Tea and Saturdays - Saturday 1/31/2009

I do love a pot of tea on a weekend morning.

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf's loose Chai is one of my favorites. There are lots of recognizable bits of spice in it, like whole green cardamom and anise seeds. I usually use two teaspoons of this and one of CB&TL's English Breakfast tea in my three-cup pot because I like a strong tea-ish brew.

Perfect companion to my Chapter 2 lessons in using Elements 7.

Found Stuff & Cinemark- Friday 1/30/2009

Random, I know. But I like this sort of thing... Stuff that is not in the right place.

Found this on the sidewalk near the coffee house off of Santiago Road. About a mile from our house, on the other side of the 14. Weak weak coffee, but a friendly place.


After working at home all day, I walked over the hill to meet up with Hydra so we could catch a matinee of The Reader.

This Lancaster multiplex was probably built in the 1990s, but they had a sense enough to make it into a modern day movie palace. The facade reminds me of steamship funnels. Let's get on board!


Cinemark at night. I leaned against the back of someone's big hulking truck to steady the camera for this shot.

The tail lights started blinking and I thought I might have set off the alarm, but no! The owner had just remotely unlocked the truck and was getting ready to climb in. What are the chances I'd pick one of the few vehicles in the lot that someone was about to drive off!

I probably giggled a bit too much in my explanation of what I was up to, leaning on her truck. But she smiled, so I guess it was okay.

Signs o' the Times - Thursday 1/29/2009

Can you read that sign outside of Mo's?

"Recession Never Tasted So Good - 1987 "Black Monday" Prices Every Monday after 5p.m. - On selected dinner entrees."

On the one hand, it looks like a good idea. On the other hand, I'm skeptical that much will be a deal here. Mo's is over-priced and has an attitude.

I'm amazed they've lasted so long, but every time I've been there with coworkers, we've seen studio types there. Execs, sometimes meeting with actors you recognize.

Personally, I'd take them to The Smoke House, which has a lovely old Hollywood ambiance. In fact, we did go there last week for my and Jens' belated birthday lunch.

I had the catch of the day with shrimp sauce. If you go, you must order the garlic bread. So yummy.

Benny & the Jets - Wednesday 1/28/2009

Things were a little off this morning. I woke up coughing (from the cold that just keeps giving) at about 2:30 and moved out to the recliner in the living room even though Hydra strenuously offered to go.

I never did get back to sleep. But I did read quite a few pages of Inside Inside by James Lipton, with which I am offsetting my current fascination with graphic novels.

Anyway, Dierdre the hip waitress was at the end of her shift when I came in. I like her. She's friendly, and refills my coffee, and doesn't game me like I think one of the older all-nighters does. (Sigh, I know restaurants too well, having waited tables for ten years myself.)

She was very tired. I was very tired, and a little woozy from the sinus medicine I took as soon as I arrived at my table.

Even the head waitress was off kilter. She came with her usual armload of fresh donuts and warbled, "Oh, is it Wednesday? I was supposed to be here an hour ago."

The whipped cream on this just slightly weird morning was the drunk at the counter.

Now, I kind of understand the 2:30 drunk who has just been ejected from the bar.

But drunk at 5:15 a.m.?

Honey, you are working over time.

While I tried to concentrate on my writing, he ordered and waited, humming along with random snippets of the oldies playing on KRTH 101.

Deirdre brought him his food. He tucked into it. But when Benny & the Jets came on, he started singing in a medium-loud voice, "Deirdre! Deirdre! Deidre and these e-e-e-eggs!" He gesticulated over the plate like he was orchestrating the music from the heart of the over-easies resting there.

Okay. Um. That's it. The whole story.

It seemed really funny at the time. Maybe it was the Tylenol Extreme Sinus Headache tabs.



Okay, enough of that.

See what I did this evening with the Photoshop Elements 7 software Hydra gave me for my birthday? Can you tell the difference?

It's not big and artsy. I just took the shine off the table.

Hee!

Please Pick Cherries - Tuesday 1/27/2009

This might be a good time to mention that my Canon A590, which I am willing to carry around in my backpack, is on the fritz. I don't want to carry my Nikon D80 around in a jumble with my notebooks everyday, so the last few shots have been taken on my new Samsung cell phone. T-Mobile has made downloading and accessing them very easy.

It doesn't take fabulous photos. It's only 1.3 megabytes. Then again, my first digital camera only had 1.5.

Actually the staticky look of this shot, taken through the screen of the window in front of my desk is expressive of the condition inside my head. The tree guys showed up around 7 a.m. and were still at it when I fled the office at 3:00 p.m.

It's not the trimming that is causing the fuzz in my brain, it's the incessant loud gnashing whir of the garbage-truck sized wood chipper that's been going non-stop all day.

Also, this morning I came within arm's length of being the 6th car in a 5-car pile-up coming around the big curve from the 14 to the southbound 5.

So I would have really preferred it if this nice gentleman had been using that cherry picker for its stated purpose!

Today's FBI... It's for You - Monday 1/26/2009

I don't know why, but I find this motto a leeeettle creepy.

It reminds me a little of the faux motto Hydra's street theater troupe used to use for the CIA : "Don't call us. We're already listening."

[Hydra warns me that this joke may have been stolen from some place, since he knows for sure that their rendition of the song "War" to the tune of "More" was lifted from Mad Magazine. Twas the Revolution. Parody to the People was the rule of the day.]

OneL called the FBI the other day to check some facts, and the guy practically recruited her. We've been calling them every few weeks or months for years, but this public relations guy is new and he sent her some FBI gear. Pretty cool.

She gave me a pen and a lanyard. It's probably not a good idea to even joke about possible uses of any of this stuff. So I won't.

But I have to admit, I went to the website and looked at the jobs and the pay scale is pretty nice...

Graphic Afternoon - Sunday 1/25/2009

I was back at Barnes & Noble this afternoon while Hydra ran a couple of errands and then browsed the shelves himself. Picked up a couple of graphic novels and took them to a table at the cafe and read them. I spend a decent amount of money there every year, so I feel okay about this.

I'm in a bit of a graphic novel frenzy right now. This tends to happen early each year, as the annual Best American Comics comes out and I either receive it as a gift or buy it with a gift card. I'm about half way through it and I've already put some books by graphic novelists on hold at Los Angeles Public Library.

It's a better collection this year than last year, so far. Credit this to Lynda Barry being the guest editor. She drew her introduction! Perfect! Artists I'm seeking out: Rick Geary, who does graphic versions of historical true crime stories like the Lizzie Borden incident and (hee) a biography of J. Edgar Hoover and Lynda Barry's latest book.

Today I read 30 Days of Night written by Steve Niles and illustrated by Ben Templesmith. The images are, it may be odd to say about such a violent tale of crazed flesh-ripping vampires, kind of magical. A page early on that depicts a police car in a snow storm is what drew me into the story. I've put a couple of this book's sequels on hold, but I'm concerned that Ben Templesmith isn't illustrating them...so I put the book he both wrote and drew on hold too : Wormwood.

Also read the amazing Three Shadows by Cyril Pedrosa, which I would highly recommend to anyone who's interested in reading a graphic novel that does not involve a vampire, a zombie or a superhero. This is a fable about the lengths a parent will go to, to try and save his child.

I love days like this. I wrote, I read, I watched some home improvement shows on TV, I made soup ahead for my lunches this week. Bliss.

Frost/Nixon Movie Review - Saturday 1/24/2009

I usually post book and movie reviews over at my other blog Curioscopy. But I loved this film and I hope more people see it. It is fascinating and engaging. I was, like most people probably, concerned that it would be a bit dry.

I essentially knew how things were going to end up, but that didn’t stop me from being completely wrapped up in the film. Wonderful performances by the leads and excellent supporting cast.

Can you believe it? I was literally on the edge of my seat. Kudos to the cast and to Ron Howard and and playwright/screenwriter Peter Morgan who made the material so interesting. It manages to be moving while not letting anybody off the hook.

Micheal Sheen, Sam Rockwell, Matthew McFadyen and Oliver Platt .

It’s great timing for this film, which naturally had me thinking about the clou that Nixon’s crookedness cast over U.S. politics, changing the way a couple of generations feel about the government. Maybe we are finally coming to the end of that era?

I went by myself and enjoyed that experience, but honestly I would pay to see this again in the theater.

More about the Cows - Friday 1/23/2009

Maybe that cow attack the other day has something to do with the stupid Cow Tax proposal.

Don't tax cow methane guys, figure out how to use it!

[The photo is of brie cows in Normandy, May 2007.]

Post Inaugural Thoughts - Wednesday 1/21/2009

It was kind of cool this morning at Starbucks with so many people scanning their fresh copies of the Los Angeles Times or New York Times. Clearly, we were all trying to extend the excitement that we felt yesterday while watching the inauguration and the subsequent balls.

Reading the LAT's story about Eugene Allen, an 89-year-old former White House butler who was invited to attend the inauguration brought tears to my eyes. So do the other stories of the many people whose parents and grandparents were denied rights in this country because of the color of their skin, and not so many years ago.

Something crystallized for me while listening to Lester Holt comment during The Today Show's coverage yesterday. He said--and I'm paraphrasing--that he didn't think he would live to see an African-American president elected, but that now that it has happened he can't really imagine why it seemed such an unreachable goal. On Inauguration Day 2009, it just made sense.

Suddenly I realized why I've been so emotional when watching black television reporters over the past few weeks talk about living to see the day they and their parents didn't think they'd see, and how finally they feel included in the process. It just breaks my heart to think that all these people who have contributed so much to our common culture and to my understanding of it have felt like they're on the outside looking in.

I am optimistic about Obama's presidency. I am ready for a modern day FDR. But no matter what happens during his term, he has already done us this great service: he has allowed us to demonstrate to ourselves and the world that the evils of racism are not foremost in our political and social mindset.

There was reason for us to think that the country wasn't ready for this moment, but thank goodness we were and thank goodness this man and his family stepped us to give us the opportunity. Everything's not perfect, and there's a lot of work ahead, but to have a leader whose goals include restoring us to our ideals is really exciting.

As Kitty said, "It's so wonderful to look forward to the newspaper to find out what President Obama is going to do. He has hit the ground running."

President Obama!

You know, though, we may have been ready for this a long time ago. I for one would have voted for Barbara Jordan.

Cow knocks over woman on bike, steps on her legs

I know that January 20th was a slow news day [cough cough] but this story for some reason ranked pretty highly on Yahoo's news roster.

It's just...odd.

BOULDER, Colo. – A woman escaped serious injury and refused medical treatment after a cow knocked her down and walked on her legs. Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks ranger Pete Taylor said the woman was riding her bicycle along the South Boulder Creek Trail on Monday when she encountered the cow and stopped to let the animal cross.

Instead, the cow knocked the woman over and stepped on her legs.

Taylor said the woman wasn't seriously hurt. Her name was not released.

The cow had left the area by the time rangers arrived, but other people warned fellow bikers and hikers on the trail about the animal.

Boulder Mountain Bike Alliance vice president Jason Vogel called the incident "odd, rare and random."

Welcome Barack!

Pull up a chair! Have a cupcake!

It's so much fun watching Barack Obama. We graduated from high school in the same year. So when I see photos of his past, I know where I was then, too.

When he's doing things, I feel more like I understand how he must feel. Like how amazing to walk into the room for the inauguration dinner and own that room? Wild!

It was wonderful to watch the ceremony this morning. Terrific music and poetry ushered him into office. Yeah, I cried.

The speech was exciting and empowering to all of us.

[Oh, and whoo hoo! I finally can spell inauguration without the aid of a spell checker!]

p.s. The inauguration dinner sounds yummy : Seafood Stew, duck breast with cherry chutney, pheasant with wild rice stuffing, molasses whipped sweet potatoes, winter vegetables, and apple caramel cake with ice cream!

Light of Day - Monday 1/19/2009

There was a gorgeous sunrise over Burbank/Toluca Lake this morning.



And for some reason, this shadow of the chandelier that hangs in the foyer of the building I work in caught my eye.

Hardware - Sunday 1/18/2009

I like hardware stores. I just liked the way these hammers looked hanging here together, but in other aisles of hardware stores, I always come across things that surprise or interest me.

Hmmm. To someone, all these things are so familiar. Maybe one of them will help me.

I found some screen repair tape, which I bought. Also some inexpensive wheel covers that look like they might be vastly easier to put on and take off our trailer tires (to protect them from the e-vile life-shortening sun) and a $2.99 knife sharpener.

Hydra bought a wheel for measuring distances that he wants to use to measure our hikes around the peaks surrounding our neighborhood. For $10.00! Which is cheaper than the three or four pedometers I have purchased over the past decade, none of which I have been able to get to work.

He wants to measure our hikes. Hee. See why we are a good match?


There is also a lot about a hardware store that is very familiar and comforting to me. The smell of oiled tools reminds me of my dad's service station, and especially of going to parts stores with him to pick up things he needed. It always felt important to walk in with him because they'd have his order, and the men would joke around while I poked at the gloves and shrink-wrapped washers hanging on little rods.

I always loved these red shop rags, too. One often hung from my dad's back pants pocket, smeared with dark oil.

These things break open a whole host of memories about The Station.

One of my favorite things was walking in--after asking permission, of course--and grabbing an individually wrapped beef jerky or Slim Jim from the display on the counter. Confirming my Very Special Girl status.

The room with the cash register counter, pin ball machine, vending machines and a card table around which men sat playing pinochle and talking would go quiet. I thought perhaps in awe of the powerful beef-pilfering child-insider. Now I think they were just taking care not to let fly with any of the comfortable profanities they were used to punctuating their stories with.

There's a lot to say now about the politics of language, and how I learned to toss around curse words like a pro when working in the theater, and how really liberating that felt as a woman coming of age in the early 80s in the Midwest. But man, it's the end of the weekend and the cold is hanging on in little aggravating ways, and I'm supposed to be in bed by this time of night.

Birthday Leftovers - Saturday 1/17/2009

I bought this Pina Colada bomba at Porto's on the way home last night. I'm just now getting around to it because they gave me a nice dessert at Big Tuna.

Pina Colada bomba sounds a lot less fabulous than this really is. Light white cake with a little layer of pineapple in the middle, coated in whipped cream and coconut and garnished with a fresh flower. Wow, this is one of my favorite desserts.

How to wish SallyKitt a Happy Birthday Jan 16th!

"I am flattered and encouraged by all the wonderful messages I received today!"

This is from an entry I made over on the goal-setting site, 43Things. I was invited onto the team to wish myself a happy birthday today! This is my report on how to do it for oneself.

How I did it: Signed up for the goal. Responded to everyone who wrote to me.

Had a very productive day at work, which felt good.

Offline, I didn't get bummed out that we might not feel up to celebrating on my birthday. Good thing, because it turned out that we went to our favorite sushi bar for a wonderful dinner. Tried several new rolls, drank hot sake, chatted with others at the sushi bar a bit. Hydra told them it was my birthday so our chef made me a really gorgeous tempura ice cream dessert, and everyone sang happy birthday. There were more calls of happy birthday as we left.

Lessons & tips:

Don't focus on what you haven't done by your Nth birthday. What good's that? (And there are the hours between midnight and dawn for that anyway!)

If you are a bit of a regular at a restaurant, consider going there rather than a new place for your birthday meal. It really was nice to have the sushi chefs who have made us great meals all year long celebrate along with us.

Don't set the bar for satisfaction too high. Really enjoy everything that comes your way.

Tell people it's your birthday if it matters to you. Pouting about no one noticing is no fun for anyone!

Resources:

My husband, my mother, my sister and brothers, my online friends at 43T and Facebook, my co-workers, my brick-and-mortar friends who called or emailed or sent cards.

It took me 1 day.

It made me Happy & warm

If you're interested, you can see how we celebrate on 43 Things..by sending virtual gifts!

See more progress on: Wish SallyKitt a Happy Birthday Jan 16th!

Oh, and yes! That's Hydra's gift to me. The new Photoshop Elements/Adobe Premiere 7 software...which I used to enhance the photo, of course!

My Apology Card to One L

Later That Day - Friday 1/8/2009

Tree at the edge of my neighborhood.

I felt so good, I invited Hydra out for a hike. We hiked by the light of the moon!

Next day, the terrible cold descended. Glad we hiked when we did.

Belated Christmas Tea - Friday 1/8/2009

It's hard for me to believe that this was actually so long ago, probably because I was out of it for the next four days with a nasty cold.

We didn't have our Christmas tea before the holidays because I and another coworker were snowed in. Then the boss announced after we came back that there isn't enough money for us to go to tea. This was a terrible mistake, morale-wise.

But Weens came up with the idea of doing our own little tea along with the delayed Secret Santa exchange! So she went to Porto's for pastries and I brought in some of my teacups and my big happy Chatsford teapot (famous in tea circles, dontcha know?) and we had a very nice little gathering.



Weens' Christmas Queen presided over it all!


Cause I know you want a better look. These things are filled with guava, coconut, currents, almond paste, cherries, pears, etc. MMM.

The only dark note was that two people had Jens' name in the Secret Santa exchange and no one had OneL's! And I think it's my fault! Because after the holidays I'd forgotten and Jens told me I had her and she had me, which I had reason to believe.

So wrong. My fault for not remembering. And believe me, OneL is the person to whom this stuff matters the most. She dealt, but it was too bad.

I received some cool techno music from Jens.

Suffice it to say...

it didn't work. I've been down with an horrific cold for the past 4 days. (I'd sigh if it didn't start me coughing.)