Several friends and I are headed to Dalva on 16th and Mission tonight. There's a possibility I'll read from my recent work to The Sun Magazine. Since I'm also of the MTV Generation, it would rock if I could simultaneously read to the Sia video "Breathe Me" of HBO Six Feet Under fame.
Look forward to seeing you there!
Dalva 7 - 9 PM, Free, Open Mike with Feature, 2nd and 4th Thrusdays of the month
3121 16th St., San Francisco, 415 252-7740, Wheelchair Access.
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Boot Camp and Jury Duty
We survived. Sitting in the car with pre-Boot Camp jitters, I had the ignition going for a quick get-away. But when I saw that our "drill sargeant" looked more like Skipper Barbie than Jillian from the Biggest Loser, I lined up.
It was intense. I'm not coordinated, and jumping jacks? Forget it. I've decided running, under force or threat is key to a healthy fitness plan. Afterwards, for a treat, I went for my two shots of Wheatgrass as Erica ran across the street to Starbucks.
In other news, I'm moving out on June 1st of my prime Russian Hill apartment. It's a great place with an even better roommate. If Katy decides to keep the lease and stay until December, you'll get first grabs. I've decided to focus exclusively on my health and creative pursuits this summer. I have several fellowship, scholarship and residency opportunities that have fell into my lap. They will allow me to work side-by-side with published authors and other like-minded creative writers to focus on completing my novel by the end of September. Ambitiously speaking.
I'm completely on fire after a meeting this morning with Julie, who is the artistic vision and business force behind the "Inspiration Stones" you've seen everywhere. We're teaming up to work on a project with UCSF and CPMC medical center. We're pitching the possibility of creating healing artwork to display in all Bay Area labs in the Greater Bay Area. Getting bloodwork is stressful enough, and there's nothing comforting to look at. We've set out to change that.
It's also worth noting that I was a rejected juror yesterday. Fortunately, I sat next to a cool, funny guy who got me and sometimes probably just laughed anyhow. (Flattery will get you everywhere!) Even though I know his name, he somehow sticks in my memory as Juror #12. Which trumps Foreman.
It was intense. I'm not coordinated, and jumping jacks? Forget it. I've decided running, under force or threat is key to a healthy fitness plan. Afterwards, for a treat, I went for my two shots of Wheatgrass as Erica ran across the street to Starbucks.
In other news, I'm moving out on June 1st of my prime Russian Hill apartment. It's a great place with an even better roommate. If Katy decides to keep the lease and stay until December, you'll get first grabs. I've decided to focus exclusively on my health and creative pursuits this summer. I have several fellowship, scholarship and residency opportunities that have fell into my lap. They will allow me to work side-by-side with published authors and other like-minded creative writers to focus on completing my novel by the end of September. Ambitiously speaking.
I'm completely on fire after a meeting this morning with Julie, who is the artistic vision and business force behind the "Inspiration Stones" you've seen everywhere. We're teaming up to work on a project with UCSF and CPMC medical center. We're pitching the possibility of creating healing artwork to display in all Bay Area labs in the Greater Bay Area. Getting bloodwork is stressful enough, and there's nothing comforting to look at. We've set out to change that.
It's also worth noting that I was a rejected juror yesterday. Fortunately, I sat next to a cool, funny guy who got me and sometimes probably just laughed anyhow. (Flattery will get you everywhere!) Even though I know his name, he somehow sticks in my memory as Juror #12. Which trumps Foreman.
Sunday, April 23, 2006
All the Details That Didn't Make It To The Confessional
One of my new favorite girlfiends, Erica and I have been celebrating our last weekend of freedom. Starting tomorrow at 7am, we report at Golden Gate Park for Boot Camp. Boot Camp sounded like a fine idea last month, before I took on raw food, no alcohol and all things...bland.
We started our weekend a day early- Thursday- at Tongue and Groove on Van Ness. The band, Leopold and His Fiction was fantastic and the place was packed. Afterwards, Daniel and Ben, of LAHF and I talked about their last gig at the Fillmore. Erica was two shots and three beers to the wind, and I was chatty and speaking very clearly with college-age spelling bee words- thanks to my bottle of, purified water. Great- and greater that the bouncer bum-rushed the bar, threw a lemon at the solo drunk bartender and bought it for me. Nothing like a sober damsel in distress.
I took a cab five blocks, thanks to a new pair of heels that only accessorize well with clear liquids of the water variety and not vodka. Home, I fell into my bed and crashed before I could take off my favorite bracelet. It left a mark the next morning. On my face.
Friday I had dinner with Dana at Whole Foods. She's on an all meat diet, and I'm on a no meat diet. So we just stare at each other's food and pretend we're perfectly satiated with what we're eating. I ran into my old spin instructor, Mike, and I had all of these thoughts about how he must think I'm a slacker for not showing up for class, or I've gotten fat, or my hair looks...whatev. But I overheard him tell his friend, "that girl is so nice" and that made my day.
Later, I met up with Erica, Peter, Peter's brother Josh and his new girlfriend. Jared was playing solo somewhere between the city and the ocean in the Richmond and we invented ourselves a parking spot for the occasion. Unfortunately, Fridays are my treatment days, and a half hour into his set, I had to go home and sleep. But I had one of Jared's new songs stuck in my head and that made passing out in pain all the easier.
Saturday was wasted getting my hair blonde. It takes three hours with aluminum wrapped around my head. The aluminum doesn't look as bad as the heavy metal sounds in the salon with red walls. It's a hip place in the Lower Haight I hate. I return for Lisa, who mixes a perfect blonde, and knows me in chronological order, according to boyfriend, job, apartment, illness, travel and diet. It's worth pretending I'm hip, to hate the salon, and keep my stylist.
After a shot of wheatgrass, some spirulina and new blonde highlights I went to the beach with Erica and her dog, Crackerjack. I call her dog Sweetpea, and she still answers. If I had a dog, I'd name her Happy. That's what I was thinking about while I was talking about one of my exes, walking on the beach, with a backdrop of the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge.
Erica and I met up with my girlfriend Julie and her friend Jessica at Saffron, a fashion show in the Mission. It was a wine and cheese event with lots of clothes sizes 0-4. I ran into the designer from Minnie Wilde, and we talked Veganism. She showed me her new leather handbag and we decided it was so beautiful, it was worth the compromised morals it took her to buy it. We headed over to Ti Couz for salads and sat outside it was such a beautiful night. After seeing Julie and Jessica off on BART, Erica and I went bar-hopping for a bathroom. I had to pee. The line at Delirium was nine women long, and we got kicked out of Hamburger Kelly's for not buying a three dollar bottle of water just to use the pisser. Hello? What do you think got us on a hunt for a bathroom in the first place?
We ended up in the no-line, bitchily-butch-bartended Cama. No line, and about four super hot straight guys. Super hot straight guy told me he belonged to a European boy band ten years ago, and was now moving on. He had a face that looked like he once modeled. For Sears. Underwear section. But that now he could just as easily model for the picture that goes next to the houses he'll be selling once he gets his real estate license.
Fortunately, he moved on, to Veneer-Tooth Tanorexic lady and that just left the other Super hot straight guy, who bought Erica and I a drink. That's right, I had a martinilicious drink called Pillow Talk. If I'm gonna fall off the wagon, I want to land on a drink that has a pillow and some talk involved. We met a comedian doorman who claimed to have written 80% of the 90's hit Swingers, and was a skate rat with Jason Lee, back in the day. He also had an orange scarf, which he said he knitted himself. Uh, hey guy, some hobbies are best kept to yourself.
The weekend ended with some shopping, writing and making some soup involving asparagus which eventually was best served to the compost pile. So the next time you need soil for your garden, stop on by.
Maybe I should take on knitting scarves. For Boot Camp survivors.
We started our weekend a day early- Thursday- at Tongue and Groove on Van Ness. The band, Leopold and His Fiction was fantastic and the place was packed. Afterwards, Daniel and Ben, of LAHF and I talked about their last gig at the Fillmore. Erica was two shots and three beers to the wind, and I was chatty and speaking very clearly with college-age spelling bee words- thanks to my bottle of, purified water. Great- and greater that the bouncer bum-rushed the bar, threw a lemon at the solo drunk bartender and bought it for me. Nothing like a sober damsel in distress.
I took a cab five blocks, thanks to a new pair of heels that only accessorize well with clear liquids of the water variety and not vodka. Home, I fell into my bed and crashed before I could take off my favorite bracelet. It left a mark the next morning. On my face.
Friday I had dinner with Dana at Whole Foods. She's on an all meat diet, and I'm on a no meat diet. So we just stare at each other's food and pretend we're perfectly satiated with what we're eating. I ran into my old spin instructor, Mike, and I had all of these thoughts about how he must think I'm a slacker for not showing up for class, or I've gotten fat, or my hair looks...whatev. But I overheard him tell his friend, "that girl is so nice" and that made my day.
Later, I met up with Erica, Peter, Peter's brother Josh and his new girlfriend. Jared was playing solo somewhere between the city and the ocean in the Richmond and we invented ourselves a parking spot for the occasion. Unfortunately, Fridays are my treatment days, and a half hour into his set, I had to go home and sleep. But I had one of Jared's new songs stuck in my head and that made passing out in pain all the easier.
Saturday was wasted getting my hair blonde. It takes three hours with aluminum wrapped around my head. The aluminum doesn't look as bad as the heavy metal sounds in the salon with red walls. It's a hip place in the Lower Haight I hate. I return for Lisa, who mixes a perfect blonde, and knows me in chronological order, according to boyfriend, job, apartment, illness, travel and diet. It's worth pretending I'm hip, to hate the salon, and keep my stylist.
After a shot of wheatgrass, some spirulina and new blonde highlights I went to the beach with Erica and her dog, Crackerjack. I call her dog Sweetpea, and she still answers. If I had a dog, I'd name her Happy. That's what I was thinking about while I was talking about one of my exes, walking on the beach, with a backdrop of the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge.
Erica and I met up with my girlfriend Julie and her friend Jessica at Saffron, a fashion show in the Mission. It was a wine and cheese event with lots of clothes sizes 0-4. I ran into the designer from Minnie Wilde, and we talked Veganism. She showed me her new leather handbag and we decided it was so beautiful, it was worth the compromised morals it took her to buy it. We headed over to Ti Couz for salads and sat outside it was such a beautiful night. After seeing Julie and Jessica off on BART, Erica and I went bar-hopping for a bathroom. I had to pee. The line at Delirium was nine women long, and we got kicked out of Hamburger Kelly's for not buying a three dollar bottle of water just to use the pisser. Hello? What do you think got us on a hunt for a bathroom in the first place?
We ended up in the no-line, bitchily-butch-bartended Cama. No line, and about four super hot straight guys. Super hot straight guy told me he belonged to a European boy band ten years ago, and was now moving on. He had a face that looked like he once modeled. For Sears. Underwear section. But that now he could just as easily model for the picture that goes next to the houses he'll be selling once he gets his real estate license.
Fortunately, he moved on, to Veneer-Tooth Tanorexic lady and that just left the other Super hot straight guy, who bought Erica and I a drink. That's right, I had a martinilicious drink called Pillow Talk. If I'm gonna fall off the wagon, I want to land on a drink that has a pillow and some talk involved. We met a comedian doorman who claimed to have written 80% of the 90's hit Swingers, and was a skate rat with Jason Lee, back in the day. He also had an orange scarf, which he said he knitted himself. Uh, hey guy, some hobbies are best kept to yourself.
The weekend ended with some shopping, writing and making some soup involving asparagus which eventually was best served to the compost pile. So the next time you need soil for your garden, stop on by.
Maybe I should take on knitting scarves. For Boot Camp survivors.
Thursday, April 20, 2006
In other Zip Codes
My rockstar girlfriend Samantha (of One Way Bliss) turned me on to Leopold and His Fiction, and I just got word they're playing a "little" gig at Tongue and Groove on Van Ness and Union- tonight, Thursday. Come out. And play nice with the Marina spillovers. They think they're slumming it. Poor dears.
Jared Griffin is playing acoustic rock (think Rhett Miller) Friday at Cafe Bazar on California between 21st and 22nd. He's like a hot musical hybrid of John Mayer and Bob Dylan. That's right, I said Dylan, and you will too if you can airlift yourself away from the TIVO and come out. Show starts at 7pm, so you can get dinner after or whatever... I'm just the event planner, not the cruise director.
If all else fails. There's always beer. The other food group.
Jared Griffin is playing acoustic rock (think Rhett Miller) Friday at Cafe Bazar on California between 21st and 22nd. He's like a hot musical hybrid of John Mayer and Bob Dylan. That's right, I said Dylan, and you will too if you can airlift yourself away from the TIVO and come out. Show starts at 7pm, so you can get dinner after or whatever... I'm just the event planner, not the cruise director.
If all else fails. There's always beer. The other food group.
Sunday, April 16, 2006
Easter Minus the Ham
I'm back in San Francisco. It's raining and I'm sunburned. San Diego's parting gift. That and my walnut-sized stomach, which prevents me from eating anything larger than a pea. Don't get me wrong, I feel great off diet coke, coffee, and all things processed.
But this is gonna take everything I've got. Cause truth be told, I just want a cheeseburger.
But this is gonna take everything I've got. Cause truth be told, I just want a cheeseburger.
Thursday, April 06, 2006
I Jumped the Fence
I've escaped. I'm literally hiding out in the corner of a Starbucks as I type in my weak state. This place is hard core. It's 30% "spa" and 70% "food is all in your head." I thought I'd come here, get some sun, clear my head, try out some new vegetables and maybe my health would improve. Instead, I've signed up for serious detox off of coffee, diet coke, all saccharine, processed foods, white flour, sugar, wheat, red meat, chicken and whatever else sounds, looks, or resembles food.
I never thought my body would have a reaction to coming off all that junk! I'm on Day 5, and I've been sleeping entire days, seriously cranky, and shaky. I dream about cheeseburgers to the point I worry that I've eaten one. I called my Dad after the second day, and he was completely supportive, jokingly saying he'd send me a snickers bar. Strangely as the days go by, food like that just seems like plastic.
It's hard to say now, because I am so horribly homesick, that this is probably good for me. I'm learning more than anyone should ever want to know about their digestive system, raw food, vegetarianism, etc, too weak to go into it, etc. I've calmed down enough to try yoga. Maybe because I'm not hyped up on caffiene.
I will say that I'm sleeping better, and my joints feel like they're working through something. They go through being completely numb and stiff to being totally mobile. I get excited sometimes when I think that raw-fooding may be a cure! And I think I'm closer to running again!
I don't know when I'll get a chance to "take a long walk" and check in again. Send me your good thoughts. It's taking all of my mental strength and willpower to live through this.
I never thought my body would have a reaction to coming off all that junk! I'm on Day 5, and I've been sleeping entire days, seriously cranky, and shaky. I dream about cheeseburgers to the point I worry that I've eaten one. I called my Dad after the second day, and he was completely supportive, jokingly saying he'd send me a snickers bar. Strangely as the days go by, food like that just seems like plastic.
It's hard to say now, because I am so horribly homesick, that this is probably good for me. I'm learning more than anyone should ever want to know about their digestive system, raw food, vegetarianism, etc, too weak to go into it, etc. I've calmed down enough to try yoga. Maybe because I'm not hyped up on caffiene.
I will say that I'm sleeping better, and my joints feel like they're working through something. They go through being completely numb and stiff to being totally mobile. I get excited sometimes when I think that raw-fooding may be a cure! And I think I'm closer to running again!
I don't know when I'll get a chance to "take a long walk" and check in again. Send me your good thoughts. It's taking all of my mental strength and willpower to live through this.
Saturday, April 01, 2006
My Last Diet Coke
This morning, seven friends and I gathered at Cafe Gratitude. (http://www.withthecurrent.com/cafe.html)
With entrees like "I Am Abundant" and "I Am Open-Hearted" I knew that I could really embrace raw fooding. That was, until the little scoops of "cat food" arrived, garnished with sesame chips. With my three week Raw Food Retreat less than 24 hours away, all I could think was, "Is it too late to back out?"
It suddenly hit me all of the things I would be giving up: diet coke, ice cream, reese's pieces, bread. I'm doing this-21 days of total detox from all the foods I love-in hope of greater health. I want to be healthy, without pain and someday able to run as I once did. I never thought that ditching diet coke and growing wheatgrass could offer me that.
The plane leaves at noon and I'm getting cold feet. But, the love and support of each of my friends gives me strength. Thank you Samantha for the juicer. And Dana, thank you for the "natural" valium drops for the plane and organic health magazine. And to Suzanne, Kim and Leland, Renee, Katy and Doug- thanks for braving raw food to cheerlead me into my next adventure!
So I'm packing my yoga pants and drinking my last diet coke. I know nothing rewarding ever came easy. With a leap of faith and the safety net of terrific friends, I know in my heart, "I Am Grateful."
With entrees like "I Am Abundant" and "I Am Open-Hearted" I knew that I could really embrace raw fooding. That was, until the little scoops of "cat food" arrived, garnished with sesame chips. With my three week Raw Food Retreat less than 24 hours away, all I could think was, "Is it too late to back out?"
It suddenly hit me all of the things I would be giving up: diet coke, ice cream, reese's pieces, bread. I'm doing this-21 days of total detox from all the foods I love-in hope of greater health. I want to be healthy, without pain and someday able to run as I once did. I never thought that ditching diet coke and growing wheatgrass could offer me that.
The plane leaves at noon and I'm getting cold feet. But, the love and support of each of my friends gives me strength. Thank you Samantha for the juicer. And Dana, thank you for the "natural" valium drops for the plane and organic health magazine. And to Suzanne, Kim and Leland, Renee, Katy and Doug- thanks for braving raw food to cheerlead me into my next adventure!
So I'm packing my yoga pants and drinking my last diet coke. I know nothing rewarding ever came easy. With a leap of faith and the safety net of terrific friends, I know in my heart, "I Am Grateful."
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