The garage

I put this giant picture in the garage by the recycling... I had intended to put it up in my apartment, but it turned out to be a little too pink.  Imagine it taking over an entire room in a very obnoxious 'no escaping' kind of way.  So, I got rid of it.  ...and hours later found it placed against the back wall of my building's dreary parking garage looking quite amazingly charming.  :)

~~~
(a garage vignette.)

I was getting out of my car and was met by a neighbor getting out of his car. 

"Well, good evening..." he said. 

"Hi" I replied. 

He asked how I was doing, and then started telling me that he was thinking that he should charge my parents for his mirror because he wouldn't have hit the pillar if he hadn't been looking at me.

o_O ... I must've been giving him a blank stare, so he elaborated. 

"Remember that day, you were pulling out and I was pulling in [to the garage] and I hit that pillar shattering my side mirror?  I was thinking I should charge your parents for my mirror because I wouldn't have hit the pillar if I hadn't been staring at you."  He followed this with a little chuckle. 

I didn't know how to respond so, again, I probably looked kind of blank. 

I think he actually gave me another iteration as I was searching my memory for this incident.  It did seem familiar... but then, I immediately got caught up in the fact that my parents aren't biological, so they have nothing to do with how I look and shouldn't be charged for this... and then, I thought, maybe it had something to do with what I was wearing at the time (yes, my mind does this)...which started me imaging all of my outfits, and which one might've been capable of making someone run into a pillar...  it must've been a red dress, which made me feel like I did remember this happening and the thought that passed through my mind at the time was, "Dude - that SUCKS... "  ha!

I told him I did think I remembered it. 

There was an awkward silence.

How the hell are you supposed to respond to passive aggressive flirting... ?! 

Me... and then Dave Chappelle. Yup.

I went to an art opening at Project One - this spot located in the "Design District" of San Francisco. Great art. Cool space. And Dave Chappelle was there - RIGHT NEXT TO ME - TWICE!!! I thought it was only once until I saw this picture. Who knows, maybe he was following me around all night!!! ... I mean, I know he wasn't following me around - at all - but I easily (obviously) could've brushed by him a couple of times without even knowing it.

When I actually did see him, he was standing outside getting a picture taken. I wanted to talk to him or take his picture or shake his hand or...something(!), but he walked away before I could make up my mind and approach him. Now all I have is this candid shot that happened to capture both of us in the same place at the same time. (I'm in the red in the lower left corner. He's straight across on the right.)

...Hm, in a way, I guess I did get a picture...

Shake gently

I do my best to get out and ... well, live.  Experience, see, absorb...but, I think sometimes I over do it.  Well, I know sometimes I over do it. 

This week, I tried to not overbook myself - but then had a couple impromptu dinners, had to work on closing out the show, saw Beardo, went to comedy, and went to an art show where I ran into Dave Chappelle.  (I know, right?!)

I do my best to keep things fresh, but I think the key word here is "gently"...  cause I'm exhausted.

Eight

We challenged 8 performers to fill 8 minutes...

Co-produced with my friend Joan, this show was no easy feat... but the end result was pretty freaking amazing.

I was asked if I found any of the acts surprising, and I actually found a bit of surprise in each one of them. 

Here are two words highlighting what made each piece exceptional.

Nikolas - powerful, humorous.
Gabriella - complete style.
Sky - visceral imagery.
Texas - comedic brilliance.
Andrea - creative message.
Audrey - sentimental beauty.
Rebecca - polished, amazing.
Skorpio - skilled, charming.

Rob did a perfect job running tech, Natty was a great stage manager, Dave rocked the bar, we had chairs ;), and our audience was lovely. 

A reunion of sorts

Andy's birthday party.  :)

...

The Mass and Lower Forty Eight.

I still have the playlist from the first Mass show ever played in San Francisco...  It was the one thing I couldn't part with the year I gave Matt a collection of reviews and other Mass related things I had accumulated over the years.  The show was at the Attic with Good for Cows - March of 2001.  It was a Sunday. The guys had a jar full of ear plugs for the audience that night, and were tame in the photos I took of them.    

The first time the Mass played with Lower Forty Eight was for an LFE CD release show in an upstairs...gallery?  Phil had seen them play and invited them to open.  Andy and Ian were in suits that night, and Andy's guitar playing was aMAZing!  After the show, I told Matt that I really liked the Forty Eight Feet people.  Matt had a knack for translating my butchering of band names.  "You mean Lower Forty Eight?" 

My favorite shows were: the night they played 12 Galaxies after their tour, the BoTH CD release show, the Halloween show at Matthew's warehouse, Toxic Beach, and the Golden Bull show after their last tour.

I miss going to see these bands - late nights, smack talk, cigarettes, venues covered in stickers and sweat... 

Up until their first tour, I could count the Mass shows that I had missed on one hand.

The biz

There's something about being backstage that I love... wait, change that to being anywhere near a stage....  :)

I just love being in the theater.

Last week I shadowed my favorite lighting designer friend for the Destiny Arts show, this week I'm volunteering with the stage manager and the prop master at a Z Space show, and next weekend I'll be putting up a show I am co-producing in an underground warehouse space.  I'm working on what I want my focus to be in this industry, and doing anything anyone will let me until I figure it out.  :)

In the meantime, I'm meeting talented people, learning a ton, and seeing some incredible shows!  These last two shows have been remarkably powerful.  The Destiny show gives inner city kids a voice and a place to express themselves and impact their communities for positive change, and Sins Invalid is an amazing look at people with disabilities and their unsurpassing beauty. 

I have a name

I saw this on an empty newspaper dispencer on a walk in Oakland.  My friend, Kelvin, said it reads, "I have a name..." 

Bloodline

The whole nature versus nurture thing has been creeping up on me lately - how maybe my history is right in front of me all of the time...I just have to look in the mirror and pay attention.  

I don't want to find my biological parents (which is the answer to the question you're about to ask).  I have a great family and, as I said to a friend the other night - I don't think I want to know the tragic story, or the glamorous life I'm maybe missing out on, or the parents who just didn't want me.  ...but I do think about what about them I carry around with me everyday... 

I watched The Kids Are All Right - a film about a lesbian couple who both have a child from the same sperm donor.  In the film, when one of the kids turns 18 they decide to connect with their biological father.  The "bank" makes the connection...and on the story goes...  Eventually, the moms meet the donor as well.  I don't want to give it away - but, there is a moment in the film where one of the moms says to the donor, "I just keep seeing my kid's expressions in your face."

...  could that be real ... ? 

Julia Morgan

Tonight I got comps to see Narnia.  What a wonderfully charming little show!  Loved the costumes, the set, the staging, the lighting - the characters were great and the fights were AWESOME... :) 

....

I took my first Bay Area acting class in one of the Julia Morgan Center studios -- a room with a soft wood floor and windows full of natural light looking out into the redwoods....

I love re-discovering a beautiful place.