was it all a dream?

I had to get up early this morning in Cleveland to catch my flight back to San Freaksicko. I had been sleeping since 6 PM the night before; I laid down for a minute because I had a slight headache, but of course I slept until 2:30 AM...which meant all my plans for last night were completely shot (sorry, Mike...I'll be out again soon). Of course, I spent too much time fucking around getting ready, and my dad had to race to the airport to get me there on time (I barely made it). I took a few shots with my new camera on the way. Oh, did I mention I got a new camera? It's an Olympus Evolt E-300 digital SLR professional from Dodd Camera in beautiful, gorgeous Lyndhurst, Ohio (the one closest to my folks' house).

Oh HELL yeah.

I snapped a bunch of photos on the way to the airport this morning...I'm still learning how to use the damn thing, so some of these came out a bit funny. Also, my dad was hauling ass in his new hot-ass Cadillac SLS to get to airport in time so they're a bit blurry. He knows a shortcut through one of the grungiest neighborhoods in Cleveland, but you can get to the airport from Cleveland Heights in like, 20 minutes (should take about 40). This is in my old neighborhood, a few blocks from where I grew up and my parents still live...I remember when it was a drug store. Now, it's a hair salon called Flawless & Fierce.

No, really.

Look at the sign...Flawless & FIERCE...click on any of the photos to enlarge them:



Aww yeah.

Here's a nice row of "Cleveland Doubles" (as they're known in northeast Ohio...they're all over Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, East Cleveland, and Lakewood). These are on Noble Road in East Cleveland:



Then it starts getting scary:



I remember when that building was occupied.

Scarier even...this was Hayden and Woodward roads in Cleveland, less than 10 minutes from home:



We finally got to the freeway, I-90 eastbound:



Then we passed one of my favorite buildings in the entire world...the old Independent Towel Supply Company building. It used to have a huge smokestack, but it's been neutered, unfortunately:



Onward...we raced, past this old cold storage building. It used to have WGAR-AM 1220 billboards on the side of it when I was a kid, so I've always referred to it as the WGAR Building...but it seems to be the Fifth Third Bank Billboard Building now:



Past Jacob's Field (home of the Cleveland Indians...this photo came out a bit wonky):



Past downtown Cleveland...the City of Several Tall Buildings:



Yeah, I know, I know. Those photos suck, and they're blurry. But keep in mind I snapped those from the passenger seat of a speeding car with the window down, so it was hard to hold the camera steady.

Anyway.

We finally reached the airport. My camera was put away by then, because I had some running to do.

The flight was uneventful, and I slept through most of it.

Chris A. picked me up at SFO in his Jaguar:



and then drove me to the Castro so we could have lunch:



Finally, I got home early this afternoon, around 1 PM or so. However, I was not prepared for what awaited me in my apartment. For one, I didn't even recognize the place at first. You see, when I left, it was tidy, but a bit untidy. Daigle had the keys to my place so he could come water the plants. So this is what I saw when I walked in, and looked to the left:



I looked to my right:



and poked my head into the kitchen:



My DVD's were all stacked and neatly organized:



My office was spotless:



and my stuffed animals were all waiting for me and not upside down on their heads like they were when I left:



Then I noticed this on my dining table:



I opened the card, and it was from Daigle...telling me welcome home, relax, and have a glass of wine.

I love that boy. I really, really do.

It's good to be back. :-)