"The Eagle has landed."

“The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.”  ―Pierre de Coubertin

Also, I love Hugh Jackman.

When I was a senior in High School...

I took a creative writing class.

Our teacher would pique our imaginations by asking us things like:  Which is louder, a cough or a sneeze?  What kind of animal do your parents think you are?  Where do you think you will be, with whom, and doing what in 10 years?

And, then one day he told us a story about how James Dean predicted his own death.  "James Dean would tell interviewers that he thought he'd live fast and die young", the teacher said -- "and, then he died at 24 in a violent car crash... Have you ever thought about how you might die?"

I thought about it.  Would I live to be really old and die in my bed?  Would I catch a disease?  I lived in Colorado at the time (land of the terrifying drivers) and couldn't imagine ever living anywhere else, so I predicted that I would die in a car crash when I was 40.  I would be married, with 2 kids, a dog, and a minivan -- and, I would die driving.  I always pictured the kids and dog with me, but I also always seemed to think I would leave them behind with the mystery husband I never had a clear picture of in my head.  The kids were young.  The dog - fluffy.  The minivan - gray.

Midnight on January 22, 2016, I turned 41 and managed to survive (if you've been following along) my third death prediction.  Well, actually, I guess I don't know what time I was born on the 22nd, so maybe I was still in danger most of the day (sorry people who were with me on that day!), but it's now the 27th and I'm still alive, so I made it to 41.  :)

Whew!

....and many more....  ;)

Extras

There's a new movie coming out called Birth of the Dragon.  It's about Bruce Lee's last fight, which apparently took place in Oakland (wut?!).  Did you know that Bruce Lee was born in San Francisco's Chinatown??

I was booked as an extra getting off of the boat from China with the guy who came over to fight Bruce Lee.

I've only done extras work once before because I didn't really enjoy my first experience with it.  It was a lot of sitting or standing around, and a lot of waiting, walking from here to there, and resetting again and again....  Extras work doesn't pay well, it's a lot of time, and your chances of making it on screen are pretty slim.

This time was more fun, however, and I think I did get on screen.  It was still a lot of walking from here to there and resetting, but there was a lot less waiting around and a lot more random fun.  The group of extras they had that day were great, and the production team was astounding -- we got costumes, make up, hair, and props without a hitch, and the team on the ground kept things really fun and moving all day long.

It was cool to see the production from the talent side again, and I loved having the crew buzzing all around us.  It made me think about what will be next... ;) 

Quiet holidays

My parents and I had planned to meet in Illinois to spend Christmas with my extended family this year but, a couple of days before my parents were supposed to travel, my Mom got sick.  

When my Mom gets sick it tends to land her in the hospital for a few days due to some intestinal issues she has, so I rerouted my flight to spend Christmas in Colorado.  My brother was in Atlanta with his wife's side of the family, so my Dad and I prepared ourselves to spend Christmas with just the two of us, along with visits to the hospital to see my Mom. 

I told my Dad I could make spaghetti and a nice salad for Christmas dinner.  He told me he would get some steak or a turkey and make roasted vegetables for us, and that I could still make a salad if I wanted.  :)  haha

On our way home from the airport we went to visit my Mom at the hospital, and found that she was doing much better than we expected!  Things were looking up and it seemed like there was a good chance she would be released the next morning.  She was released from the hospital on Christmas Eve, so we were able to have her home for the holiday!  Yay!  Since she was still recovering, we had a quiet holiday together, but it was a really nice time for reconnection.  :) 

I headed back to the Bay for New Years thinking I would probably join a party with some friends for the night, when my handsome boyfriend told me he was heading to the Bay to spend New Years with me!  :) We ditched the parties, went to a nice dinner, and then spent the rest of the night on my couch -- talking, laughing, reading to each other, cuddling....  We eventually watched the ball drop on TV, and then faded into the night to the sounds of Drunk History...  :) 

Here's to 2016!! 

Thanksgiving and things

This year, I spent Thanksgiving in Colorado with my family for the first time in 15 years...

I don't usually go home for Thanksgiving because my family likes to spend Christmas together -- but, this year, my brother and his wife will spend Christmas with her Dad's side of the family in Georgia so, in order for our whole family to be together during the holiday season, Thanksgiving was our chance.  

It was strange to go back to a traditional American Thanksgiving after the mismatch of diners, road trips, Friendsgivings, Asian Thanksgivings, and Portuguese Thanksgivings that have made up my California smörgåsbord of Thanksgiving experiences.  Turkey, stuffing, potatoes, family, snow, football... it was all just the same as I remembered it.  Pretty boring with a lot of food I don't really care for... :) 

But, I have to say, the rest of the weekend with my family was quite nice.  :)  

As far as the "and things" goes, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder was one of the best shows I've seen in a very long time and I think the best comedy I've ever seen.  It was delightful, creative, innovative, and brilliantly performed.  !!  I absolutely loved it!! 

All of the shows

At some point, I stopped writing about all of the shows.  I think it was around a time when I had hoped to write with more substance vs. reporting where I'd been -- but, I've missed logging some amazing things I've seen as a result so, in the last year, here are the shows I've found significant, and a few words about each:

JD McPherson (Pure energy and fun)

Faulted (Strange and wonderful)

Kinky Boots (Important, incredible, touching, beautifully performed)

Mike Birbiglia (Hilarious [and, I got to meet him!])

Kurios (Magical, creative, full of fantastic surprises)

Mittens & Mistletoe: A Winter Circus Cabaret (Impressive and fun)

Upright Citizen's Brigade (SketchFest - Amazing show)

Edinburgh Fringe w/ Janeane Garofalo (SketchFest - Best. Comedy. Showcase. Evar.)

Let There Be Love (Absolutely lovely and touching)

A Little Night Music (Delightful! Sexy, silly, beautifully performed)

Wicked (Denver - Visceral, beautiful, energetic, relevant...and, impactful)

One Man, Two Guvnors (Physically impressive, completely entertaining)

Plastic Persons (Matt and Tom - Perfectly nostalgic)

Jake Shimabukuro (Transcendent)

Amelie (FANTASTIC. Sweet, charming, touching, good silliness, beautiful set, great performances)

The Unheard of World (Dark, sweet, physical)

Fourth Messenger concert (Inspirational, moving, powerful)

Glen Hansard (Pure emotion)

Clybourne Park (Challenging, wonderfully humorous, topical)

SF Hip Hop Dance Fest (Energizing and inspiring)

Dogtown

Dogtown used to be written in spray paint.  

Now it's typography.

Main Street Theatre farewell

I stood there, snapped this photo, and thought briefly about all of the important memories I created while sitting on those stairs.... 

My birthday party, back when the space was new -- when I had to rent chairs and we piled people on old couches and let them dangle their feet from the balcony.  The stage lights were tin flood lights hung high from the pillars.  Rob brought in his sound system and a spot light for the trapeze act, and I invited everyone I knew and made them all wear mustaches.  It was one of the most magical nights of my life.  

Then, the first two 8s -- the weirdly successful stumble throughs.  

The last few 8s -- where I solidified the process, reconnected with the magic, and managed to make it my life.  

The shows I attended full of silliness and inspiration.  Sitting on the stairs with the residents of Main Street, feeling like it was exactly where I belonged.... 

And then, of course, there were the late night talks, circus bootcamp, the wild west fight night that no one attended... :) the delightful Sunday afternoon when Natty's boyfriend played the trumpet in front of the brick wall facade, the night Nik and Joan and I watched Scott Pilgrim vs the World on a tiny tube tv, the fight rehearsals, the laughter, the ability to create, the freedom to play....

Sweet Main Street, we will miss you.  ...and, we'll never forget you.  

Super moon

I was invited (kidnapped? is what they called it :) ) to join a group of friends who were going on a night hike to see the super moon -- we didn't actually see the super moon, but we did see this gorgeous moon the night before...  :)   

On the night of the actual super moon, I had gotten comps to a show at ACT.  The only time I would be able to see the super moon was during the show's intermission.  

As soon as the lights went up, Kat and I ran out of the theatre and looked into the sky.  We knew we'd have to get to the top of a hill or to an open space and we'd only have about 15 minutes, so we ran a couple of blocks to Union Square.  

As we crossed into the square, we could see the moon rising between the buildings to the East.  The eclipse gave it so much dimension.  It looked more like something out of a science fiction novel than like the moon to me.  Kind of other worldly, like a new orb in the sky vs something I guess I've come to think of as the night's shiny, shadowy source of light.  For some reason, the effect made me very aware of the space between us and, since I was viewing it from Union Square, how far from nature so many of us live our lives.  I found myself feeling very small and thinking that we must seem strange to the moon... as we stood there on the concrete, drowning in the lights from Macy's, with people in fancy jackets -- chattering and smoking cigarettes as they walked by.... we pointed, took pictures, ooo and aww'd, and went back to our seats in the theatre... leaving the red moon to linger in the sky.  

The waterfront

Baltimore was hot and emotional -- filled with beautiful old brick buildings alongside rundown boarded up neighborhoods. The city had tension and diversity, this gorgeous waterfront walkway, and some really incredible seafood...

Places of note:
Woodberry Kitchen
Shoyou Sushi
National Aquarium
Fells Point
Thames Street Oyster House

Lockdown

My blog is on lockdown because ... well, because it has to be for now.  But, maybe it's better this way.  I mean, maybe I'll be more honest and less stalked.  Maybe I'll reveal secrets and give you a deeper look into my opinions, reviews of shows, and thoughts on politics.... or, maybe I'll just continue to collect stories and share things I've learned.  :) 

In the meantime, I'm sad that my most read post will no longer be available to save the cats.  If you know a cat that needs saving, please, like, copy and paste the post or the information and let the distressed cat owner know that it's worth it to not do surgery if their cat doesn't seem like they're in trouble.  Basically, don't spend money on cutting a cat open if it doesn't seem like an emergency.  Always. 

Goodbyes

Goodbyes are so complex.  

There are the regular goodbyes, like when you're done at work for the day, or you're leaving your friends to go to your car after the fun -- and, then there are the more permanent goodbyes, like the ones at the end of a relationship, or when someone passes away...

...and, of course, there are a million variations in between.  

Anna and Ashley independently decided to move away on the exact same day, one day after Aatman left for a month long trip that will be promptly followed by 2 more months out of town.  That's a lot of names that start with an "A" and a lot of goodbyes for one weekend.  It was like the universe coordinated so I couldn't be too sad about any one of them leaving because I was always slightly distracted that the other two were leaving, and in a general state of sad anticipation about all three.  

The upside:  

Anna and Ashley tend to be extremely busy with very full lives, so I can easily go months without seeing them anyway.  Anna's moving to New York, but she will be back and forth and I'll see her soon.  Ashley is moving to L.A., so I'm thinking she'll be back and forth as well.  Aatman's goodbye is temporary -- I'm going to visit him in 3 weeks, he'll be back in 4, then he'll be gone again, but then back again -- and, even though it sucks, we've gone through this a number of times and seem to manage it pretty well at this point.  

The downside: 

I miss all of them already.  

LA

Aatman had to take an exam in LA, so he invited me to join him after for a mini vacation/quest to meet Manny Pacquaio.  (Aatman is a huge boxing fan. :) )

We discovered before the trip that Manny was likely in the Philippines, but we knew that Freddie Roach might be around so we went to his gym anyway.  Freddie was there!  We got to meet him and he was so nice!!  We both got pictures with him, and Aatman got him to sign the Wildcard Gym sweatshirt I had gotten him a few months back.  Yay! :) 

In the meantime, Aatman found a fantastic Korean BBQ place in K-town called Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong (delish!), we hit up the Upright Citizen's Brigade for a late night show ($5/ea!), rode a tandem bike on the beach, wandered through the madness of Venice, and had a great sushi bowl lunch at little restaurant called Murakami. 

The less exciting parts of the trip included a mediocre dinner at some place called Grand something or another in Studio City, and a visit to another boxing gym, only to find that the boxers weren't there.  Oh well.  We still got to meet Freddie Roach, and Aatman took this incredible photo!  I love the sky!

Eight! and 8, and...

Jessica asked for a source for details on past shows because she wanted to write something about 8 on 8/8.  I decided to follow suit and have posted here all of the links to my posts about the shows: 

8:1

8:2

8:3

8:4

8:5

8:6

8:7

8:8

and, the fb page.

Happy 8/8! 

(I have to admit, I maaaaay've adjusted the date and time just a bit on this one)  ;)