Vegas baby!

My friend Holly said that her uncle was a famous pop star in Taiwan and he was having a concert in Vegas in April. Her aunt decided to make it a family reunion of sorts and Holly was allowed to invite friends, so she invited me and her friend Clara! We stayed at the Wynn, were treated to the concert, some lovely lunches at Red 8, the Sphere Experience, and some late night delicious food at Wing Lei! We also got in some time at the pool, dinner at Casa Playa, a bit of gambling, the Neon Museum, a quick dip into Club XS, and a quick trip to the Taco Bell Cantina. :) 

Everything

I found this room in the upstairs corner of Saint Joseph's during a chaotic performance art event. The room was quiet. Isolating. Sad.

Ironic -- in that way I suppose it was meant to be. 

Back to Art

I've seen a lot of great art in the last month. 

First, I got to see a play I did fight work on called Bees & Honey. When my boyfriend asked me what it was about, I responded, "It's about a relationship, but it doesn't really matter what it's about because the actors are so great you can't stop watching them!". The actors in the show were fantastic and absolutely lovely to work with, and the show was about the ups and downs of a relationship. It was beautiful. We also had a great crew all around. I felt quite fortunate to be a part of it. 

Then, I watched American Fiction, which was hilarious, thought provoking, so meta, and so great... I haven't had a movie watching experience like that in a long time. :) 

There was also an epic karaoke night for Jessica's birthday, and a mostly missed but beautiful Chinese New Year parade, and then Flatstock 91. 

Flatstock 91 was this cool little exhibit of band poster art from around the world (? at least around the country. :) ) where visual art meets music marketing in little booths where artists display and talk about the work that they've done. What a unique and inspiring body of work! 

Then I got to see Big Data on stage at ACT. Big Data was topical and confrontational, and a show I will continue to think about for a long time because the ending wasn't clear haha. :) Or was it, and it's still sinking in... 

I got in a night with the Waters to see Wilder's all city band concert, and then Kooza! 

Kooza is the latest Cirque show touring the Bay and, like all tent shows, it had moments in it that completely blew my mind!! Wow, always a great night out. 

And, there was a super fun Oscar party / dance party, a yummy meal at San Ho Wan, an Oakland Roots game, and finally Dune, Part 2, which was very long, beautifully acted, and beautifully shot. 

Birthdays

Some years I throw a party. Most years I keep it simple (especially if I have a boyfriend who will spoil me a bit). My birthday this year was a sweet night out with J- where we ate too much spicy food and ended up with slight stomach aches. 😋😅 Along with dinner, he got me flowers and tickets for us to see MJ! 💖 I also had some small celebrations with other friends throughout the week and it was quite lovely all around. I'm really grateful for the people in my life who make an effort to make me feel special. ✨

And, then, we crashed my parents's vacation to celebrate my mom's 75th birthday! 

When I asked my mom what she wanted to do for her 75th, she said we could plan something for a couple weeks after because she'd be heading to Arizona. My parents take a 2 week vacation to Arizona with my aunt and uncle every year, and this year the vacation started on my mom's birthday. I decided to plot with my brother to see if we could manage crashing the vacation to celebrate with her on the day. Todd and Michelle said they could make it work and my aunt and uncle were thrilled by the idea, so we all headed to Arizona on flights that landed a few hours before my parents and surprised my mom when she arrived at the place they were staying. It was perfect, and a lovely impromptu family vacation for a couple days! My mom (and dad!) was very surprised and said it was her best birthday ever. Since it's been 75 years, I guess that means we did a good job. 😄

2023

2023 had love, transition, epic hikes, reconnections, great art, concerts, visitors, boundaries, transformation, challenges, scary moments, hilarious moments, great food, family, unexpected victories, friends, easy holidays, and one very silly cute cat. 😸