15 February 2003 (Saturday)
auntie valentine, uncle sam
I just had a most excellent anti-valentine's day: good food, bright colors and big warm hugs. M. Mellow and I hung out in the downtown district in the afternoon, first at his favorite Korean BBQ/sushi restaurant, then at a little flower stand that's become something of a cultural institution. The man who runs the shop is the Miles Davis of flower arranging. Just watching him work made me giggle, with that feeling of suddenly being four years old again and delighted with the world. There was an effortlessness to the way he would pick out just the right stargazer lily or pull a strand of baby's breath down to the perfect spot, and there was a certain wildness to his bouquets, a sense that everything was fully intended but never planned. "I still can't figure out how he does it," said M. Mellow, who was helping run the stand all day.
After sunset it was down the freeway to college pal Karim's house, from which we set off in search of Indian buffet and miniature golf, and found both. We talked about the human genome, road trips, parents, and coworkers who ask you out of nowhere whether you've accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior (Karim is Muslim, when he's not atheist). There was a lot of laughing and way too many godawful puns. I kicked his ass in go-kart racing. He kicked mine at air hockey. We pooled our skee ball tickets and walked away from the arcade with twenty-eight little erasers shaped like assorted pieces of sports equipment. If I get one of those nasty-bored moods sometime, maybe I'll stand at my third story window and drop them on people.
The world continues to smolder. Circumstances require that I ignore a peace rally in order to pursue selfish aims this weekend. Not that I've ever been comfortable at rallies of any kind; I don't know if I'd go even if I were able. Too much dogma, too much blind shouting. I'd much rather write letters to Washington.
posted by enjelani @ 01:58 AM PST [ link ]
10 February 2003 (Monday)
if clouds should gather
These are days when prayer seems apropos, but I don't know whom to pray to, nor what to pray for.
I got an invitation to join the Commonwealth Club, and I would have jumped at the chance were it not for the $100+ price tag of membership and my itinerant lifestyle for the next several months. (They've got Student and Senior categories. They need a Piss-Poor Twentysomething category.) An organization that invites Dick Cheney to speak one week and Al Gore the next? Henry Kissinger and Kofi Annan? I am so there. And the club offers weekday yoga classes. Check that out.
My dreams last night consisted of forgetting important things and only remembering them when they had caught fire, or been flattened on the highway, along with a great deal of shouting to be heard (to no avail) amidst a cacophony of voices. Apparently I need more stress in my life.
posted by enjelani @ 10:02 AM PST [ link ]