Someday Something Will Happen

Good Housekeeping, Part Deux

2009-04-02T21:03:00.000-07:00

Drank from the wrong beer. Will keep you updated.

Good Housekeeping

2009-02-09T15:54:00.001-08:00

Plate of lentils rotting on desk next to bed have comforting smell of yeast.

Sharing

2009-02-09T13:59:00.001-08:00

Sometimes, when I have a cold, I lick my hands and then touch all the lids at the coffee bar. If I have the time, I lick some of the spoons.

More to come. Hold your breath. That makes everything happen faster.

2009-02-05T03:48:00.000-08:00

When it comes to vague projects with no deadline, you can count on me!

Bunnies, Easter, Mardi Gras, Lent. The darkest days of the winter are behind us.

2008-01-28T16:46:00.000-08:00

I saw this on kottke.org last november and it definitely takes away the prize for Favorite Youtube Video of 2007. Sad, beautiful, disturbing, sweet. My favorite death is the final one.

just wondering...

2007-11-09T19:11:00.000-08:00

If I were at the Laundromat late one night and someone bonked me on the head as I was leaning deep into the bottom dryer to retrieve that lost sock that probably didn’t have a match anyway, and they shoved my unconscious body into the dryer and set it on “permanent press”, would you laugh?

Headache

2007-07-11T10:40:00.000-07:00

Letters like this:

Make me want to tear my hair out. I took the other picture down because I suddenly worried that it would appear mean and I most certainly do not want to appear mean.

Yes. This post is a cop out. Yes. Angela is just doing her job. Yes. I like to whine.

At the Top of My Game

2007-05-16T13:55:00.000-07:00

Subburdenite chooses to call it "the Pinnacles". My marine mammal obsessed friend dubbed it "the Pinnipedicles". I am going to opt for the simpler Pinnacles. It all makes sense to me and it could hardly be important.

Damn this place is crowded! Groups of teens, groups of kids, parents with toddlers, and an elderly woman with one knee in a brace, one knee wrapped in elastic, and a cane that was masquerading as a hiking stick who we happened upon, all of us flushed with exertion, at the top of a ridge. It was surprising considering that most of the hikes are graded moderate to the is of strenuous and the heat is intense. *pant pant* Some reputable weather site claims the high was a mere 62 F the day we exerted and I cannot prove them wrong, but I would stake several valuable things on the falsity of this claim.

I have been here before. Maybe 6 years ago? It feels like a lifetime ago and if the criteria chosen to measure this were hiking style, then I think few would choose to accuse me of hyperbole. My previous journey was a hike along the Old Pinnacles Trail (at the time I went there was water in the creek) to the Balconies Caves and back. I remember being rather tired and pleased with myself for having exerted the effort. This trip we walked the park almost in its entirety. We missed some of the second halves of the small loops (to backtrack would be silly), but saw everything but Chalone Peak and the 7.0 mile North Wilderness Trail, on which it is suggested that one use topographic maps and be otherwise slightly better prepared than our crew.

When I was in Peru, I was driven to climb to the top of Huayna Picchu at the end of a 4 day hike through the jungle by knowledge of the likelihood of my not returning, and an obsession with Herzog, Kinski and the movie "Aguirre, the Wrath of God" (I really wanted to see the stairs from the opening shots of the movie, but was unable to locate them with certainty. Should have researched it before I went, but I thought it would be obvious.). Here I am at the top. It's a little hard to tell, but Macchu Picchu is many many feet below me.

When I went to Pinnacles, my decision to take a left and add 4 miles to the hike back to camp at 6:00pm was driven purely by ego. A decision that was placed upon me by my friend Tom. It drove all of us to take the extended journey back to camp and there is no doubt that it was worth it. Pride pushes me to try a harder with a positive result. On the other hand, the casual statement that I walk quickly and am, perhaps, a natural born hiker is a very proper example of pride gone, um, slightly off course. I sped through the park like there was a fire on my ass. Afraid to lose the lead and eager to not disprove my friends' friendly observations. I took some photos, but I could have lingered a little longer. This is a shot taken in the Bear Gulch Caves, looking up. Initially I thought it looked like a Georgia O'Keefe painting, but now that I have it full size I have lost confidence in this assessment.

And I am pretty sure I saw a Condor, but it is possible that it was just another turkey vulture. We debated the sightings until we saw the final bird. If you go be sure to watch the Violet Green Swallow's flight pattern and to stand on the large rock at the Outlook and make a loud, shrill noise - the echo is awing.

Hit In the Head

2007-05-15T00:02:00.000-07:00

I was having one of those days. Maybe it was one of those weeks. Maybe it was a month. Maybe it was one of those phases. Those times when you make plans and then wake up in the morning and want to cancel them. Those times when you make plans to do things that sound interesting and can't muster the enthusiasm to see it through or you get there and realize it's just okay. Stuck, bored, uninspired. I'm not going. Out. And your friend talks to you on the phone and says, "stop, we're going". And you know that exactly what you need is to let someone you trust take control of your decision making for one moment instead of playing the "I Will Listen to Myself" game. And it works. I made it to the Berkeley Art Museum on a gray sunday for the one of the last few days of the Yoko Ono exhibit.

I have little knowledge of her art. I know the story of how she and John met (look it up if you don't know it). I have seen bits and pieces and always found her intriguing. The retrospective consisted predominantly of the instruction paintings from her 1964 book "Grapefruit". There were some glass cases which I do not recall distinctly and the telephone, which I believe is commonplace at yoko exhibits. If the phone should ring, you should answer, for it will be she.

The walls were painted a lovely baby blue with white text. Apparently my photos are a copyright violation (got in a wee bit of trouble). In order to make the images legible I had to unforgivably uglify them, so I will not post any of them. Instead I will quote.

Cloud Piece

Imagine the clouds dripping,
Dig a hole in your garden
to put them in.

Mirror Piece

Instead of obtaining a mirror,
obtain a person
Look into him
Use different people.
Old, young, fat, small, etc,

The Yoko Ono exhibit was nicely complemented by the Bruce Nauman exhibit of some of his early works that we saw afterward. He has a good sense of humor. "Self Portrait as a Fountain" made me giggle and all who know me know I enjoy giggling. I also hear that he is important and influential, but my story will end here. The photo was taken at BAM/PFA and is not related to any of the aforementioned artists. Also, when we went to look at the asian art, M fell over in a paroxysm of hunger, so we had to race off to eat chili cheese fries served in a giant bucket.

Exodus

2007-05-14T22:44:00.000-07:00

The jumping Teddy Bear Cactus is a fierce beast with spines that poke out in every which way meaning it doesn't just stick into the skin, but lodges in with ferocity. I had to walk, trembling, toward help and operation dislodge. No blood, but it did indeed hurt. The vision of butchered skin lurking underneath the sleeve of my shirt was vivid throughout the 3 minute long experience. They loom large on the horizon.

But in the end...

They were no match for me, recently aligned with my inner giantess.

The famed Joshua Trees have a lot of personality. They were blooming (this one isn't). This one is a little bit lonely.

I went to the desert about a month ago. I love it there. It heightens the senses and places the mind into a hallucinatory dreamlike state. It's also very photogenic. Traveling with two avid photographers was great inspiration for me to play with my little point and shoot more than usual. Patience (mine), photographer's eyes, and kind words of support are wonderful things. By the way, if you drop something, rest assured, my friend Doug will find it.

Why me why me?

2007-05-10T20:34:00.000-07:00

All I did was stop at the Chinese Restaurant for the really average $4.50 huge pile of food lunchtime meal deal which I'm not even sure was what I ordered because I opted to order something new and vaguely named (5 spice chicken) and when I got back to the office wasn't even sure that I had gotten what I ordered. It tasted fine, but was suspiciously sweet and sour pork like. All I did was open the fortune cookie (break in half, take two bites, remember I do not like, then throw away) and got this little gem. Neurotic miser doomed to never quiet the inner critic. Darn. what happened to "you will be recognized as a community leader". I guess both things are possible.

Self Affirmation

2007-04-30T12:38:00.000-07:00

I am a wonderful dinner date.

I eat

with enthusiasm

(and shine)

Shrimp from Long John Silver

2007-04-18T00:56:00.000-07:00

holiday post post

2007-01-11T23:29:00.000-08:00

well, it seems that everyone but me blogged for the new year. Me? I was busily surveying the bounty of the christmas season, thereby realizing the disproportionate amount of lavendar scented home and beauty products. a candle, potpourri, soup, and a microwaveable eye pillow. i feel a little told without the telling.

Worth the price of admission?

2006-12-15T14:00:00.000-08:00

post lunch fortune. Maybe I should buy a lotto ticket. I might win a dollar.

Conclusive

2006-11-12T20:48:00.000-08:00

There were suddenly more witnesses to my death than I would have liked. I was strolling home from work, crossing the street. I looked up and noticed the red light but felt like i could keep going and somehow as I stepped off the curb I forgot what I was doing. I noticed an approaching car, turned back, then turned to cross again ruminating over whether I should hit the reverse button on my ipod. It was a particularly monumental track that sweeps me up every time I listen. Then someone honked and I looked up and realized again that I was crossing the street. Against the light, cars zooming at me from both directions. It was the same split moment when contemplating my imminent death that I noticed the convenience store guy smoking his cigarette and watching, the couple with the dog, walking down the hill toward me, the towheaded fellow with the glasses on the opposite corner crossing on the green and both of the oncoming cars. At the inquiry there would be no one to deny my stupidity.

Bologn-azy

2006-10-22T21:38:00.000-07:00

I was inspired by my dear friend and his gurgling, eyes rolled back, rhapsodizing over his wife's meat sauce to try my hand as well. If I lived in Texas I would have invited myself over for a sampling, but since I live miles away (into the hundreds) I was forced to try my hand at it all solo. I opted to make Bolognese sauce. Mostly because I like to say it and partly because it sounded greasy and unctuous and I like that.

Anyway since this was a last minute study evading/forcing (3 hour simmer time) tool I merely did a cursory search on the internet for a recipe. Normally I would have been at the library with 5 cookbooks fstacked in front of me so this was really a step toward a new more laid back me. Back to the topic... Debate a plenty cos it's got milk and wine that gets reduced as some point in the recipe and maybe has a little tomato as well. I settled on the wine reducing after cooking meat before tomato sauce and finishing with the milk. Mostly I did this because of the wikipedia entry and partly because I'm an idiot and reference wikipedia much more often than I should. (thanks to alreadythere for gently pointing this out to me over a pina colada) The food turned out kind of eh.

That may have been because in my research I found a paraphrased Marcella Hazan recipe (lady knows her stuff) and she reduces the milk very early on. I suspected that perhaps this was because the enzymes in the milk helped to soften the meat in the dish, but I got misled by a my grandmother made it this way entry. This morning I went to work to find people reiterating my initial thoughts about the milk. Then I thought. My mother is a great cook (really, and not just in the subjective sense - well, i suppose it's all subjective but maybe you know what i mean) and I have been to plenty of homes where mamas cooking is doughy pancakes or condensed milk marshmallow fluff jello blobs (a horrendous experience). I feel that this is perhaps something that does not improve with age. So I got misled and added the milk too late. This probably affected the texture. Plus I used pork and beef and I definitely felt it could have benefitted from a little veal. Regardless I will be eating this for the next week (or longer).

Peek-a-boo

2006-08-05T11:26:00.000-07:00

Lunch Hour

2006-07-27T21:27:00.000-07:00

It's hard to not have fun in a photo booth. Bling and Photos courtesy of Marc Jacobs store on Fillmore street. Free!!! (well, not the bling)

I'm kind of young

2006-07-20T17:22:00.000-07:00

I'm not sick. I have no plans to move to another city or neighborhood. I have loads of free time. This all does little to explain my commitment to returning to the same breakfast spot over and over again. I get up twice a month with a ghastly hangover at 9am and sadly realize as i stare at my ceiling, or perhaps the inside of my elbow, that to lie in bed longer would not restore my soul and physical being efficiently or through the path of least pain. So i bravely get up, get dressed, grab a book and head out the door in search of a "novel" experience. open door, turn left, turn left. wonder where to go, reach mission st. Pupusas? South American Stew only served on weekends? El Salvadoran? Greasy Spoon? Random Street Tamale served ina Safeway bag? My eyes are wide with anticipation. Turn right. walk walk walk walk walk . Red Cafe. Damn. mediocre eggs, mediocre hash browns, pretty good fried plaintains. they recently repainted the walls brown! (from a lovely white) they have a counter and the coffee is too hot to drink so only one cup is downed over the course of the meal, if you are lucky you make it to one refill. It ain't cheap. These are all good reasons to go to a restaurant every 6 months or so cos it's in the hood, but my reluctant fervor I cannot understand. I will butt my head on discontent for as long as the object is willing.

While Studying

2006-07-19T23:22:00.000-07:00

I killed a bug on the coffee table with the point of my pen knowing full well the stranger sitting across from me was watching. I wondered if he wondered whether i would finish the job with my 0.3 mM inky dagger, repeatedly stabbing it's flailing body, or finish the job quick with a piece of paper or simply my thumb. Then I wondered whether he wondered what each choice revealed about my personality. I know I did.

I am a Happy Person

2006-06-15T19:15:00.000-07:00

No more unsavory photos for a while. I'd just like to comment on the joys of learning calculus for the third time. It's not fresh and exciting like it was the second time and it makes me feel stupid. If i was looking for an ego stroke via review I am certainly not getting it from that 10lb blue math book that I've been hauling around with me for the past couple weeks. It all used to be so easy, back when i was young and before all the intellectual inactivity took it's toll. I knew I should quit wearing anti-perspirant and just didn't heed the warnings. I will be sitting in my underlit apartment inhaling stale air, fitting large objects into small trash cans (sub, the solution is so simple!! Thanks for the tip!) , and attempting to continue my "love affair" with Mathematics.

Valentine Test Kitchen

2006-06-15T17:01:00.000-07:00

Lately I reek of failure. Tasted worse than it looks.

Adieu Joe Cool

2006-06-13T21:36:00.000-07:00

Bought with irony and then worn with love. I spent one last day with a favorite pair of socks. We went to work. We looked at clouds. (well, i looked at clouds, they came with me)

I got a painful callus on my heel. I threw them in the trash.

Sleepless Nights

2006-06-13T10:18:00.000-07:00

I suppose this might be one of the reasons. Impressive, in sad way.

Nooooodles

2006-05-23T00:35:00.000-07:00

It tastes better than it looks. Fresh Rice Noodles from the not so secret spot on 16th street. Broccoli, Tofu, and Sauce. I'll be eating it for the next week.... yeee haaawwww. I am a child proud of my creation.

Something's Afoot Cooking

2006-04-25T21:56:00.000-07:00

Nothing like needing to do a little studying and not being able to leave the house to really get you doing the home cooking and the blogging. Last week, pad thai made after a rather harrowing long distance grocery shopping trip and a casual dinner get together (as well as a rather glorious day of playing hooky at the beach) and today (cause we are hardly into this week yet) grocery shopping and a stirfry with salads and indian cauliflower because otherwise the cauliflower would have plain old gone to waste. Pretty good since for the past two years 99% (no exaggeration) of the time my fridge has butter, maybe eggs, 2 sauces, mayonnaisse and nothing else. It was coming to the conclusion and then verbalising the rather depressing statement "i eat bad pizza twice a week" that really made me take pity upon myself. I'm switching to bad pizza once a week. (well, trying to...) I really dislike jarred pasta sauces. So i think a key factor in helping me to turn over a new leaf is finding a home cooked food that doesn't require chopping to eat on those nights when I am too tired. Oh wait. SANDWICHES. I LOVE SANDWICHES.

Here's a photo of some generic looking sandwiches I stole from the CDC web site. Enjoy!!

Squint and Rub Your Eyes

2006-04-06T00:41:00.000-07:00

Wow. I step away for one day less than two months and it's bloody chaos. In that period of time I have managed to set a new career trajectory for myself (i long to sport slacks and a blouse). Thanks to EVERYONE for their moral support. I know the cyber world has lost at least one known-to-one-of-us blogger in the past couple months and once you have been thrown... Dang. Is my life really this boring?

Look! It's Wayne Coyne all blurry and wearing an eyepatch.

I have 83 of these photos. yes they all look alike. That show was a lot of fun.

Rusty Nail, Ends, & an Odd

2006-02-07T23:55:00.000-08:00

I have been a beer drinker for years. I think in large part due to my coming of age in the midwest on the border of one of the great cheap beer producing states in the US. Regardless. I have loved Bud Light and PBR for many years and was vaguely pleased by the renewed popularity of these beers in large part due to the trucker hat wearing hipsters that run rampant in, well, many parts. Recently I have taken a shine to the Vodka Tonic and from there, well things have really blossomed. My curiousity satisfied by cocktail exploration.

This week?

The Rusty Nail
2-3 parts Scotch Whiskey
1 part Drambuie

Fill a rocks glass with ice. Pour in Whiskey. Pour Drambuie over top.
Use just enough Drambuie to enhance the flavor of the scotch.
Serve it with a straw. Stir and sip.

As the ice melts the flavor develops.

I've been listening to this a lot this week.
Diplo vs DJ Shadow - Megatroid Mix
It's at least a year old, but it's new to me.

My Friend Lia's claim to fame is that she was once stalked by a guy because he thought she resembled Michelle Branch. This led to a discussion during which I made the bold statement that the celebrity I resemble most was WAAAYY more talented than the celebrity she most resembles. An assertion that was quickly refuted by her mentioning that her mother says she looks like Elizabeth Taylor.

and then the competition was over. (as in "disputable tie")

And just in case you missed it: Herzog Shot During Interview. Odd.

A Little Remorse

2006-02-03T22:46:00.000-08:00

Western Union delivered it's final telegram. Kind of made me sad.

Does Not a Rebel Make

2006-01-31T22:44:00.000-08:00

Winter came on with a vengeance, and I was forced once again to run the shall I buy an umbrella debate. I think this one had been going for well over 5 years. Could it be a factor in my perpetual winter cold that starts in mid december and carries through until february. I hate to place blame on something so mundane, but repeat trips to the doctor presenting with variations of the same set of symptoms and a mental printout of a few key definitions from the Mayo Clinic have not lead to diagnoses other than "you have a cold and need to get some rest". I feel that I make a convincing argument and yet am often denied the luxury and excitement of a much required blood test. At the end of the season I am most definitely greatful to not be special enough to have a rare disease, but the stress of possible misdiagnosis weighs heavy.

Back to the umbrella. I returned home one evening a wet rat and because I like to limit clothing changes to twice a day and don't have an inbetween outfit (post work pre bed), sat and shivered for several hours in my apartment. Thank goodness for the lap warming effects of my laptop, it provided a small comfort. But upon aawakening opted to venture forth and rid myself of a preconception that I stubbornly hold on to and buy myself two umbrellas. Pink, yellow, and then suddenly a gift of a black one. When it rains it pours.

belated best ofs

2006-01-13T14:51:00.000-08:00

Well, I will sort of apologize to myself for putting these up so far into the new year, but I'm kind of proud of myself for having managed to do it. The list probably would have looked a little different if I hadn't managed to break my ipod. (Still purty on the outside, all busted up on the inside - goodbye fair child). It was kind of like losing my cell phone. It was my list and history for the year, and without it the struggle was great to remember many details, kind of like how I couldn't remember many of my friends after I lost my phone. Sigh. Easy come easy go.

I think I saw two movies last year and read three books.

Top 10 Albums
1. Sufjan Stevens, Illinois
2. Why?, Elephant Eyelash
3. Venetian Snares, Rossz Csillag Allat Szuletett
4. M.I.A., Arular
5. The New Pornographers, Twin Cinema
6. Kano, Home Sweet Home
7. The Mountain Goats, The Sunset Tree
8. Broken Social Scene, You Forgot it in People (not 2005, but I just heard it this year).
9. 13 & GOD, s/t
10. Dangerdoom, The Mouse and the Mask

Top 5 Singles
1. Lady Sovereign, Random
2. Daddy Yankee, Gasolina
3. 13 & GOD, Perfect Speed
4. Medasyn feat. Lady Sovereign and Shystie, The Battle
5. LCD Soundsystem, Yeah (crass version)

Top 5 Musical Events
1. Diplo and DJ Marlboro at the Rickshaw Stop
2. Jamie Lidell at The Independent
3. V∞redoms, The Independent
4. El Circo tent in the early AM after the burn – don’t know was DJing
5. The Fucking Champs, at the Bottom of the Hill. Both times!!

Greasy Meatball

2005-11-17T23:06:00.000-08:00

I've been making a concerted effort to spend more time at home in a state of boredom. In my aresenal of things I contemplate and regularly discuss is the "we need to be bored" speech. Without this time without input I don't think the creative self can thrive and yet I find myself going to and from work with headphones on doing the crossword, at home with a drink and talking on the phone, staying up all night to play with the computer.

Then I read this poem.

The Art of Disappearing by Naomi Shihab Nye.

When they say Don't I know you? say no.
When they invite you to the party
remember what parties are like
before answering.
Someone telling you in a loud voice
they once wrote a poem.
Greasy sausage balls on a paper plate.
Then reply.
If they say we should get together.
say why? It's not that you don't love them any more.
You're trying to remember something
too important to forget.
Trees.
The monastery bell at twilight.
Tell them you have a new project.
It will never be finished. When someone recognizes you in a grocery store
nod briefly and become a cabbage.
When someone you haven't seen in ten years
appears at the door,
don't start singing him all your new songs.
You will never catch up.
Walk around feeling like a leaf. Know you could tumble any second. Then decide what to do with your time.

It may be tacky to post it. I found it in a book on someone else's bookshelf. "10 poems on how to live your life" or somesuch nonsense which I would normally have dismissed rather quickly in a bookstore, though never would I have picked up the collected works of above author in someone's house. No judgement of the poetry itself from this corner. I just think I needed it.

Fighting the Good Fight

2005-11-03T22:01:00.000-08:00

Pipets in the trash bin. I think I won. Trash can equidistant. Me with the unfamiliar small volume low weight unpredictable tips. He with the 200 microliter "sure things". My ejector worn out from years of use. He with the ergonomically correct Rainin. Silence. Both of us calmly loading gels without acknowledging the other and simultaneously shooting the tips in without a sideways glance. I won. Some days I love my job.

my commute

2005-10-25T14:20:00.000-07:00

Something has changed in the mormon breeding program. They used to be models of wholesome midwestern whiteness, but now they seem to have a tendency to dress more street and don't always follow the tall one plus short one M.O. This morning on the bus they weren't even wearing suits. Perhaps in San Francisco they use a different approach. They are still incredibly sweet and eager though. I tossed a few items onto the floor of the bus and they anxiously reached down and handed them back to me. What darlings.

a penthouse would be too windy

2005-10-25T03:07:00.000-07:00

You walk up to the roof of your 3 story apartment building in the middle of the night on what was a rainy foggy day and find a patch of uncloudy sky directly above you. Chilly, crisp air that lights all your senses on fire. The half moon shining bright above you for 10 minutes before the wind blows the circle of clouds away from you.

I'm , Er, Going Camping (wink wink)

2005-10-06T12:03:00.000-07:00

1. I lost $28 in a poker game with some new "friends"
2. Due to some unambiguously irresponsible behavior on my part I no longer have tires on my bicycle.
3. My boss is making me work 40 hours a week (NOT INCLUDING LUNCH).
4. I got a bad haircut.

I plan to spend the weekend in bed smothering rogaine on my poor head and marinating the scalp skin chemical concoction underneath a plastic bag. Wish me the best.

How Embarrassing

2005-09-27T16:46:00.000-07:00

At the doctor's office today I was forced to engage in a battle for the August 2005 Vogue (Jessica Simpson looking smokey on the cover). THis consisted of a slightly ungraceful pick-up in pace after leaving the receptionists desk to a full blown swoop "oh I thought you were just sitting down" hand to mouth move after snatching magazine. While perusing my hard won gains, a cute boy walked into the office and I found myself regretting not having opted for the untouched Nation sitting on the table in from of me. He was wearing glasses and I'm pretty sure he might have been smart.

They Call This Fun

2005-09-25T21:08:00.000-07:00

Rock and a Hard Place

2005-08-17T23:05:00.000-07:00

Apparently the key to blogging is finding your niche.