Monday, January 26, 2009

king of the mountain

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…

they gathered up at the river that weekend to help celebrate their friend's 40th birthday. little did they know that down by the river lurked a stranger who had other plans for them. would any of them survive the grisly fate that awaited them…that's how my weekend at the russian river played out in my mind. tis true, i went up to the russian river to celebrate pevil turning 40. mrs.b had rented a house so that we could all gather together to honor her adorable wife. it really was the perfect setting for a horror movie. but as you can gather, we all made it out of there alive—or did we…

cuties

the weekend at the river was a complete blast. it was a good group of peeps. we ate delicious food, drank vast amounts of wine, played various kinds of games, etc. i even managed to come up with a theme song for guernville. what more could one want.

the river album

some highlights from the weekend:

01. the crazy guy at the gas station who wanted us to give him a ride
02. the tweaker in line at whole foods
03. relaxing by the fire while reading nancy drew #33
04. meeting new peeps
05. hot tubbing it at night under the redwoods
06. a most awesome scrabble game with mrs. b & amy
07. ping pong
08. pevil blowing out all 40 candles with one breathe
09. the most vivid/bizarre/fucked up dreams i've had in a very long time
10. eating breakfast & dinner all together [i felt like i was part of the waltons]
11. everyone enjoying themselves
12. the great lost debate over snacks
13. singing my new river song for d, adawg, adawg's gal, & j
14. adawg's very hot & very sexy outfit of ugs & undies
15. being able to help pevil celebrate her big day
16. and many, many, many more…

just where will i end up next is any ones guess.
stay gold & be well…

pictures from the river are here

lost!

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…


happy lunar new year! it's the year of the ox. hope you all have an awesome year. for more pictures celebrating chinese new year click here.

just where will i end up next is any ones guess.

stay gold & be well…

Saturday, January 17, 2009

kashmir

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…

hot off the presses: now blog this vol.3, songs from my life on the e-list
hear the music that j. ethan listened to as he wrote his blog. track list includes:

01. gone by madonna
02. show room dummies by senor coconut
03. wonders never cease by morcheeba
04. reveal by machinery hall
05. superstar by the carpenters
06. bukowski by modest mouse
07. cat claw by the kills
08. mississippi kite by kristin hersh
09. bowels of the beast by the raveonettes
10. storm by yoshida brothers
11. edge of seventeen by stevie nicks
12. say aha by santogold
13. don't push by the exit
14. the man in the long black coat by mark lanegan
15. the masses are asses by L7
16. myxomatosis by radiohead
17. pit viper by 10,000 maniacs
18. lance by the dandy warhols
19. seems it's one thing by the high strung
20. entropy by kelly osburne

if you'd like a copy, let me know and i'll send one your way. just where will i end up next is any one's guess.

stay gold & be well…

Friday, January 16, 2009

the chain

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…

things have been pretty uneventful lately. i've been keeping a low profile due to the cold i was battling. i can now safely say that the worst is behind me. colds suck, especially, when you still have to get up and face work. i did manage to squeeze in a movie last week, gran torino. overall, i thought it was pretty good. i really liked the story line. my problem was mostly with the acting, or lack of.

there was a bit of excitement at my apartment building the other night when two firetrucks pulled up. the firemen came into the building to check things out. there's was no knock on my door telling me to evacuate so i didn't think much of it. i never did find out why they were called; however, the other day i noticed a sticker on the front door of our building saying that the fire alarm doesn't work. i'm beginning to think that living in a building with a lot of old people might not be so wise. they seem determined to burn it. perhaps, i'll look into finding a new abode.

muni conversation #623
man on phone: kept saying how he wasn't going to get off the bus to go smoke a lame joint because he was tired and wanted to go home. he must have said this 5 times getter louder and louder every time he repeated it. he eventually got off the bus most likely to smoke that joint.

tonight, i'm off to a company dinner. should be interesting to say the least. i'll be sure to fill you in on all the juicy details. i'm sure there will be some. just where will i end up next is any one's guess.

stay gold & be well…

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

all day

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…

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

holiday 10

if you're curious to see my extra photos that didn't make the cut to my holiday group set here.

we have a new member to the group, robyn. welcome! remember if you'd like to join the group send me an email to let me know. just where will i end up next is any one's guess.

stay gold & be well…

Monday, January 05, 2009

last night


deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…

how amazing is this photo! i so want to be there. it's quite magical. we could all use a bit of magic in our lives. this photo was part of the big picture's icy days and nights. i've mentioned the site before. their tagline is news stories in photographs. they have some of the best photography. check it out, here! just where will i end up next is any one's guess.

be well & stay gold…

Sunday, January 04, 2009

sometimes always

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…

my first post for 2009. how exciting is that! my first instinct was to blog about my new years resolutions then i thought again. do i really want this list to exist in cyberspace taunting me, especially if i fail to accomplish any of them. so instead, i will keep them to myself. that way, my failures can be my own. although, i am going to do my best to accomplish them. i'll let you know how i did on december 31, 2009. stay tuned.

last week was quite a busy one. there seemed to be something going on every night. i kept meaning to blog about them but never did. on tuesday, i went to d&j's for our stocking exchange. this was the first time we did this. if i do say so myself, it was pretty successful. everyone had a good time and everyone scored major goodies. my stocking was stuffed with the following: tube socks, a christmas cactus, a gift certificate, a bunny patch, and a flush anime snow owl/bunny. i love new traditions. can't wait to see who i get next year and who gets me.

stockings!

reindeer

yo-yo

nye was a quiet one. misty had a little gathering with the crew. we ate, drank, danced, and listened to music. misty bought christmas crackers. you pull them and a prize pops out. i got a pink pooch key chain. i'm so lucky. at midnight we watched a recap of the ball dropping in new york. new year's day i did absolutely nothing and loved every minute of it.

party faces

my pink pooch keychain

self portrait1

friday night, we celebrated butter bean's birthday in style at the top of the mark. they have an awesome 360ยบ view of sf and honestly, that's all i can really say about the place. it was bb's 40th birthday celebration, so it didn't really matter where we were. it was all about celebrating how great she is. she had gotten a room at the mark hopkins hotel, so we had a mini after party hoedown in her room. happy birthday, butterbean!

360 kate1

360 kate7

kate & me

on saturday morning we had brunch with butterbean at the nob hill cafe. afterwards, misty & i went to see slumdog millionare. what an amazing movie. if you haven't seen yet you must go. later that night i continued my wong kar-wai obessession by watching happy together. another great movie. just where will i end up next is any one's guess.

kate fork

stay gold & be well…

stocking exchange/nye photos here
kate's birthday photos here

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

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.

decorating house

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.

zoe&ethan

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.

abc's & me1

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.

the kids2

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.

morgan

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.

chef davis

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!

paige headband

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...

group shot

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!

Monday, December 29, 2008

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

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

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...

Sunday, December 21, 2008

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.

my babies

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

Thursday, December 18, 2008

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…

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

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…

Sunday, December 07, 2008

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:

jesus hates fun

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…

Friday, November 28, 2008

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…

Saturday, November 22, 2008

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:
punk rabbit

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:

black haired girl

white haired girl

big brother

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…

Saturday, November 15, 2008

jen nothing matters to me

deery-lou.
previously on the e-list…

ftp

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

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

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…

Saturday, November 01, 2008

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.

level 4b  with teacher
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 in the enchanted forrest
unicorn from the future

the spider & emily strange
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…

Monday, October 27, 2008

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?