Yeap. Yesterday was a day filled with ADVENTURE!
The weather acted like a screen saver -- one moment the sun shone, then the pellets rained down on rooftops making it sound as if marbles were being spilled on them and then thick raindrops faded in and then cyling through like that throughout the evening.
My boss just rang on the phone and I just ignored it. It's 10:30 on a Sunday morning. Doesn't she want to go to church or something? Anyway...
I have Peter Gabriel's Passion on. The trumpets are helping protect me from demons.
I had a great meeting with Mary Ann and I left our appointment and went straight to the Berkeley's Farmer's Market in search of Sofrito's Arroz y Habichuelas with organic greens. Ever since tehy opened the restaurant I have been missing them at the Farmer's Market, but I continued strolling. The smoothie place had slim pickin's because apparently they expected the rain to be pouring in the morning. Nope.
Ah, but I spotted a pure white nectar in a bottle. My brain hoped it was coconut.
I asked the smiling granola chick what it was, "pure, organic thai baby coconut."
Oh yes. OH YEEEEEEEEEEEEES.
I purchased my beverage and strolled back to my car. I was lucky enough to find a meter spot without a head so I STAYED there, called my friend Meryl and saw how her job fair went. It sounded successful! We laughed about potential future plans and she told me we absolutely did not win the lottery from the numbers we played. I told her it was because we weren't meat packers.
For an hour I hung in the car like most people might do in their bedroom or living room floor, just letting time and our thoughts flow. I sat in the sunshine. The warmth was on my face and she and I geeked out on NPR. Her theory is that Ira Glass is gay. I suggested he might be a yestrosexual. It doesn't matter, his gf (are they married yet?) is beautiful and I think among the luckiest women in the world. Next to Dr. Drew's wife and John Stewart's wife and Stephen Colbert's wife. We also are considering our next steps. Boston? San Francisco? We're flexible. Where is life taking us? I wonder...
Our conversation ends and I am RAVENOUS.
My mind was considering the stand at the farmer's market where the woman makes her rice flour crepes and fills them with southern Indian fabulousness. Aloo...dang, I am not remembering, nor doing it justice. She also has a mixed berry lassi on her menu.
Hrm. But I had that last time I was at the market.
The idea for a crepe directed me to the Banh Xeo (sp?) craving. I walked up past Shattuck to the Vietnamese place and shied away from requesting my moon crepe in Vietnamese. I remember when Huy's parents laughed at me when I made a linguistic gaff. There are some cultures where when you mess up it's a shame. We Latins thank you for trying, but I didn't want them to think I was butchering their language.
Two women behind the counter were rolling imperial rolls. They faced one another, a bowl between them with filling and the table was layed out with the pastry sheets to fill. They spoke to one another and rolled them so deftly. It was beautiful.
I sat at a table where I could watch as I waited for my food and got into a meditative state. Watching their fingers and remembering when I would do bead work, or now as I learn bow strokes on my violin. It's amazing to get into that beautiful, powerful zone.
I enjoyed my Moon Crepe over the perusing the Onion. I was stifling my laughter with two stories, one of the Iraqi Gandhi who preached lesser violence and the other of candle vigil goers who were seeking a graceful out after 4+ hours of standing with votives without wanting to disrespect the families of the bereaved. Human nature is hilarious. Absolutely hilarious. I think the editorial staff at the Onion does genius work.
(I am noticing I am a little lazy with the links today. Lo siento.)
Anywho...got birthday cakes for Sara and Chris for their respective bday parties that were my mission for the evening. Chris is hard to shop for, I figured vegan chocolate cake? Can't go wrong. Sara is a goddess and I thought a beautiful cake would be lovely. Edible gifts leave good memories and no packaging to damage the environment! I am going that route for the most part this year. LNT mentality I have.
Then I escaped back into my room when I noticed the roomie was gone. Yay!
I napped for about an hour and then went on Craigslist to look for housing situations. I am looking for a STUDIO. I can squeeze $650 a month.
I made a few appointments for today, but I also saw a darling spot that was near the observatory up the hill. No exact address was given, but I Google mapped it and got to driving. Up past Hwy 13 and near Joaquin Miller park. Twists and turns...ah, seemed like paradise.
But it ended up a goose chase. I started calling my peops with internet and got O on the phone. O? Can you help me find a spot? (Man, I am ALWAYS renting O for his Knight Rider skills. Thank you for indulging me, O.)
We didn't find it. I was listening to KPOO out of San Francisco and they had a reggae show on. There was an amazing Dub piece with a speech of Coretta Scott King speaking about her journey as a Civil Rights Activist. She started as a music major in college. Crazy.
I then was on my way...7 pm. Dang...stop by Chris' party first or head into the city?
And I was feeling tired.
I needed caffeine. CHOCOLATE! Bittersweet! Then I could get bday cards as well.
I picked out the cards and walked next door in the hail to get my chocolate on.
I entered and made eye contact briefly with a slightly swarthy (heh, who uses THAT word anymore?) gent with short, slightly hipster dark hair, black leather jacket, an interesting glass frog pendant, and glasses framing a lovely set of intelligent brown eyes in front of a laptop and notes about him. I noticed math notations on the paper. We exchanged a smile and I walked to the counter and had a debate with myself - spicy hot chocolate or white chocolate dream?
After a few moments and finding out my barista was from Syracuse and chatting a little bit about that I decided spicy, because I needed to wake up. I also decided to park in this neighborhood in case I wanted to BART in. It was right by Chris' house. Erika was being strategic.
Since I was in bday party mode, I updid my curly-fro and came up with a beaded, fringed scarf tied in such a way that it served as my blouse. It was gold. I wore a gold bra/bodysuite underneath. I wore a host of golden bracelets and my medallion. I wanted to be golden for these birthdays. I topped these with my black leather jacket because I KNEW I'd freeze otherwise. Atop this I brought my mother's hooded jacket because the weather was just crazy.
I ordered my drink to go, but they served it in a cup to stay. No worries. The gent's table was empty and I "apologized" as I invaded his space and told him I would let him stay to his work and just write out birthday cards.
We then started to chat. Niels said he was working on wireless technology and I said, "Cool." He also said it was cool stuff but that he said explaining it would be kind of boring. I said I was a geek, try me.
So essentially he's working on a project to solve the wireless issue of not being able to penetrate walls.
I followed the conversation. When he asked what I did I said I was director of technology for a non-profit in San Francisco trying to empower young women, especially surround the use of technology. And I told him most of my friends were engineers of some ilk. I told him I wasn't faking geekdom. He seemed pleased that I followed the science well.
I thought he looked hawaiian, perhaps hapa, perhaps arabic, perhaps latino, perhaps south asian. Ethnically ambiguous. I love it.
Lean face, beautiful smile.
Man, and those glasses. I am a sucker for the glasses. I liken it to the Superman thing. I like them because I wear them. I like them because they can garner a little authority in my book.
He commented me on my necklace (an Indian medallion I fell in love with at Rainbow grocery that I bought as a birthday present to myself). And I responded in kind to his pendant. I asked him if he made it, if it was made of glass, and he joked that it was supposedly handmade by an artist on Telegraph.
We spoke about the weather. I picked up on his East Coast vibe. BAM! He was from Maryland, Silver Spring. (I guessed Bethesda. I knew he wasn't a B-more dude.) We spoke about this.
I was supposed to be writing two birthday cards.
He bikerides and went to Rice University undergrad. He teaches, but is doing research this semester.
He asked me about my schooling. I told him Ad major at Syracuse and he said he was thoroughly enjoying a Social Psychology class this semester. Nice.
And he recommended a book.
And I wanted to write it down.
And then the "We should exchange information and hang out or grab coffee."
YES!
This man was BEAUTIFUL.
I figure he's about 6-7 years my junior. A Beck tune that came on made me think that when he said it came out during his undergrad years and I had no recollection of the tune. It came of Beck's something Vultures album.
Tee hee.
I finished the cards. He started tapping on his keyboard. We worked in silence. I drew in my cards and wrote out my messages. I was inspired in Sara's card to draw a tree woman and in Chris' card an illustration of a striped snake coiled about a birthday cake and a little stick figure with a balloon saying, "Happy Birthday to me!" Kinda sinister in that Beetlejuice kinda way. But not harmful. A poke at the scary.
So I break the silence and apologize that I need to go and he says he's also going into the city later. I said check with 511 before he goes so he can determine whether he'll BART or drive.
And we make tentative plans for lunch after my doctor's appointment next week.
Digits are exchanged. When I am typing his name into the phone I ask the origin of his last name. Norweigan.
I didn't have time to ask the Nordic thing. But I made a note of it.
That'll be next week's conversation.
I left, stopped by Chris'. Houman, Michelle, Burt, and OF COURSE Mr. Chris were there. Quick hellos. Chatting about the evening's events and I apologized that I reversed my schedule. The city was going to be crazy, so I figured I'd say hello and Happy Birthday early.
I also forgot Dieyana's book. Damn.
Wifey looked hot and scheduled the ice cream cocktail hours. I was going to miss Horchata hour. DANG!
I then sat in traffic for about an hour through rain, sleet, hail, pause, and then rain again.
I was scrolling through the dial of amazing salsa and imagining ME playing the violin parts and NRG 92.7 just bouncing to clearly club pap.
SATURDAY NIGHT!
Ah, when was the last time I had one of these?
Monday night dancing has GOT to happen, though. My body NEEDS it.
Manana, a GOZAR!!!!!
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