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December 31, 2009
New Year's Eve
Jim and Luc arrived yesterday from Toronto. I'm not 100% sure if my stats are correct, but I think we've spent 15 of the last 17 New Years with them. The usual modus is that Luc and I prepare a vastly complicated multiple course menu for dinner, and usually by 10pm we've had far too much champagne. And we are exhausted.
This year, we kept things simple. Shiitake mushroom capuccino with a garlic froth to start. Pear and avocado salad with gorgonzola cheese. Roasted sea bass with a pesto crust and couscous ratatouille. And for dessert, we made a magic mud pudding. But the magic had evaporated and the only way we can describe the outcome is that it looked like a turd. Thankfully, it didn't taste like one.
Chis and I found some Christmas crackers on sale at the Ferry Building in San Francisco last week, so we cracked them open. Oddly, three had the same prize - a bookmark/paper clip that had the following outcome:
Posted by dave at 11:48 PM | Comments (0)
Errands
I left the house on foot, with my nap sack and canvas bags. I had a few errands to run, notably to fetch the dry cleaning. And because the grocery store is next to the dry cleaners, I could do a swing-by and pick up a few things for the New Years' feast.
I walked down Partridge Avenue, along El Camino, and stood at the corner waiting for the light to change. Dozens of cars zoomed by. This isn't New York, where jaywalking is a sport. This is California, where nobody is in such a rush. The light changed and I walked across the busy intersection, then proceeded to meander through the parking lot to the grocery store. I stopped to help an elderly lady unload her groceries into the trunk of her car, then took her basket to do my shopping.
I was on the hunt for bread crumbs, a seemingly simple thing. But I wandered aimlessly, then asked for help. Three store clerks helped and we found some. I realized that I had forgotten avocados, so I went back to the other end of the store to fetch them. A few more things, and I checked out.
I walked next door to the dry cleaners, picked up our things, and began to walk back across the parking lot to the light. Back along El Camino, I crossed through the lot in front of the muffler shop, where a friendly guy said "Your zipper is down."
Uggg! So it was!
After the flash of embarrassment, I thanked him. Instead of focusing on the humiliation, I pondered why it had taken so long for anyone to say anything. Why had the elderly lady not said anything? Is it impolite? Why is it awkward to tell someone they are flying low? What is it about our culture that these helpful little tips are so inconceivably difficult to discuss?
Indeed, I have seen people (men and women) with their flies down, and haven't said anything. Why not? Is it because we don't want to embarrass them?
I admit that I wasn't all that embarrassed, because thankfully I am one who wears underwear. Black ones at that. So really, what's the big deal if someone happens to peer through my open fly to see .... oh my, black underpants?!
Maybe I should become one of these young kids who grabs his crotch every five minutes. I'm not too sure why they do this? Are they checking to make sure it's still there? But this way I would know whether my fly was down before someone else could tell me.
The human race really is a curious animal.
Posted by dave at 11:51 AM | Comments (0)
December 29, 2009
The House
We had word late last week from the movers that they had found one of our boxes and were going to ship it to us this week. We became very hopeful that it was the missing Christmas box. It arrived today, a bankers' box full of old file archives. :(
Here are a few pictures of the house.
Living Room. Note the leaves on the trees outside?
Dining Room. The puzzle I had just finished was the Tibetan Wheel of Life - 1,000 pieces.
Kitchen. The Toblerone is Chis'. The wine is mine. We all have our vices.
Posted by dave at 06:17 PM | Comments (0)
December 27, 2009
Bay Bridge
Chis took this super cool photo of the Bay Bridge with what looked like a Catalina 46 heading out for a sail. He took the photo with my iPhone. We were on our way back to the train station in San Francisco after a day in the city, and stopped to have a glass of wine. He took the picture through the window.
Posted by dave at 06:14 PM | Comments (0)
December 25, 2009
Christmas Day Visit to Prana
Christmas Day was glorious, sunny and warm in the Bay. We decided to visit Prana and make sure she was doing okay. We had coffee and puttered around doing little unfinished jobs. The perfect way to spend Christmas Day. Our Christmas turkey breast was brining at home, waiting for the finishing touches.
Posted by dave at 06:11 PM | Comments (0)
December 24, 2009
The Night Before Christmas (Sailors' Version)
T'was the night before Christmas, I swung on the hook
with moonbeams a' landing, asleep with my book
When up on the deck I heard footsteps and stuff
"I've been boarded!" I thought, and I tried to be tough
Then down the companionway hatch came a dude
He was dressed like a nut and I thought, "I'm so screwed"
But he laughed and he hummed as he surveyed my junk
So I figured he must be the resident drunk
His eyes were lit up like a junkie on speed
But he gave me a whole bunch of stuff that I need
Like rum and cigars and new charts and a dinghy
And some kind of fancy electrical thingy
I knew it was stolen but I wasn't telling
I just hoped he was giving and wasn't just selling
And I poured him a rum which he downed with a wink
Then I poured one for me (Lord I needed a drink!)
Then he staggered above to the moon lit night
As I peeked I beheld an incredible sight
Eight tiny dolphins and a beautiful sleigh
The dude hopped aboard and prepared to make way
The dolphins were ready to power the sled
But the guy raised a genny and mains'l instead
With a burp and a chuckle he gathered the breeze
And called to the dolphins, now swimming with ease
"Hey Stalker and FEMA and Cancer and Nixon!
Or Stinky and Pepper Spray, Mason, and Dixon!
Or whatever your names are, you cute little fishes,
Here's to every last sailor, my best Christmas wishes!"
As he sailed away leaving a wobbly wake
I hoped he had not many stops left to make
He got close to shore and he soon was aground
But the dolphins proceeded to pull him around
And I heard him exclaim as he sailed out of sight
"Merry Christmas to all... and to all a goodnight!"
Posted by dave at 10:47 AM | Comments (0)
December 18, 2009
Settled in Record Time
Well, hello. The truck pulled up in front of the house a week after we arrived in California. The week was good to get the house ready. The walls needed some repair, patching and painting. The floors were filthy dirty. But by the time Friday rolled around I was finding the empty house a little tedious.
Then the movers turned all of that upside down. Within 5 hours, everything was in the house. Except for our container of Christmas decorations. And the parts for the vacuum. The vacuum canister arrived, but none of the attachments. And the hinges for our book cabinets (which we found two days later taped to the door of the bedroom wardrobe (?).
Chis took Monday off, and we finished unpacking and hung the art. By 7pm, we were 97% done.
We've done this so many times, it gets easier and easier.
It is super fun to be here, and despite arriving to some cool and rainy weather, today was +20c and sunny. I planted some pansies in the garden and put some Christmas lights on the front of the house. The gardeners came to mow the lawns and rake the leaves. I hopped on my bike and rode to Palo Alto to do some Christmas shopping for Chis.
This is SO not New York! A foot of snow is expected there tomorrow. We got outta Gotham just in time.
Posted by dave at 09:10 PM | Comments (0)
December 05, 2009
Welcome to California, Indeed!
Our last day in New York was not without a busy schedule. Our flight wasn't until 5pm, so we decided to see friends, go for a walk, have one last latte at Cafe Grumpy on 20th Street, deflate the air mattress, clean the bathrooms, discard the patio furniture (so uncomfortable), deliver the contents of the fridge to our next door neighbours, etc, etc, etc.
We arrived at the airport with time to have a glass of wine. As we sat there, I tried to describe to Chis how I was feeling. I really couldn't. It's a feeling that is very hard to describe. On one hand, anticipation and excitement about California, the daunting task of unpacking and getting settled. On the other hand, missing New York friends, the comfort of knowing where to get things, the crazy energy of the city we both love and adore. We decided that the only word to describe how we felt was "between".
The flight to San Francisco was on Virgin America, which was an awesome experience. It is a long flight, made tolerable with my very own TV screen in the back of the seat in front of me. And a remote control to choose what I wanted to watch. I decided I needed light and silly, so I watched 3 Christmas movies - Home Alone, Christmas with the Kranks, and Deck the Halls. All of these would ordinarily rate half a star, but it seemed fitting for the moment, and before I knew it we arrived in San Francisco. And I had a little bit of the Christmas spirit as a result.
We arrived at the house to discover that someone put a giant sign on the front door. Turns out it was one of Chis' colleagues who had been swinging by periodically to pick up our mail. It made us both laugh and feel very much welcomed. After a long day, it truly was a little bit of magic in our otherwise hectic day.
And for the first time in a week, we slept on a mattress that wasn't inflated, and slept like babies.
Posted by dave at 05:03 PM | Comments (0)
December 03, 2009
Ahimsa
About 5 months ago, I stopped practicing Bikram yoga and decided to explore vinyasa for a while. I had reached a point with Bikram where I was stuck in a rut.
The vinyasa yoga I have been practicing is in a heated room, so I still get the detox benefits, and the heat helps to open up all the undoings that 12 marathons and who knows how many half marathons and 10K races.
I have been practicing the yamas (restraints) of yoga, the first of the eight limbs of the yoga path. In particular, I have been practicing ahimsa, or non-harming. In the hardest cores of yoga, this means respecting all living animals and becoming vegetarian. While I'm not quite ready to make that leap, although I am close, I interpret it in other ways.
As it relates to my physical yoga practice, I often get very competitive. Not necessarily with others in the room, although that can happen, but with myself. I am driven. No two yoga classes are the same. One day I feel like a ballerina, the next like a walrus. It is way too easy to beat myself up when I feel like a walrus, and too easy to steal the energy of those around me when I feel like a ballerina.
Neither is practicing ahimsa.
As it relates to my yoga practice off the mat, it means not thinking in a harming way. In New York, this is easy to do. Simply walking the streets can be a challenge, and I often find myself thinking "Jeez, people, get out of the way!". This is not practicing ahimsa.
I'm not completely there yet, but I'm working on it. And I am blessed to have met Rachel who has helped me on my yoga path. I will miss her when we leave this weekend. I will practice in her class one last time today.
Posted by dave at 08:09 AM | Comments (0)