Watsonville to San Francisco

Saturday morning kicks off bright and early. I’m up at 5:15 to be at the school at 5:45 so we can leave for a meet at 6. I have found that the best method for getting a car full of teenagers to shut up in the morning is to play soft music and slowly filter heat into the car. It reaches a certain point that they get so warm they pass out. The trick is not making the van too warm before they go to sleep because then they’ll get hot and ask you to turn it down and then they’ll never be quiet.

We get into Watsonville about 7:30 am and I make my prerequisite run to a local fast food place for coaches’ breakfast. We take great delight in eating food in front of the athletes when they’re about to run. The meet starts at 9 and we go all day until 6. Of course, after racing and all day out in the sun, we can’t do the 2 hour drive back until after we’ve fed them, so we give them an hour at the local mall with a bunch of fast food options. Now, it’s a double-edged sword, this whole feeding thing. If you don’t feed them, they’re cranky, but low energy. Once you feed them though, they become high energy and crazy again. Only, this time, it’s night time, and they want to dance and talk in the back as opposed to falling asleep at 6 am.

We get back around 9:30 and after everyone is picked up it’s closer to 10:15 by the time I get home. I sit on the couch and have a few moments where I’m pretty sure I’m just going to doze off there. Glad I didn’t. I decide to rally and meet up with Za who is giving me some tentative line about going to the Rickshaw for Rebel Girl, but not being sure how long she’ll decide to stay out. I rally, roll, shower and mix a cocktail and I’m in my car on my way up to the city by 11:15.

When I get to the Rickshaw, it's packed as per usual, and hot as hell inside. I find Za quickly, who seems to have lost T, but it's not a problem as she knows the bartender and we're getting cheap drinks in tall glasses. The dj is on, so the crowd doesn't stop dancing, and we stay til just before they close. Out on the street, a girl comes up and asks for rolling papers. I give her one, but she's seen my cigarette case and now wants me to trade her one of my pre-rolled for some of her bag. I explain to her that that's not going to happen, but I'll gladly roll one up for her from her stuff. I proceed then to pull the quickest and cleanest 5 minute sidewalk roll I've seen yet before Za and I get off to get some crepes.

At the crepe stand, there's a crazy vibe in the air. I think it had something to do with the fact that down there street there is some sort of huge fight going on involving both guys and girls. Apparently, a guy hit a girl in the face for no reason, which, understandably, put both groups at each other's throats. I'm shocked and appalled that for nearly 10 minutes, this group is screaming at each other as well as sporadically throwing blows, and not a single cop shows up. While waiting in line for the crepes, a girl crying is walking by talking about how she got hit for no reason. The source of the aggravation and the eventual outcome are unclear, but it was certainly uncomfortable to watch.

After crepes, Za takes a cab ride home and I head for Mateo...after getting there, getting settled and unwinding, it's about 5 am when I get to bed. All in a day's work.