first, the kitty shop

Toys, stickers and everything possible ~ 18th and Geary

Another blogging friend! You already know Linda, I believe

Another tea ~ this is a jasmine flower exploding in hot water!

What a nice yesterday ~ I've been wanting to stock up on stickers
since Linda gifted me several times from "the kitty shop" shown
above. It's a tiny hole-in-the-wall jammed with colorful merchandise
from Japan. Every item seems to be priced at $3.30 and it's easy to
spend more than intended. A very cool place.

Then we had lunch at the Mandalay Burmese Restaurant and I so
enjoyed our chat about everything under the sun. Almost. You know
Linda from her blog ~ she is an ultra talented artist (and writer) and
I worried because she has a 36 page project (kid's book) that is due
at the end of the month. But she will get it done, as always.

The food? We shared delicious walnut chicken and a fish in
black bean sauce as we studied those tea glasses. I kept saying
that it looked like something under the ocean. Oh, it was really
a tasty tea, too. Nice day, thanks Linda, now get to work...

our strange world of writing

I blatantly stole this from my friend/teacher Jane who runs the Writing
Salon. There is so much to think about here:

" . . . So here we go again--another writing class, like tens of thousands
occurring around the country. While programs in English literature have
withered in the last 25 years . . . writing programs have burgeoned.
Since 1975, the number of creative writing programs has increased
800 percent. It is amazing. The economy has tanked. Publishing
favors nonfiction. Young people seem to prefer the image to the word.
Yet all over America, students ranging in age from their early twenties
to their eighties hunker down at seminar tables like this one. . . avid to
join a profession that practically guarantees them rejection, poverty
and failure. All who have taught in our program . . . dutifully remind
the students of their likely fate, but they come to us in hordes anyway.

"I look around the table at my dozen hopefuls, a Chorus Line without
a star to support--smart, good-natured, talented people who yearn to
forge a life from their imaginations. Writing students look different
from other students. No matter how old they are, they have a childish
romanticism to them, as do professional writers--sometimes
self-destructive, but also touching. Ana, sophisticated as she is, has
the face of a young girl about to take in her first Broadway play.
George, big as he is, looks like a puppy eager for approval. They all
want the world of writing so very much--not only to succeed in it, but
to be part of it, to stroll in it and feel it wrap around them. I admire
their brash impracticality and wonder if, in some way, their reckless
enthusiasm for art, conceived and nurtured in an increasingly
money-driven age, represents their unconscious protest against
the age. I never heard my students say such a thing, or indicate in any
way that they thought themselves heroic for beating oars against the
tide. If anything, they make a show of bemoaning the lovely madness
of their desire. Yet there are so many of them--the continuing
multiplication of all the nation's writing programs--I can't help but
think that something deliberate and stubborn lies behind their decision
to make artists of themselves. . . .

"Can I teach them to become professional writers? No. Can
I teach them to write better than they do? Yes."

"Unless it Moves the Human Heart -- The Craft and Art of Writing,"
by Roger Rosenblatt:

the kid gets better and better

Joseph Gordon-Levitt back in his 3rd Rock From the Sun days.

As you know, we aren't the kind of people who slobber over the
young 'uns, but from the first time we saw Joseph way back when,
we were more than impressed. Last night we saw 50/50, a film
about a young man who gets cancer and has those not-great odds
of survival. Josh Logan is his best friend who helps/hinders him,
but stays with Joseph throughout the ordeal. When you think about
it, there aren't many child actors who become great adult actors,
but Joseph had a 90/10 chance and he is terrific. Yes, rent this one!

friends who blog

Samovar Tea Lounge atop the Yerba Buena Gardens

Have you met Bev?

Luscious scone with clotted creme and strawberry jam

It was great seeing Bev yesterday and honestly, she looks almost exactly
the same as she did more than 20 (30?) years ago when we met in a
group called Women Entrepreneurs. At that time she published the
Where-To-Guide which is now the name of her blog. Bev has a ton of
energy and travels all over, entertains and keeps up with everyone and
everything. We had tea (hers a white, mine a chai) and scones ~ it was
really delightful being with her. I hate to admit that I now need a
reason to go downtown and I can't think of a better one than to meet
a friend. OK, you can check out our dueling blogs...

Julia and the Blogmaid

I truly love starting my day with an email from our Blogmaid.
Then I write her back and because we are both writers, I believe
that we tell each other things about our daily lives that we would
miss if we were lucky to have coffee together everyday ~ not that
I wouldn't enjoy that, of course. We also cover "the big stuff" like
war, peace, global warming, pumpkins, RR, assorted husbands,
friends, laundry, flossing, the work world, women's rights, base-
ball, computers, step children, high and low finance and Macy's
is having a sale on all Jockey® brand whatevers. Oh, and I use my
daily email to the Blogmaid to warm up my heart and hands and
to get ready for the challenges of the day, including this blog.

This is from her Sunday morning email. Her family spent the
weekend at her parents' home in Rancho Cordova. This is so cool:

 In 1981, when I was 17, I wrote a letter to the screenwriter 
Alvin Sargent. He wrote Ordinary People and a bunch of other 
films, but the one I was interested in was his adaptation of 
Lillian Hellman's "Julia." I told him I hoped to be a playwright 
and screenwriter, and I thought I could learn a lot if I could 
read a copy of his script because I was so familiar with the 
memoir. He sent me the script then, but in this new letter 
he wrote that he was cleaning out his office and found my 
letter from 1981. He said he was pretty sure he had sent me a 
copy of the script, but wanted to be sure. And he said he 
hoped I was happy "writing, or not." He also sent me a copy 
of my original letter, which I haven't read too closely yet 
because I'm sure I'll cringe. I just googled him -- he's
he's 84 now. I'll send him a thank you note, although 
I'm pretty sure I sent one back then, too...

And then,for your amusement:

Let me know how you liked your Plot class. At first I thought
it was a class taught by Plot.

school day

Here is the Strawberry Creek Design Center in Berkeley where the
East Bay Writing Salon classes meet. Lovely space and a pleasure to
be walking in Berkeley again after taking BART to school. The class
was terrific and I am inspired once again to work on Ellen and her
friends and foes. There were 12 of us in class and the teacher (Elaine)
was well prepared and helpful and I'm happy to say that she liked
my Ellen and her journey to find her sister. I was given lots of advice
that I needed, but more importantly, I was reminded of the joy of
getting to know my heroine better and that Ellen does not have to be
perfect and, in fact, I need to gift her with a major flaw, which I will
do as soon as possible. Then I need about 5 more characters and some
obstacles, a major inciting incident and easy as pie, my novel is done.

got sling shot?

Who knew that killing pigs could be so satisfying? As usual, I'm a few
years late discovering the Angry Birds iPhone app, but it turns out
that once I figured out some strange concepts like trajectory and
force, I'm pretty damn good at it. An addicting game, of course.

We got Rita home yesterday after many hospital delays and now we
await further instructions. Turns out she has a really nice neighbor
named Joe who helped her up ALL those stairs. Who ever said city
folk are cold and uncaring? She was exhausted, but delighted to be
in her own beautiful little home.

Today I BART to Berkeley to take a Writing Salon class on How To
Plot a Novel. Remember Ellen? I barely do. Christ.

good job, Pinchas!

It had been years since I'd been to the symphony and the memories
were all good ones, even though I used to fall sound asleep in these
great front row Terrace seats that Husbando and I had for so long.
We went on Wednesday nights, but of course I was exhausted from
a long day of retail and then I'd feel tremendous guilt not only for
the money wasted, but the fact that I was sure the musicians could
see me and hate me, with good reason.

Yesterday was a 2pm matinee for the blue-haired set and my
friend Jennie treated me to a wonderful afternoon. It was mostly
Mozart (like the good old days, Susan) and Pinchas Zukerman did
the conducting and he also played the violin and viola. The best
to me was the Symphony No. 40 in G minor which sounded so
pleasantly familiar that when it was all over, I really did feel like
everything is right with the world and though daunting at times,
life is pretty good. Oh, I was completely wide-awake throughout.

Today, if everything works out, Husbando and I pick Rita up from
the hospital and take her home. This will be the best medicine
and her sis flies in from St. Louis tonight so she'll be in good hands.

great food fun!

Last night we so enjoyed Food Stories at the Z Space on Florida. So
easy for us as it is almost in our nabe and parking was a cinch. The
Word for Word concept is so very clever and this program was no
exception. First ~ Sorry Fugu by T.C. Boyle about a chef and a food
critic, then Enough by Alice McDermott, centering on family and
pleasure and this sent us home to clean out the ice cream cartons with
smiles on our faces. There are six ultra talented actors in both stories
and they play all parts and really, it's delicious. Until Feb. 5th - hurry!

keeping things in perspective

WILD GEESE
Mary Oliver

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting ~
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

One of my goals of this full-time personhood thing is to read
more poetry, aloud if possible. I so appreciate Mary Oliver and
all she has given us.

updates on friends

I went to a Borders party on Sunday night and caught up with
the news. I was able to walk to/fro because the gathering was about
3 blocks away from Casa Verde at the BBQ joint which was busy!
My 8 years at the Big Box were so intense for all of us that today
when I read my old daily writes during that time I marvel at how
serious I was and how in god's name did I manage on so little sleep?
Everything was a BIG deal and there was a crisis-a-day, or maybe
two. But close we became, we book-loving workers who fought and
made up and laughed until tears streamed down our weary faces.
(And sometimes in front of customers ~ oooooops.)

My friend Michael taught me much and one of his frequent generous
acts was to always visit friends in the hospital. Our friend Rita is
recovering from surgery and yesterday I spent some time with her
at St. Francis Hospital. She asked for mystery books to keep her
mind busy and I gathered some old ones from here for tomorrow's
visit: Sherlock Holmes, Josephine Tey and Raymond Chandler.
I'll go book shopping for some more modern ones later this week.
Rita is hoping to go to rehab very soon and she looked quite good and
her spirit is strong and all in all, things are positive.

Dreams die. Elizabeth sold her bed & breakfast on the River
Nile in Aswan, Egypt. The political situation there is so unstable
and soon we shall meet for coffee here in SF and I'll get some
more details. She reports that her place sold within a week, so I'm
guessing that the real estate situation there is pretty damn good.

what I'm reading currently

This novel’s bright, spirited heroine, Madeleine, is an English
major at Brown University who, in the heyday of semiotics
and deconstruction, is writing her honors thesis on “the
marriage plot” — that is, the traditional mating dance, as
performed in the novels of Jane Austen, George Eliot and Henry
James.

This novel is basically a story of young love and my the twenty
somethings can whine. I thought Middlesex was a lot more interesting.
The first paragraph up there was borrowed from the NY Times.
I found Maddie to be a bit pompous and boring, but I persevere
because Eugenides is a fine writer and who am I to diss a plot
or a character?

celebrate!

I was so busy having fun last night at Husbando's birthday
celebration that I neglected to take any photos. As you can tell
from the elegant tablecloth, we had cracked crab again, his
all-time favorite food (even if he had to roast it himself) along
with a salad and then the Blum's crunch cake from Japantown.
Really I could write an entire paragraph on how lucky we are
to have such delightful friends, but I'll save it for a rainier day.
Suffice it to say, we are the MOST fortunate people on earth.

Big football game today and I'm working out at the deYoung and
that's OK. I'll be home for the ending which will probably be
exciting again.

passover anyone?

One reviewer called Nora's Will a Jewish Mexican suicide comedy
and that works for me. Nora arranges a lavish Passover dinner
for after her death, bringing together her ex-husband, son,
friends, the Rabbi and his devoted assistant who used to be a
Catholic. I loved that it was so understated and for us it was fun
to be back in Mexico City. Nora, remains a mystery even after her death.

a rainy, spicy day

We had lunch here at Marnee Thai yesterday and it was delicious and
reasonable. Our friend Steve met us and his friend grew up in Bangkok
and she did all the ordering, so we just sat back and ate too much
and drank unusual Thai tea and talked. This restaurant is located on
9th Avenue, between Irving and Lincoln Way.

The rain has finally arrived, but it is gentle still. Post-prandial I went
up to Neti's for some easy computer work. Returned home about
4pm to get ready for the Tiapos writing group where we are all
inspired to tow the line and avoid the non-writing chit chat that
we tend to drift into ~ pleasant but we are often up too late for
our own good. Home by 9:30, so it worked!

journalism at its best

Last night we saw the final episode #3 of the HBO documentary
Paradise Lost that tells the story of injustice in West Memphis, a
very small town in Arkansas. Eighteen years ago three 8-year old
boys were murdered and three 14-year old boys were arrested
and have been in jail all these years. Because a few people cared,
because journalists still dig and work and push into dark corners,
a movement to Free the West Memphis 3 developed. I won't spoil
this by telling you how it ends (not that you couldn't Google it),
but it made us both say, "thank god for HBO." Great work.

delicious ~ rent it!

The Guard is on everyone's "Best of 2011" movie lists, so now we
can add the long-awaited seal of approval from Casa Verde. Don
Cheadle (who can do no wrong ever) is an FBI agent who forms
an unlikely friendship with Brendan Gleeson, a local cop in a
small Irish town. Lots of action and comedy and intrigue.

Finally winter is coming to SF. I'm sitting in front of the fireplace
looking forward to a day off and a long walk before the rain arrives.

back to pathetica

Did you say January?

Mudd pie and 4 forks

The Great Plotniks treated us to lunch at Nick's yesterday for
Husbando's birthday which approaches rapidly. It's a good thing
they made a reservation because the place was packed and we
enjoyed a sunny corner booth table and waaaaaaaaaay too much
food. Everyone had crab of some kind except for me ~ I had to
have a cheeseburger because it's tradition. The food was much
better than I remembered from past visits and it was great being
together and catching up on all sorts of news and goings on.

Then I worked for four hours last night at a two museum event
and it really didn't seem like work as the time sped by. Nice day!

the Pickles remembered

Oh, such talent. Lorenzo Pisoni ran away from the circus when he
was in his teens. His parents (Larry Pisoni and Peggy Snider) founded
Pickle Family Circus here in SF back in the 1970's. This is a wonderfully
warm and thought-provoking story ~ basically it's about a son and
his father and all that might entail, except this dad is very, very
unusual and this son adores him, despite it all. Humor Abuse is one
extremely physical and emotional 80 minute act at ACT ~ enjoy.

tea, football, observations

I was invited to a birthday tea party at the Crown & Crumpet for
a delightful young woman whom I met at the Legion of Honor. She
works in the exhibit end of things and her friends all dressed UP
for this event (so did I, so there!) and I can't tell you how
impressed I was with all these young women. Really, I was the
only one with my cell phone out because the Blogmaid was
sending me texts re the 49ers win. We aren't really football fans,
but it was sort of special to be in the playoffs and we won.
The Crown & Crumpet is in Ghiardelli Square and it was filled with
tourists, mostly Asian. The two girls above were probably 16 or so and
in that too cute Japanese little girl full costume that turned heads and
made me wish I had the nerve to shoot them face front.

Before and after this afternoon tea I was helping my friend Neti set
up her new computer. Bless the Apple Store ~ Neti bought the one-on-
one giving her 52 training sessions for $99.00. And thanks to the
Blogmaid for all of her help. So far, so good...