Ok. So I've come to the conclusion that in some aspects, many things are better left unsaid/unchanged/unresolved. Sometimes the involved parties have more fun that way. Not everything in life is perfect, so you accept it, right?

Ok. Now, if I have figured this out after killing a night drinking and its 3.49am, why can't my friends? Everyone speaks of drama. Trust me, I know it. In fact it was most of YOU that informed me of my own drama. Now, how many problems has my drama caused... Or better yet, why can my friends not heed their own words? I enjoy the times spent with everyone where everyone gets alone. I am getting more than a little sick of the atypical drama that now occurs when more than 4 of my friends hang out together.

A night at a bar should be just that. It should not be a chance to profess anything to anyone, nor should it be a chance to tell someone off. I do not care what the hell is going on that is on your mind - if its between just two of you, well shit, the rest of us do not care. deal with that crap on your own, and in the mean time, bolster your self image among your friends for being that person that everyone likes to be around.

I'm tired of hearing about text messages that tell people off. dirty looks, slighted stories, not talking to people at parties, showing up only if someone else isnt. that was fucking HIGH SCHOOL people and we left it a long time ago. even 10 minutes afterwards is long enough.

to the people bringiing this drama, please keep in mind that none of your friends got to be your friends for this drama - and it wasnt there when we met you. so, why it is now, fails me. but lose it, all of you, and lets all get back together and have a nice time.

Put that crap aside, and remember that your friends are important. They're the only people who will let you know when its really gotten to that point.

This statement was aimed at no one in particular, and everyone I know.
(including myself)

a lot of things are getting really dumb. Currently i cannot tell if its the people involved, my attitude towards it all, or what. but im pretty fucking tired of it.

whatever. I guess I have work to do. eventually some of these problems will actually disappear on their own. I'll see what i can do about the other ones. right?

my words are bigger than my brain. or thats my motivation.

I have started on a huge project and it feels good.
    I can't really talk about it. Its neat though. It'll be the first of its kind in the world when its done. And it'll appeal to hundreds of people in a purchasing sense, even with a 5-figure price tag. it'll appeal to thousands of consumers, justifying its price.
    The goal will be to utilize one at its location of conception, and sell a bunch to make some dough. It utilizes nearly everything I learned in school, which to me, so long as it all works well (which it will), should help justify my year+ out of school. I do want to finish school. but its not something I can comfortably do right now. So, I'll change my situation to accomodate it.
    I originally gave myself a 1 month deadline to do this project. I am "starting" the real work as soon as I get a program installed on here. And then, I'm crushing it down to two weeks. it's gonna be interesting.. I'll take it easy on going out, and actually get some work done. I'd love for a specific someones company during some of that time, but who am I kidding.
    It will be interesting. It will be brutally hard to do as well.
But i got it.
I like a challenge.

Why am I writing about work? Well, work ain't too bad. Especially when you take it upon yourself to make the joint look ten times better based on your own ideas. (which, coincidentally, happen to be the same as the ones recommended by store designers...) So lets start at the beginning.
    The shop is good sized. We all agree it could be bigger, but thats not our call. And besides, larger store with the same sales as as smaller store is less effective. But I think it would boost sales. We started one night while several managerial-types were out of town. Andrew D. and I removed an entire section of bikes (about 40 of them) and filled the area with clothing. It looked awesome.
     I had grandiose plans to give the shop a nicer, more interactive feel by having local trail maps, places to ride, routes to take, mileage, customer pics/stories, etc. That got kyboshed for taking up product space. Well, so maybe it does. but having a store with a better community feel will sell things faster than a pile of product just sitting out there.
    We removed the wall to your right when you walk into the store. Jim and Jarrod and Ben were all against it at first. It'll lose us too much shoe storage, where are we going to put the magazines... waah waaah.. someone also said it was something Andy August didnt want to do... but then 5 minutes later andy said he wanted it gone.. but i only overheard the prior comment..             Anywho we tore that junk out real nice, trimmed it up and painted. It's said that when customers walk into a store, they tend to go right. Probably because something like 70% of the people are right handed. Anywho, welcome to park ave bike shop, you can go right now. It looks good, sotre looks bigger, and with the way the clothing is arranged, you can see straight to the bikes, over the clothing, and to the skiis, over the winter clothing.             Dialed!
    I want to move our giant TV out of the clothing/ski section. its hidden in a corner and commands no sight. I think its another thing I'll have to do on my own. Sounds like a sunday project to me.. since my sunday crew tends to slack until i send people home. but i cannot blame them. i slack too. I just need a project!
    what else.. probably everything. our bathroom should get redone too. How, is the question. I think we should loose the big plastic shelf and get some nice clean stainless jobbie in there. or nothing at all. Maybe it needs some trim or something. no idea. I'm no interior designer. I just think it should look nicer.
    Interaction is key with shopping I believe. I'll make it fly.

AFI played at the armory on main street on november 28th.
It was their first show back in the states since their european tour. Davey, the singer, was actually born in rochester, and lived here til he was 5.
but thats dull.

Colo comes up from B-lo and we decide some solid pre-gaming is needed. We're going to see AFI for the first time and going to a big party after. We go to max and hang out with daniel while he is working. cotterman left max and alyssa is the new bartender now. but she doesnt know either of us, or the fact that we've been there a while. anywho she is not too keen on us at 9pm that night. well, you know, andrew went behind the bar to get a bottle of jack and she was like, "here, let me put that back for you" and such like. There was much explanation of history at max. we drank there regardless. vodka on the rocks, 3 shots of jack, yeah. then we left there and stopped by some shady minimart to get some 22ozs... real high class. killed those on the walk from school of the arts where we parked to the armory... open container laws be damned!
Got in. met up with greg and ryan. show was awesome, sound was good, lights were awesome. We go to the bathroom and as we walk out, we see a guy dressed all in black at the light booth.. and im like.. "hey, i know that guy!"
Andrew concurs, and we yell out "WILL YOUNG!" and he turns around.
We walk over, and he says "gentlemen! lets go smoke a bowl."
We're like, um, ok, what?
Turns out will runs the place. the entire upstairs is his office. a full-tour later reveals soundproof booths for recording, studios, stages, wine cellars inside castle turrets, I mean damn, the dude lives in a castle! What a sweet gig.
We hang up there for a bit and then get back to the show. But of course, not before will says "yeah i should let you get back.. you did pay for those tickets.. let me know anytime you want to see something here.."
So you know.. maybe if we want some private balcony action at a show, we can get it.
the show ended, and we had to get to sarahs. greg and ryan did not want to go. so myself and andrew went back to max for a bit. more jack, more vodka, hanging out with everyone there since the night was wrapping up.
we head over to sarah's with daniel now. andrew falls on the wet brick when he decides he can leap a bush in the rain. we laugh. we get in, its packed. drink some beers, hang out, so many people.. then word is that cotterman is visiting max right now! so we head back over.. daniel slips on the stairs and i catch him but not before like 10 bottles break everywhere. we run across the parking lot to max. see cotterman, have some more drinks, have a celebratory pfunk with him and everyone, and try to convince him to head back to sarahs. he declines, so we head back over. still packed. meet sarahs sister. chat with all these people, lsiten to music, end up chillin in sarahs room with everyone. it gets fuzzy here but I distinctly remember sarah saying she was going to get changed, and then andrew suggesting that he was gonna get changed too.. and sarah throwing some pants at him. I was handed a very short skirt and it was funny... no one put anything on. wouldnt been bad. in fact, it was bad enough, because I found out later that sarahs sister.. janelle? thought i was gay... what? why, because I was nice and didnt hit on you? wierd. sarah told her otherwise, and reassured her that there was no way.. but i mean really. anyways. the cops show up, and we're like, yeah, damn.. they are upstairs.. i head out to chat with them, and im like "evening officers, what can we do for ya?" "oh, heard reports of underage drinking.." "yeah, its been tough with the costumes here.. little halloween party.. but i think most everyone has cleared out.." Colo comes out of sarahs room and they're like, You got id? to which he says, no officer, im the DWI tonight.... I mean, DD tonight.." Cop eyes him hard, then looks towards the bedroom.. I'm like, 'whoa guys, the girls are getting changed... give em a minute.'
The daniel walks out. doh!
The cops leave, and myself, dan, andrew, and sarah all leave to go play around. we end up at manhattan square playing on the rope playground. we are all a little concerned because sarah is climbing this thing in like some damn stilletos and its all wet... so... I fall instead. top to bottom and skin my shin on the only piece of met in the place.
needing to redeem myself, i head off to look for trouble.
found it 30 seconds later.
The contruction site where they are tearing down the old ice rink has a bobcat parked in the center. I run over, hope in, and hit the ignition.. no keys,  good.. but... ive driven a bobcat.. what did i hear? all bobcats run the same key?

ANDREW!!! where are your bobcat keys? "Right here!!"
VROOOOOM 3:15am loud little diesel firin' up in an open field with 3 surrounding concrete walls aimed at an apartment complex... how long til someone figures it out? long enough for andrew to drive it around and scoop some dirt... then just long enoguh for him to panic and realize its a bad idea and park it 30ft from where he started... then we ran like hell.. all the lights were coming on.. we're yelling for everyone to get back to his truck, and they do, so we hop in and zip back to sarahs to drop her off. we help clean up for a bit and by 4am we are at marks getting some food.

which leads me to the next bit. I felt fine that whole night, even for all i drank. I went home, laid in bed for a bit, and fell asleep comfortably.

To which, I woke up, felt pretty good.. wandered around, thought about food... noticed my stomach was upset.. had some water.. and the entire plate I ate the night before came right back up. aweful. i mean, i really dont like booting, and after recent comparisons, it seems to happen when I eat certain foods after a lot of drinking.. like, I should not eat afterwards. Ironically, I distinctly remember on a herradurra ride that I got stumbly drunk and managed to go to gitsis for a plate... ate it.. and woke up great the next day. Alex at the shop says gitsis's grease is better for that. ahha.

oh right, so after I brushed my teeth I hustled into work, and was the only damn one there. I open the store right at noon, wondering where the hell everyone was... cursing them all as terrible slackers, i look at my phone and it says 11am... right.. daylight savings changes automatically on the phone... but not on the clock on the wall!!!! damn!
close store, take nap, reopen at the 'real' noon.

back to a little of the same-old oh my i need to write some things out. i will touch lightly on each thing here for future expansion -

no order-

AFI, and the owner of the venue
new bartender at Max doesnt like us
meeting a girl on brunswick street at night
driving someone elses bobcat at 3am
sarah c's sister thinks im gay
the manhattan sq. playground revisited
the 80's party
why i don't like marks
fixies
a lack of street riding
a notebook and a cd
Vegas
why i have a laptop
blackout friday... and the people i dont remember being there
the girl who yells at me when i valet
what i miss about making bikes
remembering why commuting sucks
wanting to see brand new in nyc or binghamton
a distinct desire to fix a lot of things
guy drama
why i dislike a 1. JP
what will happen if the nieghbors block the driveway again
coincidence, quick thinking, and locked-while-running beamers
bike shop revitalization
two brand new cd's and a going against my words
quote analyzation.

expect at least one of these stories to be expanded each night.

i talk too much. almost as much as i think.

so in the city with the highest murder per capita in NY state, including NYC... how many cops does it take to change a light bulb?

better yet, how many cops does it take to answer one cyclists question about why he cant ride on the sidewalk?

Six. but you have to close down a major street in downtown, and throw him against and then into a squad car. and you have to call the police on those cops too. and you have to have a meeting with the east side commander... who is a big cyclist!

dateline monday night, 9.42pm.
greg and I ride downtown to meet up with andy J.. something we have been doing forever. I can say I have spent any number of evenings since I was 16 riding in downtown at night.. thats 8 years. we run into nate stahura, jason roe, and matt. they are on bmx bikes, and currently talking to a police officer who has stopped in his dodge durango. we roll up upon conversation.. and nate says to me "we can't ride our bikes on the sidewalk."... the cop realizes some others have come up, and calls us up. tells us the same thing. we compy, saying "ok, hey, no problem." and we hop into the street. at this point, two groups of people on bikes ride past... on the sidewalk. Nate says to the officer "hey, wait, do you ahve to stop them too? they're riding on the sidewalk too, through people actually."  The officer says nothing, and drives away. We all feel thats fairly messed up, and decide to at least get the cops car number, as to call and ask what the deal is. we follow officer friendly down about two blocks, to which he turns, and enters a parking lot full of Krudco skateboarders. a bunch of them disperse upon sight of the cop, but Aaron, who owns krudco stops and says "hey sure, no problem, we'll take off."

at this point, nate (still in the street) rolls up and says "hey, you stopped us a minute ago and told us not to ride on the sidewalk. what about all the other kids riding there? are you going to stop them too?"

at this point the officer dumps the durango into reverse, turns towards us, and punches it forwards at us. jason back out of the way, and the cops stops.

his coffee spills down the dashboard and window.

he gets out and says "you, with the big mouth" and points at nate.
Nate says, "Me?"
and at this point the officer gets out, grabs nate, drags him off the bike, and slams him against the hood of the truck. nate is like "what the hell is going on here, I asked a damn question!" and the officer then say, "got ID kid?"
nate says, "yeah, once I am told whats going on!"
officers says "whats going on, is you're going to jail tonight!"
I say "hey what the hell is is this? he asked a question!"
another squad car pulls up, and nate is thrown in the back of it.
as the officer turns back to us, I say "Excuse me officer, whats your name?"
He says "Leach, CAPTAIN Leach."
"Thanks CAPTAIN Leach, I'm calling the cops."
I proceed to call 911 and explain to the operater that I am having a problem with an officer and I would like someone else to come down, preferably of rank. The operator complies and says a sargeant will be down shortly, or will call me.
less than two minutes later, 3 more cop cars show up, and then a bike cop too.
Sarge comes up, sargeant Alberti, and wants to know whats going on. he pulls me aside to tell him. I begin to explain to him. He offers that Captain Leach would not do something unless it was needed. I questioned that, and proceeded to tell the sargeant that he ought to have everyone come over to hear this. he says he will start with talking to me.
The bike cop throws in "you know, I mean, do any of you even have bells?"
-Now, Ironically, someone at the pittsford park ave put a bell on my bike the day before. I didnt really think of it... until right then, when I rang that little bell as lound as I could.-
"oh, uh, well... *silence* hmmm..."
At this point, Captain Leach is now writing tickets to nate, jason, and matt - but not me and greg. I hear matt say "I don't think you understand what you're starting" and then I hear the bike cop "I don't think you want to be threatening a police officer." I chimed in that I thought he statement was misunderstood - why? How about because Jason and Matt work for Kink. You know, a BIKE company owned and operated in downtown rochester. How about because Greg and I are Draco Bikes, another bike company owned and operated in Rochester. And Greg and I work at bike shops. you know, if there were every any people to piss off about bikes, man, we are the people who will talk about it and make some voices heard. but hey - back to the sargeant.
Sarge Alberti says something along the line of  "we were not complying, thats why we're being ticketed."
I put myself on the line - "Sarge, listen, its bad enough that he picked a group of 5 people riding... and not the 15 other people doing the same thing at the same time in the same place... but to write tickets to only THREE of those five seems like further discrimination. We were all there."
Alberti responds with "alright, do you have any ID on you?"
I produce it. I don't have a problem.
Alberti : "Ok, here's the deal: everyone can get a ticket, and we impound all the bikes.... or your friends get the tickets and everyone rides home."
myself: "I think you're missing my point - at what point did Nate's question as to WHY we cannot ride on the sidewalk turn into how we're all going to be getting rides home in squad cars?"
again, he said it was because we didnt comply.

Bullshit.

I explain how my family is the head of the neighborhood committee for our area, and how all of us live in the city, and how all of us ahve dealt with city cops before - and ahve never had a negative experience! I explain how on MANY of our rides, we've run into city cops and had nothing but good times talking to them. they always seemed to look out for our benefit, informing us that say, there had been a lot of bike thefts, or maybe ask if we had seen a suspect in our travels. Hell, one night on a thursday night ride, a group of city cops stopped a big group of freeride kids (on the sidewalk) to see if they had seen anyone run by. Descriptions of the suspects were given, and they were told to call 911 if while riding, they saw them. Sure enough, the did, and the info the freeride guys gave them (with descriptions and locations) led to the arrest of two armed suspects.... there are pictures of the cops arm and arm with everyone on that ride... on the sidewalk...

Like I said, never a negative experience!
Hell, I've done the bike work on all the city bike cops bikes! At my house!

At some point this was all winding down (as wound down as 5 cop cars blocking exchange street at 11pm can be) and Sarge Alberti says :
"I hope this hasn't soured you on experiences with the city police."
to which I respond:
"Actually officer alberti, this is by far, the WORST experience I have EVER had with ANY city police officer. What the fuck is this, I have to call the cops on the cops to get info on why my friend gets slammed in the back of a car? not right. we're supposed to be able to turn to the police for help."
He says "well, perhaps you should all take this as a lesson learned."
matt offers "that what, in the city with the highest murder per capita, that its because there are more officers hassling bike riders than murder suspects?"
Albery slightly shakes his head, and we are then all distracted by a Caprice that drives by with like 26" rims... it was really like 2 feet off the ground.

anywho, nate is now out of the cop car. he is pissed, and wants to know where his bike is (the krudco guys had moved it out of sight, so it wouldnt get taken). Sargeant Alberti and Captain Leach are standing there, and basically said that we needed to stay off the sidewalks inside the inner loop. and since we didnt ahve the proper lights and bells on all bikes, that we needed to get home. He then told us that since this many officers were involved, that they would be keeping an eye open for us. and that we needed to stay out of downtown.

Tickets are distributed- no fine schedule. the fine is so new, they all ahve to go to court over it. great, loose a day of work because a question about riding on the sidewalk turned into a 6 officer detention/inquisitioning..

Now, I mentioned my family was tight with the cops. how tight? Commander Brunnette is an avid cyclist and has spent time chatting with my father about riding.. I've got a cell phone number for him, and an email. asides from the politically correct method of having a nice chat with him, we will all be rolling into the courthouse on september 27th... about 60 people strong, with commander brunnette, to let the judge know that in 5 minutes of dealing with captain leach, this crowd went from a happy, respectful, polite, enjoyable police relationship to a distrustful hatred... 5 minutes of interaction. not gonna look good on his review... thats for sure.

anywho.. I really couldnt believe it. ask anyone there, it got so out of hand so fast, that no one thought it was really happening. I am a level headed person when it comes to dealing with the police (remember - no negative experiences before!) and I was just BLOWN away by it all.

next street ride, we are all rolling with mini headlights and blinkies... and bells.

later, i remember that there are all these signs that say "no skateboarding, biking, or skating between 6am and 6pm... which is why everyone rides street at night - no hassles.

I also remembered that Sargeants are below Captains... so that helps explain why he seemed to back everything up so willingly.

dear commander brunette - I got beef with your employees. See you friday.

ps - longest blog ever

to anyone wondering.

*yes, I have written and re-written this and will find it best to be short.*

We shut down draco bikes tonight.
 
It's reached a point that requires more dedication than the entire group can offer right now. At the moment, we are clearing out the frames we have as stock, and calling it a day until everyone can try this again for real. Which is never. So alas, it ends. We are pursuing personal achievements for now. I at least, will still be building - but not for the public.

That is all.

..but you owe me.


smile. its my favorite.