I did everything I wanted to do over the luxuriously long weekend, and a little more besides.
Observations:
+ Plump, freshly-picked purply-red organic cherries are worth every penny, but at $8 bucks a pound, I'm tempted to have them set in platinum and wear them on my ring finger. Bing Bling.
+ Pan's Labyrinth was haunting + lovely + sad. I had to squeeze my eyes shut and clap my hands over my ears during a few of the scenes. I get kind of freaked out over sadistic military personnel who enjoy torturing the enemy. I know - it's just a movie - but I can't convince myself that nothing is wrong when someone is getting their face crushed on the screen in front of me.
+ Capsule SF in charming Hayes Valley was full of fabulously creative people selling quirky, beautiful, fantastic handmade stuff. As a friend of mine said: "We're so lucky. Do you think street fairs in Wisconsin have stuff that is anywhere near this quality?" Not to knock Wisconsin, but she's right: we're really lucky. Psst: there's another Capsule show in October.
+ It's nice to get out of the city and drive across the bridge and have dinner in a sleek new space with a gorgeous brick oven and a Chez Panisse alum behind the counter, even if they still have a bit of work to do on what comes out of the kitchen. Adore those chandeliers.
+ My ongoing love affair with the New York Times online was stoked further this weekend with this article about Jill Bolte Taylor's discoveries following her brain tumor. If you haven't seen her TED Talk, you simply must. It's about 18 minutes long, and TOTALLY AWESOME:
I love the way she uses the word "choose" towards the end. I can choose to engage the right side of my brain. I can choose peace + connectedness.
I can choose joy.
+ Speaking of joy: less than one week to the R.E.M. concert.
+ So we can choose, right? But. If - hypothetically - you should happen to slip on a narrow wooden stairway and your tailbone should happen to thump-thump-thump down several of those same stairs, you may find that this whole business of choosing your frame of mind is rather more difficult than it seems, especially when pain radiates up through your torso and down through your legs every time you sit or stand or move a single inch. Hypothetically.
There are only four working days this week. Huzzah!
