Lavender Cleanse

I spent the day reluctantly packing my room. I have many, many little nick-knacks that I curse when I need to pack it all up. They are things for my altars and memory shelves.

I left the house finally and brought over my violin, some kitchen stuff, linens, and some some Mrs. Meyer's Lavender all-purpose cleanser. I wanted to get to the bathroom and kitchen cleansed with my touch. I added a plant, dusted, rewrapped the makeshift window cover, and wiped down all surfaces in the bathroom.

What I love about this cleanser is that I don't feel like I have to run like Bhopal just exploded after using it. The folks at Mrs. Meyer's seem to have a similar philosophy to the Method: you don't have to die in order to have clean in your life. And it carries from window cleanser to detergent to tile cleaner, too. Huzzah, I say. Our forebearers did not choke on Comet and I don't think I need to, either.

I scrubbed dust and cleansed surfaces in my new room. There are makeshift scarf window shades for now. I will be purchasing some curtain rods to remedy this. I am also looking at a redecorating book for ideas regarding organization. Erika needs MUCH reorganization. Less nick-knacks, more functionality. We can do this, mamita. =)

Tonight I heard a song that made me laugh and I can't remember what it was right now. I heard the Little River Band's "Lonesome Loser" the other night and I was rocking the hell out of it. I'm such a fan of 70s white boy soul. It reminds me of roadtrips my family used to take...either to visit abuelita in New York or driving to Florida for vacation.

"Have you heard about the Lonesome Loser, beaten by the Queen of Hearts every time. Have you heard about the Lonesome Loser? He's a loser, but he still keeps on tryin'?

Dude's voice is so soulful on the stanzas. The harmonies on the chorus rock.

I left lavender chocolare for the roommate and I noted where we need to declutter the living room. There's a lot of wall hangings and such. A lot of memories splayed on the walls and I realize that I like more simple decor. Walls that focus on a few important things. We shall see.

I am going to de-bachelor this place. Muhahahahahahaha. (Not all the way, though. Gotta love the surround sound. We gotta fix the stereo, because that will be PHAT.)

I didn't get the DSL to successfully see me on the network, so I will talk to him about that.

Next I called Ms. Megan to make dinner plans and to just chat and hang out, sans boys. We don't get as potent a time in when Mssrs. Mike and Jamie are about. We got to talk about girlie stuff and she gave me the book, "Living Out Loud" to peruse and gain inspiration from. SCORE! One of my former coworkers, soon to be coworker had this book and I think it's a great first step to me figuring out the next phase of my life. What shall the next third of my life be inspired with? Woo-hoo!

We enjoyed Thai in Walnut Creek. And I have to say that despite the ennui of suburbia, I do find Walnut Creek to be visually pleasing. There are fountains in front of banks and so forth. Little aesthetic touches that make sidewalks a joy to walk in because they are cobble-bricked. I wonder what makes this possible in Walnut Creek, but an impossibility in say, like, the Mission?

On the way there I was listening to a radio article on Squatters and how squatter communities are cropping up all over the world...rurall people are moving to urban cetners at the given rate of 130 people per second, according to this man being interviewed on To The Best of Our Knowledge. Pretty incredible. He predicted that 1 in 4 will be living in illegal, or unofficially recognized comminuties by 2025. People are building homes with electricity and plumbing by the hundreds of thousands in the world's cities and cities are not counting them? Incredible. But perhaps this is the key to my homeownership challenge...I could move to a submunicipality. The one in Instanbul sounded lovely...

We ordered and chatted. And after our waitress ever so politely took our order we continued to chat. And plates began to come out and past our table...but they were not ours. 30 minutes later we eyeballed each plate as if we'd pounce. Jesus, where were the shrimp chips? Something...we were HUNGRY!!!!!

Other patrons seemed to get the same expression of wild expectation in their eyes as well. One rather large party seemed to be getting the king's portions and we were waiting for our little orders.

45 minutes later our rolls appeared and we dogged them. We were noshing on the shredded garnish of cabbage when our server asked if we were done. I was embarrased to nod yes with a string of cabbage dangling from my lip.

After another 15 minutes the chow fun-like dish came out. The scent was lovely. A clear beef broth bowl filled with an island of wide rice noodles, little morsels of beef, sprigs of broccoli and carrots.

This was followed by our centerpiece of the evening: the pumpkin green curry with chicken, shrimp, bamboo shoots and all manner of loveliness served in a white ceramic fish shaped bowl.

Our steamed rice came in two small bowls and our conversation silenced as we filled our tummies to the point where we could actually enjoy each other's company again.

In between feeding ourselves we giggled about looking so bug-eyed at the platters that had passed us before.

We enjoyed a pumpkin green curry, vegetable rolls, and a chow fun-like dish with beef. All were tasty and we got to discuss her work with the PSAT kids, a pitch she's giving to some parents, The Three Amigos, the brilliance of Steve Martin, and what the hell our educational system is doing NOT educating kids across the board, and the whole globalization of labor.

Our tummies and minds were full after dinner.

She dropped me off at my car and we hugged good-night. I drove home and coming out of the tunnel connecting Contra Costa county 24 with Alameda county 24 I marveled at how beautiful Oakland and San Francisco were strung with lights. The Bay Bridge looked like a series of huge necklaces. Yay.

I'm here, I'm home, and I'm figuring out the schedule for tomorrow because I am volunteering, going to see Mary Ann, and preparing for Noelia to return as well as cleaning up Diane's house.

Tomorrow I got my work cut out for me.

Speaking of which: O, good luck on your first day tomorrow!