random fleetiness...

rolling the '97 Giant red, old-school, heavy mountain bike down rainier avenue, thinking about everything and nothing. obama. black pride in obama. black expectation of obama's policies. the real confinements of the american presidency. is obama the black michael douglass of "the american president?" someone with nuts and a personality? a president we can revere and admire? will we pay more taxes when he asks? will we openly embrace newly arrived inhabitants to our established communities when the move in, despite their cultural and socio-economic differences? why is the only food available on rainier fried food? matter of fact, where is the billy d. williams colt 45 sign? might as well, right? why did we lose to franklin on monday? when does the stark divide between african and african-american go away? will obama build that "bridge?" can we stop with the black/white discussion? american IS defined as many races, ethnicities. and just because we don't scream the loudest, doesn't mean we don't exist, dammit! its as if having a black president has rendered us even more invisible. is there such a thing as double-invisible? whose labor, blood and sweat is the new generation of the american construction industry? whose, labor, blood and sweat make american restaurants go? who built west coast farming and the railroads to Promontory Point, Utah but were left out of the photo when east met west? yum, taco times. but fried. at least the bomb beef burrito is. riding down jackson, i realized just how war impacts immigration patterns. the vietnam war reconstructed rainier and jackson with language, shops, and culture. its amazing. i just wish it didn't take a bloody war to convince the american government it was ok to let Vietnamese into the states. down 4th avenue, blowing by westlake center and all of the people. do they drive? do the take the bus? what if a couple more of them rode a bike? what if we had light rail, for real? would that really make a difference in the environment? would we be in better shape? would people actually converse on the train, instead of in their car? we should see, don't you think? the rest of the ride was full of thoughts too...but i have to go to work, overactive mind, full of questions, politics, an underlying groove of jadedness, non-negative, situated in real experience, not anger, questions, critical ones, hoping, wishing, praying to move forward toward critical thought...which is exactly what barack wants us to do. think y'all! question y'all! and ride...stimulates random thought i hear. by the way, if i have an idol, its gary payton.

aimless wanderings of an oozing mind...

should is a powerful, pushy sort of word. and when i get caught up in what i "should" do, as opposed to what i would or want to do, my mind and soul conflict. am i in one of those times? not really. but my mind oozes, searching for solidifying compounds, people, books, espresso macchiatos. i "should" be as excited as i have ever been, politically, socially, even personally. Barack Obama is about to be sworn in as president of the united states...a black president! damn! and if we can get off of this black/white binary thing where everyone in between black and white (see yellow, brown, red) is invisible, then we might get somewhere. i "should" be excited about the maybe/probably funky dope coffee shop in columbia city, filled with candles, d'angelo, elements of cool, and the aroma of stumptown coffee...and i am. this is my dream, my creation, or "another bad one" if you want to call it that? yet, there will always be a nostalgic remnant of night and bartending (or barbacking when i work with particularly slow ones). why? am i always wishing for what's next? dreaming the next "vision?" or is there really reason to miss it? and we (seattle) are finally finally finally building light rail. a city with light rail and bike lanes and coffee shops and sushi make for a giddy, emotionally skyrocketing soul, yet there are days when i am a somber bicylclist, cold and dreary. today it is amazingly sunny, and i remembered to take my vitamin D. all is well as my mind morphs into some semblance of shape, not amoeba-like, and thoughts solidfy. tomorrow, we shall see...