Car Pool Log: 2007 05-18

Dark blue, BMW sedan, tan leather interiors.

Said good morning to Driver as I sat in the front seat. KQED on the radio. Driver had a bottle of water in the space between seats and a case for glass/sunglasses in the cubby below the radio.

I pulled out my small, red notebook and began writing down a paragraph I thought about last night. Didn’t bring my bag with me today, felt like a working citizen imposter or a stowaway.

On the radio: violent, drug related crime in Mexico City. People found decapitated to frighten their enemies. A man read dates from last week and a woman related incidents that occurred on those days, as though they were entries from a diary. Volume was turned down too low to listen appropriately.

Driver pulled over to the side of the road after the Howard/Fremont intersection. I turned to her to say thank you, she replied with a bye-bye.

Car Pool Log: 2007 05-17

Dark gray, Voyager minivan, grayish blue interior. A portion of the backseat was folded down to reveal a carseat in the interior of the cushion. Had trouble finding an appropriate seatbelt.

Hanging from the rearview mirror was an orange flag, or banner, with gold tassels sewn to the bottom. Printed on the banner was an om, bookended by two symbols that looked like pitchforks and Indian writing below.

On the Driver’s side of dashboard was a sunbleached illustration of two men, one with a white beard and the other with a black beard. They both had dark eyelashes and perfectly shaped eyebrows. Both also wore headdresses of different kinds. The illustration was on a card that stood up, facing Driver.

Cassettes, both white and clear, along with numerous pens crowded a cubby. On the radio was a collection of Indian torchsongs with sitar and synthesizer.

Stickered to the dashboard, above the tapedeck, was a May 2007 calendar. The calendar featured a chiropractic practice in gold lettering on a black background. Their logo was of a pair of hands delicately holding onto a gold spinal column as if it were lifted from the body and raised to the light for inspection.

A cup of coffee without a lid in a metal travel mug, steam rising from the cup. Three or four empty Styrofoam cups.

Numerous empty water bottles rolled around the backseat. Driver had a mechanical device that could’ve been a car-jack. A red sweatshirt underneath the passenger’s seat. Between the front seats: a newspaper, a towel, a black canvas Sun Microsystems bag.

Driver was on a handless cellphone and sipped his coffee. He wore a black leather jacket with two red stripes down the length of the arms. At the intersection of Howard and Fremont the vehicle in front failed to make a left on a green light. Driver honked the horn.

Car Pool Log: 2007 05-16

Blue Subaru Outback station wagon. Dark sunglasses, cellphone in the cubby. A red metal travel mug; a tag for tea, hanging from a string, coming from the lid.

KQED on the radio: “Gilmore Girls” series finale coming soon. Discussion on the behind-the-scenes drama (contractual disagreements) that threw a curve ball at the narrative of the show. When a butterfly flaps its wings in Africa does Lorelai break up with her diner cook? Then, President Bush’s address to reporters, his attempts to get greenhouse gas emissions decrease and then, to later, completely disappear.

A bumper sticker on a truck:

My other car
is a pair of boots.

Car Pool Log: 2007 05-15

Tan Buick sedan, tan leather interior. Driver was listening to KQED when I arrived.

Behind the Driver’s seat: a glass jelly jar with a metal lid, some kind of red and white linen. Sitting next to me: a box of Kleenex, a metal liquid container. In the pocket of the side door was a thick collection of worn and heavily used city maps.

Driver appeared out of place in this vehicle, as if it didn’t belong to her.

Topics on the radio included Attorney General Arthur Gonzalez’s deputy resigned, stating the high cost of having college-aged children as a reason. Paul Wolfowitz, president of the World Bank, is under investigation and scrutiny for giving his girlfriend a raise and asking the “bank teller” to keep it hush-hush.

While turning down the Fremont off-ramp Second Passenger asked Driver if she was going across Market (perhaps). I didn’t hear a response from Driver but sensed unspoken tension.

As we turned onto Fremont, Driver turned around and asked me where I wanted to be dropped off. I wasn’t certain she was speaking to me at first; I had assumed she was speaking to Second Passenger. She asked me again. “The corner’s fine,” I said and she pulled over.

Car Pool Log: 2007 05-14

Blue VW two-door. Driver arrived with Second Passenger in the backseat. We said good morning and drove off.

The car was small, cramped, and a little awkward. It was cumbersome with the two bags I brought with me. The interior of the car, gray plastic, was generally dusty.

KOIT radio to begin followed by KFOG, Nelly Furtado: “Say It Right” and then Driver plugged in her mini iPod, Beyonce. In the dash she kept her iPod and cellphone. The dashboard had old glue remnants, perhaps from a medallion, like Saint Christopher, that had once been placed there.

Driver told me she was crossing Market. I told her that the Howard/Fremont corner was fine.

Car Pool Log: 2007 05-11

Same car as the day before, the green Subaru Outback. The bag in the babyseat was for a store called Mom’s The Word. Inside the shopping bag was a Nantucket Nectar and the New Yorker from yesterday.

Second Passenger arrived wearing a purple cotton outfit and yellow bandana around her neck. Her salt and pepper hair swept up in a pony, earrings and rings on her fingers.

“I go to 8th if you go that way,” Second Passenger said. I’m unclear as to whether or not Driver gave a response.

Second Passenger took a newspaper, The San Francisco Chronicle, out of a plastic bag. The first section she opened to was the TV Guide, followed by the comics, and then the Datebook section.