weird weather

the fog has rolled in...

i wish i could paint a picture in words about what it's like when it really settles in my neighborhood. i'm not talking about the overcast days, or the dreary days, i'm talking about FOG. real, bonafide, suffocating fog.

it's like walking through a blizzard. a warm, wet blizzard. you can see it moving and blowing around you, but you can't really see anything else. its surreal.

anyways, the stoopid fog was still hanging out in my 'hood this morning after rudely inviting itself over last night. you'd think after a year+ of living in this city, it would stop amazing me, but no. the fog still makes me laugh. i'm on the train. i come through the tunnel btwn cole valley & duboce triangle, and...

poof!

sunshine.

the thing that makes me laugh is that i can still see the fog, peaking out over the top of twin peaks and/or duboce park, but it just can't... quite... make it... over... the top. so it sits there, waving goodbye to me, as i roll on to work.

mmm warm sunshine, i'm so glad i get to hang out with you downtown.

fashion doll gym

yay! i finally figured out what i can make with my new crochet skills!



or does macrame take more talent than it appears?

thanks, threadbare.com, for this lovely image.

one year down!

conor and i celebrated our 1 year anniversary sunday - doing 3 things we both love to do (well, one he's learning to love, one i love when he does, and one passion that we share): bike riding, cooking, and eating!

after we got home from a 2 hour bike ride jaunt around the city, he spent the rest of the afternoon working on a fantastic 3-course crudo (sp?) meal... while i did laundry. we got sushi-grade fish from a little market at 22nd and irving. the veggies are from cat's farm box and the farmer's market at the embarcadero on saturdays.

below are some pictures. they will do more to explain the amazingly delicious meal than i could ever do with words.



i also took some shots in series as he plated the last two dishes. sorry i missed out on the construction of the first one - he was trying to teach me how to do it before i gave it up to document!

1. summer squash w/ meyer lemon vinagrette, pickled shitake mushrooms, fresh tuna, and a rice wine gastrique made from the picking liquid



2. quartered & blanched blue lake beans w/ thinly shaved fresh branzino (bass), marinated heirloom tomatoes, and carrot-top pesto









3. onion puree, fresh salmon marinated with orange relish (?), salted avocado wedges, more orange relishy-stuff









need i say YUM!?

i think he needs to open a restaurant.

burn baby burn

this really upset me friday night...

i came home from a fun night out with co-workers (dinner then a trip to see the new batman (which was great, btw)) and as i was brushing my teeth, getting ready for bed...

whats that smell?

turns out there was a huge fire at a house up a block and over a block from mine. i could see it from my window. the blaze caused over a million dollars in damages.

after watching it in horror for a half hour (yes i went outside to explore), i went home and tried to sleep, dizzy and nauseated from the smoke...

and really sad, thinking about that poor person's house.

what if i came home to my apartment, burning, with my roommate and/or boyfriend sleeping inside?

or what if all my belongings went up in flames?

and what it if wasn't even our fault?

i don't think i'd be able to handle losing everything i have. the few belongings left at my parents house are minimal - my pez collection, some old clothes, and my baseball cards. hardly the momentos i love here - like my grandma's sewing machine, my bikes, my grad school research work, or my pictures & old diaries.



anyways, the above shot is as close as i could get. we onlookers stood on the corner, up the hill to be away from the smoke.

i felt bad taking other pictures, anyways. i didn't like the feeling that i was treating their tragedy as a spectacle.

wedding wedding la la la

here are pictures from my little brother's wedding in colorado.
feast thine eyes!

>> colin & sarah's cute little wedding weekend

repeat customer

i keep seeing the same people on the trains and buses around town. it's creeping me out.

two weeks ago i saw these 5 punk teenage boys. they got on my bus and then off again about a stop before i was getting off. i noticed them only because one had this weird hair/face. two days later, i saw them again, on the same bus line. this time they got off at my stop. and there were only two of them - but one was the same kid with the wird face/hair.

then, last week, i saw this older couple who happened to be the aunt/uncle of the 12 year old boy who was killed in the pitbull attack a few blocks from my house. the first time i saw them was the day after the accident, on the bus. the lady was bawling her eyes out. it was very sad. the second time i saw them was about 5 days later, when i rode past them -- i was again in a bus, and they were waiting for one. but we were in a totally different neighborhood. she also wasn't crying anymore.

now, i keep seeing a the same people on the trains when i commute to work. less weird because i am trying to leave home at a more consistent time. but still odd given the larger picture.

oh and there was one more incident - but of course i can't think of it now.
crap-diggity.

oh well. it went something like this:

"i saw <insert person> at <insert place/time> and then <insert number> days later i saw them again, at <insert new place/time>."

meow

this is salvie (short for salvador). he's one of the pets i sit for, periodically.
so cute!

unread emails

after 3 days off from work, there are:

238 unread emails in my inbox
534 unread emails in my junk mailbox

i'm not sure what that says about the world except thank goodness for spam filters. i sure as hell wouldn't want to sort through 772 emails just to get the measely 238 good ones out.

bone your bat

i can't WAIT to watch this episode of queer eye tonight!
(the link plays a hilarious trailer for the show)

watch queer eye: red sox

glug

ha ha! the picture that accompanies this crazy article is so great. why haven't i thought of designing such a useful skirt! oh yeah. because i've never needed to smuggle fish before.

from msn:
woman charged with smuggling fish in skirt - customs officials hear 'flipping' noises, find 51 tropical species

photolitics

i find this hilarious in its pathetic-ness.

from salon.com: an article called politics by photoshop

in case you don't feel like reading, a republican running for governor in new jersey had a picture on his website (until they took it off recently) that was of him in front of a screaming, enthusiastic crowd... except that they'd photoshoped the crowd into the picture from a Dean rally from last year's presidential election. they even went so far as to alter a sign and a girl's hat that was pro-Dean.

stoopid. and i love that they were caught.

lotta latte love

i have rekindled my love for the latte.

i steered from them a month or so ago in hopes that by drinking normal coffee in the morning i could save some money (which i did) and not drink as much sugar (which i sometimes did).

but after a while, it was just too strong for me. so last week, i had another latte. the first one after a long draught.

and what a glorious day it was!

the best things? well, i don't even like sugar in them anymore, which rocks. and they are so smooth and rich in flavor and texture. and much easier on my tummy.

mmmm.

latte, i'm so sorry to have betrayed you.

chugalug

man what a crazy week!

- i've had several good friends of mine from college roll into town (insert shout out to crapel, thechak, and parutron here)
- i went on a long (read ~50mi.) bike ride for the first time in eons and felt the pain in my ass & quads of not riding hills in fo-evah
- i've been running lots and lots in preparation for a supah-fast running team i hope to join in june, pending i stop being slow as molasses one of these days
- my cousin had a baby!
- my brother is getting married a week from last night!
- and, well... i have a job. and that sucks up loads of time on principle. oh simple 9-5 how i wish i knew you better.

but all in all things are very good. i'd rather be busy and active than bored and fat. and seeing old friends never ceases to be wonderful.