who wants to open a bagel joint with me?

i tell you, gourmet bagels are an untapped venture in champaign. i've kept the idea of opening a bagel stand in the back of my mind since visiting my buddy dave in carbondale, where they have this guy who grills bagels and fruit/veggie toppings outside the bars when they close. i thought it was genius. the guy's been doing it for a long time, too, and at five bucks a bagel and an endless supply of drunken clientele, he has the right idea. and the things are delicious, too. right now, i'm resting my dogs after a long afternoon of walking all over san francisco at caffe sapore, a little coffee/cafe spot in the bay area, and i swear i just had the best bagel of my life. wheat bagel, topped with avocado, tomatoes, swiss cheese, red oninos, basil, olive oil, dijon and za'atar*. fucking delicious. let's take this shit and run with it! who's with me?

that is, if i come back to champaign at all...

part of the reason for visiting al in austin was to check up on the way they run things at that dell center. since they're just setting up camp, they have openings for supervisors, which is what i've been doing for the past year and a half. i knew going into it that they wanted to interview me for the job, but after so long in that hell of a factory, the idea of sticking with staff management in any capacity wasn't high on my list of things to do. but after seeing the place, and especially after coming to san francisco and comparing this sense of estrangement here to that at-home atmosphere of austin, i started thinking about the offer a little more seriously. the guy i was to meet with in austin ended up flying out for the weekend, so we missed each other. but since bringing all of this to the front of my mind (maybe six hours ago), i've set up a phone interview for tomorrow during my layover in atlanta, and have spent my lunch hour looking at places to rent on craigslist. so, uh...

what am i doing? i have no fucking idea. but it's funny, that when i called my dad today from the top of telegraph hill and told him what's been on my mind, he said our friend amanda had told him just the other day that she knew i wasn't coming back. amanda's always had me pegged, whether i like to admit it or not. and as much as i love proving her wrong, i'm a little anxious to see how this one pans out.

i don't know if you've seen the trailer for the wild parrots of telegraph hill or not, but i set off in search of these birds today. i'm down to my last seven bucks, and i decided to trade my bus fare for a coffee and just foot it today. these hills are no joke, my legs are exhausted. but i did it, trekked across the city and ended up at coit tower, at the top of a hill overlooking the bay on one side and the city on the other. beautiful. i heard the parrots first, then ran for somewhere i could look up without seeing trees, and there they were. twenty or more of them, all flying together, squawking loudly. and then they were gone. i tried following them and ended up seeing them twice more, but for no longer than i did the first time. it was still perfect, and made me miss my lovebird, calvin.

well, i have a long, hilly trip ahead of me, and hopefully a nap at the end. i have a playlist to finish and a sushi dinner to scout out. you know, on a sunny day, san francisco is goddamn lovely.