I just discovered some really lovely music! Perfect for sipping tea, or a ride down highway 1, or just generally being happy. Someone said this about them: "The songs of Forest City Lovers are catchy, yet fragile, and hope to melt your heart, or at least make it beat." Go listen to them here.
Everyone needs to go check out my dear friend Laura's adorable Mini Valentines! She designed and made each of them herself and has a variety of sayings and colors for sale. She'll even do a custom order for the favorite people in your life!
Go check out her blog, her amazing art, and the rest of her hand-made goodies on etsy!
Lots and lots of people have been asking me how I put my pictures into little polaroid frames like this one. And since they stopped making real polaroid film {BAH!} I am happy to share the love. Thanks to Poladroid we can all have digital polaroids. Go here to download a little desktop polaroid camera. Then you drag and drop your pictures onto the camera and it immediately pops out a little polaroid picture that is completely brown. Your photo slowly comes into focus just like a real polaroid would! And no, the picture does not develop faster if you shake it... I've already tried.
Well, my very {very!} long winter break is over! No more sleeping in till 10am. No more free-as-a-bird-every-single-night weeks. No more all-the-time-in-the-world-to-do-as-I-please-and-read-as-I-please! Okay, okay, I'm being a bit overly dramatic. In reality there is not much that will change. My Tuesday and Wednesday evenings will be occupied with classes and I'll have to dedicate more of my days to reading, but I'll still have plenty of time to hang out with friends, exercise and fill my well. I'm actually really excited for my classes to start tonight. Eek! I'm going to be a therapist!
Last night Dannon and I met up with our dear friend Kristle at Cha-Ya's, a Vegetarian Japanese Restaurant in the Mission. The food was delicious and it was absolutely lovely hanging out with Kristle again! She is one of the funniest, most creative people I know, and come spring, she will be moving far far away. Bah! We'll miss you!
We went to the Kabuki theater last night to see this film. I have to admit, I had absolutely no idea what this movie was about, I had simply heard from several friends that it was really great. And yes, I thought it was great too, but pretty intense. I wouldn't call it a "feel good movie" as some are labeling it. There are some tough to swallow scenes, but it does show some inspiring examples of resiliency. The characters go through such awful things throughout their life, and yet they grow up hanging on to trust, love, and faith. They still know happiness and success. They still recognize their blessings. And it's all because they choose to. In addition to being a beautiful story of life growing out of turmoil, it is also brilliantly done and the cinematography is amazing!
I was going through a bunch of photos and kept coming across very silly pics of Dannon that made me laugh out loud even though I am home all by myself. Isn't he a wonderful old sport? PS - All facial hair is gen-u-ine real!
How I wish I could make you my treasure! Last night we had a little Inauguration party at friend's house. On the walk back home we stumbled upon an adorable piano on the sidewalk that had been left for the taking. I fell in love immediately and wanted to make it mine. However, there were three of us, it was 11:00 at night, and it only had one wheel. This morning I went back and found it still sitting, alone and in the rain. I'm a little heartbroken over not being able to bring it home and love it. I would if the piano wasn't 1/4 the size of my apartment. Now I hope that some other romantic soul will find it and love it as much as I do.
For My Piano:
Corazon by Bishop Allen
by the school on the street you were dropped off with a sign, "this piano is free" you didn't look free to me cast aside obsolete since they canceled music class you've been a refugee but now I'll give you a home corazon so I pushed and I heaved but your weight bore down like I could not believe had you accepted defeat? till the crowd gathered round put away their goings on and hunkered down and they were cheering you on corazon and the expert with his tools said to bring it up to pitch would snap the sucker in two I guess we're tuning to you so I pulled up a seat and I swear I felt a pulse beneath your keys to urge your hammers along corazon I was caught I was stuck and my thoughts kept on deepening the rut until your first chord struck now I search I'm a chore but my god you've given me another chance to learn come on and teach me your songs corazon
I have to drink some each morning. Some people say I "have an addiction," or I "have a caffeine problem." But I think it's delicious, and since I switched from coffee to tea my heart palpitations stopped!
Fun Galoshes! I love my bright yellow galoshes. I also have a bright red umbrella and a bright green coat! I actually look forward to dreary winter days so I can put on all my fun colorful rain gear. Like our trip to the Wave Organ on the northern tip of the city. It was a dark and stormy day with huge waves crashing up on the organ, but I was invincible in my yellow galoshes!
Adorable Foreign Cars I see cute little cars all around my neighborhood. My favorite was a teeny little British car packed with 5 large young men. I laughed and they waved. I love my neighborhood.
This Sigur Ros Music Video
It's a prime example of generativity in old age! Plus it always reminds me of one of my favorite memories in life. Last fall Dannon and I tailgated a Sigur Ros concert at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley. We sat on the hill above the stage, and toward the end of the concert it started to rain - a lovely warm rain. We danced to our favorite songs in the rain that night. It was magical!
This weekend Dannon's camera got sick and is out of commission {I promise it wasn't my fault!} so I was not able to take any pictures of our adventures. Which may be fortunate because yesterday all we did was eat horribly fattening food while watching football - fun, but not exactly a pretty sight. Which means I will be spending my MLK Day taking a little run through the park and eating nothing but vegetables.
If you wanna hear a really cool ukelele-playing-chick, check out Kelli Rae Powell. I'll be listening to this as I do my sit-ups today.
Every Friday night Dannon and I have a little date. It usually consists of a some dinner, dessert that Dannon may or may not forget to bring over, and deep conversation. But last night we decided to go play in the park. We headed over to the De Young Museum and said goodbye to the Maya Lin exhibit (if this ever comes to a city near you, go see it!).
Then we got silly on the stage of the Music Concourse, roamed around the mysterious Shakespeare Garden, and made fun of the outdoor sculptures that seem absolutely ridiculous in the dark.
I love the park at night. It's so lovely with all the twinkly lights and art scattered about. I highly recommend it if you're in the neighborhood.
Today was a gorgeous sunny San Francisco day! It was so warm and beautiful it made me desperately wish for a yard. Alas, I only have a parking lot. So I took a little trip to the Full House Park (aka Alamo Square) which is right by my house.
I hung out in flip flops and watched the neighborhood dogs playing. I especially liked the dogs who matched their owners.
And then I strolled through the Shoe Garden. Let's be honest, the thought occurred to me that if I ever need a pair of shoes while I'm a poor grad student....
Oh how I LOVE these guys! I wish I had the entire 17 member band following me everywhere I went providing the soundtrack for my life. How much cooler would grocery shopping be?! Go listen to them here.
That's right! Dannon, Larry and I got up in the wee hours of Sunday morning and made our way up to beautiful Lake Tahoe for some snowboarding, skiing, and falling down. Although I'm now full of bruises, welts, and sore muscles, I had a blast and hope we can go again soon before I forget all the things I learned this weekend.
Here's a beautiful view of the Lake from the top of the Mountain.
Dannon was a great teacher and helped me get back into the swing of things on the slopes.
But I still spent most of my time like this: Snow baseball!
Learning to snowboard is a great analogy for growth in life. First of all, when one learns to snowboard, it is essential that you lean forward - literally placing all of your weight on your front leg so that you gain speed. Going fast is really the only way to turn and control your board. This, of course, is terrifying! Gaining speed while facing straight down a steep and icy mountain is not exactly comfortable. But in Dannon's words, good snowboarding is trusting the board, letting go and allowing the board to do what it wants to do, I just have to stay on it and ride it out. It was when I lost focus, lost my cool and freaked out by my fear of the speed, that I took nasty falls. I was not being whole-hearted in my endeavors. I took my eyes off my goal.
Also, when you progress to the point of gaining enough speed to turn, you end up taking fewer, but nastier falls. In the whole-heartedness, you end up putting more into achieving your goal. This means you have more to lose should you catch your board on an icy patch or lose your balance. After a couple of these falls, it is so easy to let your fear of the pain prevent you from moving forward whole-heartedly again. You begin to go a little slower, be a little more cautious, hold back. But in this recoiling response, you lose the momentum required to control the board. It's harder to gain skill and become successful when you hold back. The thing about snowboarding is you will take some hard falls - it's inevitable. It is essential, however, that you do not give in to your fear of these falls. You have to get up and continue to lean forward whole-heartedly.
This past Saturday was the 8th Annual No Pants Subway Ride. This event was started in New York by an Improv group (www.improveverywhere.com) and the idea was to have as many random people as possible going about their daily subway ride...only without their pants. If approached by an onlooker, the pants-less person would act as though they had no idea what the fuss was all about. This event has spread to other cities in recent years and Dannon, Larry and I were lucky enough to join in the San Francisco chapter.
Talking to No Pants Motorcycle Rider
No Pants Businessman
Random No Pants!
Waiting for the train is such a bother...
A BART ride like any other.
Walking back to the car... pants-less.
My favorite part was when we stopped into a clothing store on the way back to our car and Dannon asked if they had any pants.
If you want to see a video from the No Pants Subway Ride in New York, you can check this out:
Larry Dannon and I are heading up to Tahoe on Sunday to go snowboarding! And by "snowboarding" I mean falling down in snow over and over for two days straight. I've been watching lots of snowboarding videos to psych myself up and found a lovely one that I would like to dedicate to my inevitable painful wipeouts.
A few months ago I had a Lifespan class assignment to spend time playing like a kid between the ages of 4 and 9. Yes, that's right, Psychology grad school programs are the best.
So a few of us went up to Point Reyes, CA and found a beautiful beach. We chased each other and built sand castles and Dannon created a very amazing sand monster foot!
I highly recommend adding a few minutes into each of your days and weeks to play like a little kid again. There's so much fun to be had!
For a long time I did very little to keep my well full. Like so many people, I walked through life barely moving my feet. Lately, however, I discovered the great JOY of filling my well - filling my life with the things that energize me. Creativity, music, adventures! Specifically, adventures with Dannon and other lovely friends of ours. So I wanted to create a little space of my own on the great interweb where I could chronicle the wonderful things that make life exciting. I hope you enjoy.
We went to the Kabuki theater last night to see this film. I have to admit, I had absolutely no idea what this movie was about, I had simply heard from several friends that it was really great. And yes, I thought it was great too, but pretty intense. I wouldn't call it a "feel good movie" as some are labeling it. There are some tough to swallow scenes, but it does show some inspiring examples of resiliency. The characters go through such awful things throughout their life, and yet they grow up hanging on to trust, love, and faith. They still know happiness and success. They still recognize their blessings. And it's all because they choose to. In addition to being a beautiful story of life growing out of turmoil, it is also brilliantly done and the cinematography is amazing!
I have to drink some each morning. Some people say I "have an addiction," or I "have a caffeine problem." But I think it's delicious, and since I switched from coffee to tea my heart palpitations stopped!
I love my bright yellow galoshes. I also have a bright red umbrella and a bright green coat! I actually look forward to dreary winter days so I can put on all my fun colorful rain gear. Like our trip to the Wave Organ on the northern tip of the city. It was a dark and stormy day with huge waves crashing up on the organ, but I was invincible in my yellow galoshes!
I see cute little cars all around my neighborhood. My favorite was a teeny little British car packed with 5 large young men. I laughed and they waved. I love my neighborhood.
Random No Pants!
Waiting for the train is such a bother...
A BART ride like any other.
Walking back to the car... pants-less.
