Why do people say that? It's not a particularly joyous holiday, but it's fun to say it since everyone is so excited to dress up.
It says a lot about a person what they dressed up as throughout their lives, right? Maybe not one year in particular, but all the years together do.
Here are mine(not necessarily in order... if my mom read this blog, she would correct me) :
- clown
- gypsy (i know, totally un-pc, but i didn't know better)
- witch (not too scary)
- little red riding hood
- mime
- Charlie Chaplin (full on, no talking, waddling with cane)
- Phantom of the Opera
- Princess Leia
- Marilyn Monroe
- figure skater from the 80's
and this year?
10.31.2009
10.06.2009
Family Thievery
I have a HUGE family, a family that I really like being around, even if they are a little insane at times. Since I moved to California, and my family is all in West Virginia and Ohio (more or less), I have been stealing families. It's a very good idea if you decide to move somewhere without any family. Luckily I moved to a city where I already knew a good deal of people from school, some of whom actually grew up here. This means they have families nearby, families you can steal. Money!
First, I stole Alex's family. Her Mom, Linda, and her sister, Sonja, are great. The beginning of my thievery was probably on Alex's birthday last year, when the four of us went to brunch, then to a 6 year-old's birthday party. There we played with other 6 year-olds and watched a live reptile show - the guy doing the show made Alex touch something since it was her birthday, too. That night I got to meet Alex's brother, Gabe, and his family for the first time (they just had their second baby!). Shortly after that, Alex and I went to Sonja's house for Thanksgiving; Sonja's partner Jim was also there and he is great fun. It was the first time that Sonja had cooked a full Thanksgiving dinner by herself and boy, did she do a good job. I also got to meet their other brother, Anthony, at that holiday.
Now I am on a crusade to steal Julia's and Kim's families. On the day that Kim, my former coworker but now friend, and I decided to put in our joint letter of resignation, I had to take care of some stuff in the East Bay that was going to be very difficult to do by bike. Kim and her Mom were so great - they picked me up at the Lafayette BART station, drove me to my appointment, then we got coffee together and Kim's Mom took us to work all the way in Berkeley. It was so nice to have a Mom to talk to before we made such a stressful career move.
I recently met Julia's parents when we had our Monday Night Dinner Club at her house. We are going to her house for happy hour on Thursday and I am going to put plan Steal-Julia's-Parents into action. Wish me luck!
First, I stole Alex's family. Her Mom, Linda, and her sister, Sonja, are great. The beginning of my thievery was probably on Alex's birthday last year, when the four of us went to brunch, then to a 6 year-old's birthday party. There we played with other 6 year-olds and watched a live reptile show - the guy doing the show made Alex touch something since it was her birthday, too. That night I got to meet Alex's brother, Gabe, and his family for the first time (they just had their second baby!). Shortly after that, Alex and I went to Sonja's house for Thanksgiving; Sonja's partner Jim was also there and he is great fun. It was the first time that Sonja had cooked a full Thanksgiving dinner by herself and boy, did she do a good job. I also got to meet their other brother, Anthony, at that holiday.
Now I am on a crusade to steal Julia's and Kim's families. On the day that Kim, my former coworker but now friend, and I decided to put in our joint letter of resignation, I had to take care of some stuff in the East Bay that was going to be very difficult to do by bike. Kim and her Mom were so great - they picked me up at the Lafayette BART station, drove me to my appointment, then we got coffee together and Kim's Mom took us to work all the way in Berkeley. It was so nice to have a Mom to talk to before we made such a stressful career move.
I recently met Julia's parents when we had our Monday Night Dinner Club at her house. We are going to her house for happy hour on Thursday and I am going to put plan Steal-Julia's-Parents into action. Wish me luck!
9.29.2009
Fall playlist aka I am trying to make a comeback.
Life has been pretty busy for me since June, which is when I started studying for the LSAT. After having taken the test last Saturday, and also having rid my life of other distractions like a horrible boss and philandering boyfriend, I am back on track. I am making a career move, waiting for the LSAT score to arrive so I can start applying to law school, and just generally enjoying life. I got a new camera, so maybe some pictures will show up on here more often. Also, Unca D, too bad you aren't in town this weekend to enjoy this: http://www.hardlystrictlybluegrass.com/
I'm also going to represent my WV roots tomorrow at the SF premier of "Coal Country."
I will make my foray back into blogging by starting out easy and working off of ap's last post.
With such transitions in life comes a new soundtrack, so here is how I am starting out the fall:
Lastly, now that I've finally finished the LSAT, I can get back to reading for pleasure. I started with The Night of the Gun by David Carr, which I ended up quitting about 90 pages in (not common for me). This book is basically an extension of an article he wrote a year ago, which I really liked then. That said, I could not handle an entire book of it. The book is a memoir, but written in the investigative genre of a journalist, because Carr was so out of it during these years, he had to interview those involved to actually write a memoir. Sounds interesting, you say? I agree. What I could not get down with was the level of humor Carr felt like he should insert. Being addicted to coke is not funny, especially when you're a privileged, educated white male who could have easily made some better choices. I understand that addiction can be a powerful disease, but Carr did not need to approach the subject in this memoir as though it was actually funny to find out that at one point he owned a gun of which he has no recollection. My coworker, who recommended it to me, insisted that the story redeems itself in the second half, when Carr speaks with impressive candor about his rehab attempts, as well as about his inability to meet a "normal" (i.e., not a prostitute or junkie) woman after he cleans up. Perhaps, but when you've been reading nothing but logic questions for four months, you really want your first book back to be one that you simply do not want to put down - which is why I am now reading The Bonfire of the Vanities, by Tom Wolfe. I'll let you know how it goes, but so far so good.
I'm also going to represent my WV roots tomorrow at the SF premier of "Coal Country."
I will make my foray back into blogging by starting out easy and working off of ap's last post.
With such transitions in life comes a new soundtrack, so here is how I am starting out the fall:
- Disappear by Mazzy Star
- Sodom, South Georgia by Iron & Wine
- the only king by the everybody fields
- On to the Next One by Jay-Z
- Be So Happy by The Heartless Bastards
- Cry, Cry by Mazzy Star
Lastly, now that I've finally finished the LSAT, I can get back to reading for pleasure. I started with The Night of the Gun by David Carr, which I ended up quitting about 90 pages in (not common for me). This book is basically an extension of an article he wrote a year ago, which I really liked then. That said, I could not handle an entire book of it. The book is a memoir, but written in the investigative genre of a journalist, because Carr was so out of it during these years, he had to interview those involved to actually write a memoir. Sounds interesting, you say? I agree. What I could not get down with was the level of humor Carr felt like he should insert. Being addicted to coke is not funny, especially when you're a privileged, educated white male who could have easily made some better choices. I understand that addiction can be a powerful disease, but Carr did not need to approach the subject in this memoir as though it was actually funny to find out that at one point he owned a gun of which he has no recollection. My coworker, who recommended it to me, insisted that the story redeems itself in the second half, when Carr speaks with impressive candor about his rehab attempts, as well as about his inability to meet a "normal" (i.e., not a prostitute or junkie) woman after he cleans up. Perhaps, but when you've been reading nothing but logic questions for four months, you really want your first book back to be one that you simply do not want to put down - which is why I am now reading The Bonfire of the Vanities, by Tom Wolfe. I'll let you know how it goes, but so far so good.
9.22.2009
End/Beginning of Summer Playlist
Since summer weather comes late to us here, it's kind of like a summer playlist. I find myself listening to them and sipping iced tea, reading Fitzgerald and lingering with everything I do. Here goes:
- This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) by Talking heads
- Dos Gardenias by BVSC
- Naked if I want to by Cat Power
- Essence by Lucinda (B has the live version which is new to me and I LOVE it)
- Life to Me (Love Me) by Hi-Tek feat. Estelle
- La La by Lil Wayne
9.05.2009
oh, saturdays
I thought today would be a pretty typical Saturday. Turns out it wasn't at all! First, I went to volunteer at the SF Food Bank and just when I was having a great time and decided to come back on a regular basis, the food bank workers came in and announced that a couple of photographers from the NY Times were there to take pictures. They took pictures of us boxing up apples. Apparently grocery stores reject produce that is completely edible but aesthetically unpleasing and the food banks snatch it up. I thought the apples looked delicious.
The second unusual thing that happened was my espresso from the cafe in the title photo of this blog. It was incredible, entirely notable Blue Bottle espresso, prepared to perfection. I sipped it while reading Fitzgerald and came across this quote from Gloria Patch that I identify with immensely at the moment:
The day's not over and I can't even imagine what else this city has in store for me...
The second unusual thing that happened was my espresso from the cafe in the title photo of this blog. It was incredible, entirely notable Blue Bottle espresso, prepared to perfection. I sipped it while reading Fitzgerald and came across this quote from Gloria Patch that I identify with immensely at the moment:
Everything I do is in accordance with my ideas:
to use every minute of these years, when I'm young, in having the best time I possibly can.
Lastly, I was running in Golden Gate park and smelled something, um, chronic. That's not so unusual. In fact, I probably smell that every time I go to the park. What was so unusual though, was that it was coming from a middle-aged man who was walking with his middle-aged wife and what looked like his teenage son. THEN, he passed it to the boy! They were just sharing a joint walking down Stanyan along the park like that's completely normal. Whatever brings a family together, I guess. to use every minute of these years, when I'm young, in having the best time I possibly can.
The day's not over and I can't even imagine what else this city has in store for me...
7.29.2009
sending flowers
Here's a useful guide for sending flowers to someone you care about:
- Carnations are tacky. Unless the person specifically says, "I love carnations! They're my favorite flower!" you will come across as cheap if you send them. SATC ruined it for carnations.
- Tulips are a fantastic flower to send.
- Daisies are cute, but you know, a little boring.
- Baby's breath went out with shoulder pads.
- Lilies are risky if the person is allergic to them, which a lot of people seem to be. I think they're pretty though...
- Roses are tacky. Especially red roses. Be very careful when giving them.
7.26.2009
summer fog
I've been in a blog fog - not a ton of inspiration, but here are some updates and tidbits until there's something really great to write about.
I ran my first post-collegiate race last weekend. Can't really say I "raced" but I did run hard and have a lot of fun doing it. If you're planning on doing Hood to Coast and somehow get in and then need another team member, let me know.
B's little brother wrote a fantastic Op-Ed Piece in the Charleston Gazette.
Brüno! Not as funny as Borat, but has a great message. Baron Cohen is the man. B and I went to see it at the Kabuki. Fun.
My mom joined Facebook. B's mom had joined a while back, so I added her as a friend. She didn't sound too happy when I wrote on B's wall saying, "I'm friends with your mom. no joke." Oh well, I think it's fun, but also funny how our worlds are meshing.
B and I are going to kill our TV! Celebration details to follow. . .
B's little brother wrote a fantastic Op-Ed Piece in the Charleston Gazette.
Brüno! Not as funny as Borat, but has a great message. Baron Cohen is the man. B and I went to see it at the Kabuki. Fun.
My mom joined Facebook. B's mom had joined a while back, so I added her as a friend. She didn't sound too happy when I wrote on B's wall saying, "I'm friends with your mom. no joke." Oh well, I think it's fun, but also funny how our worlds are meshing. B and I are going to kill our TV! Celebration details to follow. . .
5.31.2009
Eminent Domain and Art in SF
77 Natoma Street will be demolished in October 2009 unless people at this party can stop it. In all fairness, it sounds like a great show with works from 200+ artists and a handful of people, musicians and artists in attendance. If only Matt Gonzalez hadn't run with Ralph Nader in 2008 for the White House ticket, I might be impressed that he'll be there.
This past Friday I met this guy, Mr. Lucky. He was wearing exactly what he's wearing on his website and told us he got his hat in the 1960's (maybe 1950's. Long time ago, that's the point) in Oakland. A little eccentric, but I always appreciate an artist who's serious about it.
I also met the owner of Grasp, a gallery in North Beach. Intriguing but I need to learn more, so there will be more about that later.
Finally, yesterday at SFMOMA yesterday I saw the new Georgia O'Keefe/Ansel Adams exhibit. It was truly fantastic. The juxtoposition of painting and photography of some of the most beautiful images in our natural world was done exquisitely. Five stars for sure. I also finally got up to the rooftop garden and liked all the sculptures, with the execption of that weird spider. Ugly. There's also a very cool trailer on that top floor that's super retro and fun to daydream about taking a road trip in like the people in the video that's alongside the actual trailer. I took a few minutes to see William Kentridge's exhibit one more time before it was gone and didn't regret it. He always blows my mind.
This past Friday I met this guy, Mr. Lucky. He was wearing exactly what he's wearing on his website and told us he got his hat in the 1960's (maybe 1950's. Long time ago, that's the point) in Oakland. A little eccentric, but I always appreciate an artist who's serious about it.
I also met the owner of Grasp, a gallery in North Beach. Intriguing but I need to learn more, so there will be more about that later.
Finally, yesterday at SFMOMA yesterday I saw the new Georgia O'Keefe/Ansel Adams exhibit. It was truly fantastic. The juxtoposition of painting and photography of some of the most beautiful images in our natural world was done exquisitely. Five stars for sure. I also finally got up to the rooftop garden and liked all the sculptures, with the execption of that weird spider. Ugly. There's also a very cool trailer on that top floor that's super retro and fun to daydream about taking a road trip in like the people in the video that's alongside the actual trailer. I took a few minutes to see William Kentridge's exhibit one more time before it was gone and didn't regret it. He always blows my mind.
5.17.2009
Overheard in Russian Hill
"Ugh, my boyfriend's getting mad at me."
-Man mooning/flashing us from a neighboring balcony while at a rooftop BBQ.
-Man mooning/flashing us from a neighboring balcony while at a rooftop BBQ.
Overheard on Arguello
"We need to get some weed."
This morning AP and I decided to venture out a little early to look for a birthday present for her niece. It was not a normal morning in SF as Bay to Breakers is taking place today. As we left our apartment, we passed a group of kids dressed in neon green and yellow spandex shirts. One guy was wearing a huge straw hat around his neck and was speaking very loudly about the group's agenda. I hope they were successful.
This morning AP and I decided to venture out a little early to look for a birthday present for her niece. It was not a normal morning in SF as Bay to Breakers is taking place today. As we left our apartment, we passed a group of kids dressed in neon green and yellow spandex shirts. One guy was wearing a huge straw hat around his neck and was speaking very loudly about the group's agenda. I hope they were successful.
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