Virtual Sound Bloggyesy

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Monday - 3/21/06
8:17 pm
Santa Monica, CA
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Today

(or yesterday to be honest, it's tough to maintain this blog daily)

I went on my usual bike ride toward the ocean.

I wanted to take a ride down to city hall to officially apply for the street performers permit. I got up and did some laundry, cleaned up a bit and practiced the VSO for awhile before I started out on my ride. I took the usual route zig-zagging the numbered blocks toward main st. By numbered blocks I mean that the, and here's where I lose the white text, By numbered blocks I mean the streets. Each street is numbered in succession and incrementally counting upward away from the coast. Now here's why I switched to my ranting yellow text...why can't all towns and cities be this way? It makes it so much easier to get around although I still get lost here due to my own idiocy. Having the streets numbered this way as in New York city, the only other place to catch on to this brilliant thinking, makes it painfully easy to get around. I lived not 40 miles outside Boston my entire life and I couldn't tell you where anything is due the the concrete maze of disarray. Any of you who think I'm ragging on my beloved home state I assure you I am. Anyway, along the way I noticed the beautiful gardens in the area and have included pictures, mostly for my mom (Hi mom)

There truly is some great landscaping and architecture in the area. Although space is limited people really know how to beautify their properties and make the most of the space they have.

Not sure who I'm kissing-up to there exactly but we'll let it ride

I did see an official poodle tree also

I then went to "Santa Monica Place" which is a really nice mall.

With a huge food court

Though I wasn't going to buy into that

The folks in city hall said I could get a picture taken in this mall (passport size) for my performer's permit. Two pictures to be honest as they needed one for their records. I went into the mall in search of the notary or photographer which the woman issuing the permits was referring to. I walked around for a short time checking out the place.

I happened upon this shoe store

I think it should have been named this

but what do I know

I know I didn't care about shoes.
(much to the dismay of fans back east)

After walking around for a few minutes I asked a security guard where I might find the notary photographers office to obtain a legal sized passport photograph. He looked at me inquisitively and said, "oh, you mean the photo fun booth"

I truly was in Disneyland

Apparently this is where most of the passport photos in Santa Monica are issued. That and many of the criminal cases are heard here. It is also the board of assessors office and the confessional for the local catholic church. I started to insert my coinage into given money vacuum slot and suddenly wondered if anyone had ever taken a photo inside a photo fun booth

Now I can cross that one off my list too

I then wondered if I was truly being
original so I took another picture

Surely no-one had taken two pictures in a photo fun booth

Before I left the fun booth, I confessed I had
entertained lude thoughts about the plexi-chicks

After getting the photos...

(I opted for the "Wanted" logo as I figured
the "Princess" logo was way over the top)

Looking back, I almost forgot to bring my
drivers license for permit holder verification

As you can see I brought my passport too

As you can also see I covered any would be pertinent identification information necessary for online identity theft. This was mainly due to my friend harping on me for blatantly showing my credit card number back at the grand canyon blog. (don't bother looking I fixed it) I also covered up the photo on my license as it is so horrible.

Ah what the heck, here it is

How bad is that?

My true Sasquachiness really shines through.

I also filled out my permit application
in hurried, last minute fashion

as you can see I was in a hurry

and nobody calling me please, I see
I forgot to blot out my phone number

Back to our story

After the foto-phun I headed outside to where I locked the bike

and soon after noticed I had a flat tire.

More accurately Gary had a flat tire

to be precise Gary's bike had a flat tire

Great, the furthest point from home

I took a deep breath of Santa MOGica air, smiled, and started to walk my bike to City hall to apply for my permit. "F*dge it", I said, "I'm not going to let a flat tire ruin my day"

I started over the bridge to city hall

and what a nice bridge it was

I arrived at the city hall bike locking area
and noticed someone had left their lock

more accurately someone had ripped
their bike off due to poor locking skills

I was determined not to make the same mistake

I headed inside and the nice guy behind the counter took my coinage
and informed me the permit would be ready tomorrow (today) after 1pm.

woo-hoo!

I left the courthouse and noticed my poor locking skills

just kidding, the bike was there, but the lock was not.

Damn lock thieves.

Again- kidding

Speaking of, this bike has the most
ridiculous looking seat I've ever seen

It looks like I'm sitting on an angel food cake

Kind of feels that way too. Gary informed me he had duct-taped a sock to the front but it fell off. I was determined not to tape a sock to the seat until I realized why he did...OW! off to the sock drawer...

On the way home I saw a sign on a bus that made me
stop my MP3's for the first time to tune in the radio

This was false advertising. The station was portrayed as being a Mozart station but when I painstakingly found the station it was blaring some old rehashed Dvorak. No time for that.

I walked the bike past some graffittied graffiti