Laughter is the best medicine

So, it's been a rough week, and in my convalescence on the couch, I am surfing the net, and finding some very amusing things.

For your reading pleasure, may I suggest the following:

Survival of the Fittest Hilarous - best of Craigslist.

Ass-Kicking Machine. Odd (bofCL).

Left-hand strung piano. I love this (bofCL).

LOL Cats. I know they've been around for a while. But I still find them oddly creepy and funny.

The I, Claudius drinking game rules. Oh man, it's been forever since I watched some of this show...it might be time to netflix it...

Bar jokes

Question: What do they call the cabs lined up at the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport? Answer: The yellow rows of taxis.

No good very bad week

It's been a rough week.
A friend a colleague passed away. One friends's father passed away after being diagnosed with lung cancer. And a dear friend of mine on the east coast - who I thought fell off the planet - has really just been carrying the burden of caring for a his sick father by himself all summer. Granted, these tragedies are not necessarily "my own" in a way...and yet, I feel them all, deeply. As mom mom said "You are just tender hearted, K, and you've always been that way.". And it's true. Even though my skin has toughened over the years, and I can hide my emotions under a cloud of humor when I have to do so . . . underneath it all, I feel the hurts of people I love quite acutely. It has been a great blessing to me over the years, but it's not always easy.
And I wouldn't change a thing.

But finding out about these three friends in 24 hours - this on top of some already stressful situations - this was too much.

Fast forward to this morning. I woke up late, was in a rush, and in my haste, slipped and fell on my wooden floor (my feet were still wet from the shower).
In the process, I wrenched my knee quite badly . . . nothing new, if you know me. So. Thankfully Shanna was home and took me to the ER, where I hobbled in with great pain, and hobbled out on crutches, knee brace and ibuprophen. I am to see the orthopedic surgeon on Monday.

Several years ago - after my last serious knee injury - my doctor told me that if I ever seriously injured my knee(s) again, I would knee surgery. So, of course, those are the thoughts running through my mind right now. I hope I don't need surgery - that would suck. But, I guess if I had to get it, now's as good a time as any other. (Things could be worse! Praise God that they are not!)

So. I'm at home, on the couch with ice pack and pillows. hey hey! no work for a few days :) That's a silver lining!

comic relief

R.I.P.

A friend and fellow lamplighter has passed away quite suddenly. Peter Weller was a lovely spirit, kind and genuine. Truly a gentleman, indeed. I shall miss him and his crazy antics.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

It was truly an international gathering. At this year’s Shakespeare Festival in the Presidio, we had a truly international gathering.
I had sent out a mass invitation for people to join me at one of my favorite SF “summer” events, and we had quite the eclectic and fun turnout. Also, perhaps it is just further testimony to the genius of Shakespeare that half the people in our group for whom English is not a first language truly enjoyed the play. (It’s also a testament to the brilliant production and very fine acting!)

From the corners of the globe (France, Germany, Korea, Japan, Brazil, Texas haha) and across the US, we laughed and bonded over great food (thanks, AZ), wine and Shakespearian chaos. It was a wonderful evening! I often feel as if I lead multiple lives, and this evening was a mixture of some of them: my music world; my church world; my personal relationships world; my household. I try to keep them all balanced, but I don’t always succeed. I tend to not be able to say no, sometimes.
Right now, our church is going through a big “get out of your comfort zone and meet people outside of these walls” push. In all honestly, I find it a strange concept to have to go out of one’s way to meet people outside of one’s house of worship. If anything, I feel I’m on the opposite side of that fence. Just between work (musical and non-musical) and home, a majority of my time is spent with colleagues, friends and family who either a) couldn’t be bothered with ‘religion’ and/or b) get paid to attend church several times a weekend. In saying this, though, I do not wish to imply that my circumstances make me any better or worse a “Christian” than anyone else. I just have a different perspective; different goals. I feel like I don’t have to create circumstances to “share with all”…but rather, be a good steward of the friendships, relationships and opportunities I already have. Am I loving people? Am I listening to them? Really? Am I too quick to judge? Do I spend enough time in relationship with my Father? Quality time? How much time do I waste watching bad TV, when I could have made a phone call to a friend or family member?

Things to consider.

! ! !

It's COMING!

Next weekend, people, one of my (if not my actual) FAVORITE San Francisco festivals.
My feet are already tapping!

I. CAN'T. WAIT!

------
Edited to add this poem - whose author, I think, would choose to remain anonymous - which captures some of the essence of the festival:

oh spanakopita, you look niceta
next to vegetarian moussaka
the night is young, let me danceta
next to hot men in tight pantseta...

All I can say to that is OPA!!!!

sensory perceptions

Prokofiev
Tchaikovsky
Saint-Saens
Bolivian pipes
Laughter

Salteñas
Crab quiche
Dried mango
Yuca Frita
Caffe latte

Dagon's temple
Olive colored suits
Leopard-print fmp's
Dahlila's boudoir
Sunset over GGBridge


Silk sleeves
Warm paper
So-ripe-they-almost-squish figs
Sequins
Wind

Donuts baking
Aftershave
Vanilla candles
Orangemate
Cinnamon tea

perspective

Jaime's uncle and two cousins were in the first plane that crashed into the WTC 6 years ago today.

when worlds collide

seriously. my mind is blown. it's really funny.

i had lunch today with like...14 other people - about half of whom i knew previous to our lunching together. it was fun and we had a good time eating, laughing, getting to know one another.

fast foward to tonight. a few friends and i are self-described 'social experimenters'; ie: social network site users/chatters/etc which now and then provide the occasional date.

so, one of the 'social experiment' sites i hadn't checked in about...3 months or so. but i had a reminder email, so i thought i'd check it out. why not? bored, doing laundry, sure!

turns out i had a message in my box from someone, from back in July (when I was crazy). well, i recognized the person who sent me the message. from lunch today. WILD.

A few Alaska pics . . .

(The full set is up here for your viewing pleasure.)

87 hours

5:00 p.m.: leave house
5:30 p.m.: arrive at BART
6:15 p.m.: arrive at SFO
9:10 p.m.: leave SFO
5:30 a.m.: arrive at JFK
6:00 a.m.: watch sunrise over Queens
7:00 a.m.: arrive in midtown
7:15 a.m.: sleep!
12 noon: lunch and blessed coffee
1:00 p.m.: walk to and thru Times Square
1:30 p.m.: hop subway to WTC site
1:45 p.m.: fight the crowds at WTC site
2:30 p.m. walk up to Chinatown
3:00 p.m.: get serenaded by a puppet singing "Under the Boardwalk"
3:30 p.m.: Pizza break at Vincent's in Little Italy
4:30 p.m.: Look for that one purse shop Alan swears is "just on the next block"
5:00 p.m.: Find shop
5:30 p.m.: Head to Joe's Pub
6:00 p.m.: Get free entrance to the show at Joe's Pub (courtesy of Alan)
9:30 p.m.: Mind is now blown from the concert Stephane Wremble just gave
10:30 p.m.: Arrive at Max Brenner's "chocolate by the bald man" cafe
11:00 p.m.: Consume chocolate and coffee
12:00 a.m.: Decide to head home
1:00 a.m.: -sleep-
8:00 a.m.: Where am I? What time zone?
9:00 a.m.: blessed nectar of the gods coffee time
9:45 a.m.: negociate subway singlehandedly
10:15 a.m.: arrive at correct destination in time to meet alicia for church
12:00 noon: church ends
12:30 p.m.: still debating which dim sum place to frequent
12:35 p.m.: board Ford explorer for trip to chinatown
1:00 p.m.: arrive at The Golden Palace
2:00 p.m: sated and also have an autograph
2:30 p.m.: decided not to wait in the 2-hour line for serendipity
2:35 p.m.: order frozen hot cocoa at dylan's candy bar
3:00 p.m.: decide to walk to met museum
3:15 p.m.: decide to turn around and walk to hotel to put on more comfy shoes
4:00 p.m.: start out again for the met museum
4:45 p.m.: arrive at museum
5:15 p.m.: museum closes
5:30 p.m.: nat shows up at closed museum
5:45 p.m.: head to west village pier to gaze at the sights
6:45 p.m.: watch breakdancers in wash park
7:30 p.m.: get on subway
8:00 p.m.: eat real NYC foldover style pizza
9:00 p.m.: head to Times square
9:30 p.m.: fight crowds at hard rock
10:00 p.m.: fight crowds at coldstone
10:30 p.m.: watch cop pose for photos
10:50 p.m.: applaud cop for posing for so many photos
11:00 p.m.: arrive at Rockefeller center
12:00 midnight: forced to leave "top of the rock" observation deck
12:45 a.m.: back to hotel
1:45 a.m.: sleep
9:00 a.m.: up. coffee. nectar. mmmm.
11:00 a.m.: checked out of hotel
11:15 a.m.: real NYC bagel
12:00 noon: walk to time warner building
12:15 p.m.: walk to lincoln center
12:30 p.m.: take opera shots in front of the met
12:45 p.m.: real NYC cab to natural history museum
1:00 p.m.: wander around museum
1:45 p.m.: try to get planetarium access
2:00 p.m.: no go on the planetarium access
2:05 p.m.: dinosaurs!
2:45 p.m.: nat arrives at museum
2:55 p.m.: real NYC cab agrees to take all 5 of us back to hotel
3:15 p.m.: head for the E train
3:30 p.m.: say our farewells
4:15 p.m.: arrive JFK
6:30 p.m.: leave JFK
9:45 p.m.: arrive SFO
12:51 a.m.: what time zone am I in? where am I?
8:00 a.m.: the alarm will go off and I will have to go to work