Zen and the Art of Disassembling a Bike

A year or two ago I read Robert Pirsig's "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance". Overall, I enjoyed the book but admit that it was REALLY confusing at times. Rather than dismiss the dude as a whack-job, I left the book thinking that I might've been missing some of the points he was trying to make. Maybe our brains were just on different wavelengths, or maybe I just needed to go through experiences more similiar to his in order to better grasp his ideas. This weekend...just a little part of that mission accomplished.

On Saturday, I woke up around noon with what wasn't really a hangover but more of a "sluggish feeling" from drinking into the wee hours of the previous night. Despite this, I was focused on getting up and making it to Workshop Houston (http://www.workshophouston.org/), where I had committed to an hour of volunteering in their bike shop. Slowly but surely, I bathed, got dressed, ate brunch, and made my way (with Jennifer, poor thing) over to the shop.

Ok, after telling them I'd be there at 1 PM, I didn't actually show up until 3 PM. But at least I made it, right?

Anyways, after brief introductions, I started off by disassembling one of their donated bikes under the guidance of a more experienced volunteer. Slowly but surely, I completely stripped the old, raggedy bike down to its core. Off came the gears, handlebars, brakes, tires, everything! We threw ALL of the parts into a bucket and then arranged them into their rightful spots around the workshop so that they can be used to build new bikes in the future.

Seriously awesome experience that provided me with a deeper appreciation for the art of bike-design and only furthered my interest in getting more involved in the "bike-world". If this does develop into a full-fledged passion, I already have visions of being a bike advocate in Houston, both educating citizens on the benefits of biking and pushing for city government to make the city more bike-friendly. I might even want to open my own bike shop down the road. Dreamin' again...I like it!

Last, but surely not least, there was a moment in the workshop, when I was simply loosening a screw of all things, that I felt an overwhelming sense of happiness. I was just really thrilled with the idea of learning about bikes, an engineering marvel, so up close and personal. And no joke, I thought back to "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" and what I perceived to be part of Pirsig's message. Rather than just consuming "final products", take time to play around with the very tools and machinery that produce that product. Get right into the middle of a bike or motorcycle, meddle around a little, and you just might find your mind settling into a peaceful, meditative state. Aha!

Close Call

This past Friday, before my trip to Austin, I witnessed a pretty scary car accident in Houston...

I was on the very inside, left lane at a red light waiting to turn left. On my right, there was a truck also waiting to turn left (both lanes could turn left).

So, I'm looking down at my radio when I notice the truck moving in the corner of my eye (he's beginning to turn left from the outer lane). This causes me to look up and realize the protected left green arrow has come on. So, I take my foot off the brake and begin turning as well (in the inner left lane).

Next thing I see, right in front of me, is a white sedan slamming into the truck. The truck flies into the air, crashes into the road, and then flips onto its driver side. So, the driver is pinned on the ground, with the driver-side door the only thing between him and the concrete. My brain is absolutely racing right now - what the fu*k just happened?!?

A few of us ran out of our cars, called 9-1-1, and did our best to get the situation under control (comfort the truck driver through his windshield, direct traffic, etc) as we waited for police and rescue crews to come. After arriving, firefighters cut through the truck's windshield to pull the driver out and luckily, other than being in shock and trying to make sense of what had just happened to him, the guy seemed to be okay for the most part. We then provided eyewitness testimonies to police that we definitely had a protected left, which meant the white sedan had probably driven through a red light...and then went on our way.

Anyways, just wanted to share this to remind people to be very careful driving. Even when a light turns green, please take a second to make sure no cars are racing through the intersection, and more importantly, please don't try to beat yellow lights - it's just not worth it.

So relieved that I was looking down at my radio for a split second when our light turned green and hope the truck driver is doing okay wherever he is.

The Tooklyn Resurrection

It's been a while since I've written here, so I felt like it was important to resurrect this blog before it faded into oblivion...

Today, I finally sat down to truly start my job search here in Houston. Generally speaking, I've just been allowing different ideas of what I want to do float around my brain aimlessly. One day I want to do business development for a non-profit organization, the next day I want to work at Spec's liquor store advising Houstonians on their wine shopping. For the most part, I simply let these thoughts come and go as they please, ultimately believing the universe will solve matters when it wants to. Well, today, as I actually started taking a serious look into what I want to do, I realized how lost I really am. Just because I believe in the all-mighty universe, this doesn't mean I believe life is supposed to be a constant state of laid-back bliss. Sometimes, it's simply time for a little stomach-churning, soul-seeking, job searching to keep the soul aligned with the powers that be. For me, that time has come...doh!