Zack and I were treated to a feast of o-soba last night 
it was a 'stone groove!' definitely more fun that I'd expected. since I don't know Pat's friends REAL well, I tend to lower my expectations when I go to his parties. Silly me! We had a blast, and Pat is now the proud owner of a righteous disco ball, which I hope will have a permanent home in his dining room. Roller skates and the soundtrack to Xanadu were the only things missing - I brought Carvel ice cream cake which sent me hurdling back to my childhood - soooooooooo GOOD!
Devin was 43 yesterday - we went to the SF MOMA, followed by a shopping excursion in search of the perfect cargo pants - for anyone looking for the type of 3/4 length pants which have drawstrings at the bottom, they are damn hard to find for men - after looking in North Face, Banana Republic, Gap, American Eagle, Abercrombie and Old Navy, nuthin! we're still looking. the quest continues.
THIS is why we put up with the high prices, the traffic, the rat race! Well, I don't really do the rat race, but you get my point - it's all worth it when you can drive for 30 minutes and be surrounded in majestic redwoods and waterfalls. Anna, Cheryl & I had a stellar hike - I especially enjoyed playing 'Chase' downhill!
Priya and Yugala are GENIUSES. I have been a friend and devoted fan for years of their clothing lines, YUGALA and SAFFRON - they recently moved into a new studio in the Mission and they are ready to take off. Priya has huge meetings coming up in New York next week, so SEND GOOD THOUGHTS! The clothes are career-casual and urban chic - worn by women who love Ann Taylor, BUT their clothes are hipper than Ann Taylor could ever hope to be. Check 'em out! www.saffronrarethreads.com
Dennis was in town this week! As usual, food was the
the cats are enthralled with the outside world. too bad they can't go romp around outside - they make do with Lara's house plants. ;) it's SUNNY for the first time in weeks - we haven't seen so many cloudy days, like, EVER.
Mom would love this shot. ;) devin and I are grabbing whatever free time he can spare these days - he is working like a madman. At least the weather cooperated for us - it was near-perfect in Dolores Park!
it's a dorky picture, i know. me in the kitchen, so what. it's also not fair that i got up early to go running, i've been pretty good about exercising and STILL I look like i'm 15 pounds overweight
I was in Crate & Barrel w/ my mom and saw what may be the perfect coffee table for my new living room - it's actually not 'mine,' - I am helping my roommate pick out a new coffee table. If there's anyone who wants me to help them pick out some new furniture for THEIR house, drop me a line!
The day before Valentine's Day, I'm coming back from the corner store by my new house. I turn around to take pictures of the new neighborhood, and there he is, riding his bike right down my street. We hugged and cried, talked, and I saw the conviction in his face that he wanted things to change, that they would change, and that he wanted to try again. I felt a shift and I knew, I had to give it another chance or I'd regret it. So here we are - this was taken on Valentine's Day on the way to Dolores Park. It ended up being too cold outside, so we spent hours in a tea house, talking and laughing. We're back to dating, and so far it's wonderful. :D
this is Dylan. he is a sweetheart and comes with the new place where I am currently living. Devin and I are officially back together after 2 weeks of heartbreak - i know, that was quick! Most people don't believe us when we say that we RANDOMLY saw each other on the street, hugged and cried, and started to work it out from there. He was late picking me up on Valentine's Day, so it's been bumpy, but we're bumping along. for now, I'm glad that I have my own space to live and work stuff out for myself. I needed that, regardless.
couch-surfing isn't ALL bad. The sunrise this morning was amazing. My friend Linnea is in Paris this week, and I am the lucky recipient of a housesitter appointment - her apartment is like a luxurious treehouse, the way it's situated on the hillside. It's nice to be sitting at a real desk and sleeping in a real bed, having space to spread out and do my thing, but it's also COLD up here. Can't wait to re-locate to the sunny Mission...
Dad was playing around with a new scanner and obviously found one of Pat's more embarassing (but soooo cuuuuuute!) pictures. With all the women's clothing that he was made to wear as a kid (I put him in my ballet tu-tu's and once, I even made him wear my one-piece Wonder Woman swimsuit), it's amazing that he's straight.
this was my dinner at MYKONOS. I ate about half of this dish, called "Keftedes" - Greek meatballs. Mmmmmm.
This is the room of my oppressed youth. I never had much say in how it was decorated. All these pictures were carefully arranged by my mother - I think of it as a shrine to the daughter she wishes she'd had, or the GIRL (I will never be a woman whom she respects) she fantasizes me to be. The closet, like every other closet in this house, is filled with her clothes. It doesn't take much for me to remember that she is, after all, totally out of her mind.
This is why I keep coming back. It's supposedly 'udon,' although the flat, dumpling-like noodles remind me of kishimen in Nagoya. The broth is miso-based, and the soup is chock full of chicken, tofu and chunky vegetables. It was the perfect thing to recover from running around in the rain. We're in Gunma prefecture here, by the way. Almost worth a trip back just for the noodles...
This is 宝川温泉 - for those of you who don't read Japanese, "TAH-KAH-RA-GA-WA ON-SEN." This was by far my favorite hot spring in the area, hands down. The setting is beautiful, and the leaves were just about at their peak of color. Unfortunately it was rather difficult to just kick back and relax - I was the only foreigner wandering through the mixed-bathing areas, unable to keep from checking out fellow bathers. It's simply because I couldn't wrap my head around the idea that such a structured, regimented culture still allows mixed bathing! It's great, but part of me felt like I was in the Twilight Zone - this is not the Japan that I know! Incidentally, I totally chickened out of going to any of the mixed areas - it would have been easier with a studly male by my side, since none of the women (a-ha!) were by themselves. It's a great area for young couples to go who want to enjoy the experience together, in fact it's perfect. My visit made me realize that I will have to take a very tactful approach towards marketing an Onsen Tour, and for setting my clients' expectations...moreover, I have a feeling that it would be best to split the group up and go to different onsen, so as to not freak out fellow bathers with a gaijin invasion!
I am happy to announce that I have been hired by 2 clients to do a private Japan tour in October! Woo hoo! The dream lives on! For anyone who is reading this, I am in Japan from mid-October to early November, available for hire after November 1st. If you're in Japan and you want someone to show you around, let me know! To learn more about what I can do for you, visit my other site.
