California Girl

When I was younger, I NEVER wanted to live in California...and here I've been for just about 7 years.

I know I've lived in NorCal for a long time as is evidenced by what I cooked for dinner tonight. You've got the "Hippy Elements"(tofu and brown rice); the "Asian Influence" (baby bok choi and water chestnuts in my stirfry); and the "Napa Effect" (a nice California red wine to accompany the meal).

Sibling walked in and was like . . . "What on EARTH are you cooking? (It smells good, though.)"

*Clearly* he has not lived in California long enough.


And now - to round out my lovely day, after having been to the beach on our 80-degree spring evening - I'm enjoying said dinner and wine with "the kids" and watching Star Wars. I haven't watched the original (Episode IV) in over a year (!) but boy howdy, I still know all the dialogue.

BLAST!

Friday Fives - Moving

1. How many times have you moved? When was the last time?
16 times. The last time was in 2003, when I moved into my current place. MOST of those moves took place between the years 1997-2003.

2. What do you love and hate about moving?
I love that it forces me to throw out a bunch of crap. I hate that it is so stressful, and I usually get sick from dust flying around.

3. Do you do it yourself or hire movers?
Depends on the move – I’ve done it myself, had friends & family move me and had professional movers involved at times.

4. Advice for surviving and thriving during a move?
Drink a lot of water. Get rid of anything you hesitate about keeping.

5. Are you in the middle of any inner moves, if not outer ones?
Not planning on leaving my current home in the near future. As far as other moves go . . . there is almost always something going on in my head or my life…right now, it’s cooking with and eating more vegetables.

Protest photos

1. Looking down around 10am...people headed down towards the Ferry Building. 2. I saw this woman walking down the middle of the barricaded Embarcadero...that's the only torch I saw :)
3. Team Tibet - across the street from us...
4. Team China/Olympics/USA etc...also across the street from us.
5. After hearing that the torch was no longer coming down this street - everyone else decided to take to it . . . (this is looking down on them from our 3rd floor windows).

Photos on the way - I promise

. . . . but I left my camera at work - d'oh!

However...I have to report to Jury Duty tomorrow afternoon, and I anticipate having some down time. I'm planning on taking the laptop and posting the photos then (they have free wireless at the courthouse...yay!)

Okay then - nighty night everyone!

I love the smell of napalm protesters in the morning.

Protests, parties and parades – three things San Francisco does really well.

And today was no different; even the weather cooperated with crisp blue skies and a brisk wind, thus ensuring that various flags supporting various causes could display their brilliant colors with ease.

From my vantage point (looking down on the Embarcadero from three floors off the ground), the morning was calm. Only the metal SFPD barricades stacked and waiting at the street corners gave a hint of the day’s activities yet to unfold. As the morning progressed, groups of protesters (or supporters – depending on your point of view) made their way down the Embarcadero, underneath our windows.

Singing. Shouting. Cheering. Drumming. And flags – so many flags – passing below us.

The torch route was right outside of our un-reinforced masonry building walls. Key word there being was.

Over my lunch hour, I went out into the fray to snap some pictures. And wait. And wait some more. For the torch that *sniff* never came. I went back up to my office and my coworkers, watching streaming live coverage, said that though the relay had started, the torch had temporarily disappeared into a warehouse further down the Embarcadero.

A few minutes later, we saw the torch pop up on the screen, in front of the 1960s Holiday Inn on Van Ness….and it was back on track. But not coming this way at all. The whole route changed! It was like a big trick played on all the protesters. It was also a big trick played on all the supporters, too, some of whom had waited for hours to catch a glimpse of the torch.

I wanted to see it all – the protests, the torchbearers (I found out today that I know one of the torchbearers – wacky), the crowds. The excitement was palpable, and made working this afternoon next to impossible.

Alas, finding out that the torch was not going to end up near us was a letdown. If the protesting had not gotten “out of hand” down near the Ferry Plaza, things might have turned out differently.

Oh well. There’s always next year.

I’ll post my protester photos tonight after I get home from rehearsal.

Bring it on

The torch has landed and I'll be at work tomorrow (not jury duty) to hopefully catch some of the madness on film my digital camera.

I'll post whatever pics I can . . .

w00t!

Note to self #567

Do not eat a 73% dark chocolate square after 7pm.
You will NOT be able to sleep.

My dog ain't dead, my wife ain't done and left me, and I have yet to drown my tears in beers

. . . so why can't I stop listening to country music?

On my drive down to Monterey, I started listening to country music (once I got past San Jose). One of the Great Knowns of life is:

When driving cross-country, one is guaranteed that at least one of the following genres of music will be readily available on the radio - if not on one station, on several: Country, Christian and Spanish

I did flip through those three genres for a while before settling on Country. I used to listen to Country music a lot - back in say...1980s and up through the early 1990s. So, I found this station playing songs I knew from back then, and it was like a trip down memory lane. It was great driving music (as the day was perfect for driving - crisp, sunny, blue skies) and I rambled down the road with the windows down, leaving a trail of honky-tonk in my dust.

And yet today, on my way to work, instead of my tuning in to my usual morning show or NPR, I kept the radio dialed to Country station (yes, there is one in SF!) and didn't bother to change it. Boggles the mind really.

Or maybe not . . . even though I am a self-proclaimed "city girl" I do love the Country, be it the South or the Mountains or yes, even the farm country of CA. I slow down in the country...people are friendlier...and the world just seems to move at a more manageable pace.

Now I don't plan on moving out of the city anytime in the near future (shoot - I'm not sure where "Opera Singer" meets "Country Living" - are you?) but I love to visit. I can't wait to get back to the Rockies for a bit...and would love to head back to NC to visit my friends still at the Lake and up in the Smokies. Beautiful country out there, indeed. And, well, there's also family in Louisiana, not to mention a myriad of friends scattered across the Southeast in general.

For now, though, I'll settle for my decades-old Garth Brooks cd's, a sunny day and a long open highway stretched out before me . . .

habit

I'm so much so in the habit of blogging everyday now that...today, for example, when I have too few (or is that too many?) thoughts running around my brain, I automatically turn on the computer and log-in, fingers poised and ready to go...

L-O-A-D-I-N-G

...but sometimes the blank screen is daunting, instead of beckoning. The curser sits there. Mocking me. Its righteous little arrow pointing pointlessly at the void of white space waiting to be filled. To be utilized in such a way as the blogosphere has never seen before.

That's a lot of presssure!

Ack...oh well.

The blank page has been fed. For now.

My weekend in pictures

Friday five - Revelation

From the RevGals...
How has God revealed him/herself to you in a:

1. Book
I guess the Sunday School answer would be...uh...the Bible.
As for a non-Biblical book...I'll have to think about that...

2.Film
Far Away, So Close!

3. Song
Not in a particular song . . . but in the blasting of the radio, windows rolled down, open highway stretching out as far as the eye can see...

4. Another person
Many people inspire me...and I see God working in and through many people...

5. Creation
The grains of sand on the beach

funny

So - along the same vein as Stuff White People Like, we now have Stuff Christians Like. It's pretty funny, I have to say. A lot of 'em took me waaaay back to youth group.

Good times.

Every now and then

My recent schedule has been:

Work
Home for long enough to practice and perhaps fix dinner
Rehearsal
Sleep

Rinse. Repeat. Throw in a quick trip to SoCal. Rinse. Repeat.

This week was pretty stressful work-wise for various reasons, and I am just feeling rundown. Add to that the fact that everytime I'm at home, there is no peace and quiet (not a reflection against anyone in particular, just that there are 4 people currently inhabiting 1000 square feet). I've reached the point where I'm ready to crawl out of my skin. Some people are external processors - they need to talk things out. I am a good friend to these kinds of folks, because I am pretty much the opposite - I don't like to talk things out. Which means I'm a good listener..haha. And on those occasions when I DO talk things out, then it is because it is something I've been mulling over for a VERY long time, usually. But in order to process, I need to either get away from everything or lock myself in my room and re-alphabatize my cd collection (which I've been known to do).
(Side note: I don't qualify blogging as "external processing" as much as I think of it as "brain-dumping", seeing as I don't have to actually *talk* to anyone in particular. And I can edit myself.)

Praise the Lord for "Mental Health Days" and my boss encouraging me to take one.

---
and...here comes a brain dump now...I LOVE performing. But I hate having to miss important life things because I "already have a gig" MONTHS in advance. Seriously - I already have stuff on my calendar for MARCH 2009. WTF? I should be happy about this, right? And I am, mostly. But here's a snippet of conversation I was having tonight with Ty (he's currently on our couch): he asked me "What do you want for your life?" (Shoot, he could probably get away with asking me anything and I would answer. It's hard to hide something from someone you've known your whole life.)

Two things came to mind almost immediately, even though it took me a while to answer. But after some more prodding, my answers were:
1. I - EVENTUALLY - would like to get married.
2. I would like the freedom and flexibilty to travel.

That's it. Those were the two things on my list. Maybe if I (when I?) take the time to mull things over a bit, the list would grow...but, my gut instinct right now has just those two things on it. Now, I don't have any plans on #1 being fulfilled in the near future, but item #2 is definitely easier to implement in the short-term, but in the long-term (at least in my life right now) is harder...that flexibility wanes. Which frustrates me.

I took this picture last weekend at Newport Beach. We had a fun - albeit very quick - trip down there. There is never a dull moment with the family.
I got there early on Saturday morning, and we hit the ground running. Went to Balboa Island and walked around/shopped and then took the very across to the peninsula, where we explored, played in the arcade (skeeball!) and had some delicous seafood. Afterwards, we walked to the beach...now. It was cold (for SoCal) a good chunk of the day. Sibling's big fleece jacket was my saving grace, since I had not thought it necessary to bring my own along.
Saturday night, when we finally returned to the hotel and Dad went to bed, the rest of us decided to hit the town. Actually, we were just looking for the movie theatre, but the lack of car and directions to any theaters prevented this from happening. So, instead, we hit up an Irish pub we found (close to the movie theater we found but at which no movies we wanted to see were playing).

It was a good decision. We had a lot of fun. And didn't cause too much trouble...HA. The funniest part, though, was the cab ride home. Our hotel was not far from the pub, but it was late, and rainy and cold. So, we ended up splitting a van cab (Mom, Sibling, S and I) with two 30-something fratboys. Here is part of our conversation:

DG#1 (Drunk Guy #1): So, where are you guys from?
Sibling: San Francisco
Mom: Colorado
DG#1: Colorado? Oh yeah? Where's that?
Me: Really? You know . . . mountains....Denver Broncos.....etc....
DG#1: Oh yeah...yeah
Me: Actually - no - it's a little beach town just a little West of here...less touristy.
DG#2: Hey - hey - we could show you all around Newport Beach! 365, 24/7 let the goodtimes roll, yeah....

Mom (getting out at the hotel): So.....you're unemployed?

Sibling starts cracking up - as he is the only one who heard her ask DG#2 that question. He promptly filled the rest of us in, though...

Citius, Altius, Fortius*

I don’t know about ya’ll, but perhaps, like me, you’ve also been following the China/Tibet news and heard about this guy and this woman wanting to boycott the Olympics (remains to be seen how far that goes, although Chancellor Merkel will not be attending, herself). And of course, San Francisco’s very own Pelosi has asked our President to boycott the Ceremony. Speaking of . . . San Francisco is the only American city to get the torch – next Wednesday, in fact – and the entire argument is coming to rest, in a manner of speaking, close to home. The Olympic Torch route (see below) takes the torch immediately in front of the building I like to call “my office away from home”. Not once, but twice, will it pass outside of our doors. This makes me both very excited (I’ve always loved the Olympics) and not a little anxious, as I know that there are already huge demonstrations being planned.


I have been summoned for jury duty next week, so either I will be down at the courthouse, far away from the drama unfolding on the streets next Wednesday OR I will be in the thick of it – staking out a prime viewing spot on the roof of our 3 story building, snapping pictures of the whole event. I kind of hope I get to be taking pictures…that is, of course, assuming I can get to work that day. Not sure what the security and road closures are going to be – but I know they will be in place . . . not to mention the people (both pro and anti) there to see the torch pass by, the media, the tourists, etc. Never a dull moment, indeed!

*The Olympic Motto: "Swifter, Higher, Stronger"

april fool's on me

Well. 9:00 am has come and gone and I - despite my best efforts - did not make it to the aforeblogged event at the Ferry Building this morning. I had *FRANTIC* phone calls from not one but two people at work this morning. Both my "counterparts" would be out of the office today and could I *please* adjust my schedule accordingly to make it in earlier thus ensuring the office didn't implode in on itself...??

:P

World Freeze Day

is on April 1.


If anyone in SF wants to join in the TomApril's foolery, you can join me here for the 9:00am go-time. I'll be there a little earlier than that, getting coffee...

sweet.

back

so....made it back to SF. The O.C. was really pretty - it was cold! - but pretty. I do have some funny stories to tell...mostly involving my family. They are great. And wacky.

but...I am soo sleepy right now and can't really form cohesive thoughts, so i'll just leave this with you. ty is on our couch for the week, and so the four folks now living here decided it would be a great idea to run through the Stuff White People Like list and see which one of us was indeed "the whitest" according to the list.

As per said list, I am "59%" white - answering in the affirmative to 55/93 questions. Funny thing, Sibling and I tied...but we agreed on different things. It was really funny to read through the categories. omg. funny.

waiting

i am going to the beach for all of...say....about 36 hours. which means i should already be in bed. my plane LEAVES in 6.5 hours.



however, because i am going to the beach, i must have pretty toes.



i am waiting for the paint to dry before i put on the top coat.



hence this short little blog. yay. have a great weekend, ya'll. back sunday night....





ps: kick ass time at C&A's wedding tonight. it was a lot of fun! so much more to tell but too tired at this juncture....

Hummer-sighting update

Seen: 14 + one humvee limo driving the streets of SF. In one week.

Movie meme

I stole this from Say la vee, because I needed a Thursday meme!

Bold the movies you've seen; italicize the ones you've seen part of:

1. The Godfather (1972)
2. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
3. The Godfather: Part II (1974)
4. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966)
5. Pulp Fiction (1994)
6. Schindler’s List (1993)
7. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
8.The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
9. Casablanca (1942)
10. Seven Samurai (1954)
11. Star Wars (1977)
12. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
13. 12 Angry Men (1957)
14. Rear Window (1954)
15. Goodfellas (1990)
16. Cidade de Deus (2002) [City of God]
17. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
18. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
19. Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
20. The Usual Suspects (1995)
21. Psycho (1960)
22. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) 23. Fight Club (1999)
24. Citizen Kane (1941)
25. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
26. North by Northwest (1959)
27. Memento (2000)
28. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
29. Sunset Blvd. (1950)
30. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
31. The Matrix (1999)
32. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
33. There Will Be Blood (2007)
34. Se7en (1995)
35. Apocalypse Now (1979)
36. Taxi Driver (1976)
37. American Beauty (1999)
38. Léon (1994)
39. Vertigo (1958)
40. Amelie (2001)
41. American History X (1998)
42. No Country for Old Men (2007)
43. The Departed (2006)
44. Paths of Glory (1957)
45. M (1931)
46. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
47. Chinatown (1974)
48. The Third Man (1949)
49. Leben der Anderen, Das (2006) [The Lives of Others]
50. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
51. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
52. Alien (1979)
53. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
54. Laberinto del fauno, El (2006) [Pan's Labyrinth]
55. The Shining (1980)
56. Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi (2001) Spirited Away
57. The Pianist (2002)
58. Double Indemnity (1944)
59. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
60. Forrest Gump (1994)
61. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
62. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
63. L.A. Confidential (1997)
64. Boot, Das (1981)
65. Requiem for a Dream (2000)
66. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
67. Untergang, Der (2004)
68. Aliens (1986)
69. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
70. Raging Bull (1980)
71. Metropolis (1927)
72. Rashômon (1950)
73. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
74. Modern Times (1936)
75. Hotel Rwanda (2004)
76. Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
77. Sin City (2005)
78. Rebecca (1940)
79. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
80. Sjunde inseglet, Det (1957)
81. All About Eve (1950)
82. Some Like It Hot (1959)
83. City Lights (1931)
84. Amadeus (1984)
85. Vita è bella, La (1997)
86. On the Waterfront (1954)
87. The Great Escape (1963)
88. Touch of Evil (1958)
89. The Prestige (2006)
90. The Elephant Man (1980)
91. Jaws (1975)
92. Full Metal Jacket (1987)
93. The Sting (1973)
94. Nuovo cinema Paradiso (1988)
95. Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
96. The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
97. The Apartment (1960)
98. Braveheart (1995)
99. Blade Runner (1982)
100. The Great Dictator (1940)
101. Strangers on a Train (1951)
102. Batman Begins (2005)
103. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
104. Ladri di biciclette (1948) Bicycle Thieves
105. Salaire de la peur, Le (1953) Wages of Fear
106. High Noon (1952)
107. Ran (1985)
108. Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)
109. The Big Sleep (1946)
110. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
111. Notorious (1946)
112. Back to the Future (1985)
113. Fargo (1996)
114. Oldboy (2003)
115. Unforgiven (1992)
116. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
117. Donnie Darko (2001)
118. Ratatouille (2007)
119. Mononoke-hime (1997)
120. Cool Hand Luke (1967)
121. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
122. Yojimbo (1961)
123. Per qualche dollaro in più (1965)
124. The Green Mile (1999)
125. Million Dollar Baby (2004)
126. The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
127. Notti di Cabiria, Le (1957)
128. Gladiator (2000)
129. Battaglia di Algeri, La (1966) The Battle of Algiers.
130. Annie Hall (1977)
131. Die Hard (1988)
132. Into the Wild (2007)
133. Ben-Hur (1959)
134. The Deer Hunter (1978)
135. The Sixth Sense (1999)
136. It Happened One Night (1934)
137. The General (1927)
138. Platoon (1986)
139. Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
140. Life of Brian (1979)
141. The Killing (1956)
142. Smultronstället (1957) Wild Strawberries
143. Amores perros (2000) Love's a B'tch
144. Finding Nemo (2003)
145. Diaboliques, Les (1955)
146. The Incredibles (2004)
147. V for Vendetta (2005)
148. The Wild Bunch (1969)
149. Heat (1995)
150. Children of Men (2006)
151. Brief Encounter (1945)
152. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
153. Juno (2007)
154. The Princess Bride (1987)
155. 8½ (1963)
156. The Graduate (1967)
157. Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
158. Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)
159. The Night of the Hunter (1955)
160. The Big Lebowski (1998) Dude.
161. Crash (2004)
162. Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
163. Stand by Me (1986)
164. Gandhi (1982)
165. Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
166. The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
167. Snatch. (2000)
168. Harvey (1950)
169. Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)
170. The African Queen (1951)
171. Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
172. The Thing (1982)
173. Trainspotting (1996)
174. Gone with the Wind (1939)
175. The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
176. Wo hu cang long (2000) Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
177. Belle et la bête, La (1946)
178. The Gold Rush (1925)
179. Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
180. Groundhog Day (1993)
181. The Conversation (1974)
182. American Gangster (2007)
183. Scarface (1983)
184. Patton (1970)
185. Duck Soup (1933)
186. Toy Story (1995)
187. Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922)
188. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
189. Twelve Monkeys (1995)
190. The Terminator (1984)
191. Cabinet des Dr. Caligari., Das (1920)
192. Sleuth (1972)
193. The Hustler (1961)
194. Umberto D. (1952)
195. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
196. Stalker (1979)
197. Glory (1989)
198. Ed Wood (1994)
199. King Kong (1933)
200. Grindhouse (2007)
201. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
202. The Exorcist (1973)
203. The Lion King (1994)
204. Hotaru no haka (1988)
205. Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
206. Spartacus (1960)
207. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
208. The Ox-Bow Incident (1943)
209. The Lost Weekend (1945)
210. Stalag 17 (1953)
211. Magnolia (1999)
212. The Lady Vanishes (1938)
213. Lola rennt (1998) Run Lola Run
214. In the Heat of the Night (1967)
215. The Philadelphia Story (1940)
216. Frankenstein (1931)
217. Out of the Past (1947)
218. Big Fish (2003)
219. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)
220. Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
221. Casino (1995)
222. Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
223. Toy Story 2 (1999)
224. Mystic River (2003)
225. Du rififi chez les hommes (1955)
226. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
227. 3:10 to Yuma (2007)
228. Hot Fuzz (2007)
229. A Christmas Story (1983)
230. Ikiru (1952)
231. Mou gaan dou (2002)
232. Manhattan (1979)
233. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
234. Young Frankenstein (1974)
235. Dial M for Murder (1954)
236. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
237. Rope (1948)
238. Once (2006)
239. Roman Holiday (1953)
240. Quatre cents coups, Les (1959) The 400 Blows
241. The Searchers (1956)
242. In Cold Blood (1967)
243. Ying xiong (2002)
244. His Girl Friday (1940)
245. Shaun of the Dead (2004)
246. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
247. Samouraï, Le (1967)
248. Strada, La (1954)
249. Harold and Maude (1971)
250. Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes (1972) Aguire, The Wrath of God

middle name meme

1. You have to post the rules before you give your answers.

2. You must list one fact about yourself beginning with each letter of your middle name.

3. At the end of your blog post, you need to tag one person for each letter of your middle name.

E - Enjoys globetrotting
L - Loves music
L - Loves languages
E - Entertainer
N - Needs time to "just be"


(More thanks to Wyld for letting me steal yet another meme...)

(No...not tagging anyone for this one, because there are so many memes this week...but if you want to do it, please go ahead!)

Cracking me up

Sibling sent me a link to this site today:
Stuff White People Like.

Wow. I think it's freakin' hilarious in that wonderfully non-PC way that seems to be so taboo these days.

I have no idea who writes this site...but at least according to their list, I fit several of their white people stereotypes. Hahahah!

Living Memoir

Yet another meme - perhaps that will be my theme for the week...hmmmm....

This one comes from Wyld's Q&A:

1. Write your own six-word memoir
2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you'd like
3. Link to the person that tagged you in the post
4. Tag five more blogs with links (and don't forget to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play!)
----

Always singing, learning, laughing, and loving

Tagging: AZ, Rona, Sandra, Tiff, and Lea Ann

Meme from AZ

A) FOUR PLACES I GO OVER AND OVER:
1. Colorado
2. The Embarcadero
3. Oakland
4. Rehearsal

B) FOUR OF MY FAVORITE PLACES TO EAT:
1. Boulange de....(Polk, Hayes, Cole..etc)
2. Mykonos Greek restaurant
3. Boulevard (um…but only when my parents are in town haha)
4. Askew

C) FOUR PLACES I WOULD RATHER BE RIGHT NOW:
1. France
2. The Rocky Mountains
3. New Orleans
4. In a hammock on a beach somewhere

D) TV SHOWS I WATCH OVER AND OVER:
1. CSI: Las Vegas
2. LOST
3. The Amazing Race
4. Law & Order

E) FOUR CAUSES ABOUT WHICH I AM PASSIONATE
(note from KD: this sounds like an "SF" question, does it not? lol)
1. Supporting our troops through organizations such as Soldiers' Angels
2. Hospitality, making people feel at ease (my own *personal* cause)
3. Recycling (I have lived in CA for almost 7 years, now…go figure!)
4. The Arts...keep them in schools!

F) FOUR BOOKS (or authors) I REALLY ENJOYED READING
1. Isabelle Allende’s books (She’s an amazing storyteller.)
2. The Alchemist (clichéd, perhaps, but true)
3. Doonesbury’s The Sandbox
4. A recent read...Steve Martin's stand-up memoire...very interesting

G) FOUR THINGS THAT REALLY ANNOY ME
1. Dirty dishes in the sink. Especially when the dishwasher is empty.
2. Lack of turn-signaling from other vehicles
3. Manipulation
4. Micro-managers

H) FOUR THINGS I LOVE TO DO ON A WARM, SUNNY DAY
1. Go explore the park or a new 'hood
2. Walk down to the beach
3. People watch the tourists downtown
4. BBQ with friends

I) FOUR COLORS I LOVE
1. Dark aqua
2. Purple
3. Red
4. Pink

J) FOUR TASTES I LOVE
1. Dark chocolate
2. Coffee
3. Peppermint
4. Green figs

K) FOUR SOUNDS I LOVE
1. Sibling's laugh (he totally giggles)
2. Music - esp. the kind that gives you goosebumps
3. My family's southern accents
4. French, Itallian, Spanish - any of the romance languages - being spoken


Tag...you're it!

the easter bunny cometh

I've had a lovely Easter . . . have ya'll?

Played "easter bunny" for the kids (aka Sibling, S and visiting friend in town)
Had breakfast with Sibling
Went to church
Potluck lunch chez AZ
Walk to the beach
Good times...good friends....good food & wine & aguas frescas


UPDATE: I've seen 10 humvees driving around SF since Wednesday. Weird!

USMC vs. Berkeley. Again. But different.

Last month, there was much ado over the whole Bezerkely city council vs. the Marines vs. Code Pink imbroglio. As well there should have been. (My money was on the Marines).

Today, there was a pro-troops protest rally in Berekely. I LOVE it. You can check out the story in this article on SFGate. Again...my money's on the USMC (and the Bikers).

- - -

Speaking of the military....what's up with all the Humvee's in San Francisco? I am now keeping count this week and I've seen 6 since Wednesday. Not including the Hummer-Limousine I saw downtown this afternoon. Seriously? I just don't get it. The only reason one *might* come in handy here is in the aftermath of our next Big Earthquake (which, assuredly, we'll have); but other than that? Really?
Can you say *compensation*, boys and girls?

Good Friday Fives

RevGals Friday Five (via Wyld):

1. Our prayer concerns are as varied as we are this day. For whom would you like us to pray?
P and all the troops abroad and at home; my coworker M; my friend J & her baby; Sibling & S; peace in the Middle East.

2. Are there things you have done or will do today to help the young ones understand this important day in our lives?
Help the young ones? Don’t have much interaction with ‘the young ones’…so probably not.

3. Music plays an important part in sharing the story of this day. Is there a hymn or piece of music that you have found particularly meaningful to your celebrations of Good Friday?
I think I will listen to Barber’s Adagio – but the one performed by voices to the words “Agnus Dei”…it’s a beautiful piece, and I think appropriate to the day.

4. As you hear the passion narrative, is there a character that you particularly resonate with?
The ones who fell asleep while Jesus was praying…

5. Where have you seen the gracious God of love at work lately?
I have seen Him at work through healing…in myself, in others…spiritual, physical, emotional…

My End of the Phone Call

"Hey, Mom...I've gotta hang up soon, I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?"

"No, Ma...I'm only going to be at home for a few minutes - enough time to grab my stuff and head back out the door."

"No, I don't have a rehearsal tonight, but I am headed to Bible Study up at the church, and I'm going to take the bus."

"Um...hello? Have you *seen* the news? Gas is over $4/gallon here, so, yeah, I'm trying to take the bus more."

"WHAT? The bus is FINE mother. It's fine. Really. My neighborhood is *fine*. Look, I'm leaving when it's still light outside. No reason to get upset. Seriously...What? No, [Sibling] is not at home...he's still at work. Are you going to get him to talk me out of taking the bus??"

"Come on. You can't be serious. MOM. Do you know how many places I've lived where there's much worse public transportation? Seriously. You realize I've ridden public transportation in countries where I don't even speak the language, right? Right?"

"Wait - no...don't worry. I can always get a ride home. Oh you don't have to get dad involved, Mom, just-"

"....."

"Hi, Dad. I don't know. Mom's freaking out over me taking the bus tonight. To church. What? No...it's fine. Really. And I'll get a ride home, I promise."

The familiar

and unwelcome feeling of Panic has been gnawing at me this afternoon. Crawling around under my skin and between my shoulderblades. It started at work, and now I am at home trying my best to breathe in and out at a regular pace - grasping for any hold I can keep on my rational, yet slippery, sense of self - constantly reminding myself that I'm not dying, I'm just hovering on the edge of a mental cliff. It's been over a year since my last full-on panic attack, which I count as a blessing.

I'm hoping that the focus required for rehearsal tonight will help my system to override and reboot itself. I wish it were just a simple means of telling myself to "calm down," but it's not that easy. I can tell myself to calm down, and perhaps that puts off the inevitable, or shortens the duration of an attack, but it really is an involuntary physical manifestation. It's very weird...I can describe all the symptoms like they are happening to someone else...very 'out-of-body' like...but they are not happening to someone else, they are mine.

I think it's probably because I've not slept enough this week...that's happened to me before. Gotta change that and I'll go to bed directly after rehearsal tonight.

blank

I am blank today...do you ever have those times?

Everything feels blank. I think because work was crazy busy and my brain was fried by the time my day was over.

blank.


looking forward to filling in those blanks later this week.

I'm not remotely Irish

...but I still celebrate St. Patrick's Day.
Here are a few funny YouTube clips for ya'll...enjoy!

I *heart* SF

One of the reasons I love SF is by virture of its size; it's a small city. And, well, live here long enough, and you just get to know people.

On Saturday, walking through GG Park with Sibling, a bicyclist zoomed past and I was like...WHOA I knew who that was!

"CIAAAAOOOOO PROFESSOOOOOOOORRREEEE"

~screeeech~ the biker turns around.

It's my Italian professor, running his weekend errands. We chatted for a few moments, then all went on our merry ways.
- - - -
About month ago, I ran into V in the financial district. I was walking down at a time of the morning I'm never out...but for some reason, that day I was. (In fact, it was almost exactly a year to the day since I had last seen him).
He was like "Why haven't I heard from you?"
Me: "Um...because I emailed you and you never returned my emails..."
Him: "oh, man, well I have a new email address, let me give it to you..."
Anyways...I took his info, but have yet to email him. But I might if a really hot salsa band comes to town or something...
- - - -
Today I saw not one, but two people newly returned to SF, both of whom had been away for a few years. It was really crazy - like, suddenly no time at all had passed, when in reality a TON of time had passed, and we are no longer the same people we were when last we met. Makes me realize that I've lived here for a looong time.

prayers needed

Please pray for my good friend J in North Carolina...his father passed away this week, succombing to his battle with cancer;

Please pray for my coworker M, whose uncle had a tragic accident on Friday and ended up hospitalized in a vegetative state; the family was not going to keep him on life support for very long;

Please pray for a close friend and her baby - pray for healing for the mom and safety for the baby;

Please pray for P and his fellow Soliders, as tensions escalate in the 'box;

Please pray for T, still looking for housing.

A good way

. . . to start out the morning (or...mid-morning, as the case may be), is laughing one's ass off walking down the street. I highly recommend this.

Sibling: "Time to make like a chicken and get the cluck outta here."

Me: *WHAT* did you just say?

Sibling: "I just made that up right now - did you like it?"

Me: "OH yeah. Nice. What about make like a chicken and cluck off?"

Sibling: "Make like a plane and jet."

Me: "Make like a ball and roll. NO...make like a ball and bounce."

Sibling: "Make like the band and Jet."

Me: "Make like a gang in West Side Story and Jet."

Sibling: "Oh yeah...but when you say that one you have to spontaneously burst into the dance and slowly retreat backwards, snapping." [Demonstrates said move].

Me: laughing me arse off, doubled over on the street

Sibling: "You should totally do that somewhere, like, next time you're leaving a place with a bunch of people."

Me: "I would - but I can't snap, man!!"

Sibling: "Okay, then make sure your Sibling is with you and we'll both do it. Although I'll probably mess it up and say something like, Make like West Side Story and leave."

Friday fives - Top of Mind

From Five on Friday:
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you read each of these words and why?

1. ice - cold. And I don't like when you're drinking an iced beverage and the ice comes crashing down into your teeth.

2. primary - colors. I don't know why that's the first thing, it just is.

3. dirty - dancing. Nobody puts Baby in a .... you know the rest

4. green - M&M's. Psychological viagra.

5. fly - paper. Never used it, but for some reason it makes me think of old cartoons.

file under: humor

After drinking too much green tea at dinner last night, I found myself on a caffeine-fueled trip through the wormholes of blogs begetting blogs begetting blogs . . . ad nauseum. One of the sites I stumbled upon was called Skippy's List: The 213 Things Skippy Is No Longer Allowed To Do In The U.S. Army.
(#10: Not allowed to purchase anyone’s soul on government time; #16. Must get a haircut even if it tampers with my “Samson like powers”; etc.) I urge you to go check out his list - there are many laugh-out-loud funny ones.

Also ran across this Daily Show clip over at Chuck's blog . . . features our very own Bezerkeley Code Pink as they faced off against the USMC. Pretty damn funny.

Office Kninja

The Office Kninja is stealthy and quiet. Freakishly so.

The Office Kninja prides himself on his ability to creep right up on a cubical dweller - right into the cube inself - and read over the dweller's shoulder unnoticed for several seconds.

Then SUDDENLY!

An arm appears out of nowhere and - as it reaches across you for a large paperclip from your special large paperclip holder - you immediately want to shudder and recoil from this gross invasion of your personal space. But such a shudder would show weakness - or even worse - would insult your supervisor the Office Kninja. So instead, you jump 3 feet up in the air.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I scare you? Are you busy right now?"

....uh....am I busy? What do *you* think - that I didn't hear/see/sense your kninjaness because I was just sitting here staring into space?? Can't you see that I'm very busy on this spreadsheet? Which I've just now learned has the capacity to contain 65,536 rows??

Did you know?

Did you know that there are 65,536 rows available to use in an Excel spreadsheet? I didn't know, either, until I accidentally hit something on my keyboard, and the cursor jumped all the way to the very last row . . . and then there was just grey space. No additional rows would appear, no matter what I did to try and make them appear.

Who knew?

Alone, And Yet Alive!

Alone, and yet alive! Oh, sepulchre!
My soul is still my body's prisoner!
Remote the peace that Death alone can give —
My doom, to wait! my punishment, to live!

Hearts do not break!
They sting and ache
For old love's sake,
But do not die,
Though with each breath
They long for death
As witnesseth
The living I!
The living I!

Oh, living I!
Come, tell me why,
When hope is gone,
Dost thou stay on?
Why linger here,
Where all is drear?
Oh, living I!
Come, tell me why,
When hope is gone,
Dost thou stay on?
May not a cheated maiden die?

May not a cheated maiden die?

- - - - - -
I've started rehearsals for the new show I'm doing, and this is one of my "big numbers"...it's an achingly beautiful song. And quite sincere - not a song done melodramatically or for laughs in any sense. It is - in a word - 'vulnerable.' And this is one of the hardest things for me to do on stage. Granted, I am WAY way better at this than I was even two years ago, so I'm not that worried about it. I just know that it's going to be a process, and I'm looking foward to this process, but it's not an easy one.

Time to bring back the snail!

oh bliss

the interwebs is finally back up and running chez moi!

understatement

It seems to be an especially bad week for our OIF troops and innocent civilians . . . keep them all in your prayers tonight!

retro

I'm retroactively posting this because I wrote a whole post and then my home DSL went out. BOOOOO. I *hope* it is back up and running again, but I have no idea.

so.

hopefully we'll be getting back to our regularly scheduled blogging soon!!

slight paraphrase, but you get the idea

" . . . I don't even say that when I'm drunk on the phone talking to my Grandmother!!"


(Or something like that, anyways. The speaker will remain nameless, in order to protect the children. The children laughing their asses off over $1.50 beers during happy hour, that is.)

weekend redux top 10

Making this in easy format, because I can't really focus much to make it otherwise. Random order:

1. Planted trees as part of SF Connect on Saturday morning. Made some new friends, and had a great time helping out the neighborhood. Props to GW for getting FBC folks involved.

2. Seeing In Bruges. I no - I can't shut up about this movie. Yes it's crass and morbid and achingly British. Therein lies the genius. And Colin Farrell is effen brilliant. BRILLIANT I tell you.

3. Sent a care package to P with gummy bears (by request) and other assorted random items. Also included some of this candy which made me laugh so hard, I almost peed my pants. Because, you know, you can't send *real* pork products to The Sandbox.

4. Joined a card-sending-team with the amazing Soldiers' Angels, thereby putting my 2008 resolution of writing more letters to the test.

5. Went up to Ledson with Sibling to pick up my wine. I hadn't been in several months, so I had 8 bottles waiting for me. All told, however, we came home with 14 bottles between us...! Time to have a party!

6. Dinner at Fish. in Sausalito. So tasty.

7. The weather here was beautiful this weekend. Springtime has sprung in the City.

8. Rona sent me a text this morning asking for a ride to church. I couldn't give her one because I had to be there at 9am today. Well...I had failed to adjust my clocks prior to going to bed, so I thought it was 7:30 when she texted. NOPE it was 8:30am. Good thing she did text, or I would have been really late!

9. Live salsa music apres-tree planting.

10. Cereal for dinner. Honey nut cheerios, to be precise.

11. America's Best Dance team facing off with songs from Thriller. HOT.

(ps: "but it goes up to eleven...")

stellar

Thus far, I am having a stellar weekend, indeed....so many fun times. I am composing a list for tomorrow.

In the mean time, in case you've not already heard me talking about this:

GO SEE THE FILM In Bruges RIGHT now. It was brilliant, hilarious, morbid, and oh-so-very-British. LOVED it.

Friday Fives - Hope

From RevGals via Wyld:

What have you seen/heard this week that was a:

1. Sign of Hope?
My friend's decision to take the first steps towards leaving an abusive relationship.

2. An unexpected word of light in a dark place?
An email from a friend experiencing a similar mind-fog to mine.

3. A sign of spring?
All the flowers are blooming here!

4. Challenging/surprising?
Finding out an old friend of mine just had a baby - and realizing I need to be better at keeping in touch with her!

5. Share a hope for the coming week/month/year:
Too many hopes to list here! I hope you all have many hopes, too!

all Greek to me . . .

Sibling and I went to dinner tonight - Greek food at what is *probably* my favorite Greek restaurant in SF: Mykonos. It really is awesome. And yummy...

The best part? During the course of the evening, getting to just have "real" talk with mon cher frere. Even though we are housemates, we often pass an entire week without seeing each other for more than a "hey, how's it going?" or the occasional ride into work together.

OPA!
---
In other news...is anyone else out there watching Eli Stone? It is such a quirky show, and I can't *quite* figure it out. I love that it's set in SF - of all places - and has such a spiritual/Higher Power vibe to it. Even more interesting is the fact that this show is seemingly trying to tap into a (long?) dormant spiritual side of your average-everyday-I-just-watched-LOST-so-I'll-catch-Eli-Stone-audience, even in light of this newly released Pew study on religion in America.

NB: If you find the afore-linked study interesting, check out these articles:

Stereotypical SF take on things from SFGate


Secularism makes a comeback from TheAtlantic.com


Read what the NYTimes has to say about things


Ironically, this is a Christianity Today article on the same topic - but from 2002!


And, check out this little gem entitled Religion in World Affairs. It's not quite the same topic, but interesting, nevertheless.

Quote

"Where does India call for tech support?"
- Jon Stewart, The Daily Show

Understatement

I saw an advertisement for IKEA today. It was a large sign on the side of a bus.

The fine print: "Some products might require assembly."

I think

. . . yesterday's post exhausted me and I have low creative juices running tonight.

So. I'll leave you with a little tidbit from Sunday evening.
I was at my alma mater to see a bunch of friends in a performance. While there, I saw my former Italian professor (easily one of my favorite teachers ever) - and got to shoot the breeze in italiano, which always makes me happy.
We talked about how things were going, what I've been up to since the last time we'd run into each other (at the Shakespeare Festival six months ago), how his family was doing etc, etc.

Just before we parted ways, he imparted to me this unsolicited advice:
"I think it would be *good* for you to be a little more hedonistic."

Had I been drinking something when he said that, I probably would have spewed said beverage all over him. Seriously - I don't even remember what my response was.

Hedonism: Pursuit of or devotion to pleasure, especially to the pleasures of the senses.

I'm all for pleasuring the senses . . . fine wines, arts, lingering kisses, etc. However, my 'devotion' lies elsewhere.

La plus ca change . . .

The more things change, the more they are the same . . .
- - -
In an attempt to keep current on the situation in Iraq, I follow the DOD press releases, the blogs, the military sites, online news, and yes even the NY Times. I read lots of different sources to get a rounded perspective (especially because my local media can tend to be . . . of a certain slant, shall we say?) I learned something tonight though, that I hadn't realized before: the city of Mosul is the capital of Ninevah Province.

Growing up, I spent my fair share of time in Vacation Bible School. And one of the most popular stories we read was Jonah and the Whale, of course. As a kid, I was fascinated that someone could get eaten by - and then spit out of - a fish. I learned that Jonah disobeyed God because he had been scared and decided to run away, and his consequence of not doing what he was told was being stuck in a smelly fish belly.

Well...fast forward a few years, and I realize that the story told in Jonah is not just about Jonah, but about the people of Ninevah and God's grace on his people.

Jonah was supposed to go to Ninevah because:

The Lord gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai: “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are."

But, of course, Jonah turned and ran in the opposite direction. Perhaps he didn't want to be blamed for the bad news he was to deliver. He was Hebrew, and not generally liked in the place he was called to go. Instead of being concerned for the well-being of the people of Ninevah, he was scared of what they might do to him for telling them they were going to face God's judgement.

Well, after spending what I can only imagine to be a horrible three days & nights in the belly of his fishy prison, God told Jonah a second time to go to Ninevah, and this time he did:

Then the Lord spoke to Jonah a second time: “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh, and deliver the message I have given you.”

This time Jonah obeyed the Lord’s command and went to Nineveh, a city so large that it took three days to see it all. On the day Jonah entered the city, he shouted to the crowds: “Forty days from now Nineveh will be destroyed!” The people of Nineveh believed God’s message, and from the greatest to the least, they declared a fast and put on burlap to show their sorrow.

When the king of Nineveh heard what Jonah was saying, he stepped down from his throne and took off his royal robes. He dressed himself in burlap and sat on a heap of ashes. Then the king and his nobles sent this decree throughout the city:

“No one, not even the animals from your herds and flocks, may eat or drink anything at all. People and animals alike must wear garments of mourning, and everyone must pray earnestly to God. They must turn from their evil ways and stop all their violence. Who can tell? Perhaps even yet God will change his mind and hold back his fierce anger from destroying us.”

Jonah delivered his message - and to his surprise, the people actually listened! They took heed of his warning and changed their ways. Also to Jonah's great surprise and even his anger, God did not go through with his planned destruction of the city. Jonah was upset because he had thought God was indeed compassionate and wouldn't go through with the destruction, so he shouldn't have even sent Jonah in the first place! God should have shown his mercy from the get-go and why on earth did he bother with making Jonah go someplace he didn't want to go??

Well - perhaps the point of this book in the Bible is not that God has great mercy and love for the world - but do we? God made Jonah examine his OWN attitude towards the people of Ninevah, as we see in the last chapter of the book:

Then Jonah went out to the east side of the city and made a shelter to sit under as he waited to see what would happen to the city. And the Lord God arranged for a leafy plant to grow there, and soon it spread its broad leaves over Jonah’s head, shading him from the sun. This eased his discomfort, and Jonah was very grateful for the plant.

But God also arranged for a worm! The next morning at dawn the worm ate through the stem of the plant so that it withered away. And as the sun grew hot, God arranged for a scorching east wind to blow on Jonah. The sun beat down on his head until he grew faint and wished to die. “Death is certainly better than living like this!” he exclaimed.

Then God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry because the plant died?”
“Yes,” Jonah retorted, “even angry enough to die!”

Then the Lord said, “You feel sorry about the plant, though you did nothing to put it there. It came quickly and died quickly. But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness,not to mention all the animals. Shouldn't I feel sorry for such a great city?”

- - -
Before P headed back out to "the Sandbox" on Friday, I asked him how we here at home could pray for him - besides, of course, for the physical safety of all our troops. His response?
"Pray for peace in the Middle East".

At first ... wow, that seems to be practically impossible, right? How do we pray for peace to reign in a city - a country, a region - which has been fighting and not peaceful for literally thousands of years? Do I have the tiniest bit of faith that God is compassionate, kind and ultimately wants to save the people of Ninevah - of Iraq, of the Middle East - again from their current path of self-destruction?

Well, I better not spend too much time trying to figure out if I have that kind of faith or not.
There are far too many lives at stake (Iraqi, American, TCN, etc) to delay.

quote

"It's like the Titanic, but with BEARS!!!!!"

- Jackie Moon aka Will Ferrell in "Semi Pro"

Family Traditions

I am 28 years old. Perhaps different from a lot of people, I did not drink alcohol before I turned 21. What can I say? I was pretty goody-two-shoes. Even when I lived in France during college (and I was not yet 21), I only had wine once or twice. Looking back, I cannot believe that!

All this being said - fast foward to now. I still do not drink alcohol very often. Living in the Bay Area, I've come to appreciate good wine, indeed, but I've never been sick from drinking. I don't like the physical symptoms that come with "drunkness" and the lack of judgement that is often part of that, as well.

Anyways. Tonight. We celebrated Sibling & Shanna's bday at our neighborhood Irish pub. I started out with them there and then progressed on to a *different* Irish pub across town for a going-away party, and then went BACK to the original pub to meet up with my original crew.

When I got back, I was greeted with a round of shots. Now. This is the first time EVER that I have ever "done shots" with my brother. It was a real family bonding moment. We did two rounds of something nasty. Ick.

Anyways. A new leap year tradition, perhaps? hahaha - I'm not sure...but it was fun(ny) to partake of the aforementioned adult beverages with the same man whose toys I used to break.

Leap Year Friday Fives

It's Leap Day!! Whether you're one of the special few who have a birthday only once every four years, or simply confused by the extra day on the calendar, everyone is welcome to join in and play our Leap Year Friday Five.

Tell us about a time you:
1. Leapt before looked:
In recent memory – deciding about 24 hours before-the-fact to head to NashVegas for MLK, Jr. weekend. It was a good decision :)

2. Leapt to a conclusion:
Honestly, there was this one audition last year that I NAILED and thought for sure I was going to get the part for which I auditioned. I mean…really…there were so many factors pointing me towards that conclusion. And after all was said and done – I didn’t get the role, which was disappointing. And I felt even stupider for being ‘so sure’ of it. I guess it’s a fine line between self-confidence and being cocky . . . But I got over it.

3. Took a Leap of Faith:
Every day . . .

4. Took a literal Leap:
This one time caving in CO with my youth group (many years ago now), I leapt into nothingness and ended up hanging upside-down there for a while, suspended by my boot which had wedged *just so* in a crevasse. And let me tell you how awesome that was. I owe my life/sanity/etc. to Ty’s brother (and P’s cousin) M for getting me outta that situation.

5. And finally, what might you be faced with leaping in the coming year?
I feel like this year might bring several life hurdles my way. I’ll be entering the last year of my 20s, so perhaps that has something to do with said feeling. I’m not sure yet what all that entails . . . we’ll see!

where she stops . . . nobody knows!

so...

I'm feeling much better now than I was a few short hours ago.
I still feel a little bit like crawling out of my own skin - but, I am more at peace now than I was.

--

P's flight leaves at 8am Friday and he'll spend about 22 hours in flight getting back to the desert. I can't even imagine spending that much time in flight - Wow. What I do know is that his reading material for the voyage is Dostoyevsky's "The Idiot." You know, nice *light* reading.

Wishing you well P - and sending lots of prayers your way . . .

round and round and round she goes

trying to get a grip on things, folks. there are just those days/weeks/seasons where everything seems to converge into one big, hot, emotional wreck of a mess.

*good* times for all.

i mean, for the most part, i 'keep it together'. work is fine. home is fine. blah blah blah. but hear a certain song on the radio - hell, even read a seemingly 'random' clue in today's crossword puzzle - and here come the tears.

wtf, mate?

i feel sick to my stomach and i know it's not anything i've eaten - because i haven't eaten much. it's nerves, tension, stress, emotional upheaval, my brain and my body completely out of sync with my heart and soul. this is why the good Lord gave me a piano to play on and music in which i can cocoon myself.

the strangest thing about all of this is my seeming lack of panic attacks. now THAT is a huge praise - because that was the torture i was experiencing a year ago.


as my friend Jen said to me earlier - "don't you just want to blame the whole month on pms sometimes?"

indeed. ;)

really?

Why *IS* it that when you - okay, when I - find myself in conversation with someone I really *like*, that all intelligent conversation FLIES OUT THE WINDOW on my part?
And it doesn't matter the venue...if it's someone I am really attracted to, it happens in person, over the phone, whatever.

Seriously.

It goes something a little like this:
1. Strike up a conversation
2. An invisible gnome sneaks up behind me
3. Said gnome whacks me in the back of the head with a stupid brick
4. My cheeks flush and I start saying "I don't know...uh...grusoviejsfoieoieuoru".

Rinse, repeat as necessary.

ack. I love being a woman, don't get me wrong, but sometimes I feel like *such* a little girl, you know?

Okay. I'm going to watch La Vie en Rose now.

Chip off the old block

Now, this has been floating around on the interwebs for a while - but I just saw it. And it's freakin' hilarious.

WARNING: contains grown-up language.

the letter

Her right leg dangling off the edge of the bed, she slowly loses circulation in her foot: the numbness of her awkwardly hanging extremity but a pale mirror of the numbing she feels creeping into and over her emotions and spirit.

In her lap, the letter sits halfway open now, beckoning to be read and reread for the 48th time . . . the words never change, and yet, they never cease to surprise her, either. How just a few scribbles on the back of a thin piece of celluloid can be so powerful is almost impossible to wrap her mind around. Ideas, concepts, words: everything melting together to create meaningful sentences. Or perhaps she is the one adding the meaning. Reading between the lines. Decoding what she hopes - what she wishes - is thus encrypted.

The imminent threat of tears starts as a rumbling somewhere deep down behind the place in her heart where the fondest memories of those long gone - but still dear - are kept. Slowly, but steadily, her throat starts to close up, the rational part of her still trying to keep it together lest she fall apart in front of her....what - ancient dolls and teddy bears? Even alone, she holds it back. If she can delude herself for just one minute more, keep the dam from bursting, then perhaps the curtain will rise and the studio audience will jump to its feet, applauding and commending her on a 'wonderful and realistic' portrayal of the triumph of human will over emotion.

But no. This is not film. This is not reality TV. This is real time; a slice of life worthy of note only in the heart and mind of one. One that is indeed wishing she were not sitting there, alone in the dark, on the edge of the bed, tears flowing softly and freely down her cheeks.

feedback

The concert went well last night. Our audience was smaller than we had hoped, due to the craptastic rainstorm we were having. But, even though they were small(er), they were mighty and very receptive.

When I got to the venue, I started thinking about how long it had been since I'd performed in this kind of situation - that is . . . singing an opera excerpt without actually being in the opera. Shoot - it's been months since I've even had to audition for anything. That being the case, I was starting to think "well, crap...hopefully I'm not boring and don't just stand up there like a moron, etc etc". So, I took a quick few minutes to sit and think through my piece, again - getting in touch with the emotional viewpoint of Demetrius (the character).

So. I get up there, do my thing, actively lowering my center of gravity to walk and project more manly than not. But mostly - I think about my attitude, my eyes, my sense of defiance. How, despite being incarcerated (as it were), none of that matters..."the man" can't bring me down. Basically, my thought process was "*uck you and your little dog too - you can't quelch me." And - shoot - I am in love, so all things are possible, right? Right!

I guess it worked, because a man came up to me later and said "You know - even though you didn't move around a lot or anything during your song . . . you were believable. I could read everything in your face & sound. I know you must've been working hard, but it looked easy."

And that - well, that was probably the highest compliment I could have received. I was humbled and just smiled and said "thank you....".

The clothes make the woman

I am singing tonight as part of a fundraising concert benefiting the Life After Exoneration Project and the Unrepresented Death Row Prisoner Project. I became involved in the concert because I have performed with the woman whose pet project this is. And she is formidable: a death row lawyer, clergywoman AND dramatic soprano. Unusual combination, eh?

All of the music being performed tonight is either sung by characters in prision, enslaved, or otherwise held against their will. We've excerpts from Aida, the prisonners chorus from Nabucco, etc etc etc.

I myself will be singing a lively Handelian piece. As is often the case for us mezzo-soprani, the character singing is male. He's been imprisioned for plotting the overthrow of his beloved's sister, the Queen of Egypt. However, jail does not get him down - if anything, it makes him that much more cocksure and determined:

Yes, even in chains and bonds
my faith will shine.
No, not even death itself
will extinguish my fire!

And now to the title of this post . . . as this is a fairly formal event, I've been debating what to wear. Since we'll have an emcee announcing a little about each of our arias, the audience will know that this is a "pants role" for me. In other words, it would be weird for me to waltz out in a long formal gown, breasts a-heaving as it were, hair defying gravity and rain with unnatural poofiness and the aid of much hairspray. Nope...instead, it'll be black formal pants, a red shantung button-down and keeping the hair back in a low, less-poofy ponytail.

I'm not conceeding my diva jewelry though . . . hell no! A woman's got to do what a woman's got to do!

Friday Saturday Fives: Heaven

A little late on this one ... sorry!

Anyways - taking this one from Wyldth1ng.

So how about we share five "heavenly" things? These can be serious or funny or a combination of the two. What is your idea of a heavenly (i.e. wonderful and perfect):

1. Family Get-together?
Anything where my entire family - I'm talking aunts, uncles, cousins, etc - can be there. I love visiting all of them in their natural habitat (The South) but every now and then we'll all end up in Rocky Mountain National Park, which is also a great time. My extended family is pretty small, so we can all easily fit in one place. And I miss seeing them!!!

2. Song or musical piece?
This is a hard question for me to answer...ack. So, I'm going to list a few different things (in random order): Barber's Adagio for Strings but scored for voices with the Agnus Dei text; Chopin's Nocturnes; Lensky's 2nd act aria in Eugene Onegin; Paint it Black by the Rolling Stones; In Your Eyes by Peter Gabriel; and anything by U2.

3. Gift?
Friendships - old and new.

4. You choose whatever you like-food, pair of shoes, vacation, house, or something else. Just tell us what it is and what a heavenly version of it would be.
The perfect blanket for cuddling, napping, what-have-you is the "nap" brand of blankets from Sharper Image. Expensive and totally worth it - they are the softest blankets EVER.

5. And for a serious moment, or what would you like your entrance into the next life to be like? What, from your vantage point now, would make Heaven "heavenly?"
I would like my entrance to be without fuss on this end, but with great rejoicing on the far end. Being reunited with loved ones long gone would make Heaven "heavenly" for me.

30 November 1981

Dear Grandaughter -

Wish you were here to drink coffee with NaNa & PaPa. The men come to work by the time we get up and stay all day. What a mess, but you'd love it.

We have rain but no snow.

Aunt Fran was off all week and she worked some on Hewitt's room. We went to Shreveport one day. Is [Santa] Claus coming to see you?

We love you
NaNa & PaPa

From the mouths of babes . . .

One of the things mom & I discovered over the weekend was my elementary school's "Renaissance Poetry of 1985" book. Each class had poems published and 1985 happened to be my kindergarten year. I was in Miss Lessig's A.M. Kindergarden class.

Our first entry is by: Yours Truly, Dan, Jamie, Katy T. and Trevor.:

Once upon a time there was a magic garden and there was a king. There was a unicorn. The magic garden could make anything. There was a magic cloud and a rainbow and a magic book. There was a magic king and he could make anything just like that - that fast. And the book, when you read it, the story comes true. The garden made the first thing it ever made. It made one big cloud come up in the sky so it would be scarey and stuff. There was a live purse. The unicorn could fly and it was magic. Once there was a real queen and the live purse - the queen didn't know it was alive. And there was a magic school. It had little kids in it that could fly.

This next entry is by: Yours Truly, Katie C., Dan D., and Traci B.:

I saw a Snoopy up in the sky
Pinocchio in the clouds
a white rabbit
an eagle flying up high
a shiny diamond necklace and a ring up in the sky
Robin Hood shooting a bow and arrow at the sheriff of Nottingham
a pink unicorn flying on a cloud
a Pegasus with red and white stripes flying around the clouds
Snake Mountain

Candyhouse pics

Pictures from our Candyhouse making on Sunday night. We even listened to Christmas music!

My house (featuring "Bob" the alien Marshmallow blob):


P's cabin (featuring a kick-ass porch):

The artistes themselves (with only a minor chopping-off-of-the-foreheads):

good stuff

My mom pulled a box of my old Kindergarten (I know!) papers out and we went through them. I saved a couple of gems . . . and we threw out the rest. Also tucked among them were letters to me and my brother from our grandmothers & grandfathers and great-grandmother. Reading one of them made me cry - I really do miss them.

Anyways....I'll post some more stuff later.

[edited: I started this post late afternoon on Tuesday - but got interrupted & didn't post until after midnight...alas. However, seeing as I haven't gone to bed yet, I'm counting this as Tuesday's post - so HaHA! lolll]

FFFFFFFff

Last night, when I was finishing my blog, I fell asleep typing (seriously - my parent's have this AMAZING leather couch - it sucks you in and doesn't let go).

Anyways. I woke up and tagged onto the end of my blog entry was (approximately):
ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffsssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll . . .

It went on and on and on for lines and lines. I was so confused. Funny stuff.

just making it . . .

I started writing this just before midnight - so even if I don't finish it on time, it will be marked on the right date! whew!

Today was a really good day. We went to church and saw everyone, really, including P, which was nice. I forget his hair is all "high and tight" now - but he carries it off well.

Our group (about 15) went to lunch...it started snowing and snowing. Very pretty and very cold.

At 4:30, P and his parents came to our house to:
1. Eat dinner together
2. Make Candyhouses!
3. Celebrate P's dad's birthday.

I made lasagna, and P told us a stories from his deployment. He likes his job (can't go into details) and I was happy to hear that. Around 8, his cousins called and we met them for an 8:30 movie (to which we were 20 minutes late!) We saw Jumper. It was HORRIBLE and hilariously so! I mean, it was an awful movie, but a fun time. P and I returned to my parents house, because we hadn't finished our candyhouses yet - and so we finished them up. They are very cute & I'll post pictures when I return to SF. Now I just have this image of P returning from leave & when his fellow Soldier's ask him what he did during his time off . . . he can say he made a candyhouse. :)

Good times had by all.

Tic Tac Toe dinner

Mom, Dad and I went to Opus, a very SF-like restaurant here in the 'burbs. It was very yummy - and my appetizer is pictured below (Beet & Goat cheese salad...mmm).

Friday five

A little late with the Friday Fives today - oops! Oh well!
I Love the 80s - Slumber Party Edition
If you were throwing an 80s themed slumber party...

1. What movies would you show?
All the Molly Ringwald films; Howard the Duck; Princess Bride & Ghostbusters

2. What kind of food would you serve?
Popcorn, slice & bake cookies, salsa & chips probably

3. Which childhood friends and crushes would you reminisce about?
Ralph Macchio! And probably all the people from CCVE, as well as our corrupt Youth Group...still a miracle any of us turned out normal!.

4. Which trends and fads would you lament most?
Neon.

5. What board or card games would you incorporate?
The Game of Life; Uno; Sorry

Definitely, maybe

Went and saw Definitely, maybe tonight with AZ. It was a sweet movie - not just your average "chick flick."

I highly recommend it!

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

bezerkeley

Seems the Berkeley City Council has somewhat come to their senses.

I'm all for freedom of speech. It's one of the best things about America. But - as AZ noted - remember where those freedoms come from, how they are defended, and at what price...

NOW I get it . . .

One of my mom's favorite sayings when we were growing up was:

"Procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine."

A sign with those words hung over the computer in our house. I hated that expression. It made me so made. Especially when I had waited to the last minute to finish a paper . . . and then we ran out of printer paper. Or some such thing.


But. Now. As an adult? In an office? I totally get it - and, there are many times when I am tempted to hang a sign of my own . . .

and the love/hate continues

The love/hate relationship with Bezerkeley continues. Although, this is more hate (on my end) than love this week...

Berekley takes on the United States Marine Corps.

My money's on the USMC.

Forget year of the rat - try year of the baby

I was doing a mental count today of all the people I know having babies this year, or who just had one at the tail end of last year. The number - quite frankly - is startling (at least to me)! I guess this is what comes with getting older :)

Geographical location of the babies in question:

California: 7
Florida: 2
Italy: 1
Texas: 1
Virginia: 1

All this being said, I am sooo thrilled for all of these families!!!

Beginnings

I usually think of Sunday as being the end of the week. However, tonight it struck me that really, Sunday can be (should be?) thought of as the beginning of the week. That one slight change can make a big difference in my perception.

As the first day of the week, it can be a time to rest before diving into the work-week; a time to spend with family and friends (old & new), just 'being'. A time to focus on God and not let the weekly worries get to me yet....

Today was a day like that. After church, I spent several hours in GG Park - with old and new friends - enjoying the sunshine, looking at the flowers, and enjoying the day. Later, after dinner with a couple more friends, participated in an amazing time of worship and fellowship which set the tone for the days ahead.

It was a great beginning to my week.

MacGyver

Armed with nothing but an old pair of cuticle trimmers and my stubbornness steely resolve, I set upon the task at hand.

Not a few years ago, after a trip to Scotland, my dad gave me this beautiful purple-blue atomizer. It has sat for the longest time - unused - on my bathroom shelf. Nothing but a pretty objet d'art taking up space.

Perhaps it was the cold-induced fog, or the fact that I was just itching for something to do having been cooped up in the house for so long, but I decided I would make use of this pretty bit of glass TODAY without delay. It's not that I hadn't tried to use it before. No...the problem had been I could never open up the bottle of my perfume in order to pour it into the atomizer.

Until this morning.

So...armed with nothing but an old pair of cuticle trimmers ( . . . etc, etc) I managed to pry off the bit of hard plastic on the top of my perfume. It only took a couple of minutes, thus allowing me to unscrew the rest of it and pour it into the beautiful "new" bottle.

Success!

I even managed *not* to pour perfume all over the place - truly a miracle in and of itself. Now, who's ready for a nap?

Friday five

This is a particularly a propos Friday Fiver...

Chicken Soup
1. How often do you get sick with a cold? The flu? Something else?
Well, I have a cold right now. A mild one. Every few months...though I'm more prone to them when I don't sleep enough.

2. Are you the sort of person who goes to work or school no matter how sick you are or are you willing to stay at home when it gets bad?
No - I stay home if I can. I don't like being that person who goes to work sick, and then gets everyone else sick. That happens a lot in our office.

3. How do you like to treat a cold? What remedies do you like and why?
Rest, water, tea, soup, nighttime cold meds so I can sleep.

4. What do you do to keep from getting sick in the winter?
um...well. Not sure on that one.

5. What is your favorite thing to do when you stay home from work or school?
Sleep. Watch a dvd. Today I stayed in bed with my laptop and watched Ugly Betty.

wonderings

- I'm wondering if for Lent I can give up something along the lines of "going to bed too late". That would be sacrificial. I think even if I aim for 11 pm . . . that would be a start.

- Holy crap - what is happening on L O S T!? WHAT? Is anyone else watching this?!?

- I have a mild cold. blech. Trying to keep it from turning into a major one. I got home from work and slept for a few hours. And I'm going to go back to bed soon.

- The email I had from P on Sunday said he'd be headed home yesterday from Kuwait. As of this morning CA time, he had spoken to his parents & was still in country, waiting for his orders to head on out. I wonder what those flight paths are? Just interesting to think about.

- I wonder who's going to win the democratic candidacy? And, similarly, how long do is Huckabee going to stay in the race?

- I hope my rehearsal on Saturday is not rescheduled for early in the morning. That would be no good.

- SERIOUSLY wtf? Is this Miles guy (back to L O S T) a ghostbuster or a psychic or something? OMG I think he is??? Seriously...WHAT is going on? He's also some kind of conman?? He communicates with the dead, I think.

I'm done musing for the moment. Talk amongst yourselves.

figure of speech

Today's word-of-the-day is asshat.

Enjoy.

Happy Mardi Gras

Hope ya'll have all lived it up tonight! It was A's last night in town, and his actual birthday, so we had a small potluck dinner chez moi: lasagna, salad, garlic bread, vino and "chocolate decadence' cake. We even had party favors!

The theme: "You don't look a day over 30 (let's keep it that way!)" it has been a lovely few days with A in town. Busy! But lots of fun, to be sure!!

Weekend!

It was a great weekend (minus the shin-incident).
A good chunk of the weekend was spent with A, in town for his 30th bday. We saw Cloverfield (meh - interesting story, dizzying camerawork) and rented Stardust (excellent), had lunch at his favorite SF joint (Flippers) and went to the beach. Sunday night, A's West Coast Fan club hit up The Mint for a karaoke birthday spectacular!! And spectacular it was!

Other highlites: experiencing Glide with two friends from outside of the states; catching up with B; thai food with AZ and A and hanging out with sibling. Good times had by all!

good news

It's been a great day thus far - and it's only just half over....I've a lot to write about, but no time. BUT, I am happy because I got an email from P today (haven't heard from him since he was deployed). So, he does get to take an 18-day leave starting Feb. 6th, which means I'll get to see him when I'm home in Denver over President's Day weekend. Hooray!

I think we're going to make Candyhouses. Random but fun. More later . . .

adventures in klutz

Yesterday, when I got home from work, i walked over to my windows in the living room to read through the mail. I turned suddenly to go get something from the other room and walked straight into my coffee table. I hit my right shin on the corner of the metal and glass table and pitched - hands first - onto the glass table. I thought I was going to crash through the table and slice up my arms, face, head...everything.

But praise the LORD, for I did not crash through! I guess my hands were far enough apart, and mostly over the metal frame of the table, to keep me from crashing through the table.

Today my wrists are *very* sore. I've been icing them. And I have a huge, nasty bruise forming on my leg, along with a cut. It is very sore, too.

*sigh* Madame Grace strikes again.

Friday Fiver - Thinking Warm Thoughts

1. What is your favorite hot beverage?
Almost any kind of tea. Really good French or Italian coffee.

2. Describe your favorite hot food?
Mom's gumbo...mmmmmmmmm

3. What piece of clothing makes you feel warm and snuggly the moment you put it on?
Fuzzy, thick socks; Sibling's fleece pull-over; my SF Giants hoodie.

4. Do you warm up your car on cold days? Do you run the heat all the time or just enough to defrost the windows?
It doesn't get cold enough here to have to warm up the car, really. I run the heat until I'm warm & the windows get defrosted and then adjust as necessary.

5. What is your ideal warm-weather vacation spot?
The Mediterranean