was more amazing than the first. Lemuria ruled. Hunchback still sucked. So many video cameras during the ergs. Can't wait til they are on youtube.

serious post

2008-11-16T15:26:00.000-08:00

I need to stop thinking about other people so much. Less favors. It's getting unhealthy.

I need to think about what would make the most sense. Not just do things to make the other person happy.

Attention everyone: don't ask me to do things anymore just because you know I'll do them.

2008-11-13T20:57:00.001-08:00

jen shouldnt leave things logged in to someone elses computer.

2008-11-09T08:58:00.000-08:00

Cargo bike in full effect. I hardly did any cargo work the past few days. Tomorrow I'm going to go into Apple and talk to them about doing some stuff on the side for them. Apparently Bill already wants me to hire them. That'd be tight.

I need to go to Gaithersburg today to get speakers and velcro. I'm going to hook it up so that the cargo bike is a roving soundsystem/partymobile.

HELL YEAH

Lemuria tonight.

King Diamond last night RULED. It was only one song but whatever. It was the one I wanted to hear.

Being friends with people you were friends with before but then it got weird and now you're friends again is awesome.

I was bummed but now I'm STOKED.

FUCK NEGATIVITY.

I'M BACK SON!!!

2008-11-05T07:52:00.001-08:00

PMA. Fuck Bad Brains. Hanging out was more fun.

Fuck work. I'm about to go pick up the cargo bike from City Bikes.

2008-11-03T20:26:00.000-08:00

What the fuck.

It seems everyone around me is happy.

I however am in this shitty fucking emotional and economical rut.

I feel fucking lonely. I'll be hanging out with people and then I just get this super intense urge of...I don't know. I'll get really uncomfortable for seemingly no reason. I dipped out of work early today to hang out. And I dipped out of hanging out early to write this down.

I want to talk to you more about stuff. I feel like you think I'm awkward and weird, which I guess I am, but I haven't opened up to you. lastword

Work sucks. 12 job days?? Fuck that. This time last year a slow day was 20. Now 17 is busy. Dispatch ignores you. They keep hiring people. Hire people when you need them. Not months in advance. WEX is the biggest company in the city but the messengers there are doing the least work individually than any other company.

Tomorrow I need to work on the cargo bike. It keeps getting pushed back further and further. I hope it's for real done. I didn't take all the seats out of my van for nothing.

2008-11-02T18:52:00.000-08:00

Pancakes this morning

Double chocolate pancakes

with funfetti frosting + sprinkles

THEN SIX FLAGS

I almost threw up on the first ride. from the pancakes

So confused. About everything.
Mostly about you.

2008-11-02T00:39:00.001-07:00

PS i love you im sorry.

2008-11-02T00:34:00.000-07:00

The show was good.

My Descendents cover band fucked up a lot.

I FOUND OUT TODAY THAT FRANK NAVETTA THE ORIGINAL GUITARIST FOR THE DESCENDENTS DIED LAST NIGHT.

Man we really fucked up.

2008-10-31T13:40:00.001-07:00

Joel Gwadz dominates the "blogs I follow" section of my dashboard.

2008-10-26T20:05:00.001-07:00

D4 weekend v.2.

Lots of crowdsurfing. Lots of stagediving.

LOTS OF DOUCHEBAGS

2008-10-23T17:08:00.000-07:00

Curried tofu from Sweet Mango (3701 New Hampshire Ave NW) is the greatest thing to touch my lips

I get paid 2 time 2 time tomorrow. That will be nice.

I also get to see Dillinger Four again tomorrow! AND THE NEXT DAY TOO FUCK YEAH

2008-10-22T16:48:00.001-07:00

Ha.

2008-10-21T19:21:00.000-07:00

If I just go to bed now, I'll wake up happy again

D4 on Friday again, something to look forward to.

2008-10-21T18:38:00.000-07:00

I need to stop alienating people

I need to stop making people feel uncomfortable

I need to stop being awkward around some people

I need to stop being too comfortable around the rest

I need to stop feeling so fucking lonely.

2008-10-20T12:51:00.000-07:00

Got stuck in Gaithersburg last night

Drove in to work at 930.

Went to Sticky Fingers for breakfast.

No lock. Left it in my car.

went back home to get my car. Got my lock. Rolled back to Sticky Fingers.

Ate.

Went to work. did 5 jobs by 3!

Left.

Now going to Philly for D4 and NOFX

PEACE

2008-10-19T17:49:00.000-07:00

Amendment to the last post:

"chicken and egg bullshit" should read "Chik'n and tapioca flour veggieburger crap"

2008-10-19T15:41:00.001-07:00

I haven't posted in a really long time.

Friday night steve dropped me off downtown because 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th streets were all closed off downtown for some reason, and I wanted to ride a little bit anyway.

I have never had such a zen experience on my bike.

There were no cars all the way up 14th street. There was no one on the sidewalks. It was totally quiet. All I heard was me. My cranks turning, my bent-ass deraillieur hanger clicking, my tires on the ground. I didn't coast the whole was. I didn't think to.

I've been having a lot of weird mood swings. I'll be sitting around lazily and I'll just want to cry. For no reason. Things aren't going GOOD but they aren't bad in the slightest. I've been going off on people for stupid things too. A bunch of us drove up to Brooklyn last Tuesday to see Dillinger 4 and The Ergs and I got into a screaming match with Erik because he didn't know how to get from Bushwick to Williamsburg. When I get mad I guess I can't see the other side. I get that tunnel vision.

There's no reason for any of this though. The only reason why things aren't going "good" is because I've been in this bad mood. Maybe it's residue from the surgery. For 2 months I pretty much didn't do anything. But I've been hanging out with people every night of the week. Late too. Not just like "Hey I'll meet you at Tryst for 15 minutes then I have to go do something else". No it's more like "Hey come over hang out for 8 hours until 4am". Maybe it's because I'm not doing anything productive.

I just realized this is the longest and most serious post I've made as of yet. juggajugga wootwoot

Last night Jubert, Erik and I learning all but maybe 2 songs from Milo Goes to College for our cover set on Halloween.

Party Pit.
Halloween night.
Be there mothafuckaaaaa

I want to stop being "Oh that guy" guy. I'm too loud sometimes. I like the not so loud me. The subtly hilarious James. That James is much more witty and tactful.

But for real. I read that people that consider themselves "lucky" and have good things happen to them have a more positive outlook on life. This isn't like chicken and egg bullshit. I just need to cheer up and get back to my positive self again. Good things will happen.

2008-10-12T14:20:00.000-07:00

I saw a Honda Element with a Karate Monkey strapped to the back of it today on 495. I thought it was Gwadz. It wasn't

I moved into my new house. Its sweet. Punk shows in the basement!!

2008-10-02T20:12:00.001-07:00

i was feeling nostalgic

the first picture gwadz took of me

I was like who the fuck is this old guy

2008-10-02T19:40:00.000-07:00

i hate mash.

WATCH LANCE ARMSTRONG ON A COMMUTER BIKE DROP FANCY PANTS HIPSTERS ON STUPID TRACK BIKES

2008-10-02T10:08:00.000-07:00

since ive been back at work ive become thin(ner) again!!!

no work today though. at least not on the bike. I feel pretty crappy. Gonna help out steve tonight though.

steve has a cargo bike. were fixin it up this weekend. danny or I may purchase it. its gnarly.

it has a rohloff speed hub. i think i may get a cross section of it tattooed on my forearm.

2008-09-29T20:34:00.000-07:00

littering fucking pisses me off. how could you disrespect everyone and everything around you like that? how could you disrespect our planet like that? Good thing instead of throwing away trash i just keep it in my car. karma ammo.

2008-09-19T23:45:00.001-07:00

2008-09-16T11:07:00.000-07:00

I had a dream The MKH was a Nofx cover band and we played St. Andrews. Fred Durst was there too.

2008-09-15T12:26:00.000-07:00

I GOT STITCHES OUT TODAY
I RODE MY BIKE TODAY

I still cant REALLY ride it around; only around the neighborhood. The wound still hasnt fully healed. Bummer.

My computer on the inside is brand new. I fancied up the dashboard yesterday. Spore is the greatest videogame of all time.

2008-09-14T16:28:00.000-07:00

Also a month late

NACCC VIDEOS

2008-09-14T15:57:00.000-07:00

A month late, but here you are

PHOTOS FROM 2008 NACCC CHICAGO

2008-09-14T13:40:00.001-07:00

I AM POSTING FROM MY DASHBOARD

2008-09-13T16:41:00.000-07:00

All the music on my hard drive (with the exception of the new Dillinger Four album) since I've gotten Leopard has been downloaded from icoulddietomorrow. Check it out.

JAMES' PLAN TO NOT GET FAT WHEN YOU ARE COUCH RIDDEN

2008-09-11T10:40:00.000-07:00

Step 1: do nothing. post on VLV a lot.
step 2: Drink 32 ounces of kombucha a day
step 3: Get a veggie burrito from chipotle. Get everything on it except cheese and sour cream.

Success. You will lose weight. I am. How? I have no idea.

2008-09-10T20:12:00.000-07:00

So i really wanted spore. It runs on Leopard. I have tiger. i contemplate buying leopard. Find out pat has leopard install discs so i go to pats. pats install discs are macbook pro specific. uh oh. he sets up my computer as a target mac and installs through his computer. crazy wizard shit. i buy spore. SPORE DOESNT WORK. SPORE DOESNT WORK ON MACBOOKS THAT ARE OVER A YEAR OLD (mine is a year and a few months old) BECAUSE OF THE VIDEO CHIP. BUT THE SAME CHIP IN A PC WOULD WORK. THAT MAKES NO SENSE UGH FUCK YOU EA.

2008-09-08T13:32:00.000-07:00

I am so depressed. I have felt like shit since my surgery. I am in so much pain i cant do anything by myself. i have a fever of 100.5. My stitches are leaking gross old blood. my left butt cheek is swollen and numb. i cant ride my bike. thats the biggest problem. i just got a EC-90 in the mail to replace my cracked pedalforce fork and all i want to do is go on a long road ride. but i cant. fuck life.

2008-09-05T18:27:00.000-07:00

What's with all these Fox news talking heads and sexism? Whenever Palin is brought up they say that if anyone attacks her then they are sexist. That's funny coming from you Sean Hannity. You were just saying that the "radical liberal" media in America is sexist for the things they say about Palin (like that she doesn't have what it takes to be vice president, not because she's a woman, but because she fucking sucks and the only reason she WAS picked was a stupid transparent plan my McCain to get Hillary supporters on their side) and then you go and start talking over Geraldine Ferraro. Fuck you. I hate you Sean Hannity.

2008-09-05T09:30:00.001-07:00

I finally got my butt fixed.

2008-08-28T15:18:00.000-07:00

I just read a bunch of livejournal posts from high school.

I was naive. I grew up a lot.

Chicago tomorrow. so pumped.

2008-08-25T20:23:00.000-07:00

rode bike for first time
shit man, i am out of shape!
could be the weather?

I got a few miles out and I couldnt breathe. It was pretty horrible out today. 90 or so with a lot of humidity and muggy as shit.

Im working tomorrow for the first time in almost a month. should be fun! Im looking forward to it!

NACCC in a few days

2008-08-16T14:40:00.000-07:00

I hate waiting for shit in the mail. Especially if it's cool expensive stuff like a full carbon fork and a Chris King wheel.

BUT IT FEELS SO GOOD WHEN YOU SEE IT ON YOUR DOOR STEP

2008-08-16T10:43:00.000-07:00

You know how the coaches for rowers ride next to them on bikes?

Most of those bikes are crusiers but i just saw an s-works mountain bike.

The ultimate rowing bike.

2008-08-15T11:20:00.000-07:00

Speedplay cleats on shoes
I am used to Crank Brothers
I hope I don't die

2008-08-15T10:03:00.000-07:00

My job is to ride
without me everything fails
fuck you, cab driver

2008-08-14T23:31:00.000-07:00

Hanging at Lila's
She is real good at haikus
I too like them lots

Most girls don't like me
They are usually annoyed.
Think it's the haikus...

We're writing a zine
It has a really cool name
"pizza for a week"

2008-08-14T09:00:00.001-07:00

The Law firm, the myth, the legend.

2008-08-12T21:22:00.001-07:00

China should get a gold medal in high fives. Amazing form. Beautiful delivery.

2008-08-12T13:19:00.000-07:00

Maybe I will build up my "totaled" track bike.

I miss track bikes

2008-08-12T10:37:00.000-07:00

Almost have my bike fixed, again.

My butt is almost drained.

I have more money to my name right now than i have ever in the past.

I WANT TO SPEND IT. But I have nothing to spend it on.

Maybe I will be responsible and save it.

Probably not though.

2008-08-10T01:20:00.001-07:00

This may be the vegan in me, but equestrianism is the dumbest fucking sport ever. Dumber than cheerleading, as a sport.

2008-08-08T08:56:00.000-07:00

I have to wait til next Friday for the track cycling though..

2008-08-06T08:47:00.000-07:00

I can't get surgery until the 18th. This suuuuuucks

Pineapple Express

2008-08-05T23:39:00.001-07:00

Saw Pineapple Express at midnight. It was pretty good. Very ridiculous and absurd.

Too many stupid people there. Whenever there was a large quantity of weed on screen people got too excited. It was kind of pathetic, really.

2008-08-04T20:30:00.000-07:00

One of the best songs ever. Performed 8 days I was born.

The worst cover of one of the best songs ever.

The bass line makes the song. notice the bass line in the cover is TOTALLY FUCKING WRONG.

most stressful week ever.

2008-08-04T17:47:00.000-07:00

bear with me as i am fucked up on percocets. im still straight edge, i swear

moving really sucks. it took a toll on mine and my now exroomate's nerves.

literally right when i start moving my dad calls me and tells me that my grandma died and told me about the wake and funeral arrangements. the way i deal with death is just hang out with people and do things. keep my mind off of it.

I was riding my mountain bike around my house when it was totally empty. i went to ride down the stairs that go from my door to the street. i broke poorly at the bottom and totally faceplanted and sprained my hand.

luckily when i was done moving i immediately went to the leftover crack show.

i was standing on stage to minimize being stage dived on, because of the hand.

loc played infested. i stagedived the shit out of that song.

the last stage dive was done back first.

left the show. my butt hurted

went to my parents to sleep. the next day i was going to go to new jersey for the wake and funeral.

woke up

the top part of my butt crack had a swollen area the size of a hockey puck.

i almost didnt go to new jersey because of this. it was too painful to drive. i took 7 ibuprofens and hung out for a few minutes for them to kick in.

went straight to the wake. felt like shit. nauseous, tired and chilly

my butt was getting worse.

after the wake i went across the street to the ER.

i have always had this...thing on the top of my butt crack. i always thought it was a bone that was broken off from my bmx days. so i thought like my tailbone was fractured or something

NOPE. it was a pilonidal cyst. stagediving ruptured it and it got infected.

i couldnt go to the funeral this morning. i was too fucked up. i feel really bad about it. i cant walk. i cant sit. i dont know if i can poop.

surgery tomorrow.

2008-08-04T15:50:00.000-07:00

I got a pilonidal cyst on my butt. It's pretty gnarly. It's huge. It hurts like shit. I can't work for probably 2 weeks.

2008-07-18T17:32:00.000-07:00

Who woulda thought I would be making BANK in the middle of July?

2008-07-16T19:45:00.001-07:00

2008-07-15T19:20:00.000-07:00

Most couriers work for one company

Some double dip and work for two.

Today I quadruple dipped.

I did red van work in the morning for D&N.

I did two linestandings for Apple until 2pm

I worked at WEX until the end of the day.

Then I did food delivery for Java Green.

2008-07-14T18:45:00.000-07:00

New York sucks. DC is way better. Much friendlier. $2 falafel at 3am is nice. It's mediocre falafel; no hummus, but it's 2 dollars. Can't really complain.

Just geared my mountain bike up for work. was 33/16 now it's 38/16. REAL workin here I come!

2008-07-10T15:12:00.000-07:00

I fell on my bike Tuesday.

A buses engine exploded at G and 14th and the oil from it was spilled all over the intersection. I was on G, turning on to 14th, and my bike flipped out from under me. Bent the derailleur hanger and that was about it, or so it seemed!

Today I was in SW early in the morning. Hit a bump. It felt like my rear wheel was totally shot. I was expecting that to happen sooner rather than later. The thing is on it's way out.

Something was strange though. My bike was ghost shifting. I flipped my bike over and immediately saw the problem. The right chainstay was COMPLETELY cracked. All the way around.

This had to have been from the fall on Tuesday. I have never crashed my Teesdale. I think I'm going to write the city requesting they replace my frame seeing as I was riding in a totally normal, safe manner and due to hazardous road conditions, I ate shit.

So I went home. Grabbed my carbon bike. It was nice getting to ride it again. Had to switch out the Speedplays for Crank Brothers.

I fell on that bike a few hours later.

It was fine though. All my scrapes from Tuesday opened up, but the bike is ok.

2008-07-09T15:15:00.000-07:00

STORIES FROM THE STREETS (More specifically, the Russell Senate Office Building):

I rode in an elevator with Hillary Clinton today.

I was in the RSOB because I was picking up a package from her office.

She got off the elevator first. Since I was picking up from her office, I just followed her.

One of her body guards kept slowing down so he would be behind me because..I'm a courier and I'm following Hillary Clinton?

No one cares about Hillary anymore, dude. Chill out..

Shoulda said something to her...

2008-07-08T16:06:00.000-07:00

http://www.news8.net/news/stories/0708/534131.html

RIP.

Before I knew there was an accident someone made what I later determined to be the most DICK comment I have ever heard.

"HEY! Are you a bike messenger?" in a dick tone

I didnt answer. He asked again. i didnt answer. I didnt care to answer him. I was in a rush and in a loading dock. Im not in an elevator and i dont need to talk to you.

"Tell your friends on bikes to watch out for trucks!"

Thought about it for a second.

"Tell your friends in trucks to watch out for bikes. Dick"

Keep in mind, had i known there was an accident and someone DIED, I would have just said fuck it and decked the dude in the face. But instead I gave him advice his truck driving friend should have known a few hours prior.

2008-07-01T18:56:00.001-07:00

You see the light ahead is red, yet you still pass me. Why?

2008-06-30T19:32:00.000-07:00

Just in case you didn't KNOW

Joel and Anna have blogs. but i wont link them. youll have to find them yrself.

2008-06-30T19:25:00.000-07:00

I have an envelope. Not a fucking handtruck full of boxes. I don't need to go around to the back of the building to use the loading dock. I can use the regular fucking elevators. what the fuck.

Stuff like that pisses me off.

I also don't know why I have to show ID at every building. What does it prove? That I have an ID? They don't LOOK at it or record anything. They just glance, see it's an ID, and tell me ok.

It's been really busy for the middle of summer. I've been leaving early and coming in late and still I'm doing 150 days eazy. EAZY.

2008-06-21T10:48:00.000-07:00

A quick search tells me the CN tower has recently become the worlds SECOND tallest building. First is an unfinished building in Dubai. I hear English speaking bike messengers in Dubai make tonz of money.

2008-06-21T07:39:00.001-07:00

addition

2008-06-19T20:40:00.003-07:00

I was just informed that the CN Tower is the tallest building in the world... so I guess it really is that tall.

epic cmwc 2008 post

2008-06-19T15:14:00.000-07:00

Ok this is my CMWC 2008 Toronto race (party?) report.

This past weekend was one of the most amazing weekends I have ever experienced. I met soo many cool people. Had sooo much fun. And watched sooo much beer be drank and weed be smoked.

We left Thursday night around 10:30 or so. Danny couldn't get off work at shitty bikes. It kind of sucked but we probably would've added a good hour and a half to the drive if we drove in rush hour. I drove for the first tank of gas, Kevin C drove the rest of the way. I only got about an hour and a half of sleep cumulatively. I dealed.

Also speaking of Danny and Shitty Bikes, he is supposed to post a big blog with different pictures and probably a different, more drunk recollection of the weekend. I WILL KEEP POSTED.

We ran into Ali and Natasha in Breezewood, PA and hung out at a Sheetz, the much inferior version of Wawa. Got a veggie hoagie. NO FUCKING TOMATOES. Fuck that. get the fuck over it. I'm vegan, I need all the lycopene I can get. After going to a second sheetz I gave in and switched out driving duties.

The Canadian border was fun. We got searched. Mostly due to all the shit written on the van in soap.

We got to Toronto right at morning rush hour. I was surprisingly not that tired considering I just sat in a car for 10 hours. Toronto is beautiful. Is the CN Tower really like super tall? I have no sense of what a REALLY tall building is. I haven't really gone to big cities before. I've been to NYC twice but both times were very brief. I went to Philly a few times but never been downtown. I should travel more. Anyway, we find a public parking lot and park, get ready and just start riding around. We were trying to find somewhere to eat breakfast. Luckily we ran into a bunch of couriers standing by 2 blocks from where we parked. They told us there was a bike shop that had free breakfast for people. Hung out with the locals for a second, then headed out to breakfast.

Got to the bike shop and it was PACKED with couriers. Especially DC. Mark, Skandar, Soda, AZ. Fuck, Kim was there too. They made us a traditional South American breakfast. Tamales, refried/black beans, fried plantains, and eggs. Skipped the eggs, the rest was fucking delicious.

After we ate we went down to registration. The line wasn't even that long, but we were there for a good 2 hours.

Party after that. whatever. it was a party. Watched a lot of bike polo too.

SATURDAY! QUALIFICATIONS!

Had a piece of paper stamped with your start time. There were also 4 manifests you had to complete. When you completed the 4, you brought back the stamped paper to get stamped again with the finish time. I thought there was going to be water readily available so i didn't fill my water bottle. I was wroooong. Had I brought water I think I would've probably shaved a good 5-8 minutes off my qualifying time. Whatever. because I qualified for the main race.

SPRINTS! I did ok. I dominated the first one. The second one I didn't. I got dominated. Not that hard though.

TRACKSTAND! I borrowed Jessie's bike. I fell. Jumbo won.

BACKWARDS CIRCLES! Ali did 410 earlier in the day. did 114 his first try, stopped, let jumbo try to beat him. jumbo did...113. Ali did 139 after that.

GOLDSPRINTS! My foot came out on the first heat. The MC gave me another try. I did like a 21.3 second 500m but tied with some guy. had a tie breaker and he beat me out by like .05 seconds. I thought I was bumped out so I went to 711 to get a slurpee. I came back and I hear the MC saying "Where's JAMES!?". I guess I qualified. Everyone in my heat was chubby. Up da chubz. I finished last in that heat. We had just went out to get falafel right before the goldsprints so I was ready to throw up.

On the ferry ride home I had the AMAZING idea of seeing who could trackstand the whole ferry ride.

SUNDAY. REAL RACE.

The way the main race worked was the same as the qualifiers except there were 8 more manifests that had to be completed seperately after the 4 had been given to you. and the bottom 10 out of every manifest got cut so only 10 people could actually finish. I got cut after completing the fifth manifest. Bruce finished 9th. Dude from Tokyo finished first. On a track bike. Ten minutes before second place. First track bike champion EVER. I witnessed HISTORY.

Polo Finals after that. Didn't really stick around for them. There was almost a fist fight between NYC and Milwaukee. That was cool. We all decided to leave Sunday night. We were all pooped. Everyone slept the whole way home.

Lots more photos

2008-06-10T17:09:00.000-07:00

soooo fucking hot. I drank and drank and drank but just sweated it all out. i didnt pee until 530pm. thats baaad

today was also oddly sort of busy. not in the sense of a high volume of work, but a decent amount of really good paying jobs. the past few days have almost been embarrassing. i cant wait for it to be not this fucking hot. i also cannot wait for it to be CMWC2008TORONTO

2008-06-08T18:27:00.000-07:00

holy shit. only a few more days until toronto. I really hope this week goes by fast. but i know it wont.

2008-06-05T18:01:00.001-07:00

2008-06-05T17:09:00.000-07:00

i got a ticket today

I was going east on eye. gnarly traffic ahead so i got between the left lane and the middle lane. i see three people that just stepped into the road halfway up the block. a quick "heads up heads up" and they see me and let me go before they cross the street. this happened in front of one of dc's lamest. pulled me over. he was big and bad and mean. he told me that i have to follow ALL rules of the road. every single one. he also said that he didnt know about in gaithersburg (i still have a md ID) but in "his city" i can't lane split. i asked him if the jaywalkers were going to get ticketed and he said no. he told me that i was riding like a "jackass" and that im going to get killed riding like that. yes. one day im going to get hit by a stopped car when im going a blazingly quick 12 mph. i rode off like a "jackass" and turned right on red where it said no right on red like a "jackass" and continued to 1901 L lane splitting the whole way.

i wasnt the jackass though. i was courteous to the jay walkers. i was aware and reacted quickly. they werent paying attention. they are more of a danger than i am.

eric of waba later explained to me that in dc lane splitting is in no way illegal. cyclists are allowed to pass a car inside of the same lane. on the left or the right. i was just doing it at the same time.

fuck you, the man. expect a letter.

one week til cmwc!!!

2008-06-04T15:13:00.000-07:00

today was too slow. rain sucks. car dispatchers still suck.

i did however spend next to nothing on food today. danny bought me pizzaaaahhh (vegan, joel) to pay me back for a job i helped him with and i table-dove (equivalent of dumpster-diving but 100 times less gross) almost a whole sandwich and a bunch of chips at java green.

why are you going to waste a whole sandwich at java green? that is not earth friendly or sustainable and very wasteful.

or...

maybe the yuppies saw the dirty hungry bike messenger and knew he would eat their left overs.

2008-06-03T20:20:00.000-07:00

I am in a blogging mood today. I never have one idea for big posts. just small ideas that are spread out, and they yeild little nuggets of blog!!

Why is saying simply "Hey buddy" in a totally emotionless tone enough to make a motorist cuss me out?

I was in the left lane on K street between Conn and 18. I see the SUV next to me. I cant see the dudes face in the mirror. I see his hand flick on the turn signal (which is better than most people). from this angle i wouldnt have seen the signal anyway. I know he can't see me. I say "hey buddy" loud enough so he can hear me but I'm not yelling at the dude. I'm pretty nice about stuff most of the time. I mean i'm in his blindspot.

JESUS CHRIST YOU SCARED THE SHIT OUT OF ME! WHAT THE FUCK IS YOUR PROBLEM?! WHY ARE YOU IN THE FUCKING LEFT LANE!! blahdy blahdy blahdy dont give a shit.

Sorry I scared you instead of letting you hit me, dude.

2008-06-03T19:10:00.000-07:00

also, 9 days left.

2008-06-03T19:03:00.000-07:00

I should have never quit this job in the first place. i was getting bitter about things i shouldnt have gotten bitter about.

soon i will have road shoes. that is the lamest last piece to finishing a bike but whatever. that means soon i can train. and that means soon i can race? im pretty confident that if i can get rid of my gut i can blow the fuck out of some cat 5'ers.

i need rollers, too.

2008-06-02T15:54:00.001-07:00

What is a city without bike messengers, really?

CMWC 2008. 10 days. So pumped.

2008-05-29T19:35:00.001-07:00

buy my shit. i have more shit to sell too.

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/doc/bik/700284170.html

2008-05-29T15:14:00.000-07:00

gwadz goes out to find people on their bikes to take pictures to put on his blog

he told me to go out to find shitty drivers to pick fights with to put on my blog.

sara and i were leaving the house around 8 this morning. a cop had just pulled over someone and they were taking up the bike lane. sara was going around them at a chill pace since she had literally just gotten on her bike. some shitty dude in a vw was behind her laying on the horn. when she got back in the bike lane (not kidding, 2 car lengths from when this story started) he shot around her real rude like. i yelled at him. he told me to go fuck myself. i mean his reaction is totally rational. a cyclist had made his commute longer by the amount of time it takes a cyclist to casually go two car lengths.

remember that cop?

he turned on his lights, sirens and went into chase mode.

pulled the dude over 2 blocks up. i yelled "BUSTED" and he muttered something under his breath.

i also saw a duuumb accident today. a dude in a bmw was trying to get around someone who was blocking the intersection. shot around them and the rear end of the other car fuck the shit out of his door. blockin the box sucks but being that impatient is way worse.

2008-05-28T14:30:00.000-07:00

im bringin it back

"maybe next time I go out I will get a water bottle, put black Xes on my hands, and make fun of Straight Edge people
which I think is done by walking around like I have a stick in my ass"
- Joel Gwadz, May 28th, 2008

2008-03-03T13:48:00.001-08:00

Yummy!

2008-03-03T04:51:00.000-08:00

Today I just may be able to not wear the sleeves.

2008-02-29T15:40:00.000-08:00

All i want to do is be able to not wear sleeves at work.

Car dispatchers should not dispatch bikes.

2008-02-28T18:32:00.000-08:00

I ran into anna after anna ran into (got ran into by?) a car. i told her i read her blog and how i wanted to start doing one again. so i made one

i also had some bad luck with bad drivers today. long day. I had to go to the chinese embassy 3 times today. killer climbs. there is no easy way to get there. at about half past 4 i decided that it had been a day and called out from georgetown.

coming across the pennsylvania ave bridge coming out of georgetown i was in the left lane to turn left on L. i wasnt going fast; nor was i going really slow. there was a red light at 26th anyway. asshole in beater truck behind me starts honking and i guess gets fed up with the way i am appropriately riding my bike, passing me rudely on the right...andddd he hits the red light. like 20 feet in front of me. i roll past him, tap his window and say "in a hurry to stop?" and keep going. That is sort of what I always say. with the same tone everytime. anyway, i stay to the left the whole way to new hampshire. its a one way street. youre allowed to ride on whichever side of the road you want on a one way street right? right. i turn left onto new hampshire and look over my right shoulder, my left shoulder to make sure no one trys to cut me off. that intersections pretty crazy sometimes. and i see the dude in the pickup. i didnt think much of it until i hear him accelerating behind me. I got on the sidewalk. then we are on the same level i guess. except i have a u lock in my back pocket and he doesnt hopefully. he slams on his brakes, blocks traffic, gets out of the car. wow. he is a marine. in uniform. camo beret and everything. starts yelling at me.

what the fuck is your problem
yeah, i have a problem with you passing me at a red light.
you werent moving. you were sitting in the middle of the fucking lane!
i was turning left. you can be in the left lane when youre turning left (especially if its a [duh!] left turn only lane)
You cant do that. i know the rules. i ride a bike AND drive a motorcycle.
oh. ok dude thats nice. maybe in florida (pointing to his plates) the rules are a little different, but i ride my bike for 9 hours a day, 5 days a week for a living. i think i know the rules a little better than you.
Whatever. touch my window again. youll give me a reason to knock you out.
(i turn around and start riding towards his car motioning towards his window. dont touch it. turn around. roll through the red light at m street at the same steady pace i was going before and flipped him the BIZZRD dawg)

keep going up new hamp. get to the next light. some dude runs it turning left and almost hits another motorist about to turn left. she had the green light. the dude stops in front of her, rolls down the window and drops the b-bomb while he sits there to keep her from having her right of way. what the fuck. shit dude, seriously? you ran a red. she had a green, and you still the dick by making things worse for everyone else. i call him on his shit. i keep rolling. marine dude blows past me again. hits dupont. i hit dupont. trys to beat me through the circle. i keep rolling. same pace as ever. when im not at work im never in a hurry. just my luck. he turns onto new hamp again. i notice hes on his phone.

you know its illegal to talk on your phone and drive in dc.
(rolls down his window) what?!
i said its illegal to talk on your phone and drive in dc. you said you knew the rules, why dont you follow them? (arent you supposed to be subordinate in the military anyway? hes supposed to be protecting me, right? whatever. fuck em)

at this point im in front of him, not in the bike lane. he motions for me to get in the bike lane. i told him that i would race him in my lowest gear with no hands in the bike lane and still beat him by 33 seconds (i love the countdown timer thingys)

I do it.

I won.