Fully loaded

"What made you start smoking again?"

"...well, that's a loaded question."

"Sounds like it must be a loaded answer..."

We wander, shop, dance, and then head to the courtyard for some air.  We sit on a bench not far from a guy who is lighting up a cigarette.  Another guy walks up and stands in front of the smoking guy and absently starts shaking his ass to the music -- which makes the smoking guy twist all up on the bench to avoid the shaking ass.  I giggle.  Me and smoking guy make brief eye contact and he scoots out of ass shaking range to greet us with a slurry introduction. 

"Hi, I'm Aaron... I just came from a wedding... what's your names?  ...wow, can I just say that the two of you look absolutely stunning tonight.  *grin*"  (Aaron wasn't actually his name...I heard him wrong.)

A mix between Ben Affleck, Richard Gere, and...a baby?  He's really drunk, but sort of strangely charming.  ?

Aaron tells us about his job and shows us videos of him on a boat.  He then pulls out a joint and starts smoking it while displaying an app on his phone that counts how long it's been since his last cigarette.  ....  ???  He tells us he just started smoking again about a month ago...

"What made you start smoking again?"

He proceeds to tell us detailed stories about a Japanese woman he got pregnant who ran away with his baby, two failed marriages, run-ins with Katt Williams and Dave Chappelle, and a letter he wrote to Maury Povich... his stories are laced with humor and dripping with charm.  "...but, what made you start smoking again?".  Another story would replace the answer. 

Before he goes, he starts spelling something in my ear again and again.  "It's my name..." he says, "A. R. ..." he starts giving me mnemonic devices so I won't forget it.  "Do you want me to find you?"  I ask, "and, will you tell me why you started smoking...?!"

He's about walk away, when he leans in one last time to say, "I have a live-in girlfriend who doesn't like it when I smoke.  I'm trying to get rid of her.  Find me."  

Did I forget to mention the supernova...

There's so much I haven't mentioned from the last couple weeks... birthday parties, shows, Jennifer's departure for college, flash mob class, a night at The Lost Church, nice dinners with friends, work events, a ukulele session, a soul house party, and a perfect adventure though the Oakland Hills in search of the supernova...

:)

This weekend, I had a great night out with Gabriella, Keenan, Brian, and Teresa.  A quick stop at a gallery, then off to Berkeley to see a David Bowie cover band and Total B.S. (Bob Segar).  We thought Matt would be playing with Total B.S. but apparently he broke his hand...!  So, we missed him that night, but super fun show and super fun time regardless!!

Saturday, I cleaned, did laundry, took a dress to get tailored...then met up with miss Kara for a night on the town.  We found ourselves at a bar in downtown Oakland for a drink, then off to the New Parish for some dancing 'n stuff.  We met a fascinating man at the Parish...which I will have to blog about separately.  :) 

Today, (er...yesterday) I went to flash mob class, caught up a bit with Gabriella, took an amazing nap, had a quick dinner w/ Digs, then headed out to pub trivia with Brian, Teresa, Jen, Justin, Robb, and friends.  We got third place tonight!

My life's been a little taken over by plans with my amazing friends these days... but, I'm so lucky to have so many amazing friends.  :)  I do want to start thinking about classes and shows again soon though...

City of Angels...

I'm dancing at a club, and this tower of Asian yumminess says to me, "Are you ready for this?" and does a sexy unbutton-his-shirt dance to reveal a tiger tattooed across his very nice chest.  I giggle...and just keep dancing.  ?  He pulls me into his arms, which puts me about a foot or so off of the ground, and then lifts me above his head and kind of caveman yells while I dangle and squeal and thank God that I'm wearing little dress shorts instead of a skirt.... !!

A very unplanned last minute road trip with the girls.  :)

I'm no longer allowed to listen to Niggas in Paris while driving but, aside from that -- dim sum, shopping, the Tim Burton exhibit at LACMA, taco trucks, clubbing, the beach, Caribbean food, getting lost, giggling, music, girl talk, driving...

...the Asian caveman comes by to dance and then wanders off -- he is friends of friends, a little Sung Kang and a little...Marky Mark(?)... and, a little bit aggressive for my taste. 

At the end of the night, he pulls me close and asks, "Are you scared?" 

"I'm kind of scared..." I admit. 

He says, "Don't be..." 

...I turn my head and his kiss lands on my cheek...

Things I'll never forget:  to pay attention to the road while Niggas in Paris is playing, how generous and lovely girlfriends can be, that the beach is always amazing and, no matter how many kisses are dodged -- a sexy tiger will make an impression... 

;)

lost in space...

One night, in a room in a beautiful house in San Juan Capistrano, I sang an entire Sundays album to an audience I that thought was sleeping...

A head full of daydreams. A heart full of...

Adventures in art 'n stuff

After a treacherous piggy back ride (I was in 4 inch heels) over hills of concrete, dirt, shrubbery, and boulders, we made our way through this amazing graffiti homeless tent camp and found ourselves here... by the bay.  Metal and concrete, paint, words and pictures. 

Another friend and I found ourselves admiring a giant mural on Shotwell after watching a short documentary about street art at the MOMA. 

This weekend was full of random adventure, new places, great art and great friends.  I went to the Marin Shakes steampunk Tempest, a lindy hop class/dance, a hookah lounge, had a lovely breakfast with some lovely ladies, hit a music festival in Japantown, saw a movie, had a breakfast/walk with a favorite, got a massage, and had a nice dinner/dessert.

Long weekends with no plans seem to fill up with the best things. 

"You are one very, very talented lady of stunning beauty."

Stunning? This was sent to me in a rejection email by a playwright I auditioned for.  It was a confusing message... overall. 

I need to figure out what's next.  I'm not working on anything specific at the moment so I'm considering an acting class, continuing to audition, a photography and/or writing class, or producing another show.  I've actually been thinking a lot about an ongoing series of shows that create a safe space for new artists to explore...

...but it'd have to be done exactly right, wouldn't it?

Sleep deprived

Midnites for maniacs!  Holly came into town for the Edgar Wright triple feature on Friday night at the Castro theater.  Scott Pilgrim vs the World (best movie ever), Hot Fuzz, and Shaun of the Dead.  Yesssss!!  The movies, plus Q&As with Edgar, had us at the theater until like 3am!  Gabriella and Cathy (and their little bottles of alcohol) joined us too -- ha!

On Saturday, I joined Gabriella, Morgan, and their friends for the late show of Stuffed and Unstrung at the Curran.  Crazy improv puppetshow awesome! 

I am so sleep deprived that there are parts of the last two weeks that I don't actually remember...  I haven't fully rested from my vacation, which is catching up with me, while not properly slowing me down.  I haven't mentioned that in the last week/weekend, I've also gone to an audition, trivia night, dinners with friends, and a beer fundraiser party.  Miss Holly has been staying with me (along with another friend of hers over the weekend) and we've had yummy breakfasts (which means I've been up "early") and late nights.  So fun, but I'm soo tired...

I was planning to go to LA for Labor Day -- but, now, I am planning to sleep.  :)

Blues, books, BBQs, and backyards...

My first weekend after my vacation, and then flying in on Monday morning and working all week, was supposed to be relaxing... but instead:

I went blues dancing on Friday night. Blues dancing is somewhere between swing dancing and dirty dancing... depending on your partner. It's very social, however, and a lot of fun -- not to mention, done to some great music! After blues dancing, I went to see a friend's band at Benders. The band was a bit of an escape after dancing, which you'll have to ask me about in person.

Saturday, I woke up, took my car in for a service, went to a book swap, and then to a going away BBQ/party, which later joined with a birthday party.

On Sunday, I went to an annual party a friend throws to celebrate the years he's lived in San Francisco. They had Tahitian dance performance (with audience participation - above) and Boylesque. :) Then I went to Brian and Teresa's new place in Oakland for some pizza and Magic game education.

Productive and fun! Mostly fun.

This is why I live in the East Bay

Well, this and a ton of other reasons... :)

I'm sitting in the Yerba Buena Gardens waiting to go Blues dancing.  It's foggy...like I'm actually in a cloud...damp, hazy...   I'm wearing a skirt, boots, and knee socks -- which is my favorite combination for a chilly San Francisco summer.  My oufit appears to be drawing a lot of attention...which probably means I look inappropriately dressed for the fog...   The diversity of this city never ceases to surprise me.  I was just watching a punk, fairy godmother guy denying the wishes of his very homely over weight friend... corporate people and professors types have walked by, teenagers, hippies, computer guys, moms, old people, fashion people... With every race and color mixed in. 

There's no place like San Francisco.

Jetlag

After my last post, my flight from NY to SF was delayed from 7:20pm to 1:50am... Yeowch, is right. I was in the airport for something like 8 and a half hours. I arrived in the Bay around 5am, went home, slept for about 2 hours, and made it to work by 10am... this week has felt like a dream.

A New York minute...

After a really late night, I woke up pretty easily on Thursday, got everything done at the apartment, left right on time, got on Airlink to Edinburgh airport, freaked out because I was supposed to be going to Glascow airport, hopped off Airlink intending to get on the train to Glascow, thought it would take too long and grabbed a cab. The cab quoted 125 pounds and said it would take an hour to get to Glascow. I told him I was on a flight to NY at 12:05pm (it was then 10:30am)... about 7 minutes later the cab driver asked to see my ticket info because he checked the flights at Glascow (on his iPhone while driving) and nothing was going to NY at or around 12:05pm... 25 pounds later he dropped me off at Edinburgh airport with just enough time to get on my flight. Whew!! CRAZY!!!! How did I not look to see what airport I was flying from...?!!

I landed in New York at 2:50pm, met up with Simón to drop stuff off and get cleaned up, and then headed out to meet Patrick for the 7:30pm arrival time for Sleep No More (an interactive Macbeth performance). The show was interesting, and fun to experience, but I wanted to see a stronger storyline. ?

After the show, Patrick and I walked a bit of the highline, and then headed down to meet Desire (in the picture above) and her friends at a party where I was also meeting back up with Simón (who is also in the picture above, but you can't really see him). It was so great to see Des!

Friday, I got to have a late lunch with the lovely Holly Chou, and then Simón took me to a very nice dinner with him and his brother. Afterward, we split from his brother and hit a Speakeasy near Chinatown. ... "it's supposed to be right here..."

On Saturday, Simón and I rode a lot of public transportation :), saw a NY fringe show called... Billy? (I think that was the name) ...and I purposely missed my flight home. We had a nice dinner at a Turkish restaurant and sat on his back patio in the rain, chatting and smoking hookah.

It's Sunday. I'm about to head to the airport and I can't believe how perfect that last two weeks have been. There were some hard moments, and some lonely moments, but what a great adventure....

:)

...and, scene.

I stopped running and strolled today...

I woke up and went to see Man of Valour, an incredible one man show about a man learning to face his demons using storytelling + mime + projection. It was phenominal!! There was a moment when the man struggles with his dark side, which is shown by the actor "removing" a mask to reveal an evil character, and it was quite a startling and distinct transition. The actor did an exceptional job making his imaginary world precisely clear...

Next up was The Dark Philosophers. This was another one that was performed beautifully, but I didn't fully understand. From the reviews, it needs a bit more development and is about a Welsh writer, which explains a lot of the mystery. If I had done my homework, I probably would've gotten more out of it, but a wonderful performance regardless.

I ended my Fringe experience with the comedian Daniel Sloss. I heard he was a great young performer, and that he was excellent.... I liked him, but I honestly wasn't blown away. I met some lovely people today as I was sitting around between shows, and some of his fans who I was talking with before this show told me afterwards that his stuff isn't as strong as it used to be. Oh well. He's only 20 (or something like that), and started doing comedy when he was 16! I'm sure once he transitions more into adulthood, he'll find his flow again.

After Daniel, I took a long walk home in the rain. It was beautiful and warm, and I couldn't help but think that I should neglect all of my responsibilities and just stay here. The festival has been amazing, and I love talking to people about theatre. The city is beautiful and it's great hanging with Nik and seeing Anna. *sigh* ... but I do miss my cats and my bed and Bay Area food and driving and being in the same country as all of the wonderful people in my life. :)

Arthur's seat

I felt like I was running all day today! I had planned to meet Nik on the Mile at 10:40am, but somehow took a really long time getting ready and ended up running through town to meet him before 11am when I said he should no longer wait for me. Not having phones here has made planning a little tricky. Luckily I met him in time, so we decided to go to Arthur's Seat. Arthur's Seat is a steep, jagged, beautiful hike up a landmark hill in Edinburgh. It has amazing views of the city and, according to a local shop owner, is supposed to be a 45 minute hike if you have good legs, and an hour and 15 minute hike if you don't. :) We made it to the top in about 30-35 minutes, we think.

We were in kind of a rush to get to the top, because Anna arrived in Edinburgh and I told her I'd meet her at 1:30pm. Because of Nik and I's great legs, we were able to do the hike and get to the meeting place with time to spare.

Nik had a performance today, so Anna and I hung out and caught up for a bit, and then I headed to a Korean clown show. The show was aMAZing!!! Wow, so funny and such great skill!! Made me happy. ;)

After the Korean clowns, I had some time on my own so I did a little shopping, and then headed to The Monster in the Hall. Monster was an excellent, beautifully performed, and an incredibly creative piece about a girl coping with having a single parent who has MS. It was charming, funny, and quite moving.

I didn't realize how long The Monster in the Hall was, so I bought tickets at a venue about 20 minutes away for a show that started about 10 minutes after Monster let out. !!! I started to run back across the city to the next show, and then gave up and jumped in a cab. Luckily they had late seating, so I was able to see the Sharron Matthews show tonight.

Finally, I had planned to meet Nik and maybe Anna for free comedy, but I had a sneaking suspicion that it might not happen, so I ran home to check my email and found I had messages from both of them saying they were kind of worn out. Nik mentioned he might be still up to hang out if it was something a bit more mellow, so we decided to meet between our places for a nice late night drink.

Tomorrow's my last full day in Edinburgh... and then NY.

Ducks, clowns, and ghosts

Traveling by myself has been great, but having Nik here has been really great. :) We walked up to the castle today but it was expensive to get in, so Nik used the phone and then we headed back down the Mile.

We split up for a while because I got a comp to a show called The Ducks. A friend of a friend directed it, and it was a beautifully done piece. The acting was exquisite... though, I'm not sure I completely understood what it was about. ?

Nik and I met back up to see a Japanese clown show called Tokyo Game: The Body Tights Man Show. Wow, super creative, fun, and kind of weird. :)

At the end of the day, Nik was nice enough to accompany (protect) me on The Ghost and Torture Tour: A Dark Historical Journey Above and Below Ground. When I arrived in Edinburgh, I was told there was a city built underground that people lived in at one point. It was awful living conditions and was eventually buried, but someone discovered it years later and now they do tours of the city with the option of the historical tour or the scary tour. When I was looking at the brochure, I apparently missed the part in italics. I think it was the most historical tour of the options, however, because the other tours were called: The Terror Tour: The Ultimate Terrifying Experience; and The Underground Tour: Scotland's Most Haunted Underground Experience... but it was still really scary. Sleeping tonight will not be easy...