Random wall of awesome

...or, fence, rather. 

Laundromat infatuation

I was sitting on a folding table reading a sign that said, "Do not sit or eat on the folding tables!!" - when he walked in... 

He was of medium height with light brown messy hair, a green t-shirt, and jeans just saggy enough to show off his skull and crossbone boxers...

I was sitting a little too close, given the laundromat was empty and I was sitting on the folding table right next to his dryers - which happened to be right next to mine.

He brushed past me, barely acknowledging my presence while I watched him out of the corner of my eye. 

He ignored me...and I began to notice that some of his clothes seemed a little too flowery...  "He must have a girlfriend", I thought - and his lack of acknowledgment made it seem like either I was, in fact, invisible... or maybe he was just that good of a boyfriend...making him all the more attractive...

After packing up about three loads of laundry, his girlfriend arrived to find me sitting a little too close.  She gave me the once over for sitting next to (what she didn't realize was) my laundry.  I wanted to tell her that she had nothing to worry about. 

...and, that I couldn't believe there were cute men out there who were willing to do their girlfriend's laundry... !!

:)

Prince !!!

Wow, what an amazing concert!!!! 

I remember discovering Prince in the 4th grade at a sleep over.  We danced all night to Let's Go Crazy in our pajamas... 

Prince is an incredible performer, musician - and a really sexy man! Last night he had Shelia E on stage and did three encores before we left the stadium. AMAZING!! The only song he didn't play that I really wanted to hear was 7... "all 7 and we'll watch them fall..."

<3

Crisis?

There are moments in life that have a way of shaping everything.

Identity, existential... midlife?

"First you have to give up, first you have to *know*... not fear... *know*... that someday you're gonna die."

Backstage

Take 2.

Three nights of one acts about love for Valentine's Day. Rey decided to cast teenagers in some of the roles, so no strip tease or girls running around in their underwear this year.

Fed and I did Boozy again, and me and this other guy did a new piece Rey wrote one morning three weeks before we opened. It required a New York/Jersey accent from me...which, according to Michael, I managed to pull off.

I thought last year's show was stronger overall, but this year's show was... cuter?

"The way to my heart is through the stage."

Theater is my weak spot. It doesn't matter who you are or what you're going to see, I generally won't discriminate based on genre, venue, or company (in all senses of the word). Because of this, I have seen some amazing productions I never would've found on my own.

On my worst "date" ever, I saw a really fantastic show. The same guy texted me today to invite me out to another show. We had the worst date ever, so of course I had to turn him down... but, it was really hard for me to not write him back to ask what show...

Pocket full of pennies

(Slightly edited from an old LiveJournal entry / 2.17.07)

I wanted to get the best cake he'd ever have...

I drove to the Ferry Building and decided to park on the street instead of paying to park in a lot. Street parking wasn't far, and it was a gorgeous day, so it seemed like a good idea until I realized that I might not have enough change for the parking meter. I parked and dug through my wallet to find a few dimes and a bunch of pennies. The dimes wouldn't buy me enough time so I looked around to see if there was a place nearby where I could change the pennies.

There was a lady parked in the car behind mine talking on her cell phone. I waited for her to finish her conversation, and then knocked on her window. I had been standing there for a good 30 seconds but apparently she hadn't noticed me so, when I knocked, I scared her half to death. She rolled down her window to tell me that.

I had 21 pennies and wanted to see if I could trade them for dimes, so I held them out and asked if she could help. She was sure she could and started looking through her wallet. I noticed she had a bunch of quarters and realized later that I should've asked her to trade a dollar for her quarters - but I wasn't thinking at the time and I really wanted to get rid of my pennies. She handed me two dimes and, as I went to hand her the pennies, she smiled and told me to keep them. I thanked her, paid the meter, and started walking toward the Ferry Building.

It was a beautiful day, so I brought my walk to a stroll and tried to take in some of the atmosphere. People were jogging and sitting by the Bay eating lunch. The sun was shining bright. I was on the look out for a homeless person so I could give away my pennies, but there wasn't one to be found.

When I got to the Ferry Building, I went straight to the cake shop. It was busy - living up to its reputation of being the-best-cake-he'd-ever-have. The girls who worked there had tiny voices and seemed very delicate, but were strangely vicious behind the counter. "Who's next?! Do you know what you want?? Alright, then who was here next?!" I was in a swarm of sweet hungry men and women. I wanted to ask questions, but apparently there was no time. The cakes were on display and looked amazing, but they were all made for 6 - 8 people and I only wanted to feed two. There were beautiful cupcakes that I knew were just as amazing so, when it came my turn, I decided to go with the cupcakes instead. I made my choice quickly and headed to the cash register. The girl who was helping me never looked me in the eye. She seemed to look at where my head might be if I was 5 inches taller, all the while maintaining her delicate, vicious smile. It was bizarre - but I took my perfect cupcakes in their perfect little pink box and headed back into the sunshine with just enough time to stroll back to my car before the meter would run out.

Back outside, I saw a guy sit down on one of the concrete benches by the Bay. He was wearing blue jeans, a hat, a backpack, and just one too many layers for such a nice day. He looked like he might be a student if he was a little younger and cleaner. I had barely noticed him when he noticed me and called out. "Hey, pretty lady! Hey!"... I kept walking. He said, "Hey! You! ...yeah, YOU. Wait just a minute, I want to talk to you." I said I was heading back to work, but he insisted. He said he saw me walking to the building earlier, and now he saw me walking back and I'm such a pretty lady and he wanted to just say hi. I thought of my pennies and said, "Oh! Do you want some change?" He said, "What? No, I don't want your change! I just wanted to say hello and tell you my name." Then, as he told me his name and asked if I had a boyfriend, I started to feel really embarrassed for asking him if he wanted my change. I told him I had a boyfriend, and he said, "Well, if you see me around, you just say 'Hi Cherry' (his name). That's all I want." I said, "Hi Cherry." We stood awkward in the sun for a minute, and then I walked back to my car with the best [cup]cakes he'd ever have, and my pocket still full of pennies.

"...a long story, filled with sighs..."

I'm in the bathroom of the restaurant looking at myself in the mirror as I wash my hands and, at this moment I decide...that I will never go on a date again. EVER. ...unless it is established before hand that it is NOT a date, or I already know that I like the guy.

Love, or Not Love w/ Mustaches!

My birthday, their benefit.

I got confirmation on the space the evening of January 9th and had a little less than two weeks to pull everything together. I had a solid line up by the 14th, most of the logistics nailed down by the 17th, thought I was going to have a heart attack on 21st, and then managed to pull off an amazing show with my incredibly talented friends on the night of the 22nd.

We had an audience of about 50/60 people, and raised around $500 for the space.

In honor of my performers, here's a (slightly edited) version of my emcee notes from the night:

Cristian and Kristen - stage combat
The groin fight.
Cristian flew out from South Carolina to let me kick him in the groin!! Cristian is an actor and an accomplished stage combatant.

Gabriella - song
Dream a Little Dream w/ a kazoo interlude.
"Gabriella was raised in the wilds of California's wine country on a small farm surrounded by vineyards at the end of a long dirt road. Growing up, she spent her days barefoot in the yard singing songs to the goats and the chickens, and in the evenings she would while away the hours practicing the Jews harp and listening to The Shadow and Inner Sanctum on the radio. Her head is full of random song lyrics and the names of old movie actors, and she frequently can't find her keys."
Gabriella is one of my favorite people. She constantly surprises me with all of the wonderful things she can do -- she can skateboard, she's been a drummer in a band, she's a great dancer, and she sews a lot of her own clothes. She seems to know a little bit about everything, and is one of the most stylish people I know.

Stephen - stand up comedy
Stand up comedy act.
"Stephen started off doing stand up comedy only 6 months ago and in South Korea (telling it to foreigners, not Koreans)"
I met Stephen in a pool hall in Berkeley one night, and he mentioned to me that he was about to move to Korea to teach English... and then, he randomly kept saying "platypus" to me the rest of the night... ? ...which was strange and hilarious! When I heard that he was back from Korea and doing stand-up comedy I had to go see him -- and he was fantastic.

Rebecca - modern dance
"Sunken Crux" w/ music by Thom Yorke.
Rebecca was the first friend I made in California. I met her at Sony, where I worked as a temp for three weeks. One day we went to get burritos for lunch and ended up having this deep personal conversation. After I left Sony, we kept in touch and Rebecca started inviting me to her dance shows. She blew me away with her talent and, because of her, I soon fell in love with modern dance.

Cristian - monologue
"My Personal Journey to Find My Mostacho".
"In middle school, Cristian was enrolled in girls PE for the sixth and seventh grades. The ladies that made the schedule thought his name was Cristina because he spells his name without the 'h'. In his eighth grade year, he decided to put on a wig for his yearbook photo and listed himself in the yearbook as 'Cristina'."
I was at a week long stage combat workshop in LA, and Cristian and I were paired up in the groin shot workshop. Cristian grew up in Texas, moved to LA to be an actor, and now works as the technical theater director at a small college in South Carolina. He wrote this monologue for the show!!


Intermission


Joan and Kristen - stage combat
Ninja butter knife fight.
"When Joan thinks of mustaches she inevitably thinks of Burt Reynolds circa early 80s, and the fact that she somehow managed to convince her parents at the ripe old age of 11 to take her to see her first rated R movie: The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, starring Burt, his mustache, Dolly Parton and her breasts. She's not sure which she wanted more - his mustache or her breasts."
I love Joan! Joan lives in the warehouse and is a big part of why the space is happening, and why the party is happening... she is trained in circus arts, stage combat, acting, is presently working on putting together a one man show, and can do a handstand forever... I want to personally thank Joan...for everything.

Sky - literary reading
Excerpts from her thesis.
"Sky is married to a Canadian named Dan. They met many years ago in Costa Rica and had a love affair by the beach. Three years later, he friended her on Facebook. They wrote to each other for many months before she booked a ticket to Vancouver to see him. The rest, as they say, is history."
Sky is a constant source of inspiration. She's the kind of person who displays so much passion and depth in her life and in her writing that you can't help but find yourself caught up in whatever she wants to share with you. She just finished her masters degree at SF State in creative writing.

Audrey - comedy act
Kitten puppet and song.
Audrey lives in the warehouse and is trained in circus arts. The first night I met Audrey, I thought, this girl is so cute and charming I can barely stand it! One night, I was going to a clown show to see another friend perform, and when I showed up Audrey was greeting the audience playing the ukulele and singing, and she did this wonderful piece that she's going to share.

Keenan and Matt - bass and sax
Improv music.
"Keenan has never seen Raging Bull, Titanic, or The Notebook. He's also not wearing underwear."
I met Matt in 1999, and he quickly became a great friend and one of my favorite musicians. It means so much to me that he's a part of the show. Matt and Keenan used to play music together in Colorado, which has a lot to do with why we're all here -- but that's a longer story than I can get into. Keenan is also an amazing musician and friend, and one of the tallest people I know.

Nikolas - trapeze
Trapeze burlesque piece.
Nikolas lives in the warehouse and is trained in circus arts. Nikolas and I bonded over crepes one night and since then I've been continually impressed with his views on the world, his creativity, and his generous nature. He can tell you great stories about couch surfing and kindergarden detectives.


Special thanks to: Joan, Audrey, Nikolas, Natty for the use of the space, Dave for bartending, Rob on sound, Ikenna on video camera, and for all of my friends who helped me with thinking and planning - Aria, Michael, Maureen, Isabel, Cristian.

Ooma

Objects of my affection.

Jessica Gruner Waters.... I remember sitting at Cafe du Nord years ago talking with Jessica about her dreams of becoming a writer -- she was a high school teacher at the time. Today, Jessica has written 4 novels, three of which have been published, with the fourth one on its way.

Maybe a year or so after the writing conversation, Jessica asked me to model some clothes for her for her website. She had her hopes set on opening a boutique of her own someday. Today, she and my good friend Matt (her husband) own Ooma - a beautiful boutique in the heart of San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood.

In the past 6 years, I've witnessed Jessica realizing these dreams, and it's been so inspiring!! :)

I'm glad she's a part of my life.

Breathe....

This is painted on a concrete fishing bench at the Berkeley Pier.

I'm throwing a birthday party. Some friends of mine are working to convert a warehouse from an auto shop to a theatrical and training space, and have offered to let me throw a party there. I'm putting together a show to help support the development of their space and to feature some of my lovely and talented friends. I've asked that people not bring gifts, but donate to the space instead.

Right now, my lineup includes: stage combat, stand up comedy, singing, acting, modern dance, clown acts, a literary reading, and some music pieces - Yeow!

I'm ecstatic and terrified.

:D

My new awesome hat!

Yup.  That's all. 

En Garde!

This is my favorite photo from the workshop.  The big guy on the left is Dave! 

We ended on Sunday and my muscles are still sore, but my body just wants to keep on fighting.  Makes sitting at a desk all day a little painful...

Kristen's Month of Possible Death

I kept saying, "December's gonna kill me!" ...to the point where I thought I had maybe predicted my own death.  ...and, getting super sick sort of reinforced that idea...

Yaaaaaaaa!!! 

...but, here I am at LAX, ALIVE! exhausted, inspired, blessed, still fighting mucus, but ready to go back to Oakland and jump in...and, I feel great!  :)

Interesting how having a self predicted possible near death experience can motivate a wildly optimistic perspective on life. 

;)