It's taken me a while to get back into the 'blogging' thing, as I've gone so long without it, but repetition eventually becomes habit, and I'm slowly but surely getting back into it.

What I'd like to do now, is transcribe my memories from the past few months, telling you all the story of how I got here; The east bay of San Francisco. So let's go back in time about 5 months and start there. . .

Joseph and I, accompanied by 2 other climbing-bum buddies, Thomas & Matt, left Smith Rock in the high desert town of Terrabonne, Oregon, for the beaches & forests of Northern California, and some potential climbing at the Lost Rocks, found at the mouth of the Klammath River. We set ourselves up in the town of Arcata, and began our Cali lives when disaster struck in the form of a slung rod in my engine.

For those of you who don't know much about internal combustion engines (which includes former me in this flashback), the cylinder rod is the 'arm' of the piston, which moves up and down from compression created by the ignited fuel/air mixture, spinning the crankshaft, thusly propelling the vehicle. When the rod 'slings', it warps under the pressure and heat, and eventually will throw itself through the engine block, if continued to run. Basically, at that point, the engine is screwed.

This was a major setback, seeing as I spent just about all of my summer doing strenuous labor work to get the van, which was suppose to be my mobile home for the next leg of the climbing/living journey. Needless to say, a wide array of emotions were running loose in my noggin after the mechanics at Redwood Automotive told me my engine was toasted. The main questions I was faced with, at that point were 'Do I sell the van and try to get another vehicle?' or 'Do I try to fix it?'. Engine replacement IS NOT a simple, cheap, nor quick process, so I was leaning towards selling, until the answers started falling into my lap. . .

Frist, a running 89 GMC van was thrown at my feet for the unheard of price of $150. SOLD! Next issue. . . Find an engine lift to borrow/rent. With the help of craigsist, this issue was solved in a matter of minutes. Final worry, find someone who was willing to let a novice mechanic use their driveway to try and figure out how to do an engine swap. Once again, craigslist pulled through! So, on November 23rd, using Josephs AAA card, I had the van towed to Eureka, California to see if I could, in fact, do an engine swap. . .















The initial add on craigslist stated that I would only need a week, at most. BIG UNDERESTIMATE!!! It took a full week to get everything dismantled and ready to pull the engine, (including a van-made thanksgiving dinner break, which consisted of falafels, stuffing, hummus & applesauce) then another month to put the new engine in, and figure out the modifications that come with popping a fuel injected '89 engine into my previously carbureted '81 van. Issues involved included electrical re-directing, Fuel intake fabrications, as well as shaving out holes on the intake manifold with a chainsaw file, but after all the unexpected fabrications, the van, now dubbed 'Frankenstein', left it's oil-ridden spot on the driveway, and completed a successful testdrive around town.
Durring the testdrive is when I encountered another instance of Murphy's Law. Silly me forgot to close/turn-off my laptop (which was serving as a jukebox at this point), as well as neglected to move the pot of water from that mornings oatmeal off of the stove. Needless to say, my macbook got doused with lukewarm water while I was celebrating the rebirth of my van. Boo & Yay at the same time!!!

So, after the completion of the van, I retreated back to Arcata to try and find work, which was not as easy as one would assume. Arcata has so much to offer in the form of visual and extracurricular stimuli, but little in the work field. Good thing there was plenty to keep my broke mentality occupied.




Humbly homeless, I sought after anything that would fill my mind and stomach, and after a few weeks of community service for homeless violations, another opportunity landed in my lap. This time, from a friend who was needing someone to watch a house and a dog so they could go climb in France for a month.

Needless to say, but said anyway, I took them up on the offer.

Now, Mr. Moot and I lazily, watch after a 3 bedroom house in the Richmond Hills of San Fran, happily running around the fields, climbing the rocks, and making the occasional dollar from a job that could prove to be worth the wait.




I've also taken this opportunity to clean-up a bit, no matter how unconventional the method, as well as invest a bit of funds into my musical future. Don't worry, the guitar only cost $100, and that's a steal of a deal for a 12 string acoustic!


So, that's what's been going on. I hope this post answers any question you may have, as well as serve as the renaissance of my blogging. Shots of Beautiful San Fran to follow, assuming the weather eases up. Till then, CHEERS!!!