Oh hai...

I love New York in the summertime....

Drinks w/ work
Sailing w/ Vasilia
Des's party in Brooklyn
Dinner w/ Simón + Serials w/ Holly
One Man, Two Guvnahs + Momofuku + 7S w/ Holly

Ah, what a great work trip.  :) 

Shake it all about

The Butterfly Effect.  

I have so much in my head...  

I'm presently freezing my ass off in an apartment on the 22nd floor of an air conditioned building in the middle of Manhattan.  It's very much summer outside, and the feel of it makes me long for it....   

I've been working on this trip since the beginning of the year, but the pieces didn't fall into place until last Tuesday...and then everything happened so fast that I feel like I can't remember how I got here.  ...though, the 7 hours I spent on a plane next to an old woman whose first question to me was, "Do you speak English?" should jog some memories.  Well, that and the cab driver who somewhat shyly asked me if I was Japanese and if I knew the Japanese baseball guy who was transferred from Seattle to the Yankees.  I'm pretty sure he meant to ask if I knew of him....even though that's not at all how it seemed.  Oh, New York... there's something about you that's always so real.  I love that.

I'm missing someone right now.  

Boom

I just confirmed the venue I wanted for the next EIGHT.

Hells. YEAH. :)


I've been slacking on blogging so here's a bit of catch up.

Fourth of July weekend was awesome. I say "weekend" because, even though it was on a Wednesday, my work gave us the rest of the week off so -- perfect 5 day weekend it was. 

It started with Brian and Teresa's BBQ -- a great spread, bean bag game, champagne tasting, yummy dessert, and of course Brian and Teresa and friends... all good things.  I went from there to Alex's BBQ -- beer pong, random burnt BBQ, fire crackers, hot (almost) 24 year old following me around all night, and of course Alex and Joe and friends.  It was an excellent day all around.  The rest of the weekend managed to be the perfect balance of doing nothing and having fun, and included a great night of dancing with Stella bella, and seeing Brave with Joan.

And then, last week was perfect in so many ways... I had a great dinner with Michael and Michael at their gorgeous new condo in Burlingame, my soccer team had an epic farewell karaoke party for one of our teammates who just moved back to Mexico, I went on a great date, we played a great soccer game, Gabriella and Morgan had a fabulous BBQ, I went to see some improv with Joe, I did the Color Run with Alex and friends, saw Truffaldino Says No w/ Gabriella and Morgan, went on a nice hike, and had another great date. 

Next week, I go to New York... then Teresa's bachelorette, then Max's wedding, then...the next EIGHT....? Hopefully, it won't all happen quite that fast.

Absurd

*flashback*

I'm 21 years old playing capture the flag in the woods, and a bunch of 14 year olds are following me around because they think that I'm also 14.  I eventually have to show them my ID to convince them to stop following me and that I am not, in fact, 14.

*present day*

I'm 37 years old playing beer pong (yes, I know) at a party, and an almost 24 year old (he was about to have a birthday) is following me around trying to get me to give him my phone number.  I tell him my age and he says he doesn't care. He somehow manages to impress me, so I give him my number with the disclaimer that it is not to be abused.

I suppose this has been happening to me most of my life so I shouldn't find it so surprising, but I can't help but feel continuously surprised by it. I guess as I get older and more aware, it just seems more and more absurd. ...but, there's a part of me that wonders why it should? I mean, I hang out with a lot of young people, and they are still single and normal, so... maybe I should just be grateful. Who knows... ?

...and, does everything happen for a reason?

And beyond...

I've been doing my best to take some real time for myself these days because not relaxing, in the middle of All The Crazy, has brought me to the point of wondering if exhaustion will actually be the cause of my death...  

By the way, apparently "real time for myself" means watching the entire series of Scrubs.  (It takes a big turn in the later seasons, which I didn't like at first but... the new cast is growing on me.  ?)

Anyway, on to the crazy...  Where should I begin? 

After Palm Springs I was still sick, so I took it easy for a minute and then I played soccer -- which I think helped... And then, I had an amazing, but painfully over booked weekend. 

It started out on Friday night with the lovely Laura Lee.  We had intended to go the Liz Roman show (a dance performance whose lighting was done by Jennyb!), but we showed up to find the show completely sold out.  I had some friends djing over at the Beauty Bar, so we headed that way instead.  As it turned out, Laura Lee also had some good friends hanging at Beauty Bar that night, so we had a great night with friends.  :)  

Saturday morning, I was having a dream about being late to Miss Lily's first birthday party and then I woke up late for Miss Lily's first birthday party.  Damn... Dave and Maureen live in a beautiful house in San Rafael, about 40 minutes from me, so I hopped out of bed, picked the best outfit I could come up with for the day's activities, and managed to get to the party just in time for birthday singing and cake demolishing... whew!  It was a really nice time with Maureen's family and friends. 

After the party, I picked Anthony up at West Oakland to take him to a hip hop battle in East Oakland.  My directions had us driving down International blvd all they way, so we had a solid dose of ghetto by the time we got to the venue -- which looked like it was maybe in the back of a tattoo parlor, and had a bunch of thug life kids hanging around out front.  It was a rougher scene than what we had expected.  Anthony didn't seem comfortable, so we skipped the battle, and I took him on a tour of the nice parts of Oakland instead in an attempt to correct his first impression of the East Bay.  Yeow! 

After a good drive and some walks in the pretty parts of Oakland / Berkeley, Anthony and I headed to the city to join Star and Cindy for an Asian American magazine party.  The party happened to be booked with a bunch of performances, including some hip hop dance.  :)  Awesome.  We hung out there until Alex started texting me to head over to Joanna's birthday party at Orbit. 

Joanna's party was full of soccer friends, which is always fun.  We hung out until the bar closed, and then I headed home because I had to be up early on Sunday for the Odyssey. 

The Odyssey was a 5 hour interactive theater adventure / hike on Angel Island.  It was staged as a journey on which we were to accompany Telemachus following the footsteps of his father in hopes to find him.  Really fun show!  The performances were great, the settings well thought out, the interaction appropriate and playful, and I found it to be a very enjoyable production.  I had some friends performing in the show, who were fantastic. 

After the show, I got right on the ferry to head to Matt and Jessica's for a nice dinner.  :)  A perfect way to end a crazy weekend...  

Palm Springs

I'm in Palm Springs and I am sick. Blahhhhhh.....

I've been sick for like 4 days now.  Body aches, congestion, sore throat... I want it to be allergies, but I'm pretty sure I have a sinus infection.  ...and, I probably also have allergies.

I'm visiting my parents who are on a golfing vacation, which is actually not so bad for being sick... I mean, my mom's here - which instantly makes everything better - and the only thing on the agenda is golf, which I don't do, so it's easy to skip (rather than tag along) if I need to.

At the bagel shop....

I was sitting outside the bagel shop, reading and enjoying the day, when a couple walked up.  The boy slyly gave me a smile as they walked through the door. 

As I sat, contemplating how in the 5 minutes it took me to walk there I'd been smiled at by 3 different men accompanying their wives/girlfriends, and finding myself unsure on how I felt about that, the couple emerged back onto the patio. 

They were handsome together.  The girl had wavy, sandy hair falling to her shoulders, and long bangs covering one of her eyes.  She was in a simple sundress with just the right cinching and bunching to make it worthy of a special occasion.  She had big round eyes surrounded by perfect angles.  She was lovely. 

He was the casual mirror of she, with a touch of ethnicity...darkening his features. 

As they ate, she barely moved -- maintaining a perfect picture.  He fidgeted, stole glances -- shifted. 

When he left to get her a cup of water, the picture changed...briefly. 

Her smile returned as he did and, without affection, they got up from their table and continued on their way....

Abandoned spaces

After the show, I managed to book a small role as a fighting zombie alien (or something like that) in an indie film.  The film was about... alien zombie post apocalyptic something or another... ? and was being filmed in the ruins of an[other] old, abandoned building.  The cast was full of very hot young men.  I was made up to look like a crazy zombie/alien lady.  (I just wrote "alien" and "zombie" in 3 out of 4 sentences.)  Awesome.... :)   It was a really fun, dirty day -- I got to fight with pipes 'n stuff.  

In the last few weeks, around planning the show, I've played a lot of foosball and soccer and have done a lot of sword fighting.  I saw Bruja at Magic, Othello at Phoenix, Playground at Thick House, the fireworks at GG Bridge, saw Tyler play at the Hemlock, and Matt play at the Fillmore!!  I got to spend some great time with girlfriends:  Joan, Gabriella, Jessica, and Sarah.  And, I finally let go of the guy who's been jerking me around.  I also went on another crappy date but whatevs... life is excellent.  :) 

Eight, take 3

Where should I begin... ?  I think this was the hardest show yet -- but, then, I'm not sure if they've all been hard, and this one just seemed harder for some reason.  It did have more unknown variables than the last couple.  ...I think. ?

There are 4 big phases of preparing for the show.

1.  Booking the space.

In the past, this has been the easiest part because I was always booking Main Street, which is run by my good friends so... piece of cake.  This time, I decided to move the show to explore more underground spaces.  I spoke with Bob at Cyclone, and Carl who books the Secret Room, and was in limbo between the two of them for a couple of weeks.  The Secret Room fell through around the same time Cyclone came through -- and, voilá!  There was a point when I had Main Street on hold just in case because the venue situation wasn't looking too promising -- but, it all worked out.

2.  Getting the performers.

The first couple of shows I booked friends (or close friends of friends) to perform.  It made for a good response, and a good basic idea of how the show would go.  This time, I booked a few friends, a guy I really admire, and some friends of friends whom I didn't know too much about.  I was able to book the first few spots pretty easily, but I had a hard time filling my last few spots, which was a bit daunting when I hadn't finished my lineup and the show was less than three weeks away.  It was an interesting and stressful challenge that somehow turned out great.

3.  Getting the invitation out.

I'm still working on the best way to present the show, the words to use, the kinds of invitations to send...  It's hard to know how public I should make the show given the [not completely legal] nature of things ... :P  This time I tried a very ticket driven approach.  It seemed to work well.

4.  Waiting to see what happens....

I generally have a decent guess of how the show will turn out, and I'm generally right... so, you'd think I could let go and relax a bit. Ugh.  This show felt like a giant mystery to me for some reason, but I sort of feel like it always seems that way until I get there and my 'decent guess' manifests.  I think being in a new space, with new performers, and no idea if ticket sales were an indication of things, made me kind of crazy...


...but, it all turned out great.  :)


The lineup:

Andy Strain - Trombone
Sean Sanford - Story performance
Stephen Ku - Stand-up comedy
Texas and Abraham - Clown/Magic act
Alex Kelly - Cello
Anna Ishida - Singing
Bernard Vash - Clown storytelling
Agatha Rupniewski and crew - Hip Hop dance


It was an incredible night. I had Rob (always) on sound, Kasmira working the bar, Joan checking the door, and Bob fearlessly running the house....and, the result, was excellent. :)

Smile

Someone once told me that when you smile, whether you're happy or not, you trick your brain into thinking that you're happy - which will actually make you feel happier.  Apparently, this has been scientifically proven. 

Right now, I am grateful for amazing friends, laughter, adventure, art, health, a good job, successfully producing underground warehouse shows, and ... for you, of course. 

;)

Pink

I decided to change the status quo... so, I put on a pink shirt and had a macaroon for breakfast.  :)  

Two things have impacted me greatly today: 

1.  Faith is the key. 

2.  It's not rewarding bad behavior; it's not letting others change who you are because of their actions.  ....keep pouring honey until they taste the sweetness.... 

I went to see a show on Sunday called White Rabbit, Red Rabbit -- a piece written by an Iranian man who was denied a passport for not doing the required military service in his country.  He wrote a play and sent it out into the world instead.  The play is done as a cold read by a local actor and creates an acute awareness of the playwright, the present place in which the play is being done at which the playwright is absent yet present in words (?), and is completely entertaining while also being completely confrontational.  Fascinating, thought provoking, value challenging.  Holy crap.  A game changer.  

Here's a song that seems fit.

http://www.myspace.com/music/player?sid=61786679&ac=now

I suppose I should also mention the APA Vagina Monologues, an amazing creative workshop day in Half Moon Bay, and the 2nd Annual Wine Competition - reminiscent of a night that would change my life forever.

- though, doesn't everything...?

Dream a little dream

Stars shining bright above you
Night breezes seem to whisper, "I love you"
Birds singing in the sycamore tree
Dream a little dream of me

(This is a picture of the super moon from a week or so ago at the Lake Chalet with Anna and Andy....)

I saw a fantastic play at Cutting Ball theater on Friday night.  It was a documentary theater piece called Tenderloin using incredibly versatile, talented actors to bring a diverse, run down, avoided part of town onto a little, black box stage.  Aside from being beautifully performed, the piece brought to mind the humans we tend to forget about when faced with their conditions.   It was an impressive, inventive take on what might have otherwise been forgotten stories...  Thanks Simón. 

On Saturday, I got to spend time with Terry, a very pregnant friend of mine that I used to hang out with in college.  It was so wonderful to just tool around with her and catch up. 

And then, Sunday, I got to see Sky and Dan!  After some previously missed efforts, we finally found ourselves together at a pub in the Haight for a lively catch-up session.  It was soo good to see them.  ...actually, to see all of the above.  :)

I just realized how much has happened since I last wrote, including the House of Prime Rib, twice, and almost getting killed at an abandoned Silo.  Oh, and I saw the Color Purple at Stanford tonight.  Nchedo was in it.  She was fantastic! 

It's amazing going to the House of Prime Rib with a bunch of young guys who have too much money.  Lots and lots of wine.... :)  It's fascinating to go, again, with a whole new set of guys who can finish off a plate to get to the, apparently, free second plate of meat.  !! 

All I have to say about the Silo is when someone is throwing bottles and bricks from a top floor broken window, and seems to be aiming to hit you, it's time to get the hell out of there. 

The Marty party

The Marty party was a private birthday concert thrown in an unmarked space just off of Union Square.

Marty is quite a talented singer and song writer -- and also happens to be a very romantic husband.  During this concert he sang a bunch of original songs, a few well done covers, and a favorite song of his wife's that he'd been rehearsing in secret to play for her for his birthday show!   ...  <3  An inspiring night of love and talent, and friendship!  The room was full of what seemed to be Marty's closest friends... and, me. 

I met Marty when Josh and I joined the dragonboat team a few years ago.  When we broke up, the team decided they wanted to keep me....  and then, a few of their guys hit on me right away.  I was so upset that I started avoiding the team, and this has gone on for the last couple of years.  Since then, Marty and his wife have come with Andy (one of the few people I've kept in loose touch with) to support me in some of my shows, and I guess that somehow managed to get me on this very special guest list. 

Take a bow

Last weekend....

I went to Friday Nights at the de Young Museum to see the Gaultier exhibit with Gabriella.  Incredible.  INCREDIBLE.  

Saturday, I went to Angel Island for Shara's birthday party.... and then, to the Naked and Famous concert with Alex, Rebecca, and Jason.  (I meant to take a shower between the party and the concert, but instead I took a nap, and then chased a bug around my apartment...)

Sunday, I assisted a small sword class, helped choreograph some slaps for a production of Othello, checked out the Cherry Blossoms Festival, and saw Solo Sundays at Stage Werx with Anna. 
 
AWESOME...!!! 

It all actually started on Thursday, with the Alex Kelly cd release party.  Alex's cello playing puts me in some kind of a crazy, blissful, trance....

~~~

(Saturday around 6:30pm)

.... I woke up from a nap to find a Mosquito Eater in my living room.  Yeah, ew.  I wanted to keep it alive because, at the time, I thought Mosquito Eaters actually ate Mosquitoes...but, I just read on wikipedia that they don't.  :P  Awesome.  Anyway, I'm also really bad at squishing bugs, so it seemed to make sense to try to help it back out of the open screen door, from which I can only assume it came.... 

I chased the Mosquito Eater around my apartment using a piece of paper to scare/guide it back toward the door.  I was focused, swiping at it gently - keeping it moving while climbing the couch and brushing against walls - determined to get it back outside to eat more Mosquitoes!  

Finally, the Mosquito Eater flew right in front of the door so, with a gentle swing of the paper, I knocked that sucker right out.  Victory!  ....at which moment I realized I'd been running around chasing a bug in my underwear in front of a giant open door for about 30 minutes straight.  Damn.  My neighbors must love me... or, find me completely inappropriate and ridiculous.... 

*bow*