Found! 2006

I just got a call from my old pal and one-time next door neighbor Jun. He'd just gotten a call from someone who found a strange little map book with lots of markings in it and his number among others on the front page (the only blank paper I'd had one time when I was changing mobile phones and needed to document my contact list). My number and "if found, contact..." had been on the inside of the cover which had just come off and been left at home on the fateful day.

Two things found: a old friend and the book. Yay!

Now I just need to meet up with the finder and get the book back to do a little data backup.

Lost 2006

One San Francisco cross-street directory, heavily marked with 3 and a half years of walking routes. Dropped somewhere on Haight Street yesterday.

Reward $20.

Tall Ships 2005

It was beautiful today. My friend B.J. and I went down to have a look at the tall ships visiting the city and wound up sitting on the edge of pier 30 enjoying the lovely weather.

I always wish to live near the sea.

A visit to the best most dangerous block in San Francisco 2005

Hi, hi. I'm fine. No, really, just doing offline stuff.

This past weekend I installed new carpet, "Flor", in my kitchen and it's swell. And frog green.

I also took a walk to a highly dangerous spot: Divisidero between Haight & Oak. There temptation awaits. I managed to resist the suction power walking past the door of Comix Experience, but was pulled into The Other Shop. There among the moderne vintage items I discovered a simply wonderful Japanese print in a great frame for a steal of a price.

Then I headed on to my intended destination, Gamescape, and bought not only the additional game from Loony Labs (makers of Fluxx and Chrononauts) which I had come for, but also an expansion set for Carcassonne, a Cheapass game called "The Big Idea", and something called "Gloom" in which the goal is to make your family as miserable as possible while inflicting happiness upon your opponents families. Much fun to come at my house!

I could have left the danger zone then, but no, no, I went on to Cookin', the treasure house of every cooking implement known to man. There I obtained a hand-held juicer for lemons or limes for the making of really proper cocktails. See above.

My wallet significantly lighter, laden instead with lovely new things, I walked back home, stopping along the way for a sandwich and a juice - excellent and so inexpensive - at Courtney's Produce at 14th and Castro.

So, all is very well in my world. The kitchen improvement - take that, you ugly lino! - inspired me to clean the kitchen, and then the living room. I have some pretty nasturtiums from the backyard on the table and everything is lovely. Also I made pasta puttanesca for dinner and it was delicious.

Hope you're making your life nice in whatever way you can. Even the little stuff, step by step, counts. It's how I got here. Add something good, subtract something bad. Little by little, until one day everything in the room is what you want to have there. Home.

Such a GOOD weekend! 2005

Creatively productive day Friday. That Certain Someone picked me up after work. Dinner at Citrus Club on Haight. Sitting in bed surfing the web. Spooning.

Farmers' Market at the Ferry Building Friday morning. Aidells Maple & Smoked Bacon sausage sandwich with Seeds & Suds mustard. Fresh snap peas. Tasting cheeses and balsamic vinegars. Selecting and eating Recchiuti chocolates - Peanut Butter Puck, Honeycomb Malt, special of the day (Fleur de Sel caramel topped with pecan encased in bittersweet chocolate; simply fucking incredible. One of the top ten chocolate experiences of my life.), Fleur De Sel, Cardamom Nougat, Tarragon Grapefruit, Bergamot Tea - on a bench looking out at the bay. Sailboats. Clouds. Sunshine. The Bay Bridge. Yerba Buena Island.

Walking up Sacramento to Mason and down to Geary. Buying tickets at the Curren for "I Am My Own Wife" (about which more in a couple weeks no doubt). And then seeing Kung Fu Hustle at the Metreon.

Stop what you are doing now and go see Kung Fu Hustle. It's got more life and fun and excitement in it than the last 10 American films I've seen. If I could pre-order the DVD today, I would, and I'll definitely be seeing this one at least twice in the theater.

Grinning like maniacs. A Manhattan and a cheese plate at The View atop the Marriot Hotel looking at, well, the view. Trying to figure out what was going on at the ice rink. Walking across Yerba Buena Gardens to find it was a demonstration game of sled hockey. Very cool. Chatting briefly with a player as he got back into his wheelchair. Coming home and watching the original Star Wars "A New Hope" (laser disc version, not this bullshit "Greedo shoots first" crap).

Sleeping in. Languid lazing around. Puttering around the house. Soup for dinner. The win-win debate: movie or play a game?

Thank you, Gavin 2005

One year ago, in San Francisco City Hall, our mayor did the right thing.

He said that the right to marriage which can be enjoyed by an adult man or woman applies to that person regardless of the gender of his or her spouse. If four individuals can marry when paired in opposite sex couples, there is no sound legal reason for the state to deny those same individuals that right when paired in same sex couples. Further, we have a moral obligation to fight such discrimination.

We are Americans. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men [and women] are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

I wish happiness to those brave couples who came to our beautiful city to proclaim their love, commitment and obligation to each other. Happy anniversary!

A fun night at the Odeon Bar 2004

I had a great Thanksgiving this year. A good visit with family, especially with my beloved Grandma Susie. Lots of good food, music, watching sci-fi with Uncle Larry, everyone singing along with Alice's Restaurant, my mum's homemade pumpkin pie, a perfect turkey from Aunt Lynn, and my dad's delicious stuffing.

When I got home and was checking email, I found to my surprise an announcement that the Mahatma's back in town and performing as Wink Pain in the Wink & Yoni show at the Odeon Bar starting ostensibly in 10 minutes. I still had the rental car, thought "what the hell", changed clothes and - since these things never start on time - arrived just in time for the opening band, Nice Pants.

I enjoyed Nice Pants very much even though it was their first gig. Just a violin & ukelele duo performing great 20's and 30's sounding tunes. Quite fun!

Then on came Wink Pain & Yoni Wannalea with their sunglasses, alarming hair, cheesy come-ons and Don Ho classics. Despite the fact that the entire room was stoned on L-Tryptophan (or, more scientifically accurately, blissful & lethargic after over-eating), they put on a good show and I expect it was only the post-feast-indolence which prevented the throwing of panties onto the stage.

And how was the Odeon Bar? Just fine. Crass and outrageous and unprententious and real. (And no porn on the t.v. this time, just a surreal film and something about how to cut the head off a live chicken. Just look at the band, your drink, and the smiling faces around you and you'll be fine.)

Soul patrol 2004

I won't be around this Sunday evening (the 17th) to enjoy Lord Loves A Working Man's next show, so I hope you'll head over to the Hemlock Tavern at Polk & Post to hear that great 60's Memphis soul sound. They're the second of 3 bands, expecting to go on around 10pm. The cover's only $5, so even penny pinchers can afford a night out!

I was at Hemlock Tavern a while back to meet up with a couple of friends before one of them did a show there and was really impressed. It's a beautiful little club and the staff were great.

A bunch of walking 2004

Streets completed today:
Ord
Carson
Castro
Bemis
Dolores

Nice weather, though it got pretty windy toward the end.

Now I'm home just hoping that this runny nose is allergies and not a cold. Given the amount of travel I have coming up, I don't need a head start on getting sick. Time for a hot shower and a preventative retreat to the bed with hot tea and something trashy to read.

Big walk? 2004

I've been craving a great big walk again, so I think one might happen tomorrow (Sunday). If you're interested in hooking up with me for all or part of it, leave me a comment, email me, or use other communication methods I've provided to you. Given my short night last night - stayed until closing at 12 Galaxies - and busy day today - Grandma's 90th birthday party, it is unlikely I'll be up before 10am and therefore unlikely that the walk will start before 11am.

Since it's been windy, I am inclined against a beach walk. I'd kind of like to finish off a couple major streets. I think I only "owe" a few blocks of Castro south of Clipper. Might be a Eureka Valley/Noe Valley/Glen Park sort of ramble. I could be convinced to do Telegraph Hill or Union Street or any number of other places if I have an enthusiastic walking companion, though.

Gypsy date(s)? 2004

Anyone want to try to get tickets to this incredible evening of Roma food and music on Monday night?

I was already thinking of going to see this band - famous from the Guca Brass festival in Serbia - at Ashkenaz tomorrow night, but the possibility of a delicious meal and an added performance by the Extra Action Marching Band is very enticing.

If you want to go, let me know as soon as possible; the show is expected to sell out.

Music alert! 2004

Don't forget: Lord Loves a Working Man tonight at 12 Galaxies (on Mission near 22nd)! Show starts at 9pm, LLAWM on about 11pm.

Moving towards a move? 2004

This may come as a shock to those who know how much I love my current apartment, but I'm thinking of moving elsewhere in the city. My housemate is planning to move and, though we've managed pretty well, it's quite clear that this is not an ideal apartment for a non-couple. There just isn't enough privacy for us to have people over without the other person being affected by noise. Even a normal conversation level in one of the rooms with the doors closed still produces enough soundbleed for inflection if not words to be understandable in the other room.

It's a great place for a couple, though, so if the two downsides we've found with the place - no laundry and a perceptible slope to the floors - don't overpower your appreciation for the view, the quiet, the light, the efficently-laid-out little kitchen, the hardwood floors, the quirky curving front staircase, and the, let's say it again, amazing view, then you should let me know you're interested in talking to our landlady once we let her know we're moving out.

I have been thinking about keeping the place on my own, but the more I think about the impact of doubling my admittedly very low rent, the more I realize I'd probably rather weather the expense of moving and not have to give up going to so many concerts and dinner out with friends.

Which brings me to thinking about where to move to.

I still need an easy commute - I am not a morning person and do not want to have to get up more than 20 minutes earlier. That means I need easy access to Muni or BART to get me over to the Transbay Terminal (or all the way to the east bay where I work).

I like being in a neighborhood which is pleasant to walk around in (and in which there are no drive-by shootings).

I like being within 2 miles walking distance of most places I would like to visit.

I love the main sounds I'm hearing from outside being wind blowing across the trees in the neighbor's yards. (The joy of a house way up on a hill on a long street people tend not to drive on because it doesn't seem to go much of anywhere).

Ah, and that's the hardest thing about the moving idea. The noise. This is probably the best combination of "quiet retreat" and "2 or 3 blocks from Muni, movie theater, and restaurants" and "incredible view" it would be possible to find.

So then I come back to trying to figure out not to move, how to survive when approaching half of my take-home pay would be going to rent. Sure, I could have people over to my place for dinner & drinks instead of going out. I know it's unlikely, given my furniture and the space I'll need, that I won't be able to move without my current rent going up 150% and then saving an extra $100 or so a week to make up the difference just doesn't seem like that big a difference. And then I'd have a fantastic two-bedroom apartment all to myself. That's pretty darn attractive.

So maybe I won't move. Maybe I'll throw a large proportion of my pay out in the street every month for the benefit of living in a place that's bigger than I need and which permits setting a ball down so it can roll from one side of the house to the other.

But, man, then I'll be broke. And I'll still have to walk 5 blocks to the laundromat.

Here I once again break out the calculator and the budget and start working the numbers again...

***

But first I spent a few minutes looking through the apartment listings in Craig's List and after one too many "wall-to-wall beige carpet" listings, I find myself determined to make staying put work financially until fate drops another golden opportunity in my lap.

So, if you hear of a "quiet, big enough for my furniture, has a gas stove, isn't too far from muni/BART, no upstairs neighbors, in a nice neighborhood with laundry nearby" apartment in San Francisco, do let me know. Otherwise I'll be here trying to pinch my pennies everywhere else in my budget but rent.

The Black Rider 2004

Amazing show. Parts of it pretentious. Parts of it making fun of pretentiousness. Incredible, though not easy to swallow, music. Great performances (especially by Nigel Richards). But most of all, jaw-dropping production designs. It's beautiful. Also ugly at times when it wants to be. Quite an odd, but wonderful show.

Note: I found it hard to cozy up to until late in the second act. Then it hooked me good at the Crossroads.

By the way, the gorgeous photo above by Derek Powazek was not color corrected. That's how it came out of his camera, which tells you something about how well the production designers achieved their goals.

The Life 2004

I have been living one hell of a life the past week and a half. It's been fun, but now I'm tired and needing to take a lazy Sunday to recover. Pride 2004 will just have to carry on without me.

In chronological order:
Suffered massive comment spam attack. Obtained great big set of data to recognize that comment spam pattern even when I only get one isolated message. Very handy for those abuse reports.

Saw Rube Waddell at Cafe Van Kleef. Great band, great bar.

BBQ with my old out-laws (B.J.'s parents). Genetic and official ties aren't the important part; they and B.J., his wife Bev, and her parents are part of my extended family.

Allergy attack prompting this message to my co-workers:

Hi,

I got woken up at 4something in the morning again with these horrible allergies and took the half tablet of Benadryl which doesn't normally make me too drowsy to function, but apparently when combined with either especially bad allergies or that time of day makes it impossible to wake up.

I am now moving sluggishly in the direction of the office ("...what rough beast slouches towards Emeryville...").

Regular allergy sufferers, first, my profound sympathies. Second, how the heck do you cope with this? Do I need to go to the doctor and get some prescription stuff to be on all the time? Do allergy shots help? And how long into summer do you usually suffer?

Representing all the dwarves (with Bashful manifesting in his Tardy aspect and Groggy, Itchy and Scratchy substituting for Greedy, Doc and Happy),

Dinah

Hanging out late at Tantek's place with Min Jung, Matt, Dunstan, Simon and Jane.

Dinner at Crepes on Cole with the WaSPs and party at Tantek's place. (Matt's pictures)

Thought I'd get a good night's sleep to recover from the prior 3 short nights. Allergies woke me up at 4am again.

Back to Cafe Van Kleef for As Is Brass Band (oh joy!) and my delighted introduction to 1 Man Banjo (Sean Lee), about whom you'll be hearing more. Caught ride home with the band and thus reached bed around 3sumpthin.

Set alarm for 7:30a.m. Woke up at 7:28a.m. Had a surprisingly functional and creatively charged day at work.

Expected to come home and go to bed early. Instead went to dinner with Dunstan and Min Jung, joined after a while by Tantek, Matt and Anil. Then we rambled around North Beach and ended up at the Bubble Lounge where champagne, foie gras, and chocolate with strawberries were consumed. (Here's a picture which sums up the decadence of the evening). Some of the party were interviewed by an HBO TV crew for Real Sex. Dunstan expressed a certain preference which I can hardly wait to see the footage of; I think I may want that sound bite as a system error sound. I stroked Matt's head until he became blissful. I got to see Liz, which was a pleasant surprise.

Finally, O joy! Sleeping in.

High tea at The Palace with a bunch of beautiful, intelligent women to celebrate Heather's upcoming wedding. Certain topics were approached and then veered away from ("You can't talk about that here; we're at The Palace!") and Anil would have been thwarted from making certain hand gestures, had he been there.

Went to Kaiser's pharmacy finally and picked up some of their generic Claritin stuff. I look forward greatly to non-sneezing, non-itching nights and days.

Started some food marinating, napped, cooked and then headed out at midnight to NIMBY in Oakland for the Extra-Action Marching Band benefit for their mission of good will from Amsterdam to Sarajevo. Wonderful humans. I got to see a few Burning Man art pieces I'd only enjoyed in pictures before and listened to more great music. Amazingly, I arrived during Freddi Price's second song, "Oh Father". and got to hear his whole set including an extremely-heartfelt version of John Lennon's "God". Wish I'd had the equipment to record that; it was perfect. Yes, Lennon's song when you thought about it, but in that moment, fully Freddi's.

The poor guy had some turbulence in the first part of his set. The power on the stage went out while he was singing, so there was a little dicking around fixing it and then he started belting the song out with no mike and no stage lights and no guitar amp. Just as people were huddled in close, clapping, feeling the raw version, *boink* back comes the power. A cheer from the crowd. Freddi's sideways smile, a grin and he steps up to the mike to really launch into it and *pwing* his guitar string breaks. Blink, blink, and then he roars with laughter. One song with no high string, followed by a quick string change, and then back into it. A great show, most definitely.

Oh, and Extra-Action was huge fun; there were other good bands to be heard (e.g. LOOP!STATION), art & wild outfits to be enjoyed and all the lunatic pleasure of an all-night party. I contributed a vegi dish to the food choices (recipe coming later) and kept the marching band hydrated during their set. At the end of the night, which is to say at 6am this morning, I gave four happy people a ride back into San Francisco and returned the City Carshare car. In bed by just after 7am and slept until 11:30am or so.

I feel pretty good. My legs are tired from standing and stomping my feet on cement all night, but it was fine fine fun. I encourage you to get out and do something. Share yourself. Appreciate what other people have to share. Life is good.

Small plates and a full course meal on a Friday night 2004

Last night was an excellent way to round out the week. I walked from the transbay terminal to the Mission district and had dinner with my friend Lenny at Esperpento (mmm, spicy potatoes, spicy chicken, grilled asparagus, garlic shrimp, good bread to sop up the sauces, and the best sangria in town) followed by the benefit for Right to Write at Amnesia.

That was a hell of a show. As much as I adore Amnesia - gotta make it down there more often - I think this line-up better do a repeat performance at a larger venue. The Whoreshoes are a ton of fun (I need to hear the song about "let me be your bull" again); Lord Loves A Working Man is getting amazingly good (and should really start thinking about their first CD); and good ol' Rube Waddell, even with Max and Freddi just having done a fantastic set with LLAWR, can get the whole place on their feet stompin' and hollerin'.

So, I stayed to the end. Closed the bar. Caught a cab home. Got to bed a little before 3am and slept pretty solidly.

Now it's coming up on 2pm, I've had my shower and a great big glass of water, but no breakfast. Today being officially "Stairway Day", I had planned on doing another nice big walk and making sure to include one of the city's many beautiful staircases, but I find I have a blister starting on the ball of my left foot. I guess the only walk I'll be doing is to the drug store to buy insoles for my newest shoes. I'm hoping if I am nice to it today and wear the right things tomorrow, I'll be able to get some walking in.

Larry (Reverend Whupass of Rube Waddell) said that he'll be playing at the Odeon Bar tonight and I would like to see what he does when he's not being a Rube. Plus I feel I ought to give the poor ol' Odeon a second chance. Larry says the porn isn't usually on the screen and it would be nice to be able to write up a review of an evening there that wouldn't scare away quite so many folks. (I do note though that my previous review is now no longer the #2 hit for a search for "odeon bar" on Google and is instead one of the last. Not sure what prompted that demotion, but I'm betting it has something to do with last week's comment spam attacks.)
Given how I'm feeling right now though, I don't know if I'll make it down for the show. Not even sure if I'll try to get out for the KFOG Kaboom. Too many late nights in a row and now my body clock is all discombobulated.

(It's now almost 3pm. I got distracted by the Google result thing and then reading some email and having a little snack. I think maybe it's just going to be a spacy day.)

Still walking, but not today 2004

Three years ago, I set myself a goal: walk every street, every block, in the city of San Francisco. I'm making very good progress. Not sure what percentage of the city I've covered, but some mighty big streets are checked off the list - Mission, Market, California, Fulton, Lincoln, Embarcadero - and quite a few little ones too. Today I was going to take another big walk and check off a few more, but I didn't feel well and so haven't left the house.

It's frustrating, particularly when it's so unnecessary. The reason I don't feel well is the same one with which pretty much every other woman between puberty and menopause is familiar. In order for our bodies to shed the womb lining from last month and create a fresh new environment for potential new life, our innards do a bit of readjustment and this process can get quite uncomfortable. If I was going to have kids it might be worth it, but I've had a tubal ligation, so ain't nobody gonna be checking in for stay in this hotel. Cramps are for me, a completely pointless annoyance.

They were never as bad before my operation as they've been since - I fear my doctor, trying to be helpful, did something which reduces cramping in most women (lasering some region on the side of the womb or something?) but which had the opposite effect on me - and I'm still, several years later, perfecting my response to a bad bout. (Some months are definitely worse than others.) A nap remains the best medicine. Orgasm often helps a good bit, but, as I don't find pain a turn-on, doesn't necessarily leap to mind as the best course of action. So, I take some Ibuprophen and lie down. Today I took 400mg and then another 200mg when that didn't seem to do the trick. That got it down to a dull throb and I was able to doze for a while. I think next time I'll try 800mg.

Believe me, if there was an easy way to give my womb away to someone who actually wants one, I would. I ain't usin' the damn thing and the maintenance is hell.

Rubbery legs and progress 2004

I took another great big walk today. Rode the Muni train to Sunset & Taravel, walked up Sunset to Judah, Judah to the Great Highway by the sea, up to Fulton, all the way in on Fulton to Broderick, over on Grove to Alamo Park, down Pierce to Haight and dinner at Axum Ethiopian restaurant. *whew*

Thanks to previous walks Fulton now joins the list of streets I've walked the entire length of:
Agate Alley, Aldrich Alley, Alma Street, Alpine Terrace, Annie Street, Anson Place, Beale Street, Belden Street, Belmont Ave, Berwick Place, Brady Street, Brenham Place, Buena Vista Avenue, Burritt Street, California Street, Campton Place, Carl Street, Cedar Street, Century Place, Charlestown Place, Chatham Place, Clarendon Avenue, Claude Lane, Clearfield Drive, Cleary Court, Clifford Terrace, Collingwood Street, Conservatory Drive, Cornwall Street, Cosmo Place, Cushman Street, Dale Place, Darrell Place, Dehon Street, Derby Street, Drumm Street, Edgewood Avenue, El Polin Loop, Elwood Street, The Embarcadero, Emma Street, Fella Place, Fernandez Street, Ford Street, Fulton Street, Germainia Street, Gold Street, Golden Court, Grand View Avenue, Grand View Terrace, Haight Street, Halleck Street, Hangah Street, Hardie Place, Harlan Place, Hemlock Street, Heron Street, Hoffman Street, Ivy Street, Java Street, Julius Street, Kobbe Avenue, La Ferrera Terrace, Landers Street, Legion of Honor Drive, Levant Street, Lick Place, Lily Street, Lincoln Way, Loma Vista Terrace, Lombard Street, Maggie Alley, Maiden Lane, Marine Drive, Mark Lane, Market Street, Mars Street, Marvel Court, McDonald Street, McDowell Avenue, Meacham Place, Merrie Way, Mesa Street, Midway Street, Miller Place, Mirabel Avenue, Mission Street, Mission Rock Street, Monroe Street, Montclair Terrace, Museum Way, Napier Lane, Newell Street, New Montgomery Street, Noe Street, Olive Street, Ophir Alley, Parkhurst Alley, Parnassus Avenue, Pearl Street, Peter Yorke Way, Petrarch Place, Piedmont Street, Pink Alley, Plaza Street, Pond Street, Potomac Street, Powell Street, Presidio Terrace, Quincy Street, Rincon Street, Robert Kirk Lane, Romain Street, Roosevelt Way, Rose Street, Ruckman Avenue, St. George Alley, Scotland Street, Sea View Terrace, Security Pacific Plaza, Shannon Street, Sharon Street, Shephard Place, Spear Street, Spofford Street, Sproule Lane, Stanton Street, States Street, Steveloe Place, Taraval Street, Tea Garden Drive, Telegraph Hill Boulevard, Tillman Place, Torrens Court, Treasury Place, Trinity Street, Troy Alley, Upper Terrace, Uranus Terrace, Van Ness Avenue, Vermehr Place, Vinton Court, Vulcan Stairway, Walter Street, Washburn Street, Western Shore Lane, Whiting Street, Withrop Street, Woodland Avenue, and probably a bunch of others I haven't remembered to mark off in the index pages of my Rand McNally San Francisco CrossStreet Directory.

A Good Walk 2004

Today after work I took the N - Judah out to the end of the line at Ocean Beach. I walked along the beach up to Lincoln and then back home along the side of Golden Gate Park to Willard (just before Stanyan) to Cole and back over the hill to home. About 5 miles of gradual uphill slope with a big climb at the end. Nice workout!

Rite Spot Cafe is the right spot for a Monday night 2004

For some reason recently I decided after not looking at it for a year or more that I wanted to check the website for a local band, The Loud Family. There I discovered that my friend from the band, Scott Miller, would be doing a solo acoustic set the following Monday night at a little club I'd never heard of, the Rite Spot Cafe at 17th and Folsom. The resulting evening was a resounding endorsement of overcoming entropy and trying new things. The opening artist, Alison Faith Levy, was really good. I sat at the bar, ate the best bruschetta I've had in years, and the very pleasant woman bartending made me a near perfect Martini. Scott was wonderful and in addition to his own stuff played some great covers (Cat Stevens' "Shine", Bowie's "Life on Mars", Morrissey's "Last of the International Playboys", and something by Robyn Hitchcock).

Since it was a work night I didn't stay for the third act, but I sure was glad I got out for some impromptu fun.

Urban pleasures 2004

Riding the subway out to the end of the line out by the ocean and then walking all the way back (along Taravel, up Portola to Clipper & back to Castro). Dinner & a drink at Nirvana (& visiting with my pal Brent-Dawg). Finding a great no-particular-reason present for my housemate at Citizen. Impromptu decision to see 'The Umbrellas of Cherbourg' at the divine Castro Theater. Where the organist is playing lovely music for me right now.

Odious behavior at the Odeon Bar 2004

Last night could have been one of the best experiences of my show-going life. The line-up of bands was perfect to feed into each other. The small venue with big tv screens showing the band to those seated away from the small stages was good for these acts, which I guess you could file collectively under "Odd Americana". The bartender was competent and pleasant.

Papa Joe* came on when I arrived. They were great and the crowd was really getting into them. It was a pretty full crowd, about two-thirds women. The launched into a long piece that began to build a great mood. I was thinking "These guys are good. I wonder if they have a CD..." when, apparently, the guy running the video feed to the TVs got bored and decided to switch it to porn for a moment. Woman giving blow job appears on monitor with phone sex numbers all around. Crowd stares at screen in surprise and mystification. Mood created by band pops like a balloon. Crowd & band tried to get mood back. Continue to groove. Start to succeed. Monitor switches to an almost medically lit shot of anal sex. Pop.

Now, unlike a lot of women, I like porn. Not all porn, of course, much of it is crap, but I am not offended by the concept. Given that there wasn't a mass exodus after the first couple times the video switched, I'd guess that most of the people in the room weren't deeply offended. But it didn't matter. He could have been switching to the surgery channel or news headlines and been just about as disruptive (and disrespectful to the musicians).

The next act was Baby Gramps, who was just amazing. Steel guitars, beautiful steel guitars which my friend Jun would have loved, and oddly syncopated singing and movements. Like a windup toy gone on the fritz. Very enjoyable. Fortunately, the adolescent idiot controlling sound & lights didn't feel the need to break up the show with extended chunks of porn. I think it was his favorite act of the evening because Baby Gramps did multiple encores (one too many, I'd say, though he was very good) and so I guess A/V Boy wasn't bored.

Once Baby Gramps went offstage, though, the video switched from being band interspersed with a few seconds of hardcore porn, to showing long stretches of the stuff. And the crowd began to thin more rapidly. Now note, the headliner has not yet come on and people are leaving. By the time Rube Waddell took the stage, the place had thinned out by well over half and the remaining crowd is only about one quarter women. I noticed the two bartenders standing idle several times and that ain't so good on a Friday night between 11pm and 1am.

The Rubes start and the dork blows their focus in the first song by switching the video again. I decide to try to find somewhere in the club where I can see the band and not the monitors. (If I want to watch porn, I'll do it at home and only with very carefully selected company). It turns out there's no such location in the bar. I decide to visit the bathroom and do so extremely carefully, fearing A/V Boy might have set up hidden cameras in there; fortunately I was wearing a fairly long skirt which is the best trick in the girl's book for preserving modesty. As I'm washing my hands and face and trying to regain the musical mood, I miss one of my favorite songs, "Tamale Lady". I did hear them do it three times on Fat Tuesday at Ti Couz though, so no horrible loss.

Well, the remainder of their unfortunately too short set went about like the rest of the evening. Mood barely gets the chance to build before the porno king is doing his "Don't pay attention to the band, look at the naughty thing I'm making happen, pay attention to me!!!" schtick. Tedious. On the bright side, I sat up front and got to watch the Reverend's percussive skills and marvel at Max A. Millions' ability to showcase the accordian, kazoo and washboard as instruments of raw, sexual passion. (Bass too, but that's got some traditional mojo.) Forget the TV screens; the most erotic thing going on in that club last night was Max hurling himself into the music. I was thinking, as he threw his head back, lost his hat and released sweaty curls to fling around, "Man, if I had a locker, there'd be some glossy picture of this boy inside the door." The poor Captain was right up by the TV facing the stage and between that and the low ceiling and the cramped quarters was barely able to lay down his own hot licks in Max's wake. Unsurprisingly, harmonica worked a quite a bit better than sousaphone in this space. Now normally, as you may recall, I'm quite happy to eye the Mahatma and work whatever flirting possibilities may arise, but he was unfortunately positioned between me and that damn TV. This meant that I paid much more attention to the Reverend and, though he doesn't seem - note I say seem - to be as much of a hussy as Mahatma Boom Boom, I did not find this to be a waste of time. By the way, that was the best hi-hat solo ever.

I understand the Rubes will be heading into the studio for a while, so I'm glad I got the chance to catch this show. I'm very glad that I was exposed to Papa Joe and Baby Gramps. As for the Odeon Bar? Will I ever go there again? Before the first time the video switched I would have told you I was considering becoming a regular. Now I think I'll give it a miss.

*And I didn't realize until this morning why the name Papa Joe felt so odd to me - it's what we used to call my grandpa. Glad I didn't think of that last night; nostalgic grief wouldn't have been a good thing to add to the emotional mix. Good band, though. If anyone knows a URL for them or where I can get on their mailing list, do let me know.

** I shudder to think what the keywords in this post are going to do to my Google search results.

Recommended: Skin Deep at Varnish Gallery 2004

I went to a very cool show this evening in a nice little gallery space on Natoma between the transbay bus terminal and SF MOMA. Fun artwork by some sassy women. I initially went because I got introduced to Isabel Samaras' art by some folks on Flickr. It was great to see her stuff in person, especially the newest piece "The Lily" which shows Herman Munster leaving a tattoo parlor with a new picture of Lily in a lily on his chest. His shy, proud smile is just great and I love how Isabel signed her name on the piece by having it written on a piece of paper in his pocket. It's worth stopping by Varnish just to see that one alone, but you can also have a good glass of wine and enjoy all the other great art.

I wound up hanging out for a little while with Andrea Tucker who has fun paintings of freaks, but my favorite piece she had there was a little book called "i Had a Monster" which is all beautifully inked pictures of a woman dealing with her demon. Brilliant stuff. Fortunately she had copies for sale, so I now have one of my very own.

I also met Sharon Leong who has the big piece at the front of the gallery, but my favorite one of hers was one in the back called "Shoe Disorders".

Also featured in the show:
Annette Hassell - "Hoodoo Consults the Oracles" was my favorite of hers. Don't miss the way she decorates the edges of some of her pictures.

Sunny Buick - the untitled one with the fish (at the back of the bar) was the one I liked best from her.

Kirsten Easthope who does this fabulous glossy pin-up girls painted on bowling pins. I was torn between "Strip-o-Rama" and "Cocktail", but "Fun Fur" was pretty cool too.

Morning, on the bus 2004

San Franciscans are fascinating to watch. Perhaps all big, liberal cities are as good for people watching.

One thing about a regular commute is the way you come to recognize fellow travellers. The impeccably dressed young man with a taste for fine literature. The hipster girls, somewhere between Sex & The City and the Haight Street thrift stores. The artists, doodling in their sketchbooks. The snoozers catching just a few more minutes, hats pulled low over their eyes. The comfort kings & queens with their newspapers, coffee and whatever else they need to have a relaxing morning. Almost always one painfully cute person to admire (purple shoes! swoon!) and me, typing with my thumbs.

Feeling the love 2004

An amazing day. I'm happy and exhausted. Kevin Smokler and I showed up at City Hall at about 11:30 or so and spent the rest of the day volunteering. I watched people's bags for them during their ceremonies & gave information and Kevin was a witness for those who needed one. If you are ready to have all your silly internal worries about yourself replaced  with selfless joy, I highly recommend you do something like this. If you don't live in San Francisco, call your mayor and say you want all couples in your community to enjoy the freedom to marry. Equality is a beautiful thing. I've seen few things as beautiful as the joy on people's faces as they were married in that gorgeous building. It's also a great way to be reminded of the diversity of the homosexual community. Everything from middle-aged parents to college-age couples to grey-haired truly long time companions. I am so proud of this city and of our civic employees. When you see the joy and pride on the newlyweds' faces reflected on those of the cops protecting them, you know you're in the right place at the right time.

Go GoGo 2004

Having a really good evening tonight despite the sad news of the day. I got a ride back to the city with my pal Beth from work. It's a beautiful night so I opted to walk back from Church & Clipper area. On a whim, I went to Tokyo GoGo for dinner and the food & the company were great. Tim the bartender was his usual pleasant self and I had a fun wide-ranging conversation with Kelli the hostess and Robert, who seems to be something of the regular I'm inclined to become.

(By the way, guys, noname sushi is at 314 Church).

***

I composed & posted that about 20 minutes ago while walking from the block of Church just off Market, up Market, to Streetlight Records where I failed to find the Dandy Warhols CD I was craving. Now I'm home, checkin' out Kelli's cool site and wishing it was Thursday since I'm taking Friday off.

"Castro Halloween: No booze, mixed reviews / Many pleased with sober event as (real) cops keep order in S.F." 2003

The San Francisco Chronicle clearly had a spin they wanted to put on the story of last night's party in the Castro. At 10:30pm last night I read an account of the evening as a flop. Cold, too few people in costume, no booze, no one dancing. But think about it; 10:30pm? How much before that time would they have been walking around the party? I mean, they have to write it, prep their pictures and get an editor to approve it. It wasn't blogged from a mobile phone.

So, let's be generous and say that process only took half an hour and that I happened upon the story the instant it went up. Between 9 and 10pm it was still sprinkling. Those in costume were waiting to see if it would clear up. Those who worked had gotten home, eaten dinner and were still putting on their costumes and heading out. Haven't these guys ever been in a night club? They're always dead until 10pm. Jeez.

Judging by the occasional bursts of music and bright laughter, the party went happily on well into the night. I needed earplugs to sleep, which doesn't imply a dead dull event to me.

So SFGate has a revised version of the article which is made up mostly of the pre-10pm quotes from early attendees waiting for the fun to start.

Blogs may not be journalism, but at least they have time stamps.

Distraction 2003

Okay, so I could say "Oh, I had to work on the weekend last weekend" or "I'm so distracted by the excitement of my first column appearing in the San Francisco Bay Guardian" or "I'm being a good grrrl and taking a walk every night" and that's all true, but really, what distracts me from posting?

1. Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane (two DVDs of the fantastic BBC production with Edward Petherbridge & Harriet Walter)

2. Tropico, the Mucho Macho Edition (a game on the Mac which is of my favorite genre which I like to call "project manager games")

3. Party Monster: The Shockumentary (which is very interesting to see after seeing the fictionalized version with Mac Culkin and Seth Green (yum))

Happy Solstice! 2003

I had a lovely long walk today. I've been lax about both exercise and my project of walking every street of San Francisco, so it was really nice to get out and do a major one. I went up over the hill, stopping at Tank Hill Park just before noon which was a nice place to be at noon on the summer solstice, and on down Quintera to the ocean.

I had an interesting moment of surprise while I was going through a posh neighborhood near Laguna Honda. I was walking up a curved road on a hill and suddenly noticed about 10 feet ahead of me were a couple of little black and white kittens coming out from under the hedge by the curb. My foot came down as I kept walking forward. The kittens aren't kittens. My other foot came down. They're baby skunks. I reversed myself midstride and walked backwards down the hill until I was out of sight of them around the curve. I never saw Mama Skunk and boy am I glad.

Lovely Day 2003

What a gorgeous day! Chris and I went for a walk up over the hill and had a light brunch at the Reverie Cafe in Cole Valley. Then we went up Parnassus to Willard and explored the neighborhood around the Farnsworth Lane stairs. Couldn't figure out where the entrance to the Sutro Forest is, so we came back down and Chris caught the trolley home while I went on to Haight Street to do a bit of shopping.

Kevin, if your answering machine has a message which is nothing but the sound of sirens, that was me checking to see if you were home and then having your voicemail drowned out by passing fire trucks.

I had such a good time, I'm going to go for a big walk again tomorrow. I've been slacking on my "Walk every block of every street in San Francisco" project.

A Good Day 2003

What a beautiful day!

Woke up beside my sweetheart to blue skies and the glorious opportunities of the weekend. Had a nice brisk walk over to my friend Mike's apartment where he fed me tasty blueberry pancakes, showed me entertaining short films and explained his imminent move to Japan. After I was lulled into a sense of ease and contentment, he subjected me to the worst movie of all time "Manos: The Hands of Fate". It was excruciating. But I did laugh a lot at how painful it all was.

This evening was one hell of a birthday party. Chris & I walked over the hill and had a jolly time with the many people packed into Derek & Heather's place. Really great to see everyone. I recall (around the margaritas and my post-Manos daze) being especially glad to have time to connect with Megan, Scott, Chris, Janice and Jessica who I don't hang out with often enough.

We walked home, leaving the party still in full swing, and now I'm a bit tired. I drank the requisite giant glass of water to begin flushing the alcohol out of my system and now I'll go take a shower to wash the cigarette smoke out of my hair and restore my cheer before sleep.

I hope your Saturday brought you friends, good food, nice walks and laughter too.

Spring is in the air... 2003

This morning, in the Castro St. MUNI station, a clean-cut young man in a suit approached an even better looking (O how I love living in the Castro!) casually-dressed man and, quite charmingly, asked for assistance in tying a tie. With a smile and no hesitation, the cutie put the green bit of silk around his own neck, tied it smoothly and expertly, then loosened it enough to remove it over his head and pass it to the boy in the suit as they hurried onto the train. When last I saw them, they were each reading (or pretending to) and wearing the sweetest blushes you ever saw.

A moment later, a pleasant Asian man asked me the time, engaged me in conversation and asked me out for coffee. "No, thank you. I live with someone...but 10 out of 10 for boldness," I said as I got off the train.

Ah, Spring! And tomorrow's Saturday so I won't have to kiss the handsome man in my bed goodbye and rush out the door.

I do hope suitboy and his valeting cutie hook up. Someone needs to teach the sweet young thing not to wear white socks with a dark suit.

You Know You Live In The Castro When... 2003

... someone walks by on the sidewalk below your windows and a deep male voice floats up singing "Miss Otis regrets she's unable to lunch today...Madam..."

We got the place! 2002

Soon I will be a resident of the Castro. Oh yes...

Epic by my scale... 2002

I walked a lot today. A whole lot.

I started out on Lombard at Van Ness with the intention of walking over two hills to the bay, turning right, strolling down the Embarcadero and taking the bus home from the end of Market Street.

Things went according to plan at first. I went up over Russian Hill, walking down the straight stairs alongside that notoriously curvy block, stopping for a ginger beer and a cookie at a cafe in North Beach, then climbing up the hill admiring Coit Tower ahead and to the right of me.

At the Telegraph Hill crest of Lombard Street, I looked at a memorial to Marconi and gazed out at the beautiful views. I got a surprise, though, when I went to what I thought were stairs down towards the bay. Lombard doesn't go through. So I walked up along the curving road to the base of Coit Tower and found myself at an even better vista. I looked up at the tower and briefly considered climbing it but then thought "oh, probably better not; my knee has been a little sensitive lately and all those stairs could be bad." Then I turned down a little stairway leading, I thought just a bit of a way to another road.

In fact, they were very steep - though pretty - brick steps and it took longer than I thought to get down the one block distance to Montgomery Street. I walked a block down Montgomery and found myself at the top of the famous Filbert Steps. These are a mix of stone and wooden steps through an almost impossibly charming neighborhood completely inaccessible by car. It was delightful. I took my time going down and visited the wood paths known as Darrell and Napier Streets. Magical. Well, and exhausting to contemplate the lifestyle of the folks who live there. To think of carrying in the groceries, let alone a new piece of furniture is daunting to say the least.

When I emerged at the base of the steps, I was just two blocks from the bay, but on Filbert, not Lombard. I turned left on Sansome and noted as I passed the Greenwich Steps which merit exploration on a future walk (from the top down, I think). I reached Lombard, turned left and walked the two blocks to the base of the cliffside of Telegraph Hill. Now I could have just turned around and walked the three blocks to the bay to complete Lombard Street, but it occured to me that I wasn't awfully far from Cost Plus and I wanted to get a few small jars for giving gifts of the mustard I've been making at home lately. I went down a little street at the cliff end of Lombard called Winthrop, turned left on Chestnut, slipped through the C|Net parking lot and ended up on Kearny Street.

Now I couldn't quite remember where Cost Plus was exactly, so I went two blocks left on Francisco, then a block right (north) on Midway and came out on Bay just before Stockton. There were the Cost Plus banners four blocks ahead of me. I walked up there, did my shopping and came out the other side of the store on North Point Street. I followed a zigzagging path from there up Mason, along Beach, up Powell to the heart of Fisherman's Wharf. Again, I could have turned east and finished my walk, but somehow I wasn't ready.

Feeling bold and resistant to tourists, I walked west, browsed in the National Park Service store, and almost gave in to a guilty desire to visit the wax museum but was stopped by the $12.95 price tag and the unnaturally peachy-pink color of the Lady Di figure on display outside. (Someday I do want to find a companion eager to give in to the tacky for a few hours and we will visit not only the wax museum, but also Ripley's Believe It Or Not and that ride that recreates the 1906 earthquake. I'm sure I won't enjoy them as much as I enjoyed Madame Tussaud's in London, but curiousity preys upon me anyhow).

Once thwarted by sticker shock, I started walking back along the Embarcadero towards Market Street. It was at this point I began to feel a little wobbly in the legs. Not injury or pain, but definite fatigue. Still, I was bound and determined to reach my goals. I went down to Lombard, checked off that exceedingly dull last block, and continued along the Embarcadero until sighting the blessed vision of the Fog Street Diner. I sat (O, to sit is a fine thing!) at its rose quartz bar and consumed, slowly, a half of a Dungeness crab and an expertly made Sidecar. My sensibilities thus restored, I finished my journey to Market Street via the Embarcadero and Drumm Street and caught my bus home.

Streets completed today:
Lombard
Embarcadero
Powell
Drumm
and a number of small lanes & alleys

Finishing Lombard 2002

After having a hard time getting to sleep last night because The Noisy House was doing its thing, I was sleeping very deep at 6am when the phone rang. I went through the usual anxiety as I staggered up to answer it, but it turned out to be a wrong number. An odd wrong number, unfortunately, because when I asked the caller what number he was trying to reach (trying to insure I would not be woken again in 5 minutes) and then had to ask "Well, does it begin [the beginning of my number]", he said "I don't know" or "I'm not sure" or something equally cryptic. It was a peculiar conversation and left me off balance. Then I remembered an acquaintance who's behavior has been odd lately and thought perhaps it was him and thus I was indeed likely to be disturbed again. I called the operator to see if I could find out where the call came from, but all he could do was suggest I try *69 to call the person back. Which I did. I then had another slightly less off balance conversation in which the laconically-voiced stranger proved to be a stranger after all. To my relief, I did not receive a revenge *69 call. Very strange and upsetting. I felt very alone and scared and ill at ease in this big city.

When I couldn't get to sleep, I read a more of Bill Bryson's A Walk In The Woods and soothed myself with troubles more uncomfortable than my own. This allowed me to return to a dream-pocked sleep where I mostly remained with minor surfacings until 11am or so. Now I'm feeling that vague-brained fog of oversleep and staring aimlessly at nothing.

To cure both my blurriness and my disconnection from the city I love, I am heading out for a big walk. Today I'll finish Lombard Street, walking from Van Ness over Russian Hill, down into North Beach and over Telegraph Hill (I already walked the western half with Chris a month or two ago).

It's odd when I'm in this mood; it's so very much harder than usual to get started, to get myself out the door and heading down new streets, but the benefit is enormous and frequently immediate. My attention goes out from myself into the world around me. My focus changes from the past and the future into the present, into reality not fears or regrets.

As C.S. Lewis put it, in the present moment alone are we offered freedom and actuality. I find, as I grow older, that Lewis's The Screwtape Letters proves more and more accurate about the way people really behave. I highly commend your attention to it. Don't think you have to be a Christian to enjoy it; I'm an atheist and it's one of my favorite books. It's also one of my favorite books on tape in the version read fiendishly well by John Cleese (now, apparently, tragically out of print. Look for it used; the box is quite distinctive having a negative image of Cleese on the cover rendered entirely in black and red. Your library probably also has a copy or can get you one).

Pounding the pavement 2002

My feet are a bit sore, but I had a great walk this afternoon. I was able to finish complete coverage of a section of the city. I have now explored all public streets in the triangle bounded by Market, Powell and California streets. To be really thorough, I'll go back and walk through the Crocker Galleria which used to be a public street before it was turned into a mall.

There are a lot of little alleyways, many with interesting pubs and restaurants down in that part of town. Makes me eager to continue my explorations north towards Coit Tower.

Mmm, Weird Stuff. 2002

Note the article on page B1 of the San Francisco Chronicle today which describes the upcoming auction of many treasures belonging to Michael Busk of Busvan for Bargains. The stuff, which includes some of his Playland collection such as Laughing Sal, looks great - check out the auction catalog - and makes me alternately wish I had a lot more money or glad I don't & don't have room to accumulate bunches of cool junk. Still, I do love that female Chinatown wax museum figure...

Visit the Battery Street store for an auction preview 10am-6pm Saturday and 8am-noon on Tuesday, August 27th. The auction starts at noon on the 27th.

Walking Walking Walking 2002

I've mentioned to many people my goal of walking the entire city of San Francisco, every street, every block. The supportive responses have been great; when people visit they say "Well, shall we take a different route back from the restaurant so you can get in a few more blocks?" I'm making good progress, but it's a lot of walking so it will take me a while. No problem; I've allowed myself until the year 2050 to finish the project.

The helpful man I spoke to in the department of public works estimated it's about 1400-1500 miles of streets. That's mighty impressive and I well understand why it's taking me a while. However, if I made it my full-time job instead of just a happy hobby, I could be a lot further along by now. How much further along is alarmingly well indicated by a certain friend of mine.

My pal Edmond would be done by now if he'd chosen my project instead of his own. Edmond is walking the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mexican border in southern California to the Canadian border in northern Washington. He started April 27th and he's now walked over 1800 miles to reach his last reported location in Crater Lake.

1800 miles, folks.
And he's got another 800 to go.

His journal entries are really fun and he's going to have wonderful pictures to show off once he has time to start setting up the galleries and captioning them on his return. Pay him a visit and send him a hello. He loves email.

Happy & Gay 2002

I had a lovely time at the San Francisco Pride parade today but the absolute highlight was watching Sir Ian McKellen dancing down Market Street twirling the large sunflowers I gave him and throwing them into the crowd a la Zeus launching thunderbolts.

If anyone sees any pictures of him from today, particularly with the flowers, do let me know.

I also learned that in addition to his artistic and political skills, he can also flag twirl very well.

The Land of Milk & Honey 2002

I'm a bit mystified by receiving spam with subjects like "Real Girls Kissing Each Other!". So what? I think to myself. What's so special about that? Then I remember that not everyone lives in San Francisco, particularly not in Pride month.

I've kissed girls. Well, one girl mostly. The thing I learned about girls is they're really really soft. The other thing I learned is that compatibility is still just as important and if you ain't got it, it ain't gonna work, no matter how many men's fantasies you might happen to be fulfilling.

Kissing someone you really like & think is beautiful inside & out & want to be with and who feels that way about you, that's the important thing, not your respective genders.

So, folks, I highly recommend you take off your blinders and pay attention to what really matters to you. Sure, I happen to have a boyfriend*, but if suddenly a wicked fairy came down and turned him into a girl or me into a boy, it'd be asinine for us to suddenly decide that rendered us incompatible (and if I could get a hold of that magic wand to go into the transformative weekends business I'd make a mint!)

Now I'm not saying everyone can switch their attractions around at will - that stuff is wired pretty deep - but give yourself permission to care about what you care about. If, like me, you think women are pretty and nice and all, but it's men that you always seem to fall in love with, that's fine. Just acknowledge that not everyone is you and give them room to love who they love.

A lot of people fought long and hard to get us humans this far in letting us be ourselves in all our vast diversity. Show your respect by giving a big smile to the next pair of girls you see kissing, or boys in chaps holding hands & pushing a stroller, or fabulous drag queens who've spent hours to make themselves beautiful for the world, or those wondrous creatures whose gender you can't guess (lovely fey one at Sushimura on Tuesday when I went to lunch with co-workers - all Botticcelli beauty and big biceps), or interracial couples, or anyone else who is being themselves regardless of what the status quo says they oughta do.

Happy pride month, folks!

*And boy oh boy am I happy with him! New relationship energy is great!

Dry, but morally inferior 2002

After the movie, excellent again, I stayed up until 1am finishing up another resupply box for Edmond. I went to sleep with no alarm set and was glad I'd bailed out on running the Bay To Breakers.

Now I see the wet sidewalks and hear the steady rain and am extra glad. I know I could have fun if I was out there - moving keeps you warm - but I think I'd rather do a resupply marathon. After my second shopping trip to Rainbow Grocery, I now have about 35 pounds of granola in my apartment. Time to pack some boxes!

SF Weekend 2002

San Francisco folk: The Billy Nayer Show's brilliant film The American Astronaut is playing tonight at The Red Vic on Haight Street. I plan to be at the show around 9ish.

***

Tomorrow is the Bay to Breakers. Yes, it covers some blocks which I have not already walked. No, I'm not going to do it. Yes, it is fun, but, no, I don't feel like being in a great huge crowd. So, tomorrow will probably be about hiding out at home most of the day, though I may stroll over 1 block & cheer folks on. (Yes, I'm one block off the route. Oy. Must remember to find a parking space tonight).

I guess I better go to the grocery store for more resupply supplies now before it gets completely crazy out there. Ah, the downside of having a car in SF is the parking, oh yes, it is.

There is one small problem with that plan... 2002

My big wonderful walk plans are suddenly altered. I just looked at the bottle of the medication I'm taking this week (an antibiotic to clear up a mild infection on my leg) and it says Avoid Prolonged Exposure To Direct Sunlight While Taking This Medication. Bugger.

Well, says I, there are two goals for today: walk a lot and have fun. Where can I do that without getting exposed to a lot of sun? The Exploratorium!. And it's Easter Sunday so it'll just be me and the other secular humanists. Care to join me? I'll be heading over there around noonish. [uh, update, by noonish, I mean, of course, 1:30ish]

Out For A Stroll 2002

I'll be taking a walk tomorrow. My diet has gotten a bit lax and my body is starting to feel mushy now that all the moving and SXSW walking about are done.

Definite stops on tomorrow's journey:
- The Fillmore to buy tickets for next month's Kids in the Hall show (at the Warfield, but you buy the tix at the Fillmore, go figure)
- Green Apple Books to sell off some stuff I no longer need
- (if it's not bitingly cold) parks and seaside, either Golden Gate or Presidio en route to the Pacific

Drop me a note if you want to join me for some or all of my ramble.

My Friends Are Beautiful 2002

I just had the kind of evening I moved to San Francisco for. Dinner at Citrus Club with 11 wonderful people, each of whom I would gladly have over & cook dinner for & wind up talking for hours & hours. Then we strolled to Club Deluxe for great cocktails and Tom Jonesing and were joined by half a dozen more fabulous folks. I love my friends.

Update on the Musee 2002

Earlier today I spoke with Rich Weideman at the National Park Service and he kindly took the time to fill me in on some history. The NPS is actually about to do a major amount of work on the whole Sutro area. I'm looking forward to the meeting in April when they give a presentation on all that will be happening. What Rich summarized sounds quite exciting (and necessary given the poor repair of some paths & other fixtures out there). This plan has been brewing for a long time actually and parts of it date back to the early 90's, so the Zelinskys have had warning that they would need to work out at least temporary relocation during the construction. Rich said some folks have asked why a solution was not found for the Musee in the intervening time and he said the main reason is Crissy Field; all the NPS's energy has been focused there on what I think he said was the biggest (or most expensive?) urban project since the Statue of Liberty. (Certainly the incredible results they achieved are worth the distraction!) Another factor, though, is the fact that the Musee is a privately held concession, not a non-profit. Under new bidding rules, the NPS cannot give preference to a private vendor just based on long-time presence on the site. What this means is that the Musee is not guaranteed to be the (or the only) concession of this kind in the new center. I think the Zelinskys will seriously need to consider other options (e.g. forming a non-profit organization or donating their collection to the NPS & then curating it) if they wish to receive funding and donations.

One possibility that has been mentioned is that there would be space for the Musee in the new visitor center to be built in the Merrie Way area. Unfortunately, the coast of relocating the museum in temporary trailers would be extremely high, apparently around $750,000, which I can't help but think would be better applied to a long-term solution. Rich said that it would probably be two to three years before this new center would be ready and even then it's only currently approved to be a total of 9000 square feet, a lot of which would need to be devoted to acting as a visitor center for the Sutro area. That could mean that even if the Musee moved there it would have only the presently displayed collection or fewer items available to the public. One interesting thing I learned from Rich is that not only do the Zelinskys have more items in storage, the majority of their items are stored and, based on a full survey of those items which the NPS was involved in, he said that the stored items are actually in better condition than those on display. That's hardly surprising given the salt spray and leaky roof in the current place. This reinforces my feeling that what would really be best for fans of the Musee Mechanique is the creation of a significantly larger museum of indoor entertainment machines. Such a facility would allow the display of far more of the Zelinskys' growing collection and could become the premier museum of these items worldwide. Okay, so maybe I'm dreaming big, but why not? San Francisco certainly has the tourism to support another great museum. I'm looking forward to hearing more ideas from other folks and to talking to the Zelinskys about their hopes. Rich said that he thought the Presidio Trust had offered to assist, as had a site near Fisherman's Wharf. I keep thinking of the vacancy rates in SOMA and how well such a museum would fit with a trip to the Cartoon Art Museum or an afternoon at the baseball park.

Save the Musee Mechanique! 2002

San Francisco's quirky and beloved museum of old mechanical games, the Musee Mechanique, is in danger of closing, possibly forever. Read more about the Musee and the campaign to save it in my latest Eclectic Encyclopedia entry.

A Good Friday Night 2002

Ah. Starting to feel a bit settled. I'm still having trouble getting to sleep at night, but I can sleep in so my schedule is a little wonky but not painful.

Telecommuted today, working on the next phase of CentralBooking.com and it's going along well. I think we'll be able to finish ahead of schedule - which everyone likes. Fingers crossed for continued smooth sailing.

Had dinner at Suppenküche with Clemens and Friederike who pronounced it very good. Clemens had Sauerbraten mit Preiselbeerkonfit�re, serviert mit Rotkohl und Spätzle and said it was the best south German food he'd had in the Bay Area. It's a fun restaurant and I highly recommend it. The shared seating is actually lots of fun. We were next to two large and pleasant parties of people - a good place for extroverts!

Now I'm all warm and sleepy and faced with a dilemna: if I make the bed (currently in couch form) and brush my teeth and go to bed, will I actually be sleepy enough to go to sleep for the whole night? Or will I, as I strongly suspect, sleep for 2 hours and then wake refreshed and stay awake until 3 or 4 and totally screw up my sleep schedule?

Maybe I'll make the bed and then play games for an hour. Jeez, so much for being an urbane city dweller - "Oh, goodness, it's almost 10pm. *yawn*" I blame the good, rich German food.

Dinah's Busy Busy Week of Fun 2002

Well. What a busy week I've been having.

Monday was relatively uneventful, though I did register with RentTech in the evening and performed an apartment search. Got about 10 or so interesting results in my price range (which I had to do a reality check on and up from "under $900" to "$925 or under").

Tuesday I drove up to The City and stopped by the RentTech office to order sealed copies of my credit report. While they were getting those together, I called the apartments on my list. I left some messages, reached some & found out the unit had upstairs neighbors ("Sorry, but thanks for playing!") and then got one landlady who sounded nice & competent AND had an upstairs unit. We arranged to meet at the building in an hour, I went in and retrieved my credit reports and drove over to Hayes Valley. Off to a good start: I found a parking space 2 blocks away and had time to walk around the neighborhood. Laundromat 1 block away, good. Natural food store 1 block away, excellent. Pretty quiet area, wonderful. While waiting in front of the building, I stopped a guy coming out and said "Good place to live?" He proceed to gush about the building, the landlady, the neighborhood. Very friendly guy. Turns out he manages the building next door & is just doing some painting work for this landlady. Nice fellow. And when the landlady showed up things continued great. She's very talkative, but devoted to improving the neighborhood. Really hands-on, make-things-better.

Ah, and the apartment. *sigh* It meets all my criteria (though it's on the small side) and I decide I'm on to a good thing. Rather than keep hunting around & risk losing it, I choose to rent it on the spot. Fortunately, between my personable manner, my exemplary credit report and the fact that I'm wearing a suit, the landlady agrees to rent it to me. We arrange that I'll sign the lease & get keys on Thursday morning. Great!

So I head off, leave lots of hyper-bubbly messages on friends' answering machines and go about my business for the afternoon. La la la. Lovely day in SF. I got together with Carl for a visit and a tasty hunan dinner. Before dinner I amused myself photographing the cats of the person Carl's housesitting for. Therefore, let us now pay a visit to feline supermodel Spencer:

Spencer sleeps.

Spencer wakes.

Spencer plots.

Spencer sits.

Spencer wants to be where the other cat is.

Spencer climbs.

Spencer climbs more.

Success!

So that was an exciting Tuesday evening. When I got home I realized "Hey, as of Thursday, I have an apartment in San Francisco. I better pack." So I did some and then more in the morning.

Wednesday at work I found it hard to concentrate. I kept wanting to be working on the move. And I got to thinking: I have to go up there on my day off (I'm only working 3 days a week for a while) therefore I can and should take a load of stuff with me. Then I thought, hey, I could rent a cargo van and take the big stuff so that all the rest of the move will be little catch-as-catch-can runs in the Beetle. So, at 4:30 the wonderful Kristin and I left work early so she could give me empty boxes from her move and take me to U-Haul to pick up a van. Thank you, Kristin! Once I was at U-Haul, I noticed that the trucks are the same price as the cargo van, so I got a truck instead. Unfortunately, they were out of the 10' ones so I ended up with a huge 14' monster. Hard to drive, but I got the hang of it and got home about 5:30 or 6. The fantabulous Jessa was waiting there for me with more boxes (!) and a willing attitude. With her mighty help, I ended the evening with the truck containing two large bookcases, two cd racks, a large chair & ottoman, two dressers, a coffee table, a microwave oven, two chairs, and a bunch of boxes.

I was already a bit stiff when I woke up this morning at 7:15, but I managed to put a few more small things in the truck, eat some breakfast and get myself and the laden truck up to SF by a little before 10am. Signed the lease, got the keys and... oh my... look at all the stuff in that truck. Well, only one thing to do: I started carrying up everything that didn't take two people to move. After about an hour or so my super splendiferous friend Beverly came along to help. Beverly is a goddess. She busted her butt with me and we got more than half of it up and were starting to lag when the phone rang and it was super stud Kevin Smokler announcing his appearance shortly to help with the last heavy stuff. Oh and help he did; my goodness, but he's a muscley boy. I hope he doesn't ache too bad tomorrow (or at least that the smug satisfaction of being a studmuffin outweighs the twinges).

Wow. I have a place in San Francisco. Tonight, though, I will sleep in Mountain View and I think I will sleep very solidly. My body is stiff and exhausted. Bed is calling even though it's only 8:30pm. Thanks again for help & supportive email. I'm looking forward to having people over for dinner. Um, in small groups. Very small groups in my very small - but wonderful! - place.

High Gear 2002

Well, it's sunk in. I am moving out of my spacious suburban nest and into a tiny place in the big city. Awkward, challenging and completely thrilling! In the hope that it will help Edmond to find a new housemate, I'm going to get all the stuff from my room moved as quickly as possible. It's a lovely big room with an enormous closet and I'm sure someone will fall for it (though that might turn out to be Edmond leaving his smaller, but still quite pleasant room for renting out. Anyhow, that's all his choice and I hope it goes as smoothly & successfully as mine).

So, I'm moving. Tomorrow. Aieee! Nothing's packed! Aaaaah!

But I have friends with boxes (hello Kristin & Jessa!), I'm picking up a cargo van from U-Haul at 5pm and I have the capacity to go into Tazmanian Devil mode on projects, so I think it will all be doable. I forsee no more than 6 trips down & up the stairs which will require a second person. I just hope that corner bookcase is light enough for me to carry the heavy end. So far my committed helpers are two wonderful women (Jessa for loading & Beverly for unloading, bless them) who are about equally un-hunky as I. I mean, we're all mighty mighty, but we don't have enormous lifting power.

So, ah, if you're in Mountain View this evening or San Francisco tomorrow midday and you love to lift things, just drop me a little note, okay. :)

Hmm, note to self: reserve a hot tub at Watercourse Way soon. You will ache.

I Left My Heart... 2001

I've been thinking and talking a lot about moving to San Francisco. I spend as much time there as I can and I love it. The problems are that I have a really comfortable living situation in Mountain View now and I work in Santa Clara. If I could teleport my home (along with cool housemate & good neighbors on either side) to SF, I would, but so far that solution seems unavailable. Damn pity, because if I could do that, I could probably also teleport to & from work each day which is a darn sight more attractive than the alternatives.

So I dither. "Too expensive, too much hassle, too long a commute, would have to move into a smaller place" but "love The City, could walk more blocks anytime I want, nearer to more friends, feels like home, closer to family".

I go back and forth, but I will end up there. At Fray Day, I said to Derek "I'll be up here within two years" to which he replied "Ha! I give you one!". He's right. As it is, I feel the pull every day. The whole situation is summed up by this exchange:

A guest looks at the map of San Francisco on my wall while talking about the way to Krispy Kreme: "Oh, that's right. You don't have a map of your own city."
Me: "No, I do, I just don't live in my city."

I have a new goal. 2001

It's an outrageous goal, but I've given myself the next 40 or 50 years to accomplish it:

I will walk San Francisco.
Every street.
Every block.

I made a nice start this weekend on a 4 mile jaunt with my dear friend Fil around Castro/Noe Valley. We recommend this walk which is #13 in Walking San Francisco. We especially liked the Vulcan Street stairs which were beautiful and peaceful in the midst of the city's excitement. We agreed that we'd happily accept any of those houses. Not a problem at all.

"How are you documenting all this?", you may ask. Well, I have a San Francisco Cross-street Directory (bought at the Rand McNally store at 2nd & Market) which fits in my back pocket and I carry a highlighter to mark where I go. I also have a larger map on the wall at home where I can also mark my travels to see the city at a glance. Right now only a tiny tiny percentage of the streets have been highlighted. This is a project to look forward to!

One fun thing to do after a walk is to check the Streets of San Francisco to find out where their names came from. From it, I just learned that the hill we were climbing up was Mt. Olympus, which certainly explains our passing along Vulcan & Mars!

Good Busy 2001

I had a great time in San Francisco this weekend and an odd, but sort-of relaxing day today.

Friday: Worked and then drove to San Francisco for dinner at Tokyo Go Go with Jesse James Garrett. He listened to me chatter excitedly about my many projects and, as usual, asked questions and made comments which brought me clarity and new insight. After dinner I checked in at the Embassy Hotel and then strolled around the corner to have The Billy Nayer Show rock my socks at the Great American Music Hall. Back at the hotel afterwards, I slept well despite all the city noise.

Saturday: Wonderful to wake up in The City, especially so to a beautiful day. Drove about looking at the pretty buildings and people and views. Ended up at Kate's Kitchen for a delicious omelette. Afterwards, I went to Comic Experience and spent $100+ on books (Alan Moore's From Hell, Bryan Talbot's The Tale Of One Bad Rat, Rick Geary's The Borden Tragedy, Milligan & Fegredo's Enigma and Gaiman & McKean's The Day I Swapped My Dad For Two Goldfish). Thank you, tax refund. Also stuck my nose into Gamescape and managed to keep my Magic card purchases under $25. After all the self-indulgent shopping, I went to Kevin's, got a tour of his gorgeous North Beach apartment and went for brunch across town at The Slow Club. My hefty omelette restricted me to a virgin Mary and some of the Slow Club's excellent biscuits. Well, and a bite or three of the delicious risotto which Kevin was having. We talked about Central Booking and made excellent progress on a site definition document which can be used in the upcoming round of improvements.

After dropping Kevin off later, I drove south on Fillmore and had the pleasure of waving at B.J. as he waved down from his apartment window. Didn't get the chance to get together this visit, but we had nice phone conversation and a waved hello. When I got home, I'd recovered my appetite and Edmond and Jun were up for some dinner, so we went to Sushi Tomi and ate wonderful things. Tried some new dishes we really liked. After dinner we spent a nice long time puttering around in Bookbuyers. Ah, friends who will happily spend an hour in the used bookstore are good friends indeed.

Today: woke up fully intending to spend most of the day working on The Book Proposal. And then the cramps started. *sigh* I'm not using this womb; I don't see why I should have all these maintenance hassles. So, I passed most of the day with a combination of Motrin and comic books. By evening I felt better and managed to get 2+ hours of work done, but didn't make the kind of progress I'd hoped to. Part of the problem is the scope of the task I've undertaken. This will be a very substantial book, so describing it in detail is taking some time. On the bright side, given the enormous amount of work involved, I don't feel a tremendous risk of getting scooped by someone else putting out a similar one.

Well, it's coming up on 11pm and another lovely workweek looms on the horizon, so it's off to bed. Take care, dear reader, and don't forget to take time for fun and friends and good food!

Dreaming of sunshine 2000

Rainy days make me think of the last perfect day of summer.

Presents & mundania 1998

Too lazy to move this to the old latest page today. [Apparently I used to only have the most recent post on the home page]

Feeling kind of sick. Maybe I drank too much eggnog. It was only 2 glasses and nonalcoholic, but still I feel all blurghy.

Thanks to the amazing power of Sherman "Ubershopper" Lewis, I have finished all my holiday shopping. Well, ok, all but one special someone whose size I don't know. (For the anal retentive, here's two dots to put over the U in ubershopper : )

Recommended restaurant: Tokyo Go Go on 16th near Valencia in San Francisco. Very stylish and tasty new Japanese place.

Gave the most outrageous present I have ever given. My fears were relieved by the recipient appearing to be rather pleased, albeit shocked. No, I'm not going to tell you more than that. I'm just going to encourage you to follow your wild instincts, be unconventional and if the friendship is worth having it will survive.
Oh, all right, here's a clue.

I wish I could afford to take a week off. I really need it. *sigh* Contracting sucks sometimes...

Of course, I also wish I could spend a thousand dollars at Archie McPhee. Such is the nature of desire.