August is pretty much one of my either most favorite or most hated months of the year. we are coming to the close of August so i thought a little tribute to one of my three trips this month could be a nice posting.
my birthday is in August. and this year, instead of sitting in 100+ heat in this sticky state of Texas, I got to go back to SF. the trip was both fun and happy and poignant and sad and emotionally and physically exhausting. first i will introduce you to the poignant, sad, draining part of the trip...
i went home for my Aunt Martha's memorial. it sucked. well, no, the memorial didn't suck. the memorial was actually awesome. my mom put together an amazing party after the church part and the church part was very beautiful. the sucky part was i actually had to face up to the fact that Martha is gone. and while she has been gone for over a month, being here in Texas means i didn't have to really deal with the fact that she is gone. but being in SF brought it all home for me. and honestly - death sucks. and death that comes so suddenly (car crash for those of you that don't know) is really really on the top of the suck-o-meter. with all that said, you can see where the sad and poignant and draining parts come into the weekend.
the good part about the whole thing is the family decided to have the memorial the day AFTER my birthday. which meant that on my birthday i was able to do the following:
* Renew my California (yes, CALIFORNIA!) driver's license
* Get the grey hairs gone by my dear friend and the only person who will ever touch my hair, Emil Besson
* Whip up some tasty treats for the memorial
* Go out with my closest and dearest friends and family in SF for a lot of wine
and here we go into the happy, fun, yet physically exhaustive part of the weekend. there were 14 of us who all met up on Friday night in the Mission at a tiny little wine bar and truly enjoyed ourselves. at least i hope y'all did, because i know i did. seeing your faces on my birthday evening made this one of my best birthdays ever. i truly enjoyed your company, the conversation, the laughter, the surprises and the tremendous amount of love pouring around the table. i don't remember all of the evening, but i do remember that i didn't do anything terribly stupid. i did remember to put on my flip flops to walk to the car (instead of the heels). and i did drink the coconut water that Annie gave me before i went to bed. i think without that coconut water, i may have not been able to function as well as i did on Saturday (and i was barely functioning!)
i do hate to say it but in my old age - my liver cannot take the copious amounts of alcohol consumed between August 9th at 6pm to August 12th at 7pm. seriously. i just can't do that anymore. i used to be able to down a 12-pack without a hangover. but now, the consequences are too difficult to endure.
despite the fact that i was pretty much hungover from Saturday to Tuesday, i had an amazing weekend full of friends and family. i got to see the people whom i love most in the world (minus a couple). i got to enjoy their company and laugh and eat and i even got to catch a phenomenal Giants game. bottom line? it was an amazing trip and i wouldn't change a thing. thank you to all of you who participated, including you Martha. you would have loved every minute of it.
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Monday, August 6, 2012
music for a memorial
my mom asked me to pull together a playlist for Martha's memorial this weekend. i have to say, it kind of sucks to sit here and find the right music for a memorial. i would much rather be choosing songs to play at a wedding or a birthday party, even a kid's birthday party.
there are songs i want to put in the list but i know they are too "happy" and then there are songs where i just can't put them in there - like who wants to go to a Memorial and hear Sarah McLachlan sing "I Will Remember You." and then there is the fact that 1/2 my music collection isn't even in my i-tunes. like there is not a single Beatles song in my music list. not one.
but i did find some really nice classical guitar for the church services which i am planning on listening to at work tomorrow. classical guitar is really beautiful and much calmer than an orchestra. there isn't any clanging symbols or brass sections. it's just nice and peaceful.
and i also discovered that i have misplaced one of my all time favorite albums - Rites of Passage by The Indigo Girls. thanks to the powers of i-tunes, i purchased it again. i think this probably marks my 5th purchase of this album. i hope Amy & Emily are thankful for repeat customers.
needless to say, i am just dropping songs into a playlist and we can hit shuffle and see what happens. so far i have dropped 19.4 hours into the playlist. that should cover us for the hopefully 2 hours of guests.
i did sneak in some happy stuff, FYI. like a Vampire Weekend song. and some old Paul Simon. :)
(i know this is a pretty boring post. but i promised to write more. i never said i would only write good intriguing stuff. so, every once in awhile, you will probably find a boring post about "what i did today." just go with it. or comment and complain. i don't really care.)
there are songs i want to put in the list but i know they are too "happy" and then there are songs where i just can't put them in there - like who wants to go to a Memorial and hear Sarah McLachlan sing "I Will Remember You." and then there is the fact that 1/2 my music collection isn't even in my i-tunes. like there is not a single Beatles song in my music list. not one.
but i did find some really nice classical guitar for the church services which i am planning on listening to at work tomorrow. classical guitar is really beautiful and much calmer than an orchestra. there isn't any clanging symbols or brass sections. it's just nice and peaceful.
and i also discovered that i have misplaced one of my all time favorite albums - Rites of Passage by The Indigo Girls. thanks to the powers of i-tunes, i purchased it again. i think this probably marks my 5th purchase of this album. i hope Amy & Emily are thankful for repeat customers.
needless to say, i am just dropping songs into a playlist and we can hit shuffle and see what happens. so far i have dropped 19.4 hours into the playlist. that should cover us for the hopefully 2 hours of guests.
i did sneak in some happy stuff, FYI. like a Vampire Weekend song. and some old Paul Simon. :)
(i know this is a pretty boring post. but i promised to write more. i never said i would only write good intriguing stuff. so, every once in awhile, you will probably find a boring post about "what i did today." just go with it. or comment and complain. i don't really care.)
Saturday, August 4, 2012
trying to get motivated...
i'm trying today. i am really trying today. but honestly this is not easy. here is the not easy part. first of all - every day since i have quit smoking (ok, maybe not every day but about 85% of them) i want a cigarette. and the past few days have been the hardest.
most of the time i can redirect my energy into doing something else - like cleaning the house or fiddling around in the kitchen making something new. but no. not this week. because this week my roommate has her dad and her sister here. and all they do is sit in the living room and watch TV. there is no space for me. there is no inquiry as to what i want to watch on my TV (of which i pay for the cable and the electricity). they are just there watching movies i have seen or movies i haven't seen but i can't ask them to start them at the beginning.
i know. i am being petty. after all, my roommate did just come home from surgery and they are here nursing her back to health. but she is doing fine. and all they do is sit there. i want to enjoy my house, not share my house. i want 6 hours of selfish time not spent in my room or in my office.
enough of my venting. i will use this frustration to go and clean my bathroom, do some laundry and cook them lunch. because somehow i got volunteered to prepare risotto and grilled chicken for lunch. in all fairness i was asked - but what am i supposed to say "no. i don't want to cook your family lunch because i don't want them to stay here and if i cook then they will probably never want to leave?"
one day, she'll probably read this and then hate me. but i really just needed to vent and now that that's done, i am going to get off my ass and start my laundry and cleaning the bathroom and start the late lunch. and tomorrow to escape the fact that i don't have any space other than my room, i will probably just go to work. and then in less than a week i get to leave TX and go to CA where the weather will enable me to find my own quiet space somewhere outside with a book and the only thing missing will be my dog.
thanks for listening...
most of the time i can redirect my energy into doing something else - like cleaning the house or fiddling around in the kitchen making something new. but no. not this week. because this week my roommate has her dad and her sister here. and all they do is sit in the living room and watch TV. there is no space for me. there is no inquiry as to what i want to watch on my TV (of which i pay for the cable and the electricity). they are just there watching movies i have seen or movies i haven't seen but i can't ask them to start them at the beginning.
i know. i am being petty. after all, my roommate did just come home from surgery and they are here nursing her back to health. but she is doing fine. and all they do is sit there. i want to enjoy my house, not share my house. i want 6 hours of selfish time not spent in my room or in my office.
enough of my venting. i will use this frustration to go and clean my bathroom, do some laundry and cook them lunch. because somehow i got volunteered to prepare risotto and grilled chicken for lunch. in all fairness i was asked - but what am i supposed to say "no. i don't want to cook your family lunch because i don't want them to stay here and if i cook then they will probably never want to leave?"
one day, she'll probably read this and then hate me. but i really just needed to vent and now that that's done, i am going to get off my ass and start my laundry and cleaning the bathroom and start the late lunch. and tomorrow to escape the fact that i don't have any space other than my room, i will probably just go to work. and then in less than a week i get to leave TX and go to CA where the weather will enable me to find my own quiet space somewhere outside with a book and the only thing missing will be my dog.
thanks for listening...
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