Whatever Happened to That Kid?

Today I drove my Grandpa to a radiation treatment in UCSF. He lived in the Sunset District with his mom for five years when he was in Junior High and High School, and after treatment he directed me around his old stomping grounds. Apartments now stand where his high school, Polytechnic, once stood. Both the boys and girls gyms still stand on either side of the apartments. It was a four story school that took up a whole block. Huge.

Office Max was a garage. The movie theatre is now something else as well. His house is now a Chinese Restraunt next to Pizza Orgasmica. He lived on the second floor, near the back. There are still some apartments there. How cool would it be if I moved into those apartments some day?

There is a prominent Chinese culture in that area now, but when he was there, there were only two Chinese people in the area he could think of. One owned a Mexican restraunt across the street.

Grandpa had a million different jobs. He had a paper route. He worked for the post office during Christmas. He worked as an usher at the movie theatre, he worked for an Italian butcher... and many other places right there in the neighborhood.

We drove home through the presidio, a route he rode bikes on when he was a teenager. The sun was starting to go down, it was a clear day, and the views were beautiful.

Grandpa dozed on and off a little bit. He was tired after such a trying day, no doubt. Just before we got home, he wondered out loud whatever happened to that kid. The kid being himself, back when he lived in SF.

I said he might still be around, but he wasn't too sure.

Become virtual Luggage

Most people know by now that I got a new job as a journalist for PNN.com. You also probably know that I am going to Wales for Christmas.

What you may not know is exactly just how awesome my job is. I am going to be "working' from Wales. I have a website called A Girly's Christmas in Wales. (http://christmasinwales.pnn.com) and I am going to be posting movies, photos, journal entries, audio clips, and other little yummy treats that demonstrate Welsh culture while I am over there.

It's going to be legendary. (thanks, Neil Patrick Harris)

Anyway, my question for you is this:

Do you want to come with me?

Well, I can't actually physically take you to Wales with me, as much as I would like to. Not unless you are a pilot who can charter a plane to fly a gaggle of PNN-ites over the pond for us.

But if you follow my adventures online, it is like I am taking you with me. You become my Luggage. My virtual Luggage.

How do you become Luggage? First, Join PNN.com and set up your own website. Yes, you get a free webpage out of the deal. Then, join the Christmas in Wales Group. Post the Luggage icon on your page so I know where you are. (If you don’t put a Luggage tag on yourself how will I ever know which bags riding around the airport carousal are mine?)

Then, just sit back and check Christmasinwales.pnn.com every morning to find out what you will be doing that day.

It’s a pretty sweet deal. Join PNN.com and I’ll lug you around Wales with me this Christmas.

Wanna come?

American?

Over the extended Thanksgiving weekend, I watached the following videos:

• Ratatouille
• Paris, Je'taime
• L'auberge Espnagote (The Spanish Apartment)
• All About My Mother
• Black Books Series 3
• About A Boy

All of these movies/shows take place in a foriegn country. All but one (Ratatouille) are foreign made.

Thanksgiving is very much a American holiday, yet I spent most of it watching movies that have nothing to do with America.

Anyone else find this interesting?

A Little Sunday Reading...

A new story published at the Chick Lit Review! Check it out here: The Best Hair.

Saying Happy Thanksgiving with a Drunk Irishman...

...Because that's just the way I roll.

This is my favorite episode of Black Books. It's called The Party, it's from Season 3, and its divided into three parts because that's the way it came on youtube.

Confession: I find Dylan Moran (Bernard) strangely attractive. Something about the accent and his level of hilarity.

and FYI, 4.49 pounds is about nine dollars.

This is so cute.

Personally, I like the little guy on the far right, second row up. He's a cute little dude. And, he looks kind of familiar. Hmmm...

Happy Saturday

A Weekend in SF

These are some of my fave pics from my, Marissa, and Tatiana's (AKA JMar, MaRose, and TeeHee) weekend in SF. We spent some time in North Beach, and spent the night in the Castro. We went to gay bars at night (my first time. yay!). It was so fun! We saw lots of naked men and lots of butts all weekend. For various reasons. Sometimes it was guys looking out the windows of their hotel rooms with just their undies on, sometimes it was people competing in a best ass competition at a bar, and sometimes it was just because very toned guys were dancing around the club in their underwear.

Description of photos above:

1. The stairwell at City Lights Bookstore. There was another picture that I really wanted to take, but there were lots of people around and I was scared. Of what? Perhaps someone jumping out from behind a bookshelf and screaming "Don't take pictures in here!" More likely just getting dirty looks from really cool people who lurk around City Lights.

2. Little Orphan Andy's: our fave Castro Diner! I won't tell you how many times we ate there. The lights there are quite orange, hence the orange color in the pic.

3. Outside City Lights, just hangin' around North Beach. I like this shot.

At long last.

Self Portrait Challenge: What I Wear

What do I wear? Scarves. Especially ones that I have made. This one is called Arwen, because I feel like it is very elf-like. I will post more pictures of this scarf (ones that show of its sparkle a bit more) once the matching gloves and hat are done.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today was my Dad's birthday. I sent him a cool present in the mail, and he's going to open it later tonight while we are on the phone together. I'll tell him about this post then too. : )

Notice the potato chips in this pic? I never buy potato chips. But today, I had a craving for them at lunch. I looked in the chips asile, and decided on barbeque. I NEVER get barbeque chips.

But you know what? Barbeque chips were my Dad's favorite when I was little. I thought they were yucky, but he liked them. It's one of those wierd things that you remember about your childhood. And now, barbeque chips always make me think of my Dad.

Happy Birthday Dad! : )

It's Minnie!

Yes, I decided to go as Minnie! Wasn't one of my original choices, but I am notorious for changing my mind a million times before the actual day of Halloween. And I loved my costume. I felt adorable in it, even when I felt prudish amongst all the girls that dressed as a slutty-something-or-other for Halloween. Then I saw these pics, and I realized how big my boobs looked in this outfit. Maybe it wasn't so prudish.

Here are a few more of my fave pics: