I've been feeling a little sorry for myself and slightly annoyed at lots of people. It started with my birthday and hasn't really gone away yet.
And then I have the privilege of knowing some people through the food bank who make me realize that I'm being petty and the annoyance is stupid, reminding me to let whatever it is go. I know a couple who have been living in their Dodge Caravan for months, have no kitchen or real space, and which hasn't really run for two months. Recently security in the neighborhood where they've been parked has been stepped up and they have had to move twice since last Tuesday. My big fear is that their vehicle will be impounded, at which time they will be shelterless as well as carless and with no way to get it back. They have a little income from SSI, but that wouldn't be enough for them to get their car out of hock.
Yet, when I talk to them they say that "Things will work out, they always do" and that they will just trust in God. They are both almost always smiling and the man keeps himself busy with recycling for two hours every morning. Now that the food bank is within walking distance they've been coming over and offering me a hand with sorting or packing or loading, help I've been needing, due a coincidental drop in numbers of volunteers.
I'd been thinking about this couple when I went to bed, and I had a dream. I dreamt that Zirpu and I were living in an '85 Toyota Camry, and that we were breaking up because of the stress of having no money and no space. It is amazing that they stay so positive, living on little but love.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Saturday, September 29, 2007
My other favorite car
The Deux Cheaveaux, by Citroen.
I love the images in this paragraph from Wikipedia's entry on the Deux Cheveaux:
Pierre-Jules Boulanger's early 1930s design brief – said by some to be astonishingly radical for the time – was for a low-priced, rugged "umbrella on four wheels" that would enable two peasants to drive 100 kg of farm goods to market at 60 km/h, in clogs and across muddy unpaved roads if necessary. France at that time had a very large rural population, who had not yet adopted the automobile, due to its cost. The car would use no more than 3 liters of gasoline to travel 100 km. Most famously, it would be able to drive across a ploughed field without breaking the eggs it was carrying. Boulanger later also had the roof raised to allow him to drive while wearing a hat.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
A San Francisco Institution
Last night, because my cousin is in town from Rhode Island, Mom, KT, No, and another couple (for whom I have to make up nicknames) went to see Beach Blanket Babylon. This satirical musical revue centers on Snow White's search for her prince. She starts out in San Francisco and travels the world, only to find the prince back at home after all. We had the whole experience, eating at Capp's Corner before the show. Capp's, also a San Francisco institution and now closely associated with BBB, caters to the Club Fugazi crowd and the place suddenly emptied out at 730.
The first time I saw this show I was about eleven. We had a running gag in our family that comes from BBB. There used to be a part in the show when Snow White is crying about not finding her prince "anywhere" and the, well, sort of fairy godmother character looked at her and said, "Lighten up, Snow." Mom used to say this to me a lot since I tended to be rather serious about everything. It was years before I caught the pun, and I love puns.
All of the music is familiar, some of it rewritten, and there are sly and not so sly jokes in the references to pop culture and celebrities. Nancy Pelosi appears in leather pants singing "Leader of the House" with Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein singing backup. I'd expect that it woudln't be totally up to date, but Michael Jackson and N'Sync appear, and Elvis has been a constant in the show since the beginning and now he's been dead (or not) for thirty years. Barbara Streisand has again retreated to her hermitage, and the Village People are way in the past. Madonna appears, but in her late-80s pointy-breast pink Merry Widow outfit. Surprisingly, Gavin Newsom didn't show up... I was sure he would, up to the end. The most topical joke was about foot tapping in airport bathrooms, but some jokes went way back: Dick Cheney appears with a shotgun, Michael Jackson with a baby, and Tina Turner with a hugely tall wig.
And that's what I saw last night. I enjoyed the show but the references are getting way out of date. Maybe it's because of the Boomers that so many of the references are from the 1980s. I noticed that now a sign appears above each new celebrity spoof, and one of the things I used to like was recognizing everyone's BBB alter-ego (much harder when I was a kid and only read Herb Caen's column). The show's not as chauvinistic about San Francisco as it used to be, either, though
Seeing it over so many years it's interesting to notice how Snow White's character has changed. I remember reading an interview, years ago, with the woman who played SW at that time. She said that the hardest thing about playing the role wasn't doing so many shows a week, but having to speak in falsetto for 90 minutes in a row. Now Snow White busts out her Big Voice, and for me, it's like seeing someone all grown up. I imagine the change is surprising if you're seeing for the first time, but after so many years of hearing falsetto SW, I get an especial kick out of it.
Well, really, Beach Blanket Babylon is all about the hats.
The first time I saw this show I was about eleven. We had a running gag in our family that comes from BBB. There used to be a part in the show when Snow White is crying about not finding her prince "anywhere" and the, well, sort of fairy godmother character looked at her and said, "Lighten up, Snow." Mom used to say this to me a lot since I tended to be rather serious about everything. It was years before I caught the pun, and I love puns.
All of the music is familiar, some of it rewritten, and there are sly and not so sly jokes in the references to pop culture and celebrities. Nancy Pelosi appears in leather pants singing "Leader of the House" with Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein singing backup. I'd expect that it woudln't be totally up to date, but Michael Jackson and N'Sync appear, and Elvis has been a constant in the show since the beginning and now he's been dead (or not) for thirty years. Barbara Streisand has again retreated to her hermitage, and the Village People are way in the past. Madonna appears, but in her late-80s pointy-breast pink Merry Widow outfit. Surprisingly, Gavin Newsom didn't show up... I was sure he would, up to the end. The most topical joke was about foot tapping in airport bathrooms, but some jokes went way back: Dick Cheney appears with a shotgun, Michael Jackson with a baby, and Tina Turner with a hugely tall wig.
And that's what I saw last night. I enjoyed the show but the references are getting way out of date. Maybe it's because of the Boomers that so many of the references are from the 1980s. I noticed that now a sign appears above each new celebrity spoof, and one of the things I used to like was recognizing everyone's BBB alter-ego (much harder when I was a kid and only read Herb Caen's column). The show's not as chauvinistic about San Francisco as it used to be, either, though
Seeing it over so many years it's interesting to notice how Snow White's character has changed. I remember reading an interview, years ago, with the woman who played SW at that time. She said that the hardest thing about playing the role wasn't doing so many shows a week, but having to speak in falsetto for 90 minutes in a row. Now Snow White busts out her Big Voice, and for me, it's like seeing someone all grown up. I imagine the change is surprising if you're seeing for the first time, but after so many years of hearing falsetto SW, I get an especial kick out of it.
Well, really, Beach Blanket Babylon is all about the hats.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
It's Okay To Change Your Mind
Though it's not always easy to say so, especially in a large public forum, like a press conference when you're the mayor of San Diego and it's a controversial topic.
I don't know anything else about this man or his politics, just that he is a Republican and that he changed his mind about civil unions being good enough for gays and lesbians (which I think implies that they are not good enough for "the institution of marriage"). Because he is a mayor of a city with a council that's asking him to sign an amicus brief in favor of marriage being open to all, he had to announce his change of mind, or change of heart, before signing the amicus specifically because he'd taken the stance for years that he would not sign such a thing.
Mayor Sanders says that the main factor in changing his mind is knowing people who are gay or lesbians, and seeing that they are just as deserving of state recognition of their relationships as straight people (this is what can happen when people can't marry). Once again, this proves the studies that indicate that straight-identified people who know queer people tend to be more supportive of equal civil rights for the queer community. We seem to have grown past saying things like, "One of my closest friends is a lesbian and she's not like all the rest of those lesbians," though I don't think we can rely on the voters to vote in favor of social change because so many people don't think they know any queer people... but that's a different post.
I used to hate changing my mind. I craved certainty and the ease of acting in that, and as a result decisions were really hard for me to make. As a child, hell for me was Baskin-Robbins! I remember when I was a junior in college and was realizing that I didn't, after all, want to be a high school English/history teacher, my academic advisor told me that it was okay to change my mind - and that I rejected her advice. I changed my mind anyway but had I believed her it would have been much easier to do so.
Five years later I started to understand that the only constant is change, and the more I learn the more likely it is that I will change my mind about things. I can say "my thinking has evolved" but really that's a just a fancy way to say I've changed my mind. Mayor Sanders has my political gratitude for standing up for equality while being a member of a party that is famously not interested in equality, and my personal support for publicly changing his mind. He could have just signed it, but he's told us why and what changed his mind.
I don't know anything else about this man or his politics, just that he is a Republican and that he changed his mind about civil unions being good enough for gays and lesbians (which I think implies that they are not good enough for "the institution of marriage"). Because he is a mayor of a city with a council that's asking him to sign an amicus brief in favor of marriage being open to all, he had to announce his change of mind, or change of heart, before signing the amicus specifically because he'd taken the stance for years that he would not sign such a thing.
Mayor Sanders says that the main factor in changing his mind is knowing people who are gay or lesbians, and seeing that they are just as deserving of state recognition of their relationships as straight people (this is what can happen when people can't marry). Once again, this proves the studies that indicate that straight-identified people who know queer people tend to be more supportive of equal civil rights for the queer community. We seem to have grown past saying things like, "One of my closest friends is a lesbian and she's not like all the rest of those lesbians," though I don't think we can rely on the voters to vote in favor of social change because so many people don't think they know any queer people... but that's a different post.
I used to hate changing my mind. I craved certainty and the ease of acting in that, and as a result decisions were really hard for me to make. As a child, hell for me was Baskin-Robbins! I remember when I was a junior in college and was realizing that I didn't, after all, want to be a high school English/history teacher, my academic advisor told me that it was okay to change my mind - and that I rejected her advice. I changed my mind anyway but had I believed her it would have been much easier to do so.
Five years later I started to understand that the only constant is change, and the more I learn the more likely it is that I will change my mind about things. I can say "my thinking has evolved" but really that's a just a fancy way to say I've changed my mind. Mayor Sanders has my political gratitude for standing up for equality while being a member of a party that is famously not interested in equality, and my personal support for publicly changing his mind. He could have just signed it, but he's told us why and what changed his mind.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Five Flags A-Fluttering
Three national flags, one city flag, one state flag.
I learned by chance that this intersection is called "the Five Flags Intersection," which is easier than calling it by the names of the five streets, including two state highways, that meet here. It is very well-signed, except for its name.
Monday, September 24, 2007
The Year of Big Fun Scary Things
I received an email from the National Novel Writing Month guy, Chris Baty, following up on his invitation to all of us who had once signed into NaNoWriMo for "Trying Big, Fun, Scary Things Together." The Year of BFS Things is coming to a close with the start of the 2007 NaNoWriMo, so he's checking in.
When I received the invitation in January I took it as a sign to not go back to financial aid right away and to take the year off and do other things. TL pointed out to me at the time that even though many of my friends had been supporting me to go for joy, it was an email from a stranger that convinced me to do it. Well, I'm superstitious that way, I guess.
I'm fascinated by what people are reporting were their goals and on their completion or status of those goals. I think I got what I wanted out of participating, and that makes me happy. When I read Saipan Writer's blog I feel like I'm helping her meet her goal, too, which was to write a blog.
In response to Chris Baty's email I posted this response to the forum:
The Universe works in strange ways.
When I received the invitation in January I took it as a sign to not go back to financial aid right away and to take the year off and do other things. TL pointed out to me at the time that even though many of my friends had been supporting me to go for joy, it was an email from a stranger that convinced me to do it. Well, I'm superstitious that way, I guess.
I'm fascinated by what people are reporting were their goals and on their completion or status of those goals. I think I got what I wanted out of participating, and that makes me happy. When I read Saipan Writer's blog I feel like I'm helping her meet her goal, too, which was to write a blog.
In response to Chris Baty's email I posted this response to the forum:
My goal was titled "Saying no to paid work."
Indeed, I did and I volunteered several places, including a small food pantry. When the program coordinator gave her notice at the beginning of May, the director asked me if I would be interested in taking over the position on an interim basis for several months while the food bank would be going through some major transitions. I said yes, and when the interim period ended, I was offered the position "for real." I said yes again.
Working at the food bank is hard physical work but oh so fulfilling, usually fun, and interesting. And if I hadn't started the Big Fun Scary thing of not working for pay I wouldn't have wound up with this great job that I love.
PS Unrelated to this, I resolved I would write every day in 2007 and on day 266 [yesterday] I think I'm having about a 95% - plus success rate so far.
The Universe works in strange ways.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Two Posts
Humble Pie
Saturday, September 23
We went to Salsa Under the Stars tonight, meeting some friends and friends of theirs for salsa with live bands at Jack London Square. Given the rain this morning, and the fact that Jack London Square is right on the water, I thought it would be cold but actually it was quite nice. The dance floor was pitifully small, even for salsa, especially at a free event, but the Square has a big flat concrete design in the center that a lot of people used for a dance floor.
It's been awhile since Zirpu and I danced and we were definitely out of practice. We didn't really remember steps that we used to know well. The dancing surface was a little sticky, and the shoes I was wearing (not dance shoes) have stretched out so they don't stick on my heels, making spins difficult.
Of course there were some good salseros there, and lots of different styles being danced, as well as some not-salsa being danced. I felt clumsy and uncertain most of the night, and though a woman commented to Zirpu that he was a good dancer, I didn't feel like I was dancing very well. Not that it matters when you're dancing for fun, and I did have fun.
Hot Dog!
Sunday, September 24
I stopped eating hot dogs when I was eight. I don't remember why, but it probably had something to do with hearing that hot dogs were made out of pig snouts and ears. I stopped eating baloney then too, which makes sense since baloney is really like a flattened hot dog (in fact, No used to eat baloney sandwiches with ketchup). I even refused a hot dog at a time when I knew I was being a pain in the butt by insisting on cheese for my bun instead.
The only exception to my no-hot dog rule involved grills. On the stovetop at home, we cooked hot dogs in boiling water rather than other ways. However, if someone was grilling hot dogs I would eat one if it was burnt black and crunchy and if there was was mustard. I like my marshmallows toasted golden but if the hot dog was red I would ask to have it put back on the grill. More often I would opt for a hamburger, if they were offered. I still like hamburgers better but now and then I crave that weird hot dog taste. I think it's the nitrates.
I didn't eat hot dogs for eighteen years. I started eating them, and baloney, again when I was working at Harry's Mother. One night one of my fellow res counselors fried up hot dogs in butter on a pancake grill for dinner for the clients. The browned hot dogs looked promising so I tried one, and am back eating hot dogs from time to time. I prefer them grilled, but I don't require that they be burnt to a crisp. I still like lots of mustard on my dogs and my baloney sandwiches could be considered a mustard delivery system more than anything else.
I am into beef hot dogs, and not all those fancy-pants sausages: Chicken and apple sausage? Please! Those are for breakfast! The former Program Coordinator at the food bank loved hot dogs with lots and lots of ketchup, and she introduced me to some dogs from Trader Joe's (I could recognize the label but I don't remember the brand). On the occasions when I buy hot dogs, it's usually Hebrew National, but usually Nathan's and back east there's a brand called Kahn's which is also good but unfortunately unavailable out here.
At this time we have two bottles of interesting mustards in the fridge: A Jack Daniel's Southwestern mustard I found at Mom's and a (an?) habanero garlic mustard from a local firm. I'm planning to pick up some hot dogs for some mustard eating. Zirpu has the final word on hot dogs and baloney: "It's a random food to eat, once in a while."
Saturday, September 23
We went to Salsa Under the Stars tonight, meeting some friends and friends of theirs for salsa with live bands at Jack London Square. Given the rain this morning, and the fact that Jack London Square is right on the water, I thought it would be cold but actually it was quite nice. The dance floor was pitifully small, even for salsa, especially at a free event, but the Square has a big flat concrete design in the center that a lot of people used for a dance floor.
It's been awhile since Zirpu and I danced and we were definitely out of practice. We didn't really remember steps that we used to know well. The dancing surface was a little sticky, and the shoes I was wearing (not dance shoes) have stretched out so they don't stick on my heels, making spins difficult.
Of course there were some good salseros there, and lots of different styles being danced, as well as some not-salsa being danced. I felt clumsy and uncertain most of the night, and though a woman commented to Zirpu that he was a good dancer, I didn't feel like I was dancing very well. Not that it matters when you're dancing for fun, and I did have fun.
Hot Dog!
Sunday, September 24
I stopped eating hot dogs when I was eight. I don't remember why, but it probably had something to do with hearing that hot dogs were made out of pig snouts and ears. I stopped eating baloney then too, which makes sense since baloney is really like a flattened hot dog (in fact, No used to eat baloney sandwiches with ketchup). I even refused a hot dog at a time when I knew I was being a pain in the butt by insisting on cheese for my bun instead.
The only exception to my no-hot dog rule involved grills. On the stovetop at home, we cooked hot dogs in boiling water rather than other ways. However, if someone was grilling hot dogs I would eat one if it was burnt black and crunchy and if there was was mustard. I like my marshmallows toasted golden but if the hot dog was red I would ask to have it put back on the grill. More often I would opt for a hamburger, if they were offered. I still like hamburgers better but now and then I crave that weird hot dog taste. I think it's the nitrates.
I didn't eat hot dogs for eighteen years. I started eating them, and baloney, again when I was working at Harry's Mother. One night one of my fellow res counselors fried up hot dogs in butter on a pancake grill for dinner for the clients. The browned hot dogs looked promising so I tried one, and am back eating hot dogs from time to time. I prefer them grilled, but I don't require that they be burnt to a crisp. I still like lots of mustard on my dogs and my baloney sandwiches could be considered a mustard delivery system more than anything else.
I am into beef hot dogs, and not all those fancy-pants sausages: Chicken and apple sausage? Please! Those are for breakfast! The former Program Coordinator at the food bank loved hot dogs with lots and lots of ketchup, and she introduced me to some dogs from Trader Joe's (I could recognize the label but I don't remember the brand). On the occasions when I buy hot dogs, it's usually Hebrew National, but usually Nathan's and back east there's a brand called Kahn's which is also good but unfortunately unavailable out here.
At this time we have two bottles of interesting mustards in the fridge: A Jack Daniel's Southwestern mustard I found at Mom's and a (an?) habanero garlic mustard from a local firm. I'm planning to pick up some hot dogs for some mustard eating. Zirpu has the final word on hot dogs and baloney: "It's a random food to eat, once in a while."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
