Gettin' In the Mood for...

Current mood: sore
Category: Life


So, it's been a hectic day today but a good one ...I haven't posted in awhile but that's only because I've been just straight up busy at work & I'm trying to get my house in order since my roommate is moving out & I have a new roommate moving in I won't say who because she probably really wants to be anonymous off my blogs...I like to devulge & I know she's more private, yes, if you're reading this - you know you'll appreciate that & give me an "Amen" & high five...baha!

All I have to say is that my weekends more than make-up for my weekdays most of the time. Last week I went to a wedding in Napa or more to the point, San Rafael...it was too fun...my good friend's sister had the the nicest ceremony & everything else afterwards was just the perrennial "blast from the 80's past"...I mean the DJ there was playing Stevie B., Covergirls, Dino, Sweet Sensation, Expose & then Vanilla Ice...too outta' control, I tell ya', the bad part was most of the crowd got up & did the requisite 80's b-boy/ b-girl dance moves that corresponded to all these songs. Also, my friend thought I would know NO ONE at this wedding...of course, I met two guys who knew me 1st - the first was actually the wedded couple's friend who was driving them & he actually remembered me not from school but the fact that I attended a mutual friend's dad's funeral all the way back almost 15 years ago...whatta' trip...he said he remembered my face...the other guy was helping me decorate & sprinkle like these fake autumn leaves down the bridal path runway to the makeshift altar outside the country club & I just totally laughed when he was like, "Eleanore is that you????"...I had to squint really hard & scratch my noggin' to remember both guys but wow, that felt like a family reunion seeing people after all these years from high school...too funny...yes, yes, I am getting older & stuff like that when you start playing "the catch-up" game in conversations makes you realize how really far you've come & progressed as a person and where you are in life...

Mostly, it's me just plugging away at work...dang, did I mention work once more again...I know, I know it sounds so boring but it's the big push before the holidays, which I might add I am not ready for. How the heck did it turn into the end of the year already? I'm not ready for Thanksgiving much less Christmas, much less New Year's...okay, okay...it's easy to feel overwhelmed at this time of the year but I think I'm going to do like I did last year - just take it at my OWN pace. I am going to try not to be pressured to go to so many social things, that's all...

Anyway, today, I helped pick-up trash at Stern Grove & man, was it an archeological dig or what...I found well in order the most for quantity & just because they were odd; 1. Cigarette Butts 2. Beer bottles - whole or smashed buried in the ground (probably teenagers trying to grow a beer tree so they can have more beer? Baha!) 3. Paper cups 4. CD's and/ or CD covers 4. food wrappers 5. A hub cap 6. Nails - Okay, dangerous but at least we were using those claw grabbing thinga mah jiggies 7. Crumpled parking tickets (from a p.o.'ed fellow SF citizen, I'm sure) 8. Tissue Paper 9. Soda Pop Cans 10. Plastic something or others 11. Flattened tennis balls (we cleaned up near the tennis courts there) 12. Tennis ball can covers 13. Shoes (Ewwww, that seemed gross to me) 14. One homeless man who I was told has been living in his little encampment for over 10 years! Can you believe that? I was even told the neighbors who live near Stern Grove over there actually bring him food too and feed him; which is fine but living there for 10 years??? Won't anyone direct him to a homeless shelter or something? He had like luggage, some boxes, utensils & then other things I can't mention b/c it's just gross & I didn't even end up cleaning it out because the gardener with us, plus my supervisor, plus this other volunteer guy were like, "No, get away, stand back...it's so gross, you can't come near over there in those bushes"... Wow...so, I'll spare you all but I just want to go on record we for hell sure cleaned up that spot where that squatter lived & the funny part was the whole time he was lying in the sun next to his shopping cart pretending to read some old beat up paper while they cleaned out his "home"... Anyway, you can't force people to seek shelter & at the same time I feel like it's such a sad situation but he looks like he's pretty mental at the same time...*sigh*...in anycase, I think the Park & Rec people have tried to report him a lot of times but he just hides for a little while probably somewhere else close by & then returns to the same spot...such a tragic thing to see, really...can I just say, my calves & ankles are sore right now from the bending down & picking up...damn...old age...senioritis..

Anyway, not to bum you all completely out, after we spruced up the park a bit - I then went to the Bayview to take part in the mentoring fair & wow, the energy there was so completely different from my mellow gardening day in the park...lots of music, dancing, double dutching, good vibes & kids having a good time with their parents which always a great thing to see because, you know, I love families...the teenagers were all great, I loved seeing their dancing & my gawd, breakdancing is just as popular as ever & I don't know what they call it anymore, but it looks like they're doing a different form of poplocking that is blowing me away...too funny...I was totally trying to dancing with them (please note that "trying" was the operative word here).

Hmmmmm, I got to see a free preview of the new Johnny Cash bio-film this past Thursday night - Joaquin Phoenix is just an amazing actor...it's the brooding, tortured soul thing he's got going on...great casting choice...though his eyes were definitely not his natural blue, they made him wear like brown contacts or something to fit the role.. There's that touch of sadness there that you want to take care of for sure...that broken winged bird syndrome...he's very attractive in this movie...I felt like a groupie, esp., the very last scene where he was kinda' gettin' into his Cash character I playing the guitar to the hilt...loved all that swaggering & posturing he was doing...(Spoiler coming: don 't read this next line now, if you don't want to know too much about the movie). There was a main point in the movie where Johnny Cash lost his older brother in a freak sawmill accident...& you KNOW Joaquin drawed a lot from his own life & loss in the scenes...sort of washes over in the whole movie, again, that touch of moroseness...sadness...*sigh*...Love his eyes, too, can I say that again? Baha! Reese was just Reese, she was pretty perky & I felt at time there were moments that needed to be conveyed much deeper than she was allowing herself to go...there were some dark areas there, esp. when she was trying him to kick his pill/ drug addiction & I felt Reese felt uncomfortable trying to even act that part out...but overall, she's a good actress & it wasn't really about her but it was all about Johnny Cash...

Anyway, one observation that is probably obvious to most who follow rock stars is there is something about them we immediately embrace & when they're lives are tinged with some human struggles then we want to embrace them more...you know the struggle to get there even though they're famous...also, it's idolatory thing...what is it about people onstage that we instantly gravitate too...the larger than life thing...anyway, great flick... check it out if you get a chance this Thanksgiving weekend...Let's see, what else, I went to go watch people ice skate at the Kristi Yamaguchi ice rink last night while a jazz band played, got to watch the kiddies take their snapshots with Santa & whisper their "xmas wishes" in his ear. So adorable, when he'd speak back to them, they looked so wide-eyed, fascintated, a bit spooked yet giddy at the same time - hmmmm, almost like a younger form of idol worship for them, right? Ha...I also got a chance to see them light up the tree in the Hyatt & that was pretty "oooohhhh & ahhhh"-ed worthy...yes, yes, I'm a big kid & that still tickles me pink & makes me feel all warm & fuzzy when I see the twinkle lights go on & that no matter what mood I was in before at work or who irritated me, etc., etc., ...all that b.s. melts away when the holidays do roll along...so yesterday, finally, I am happy to report that it caught up with me and I think I'm officially in the mood...

Though, I was trying to get some friends to go to me to the grand opening of H&M & the immediately branded me ludicrously crazy - you see I walk past Union Square everyday on my commute back & forth from work, so I've been like in a tizzy for it's opening. I mean damn, whenever I go take a trip to NYC, I always have to visit the 5th Avenue one & I'm always there for hours, so this one coming here is like "crack" to me...I can't even express how giddy I am that it's opening here. So, since my friends think I need an intervention from my H&M addiction & obsession, they have me onboard for a planned "makeover" for our friend B.E. instead in the East Bay tomorrow...so, that's what my next event to follow tomorrow...go Albany, have a nice brunch with some good girlfriends & then drive off to San Leandro to do a "Straight Ethnic Gals for the Straight White Guy" makeover all day Sunday & then, at night, I get go see cutie pie Rob Thomas croon for an hour and half or so at Oakland's Paramount Theater...I can't wait! Everytime Matchbox 20 was in town, I've always gone - so, you know I had to see him this time around, too...

I'll keep you all posted later to let you know how the concert went

Until then, I'm clamming up for now Groan...yes, that was my feeble stab at a joke with this addictive smiley face artwork...but what the hey...it conveys how I'm feeling in it's own cutesy way...it's fun, a joke...hah ha hah...

Be well all, have a fabulous, wonderful Thanksgiving with all your love ones, enjoy their company, share the hearth & warmth with all who need it and don't fall asleep too quickly after eating all that turkey ;)

Paz,

Elle


Currently listening:
The College Dropout
By Kanye West
Release date: By 10 February, 2004

Current mood: aggravated Category: Goals, Plans, Hopes
I'm feeling a bit lost & wayward ...like I went off the wrong road mainly in life...
If that all sounds vague well...it's meant to be ...I hate feeling lost in general but mine is a life decision thing...sorry, I don't mean to inflict my angst onto the world but I wanted to just vent right now...
On a positive note, I had a great time being the chaperone to my 3 year old nephew & 11 year old nephew trick or treating last night - they were doctors/ surgeons with their labcoats & scrubs & I was the old skool nurse with the white dress & little white hat...we even had our own stethoscopes =) When I get it together, I'll try to share those funny photos...they baby was way into his costume...he kept wanting to check everyone's heart beat in mi familia ...baha!
Take care...E.
Currently listening: Bebel Gilberto By Bebel Gilberto Release date: By 08 June, 2004

Hands Cupped Around Styrofoam Cups - August 18th Poem About a June 10th Day.

Current mood: calm

Hands Cupped Around Styrofoam Cups

Pristine needle pricks all the while
we toss facts about baseball & the state of the Giants.
Alcohol swabbed and the gauze is taped over the spot.

Ten minutes later around 12:15, the 4th nurse of the day stops by
and hands over a pink pill.
No questions are asked, just swig and swallow.

Looking up at the ceiling, back on skinny mattress,
the voice of a nurse pages random doctors.
Their names fall out of the speakers’ tiny holes
as if they were confetti falling, twisting ,dropping onto the just
mopped, Pinesol cleaned tiles.
If you stretch your ears out you can barely catch them.

In the waiting room, hands that wrapped the now patients’ hands
are now cupped around small Styrofoam cups.
In the twilight, the blue haze coming off the small light bulb
from the sole vending machine standing watch over the corner
is armed with all the sugar and salt that can protect you.

Currently listening: Music by Cavelight By Blockhead Release date: By 23 March, 2004

Current mood: amused

Check this out ;) It's site that tries to guess your personality traits when you draw a picture of a pig...baha! The url link to the site & my drawing, personality results are below...try it...a fun waste of time...

http://drawapig.desktopcreatures.com/

http://drawapig.desktopcreatures.com/gallery/large.asp?id=739581&p=0&hof=1&q=personality+test

Currently listening: No Name Face By Lifehouse Release date: By 31 October, 2000

My Last Memory of the "Big Easy"

Words escape me and I'm all at a lost of the city they fondly call "The Big Easy" this week as I watch the countless sad images & dour reporting coming from the CNN coverage that I have been watching on a daily basis this week. It especially hits home because the Gulf Coast is an area that I consider "my roots"...basically, I was born in Pensacola Naval Airbase & for my parents, this is the FIRST place they called "home" in America when they first arrived from the Philippines...so, every "baby step" they learned about being an "American" they learned while living in the Gulf Coast region...about a couple years later, after moving around, Philippines, Guam, Port Huenueme & Norfolk, VA...they settled back to Pensacola & those years were my formative, pre-teen years living in the Gulf Coast & I have nothing but mostly, fond memories living there...we lived in the largest Naval Base in the country & we had a comfortable living as a family of an Officer there for awhile...anyway, without getting into too personal business of my family history...it was truly the "Camelot" years before my parents went through their separation & eventual, divorce...maybe, I'm seeing it all through rose colored glasses but living in that beach community and because the military base was a town in & of itself with all different minorities and the Caucasians living PEACEFULLY together, I was pretty much sheltered from the "black" vs. "white" mentality that was out there...though, once you stepped outside the confines of the U.S. base, we truly felt the racism...it was overt - harsh words or snickering comments that my mother & father would pretend not to hear & then just quicken their pace & shuffle us along (Passers-by: "What boat did those funny looking Chinamen come from?" Me: "What!" "What mom, dad did you hear what they said!" Mom or Dad: "Just keep walking, look straight ahead, just keep walking...") ; then there were the more subtle, quick, quizzical glances & just long, hard, harsh stares are what stand out most in my mind when we ventured off to areas that were clearly not USED to us...anyway, I'm glad that we did travel, wander on these random spontaneous trips - because, as a child of immigrant parents; this is how you get to know a country's people, their culture and what kind of mettle they are made of...so, driving up and down, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, & of course, Florida, even though we had those harsh experiences - you also, had people who were kind, hospitable & clearly, loved their homes and especially, which stood out the most for me, was their love of family & tradition...how they kept their values down to familial love which I was very akin to even at a young age. So, when I see the coverage of the news, families separated, traditional lives & livelihoods torn apart...my heart cracks like glass split by a random pebble thrown on a car window shield...it's surprising how the impact shakes me up & how its thread permeates & lengthens...


Anyway, it's got me nostalgic about the last time I was in New Orleans; it was about 5 1/2 years ago and it was my previous job working for a tech company & being their Marketing/ Convetions Coordinator...it was our "User Forum" convention & it was the last day...technically, I was suppose to man our customers' "Net Cafe" but I closed it an hour early before noon b/c most people had already left to catch planes that morning...so, my boss, told me to just leave early & take the rest of the next day off & have the A/V sounds guys pack up my booth to go back home..."Cool! I thought..." I had a whole day to myself...I had already tried all the jambalaya I can handle from the previous night's ALL night party that our company had thrown at "The House of Blues"...we had arranged & paid for "The Neville Brothers" to bring the house down the night before...you have to remember now this was at the boom of the whole dot.com thing...so not only did we have them but we also had spent money to decorate the place to look like the exact replica of the French Quarters back in its heyday, along with saloon looking women mingling around with cigars & chocolates for all the guests & then having tarot card, tea leaf & palm readers upstairs on the top floor looking down on the party below; which was people dancing & grooving to the Neville Bros. and/ or eating all the good food catered by K. Paul's Louisiana Kitchen...it was bang-up night; all I remember was working the beginning of the night & then someone grabbing me & telling me to stop working & just dance, eat & then drink some more ...so, yes that 12 hour a day job did have it's perks when all was said & done...


So, back to my last day in NOLA, I had a room at the St. Francis to myself...my co-worker shared a room with me but she was missing her husband & wanted to leave that morning...so, I woke up late, ordered room service, had a full waffle breakfast...showered, changed...then decided that I needed to swim on the rooftop pool since it was so humid and hot on a late October afternoon...after watching some cable, I changed into my makeshift bathing suit of a t-shirt, my sports bra & some shorts & just swam & laid out in the sun for an hour...on the roof of a grand hotel...really, people, this is ALL true...if my boss was going to let me stay all day while he said he'd take care of cleaning up because I had already did the legwork of the great party we threw the night before; who was I to argue? I have a good track record of "EXCELLENT" bosses, so far in my working career...knock on wood, knock on wood...I'll tell you I still rank him as the ABSOLUTE best...


Then, I decided to go venture downtown & walked just 5 blocks away from the hotel & found a shop that selled the most scrupmtious po'boy sam'wiches, which were dirt cheap, too!


Then, my co-worker told me I had to grab a beignet & chicory coffee from Cafe du Monde...so, I hopped on one of the open air green street cars & took it towards the Garden District...once, I got to Cafe du Monde; I felt like was in another time & place in the area...very, Southern, very "genteel"...the beignets were made straight/ hot out of the cooker - lightly dusted with powdered sugar & it WAS DEEE-VINE...after people watching & licking the last of the yummy, French doughnut, I hopped back into the street car & decided to soak in more of the historic atmosphere...I took the train, all the way down to Tulane University...at Tulane because there were surrounding shops and eateries around there, too...I decided I would "blend in" & just pretend I was a regular student walking along the campus & the college neighborhood...the campus was bustling & I had grabbed another coffee from another nearby cafe (can't remember which) & just people watched/ and yes, eavesdropping on people's conversations that day...


After doing that for awhile, I took the train back to the French Quarters & grabbed some hot sauce as souvenirs for my family...then, went down Bourbon Street (which the funky, crasser bars would try to recreate Mardi Gras EVERYDAY to attract the tourist crowd) and stepped into a side alley to listen to some lilting jazz pianist that I had followed from outside...again, I'm sorry if my memory escapes me about the exact location because, I LOVE traveling this way - it's the stuff you can't find off the guidebooks & the EXPEDIA.com sites that give me the most joy when I do travel...it's the unexpected that gives a dose of originality & substance when you start learning about a unique, vibrant & beautiful mesh of cultures New Orleans had to offer...


The other highlights in New Orleans:


1. If you have to party with your co-workers, having a "Hurricane" or Mint Julep or another "Hurricane" at Pat O'Brien's was one of the most relaxing & entertaining times I had on the trip. Relaxing b/c the Hurricanes are jumbo drinks that can put a giant, abomindable snow man in a mellow mood & entertaining b/c when your co-workers drink Hurricanes, the funny, real, uncensored things coming out of their mouths that night were absolutely priceless! Incidentally, I'm not being insensitive, the reason they called the fruit rum drink a "hurricane" was b/c the glass they served it in looked like an "upside down hurricane lamp glass" - that's what the good ol' waiter told us when we ordered it...it's so gigantic, too...do I keep mentioning that or what???


2. Magazine Street - A great street to shop if you love to shop if you drop. I bought most of my souveneirs for friends & family there...


3. A Gator Tour by a real Cajun guide - that was the most weirdest, yet most interesting tours, I've ever taken...largely because, our guide was an authentic Cajun & we could barely understand him when he would point things out but me & my friends were too polite to speak up & just interrupt him...for awhile, it didn't matter, it lended more to the atmosphere that he would have his musical, lilting accent color commentating us down the rivers and pointing out the alligators to us...very memorable, too because on our bus ride over there...b/c of their open container/ plastic container rule that allows anyone to drink alcohol out in the street - we just laughed out loud when we saw a drive through drinking shack on the way to our tour...busted a gut actually, the guys in my group, almost made the tour bus driver stop b/c they were contemplating on checking the shack out...


4. The gracious locals - No matter where I went, the locals were polite and gracious...yes, mam & no sir...unendingly polite & I'm told very, very Southern.


5. The food - from the crawfish/ crayfish, which just cooked simply in salt & pepper & bit of butter was spectacular to the Andouille Gumbo, Shrimp Etouffee to my very first, best tasting (STILL) sweet potato pie - New Orleans is one area in the U.S. that I'm glad I didin't miss tasting as a sheer foodie & restaurant goer...hopefully, as a food lover, they will be able to rebuild & I can sample it once more again...I went to about 5 different restaurants in the 6 days I was there, too - ranging in prices & atmopshere but all genuine New Orleans cuisine & all amazingly, tasty & scrumptious!

Anyway, again, I'm trying to remember the unique, wonderful aspects of a historical city that we are ALL mourning over...again, I can't emphasize enough how wonderful the people were out there...I wanted to state that since I'm seeing all this negative imagery of the looting & some of the tension going on between people there...hey, it's catastrophe; it will bring out the worst but again, it will also bring out the BEST in people in a very, tenous, difficult situation...may we all PRAY for them at this difficult time.

I hope you all had a great Labor Day weekend by the time you read this...

Poetic Translation of Lorna Dee Cervantes' Poem

Current mood: thoughtful Mmmmmm...work is work & yes, I'm back, I just started this week...it's been mellow & I'm trying to get back to regular swing of things ...I'm taking lil' swings though, just to pace myself... So, I'm taking a bit of a break...so, my writing class is humming along & it's been excellent so far...I'm learning a lot & feel like I'm learning to "rewrite" again... So, here's one exercise - a 1st draft...I translated a poem called, "My Dinner with Your Memory" by Lorna Dee Cervantes...here's my version in my words...a lil' intense but mmmmm, I'll be frank, I've felt it before & also, it was an exercise in trying to write in someone else's frame of mind...mmmm, it maybe too that I'm hungry all the time, ha ha ha...who knows...

Just to give you a taste of what I'm trying to work on here, my teacher calls it "homo linguistic translations" - it's a deconstructionist technique where you translate works from English to English. It's the notion of coming at deciphering language purely through meaning & that language - the concrete word itself - is at the bottom of how you enter into a poem. We were suppose to fit the poem into our own rhythm & our own language...Okay, so, I'll give you her original poem & then, I'll give you my fellow workshop student's version & then you can compare both to mine...I think it's interesting how the meaning slightly changes with each poem...I don't know if you'll notice it. I know my classmate& me both used the word "pungent" to describe the cheese which was weird to both of us we would pick that word...but what the hey...

My Dinner with Your Memory by Lorna Dee Cervantes

A woman's scent is nothing
like bread, although sometimes I steam
when the moon slivers my heart
into poverty's portions. This one's
for you, though you lie, though you deserve
none of this butter. On the table between
us: a slab of meat that once tasted
cud the size of my breast, a cunning
wire to slip off some cheese, a plum
brandy that dissolves into nothing, silver
on the tongue as that talk we devour.
Who would hunger at the brink of this
feast? Who would go, uninvited,
but you and your ghost of a dog?


Aftertaste - Nancy Hom's Translation of Cervantes'
poem

Memory of you
shattered into bits and bites
of broken bread with smears of butter;
kisses greased from
slabs of meat we used to eat -
breasts, thighs and inner morsels
pungent as ripe cheese.

Plum brandy on our tongues,
now evaporated,
like the smell of you, the taste of us;
the fusion of our arms and groins.
Only memory left at the
dining table and uninvited guests
who slobber at the sight
of such abandon.

Mine:

Love & Hunger - Translation of "My Dinner with Your
Memory" by Lorna Dee Cervantes

The fresh smell of female is not
like a loaf of sweet bread.

Yet, at certain moments my mind percolates
when the dank evening sinks its long blade and hands
me perfect slices of my cut-up heart.

It's just enough for a poor man's pie.

Here is your portion, though you deserve no sweet
filling.

At suppertime, placed before us, centered en la mesa
a generous portion of steak about the weight & measure
of my chest.

A clever taut, wrought metal wire to paper-thin
the pungent cheese, liquor that dissipates into nada.

We gorge off the precious metals, we concoct alchemy
with our mouths.

How can we live on empty stomachs at the precipice of
this banquet?

Who would show-up, unannounced
Pero tu & your haunted espiritu?

Aloha! Back from Paradise & Into Reality

The Hawaii '05 Crew with our new favorite waiter at Alan Wong's - 8.07.05

We get ready to watch "Willie Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" on the beach in Waikiki - 8.06.05

I'm happy I get to eat such an aesthetically pleasing & scrumptious salad - Alan Wong's, 8.07.05

The gals & me pose at the W Hotel lobby after libations & dancin' - 8.06.05

Current mood: chipper

Hi Folks,

So, I just arrived back this week from Honolulu & it was just an absolute blast My highlight of the trip was swimming with about 100 dolphins in their natural habitat...not in a manmade/ hermetically sealed pool. The funny part is as most of you know, dolphins have built in sonar & they told us that before jumping in the waters that they can detect if someone is either pregnant or has had recent surgery with metal, etc. Well, they WERE following me...so many in fact, I was a bit taken aback at how docile & undettered they were by a human being but of course, I'm sure they're used to it. The funny part was one got so close to me that he rubbed his belly to mine. When I got out of the water, I went to report to my guide that the dolphin was rubbing tummies with me & asked if it was because he detected my elbow/ arm surgery...she said, "Nahhhh, dolphins are known to be promiscuous they do not discriminate between sex or SPECIES. It was probably just tryin' to get some!"" Dang! That was not the kind of "action" I was expecting in Hawaii...baha!

In anycase, I also got to tour around the area outside of Waikiki because we were staying at a friend of friend's place in Waipahu & also hung around Aiea (sounds like "paella"), it was just nice & relaxing to just wear T-shirts, flip flops & working on building that bronze tan...which for me took 4 minutes & took my other friend like 4 days & she only tanned her shoulders...heh heh heh...

If you ever go there, I definitely recommend Ono's - a great hole in the wall with like da' best Lau Lau pork I ever tasted & Alan Wong's if you want fancier fare & ummmm, we got some good eye candy with our super hunky, cute waiter, Ryan...ha! Sorry, we were drooling over not just the desserts.

Later, later,
Elle

Currently listening: Love. Angel. Music. Baby. (Deluxe) By Gwen Stefani Release date: By 23 November, 2004

Must Love Dogs & Aloha!

Current mood: good

So, had a dinner & a movie tonight w/ a friend & we ended up watching "Must Love Dogs"...it was a total date/ chick flick & of course, I loved it...here are the resasons why I ended up loving it...

1. Captain Von Trapp aka Christoper Plummer from "The Sound of Music" is in the movie as Diane Ladd's dad...it's like my fave musical b/c I feel like I've grown up to the soundtrack of that movie...

2. Rizzo from "Grease" aka Stockard Channing is in the movie & that's my second favorite musical growing up & she plays this trailer trash, big-haired, fake & bake tangerine orange tanned woman that wears A LOT of turquoisejewelry in the film who dates of course, Capt. Von Trapp...a riot...

3. John Cusak is always a good idea in a romantic comedy & he always does good in that self-effacing, everyday/ good guy kind of role...it's his specialty, his bread & butter type of acting...he makes it look easy...also, I think I've had a crush on him ever since both "Say Anything" & "The Sure Thing" (remember that early Rob Reiner movie? Rob Reiner has me hooked on these type of movies since then, to "When Harry Met Sally..." to a new film set in SF that has Reese Witherspoon & Mark Ruffalo in it, can't wait for that one, I just saw the preview of it tonight but forgot the title)...so, I'm biased ;) I do love nice guys & I never believed they finish last...

4. Diane Ladd is a lovely actress, she doesn't overplay the role...even though really this is a fantasy movie & you know there will be a happy ending, you can't help but like her & root for her b/c she keeps the performance of her character very realistic not at all too cutesy which would've been like sugar overload, you know? I've liked her ever since I watched "A Little Romance" when she was like a 13 year old actress...as she was running around Paris & Italy in that movie, I vicariously was like traveling in that movie with her when I first saw it when I was younger...the whole kissing in a gondola while you past one of the bridges has got to be the sweetest scenes in cinema :

5. The make funny references that are topical...like John Cusack's lawyer friend in the movie shows a photo of an older woman that's interested in him & he says, "Now that's a 'cougar'!"...cracked me up b/c that term has been a topic of conversation for me & my single friends lately...if you don't know what the new slang term "Cougar" means...go google it...ha! Also, the things they have to say about internet dating too seem to be true...how most aren't presenting their real selves at first just a fantasy of who they want to be or of what they think someone else wants them to be...that's why the internet is fine for initating meeting someone but in the end the only real way to get to know someone is actually spend ol' fashioned face-to-face time with them...I think that's good solid advice...so, basically, telling us to turn off the computers & just jump on out there...baha!

6. They actually showed a lil' of my peeps culture in a short scene...here's the set-up, Diane Lane is a preschool teacher; so in this particular scene the kids are dancing & they are "tinikling"...I was the only one in the theater busting up laughing over that...tinikling if those of you who don't know is a Filipino folk dance where the dancers dance in between two sticks while two other people hold them & keep time by banging them on the ground & also clicking them together...in this scene they just banged them on the ground, probably b/c they didn't want to hurt the child actors legs & be liable for like accidents but what cracked me up more was that they were playing the actual "tinikling" traditional song for the background music...score one giant gold star from me to the screenwriters for being culturally knowledgeable enough to stick that in ...hey, I'll take anything...I thought that was a nice treat to see some of that in there...

So, as you can tell I enjoyed that movie but then I'm a connosieur of romantic comedies & yes, if that makes me a full fledged girly girl then so be it...ha! I think that's no big secret that I like mush & I'm a sucker for it...

Anyway, I'm getting ready to go to the Aloha/ 808 State this week...I'll be gone for almost a week. When I get back, I'll relay my adventures. So the only thing I have on my agenda is working on getting tanner, wear flip flops everyday, drink a hurricane or two in a pineapple & just relax, relax, relax before I have to return back to the office again...sounds like a good plan, right?

Currently listening: Change Clothes By Jay-Z Release date: By 08 June, 2004

Rough Draft No. 2

Rough Draft No. 2
Current mood: relaxed

Here's my 2nd assignment from my writing workshop this week...this time we had to answer a series of questions based on why/ how we write...how we became writers, what fuels us to write...here's my rough draft that incorporated some of my fellow workshop people's comments/ suggestions...I wanna explore it more....it's longer but I'll put the 2nd part up later til I rework it more b/c they thought that it just wasn't one poem but actually two...I totally will rewrite this one but here goes:

Enough is enough – Poetic Manifesto

Enough is enough
Done with staring at e-mails & following-up on phone calls
only to leave voice mails

Miscommunications that is an appropriate department title
change for the work that’s been done all day

Bad enough
that we are all pretty
fed-up, spoon fed
by Papa FCC
& Mama local evening news

That’s the point
when one has had enough of the day
packed bag
picked up

take the rush hour 38 Express
down wide-eyed Geary Street

Watch the busy work
of fruit stand dealers & Russian merchants
so they can distract you

Craving sanctuary at home
Writing brings up nostalgia of being 4 years old
scribbling on a legal pad

Creating one’s own hieroglyphics
with enough stories to fill
past the margins of the smudged lines
of the paper

Adding images hand drawn
Captions too to clarify

To tell a story
to anyone who would listen
Be it Lola or little brother

Rambling on & on scribbling is
interrupted by
the “Is this good enough?”

“Who cares? Just write.”
uncle’s voice
chimes in,
a high school
teacher for
30 years

Yet here comes
the “Is this trash?”

“Practice, do you hear me?”
“Just write.”
Uncle’s voice in his
woven
Waray, Tagalog,
Taglish, English
persistent tone

Here is a
refugee’s child
finding refuge
in the isle
of words

Currently watching: Saturday Night Live - Best of Jimmy Fallon Release date: By 25 January, 2005

Wanna' Be Nerd =)

Wanna' Be Nerd =)
Current mood: bouncy

Currently reading: The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters : A Novel By Elisabeth Robinson Release date: By 03 January, 2005

Rough Draft No.1

Rough Draft No.1
Current mood: creative

So, I started my writing workshop this summer...it was the only 2nd class tonight & I'm already gettin' into it. I enjoy the feedback of fellow writers...also, it totally reminds me of college, which, for me was a good experience...so, maybe I'll sprout new wings...who knows.

Here's a very rough draft of a poem where we had to listen to a piece of music with no lyrics & just let it dictate what we write no matter what pops up...here's mine, I was listening to this Trans/ R&B artist named Gaelle who hails from Atlanta when I composed this one...again, very, very rough but I enjoyed doing it

Arabella wears

a pink gingham dress

you know

the one with the ribbon straps

that tie around her shoulders

Armed with

her nanay’s permission to

no order

to go out and just play

Arabella dropped the windex soaked

dustcloth once

she heard the command

her lack

of interest in chores stood in

the way of her nanay’s

flow of

busy work, warm humid

in the

Gulf Coast, beach, pan handle heat

she set the brown child free

in Arabella’s

backyard was a cinder

block fence

each block had a square

hole a perfect fit for her

feet to

ascend to the top

as she

stuck her right then left foot

through each of the square

holes you

can see each toe nail

painted in

seashell pink nail lacquer and also

the brown skin cuticle decorated

in the

same, pastel shade, too

over the

fence she screams out to the

open field to hear her

own voice

sitting squat in the

middle of

the park was a jungle gym

a robotic spider spun it

only to

abandon its former home

the other

two objects in the park legless

ponies with metal springs grounded

Arabella guns

for the yellow horse

with a

green saddle, creak creak creak creak

Arabella likes how as she

rides how

the pony makes her

tummy flip

flop flop flip with her as

her own flip flops on

her feet

wrap around the footrests

her face

red tiny tummy twisting she thinks

this feels so strange strange

each inkling

of the word is

marked by

the slinky spring’s creak creak creak

strange creak strange creak strange

Currently listening: Transient By Gaelle Release date: By 16 November, 2004

Update en Mi Vida: Medical Appts & More

Update en Mi Vida: Medical Appts & More
Current mood: peaceful

Hmmmmm...my days have been spent going from one medical appt. after the other...a litany in fact. I've never been to the doctor so much in my life All I can say is...thank gawd I have a kick ass medical plan & the team of people helping me to feel better are so top notch in the bedside manner department...very patient, very kind...I'm blessed & thankful for that...

So, I went to my first physical therapy session just yesterday at 7:00 am in the morning! It's the earliest date I could get since the surgeon told me to start immediately, there I was groggy & fueled by my skim milk/ splenda infused coffee, even the therapist asked why I was there so early if I'm off of work...still, I can't believe I dragged my boo-tay out there at that hour but I think when you're bound & determined to do something, you just make your mind up to go...so, after evaluating me for 30 minutes & filling out the necessary paperwork, I started working on bending my wrist, makin' a fist & just basically bending my Anakin/ Darth Vadar elbow so it can start getting a "range of movement" (a PT term) again...it took all my muster to do so & I won't even tell you the pain I felt but it feels good to move somethin'!

Anyway, my therapist is thorough & knows what she's talkin' about & at the same time very personable...we're going to get along just fine...she said I can call her my physical "terrorist" since I'm going through some hurtin' as we go through the process...ha! She used to work at UCSF & we were chit chatting about Hawaii travels to each other & how I may go next month...

So, I'm doin' a lot of reading of junk mags like Star, Intouch & US...again I know more about the lives of Brangelina & Tomkat, more so than my own brothers or sister...I hate Tomkat b/c they are just way, way hyper for me & I know for like, the entire world ...I like the discretion Brangelina possess or they are at least trying to hide it ...okay, so a marriage broke up but at least they tip toe on the d.l., like, the old fashioned way...tomkat is just I don't know sooo, smug? is that what I want to call them? I have also caught the Bobby Brown new reality show on Bravo...my fave part is when Whitney says, "Hell to dah' no!" when she doesn't want to do something...it's a friggin crazy, hilarious show & they're a train wreck...I can't take my eyes off of it...hey, it's better than watchin' Britney & her fallin' a _ _ backwards in money, husband, KFed...

My other literature is reading some of Oscar Penaranda's work... I met up with him at the Fillmore Jazz Fest just this past weekend & we caught up with each other, he used to be my middle school teacher back in da' day & he's related to me, via cousin-wise...it was a nice mellow afternoon with good conversation & great live music...he has an upcoming play coming up at the end of the month, so I'll check that out

So, recent new restaurant jaunts I've been to? I've been to Deep Sushi in Noe Valley on Church St., my roommate's man knows the owners...nice small space & funky sushi =) We ate something called the Marilyn Manson b/c it had a spicy, kick to it & their warm salad was good with some sauteed aioli sauce & tuna tartare...

I've also been to a gourmet pizza place near my apt. that my co-worker friend inro'ed me to...it's called Pizzeta 211 & it's on California & 23rd...nice, cozy joint...I had a spinach, feta, olive oil pizza & my friend had a tomato & anchovi deal going on...we had some Italian cervezas & just good time catchin up conversation...work gossip, movies we've seen & just chillin' out...a nice, evening with someone who has become a very, very, good, good friend...I'm comforted by our relationship & it's surprising me a bit how well we get on...love the friendship, don't know how else to describe it

Oh, one more place, there's a joint on 19th & Valencia that serves great food 24/7 by my other friend-co-worker took me there last Sunday for brunch...I had the best egg's benedict in my life or maybe since I've been on this diet for a month, anything that has a little fat in it tastes divine to me

So, a few more things I have decided to take a poetry writing workshop to get those creative juices going, also Oscar said he would support me too & look over things for me & I have another friend named Edgar Poma, who I work with who is like a kuya/ big brother to me & is a fantastic writer so I have all this great coachin, now I have to just basically do it...I'm excited, my one friend actually knows the instructor who's conducting the class, b/c she used to intern at the place for him...it'll be good & it'll keep me busy as I go through my recovery time...I told my boss this week that I'm takin' another month off & he's so good to me b/c he practically told me, "Of course you can!" Did I ever tell everyone that I have a great boss? We have our moments but we get along so famously, it's uncanny...

Hmmm, so as you can tell I've become adept at typing with my one arm now...again, surprising what you can do when you put your mind to it...though I admit, I've taken some breaks watching a movie on the Independent Film Channel, some Sean Penn movie with Josh Lucas in it (the guy in Sweet Home Alabama)...Sean Penn is a superb actor can I just say that, my roommate tells me he likes to hitchhike in Marin & someone else told me that they've seen him in Berkeley hangin' out a few times...one day I want to see him or Benjamin Bratt in the street; I've only seen Sharon Stone at the Kabuki with her ex-hubby awhile back & Tracey Chapman, it's funny when you see a celebrity, even when you don't like them that much, it's like, "Oh my gawd is that who I think it is?" So, trying to recall all my brushes with fame (more like, semifame with semi-celebrities mostly...ha!) I've met: Captain Kangaroo (I was 7, some book signing & I waited in line!), Erin Grey (the woman in Battle Star Gallactica, a tv show that was a rip off of Star Wars, they all had perfectly feathered hair), Victoria Pricipal (Pam from Dallas! when I was 11) Al B. Sure, Expose, Sweet Sensation, Dino, Renel (radio DJ, here in SF), Antonio Sabato, Jr., Shemar Moore, LL Cool J, Dean Cain, Sharon Stone, Jill Scott, The Oais' lead singer, Dave Henderson, Jose Conseco, JT Snow, Yo Yo Ma, Janice Markitami, Cecil B. Williams, da' former mayor Willie Brown, Erykah Badu...there might be few more but that's what I can recall...funny, funny, funny...

The London coverage on tv is freaking me out a bit b/c I absolutely love that city & when I was there this past March, I totally mastered using their tube & double decker bus system...I pray for everyone there...gives me chills, gives me chills...

Okay, so I'm being taken to two bday parties one in Concord & the other in Vallejo...Concord is beach themed & the Vallejo one is Star Wars themed, this will definitely be interesting on the Star Wars theme b/c the celebrant is like turning 30! Yes, we are all big kids

I'm also on Sunday doing a craft day thing with my roomie & our friend Maria...I'm going to teach them to make earrings & a simple beaded necklace ...Should be fun...I don't have use of my one hand but I can instruct...

Mmmm, I've been ordered to exercise more by a dietician, so that's part of my medical appts. these past few weeks, so I've done walks up & down Geary, near Chrissie Field, near the wharf & recently around Lake Merced...hopefully, I can lose a bit of poundage doing all this, too...again, i just need to go ahead & keep doin' it.

So, I've had a novella to write b/c I haven't posted in awhile & I'm on my way to being my old self again, feels good ...I'll try to update as much as possible now that i'm feeling better...

Ahhhh, Six Feet Under is on, gotta' go...

Currently watching: The Weight of Water Release date: By 27 April, 2004