soap and water

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…

yet another christmas has come and gone. my mini-vacation to miami now seems like a distant memory. i wish the same could be said about the extra pounds i put on. i basically ate my way through the holiday. cookies, candy, snacks, soda, etc. all found their way into my belly. it's serious diet/exercise time for this little piggy.



my time in florida definitely flew by, but it was a great trip all around. it was nice to be surrounded by family. i think that deep down it was something that i very much needed. it's always great to get away and forgot about all the little things that are bothering you and that's just what i did. hopefully, having that time with family will snap me out of this permanent funk i seem to be in.



most of the my time was spent inside with family. we played games, talked, ate, ate, ate, etc. we did go on a few outings: long key nature center, ikea, & the young at art museum. my sister and i went to the beach for a nice stroll down the boardwalk. the weather was perfect although a bit windy. we grabbed a drink at a bar and people watched. there are some truly interesting outfits happening beach side. it was nice to simply relax and stare out at the water.



i spent a lot of time entertaining the little ones. i actually quite enjoyed it since i'm not able to see them that often. they are definitely a handful. each with their own little personality. even when they are being slightly naughty, they're still adorable. it's that innocence they exude. at times it was hard for me not to laugh.



on day one, miss morgan kept telling me how much she loved me. by day two, it had faded. hehe. i couldn't believe half the things that came out of her mouth. the first thing she said to me when she saw me was, "you have girl hair. it's all crinkly." on christmas morning after opening a present, she had this to say, "i never asked for that." priceless. it amazes me how children come up with this stuff. she is definitely the queen of quotes. my all time favorite was this one: "googa is a bad word". it's not just the quotes, but the delivery of them. she always had a modelesque pose. we worked on her poses. i think she has the makings of a future top model. heidi look out.



davis is your typical boy for he's always finding trouble or is it that trouble is searching him out. he likes to push boundaries but then again who didn't at that age. his new thing this year was making the peace sign every time i took his picture. has he been looking at my korea photos? i tried to asked him where he picked that up from but he remained silent. it took all my effort to persuade him not to do it in every photo. davis is definitely mommies little helper. out of all them he's always in the thick of things. he assisted my sister in making the pumpkin cheesecake which was very good and he even vacuumed using the dust buster. he's full of questions and doesn't hesitate to ask you things over and over again. what a bright little guy.



little paige—what do i say about a true princess. she sure does love her stuffed animals and television. i'm not sure how she keeps track of all of their names. paige has a flare for the dramatics. a definite actress in the making. by far her favorite thing to say is, "i never get to...". then has a little tantrum and seconds later is back to her sweet little self. she's a cuddlier. anytime i was on the sofa lying down, she'd lay right next to me. what a sweety. she's also the budding artist. she loves to draw and make things. she made me a charm braclet. how sweet is that!



what else can i say. there was no family drama or bs. it was only filled with fun times. now, that's the way it should be. i'm glad i had the opportunity to get there. i think i would have been even more depressed if i hadn't. i'm looking forward to many more fun-filled family days. perhaps there will even be a holiday at the beach...



the flights there and back were pretty uneventful. i had to rush to my connecting flight on the way to miami. on the return flight i got stuck between a grandma and her grandson. not sure how that happened but neither one seemed to mind. i spoke with the grandma from wyoming for a little bit. they had just been on a caribbean cruise. how fun does that sound. on the last leg on my journey i got seated next to a couple and their baby. i think he could immediately see my dread because the first thing he said was that the baby doesn't cry much. and he was right. just where will i end up next is any one's else.

stay gold & be well…

holiday photos are here

p.s. i had chick-fil-a twice! double yum!

the man in the long black coat

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…

ummm...there was a baby in my classroom today. no, i didn't make a typing error. there really was. has anyone ever tried to teach with a month old baby in their class? it's very distracting. i will give him credit, he didn't cry that much. although, it was quite distracting watching the mom get up every five minutes to keep the baby quiet. not sure if the baby will be making an appearance tomorrow. i think this is a first for my school. this class could end up being quite interesting. just where will i end up next is any one's guess.

stay gold & be well…

p.s. my florida vacation post & pictures are coming soon

little drummer boy

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list...


just where will i end up next is any one's guess.

stay gold & be well...

myxomatosis

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…

cookies to the right of me. cookies to the left of me. cookies everywhere which can mean only one thing—cookie party! who doesn't love cookie parties. the holiday season is great because it allows us to do the one thing in life that makes us all happy which is excess eating. i think i ate enough cookies to last me well into 2009. last night pevil & mrs. b hosted a cookie exchange. there were tons of delicious cookies, wine, and good peeps. we even had our own project runway in the form of a cookie decorating contests. sadly, my babies didn't make the cut. personally, i think that were so cookie forward that no one knew what to say about them. they came as a set: punk rock baby, his trendy girlfriend, & cracked out cookie. here they are in all their glory.



we ended the evening with a white elephant gift exchange. i was lucky [or not so lucky] to be in the number three position. the lovely gift i selected was a tic-tac-toe shot glass set that came with its own cocaine mirror. oh, how i simply love 80s decor. it didn't take us long to bust out the set and put it use. i worked my gift hard. so hard in fact that mrs. b stole my lovely tic-tac-toe shot glass set. sadness. that left me to select gift number two which ended up being guatelmalan tchotchke. it was a bus with fruits and what appeared to be a turtle on top. i called it chi chi since that was painted on the side. nobody wanted chi chi so i was stuck with it. the "best" gift by far was the giant cat picture book. seriously, who buys a book that big. thanks again to pevil & mrs. b for being fabulous hostess. can't wait til next year.

tomorrow, i'm setting off for florida. it'll be a full day of flying which i'm so not looking forward to. i just saw an article on yahoo about a plane that caught fire at the denver airport. guess where i'm flying into—denver. hopefully, my flight will go smoothly. keep your fingers crossed. just where will i end up next is any one's guess.

stay gold & be well…

cookie party pics are here

boom chickaboom

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…

november's photo theme is ready for your viewing pleasure. there's a lot of great portraits. check it out here. just where will i end up next is any one's guess.

stay gold & be well…

heart-shaped box

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…

i'm going to begin this post with a rant: enough with the flip-flops already, people! in case you haven't figured it out, it's wintertime. it kills me when i see someone in a pair of dress pants, hat, scarf, jacket and they're sporting flip-flops. meanwhile, i'm wearing a freaking parka. i'm tired of seeing people's grubby red toes peeking out at me on my way to work. save the flip-flops for summer, wear something sensible. whew, that felt good.

so, the other day i was riding the balboa bus home when some guy, who's got the whole waist of his pants down by his ankles look going on, sits in front of me. he immediately pulls out a tiny bottle of whiskey and downs it. instead of putting the empty bottle in his bag, he opens up the window tossing it onto the street. he sits back down and pulls out a strand of gold caps and places them on his front teeth as if he was trying to impress us. with that, he leans back in his seat and proceeds to slide his hand down his pants just like al bundy. really!

i do love the characters one encounters while riding public transportation. however, i'm beginning to hate those people who insist on standing in front of the door and act like its a hassle for them to move when you try to exit.

on sunday, i battled the elements and made my way to el rio via butterbean's cars to attend the bay area rock girls benefit. misty helped with the event so i felt it was important to come out and show my support. because girls do rock! i haven't been to el rio in ages. it used to be one of my haunts back in the day at j.a.b. the turnout wasn't too bad for a cold, rainy sunday night. i did discover my new favorite girl band—megamoog. they were so adorable! although she did look a bit frightened. they had a very cutesy felt sign with their name on it. i'd definitely check them out again.

i was lucky to see butterbean twice this weekend. she stopped by after her haircut on saturday. we chatted for a bit in my apartment then made our way out to clement street. since it was quite chilly out, it seemed only fitting to warm ourselves up with some good korean soup at the tofu house on 5th avenue. i'd never been there and was very curious to try it. the kimchi wasn't the greatest but the other sides and soup were delicious. just where will i end up next is any one's guess.

stay gold & be well…

west of the fields

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…

spent the day down in the mission district. my first stop: mission bazaar which was held at the armory. not one of the best bazaars i've been to. i was expecting more crafts on the cutesy side. this was one had mostly clothes. there were a couple of interesting vendors although their stuff was way out of my price range. my lighting bolt jacket seemed to be a hit. i got several compliments on it and someone even asked to take a picture of it. i'm sure the pattern will be appearing on their clothing in the near future.

afterwards, i strolled up & down valencia street searching out christmas goodies to no avail. in one shop, the clerk asked me if my watch had superpowers. i found some striped tube socks. the shop was selling them for $8 a pair. i had to pass on them. there were several d.i.y. shops along the sidewalks. i heard someone say that made pornoments one christmas. there was scary puppet thing on the street. i didn't like it at all. i saw some girl walk off with what looked like a velvet unicorn picture. on a pay phone i noticed this sticker:



it made me laugh. i realized i really do need to get more. there's lots of interesting things happening. its getting colder. i'm happy about that. i love cold weather. it gives me an excuse to bundle up. i like wearing scarves. getting my haircut tomorrow. hopefully, she won't screw it up. it's always a gamble getting it cut in my hood. just where will i end up next is any ones guess.

stay gold & be well…

bukowski

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…

i'm a clean plate kid. are you?















the day of the turkey has come and gone. it seems like only yesterday that i was having my first thanksgiving back in the states. i must admit that this year was a lot better for me than last year. i was still experiencing cultural shock back then. i don't remember being as social as i was yesterday. my morning started out a little hectic, as i scoured the streets of geary for balsamic vinegar. who knew it would be so hard. eventually, i found some at a russian market. my beet dish was saved. yay!

once again, misty had the gathering at her pad. there were eight of us this year. we started off the afternoon drinking wine and eating spinach dip [crack for the thirtysomething crowd]. i was quite tipsy before we even sat down to eat. it's a good thing i switched to water otherwise i probably would have been a mess. there was a ton of delicious food. everyone out did themselves with the dishes they prepared. i didn't want to stop eating but i had too or else i would have exploded. we ended the day by planting ourselves in front of the tv watching movies. what a perfect way to end a fabulous day with friends. just where will i end up next is any one's guess.

stay gold & be well…

until it happens to you

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…

on thursday night, i met up with misty at hotel des arts to attend brazilianizing 2008, a closer look at art from brazilians living in sf. it was a fundraiser for quan yin healing arts center, which is apparently in danger of losing their funding from the county. seeing that i'm all for a good cause & good art these days, i figured i should check it out. there was a lot of amazing art work there. art aligned the walls on all 5 floors of the hotel. i saw a lot of pieces that i would have loved to bought but with the recent economy and living paycheck to paycheck i figured that wasn't the smartest idea.

one of my favorite pieces:


the hotel, itself, is definitely worth checking out. i do believe the have ongoing exhibits. a majority of the rooms have been painted by artists. not only the inside but the outside door as well. there were quite a few rooms vacant that night so they had them open for the guests to check out. it's great to know that hip trendy places like this exist. i just might stay the night there for the hell of it. i do think it might be haunted. the hallway lights kept going on and off. spooky. here are some rooms:







i actually got to play tour guide this week. as you may recall, my trip with the students to the zoo got canceled last week. this weeks destination was—city hall. exciting, huh! i know you are all jealous. i was slightly dreading it since i had no clue as to what to say about city hall except that i saw rosie o'donnell get married there. fortunately, the student coordinator created a scavenger hunt for the them so there was no need for me worry. well, until i found out she didn't create an answer sheet which meant i had to participate in the hunt as well. before i left her exact words were, "don't worry it'll be super easy". yeah, not so much. it took me forever to finish and i didn't even get them all correct. oopsies. there were about 15 students who went on the activity. i divided them into pairs and told them it was a race. they had an hour an half to complete the list of questions and hand them in to me. the race concept sort of fell flat. they all handed them in at the same time. go figure. overall, the scavenger hunt seemed to be a success. even though some of them didn't find all the answers they had a good time trying.

my new favorite quote of the week comes from top chef's fabio. for their quick fire challenge they had to make hot dogs. here's what he had to say, "i love hot dog. do i know how make hot dog? no. i make sausage." just where will i end up next is any one's else.

stay gold & be well…

jen nothing matters to me

deery-lou.
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today i found myself stepping out of my political wallflower motif and heading downtown to take part in "join the impact: prop 8 protest". we couldn't have asked for better weather. it was 80 degrees which must have been a record for the middle of november in sf. i literally felt as if i was melting. reminded me of days spent in florida. the turnout was fantastic. so many people: young, old, gay, straight, men, women, people of all races,etc. it was a really get feeling seeing people come together and show their support. while at the rally, i ran into some peeps that i haven't seen for some time. that was cool. afterwards, we grabbed some lunch [standing in the sun makes you hungry] and then headed to the pilsner for a few beers. i must admit it was nice spending the day outside. i must remember to do more of that. just where will i end up next is any one's else.

stay gold & be well…

p.s. be sure to check out the photos. i found superman's home.

prop 8 protest pictures are here

earthworm

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…

i had to drive a mini-van this past weekend. enough said…
on a brighter note, i've started my christmas shopping. shopping is f.u.n!

stay gold & be well…

mississippi kite

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…

we welcomed november with rain. i must admit i love rainy days, especially when you don't have to go anywhere. the rain always makes me think of the past. the most prominent memory i have is of the summer thunderstorms in florida. i used to love sitting on our back porch listening to it hit the roof. there's also the time when i was living in athens, ga, that my friend & i went outside to sit in the pouring rain. i still remember how refreshing it felt on such a hot summer's day. granted, i don't enjoy it as much if i have to be out running around but then again who does. there's just something about rain that i find so comforting. it is the best sleeping/being lazy weather afterall.

so, yesterday was halloween. this is the one time of year i miss living in new england. fall is beautiful there. it's just not the same in sf. on friday, we had a halloween party for our students. all week i was trying to encourage them to wear a costume which definitely proved to be a chore. most of them seemed to embarrassed at the thought of dressing up. i was actually surprised when most of my students in my morning class came in costume. the school held a costume contest as well as a pumpkin carving contest. the students appeared to be enjoying themselves. i left during the pumpkin carving, so i'm not sure how that turned out. the top three winners of the costume contest were: caesar, a mad scientist, & dracula.

my morning class

that night was d&j's halloween party. their house looked amazing! they definitely went all out. walking up the stairs into their apartment, it was completely covered in black plastic. to add to the spookiness, the theme from halloween played in the background. there were also themed rooms: the spider den, the classic kitchen, & the enchanted forest/graveyard. the cast of characters included: sarah palin [x3], a priest, ethel mermain in a swimsuit, some devils, a cracked out ronald mcdonald, etc. it was good times. i think i finally got home around 2 am. that's late for me. it definitely made up for not doing anything last year. hurray, for halloween parties.


unicorn from the future


the spider & emily strange


in my last post i mentioned "another" job. it seems i might have jumped the gun in mentioning it. since that post i've left that job. sometimes things simply don't work out. just where will i end up next is any one's guess.

stay gold & be well…

pics from school are here
pics from d&j's are here

stay gold & be well…

how to bring a blush to the snow

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…

i'm baaaack! took a wee bit of a break from writing. started a second job so haven't felt compelled to blog. ok, i can't blame it entirely on the job—i got lazy. surprise, surprise. in all honesty not much has been happening in my life since the last time. i've been keeping a low profile for no apparent reason. still looking for my mojo but won't bore you all with that same old story. anyway, here's a list of things i never blogged about: barak n roll, brunch with friends, drag saturday [where we got squirted by a vagina], the spider web song, decorating the haunted mansion, grease 2 songs on the corner, sweet sensations with shane, crazy lady singing a rape song on muni, the garage sale fundraiser, my "other" job, why i love cherry cider, etc. just where will i end up next is any one's guess.

stay gold & be well…

4 more days to halloween. do you have a costume yet?

fortune

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…

"gosh, batman, this camel grass juice is great." — robin, batman series
when i was younger i didn't want to be batman for halloween, i wanted to be robin. so my mom did what any mom would do, who couldn't find a robin costume, and made me one. it was my all time favorite halloween costume. since then, i've always had a soft spot for the sidekicks: robin, aqualad, arsenal, etc. even the comics i read reflected my attraction to the lesser heroes with such favorites as nightwing, the outsiders, the titans, young justic, etc. years later, i'd once again don a robin costume this time making it myself. so it comes to no surprise that i got completely excited with the thought of a possible tv series based on dick grayson's early years. it seems that many out there see this as a bad idea, however, i'm keeping an open mind. it's about time the sidekicks have their day. check the story out here. just where will i end up next is any one's guess.

stay gold & be well…

wonders never cease

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…

a caught a bug this week. something has been going around school so i guess it was inevitable. please don't hate for my late postings, i'm doing my best to stay on top of it all. now that all of that is out of the way, let's get down to business. last weekend i went to concord to hang with huegel & his family. it was nice to kick back poolside with an old high school friend. his boys are growing like weeds and asking a million questions as children often do. lachlin took to me immediately but it took his brother a good couple of hours before he'd even look at me.





on saturday, we had a mini picnic at the concord vietnam memorial. the weather was absolutely gorgeous. most of the time was spent chasing the yellow ball down the hill. back at the huegel ranch, it was pool time. scott, heather, & i chilled out in the backyard while the boys slept. we drank pina coladas. it was just like being on vacation. that night scott took me to "the wc" aka the creek, or simply downtown walnut creek. on our way to the bar we heard this gem of a conversation that summarize "dtwc": "hey, i know the gay bartender at chili's. we can get some free shots." and then while at some random redneck bar we heard yet another conversation about the gays. this one involved some guy who sells motorcycles and pretends to flirt with the men in order to sell stuff. the girl in their group then mentioned the eagle tavern and he replied by saying it wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't so gay. he went on to mention the trough in the bathroom with mirrors. sigh…



sunday after breakfast, we piled into the car and headed off for briones park to take a mini hike. it was a hot one. everything was so dry. it felt good to be out in nature. we picked a spot to rest that was surrounded by cow dung. apparently, cows roam these parts although i didn't see any. i decided to nickname the place poo poo mountain. scott & i invented a new game that day called poo poo golf. the boys loved it. just where will i end up next is any one's guess. oxox

stay gold & be well…

photos from the weekend can be view here

reveal

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…

well, another month has passed us by which can only mean one thing: another photo theme has been completed. september's theme was music. it proved to be a bit harder than i expected. overall, there were some great shots in the bunch. check them out here. if you want to see the rest of my music photos that didn't make the cut go here. just where will i end up next is any one's guess.

stay gold & be well…

spaceman

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…

be sure to check out the new and improved shot&scrawled site, the photography & writing of j.ethan. most of you have probably already read what was on there previously. it's still all there, just a new format. if you haven't, what's stopping you. the most recent addition to the site is korail monitors, my photo project of the subway monitors in korea. let me know your thoughts. just where will i end up next is any one's guess.

stay gold & be well…

a fine romance

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…

i had myself a pretty uneventful weekend. most of it was spent catching up on some much needed sleep. i've been filling in for my boss this week which meant twice as much work and longer hours. it's great for the paycheck but i felt exhausted all week. one more week to go, then it's back to normal. hopefully, this coming week won't be as bad. i had to listen to several students complain about their teachers and classes. and of course, none of them liked the answers i gave them. oh well. i am the boss after all. hehe

i did manage to get out saturday night and attend jojo's heaven or hell birthday bash. you can always count on his parties have delicious food. the rest of my time was spent uploading photos from time in korea to flickr. i can happily say it's all done. YAY! tonight, i'm going to do nothing except veg-out in front of the tv watching the emmy's. yeah, i'm a geek that way. just where will i end up next is any one's guess.

stay gold & be well…

sailing song

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…

on thursday, i took my toefl class out for a picnic in the park. we were celebrating their successful completion of the class. i don't envy anyone who has to take that class. as a teacher and a native speaker, i found it quite difficult to get through the material. mostly due to the boring subject matter of all the listening passages. it's all academic based. snore! trying to make the class interesting for the students was always a challenge. by the end of the semster, the class had dropped from ten students to three. so with the three that were left, i got pretty close with them. it was kind of sad to have to say goodbye to them. two of them, toi & sohee, i had taught in level 4 and were heading back to korea. the other student, daniel, is transferring to another school. it was nice to be able to get to know them a little better outside of class. i wish them all the best. just where will i end up next is any one's guess.

stay gold & be well…

brinx job

deery-lou.
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misty had a small gather at her house for dim sum & champagne on sunday to celebrate her birthday. i was so excited when sunday finally arrived. all week long, clement street did her best to tempt me with the many dumplings & other goodies that fill the storefront windows. however, i was strong and held my own knowing that on sunday i would be gorging on many of them. figuring we needed something sweet, i decided to make banana pudding which from here on out will be referred to as "nana puddin". i gained 15 pounds by just making it; afterall, it consisted of: cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, pudding mix, whipped cream, & nilla waffers. let's just say i'm surprised i didn't bust into the nana puddin pre-party. if i do say so myself, it was quite freakin delicious. i ate three bowls and could have kept going. later on that night, i would find myself in a sugar coma. damn you nana puddin for being soooooo good. just where will i end up next is anyone's guess.

stay gold & be well…

for misty's birthday photos go here

dedicated to the one i love

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…

within five months, i've been to the golden gate bridge twice now. yes, that's right, yours truly got roped into taking a new group of students on the ggb field trip last friday. to mix it up a bit, we stopped off at the palace of fine arts. this group only consisted of 4 students [2 japanese, 2 koreans]. it was much more manageable than the group of 26 i had the last time. the two koreans students [erin & tom] were very chatty, especially for new students. miki & seiko, who have been at our school for awhile were still very quiet. it's like pulling teeth getting those two to speak. needless to say, i was quite happy to have tom & erin in the group. i commended them both for their use of english. even amongst each other they spoke in english. before we even left, erin mentioned that she had heard good things about me and wanted me to be her teacher. how sweet. that made me feel good. it's nice to know some of the students think highly of me, sometimes it's so hard to tell with them. erin's a screaming. with every new experience she has, she yells out in excitement. she's quite dramatic. she yelled when she heard i lived in korea. again, when she found out i was a graphic designer. and once again, when she saw a duck. it was actually quite comical. you could tell that both erin & tom were taking in everything they saw with an awe of excitement. it was great seeing things through their eyes. i look forward to more field trips as long as the two of them are there. just where will i end up next is any one's guess. stay tuned for more.

stay gold & be well…

photos from palace of fine arts/golden gate bridge are here

show room dummies

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…

august's photo theme is ready for your viewing pleasure.
2o yellow, 30 days



to see my photos which didn't make the cut go here

also, because i forgot be sure to check out july's theme if you haven't already
20 windows, 30 days

stay gold & be well…

don't push

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…

road trip! who doesn't love a road trip, no matter where it takes you? just the notion of getting into a car and leaving the city behind is always good for the soul. that's what misty, dj-bagel, butter bean, and yours truly did on monday. our destination: pescadero, to get ourselves some half artichoke/half green chile soup & some pie at duarte's tavern. both butter bean & i had been there before but it was the first time for dj-bagel & misty. it couldn't have been a better day for a drive to the coast. the sun was shining brightly and the temperature was oh so right.

while we were waiting for a table, we strolled around town taking photos. dj-bagel discovered some piping hot [and i mean piping hot] artichoke & garlic bread at a nearby country store and didn't hesitate to purchase some. ok–hi, best bread ever! it was magically delicious. i could have eaten the entire loaf myself. it was good thing we had to head back to the restaurant, otherwise i would have. the soup as always was awesome. the rest of my meal not so much. i think in the future i'll stick to just soup & pie. i ended up getting a slice of blueberry pie to eat later at home. it was like a little slice of heaven. the only thing missing was a pile of ice cream. next time for sure.



after lunch, we ventured through town some more with our camera on the ready. besides coming here for lunch, we were testing out a new photo idea we had in mind. we found a nearby cemetery where we spent most of our time. i couldn't believe how alive i felt outside. the warm, dry heat penetrated right to my soul. perhaps i'm more of a florida boy than i care to imagine. on our way home, we stopped at an overpass to look out at the ocean. the view was magnificent. we also stumbled upon a straw maze and for a second were tempted to go inside but didn't.

saturday night misty & i grabbed some dinner at be my guest, a thai restaurant, in our hood. i had the most delicious chicken stew soup i've ever had. from there we headed to the rickshaw where dj-bagel was working it. we stayed for the first band then called it quits. there were so many youngsters out and about. its been forever since i went to a gig and now i know why. i'm getting too old. hehe

karen & me

my friend, karen, was in town from orlando with her mom. she managed to squeezed me into her busy sight-seeing schedule and we got to meet up for drinks on sunday. we ended up at bigfoot lodge on polk street. emily came in from the east bay to join us. i hadn't been there in years. apparently, it's become the new hipster spot in that area. we stayed for a few rounds then made our way to the cinch where the bartender asked me for my id. as if i really look that young. perhaps he was trying to get a little something-something from me. seriously though, it takes a lot more than that. our time with dear karen was far too short. it was so great to see her though. it was as if no time had passed. while we were kicking them back at the cinch, kiki & her gal came sauntering in. i was so excited to see them. of all the places to be, they just so happened to choose the same spot as us. it was my lucky night. they joined us and the rest of the evening was spent drinking & chatting. where will i show up next? or will i venture out again? your guess is as good as mine. stay tuned for me more.

stay gold & be well…

pescadero photos here

say aha

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…

ya hala! on sunday i ventured out meeting up with some work peeps to attend ya hala: the 14th annual arab cultural festival. i had never been to an arab festival before so i figured what the hell i'm up for something new. the fact that it was being held at the county fair building in golden gate park which is close to my apartment was an added bonus. i had high hopes; however, i can't say that this was one of the better festivals that sf has to offer. besides being quite small [strike 1], they were charging a $6 admission fee [strike two]. i understand it was probably covering the cost to rent the space but there should never be an admission fee for a festival and if there is keep it to a dollar. spending anything more leads me to expect quite a bit. unfortunately, this was not the case since it was quite lacking with only a few booths. unless you were there to see the music/performances it was anything but stellar. there were only two food vendors [one of which only sold crepes] with the longest lines i've ever seen at a festival. i will say this about it, the falafel i had was pretty damn tasty. i was basically done with the festival 10 minutes after i arrived. since i didn't want to seem rude, i managed to hang out for a couple of hours hiding the anguish that was building up inside. until next time…

stay gold & be well…

devil in my car

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…

it started out simple enough. a few photos from high school posted on facebook by a friend. that prompted me to bust out my old albums and upload the photos i had. which in turn lead to another friend to post some photos, then another, and another, and another, etc. now, with pandora's box having been opened there's no stopping, i've become a man obsessed with scanning the past. three albums down and a whole lot more to go. the trip down memory lane has been somewhat bittersweet, especially when seeing those faces of friends who have since passed on. with each page i turned, i am transported to the past: high school, boston, europe, etc. as i looked through album after album, i couldn't help but notice how happy everyone seemed, including myself. this made me reflect on life now and how mundane it feels. i'm beginning to wonder if i'm bored with life or simply just bored with sf. lately, i've become quite content to stay home. i don't feel the need to do anything or go anywhere. my motivation has left the building. where did my creative energy go? did i forget to pack it when i returned from korea? as much as i try to ignite it, it always seems to burn out. i keep looking for that spark, but have yet to find it. i'm not quite sure if revisiting the past was such a good idea. it has made me yearn for those days when life was so carefree. i can't help but wonder if i've hit that point in our lives when we start to question everything. wondering if the choices we made were the right ones. i can't help but to look at the faces of strangers around me and wonder if they are truly happy. or, are they simply going through the motion. appearance is a funny thing. we can make others see exactly what we want them to. i've always imagined that i'd been in a different space than where i am now. i'm not quite sure where i veered off the path, but i did. the trick now is to find the one that leads me back. i am now a boy in search of himself. until next time…

stay gold & be well…

broken chairs

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…

our final holiday groups from france & japan started this week. don't really foresee any problems with this group. there is one french student who keeps testing me, but i'm up for the challenge. the biggest problem is getting the two japanese students to speak up more. i think they are a bit shy amongst all the french students. hopefully, i'll have some interesting tales to tell as the weeks progress. keep your fingers crossed.

my weekend was pretty lackluster. i'm starting to think i've lost my mojo. has anyone seen it? i might have to spend some time trying to relocate it. i did manage to force myself out of the house thanks to misty's help. she called asking if i'd be her shopping guru. she needed to find a dress for an upcoming wedding she was attending. hi! i so in! i literally threw on some clothes, ran some product through my hair, and was ready to go in minutes. we were quite surprised to find downtown busy as hell at 11 am. don't people sleep in anymore? our first stop was the dreaded west field mall. malls always give me flashbacks to my youth in altamonte springs, since we always hung out there. the upper floors of the mall weren't too bad. we were able to weave in and out of stores with no problems. misty found her "perfect" dress within the confines of the mall. score!

it wasn't until we headed down to the food court that we realized just how many people were at the freakin mall. can you say, PACKED! maneuvering around the fc was like playing human frogger. step. stop. 2 steps, stop, etc. it was filled with the sound of chair legs being dragged across the floor. i watched one woman pass by the guy handing out free calamari 10 times. with each pass she took some samples. being down there made me want to scream. or in the very least wanting to push someone.

we made our exit from fc hell and headed out to the bustling streets of union square. our next mission: shoes. we stopped in h&m because i wanted to see if they had any jackets. the shopping gods must have been with me. i found an awesome short, black, trench coatesque jacket. and there was one left in my size. happy birthday to me! i also purchased a pair of jeans and some boxers. oops. now you all know the kind of undergarments i wear. hehe. after a brief stop in aldo where misty tried on some stripper shoes, we decided it was coffee time. yeah, iced coffee!

as the day went on, more and more people seemed to fill the streets. there were a few things left on misty's list to do, however, she decided to call it quits. we both had had enough of downtown on a saturday. while walking back to the car, i couldn't help but notice the long line for the trolley which made realize that i've never ridden it. i've been in sf for over 5 years and have yet to experience the joy of the trolley. will have to put that on my list of things to do.

today, i got a very unexpected call from pevil. her and mrs. b were in the hood and asked me to join them for lunch at the tofu house. how could i resist. there's nothing better than good company & good korean food. i had not seen them since pride, so it was great to play catch up. those girls are busy, busy, busy.

i borrowed a book from butterbean a few weeks ago called a gorgeous sense of hope: a love fable. i just finished it and i must say, "i l.o.v.e.d. it!" the message was quite inspiring and the illustrations are super cute. books like this make me happy. so on this note i'll end my post here. happy sunday to all! until next time.

stay gold & be well…

fixer

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…

oh, the things one finds in their classroom. while cleaning up the other day, i discovered the results from the sentence game that one of the classes had played. it's too good to keep to myself so i thought i'd share it with you. not sure which class it's from. i'm assuming it was from the holiday groups. anyway, here you go. [i'm typing it exactly as it appears]

Yesterday, I went to the park and I saw a Butterfly and a lot of squirrels.
But while I was staring at them someone taught [not really sure about this word but it looked like a t] me.
and i was very happy
because I like nature
and everything about animals, but suddenly one of the butterfly bite me.
I was very sad because I like them, so I decided to kill them,
but before my mother said me: don't kill the butterfly because is really beautiful, and i was angry.
So now, I'm doing a secret plan to kill all of the butterfly.
You know, be careful, I'm very dangerous, I'm butterman!

stay gold & be well…

edge of seventeen

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…

muni conversation 154
subjects: 3 female [either high school students or college, who can really tell these days]
route: line 5 [from downtown to inner richmond]

unfortunately, i don't have any direct dialogue from these ladies. i didn't catch wind of their conversation until my ipod had stopped playing. normally, i try to jot down what i heard but it's been a couple of days and of lot of it has escaped me. i am constantly amazed at the amount of people that feel the need to have phone conversations and personal conversation on the bus. granted, i know we all have them, but there are ways to carry on a conversation without everyone on the bus hearing. it's the need to talk at full volume which grates on my nerve. personally, i don't care to hear what you need to buy at the store, or what you watched last night. if you are planning to converse so that all can hear, at least be talking about something interesting.

case in point, the three ladies mentioned above. i couldn't see any of them because the bus was extremely crowded. all i know is that they were somewhat close to me. they first grabbed my attention because they were talking about being bi. two of the three claimed to be so. one girl was talking about how her mother was bi. this lead to the other to start inquiring about her mom as if she wanted to met her. the other mentioned how she has a gay cousin and was surprised that no one caught on to her being bi since she bonded with her cousin. then they started talking about a girl in their class who was bi. this eventually lead into a discussion about gay people and how they love them so. the one girl literally yelled out, "gay people are so cool. i love them."

once they finished discussing the gays, they moved on to gang banging. apparently, all three of them are gang bangers. they went on to discuss which gangs their boyfriends belonged to and so forth. one of them seemed to have dated members from each gang mentioned [bloods, crips, etc.] and was comparing them. that's really all i heard. they got off the bus during their gang banger debate. i must say, it was all quite entertaining. if every one's conversation was this interesting, i wouldn't mind the public conversations so much. sadly, it's not always the case. anyway…stay tuned for more enlightening tells from muni.

stay gold & be well…

clara bow

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…

leather, chaps, & jockstraps—just another night at the eagle tavern. i might not have attended my 20th high school reunion, which took place last weekend, but i did manage to have my own mini-reunion with a friend i haven't seen in twenty years on friday. emily [aka chrissy] & i reconnected on facebook about a month ago and finally set a date to catch up. since i hadn't been out in ages it seemed only fitting to go to my favorite watering hole—the eagle tavern. it was so great to see emily after all these years. it was almost as if no time had passed.

i learned that she had been in sf for almost 15 years. all this time i had thought she was either in los angeles or san diego. who knew. i came to find out that she lived in neither of those places. so much for idle gossip. it's amazing that we never ran into each other before, especially since we seemed to frequent the same spots. oh well, the past is the past. now, we have the opportunity to once again hang out which i'm sure we will. we had an added bonus that night seeing that it was the sf daddy's boy competition at the eagle. the men were out in full force deck out in their finest. my favorite outfit of the night was the guy in the leather vest, jockstrap, & boots. we came to the conclusion that jockstraps don't really accentuate the butt.

i spent yesterday cleaning my apartment. exciting, i know, but it was in dire need. why is that cleaning seems like such a chore. i don't really mind the sweeping and dusting. it's the scrubbing of the bathroom i despise the most. at least it over and done with until next time. what's in store for me today? haven't a clue. hopefully, it'll be something fun.

stay gold & be well…

remember

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…

my weekend was predominately spent in golden gate park. d & i went to the zinefest held at the county fair building in ggp. there were quiet a few vendors there selling various types of zines, art, etc. i bought a handmade sketch book from my friend rani. check out her site here. d bought a really cool print that had a pirate ship and two sea creatures. afterwards, we feasted on korean cuisine. once again we managed to order way too much food. the rest of my evening was spent catching up on all the bad tv i missed during the week.

i was up and out of my apartment by 9 this morning. misty, ted, & i met up with d & jojo in golden gate park to do the sf aids walk. it was truly amazing to see so many people out showing their support. part of the aids quilt was displayed. they also had an aids wall where people were encouraged to write a message. a lot of people wore t-shirts in memory of their friends/family who are no longer. people were pushing baby carriages, walking dogs, and cheering each other on. we walked 6 miles and at the end we got a certificate. we also scored an ice cream sandwich. delicious. when the walk was finished, we headed to giorgio's to chow on on pasta and pizza. food never tasted so good.



i saw the dark knight on friday. awesome! that's all i'm going to say on the matter.

aids walk photos here

stay gold & be well…

entropy

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…

it's amazing the conversations one hears when not listening to their ipod on the bus. the following takes place between two women on the 38 geary while i was heading home. i didn't actually see them until they were getting off. one was carrying a plastic cup that most likely contained her cocktail.

woman 1: you're from las vegas
woman 2: yes
woman 1: they have buses there.
woman 2: yes, cat buses.
woman 1: cat buses!
woman 2: yes
woman 1: they only let cats on them.
woman 2: no.
woman 1: cat buses, huh. i want to ride a cat bus.

slight pause in conversation then:

woman 1: you're from las vegas
woman 2: yes
woman 1: they have buses there.
woman 2: yes, cat buses.
woman 1: cat buses!
woman 2: yes
woman 1: they only let cats on them.
woman 2: no.
woman 1: cat buses, huh. i want to ride a cat bus.

this went on and on until they finally got off. as they were leaving they called each other "baby girl" and "mama". so want to hang with these ladies.

stay gold & be well…

cat claw

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…

june's photo theme is ready for viewing.
20 contrast, 30 days

to see my photos that didn't make the cut go here

stay gold & be well…

my baby

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…

the first annual gay pool party was held this weekend in concord hosted by the huegels. the inspiration for the gpp came last weekend while we were waiting to enter the frida exhibit. not exactly sure how it came about but it did. we arrived in concord around 3pm. we spent a few hours chatting, eating, and drinking; then it was time for swimming. the lady of the house had to attend a previous engagement so it was just us boys and lachlan. finn was lucky enough to venture off with his mom. it took little lachlan awhile to decide to join us in the big-boy pool but he finally did. even the dog joined in on the festivities. i tried to teach lachlan a few pivotal dance moves, but he wasn't having any of it. he was completely obsessed with throwing his transformer car into the water. oh, to be young again. the event came to an end around 7pm when we headed back to the city. looking forward to the next pool party. swimming is FUN!



more photos here

stay gold & be well…

subway

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…

fog, fireworks, & frida—that basically sums up my fourth of july weekend. it was quite foggy this weekend, especially in the inner richmond. i spent my fourth hauled up in my apartment watching bad tv. if only you knew the crap i watched. through the fog i could barely see the sky lighting up as the fireworks exploded.

on saturday i went with d & john to the frida exhibit at the sf moma. having the chance to see her artwork up close & personal was amazing. books and movies just doesn't do it justice. my favorite piece by far was "girl with death mask".


if you're in the bay area be sure to make some time and check out the exhibit. you won't be disappointed. before heading into the exhibit we stopped off at bear papa's. i got a vanilla cream puff. so freakin good. i couldn't have eaten a dozen but would have definitely hated myself for it. the museum was crowded. luckily d & john were members so we got to move to the head of the line. score! it's so great having friends in high places.

stay gold & be well…

static

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…

beers, queers, & cheers—pride weekend was in full swing. it's been awhile since my last pride festival: june 2004. in the past i've spent most of pride behind a booth trying to sell subscriptions, so it was a nice change to experience it as an on-looker. i met up with d & john downtown at around 10:30 am on sunday. the parade had just started. this was the first time i've seen the parade up close and personal. d was decked out in his bridal bear costume and was an instant hit. everyone wanted their photo taken with bridal bear. we were thinking about charging but never did. there were lots of children both scared and intrigued by bridal bear. one girl in particular with the curliest hair ever couldn't take her eyes off bb but didn't want to get too close. we made our way down the crowded sidewalk to the beginning of the parade. it was quite interesting to watch the behind the scenes action. everybody was in the spirit. i got to see margaret cho drive bye giving her best miss america wave. i hung out with bridal bear & john until 1 pm when i made my way to the bus station. before leaving i caught a glimpse of them marching with their float. so fun!



the next part of my day was spent at kate & suzanne's benefit/photo exhibit in mill valley. misty & i got there early to help them set up. they're gearing up to do some documentary work for glean. it was a great turnout. they each sold numerous pieces. how fabulous it was to see kate's work out on display as it should be. bravo to the both of you!



and that my friends was just the ending to my weekend. it all started on friday when i attended one of the frameline films, worldly affairs, with kiki. i'm so glad i had an opportunity to see these shorts. two of them were defintely great flicks: the postcard & you, me & him. the postcard was by far my favorite. it could be cuz i'm prejuidice when it comes to all things korean. the short was pretty amazing. it's great to see south koreans making queer films. it was both funny and heartfelt. if you have a chance to see this short do so. you won't regret it. the theater was packed which surprised me since it was 3pm. i forgot how much the gays love their films and how big of an event frameline really is. after the film i hung out with kiki for a bit before the other film started. she was staying for the 6pm film. i wandered off into the crowded castro streets to meet up with a friend. we had dinner and chilled out watching some tv. we caught a show, speed grapher, on ifc. it was an anime show and quite graphic. i wasn't quite sure what was going on since it was episode 17. i'll need to look into it.

saturday morning i woke up at the crack of dawn. not sure what that was about. watched an episode of my life on the d-list, then started my day which consisted of laundry, shopping, etc. misty, jojo, & i headed off to concord around 2pm for scott's birthday bash. the weather was awesome. i was putting away the chips & various other snacks like there was no tomorrow. scott grilled a variety of meats. the twins & other little ones were running around wild. beer was definitely consumed. all around a great way to spend an afternoon. we left around 6pm [far too early but duty called] to head back to the big city for yet another party of a different flavor. this one was in honor of the dyke march. the hostesses lived in a prime spot for viewing. a highlight of the evening was watching some girl literally rubbing her fingers across the empty cheesecake plate in hopes of gathering crumbs. seriously!!! from there we met up with pevil, ms. b, & kiki for some drinking at the pilsner. the joint wasn't as packed as i thought it would be. eventually, john, d, & melissa made their way there, too. we never did venture from the place. the boys & girls were out in full force and so was the eye candy. i got a cavity just looking around. misty & i eventually left at 1 am. overall it was a gay old pride…

stay gold & be well…

angel of the battlefield

deery lou.
previously on the e-list…

i've been so preoccupied with my photo blog that i've been neglecting my first baby. well, truth be told, not much has been happening in my life. since returning to sf, i've turned into somewhat of a hermit. life definitely seemed to be more interesting abroad. sigh…i got a new haircut this week which i absolutely LOVE. first time ever to like a haircut. i was a bit nervous when she ignored my wishes to leave the top alone. "trim a little", she kept repeating. thankfully she did just that.

misty & i went to see mongol this week. if it's playing in your area be sure to check it out. i found the language to be quite beautiful. one never can be sure when viewing movies on historical figures but this one was quite good. immediately upon returning home i went to wikipedia and read all about genghis khan and mongolia. all i could really remember about him was that he was a ruthless warrior. i found another movie about him which i might try to watch. after all, this one only covered the early years. i did read that they were thinking about making a trilogy.

i'm gearing up for our summer session to start next week. we will be hit with groups of teenagers coming from all over the world. it's definitely going to be an interesting next two months. i started teaching new classes this week: level 5 & toefl. can i tell you how BORING toefl is! my sympathy goes out to those students who actually have to take this test. i practically feel asleep listening to the conversations in the practice test. snore! a couple of my students from level 4 kept asking me to come back and teach them. they said they missed me. how sweet is that. sometimes i question my ability as a teacher but i guess i'm doing all right. pride is this weekend and all the students keep asking about the parade. one would think that santa is coming to town. for most of them it will be the first time to see anything like that. here's to new experiences.

this weekend is pretty jammed packed for me. so much going on and so little of me to spread around. saturday i'll be heading to concord for huegel's birthday, then back to the city for a few parties. on sunday will be meeting d at the parade for some morning festivities. afterwards, i'm off to mill valley for butterbean's photo exhibition & benefit. can't wait to see her work displayed. i'm so glad to be back so i can be there to support her. that about does it for me. i'll try to keep up with my blogging.

stay gold & be well…

ticket to immortality

deery lou.
previously on the e-list…

i knew it what it was TRUE! now the universe will be a much happier place. long live the unicorn!

stay gold & be well…

the masses are asses

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…

my new favorite blog. if photos inspire you, check it out here.
a sample…



stay gold & be well…

heaven tonight

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…

nature hates me! i first realized this back in april 2004 when i was attack by a cactus. literally a cactus ball came out of nowhere and embedded itself into my leg. my leg swelled and i had a giant bruise. while out in golden gate park today i got attacked by nature again. this time it was by some unforeseen flying creature. i did hear it buzzing about right before it stung my face. i suspected it was a bee but perhaps it was a wasp. who knows. thankfully i had an iced coffee with me to apply to the fresh wound. it hurt. the flying creatures came out of nowhere. most likely they were hiding out in the tree we brushed by. this is what happens when i try to be one with nature. it spits back in my face. on a side note: i ran into one of my students in the park. she was glad to see me because she needed directions. hehe. got to love them.


i've decided that i will never shop at the radioshack on clement street. i stopped by there on saturday to ask some questions about hooking up all my electronics. the clerk kept insisting that i needed to buy all these extra adapters to make it work. i was quite skeptical and left not buying anything. i headed to the other radioshack on geary. they were a lot more helpful and didn't once try to "push" the extra adapters on me. all i really need were the right cables.

with cables ready i began to tackle the electronic project: connecting converter box, vcr/dvd, tv, and receiver. i didn't have much luck on friday so i was hoping i'd be more successful this time. i went piece by piece. two hours later i found success. my electronics were all playing nicely together. although for some reason i can't turn the tv on with the remote. but at least every thing is coming out in stereo. YAY!!!

the e-boat went to berkeley on friday. there were twelve students. pretty manageable, at least i thought so. the uc berkeley campus is pretty grand. i had to tell one group of students to pay attention cuz they kept lagging behind. two girls ended up getting separated from us. of course they were the same two i had spoken to earlier. to make matters worse neither one had a cell phone. this meant that i had to traipse across campus to find them. eventually i found them going in the opposite direction in which they were supposed to be going. the rest of the trip was pretty uneventful. i was joking with one of the students about a particular building being very famous. he told the others and everyone started to take pictures of it. the biggest highlight for them was seeing a squirrel and two girls in graduation attire. its the little things in life.

here's to another week.

stay gold & be well…

way beyond

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…

may's photo theme is now up.
check it out: 20 red, 30 days

if you're curious to see my extra photos that didn't make the cut to the group go here.
remember if you'd like to join the group send me an email to let me know.

stay gold & be well…

coming around again

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…

the butcher, the baker, & the candlestick maker—if only life really was like a nursery rhyme? early last week i busted some man trying to lift my wallet on the bus. i literally watched him unzip my bag and slowly try to remove it from the front pocket. the conversation went down like this:
me: seriously, dude. are you really trying to steal my wallet.
him: ah, sorry. i'm sick.
me: seriously. i think you can come up with something better than that.
he mumbled something else, told me i was a good man, and got off at the next stop.

thursday night we gathered at d&j's pad to watch the season finale of lost. sooo good. and i'm not talking about the wine and humus, hehe. some old questions were answered while new ones arose. although i have some issues with the finale, i do like the direction they're taking the show. can't wait to see what happens next fall.

on friday e-tours went to the haight. it started out good but somehow i managed to lose two students. they eventually called me. the conversation went like this:
me: hello
miki: it's miki
me: where are you?
miki: bus stop
me: which bus stop, there are many in the haight.
miki: [silence]
me: haight and what? tell me the name of the other street.
miki: i don't know.
me: is arisa with you?
miki: a friend.
me: what's your friends name?
miki: arisa
me: don't move we'll find you.
i passed my phone to one of the japanese students so we could find out exactly where they were. they had walked back to haight/central where we started our journey. i found them sitting on the stairs that lead up to the park. all was good. once i made sure all the students knew how to get home, i met up with misty at the 540 club for a much needed cocktail.

saturday was r.e.m. at the greek theatre in berkeley. misty had gotten me tickets for my birthday. yay! john, d, & kate also went. modest mouse was one of the opening acts. i was looking forward to seeing them again, especially now that johnny marr is playing with them. the venue was outside. as it got later it also got colder. we were in the lawn section but had a pretty good view. r.e.m. had a video show going on behind them which made it all the more interesting. i must say they still sound pretty good. on our way home we stopped at the original diner for some much need food. i chowed down on 2 eggs, 2 pieces of bacon, 2 pancakes, and hash browns. hi, mr. piggy. oink. oink.



misty and i went for coffee on sunday. afterwards i headed to the grocery store. i stocked up on veggies and other healthy edibles. i actually managed not to buy any cookies or ice cream. i'm trying to lose a much needed 10 pounds. wish me luck. later that night i met up with and old flame. we hadn't seen each other for 7 years. it was great to catch up with him. the down side was that i drank way too much wine and paid for it on monday.

which brings me to monday night–misty, butterbean, hez, & i went to see sex and the city. i've never seen so many women at the movies before. i had a love/hate relationship with sex and the city. when it first came on i couldn't stand the show or sjp. it took living in korea for me to establish my new found love for both the show and sjp. i enjoyed the flick. it was definitely entertaining. then again, if you like the show there's no reason not to like the movie.

stay gold & be well…

내인생의 반의반

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…

win, lose, or draw—sometimes life is like a game show. well, the results from the minted challenge are in; sadly, i lost. i didn't even place in the top ten. the votes for my design averaged at 2.86 which wasn't too bad considering the number 10 design scored 3.03. by looking at the top ten, it's clear that my style doesn't quite reflect what the minted customer is looking for. and what might that be? according to those that won, nothing really fresh or creative. not to be catty but a majority of the winners look like products already on minted. that's the things about design, it's all subjective. losing the challenge didn't really bum me out. sure it would have been great to have won, but i mainly did it to see if i still had it in me. what did bum me out slightly was a comment left by marni, "I've received similar calendar save the dates in the mail about 4-5 times a year. feels a little tired..." i'm all for constructive criticism but pettiness is another matter. just goes to show you can't please everyone. the winners are here.

yesterday, we were suppose to go to angel island for d's birthday. due to the rainy weather it was canceled so the festivities were held at his apartment instead. it was good gathering of peeps. to keep in the spirit of angel island i brought over my charlie's angels dolls and some dvds. the angels were proudly displayed. we never got to view the dvds. the afternoon was spent drinking and eating. around 4:30 we headed to truck for a chili cook off. i was pretty much full from all the eating at d's so only only took one spoonful of each chili. both one and two were pretty decent. number three i could barely swallow. words can't even describe how bad it was. just thinking of it now makes me want to puke.

from truck we ventured off to the pilsner. on our way there we had a box of tomato puree or something thrown at us. we narrowly escaped. the sidewalk wasn't so fortunate. we finished off the evening at the 440. the walk up the hill to d&j's house felt brutal especially after having spent most of the day drinking. we chowed on some leftovers before turning it. i spent the night on their couch where i dreamed the night away.

stay gold & be well…

storm

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…

magic tricks, fortune tellers, & jazz fusion—life is but a carnival. my week started off with a very unexpected visit from bc. she had a 24 hour layover in sf. sucks for her, great for me. we met for coffee during my lunch break then again after work. lucky me. we ventured back to my hood and dined on korean cuisine. just like old times. i miss her, although not those red tights she bought. hehe.



the week came to end with toi, one of my students, demonstrating a magic trick he knew. he thought he was going to get out of it but i happened to have a deck of cards in my bag so there was no backing out. hehe. he was a little nervous having to do his card trick in english but he pulled if off flawlessly. the class was pretty impressed. i think they expected him to fall flat on his face. toi is definitely an interesting character. last week he was asking where he could find a wig. he was planning on shaving his head and wearing wigs. i advised him that i didn't think it was such a good idea.

once again i played the role of julie mccoy, and lead a group of four girls to fisherman's wharf. pier 39 is the one place in sf that i dread most. thankfully, it wasn't that crowded on friday. it was actually a gorgeous day to be out walking. the girls couldn't get enough of the sea lions. after twenty minutes i told them it was time to move on. i had completely forgotten that they moved the musee mecanique to pier 45 and was pleasantly surprised when we stumbled upon it. i love this place. the old time games/videos are awesome. the girls seemed to really it. before venturing on with our walking tour, they convinced me to crowd into a photo booth for a group shot. our tour ended at a pub near the cannery.



on saturday, kiki stopped by to give me a chair. yay! i know have something to sit on. we headed off to the neighborhood dollar store. on our way, i was stopped by a nosy elderly couple who wanted to know what was happening down the street. they preceded to tell me all about the school carnival they went to. i didn't think i was ever going to escape them. later that night a group of us went to see son of rambow. there wasn't anything particular great about the film, but it definitely had its moments. i think the french kid was by far my favorite. the 80s soundtrack was right on. after the film we went to yoshi's for some very pricey but tasty drinks. they had a group playing that night that we could see on the tv screens but couldn't hear. they were dressed in traditional japanesse attire and playing traditional instruments. i was quite intrigued with what i saw that i asked someone who worked there who they were. when i got home i surfed the net for some tunes by the yoshida brothers. definitely liked what i heard. spent the rest of my weekend relaxing and reading journals. good times. good times.

stay gold & be well…

come down to me

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…

churches, murals, & burritos—it was a tour of the mission like no other. on friday, i once again had the privilege of taking the students out for their activity. this week's planned event was a walking tour of the mission. i had worked in the mission district for 5 years and am ashamed to say that this was my first journey to balmy alley to look at the murals. what i saw was quite impressive. if you're in sf and haven't been to check them out you need to go. it's great to know that we have places like this in the city. along balmy alley i stumbled upon poloppo inc. they created a line of children's wear based on artwork from children around the world. all of the children receive royalties on products sold with their artwork. check it out poloppo.com.



from balmy alley we made our way back to valencia and walked towards 18th street. i pointed out a few artsy-fartsy stores along the way. i was going to stop in a few of them but with such a large group i didn't think that would be wise. two of the girl were extremely interested in every dog they passed. it was a total photo op for them. i kept have to tell them to move along. before heading to dolores park we stopped at the women's building. i took them of them to a nearby taqueria which proved quite interesting. when they were asked what kind of beans they wanted they just stared off into space. i had to decide for them. from the park we ventured to the dolores mission church. by this time most of them were tired and didn't want to go inside. i walked them to the bart and we said our goodbyes. i was exhausted.

saturday i spent in my hood. grabbed some dinner with a friend at china first. we had an order of salt and peppered pork chops, so freakin good, and a few other dishes that were all right. the rest of the evening was spent planted in front of the tv. i ran some errands on sunday. later that evening misty and i met up with john and derek at martuni's to catch some drag queens singing piano bar songs. it was definitely entertaining. had myself a couple of martinis: blueberry lemon drop & a watermelon one. i so wanted the watermelon to taste like a jolly rancher but it didn't. oh well...

stay gold & be well…