Mid-year

It's almost July! ACK! How crazy is that? Rather than balk in disbelief that 2008 is halfway over, I'm just going to get excited about the following events happening this month:

-Spending the 4th up in the Rockies. I CAN'T WAIT!!! It's been faaaar too long since I've spent any time in the summer up there. YAY.

-My birthday. Though I am excited about this, I'm still not sure how I'm going to celebrate. Too many options! Maybe I'll celebrate all month :)

-Performances start at the end of July. I am excited about wearing kimonos and the like - but a little nervous, as we've not had our costume fittings yet (and now with the holiday it will be at least another week!!!)

-Bastille Day. Moi, j'adore la France et les francais...c'est l'heure de la fete!

-North Beach Jazz Fest...hope to get to go to a show or two, we'll see.

-July also marks *about* the halfway point for P's deployment. I'm praying that this second half passes much as this first one has. I'm not sure what the right word is...not "smooth" not "uneventful" but ..."well" I guess. Send some prayers - and cold-temperature thoughts - his way, ya'll: 130 degrees with 70ish pounds of body armour is just about as pleasant as it sounds. And July & August will be the hottest months.

Wall-E

Saw "Wall-E", Pixar's new flim, today. It is VERY good and interesting. Bravo to our local Pixar folks for such a great film.


Go see it :)

Bar Tartine

K and I went to Bar Tartine tonight for dinner. It was delicious! About every six months or so, we will meet up and hit some fabulous SF restaurant we've always wanted to try and haven't yet had the occasion to do so. Tonight we celebrated our birthdays (belated for her, early for mine) as well as K having passed the first part of her social worker's certification test earlier today.

We had - and I know I'm going to miss like half the ingredients - the following:
Appetizers:
-Strawberry prosecco aperitif
-homemade French Bread (Bar Tartine is an offshoot of Tartine Bakery)
-Squash blossoms stuffed with brandade and a spicy corn chutney type of sauce and avocado cream

Main:
-La Vie "Imaginaire" Grenache wine. VERY tasty.
-Duck (K had this - it was tasty, but I don't remember what came with it)
-Onglet (fancy for "steak") medallion with asparagus, roast fingerling potatoes and a marrow fritatta (okay the marrow was a little odd in texture, but had a good flavor...I was glad to try it)

Dessert:
-Blue Bottle coffee
-Chocolate souffle cake with vanilla ice cream and fresh cherries
-Shortbread with an apricot sorbet d'asti...so light & refreshing!

quote

Sibling: "You can't serve cocktails and play racketball . . . "

Charles Ives would love this

Mozart versus James Bond
Uploaded by FinalFouFantasy

"I left the house so fast the screen door twanged for a week." aka Friday Five - Summer Reading edition

1. Do you think of summer as a particularly good season for reading? Why or why not?
When I was a student, yes – because summer was when I had the time to read whatever I wanted. Now, as a salaried minion, I don’t find summertime to be any better or worse for reading than the other three seasons.

2. Have you ever fallen asleep reading on the beach? Yes.

3. Can you recall a favorite childhood book read in the summertime?
I can’t think of a ‘childhood’ favorite. About the time I was in middle school, I started a trend where I would spend a summer reading a particular author. I remember reading through all of the Dean Koontz books I could find; they scared the crap out of me. Actually – come to think of it – I *do* remember stumbling across Patrick Mcmanus’ books at the one place that sold books up in Grand Lake (where we spent tons of time in the summers). It’s been several years, but I’ve read them all – they’re hilarious.

4. Do you have a favorite genre for light or relaxing reading?
Funny travelogues a la Bill Bryson; Armchair travels; "chick-lit;" Get Fuzzy comic strips.

5. What is the next book on your reading list?
I’ve always got more than one going. Currently reading:
“Do Travel Writers Go to Hell?” and “Shalimar the Clown”. Next up: “The Pretties”

Cents

Thank you, IRS, for sending the rebate check. While I did manage to save some of it, the rest has happily been spent. (That *was* the idea, right?) Along with birthday monies, said rebate has been put towards what is now a two-year-old tradition: season tickets to the SF Opera.

The 2008-2009 season:
Simon Boccanegra
The Bonesetter’s Daughter
Die Tote Stadt
Idomeneo
Boris Godunov
L’elisir d’amore
La Boheme
Three Decembers (Last Acts)
Tosca
Porgy & Bess
La Traviata

Seriously - what is not to like about that lineup? I’m seeing Ariodante on Tuesday – which is supposedly FABULOUS – and if that, along with the other two I’ve seen in the last week (Lucia di Lammermoor; Das Rheingold), are any indication of the season to come, then we’re in for a great year of opera.

lack of sens(ory perception)

In my "just waking up" stupor this morning, I managed to cut the webbing of my finger (between my middle & ring fingers) on my right hand . . . with the end of a plastic tube of hair goop.

Go figure.

I just looked back down at it now, and the cut is red and angry! ack.

sensory overload, part deux

There are 800+ wildfires burning in California right now - all but a few of them located in Northern California.

The entire Bay Area smells like one giant beach bonfire. I woke up this morning wheezing with asthma and watering eyes. I couldn't figure out what on earth my problem was, until I looked outside and saw the yellowish haze settled over the city...fire haze!

sense memories

Every time I ride BART, the screeching of the rails and (usually) the smell of urine lingering in a dark corner remind me of Paris.

I had a 40 minute commute on the metro everyday to classes: from the northern part of the city all the way south to my school. Three blocks, one transfer, and usually a stop for un cafe, svp, later, I would round the corner, push open the heavy wooden doors and make my way up to class.

And on my way back to SF tonight, I sat catty-corner from three French people...and the illusion was *almost* complete.

sensory overload

After being outside for a few minutes this afternoon, I noticed - to my horror - that upon walking into our office, one is bombarded by the smell of burnt popcorn mingled with [coworker's] reheated fish lunch.

I'm sure the woman who arrived for a 3pm appointment was excited by that.

sensory perception

"Listen! You smell something?"

-Dr. Raymond Stantz (Dan Akroyd), Ghostbusters

Hemingway's my favorite . . .

Why did the chicken cross the road?

BARACK OBAMA: The chicken crossed the road because it was time for a CHANGE! The chicken wanted CHANGE!

JOHN McCAIN: My friends: that chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and dialogue with all the chickens on the other side of the road.

HILLARY CLINTON: When I was First Lady, I personally helped that little chicken to cross the road. This experience makes me uniquely qualified to ensure - right from Day One! - that every chicken in this country gets the chance it deserves to cross the road. But then, this really isn't about me...

DR. PHIL: The problem we have here is that this chicken won't realize that he must first deal with the problem on 'THIS' side of the road before it goes after the problem on the 'OTHER SIDE' of the road. What we need to do is help him realize how stupid he's acting by not taking on his 'CURRENT' problems before adding 'NEW' problems.

OPRAH: Well, I understand that the chicken is having problems, which is why he wants to cross this road so bad. So instead of having the chicken learn from his mistakes and take falls, which is a part of life, I'm going to give this chicken a car so that he can just drive across the road and not live his life like the rest of the chickens.

GEORGE W. BUSH: We don't really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chicken is either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here.

COLIN POWELL: Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the road...

ANDERSON COOPER: We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed to have access to the other side of the road.

JOHN KERRY: Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it! It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken's intentions. I am not for it now, and will remain against it.

NANCY GRACE: That chicken crossed the road because he's GUILTY! You can see it in his eyes and the way he walks.

PAT BUCHANAN: To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.

MARTHA STEWART: No one called me to warn me which way that chicken was going. I had a standing order at the Farmer’s Market to sell my eggs when the price dropped to a certain level. No little bird gave me any insider information.

DR SEUSS: Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I've not been told.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY: To die in the rain. Alone.

JERRY FALWELL: Because the chicken was gay! Can’t you people see the plain truth? That's why they call it the 'other side'. Yes, my friends, that chicken is gay. And if you eat that chicken, you will become gay too. I say we boycott all chickens until we sort out this abomination that the liberal media white washes with seemingly harmless phrases like ' the other side. That chicken should not be crossing the road. It's as plain and as simple as that.

GRANDPA: In my day we didn't ask why the chicken crossed the road. Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough.

BARBARA WALTERS: Isn't that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heart warming story of how it experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to accomplish its life-long dream of crossing the road.

ARISTOTLE: It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.

JOHN LENNON: Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads together, in peace.

BILL GATES: I have just released eChicken2008, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your check book. Internet Explorer is an integral part of the Chicken. This new platform is much more stable and will never cra- $!*& ......... reboot.

ALBERT EINSTEIN: Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?

BILL CLINTON: I did not cross the road with THAT chicken. What is your definition of chicken?

AL GORE: I invented the chicken!

COLONEL SANDERS: Did I miss one?

DICK CHENEY: Where's my gun?

AL SHARPTON: Why are all the chickens white? We need some black chickens!

...Please feel free to add any of your own in the comments section...

what else would you use a search engine for, anyway?

aka "Life according to google" as shamelessly borrowed from Wyld.

Using Google, type in the following and choose the first result to pop up.
(I used my real first name in the search).

1. [your name] needs:
MezzoSF needs rescue to get out alive.

2. [your name] looks like:
MezzoSF looks like Shania twain there.

3. [your name] does:
MezzoSF does it while baking a cake.

4. [your name] hates:
MezzoSF hates her life.

5. [your name] goes:
MezzoSF goes air guitar on the vaccuum.

6. [your name] loves:
MezzoSF loves it radio.

7. [your name] eats:
MezzoSF eats spinach, peas & basil!

8. [your name] has:
MezzoSF has talent and will grow into the woman and artist God intends her to be.

9. [your name] won't:
MezzoSF won't be immune to something like this.

10. [your name] can't:
MezzoSF can't rock just yet because she's a raw talent and not yet coherent in theme.

11. [your name] wants:
MezzoSF wants to become a successful and talented singer, songwriter, and performer.

12. [your name] makes:
MezzoSF makes something most foul, yet she thinks it's sooooo funny!

13. [your name] killed:
MezzoSF killed her dad and then committed suicide, so why bother to watch?

hot

hot hot hot...

I know. I know. I am done complaining. But it is HOT here, yo. No one has a/c. I woke up at 6 this morning and had to retrieve some ice packs from the freezer to put on the back of my neck and head in order to cool down enough to sleep. IT COULD be worse. I know. Just...had to get that all outta my system.

The heat DID make for the PERFECT "Opera in the Ballpark" last night. Every year, SFO does a simulcast of the opera at AT&T park - free - and it was so fun. We had a picnic on the green...and, if one were inclined, all the normal baseball goodies were available for purchase (beer, garlic fries, etc). And the warm hot weather was perfect ... just needed a blanket to sit on, no jackets, scarves, nor down sleeping bags needed. yay!

And the opera did not disappoint. Sometimes I'm the worst at seeing operas, because I analyze what all the singers are doing or not doing. It's hard for me to turn off that part of my brain. But the much-hyped soprano did not disappoint - it was a wonderful performance.

Friday five - summer word association

Think summer......are you there yet? Below you will find five words or phrases.
Tell us the first thing you think of on reading each one. Your response might be simply another word, or it might be a sentence, a poem, a memory, a recipe, or a story.
You get the idea . . .

1. rooftop: fireworks

2. gritty: I like grits - especially when my mom cooks them

3. hot town: ”summer in the city, where the grass is green and the girls are pretty”

4. night: the sounds of cicadas (or were they crickets?) chirp-buzzing in the thick night air

5. dance: salsa! " . . . que la vida es un carnaval…es mas bello vivir cantando!”

Sticky Fingers

It was strangely flattering, if not altogether appropriate. Red had always been one of her best colors: it highlighted the auburn undertones of her hair, and made her blue eyes appear more like ice crystals set below an as-yet-unlined forehead. (Thanking Mom again for those good genes – who, although already in her late 50s, could pass as 40 with none the wiser).

Her shopping trip had been successful, though she hadn’t intended on quite this color combination. I mean, she was *already* going to be the center of attention; it was, after all, her own rehearsal dinner. Something in deep blue, coordinating with her eyes, was what she had finally purchased. She already had the perfect shoes for the dress, and Jim loved her in blue – it was his favorite color. And by wearing this particular dress, he would definitely forgive her for running as late as she was. It’s just that between her mom, Jim’s mom, and all the friends in town, she had not yet had five minutes to herself (much less an entire morning free to go shopping.)

Walking a few minutes out of her way to go to her favorite coffee shop, she popped in her ear buds and pondered the huge life changes coming for her over the next 36 hours. The prospect of spending the rest of her days with The One – Jim – thrilled her. He still gave her goosebumps. However, if she were to be completely honest with herself, 'Til Death Do We Part' did sound a little intimidating. But, that was just her cold feet talking, right? She couldn’t imagine a better match than Jim: they were best friends, lovers, and their families got along like old friends. What could be better?

“Wild, wild horses….couldn’t drag me away…” she sang along, envisioning Mick’s mouth eating the microphone. How on earth did a man so compact have a mouth so effen huge? Enquiring minds want to know!

Ah! The coffee house came into sight. Or scent, rather - she could smell the beans roasting from across the street. Waiting at the light, something in her periphery caught her eye. A shiny penny - head’s up - dated 2008! Must be her lucky day! She didn’t need a penny to tell her that, but bent over to grab it anyway. Maybe she’d tuck it into the little present she’d bought for Jim. “Wild, wild, horses…”

She didn’t hear the horn. Didn’t see the taxi slice across the street in front of the truck as they both approached the intersection.

As she lay contemplating the color which she hadn’t planned on wearing today – at least, not in such quantity - she had to admit that the red did set off her ice blue eyes and increasingly pale cheeks . . .

surreality

Las Vegas is a surreal place. A bombardment of colors, heat, noise, cigarettes, booze and people, people, people of every kind, shape, age and persuasion. Think the Disneyland Electric Light Parade as interpreted by meth-heads. In a way.
And though I thoroughly enjoyed myself over the weekend with the gals - pretty much a weekend is plenty of time to spend there. I can't imagine being a local.

Last Sunday afternoon, whilst waiting for the bus home from the BART station, I found myself looking around at all my fellow San Franciscans. Having spent the previous 36ish hours in the surreality that is Vegas, I couldn't help but think to myself, "Wow. People in San Francisco are so NORMAL."

And then a hippie on a tall bike rode by down Market street...thus restoring the universe to its upright and locked position.

Seeing red – real life edition

I don’t get angry often. But if you hurt or insult someone I care about, be it family, friend, etc...then I literally do start seeing red.

A couple weeks ago, someone I don’t even know managed to piss me off royally . . . and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it, other than stew in my own juices. I didn’t blog about it, because it was not my story to tell. But now you can read the story here, if you'd like, about my best friend getting punched in the face on a bus. By a stranger.

Kudos to AZ for not letting the anger eat her up. It could have been a lot worse than it was - and for that fact, I'm praising Jesus. But my dander’s getting riled now just thinking about it.

I know some well-trained men whom I would *love* to sic on this guy. Too bad that that’s, you know, highly illegal. Stupid details.

A few of my favorite things - nature edition

• Falling asleep to the bubbling lullaby of a mountain creek
• The echoing of thunder over a lake . . . rolling, rolling, rolling
• The smell of pine trees after the rain
• The color of the sky before a snowstorm
• The resounding quiet that comes after a snowstorm
• The crash of ocean waves against the shore
• Crunching acorns and leaves underfoot
• Sunset
• Squishing my toes in fine sand
• Shooting stars - the best place I’ve ever been to see these was on top of a ridge (can’t remember the name) in the Blue Ridge [natch] Mountains, NC.
• Beach bonfire on a warm night – or even on a cold night
• Golden Aspen leaves in the fall
• Discovering sea stars and anemones in tide pools
• The type of algae which makes the sand ‘glow’ in the late summer/early fall at Ocean Beach