As It Should Be

I wish I could tell you all that I am well rested after our long weekend, but alas, I am exhausted! My Best Friend flew in last Friday from Philly with her boyfriend to celebrate both her bday and Thanksgiving. I spent Friday through Tuesday with Carmen either celebrating or just hanging out. She is SO wonderful. Just a truly amazing woman whom I love to pieces. I wish she still lived in SF but I know the move to Philly is temporary and I can last another few years. Her man, Alex, just purchased a house in Drexel Hills and I can not wait to go visit next year and have the comfort of a home with a backyard and a fireplace. The house is super cute.

On Wednesday night both Sandy and Jennifer arrived for the long weekend. Sandy arrived mid-day and then we all had to sit around waiting for the arrival of Jennifer later that evening. We were all so excited we couldn’t sit still. I think D left for the airport almost three hours early! When he and Jen finally arrived back at my house we nearly smothered her in love. She was so happy to be there. We all stayed up until midnight just chatting and laughing.

Thursday was Thanksgiving and we were having twenty guests to dinner. We spent a majority of the day cooking and setting up. Around 5:30 we sat down to a wonderful dinner with friends and family. It is funny how you nearly starve yourself all day so you can enjoy the meal and then can barely eat half of what is on your plate. Is this a holiday phenomenon? With turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and yams, green beans, salads, homemade rolls, cranberry sauce, and four different types of pies, I want to be able to eat all night. Unfortunately I barely made it to dessert. After everything was packed away and cleaned up, D, Jen and I crawled into my bed and watched Spanglish. Sandy joined us after Survivor ended in the living room.

On Friday we decided to celebrate Jen’s Sweet Sixteen (her actual bday was on Monday) with gifts and kisses. I think she preferred the gifts but Sandy isn’t so sure. Sandy gave her several new outfits and D and I gave her a diamond “J” pendant. Then we took her shopping for a new coat, some other clothes, a Winter Formal dress, jewelry and shoes. I am pretty sure she went home happy. Her dad gave her a car already but we are keeping it in CA for when she moves here.

We took Sandy to the airport that afternoon as we had decided it would be nice to have Jen for one day alone. It was so very cool to have Sandy with us for a few days, I love spending time with her. After dropping her off we all went to Ikea to get me a new bookshelf and then headed home.

D and Jen decided they wanted to see Just Friends and I had dinner plans with a group of friends to celebrate Mike’s 31st bday. I left around 6:30 for Q and met up with Carmen, Mary, Mikey, Alex, Paulie, and Debbie. I wasn’t feeling all that well but when I got there and saw the amazing wines they had for us to drink I had to partake, even if it was just a little. Over $350 dollars worth of wine in four bottles. The Opus One was by far my favorite.

After dinner we headed to the 540 Club, a semi-dive bar that is owned by an old friend of mine. We had a few rounds and I headed home.

When I got there D and Jen were curled up in my bed. D was watching a movie, Jen was snoring. We decided to move Jen to her bed so D woke her up and then went to turn her bed down. Jen just sorta stood there, looking around my room. I asked her if she needed anything and she said no, looked back at my bed, climbed BACK in and passed out! I was cracking up when I asked her father to please help me get her back up and in her own bed.

On Saturday D and Jen took off for a day together and I did all sorts of domestic things. When they returned we took Jen to her favorite restaurant in NoCal, Maya’s, for Mexican food. After dinner we rented some movies and headed home.

Sunday rolled around and we had to get Jen ready to head home. We still needed to buy her formal shoes so we went to breakfast and then back to the mall before heading to the airport. It is always sad seeing Jen leave, but this time it was different, this time we knew exactly when we would see her again and it is only 30 days out!

More pictures will be posted soon.

A Thanksgiving Gift

My Man is the best! Thank you baby.

True Art

Now THAT is a dragonfly!

Who?

I don't touch you the way I used to
And I don't call and write when I’m away
We don't make love as often as we did do
Couldn’t wait , now waits and it usually goes away

But listen and think when I say
Oh but listen and think when I say

Who makes you feel the way that I make you feel?
Who loves you and knows you the way I do?
Who touches you and holds you quite like I do?
Who makes you feel like I make you feel?

I don't mind if you come home late
I don't ever ask you where you've been
I just assume if there's a problem, you'd tell me

But listen and think when I say
Oh but listen and think when I say

Who makes you feel the way that I make you feel?
Who loves you and knows you the way I do?
Who touches you and holds you quite like I do?
Who makes you feel like I make you feel?
Who makes you feel like I make you feel?

Being weak when I am strong
Being seen for who you are
Being sad and lost but not alone

Who makes you feel like I make you feel?

Thank you Dido

Just "In Case" You Didn't Get Our SIX Emails!

Here is Jen's travel itinerary:

November 23 2005
Alaska Airlines 310
Depart: Portland, OR at 6:55 PM
Arrive: San Francisco, CA at 8:41 PM
Seats: 8B

November 27 2005
Alaska Airlines 457
Depart: San Francisco, CA at 6:00 PM
Arrive: Portland, OR at 7:35 PM
Seats: Will be assigned at airport

We look forward to seeing her, as I am sure our attorney let you know.

PS I can see every time you log in and so can the judge.

Lazy Blogger

Don’t the hours grow shorter as the days go by
You never get to stop and open our eyes
One minute you’re waiting for the sky to fall
The next you’re dazzled by the beauty of it all

Lovers in a dangerous time

These fragile bodies of touch and taste
This fragrant skin this hair like lace
Spirits open to the thrust of grace
Never a breath you can afford to waste

Lovers in a dangerous time

When you’re lovers in a dangerous time
Sometimes you’re made to feel as if your love’s a crime
Nothing worth having comes without some kind of fight
Got to kick at the darkness ’til it bleeds daylight

When you’re lovers in a dangerous time

Thank you BNL

To the citizens of the United States of America

A Message from John Cleese (of Monty Python fame) To the citizens of the United States of America:

In light of your failure to elect a competent President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately. Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths, and territories (excepting Kansas, which she does not fancy).

Your new prime minister, Tony Blair, will appoint a governor for America without the need for further elections. Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionnaire may be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed. To aid in the transition to a British Crown Dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:

You should look up "revocation" in the Oxford English Dictionary. Then look up aluminum, and check the pronunciation guide. You will be amazed at just how wrongly you have been pronouncing it. The letter 'U' will be reinstated in words such as 'favour' and 'neighbour.' Likewise, you will learn to spell 'doughnut' without skipping half the letters, and the suffix ize will be replaced by the suffix ise. Generally, you will be expected to raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. (look up vocabulary).

Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises such as "like" and "you know" is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. There is no such thing as US English. We will letMicrosoft know on your behalf. Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take account of the reinstated letter 'u' and the elimination of-ize.

You will relearn your original national anthem, God Save The Queen.

July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday.

You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers, or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you're not adult enough to be independent. Guns should only be handled by adults. If you're not adult enough to sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist then you're not grownup enough to handle a gun. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. A permit will be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.

All American cars are hereby banned. They are crap and this is for your own good. When we show you German cars, you will understand what we mean. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left with immediate effect.

At the same time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables. Both roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour.

The Former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have been calling gasoline)-roughly $6/US gallon. Get used to it.

You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called crisps. Real chips are thick cut, fried in animal fat, and dressed not with catsup but with vinegar.

The cold tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all. Henceforth, only proper British Bitter will be referred to as beer, and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as Lager. American brands will be referred to as Near-Frozen Gnat's Urine, so that all can be sold without risk of further confusion.

Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as good guys. Hollywood will also be required to cast English actors to play English characters. Watching Andie MacDowell attempt English dialogue inFour Weddings and a Funeral was an experience akin to having one's ears removed with a cheese grater.

You will cease playing American football. There is only one kind of proper football; you call it soccer. Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American football, but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like a bunch of nancies).

Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the World Series for a game which is not played outside of America. Since only 2.1% of you are aware that there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable.

You must tell us who killed JFK. It's been driving us mad.

An internal revenue agent (i.e. tax collector) from Her Majesty's Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of allmonies due (backdated to 1776).

Thank you for your co-operation.

The Girl Can't Help It

This is what happens when I go hold a friend's hand while she is getting tattooed. I just can't seem to say no. I have to avoid the palors all together. Picture Machine is super cool. I was there with Kris while she got her sleeve worked on and before I knew it I was under the gun. I plan on getting my right wrist done in a couple of weeks. A queens crown to match my kings crown. I feel unbalanced, or maybe that's just my excuse...

Intelligent Design

Day No. 1:

And the Lord God said, “Let there be light,” and lo, there was light. But then the Lord God said, “Wait, what if I make it a sort of rosy, sunset-at-the-beach, filtered half-light, so that everything else I design will look younger?”

“I’m loving that,” said Buddha. “It’s new.”

“You should design a restaurant,” added Allah.

Day No. 2:

“Today,” the Lord God said, “let’s do land.” And lo, there was land.

“Well, it’s really not just land,” noted Vishnu. “You’ve got mountains and valleys and—is that lava?”

“It’s not a single statement,” said the Lord God. “I want it to say, ‘Yes, this is land, but it’s not afraid to ooze.’ ”

“It’s really a backdrop, a sort of blank canvas,” put in Apollo. “It’s, like, minimalism, only with scale.”

“But—brown?” Buddha asked.

“Brown with infinite variations,” said the Lord God. “Taupe, ochre, burnt umber—they’re called earth tones.”

“I wasn’t criticizing,” said Buddha. “I was just noticing.”

Day No. 3:

“Just to make everyone happy,” said the Lord God, “today I’m thinking oceans, for contrast.”

“It’s wet, it’s deep, yet it’s frothy; it’s design without dogma,” said Buddha, approvingly.

“Now, there’s movement,” agreed Allah. “It’s not just ‘Hi, I’m a planet—no splashing.’ ”

“But are those ice caps?” inquired Thor. “Is this a coherent vision, or a highball?”

“I can do ice caps if I want to,” sniffed the Lord God.

“It’s about a mood,” said the Angel Moroni, supportively.

“Thank you,” said the Lord God.

Day No. 4:

“One word,” said the Lord God. “Landscaping. But I want it to look natural, as if it all somehow just happened.”

“Do rain forests,” suggested a primitive tribal god, who was known only as a clicking noise.

“Rain forests here,” decreed the Lord God. “And deserts there. For a spa feeling.”

“Which is fresh, but let’s give it glow,” said Buddha. “Polished stones and bamboo, with a soothing trickle of something.”

“I know where you’re going,” said the Lord God. “But why am I seeing scented candles and a signature body wash?”

“Shut up,” said Buddha.

“You shut up,” said the Lord God.

“It’s all about the mix,” Allah declared in a calming voice. “Now let’s look at some swatches.”

Day No. 5:

“I’d like to design some creatures of the sea,” the Lord God said. “Sleek but not slick.”

“Yes, yes, and more yes—it’s a total gills moment,” said Apollo. “But what if you added wings?”

“Fussy,” whispered Buddha to Zeus. “Why not epaulets and a sash?”

“Legs,” said Allah. “Now let’s do legs.”

“Are we already doing dining-room tables?” asked the Lord God, confused.

“No, design some creatures with legs,” said Allah. So the Lord God, nodding, designed an ostrich.

“First draft,” everyone agreed, and so the Lord God designed an alligator.

“There’s gonna be a waiting list,” Zeus murmured appreciatively.

“Now do puppies!” pleaded Vishnu. “And kitties!”

“Ooooo!” all the gods cooed. Then, feeling a bit embarrassed, Zeus ventured, “Design something more practical, like a horse or a mule.”

“What about a koala?” asked the Lord God.

“Much better,” Zeus declared, cuddling the furry little animal. “I’m going to call him Buttons.”

Day No. 6:

“Today I’m really going out there,” said the Lord God. “And I know it won’t be popular at first, and you’re all gonna be saying, ‘Earth to Lord God,’ but in a few million years it’s going to be timeless. I’m going to design a man.”

And everyone looked upon the man that the Lord God designed.

“It has your eyes,” Zeus told the Lord God.

“Does it stack?” inquired Allah.

“It has a naïve, folk-artsy, I-made-it-myself vibe,” said Buddha. The Inca sun god, however, only scoffed. “Been there. Evolution,” he said. “It’s called a shaved monkey.”

“I like it,” protested Buddha. “But it can’t work a strapless dress.” Everyone agreed on this point, so the Lord God announced, “Well, what if I give it nice round breasts and lose the penis?”

“Yes,” the gods said immediately.

“Now it’s intelligent,” said Aphrodite.

“But what if I made it blond?” giggled the Lord God.

“And what if I made you a booming offscreen voice in a lot of bad movies?” asked Aphrodite.

Day No. 7:

“You know, I’m really feeling good about this whole intelligent-design deal,” said the Lord God. “But do you think that I could redo it, keeping the quality but making it at a price point we could all live with?”

“I’m not sure,” said Buddha. “You mean, what if you designed a really basic, no-frills planet? Like, do the man and the woman really need all those toes?”

“Hello!” said the Lord God. “Clean lines, no moving parts, functional but fun. Three bright, happy, wash ’n’ go colors.”

“Swedish meets Japanese, with maybe a Platinum Collector’s Edition for the geeks,” Buddha decided.

“Done,” said the Lord God. “Now let’s start thinking about Pluto. What if everything on Pluto was brushed aluminum?”

“You mean, let’s do Neptune again?” said Buddha.

Misogi

I finally did it. I joined a dojo. I am officially a member of Suginami Aikikai - San Francisco. I own a Gi. I can fall without hurting myself. I can roll (well kinda). I can even throw you, provided you are an Uke and that is your job. I love it.

I have never been terribly athletic. In fact I have never lasted in any "sport" I have ever tried. Volleyball? I broke three fingers. Basketball? I tired running the court. Baseball? Couldn't hit the broadside of a barn. Nothing seemed to fit me, or rather, I didn't seem to fit.

But something about Aikido just makes me feel so unbelievably good. I sweat, I get my heart rate up, I stretch, I get hurt, I get tired, I get sore but I keep going back for more. Why you ask (well maybe you didn’t ask but I am telling you anyway). Because in spite of all the pain and fatigue I get high from the workout. I am invigorated when class is over. I can’t seem to stop talking about techniques and the simplest accomplishments I make during class. Some of my oldest fears, about looking silly or hurting myself, simply vanish when I am in at the Dojo. The spirituality and humility, the respect and the honor, these are things I love having in my life, and Aikido is providing me with them.

I can not stress enough just how beautiful this experience is for me. If you get the chance, take a minute to read about this lovely art. The history is amazing.

I recently had the honor of attending a seminar with Kato Hiroshi Shihan. Kato Sensei was born in 1935 and began his training at the age of 19. This gentle man stands maybe 5’ 6” and was the most graceful person I had ever witnessed. He was kind and sincere, funny and charming. He did not speak a word of English, but I was able to follow him none-the-less. He would take time out to speak to us “newbies” and show us easier ways to fall or roll. I was such a pleasure to attend a class with him. I look forward to his next visit.

All of the teachers at Suginami are wonderful. I have enjoyed working with everyone in the classes as well. They are patient and remind me at every class that they have all been where I am at now and it only gets better. Now I am off for a hot bath and a few Advil…it is par for the course.

Konban wa