The ride home

The last few weeks I've been teaching a computing art class to kids. The class is in Oakland, and my brother works in Oakland too. So everyday after I'm done teaching, he picks me up and drives me home. Today he shared this crazy dream with me that he had about Gary Busey. I was laughing. Hysterically. We've also been playing this game where we say 'Bing' if the other person is being really negative or bitching about something. I really like these rides home, and after Friday they'll be over. SNIFF.

Pride 05

Yesterday was the Pride Parade in San Francisco. I went down with my brother to watch the festivities for a while. I filmed some footage, and took photos. I captured a really cool moment of Mayor Gavin Newsome running up to the woman next to me and giving her a hug. He was really tall and really handsome!

There were a lot of gorgeous people, and you could feel the support and love from the on-lookers. Every person I clapped for, cheered on and waved to, was for my best friends Jose, Ben and Katie. These are some of the most special people in my life, and for that I felt a huge swell of love yesterday.

more photos...

Never seen bodies like that

Melissa and I went to the movies yesterday to see RIZE. It was an awesome movie about a new style of hip-hop dancing in LA. It was mesmerizing, and I was in awe of those bodies! After leaving the theatre, we agreed that we had never seen bodies like that before. When we were walking out, a little old lady with a walking stick came up to me. "What did you see? What was that? Oh... Rize? Oh, I saw the Enron movie. It was good. I wanted to see Black Man, I mean Bat Man." She was funny and kind of weird looking. I commented on the resemblance to Yoda. I took this picture of her walking by, but it doesn't capture her true essence.

A place I call home

The neighbors upstairs are being noisy again. They're always a little noisy, but lately it's been worse. She is much smaller than him, so her feet don't make as much noise. But he thumps around when he walks, and he doesn't take his shoes off until right before he goes to bed. I can tell which room he's in at all times. And I can't understand what the heck he's doing to be pacing around as much as he does. When they wake up, I wake up - when they go to bed, if I'm already sleeping, it wakes me.

Whenever I have a moment of wanting to call up there and complain, I stop myself. The key right now if to eliminate stress, not cause more. And I'm feel confident that they wouldn't accept my phone call with kind words, or promises of no shoes in the house and no thumping around.

In these moments, I meditate instead.

Just for a minute or two. I close my eyes, breathe deeply and envision our future house. It's an Eichler home, and it's beautiful. Our neighbors aren't on top of us, and we have a garden. The atrium is nicely furnished and we eat almost all our meals there. And most of all, our lives are quiet, peaceful and fulfilling.

Who ever liked high school anyway...

I received this email from an old friend of mine a few days ago. We were very good friends at the beginning of my high school years. She was a bit older, and graduated before me and then for a slew of different reasons we lost touch. A few months ago I got an email from her and we reconnected. I am going to see her in July when I visit Boston, and it will be the first time in over a decade that we will meet face to face. By a weird turn of events, a few other people from that same crowd of high school friends has also contacted me recently. We will all be meeting for dinner on my trip. I almost can't believe it.

In my reply to her email, I wrote that from an academic point of view, I would have been better off getting my GED as early as possible and going straight to college. I found high school to be a complete waste of time and I can honestly say I learned NOTHING of value there. In fact, without sounding cliche, I learned everything I needed to know in kindergarten. But from a life lessons point of view, I would not trade one minute of the life I had with all of them. I learned so much about myself and who I am, and some of my fondest memories prior to college are the times I spent with those people.

so, this morning i was sitting at the bean counter. i have been doing that every morning lately. have my coffee, read the paper, yada yada. anyway, at the table behind me were 4 high school students (Doherty). i was a little annoyed at first because they were a bit loud. i couldn't figure out why they weren't in school. then i heard them talking about when they were going to head back to school. how they were going to sneak back in. i've heard this conversation before. 15 years have gone by & it's all the same. my eyes started to fill up. i mean it, i really wanted to cry. it made me think of all you guys. for years i thought of all the time we wasted. if we had just gone to classes then maybe i wouldn't have screwed up the rest of my life. maybe i would have stayed in college. today was different. today i thought of all the good times we had. the great conversations at friendlys & theos. we were learning, just in a different way. if we had gone to classes then we wouldn't have had those experiences. we wouldn't have had each other. & i wouldn't be where i am today. still screwed up, but ok with that. proud of who i am today.

i won't ever think of that as wasted time again. it must have meant something then because here we are again. 15 years later.
i love you all.

Longest Day of the Year

I had dinner with Deborah tonight in the mission. She just moved into a new place, her own studio apartment, and I went to check it out. It's amazing. Really beautiful hardwood floors, very sunny and spacious. She is in the heart of the mission, close to all the best eateries and very close to work. It's exactly the kind of place I would live in, if I were single. Dinner was yummy and we just sat and chatted and caught up on things. The sun went down really late today because (as Deborah was nice enough to point out) it was the longest day of the year today. It was still sunny out at 8:20pm!

When I said goodbye and we parted ways, I started walking to the subway. The weather was cool, but not cold. There were lots of people out walking, and there was just a nice vibe in the air. I thought about how lucky I am to be living in a place like San Francisco: I have really awesome friends, it's never unbearably hot, there's always so much to do, there are a million good restaurants and it's very easy to get around with a car. I exited the subway in my neighborhood and started walking up the hill. I put on my iPod and started listening to Modest Mouse (their live stuff is just really good! It always puts me in a good mood).

And then I had one of those moments. You know - those fleeting ones, when you realize things will be ok. That notion that there is a plan, and you are going to collide with it whether you like it or not - whether you're ready or not. And the best part of all was that I was just so fucking happy to be an artist - to be making art and being creative. I am so glad that life didn't evolve into a place where art was just a hobby for me. And then I took this picture of the city, and walked up the hill.

I'm in the library!

Ok, this is nerdy - I know. But it made me feel pretty cool. Considering the time and money spent creating this book, I am thrilled to know that at least one copy will remain free of the trash can.

Oy Vey

As a true Tommy fan, I just didn't know where to put this post. Make me happy? Not really. Make me sad? Not there either. It's that weird moment when you want to be happy for someone but something doesn't feel right. Significant age difference, short romance before the engagement and the ever disputed questions about his sexuality. I saw the Oprah episode that caused a gasp around the world. Is he on drugs? Have aliens taken over his body? Or is he really just a guy in love?

A few of my favorite things.

Some noteworthy products and place choices.

Really nice place to walk around and read through books. It's spacious and the staff are very friendly.

Arch art supplies. They have everything! In addition to all the stuff I actually need there are lots of cool little gadgets and things I never knew I wanted.

Best toothpaste.

Amazing hand cream. It's the kind that can withstand hand washing.

In addition to my regular moisturizer, I include a drop of this. It seriously makes me skin feel like silk.

My newfound favorite breakfast.

Camper Shoes are the most original and cool looking shoes. I love my new pair.

I love the Haagen Dazs Dulce de Leche, but we cant have it in the house anymore because I have no self control.

An awesome store for travel needs. Shaun bought me a beautiful wallet there for my birthday last year.

I have literally spent a whole day in PaperSource looking around before. I have to promise myself before walking in that I won't get things I dont need.

Dude, really good lipbalm.

My new favorite tea. I always want to call it Mystic Leaf, but it's Mighty Leaf.

Very cool knitting store. Beautiful colors and selection.

My new favorite bodywash. Everyone in the commercial was snuggling, so I couldn't resist.

MIA

Yes, yes - I know. No posts in over a week. And yet you still keep looking every day. It's enough to make me teary. I have nothing good to use as the reason. I'm just plain old burned out. I'm tired and taking a break. Resting, relaxing and doing a whole lot o' nothin'.

I have been battling some serious migraines on and off for over a month now. Usually they occur just once a month, but lately I feel like I've been having them all the time. I've been prescribed some heavy meds, which Max refers to as my crack, but I am weary of taking things that strong. As a result I have been doing lots of research online about alternative therapies. Chiropractics, massage, acupuncture, homoeopathy. These are all options. None of which are covered by insurance. FIGURES.

So, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. I sign off now with the hopes that I won't have more dreams of my friends in plastic bubbles, wearing super hero suites, writing notes with clear gel foam guns in the sky.

Guess where I'll be July 1st?

On July 1st March of the Penguins premieres in San Francisco. And I cannot wait!! Be sure to watch the trailer on the film's website. If you had any doubts before, this gorgeous preview will certainly entice you.

Each winter, alone in the pitiless ice deserts of Antarctica, deep in the most inhospitable terrain on Earth, a truly remarkable journey takes place as it has done for millennia. Emperor penguins in their thousands abandon the deep blue security of their ocean home and clamber onto the frozen ice to begin their long journey into a region so bleak, so extreme, it supports no other wildlife at this time of year. In single file, the penguins march blinded by blizzards, buffeted by gale force winds.

The truth about parking in a city with no space

Cant hardly wait

Words cannot express how excited I am about the new and final season of Six Feet Under. I am ready to invite these gorgeous people back into my living room. I am ready for some real entertainment. I am ready.

The dream that never ended

Last night my new video camera arrived. It's so small and cool and I was just in love from the moment I held it. Max and my brother were talking about the new Coldplay album, and listening to all these new songs, while I just sat and fiddled with all the settings.

I woke up this morning from a dream that lasted all night. I was at an event where Coldplay were playing and I hung out the whole time with Chris Martin. I also spent most of that time using my new video camera to shoot footage of him. Him and me. Me and him. Proof that we were actually in each other's company. I even got to ride in his pick-up truck. We talked about Gwyneth and his baby Apple. We talked about my mom and Max. It was as if we were the best friends I always knew we'd be. (sigh)

I woke up this morning exhausted.