Detail

I forgot to mention that my friend Ayelet and her husband have a large, blue hookah on their back patio. Awesome. It makes me think of the opening song in "Aladdin" --


"combination hookah and coffee maker! also makes julien fries..."

when worlds collide

bollywood meets hollywood for a thoroughly delightful 2 hour comedy in the film "bride and prejudice".

truly a great film. very fun and funny and makes you wanna dance. go see it, people.

also, finally watched "i heart huckabees". very interesting and thought provoking in some ways. i wanna watch it again....

l'enfer, c'est les autres

Je sais pas ou commencer, sauf que je ne savais pas que quand qq'un dans ma vie trouve qq'un autre -- je ne savais pas que tout cela me couper comme ca. Je me sens mal a l'estomac, mais, a la meme fois, je sais que c'est bete ca. J'ai aucun droit d'avoir envie de qq'un qui, en tous cas, je dois pas avoir un certain type de rapport. bon....alors pourkoi me sens-je comme ca? comme qq'un m'a battee?? c'est stupide. peut-etre c la malediction d'etre feminin. nous n'avons pas la capacite d'etre 'separee' de nos sentiments. pfff...j'ai pensee que j'etais differente, que moi, j'avais un coeur ou un esprit de pierre ou de fer. mais. c'est pas vrai.
et en plus, je le savais. je suis une creature SI sensible...des que l'enfance. ma duh!

mon dieu...qu'est que j'avais fait? quelle 'drogue' avais pris-je? tout cela ne m'aide pas comme enfant de dieu (ou bien, peut-etre oui..), mais ... en tout cas je sais que l'artiste en moi se profitera bien de cette experience. le pire est la guerre qui se continue entre mon esprit, ma tete, mon corps et mon coeur. C'etait presque finit (j'ai pensait...) avant ce soir!! Mais, avec les merveilles de la technologie moderne, ca recommence un peu. helas. "le coeur a ses raisons que la raison ne connais pas".
NB: j'ai tire le titre de cette post du 'huit clos' par sartre, parce que j'ai regarde aujourd'hui un film tres existentiel. selon moi, le but du film etait le sentiment que l'enfer, c'est les autres....

This post has been a long time coming....

I've had so many fun, crazy, and even odd experiences this week that I've wanted to write about. But I haven't had a chance until today! This week has just contributed to my "why I LOVE living in the Bay Area" attitude.

Sunday, March 13
I had my first Philly Cheese Steak today. Well, okay, technically it was chicken, but it was really good. Then, went to Mitchells for the best ice cream in SF with AZ, Alexis and Ashley. mmmmmmmmm.

Tuesday, March 15
Went to Berkeley for a Persian festival to celebrate Persian New Year's (which was actually this morning around 4:33am). There was music, dancing, and even jumping over fire. Then, afterwards, went the Kiki and some of her family to Jupiter for drinks and hearing live jazz. This trio was great -- hadn't heard good live jazz in a while. We also have a sip of vodka from the bottle that was snuck into the restaurant.

Wednesday, March 16
Salsa class at Social Salsa. Having SO much fun learning this. I know I'm killin' AZ with all this dancing craze -- but she did express that she appreciates my "exploring her culture..." (were those your words? :P heee hee.

Thursday, March 17 *St. Paddy's*
Up brignt and early to take the aforementioned best friend to SFO. On the way, manage to get the song "yeah, yeah....." stuck in my head. Awesome.
After catching a quick nap, head to El Sobrante for breakfast with my friend Ayelet. We eat some traditional Israeli food (can't remember the name) that was delish! Head to Oakland for a lesson and then San Rafael to meet Tyler for the rest of the afternoon. We trek up to Sonoma for some wine and general merriment.
It was a gorgeous day.
Later that night, head out to The Irish House for holiday festivities. Wear my Guinness shirt and socks(!) and there is more merriment, dancing, and Guinness-drinking. San Franciscans love to celebrate!

Friday, March 18th
Had the odd experience of being the ONLY passanger on a Muni bus for 15 minutes. I had my own private bus - down MARKET street, even. The #7 just didn't have that many takers. Eventually, we had up to 8 riders. Strange, as that morning we were so crowded you couldn't even turn around.
After work I crash, but then decide to head to The Independent (just down the street) for a concert to see one of my favorite bands, Berkeley locals O-maya. They brought with them Brazuca Brown (Brazillian!) and Bayonics (latin/hip hop fusion) as their openers. MAN was it a hot concert. Dancing, and yes, even more merriment! I love this venue, too. It's a great, not-to-big space. I was in the front all night. I could've joined in on the timbales had I wanted to. I was that close.

Saturday, March 19th
To San Jose to go to Great America with the queen! Her work sponsored a private event there and we had the park to ourselves. We didn't even get rained on! The best roller coster, by far, was Top-Gun. Smooth, fast and thrill-seeking without the whiplash. The least enjoyable was the stand-up roller coaster. This coaster had awful, unconfortable banana-seat things (feel sorry for the men who ride it!) and was extremeley jerky. Not worth it.

For Saturday night I had tried to recruit my people to head out to Cocomo with me, but there weren't any takers, barring one of the guys from my Wednesday night class. We had a lot of fun and danced for 4 hours, staying to shut down the club. And, I think I finally figured out the shoe situation, so I can avoid blisters! I'm glad E met me there ('cause it would be weird to go totally alone - as a girl), but I think he was hoping for a little more than dancing. Flattering as it is, I'm just not feelin' it....)

It's now Sunday afternoon, and as I write, I'm being serenaded by several different things. One: NCAA basketball on the TV (oh yes, I'm BITTER) and the improv piano stylings of my roommates' 8-year old brother, who's been crashing here for the weekend. It's really cool to see the two of them together. R was super excited that his bro was coming up from NC, and just watching them, I can see that he is his younger brother's hero. What a trip.

Those of you who know me

might be surprised to learn that my inner 'gangsta' came out to play tonight.

Well, okay, so I'm not a gangsta (by ANY stretch of the imagination) but I DID give a damn good rendition of Coolio's Gangsta's Paradise at tonights Karaoke-fest.

When that song dropped, I bought the single on cas-SETTE, man. I played that tape over and over and over and over until I knew it cold. Before tonight, it'd probably been 10 years since I heard that song, but it came back in a flash.

Good times, ya'll....

If Sir Mix-a-lot lived in Calistoga Springs

I
like
mud
baths and I cannot lie
You other folks can't deny
When you're sinking in
to the hot muddy paste
A cool towel on your face
You'll look young-
er than you're lookin' now
and your friends will all say 'wow'..............

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I'm gonna stop now before I get out of control. I could totally be a rapper, don't you think?
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The queen and I went to Calistoga yesterday. First, it was beautiful up there, and NOT crowded at all (hello, off season)! Second, we actually did do the mud bath thing. It's pretty gross, but in a cool trippy way. You're like suspended in this mud mixture. But it does make your skin oh so soft. This is followed by a hose down, jacuzzi, warm blanket wrap and a massage.
Then, we went wine tasting. The ultimate relaxing day. You MUST try it.
Check out Golden Haven Spa. Off season rates are spectacular, and well worth it!

Hang Ten, dude

Everyday from 9-10 am and again at various times throughout the day, you can find me practicing a new sport.

I call it Urban Surfing.

No water, board, wetsuit nor swimsuit required.

What you DO need:
-briefcase or large bag
-iPod with headphones (or, in my case, slightly beat-up discman)
-MUNI pass
-Flat shoes (beginner); high heels (pro)
-crowded express bus (or street car, train, trolley)
-San Francisco Hills

The trick is keeping the knees soft and keeping balanced while being hurled down California street at breakneck speeds during the rush hour commute. When the driver decides to slam on the brakes behind a double parked car, you better hope you've trained enough not to fall over and take out your neighbors with a gnarly domino-effect topple. Not as easy as it appears to be.

Happy Surfing!