Coast to coast

On the way to the Bay Area,


Joe and I entertained ourselves


in our usual fashion.


Thanksgiving morning, we walked around Lake Merritt in Oakland.


The food was super yummy for Thanksgiving dinner.


Rui-Bing broke it down before we stuffed ourselves.


Hungry (and thankful) guests.


Everyone made delicious dishes except me. (I was Joe and Rui-Bing's helper.)


Sandra and Rui-Bing (on left) were gracious and lovely hosts.


In the morning, Joe and I visited the Pork Store in the Lower Haight.


It was as greasy and delicious as I'd remembered.


We walked around the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park.


In the afternoon we hit up Dolores Park Cafe for hot chicken sandwiches and lattes.


Later we had chocolate pudding and other divine sweets at Tartine.


The next day Joe fell in love with the Indian Pizza at Zante.


We topped it off with ice cream at Mitchell's. They no longer sell Thai iced tea ice cream, so I got macapuno (sweet coconut) and avocado. Joe got Mexican chocolate and pumpkin.


We met up with an old friend of mine, Carmen to visit Folsom leather stores. She tried out the swing at Mister S.


While visiting San Francisco, Joe and I took in two films, Prince of Broadway at the Roxie, where the director answered questions after the screening. We also saw Guess Who's Coming to Dinner at the Castro, which was heavenly. After the movie ended, the organist played the theme song.

We also took in an Aikido class in Oakland because an old friend of mine attends the dojo. It was Joe's first Aikido class. He's a natural!


Our trip wouldn't be complete without visiting Taqueria Can-Cun one final time.

What I learned: Some things never change. The food in the Bay Area is still dependable and amazing. The air is fresh and San Francisco is a beautiful city. I'm glad to have visited and to have the opportunity to show Joseph around my old stomping ground.

Going away reaffirmed my love of New York.

physical dynamics

I arrived back in the city on June 18 and since I stepped out of the car, Joe and I have been on a no-sugar (sweets) and no-carb diet. I’m not a big promoter of diets, but I am someone who will follow a plan if I set a goal and give myself a deadline. The motivation for this change came from feeling like I put my health on hold upstate. I stopped attending Aikido classes, didn’t walk more than the short distance it took to keep Nukah happy, and consoled my lonely upstate existence with unhealthy food.

I fantasize about Petey’s burgers and chocolate milkshakes, Shake Shack, St. Dymphna’s blue cheese and bacon burger (medium rare, closer to rare), 16 Handles, banana splits, grilled cheese, tuna melts on cinnamon raisin toast, mashed potatoes, and just about every other delicious food. On the other hand, my skin is pretty clear for city living, and I’ve lost a bit of weight. I’m not sure I feel much better; it’s hard to tell amid a record-setting heat wave, but I can say that I’ve never eaten so many vegetables and fruits consistently.

The other perk is that Joe’s cooking is professional. I live with my own personal chef. Without his cuisine, I’d be eating mac ‘n cheese and cereal for my meals.

We plan to stick to our diet until our trip to Minneapolis, which is in couple of weeks. When we return to New York, we will go back to eating healthy for the unforeseeable future.

The other day it occurred to me that I’ve never had a body quite like this before. I'm amazed at the dynamic physical changes and adaptability of the body.

Developments

Slowly, my room is coming together.


New paint, new tables, new plants, new couches. The advantage of living in New York is that I'm used to fitting a lot into small spaces. It's all about keeping it minimal.


Now I just need students. Tomorrow, they'll be on campus for a half-day, but we won't hold classes until our first full day, which is Thursday.

Tonight I'm headed up the hill for my first Aikido class at the local dojo. I'm nervous about being prepared since I haven't practiced in a while, and I'm hoping the members will be friendly.

Everything must go!

After a fun beginner Aikido class, I thought I'd treat myself to an afternoon in the park with a snack from Yogurtland. On my way to Bleeker Street, I ran into Laura, who is moving back to Colombia on Wednesday now that she's finished her photography program in New York.

She is ready to leave the city and said that she feels like New York is vomiting her out of the United States. I told her it's good to leave when New York isn't working, and that soon enough she'll miss being it here and when that happens, she'll be back. I know I'll see her again.

One thing I love/hate about New York is how frequently people come and go. This works for me in a way because I have been known to disappear for stretches of time, to get lost, to stop returning calls, to vanish into my own private New York. On the other hand, I don't like it when friends go missing. A double standard? Sure.

My favorite consolation prize: Yogurtland.

Goodbye, Laura. See you again someday!

Sweet nothings

(A cab hailed for Harvey in the rain.)

After a very long day, it's time to take a muscle relaxant and lie down with no plans to move my body until the morning.

Favorite
current movie: $9.99
latest read: Once the Shore by Paul Yoon
pick-me-up: Billy's chocolate cake with mocha icing
escape plan: Turkey in August


Great news:
My story, "The Giraffe Knocking Over the Elephant Knocking Over the Leopard Knocking Over the Ostrich" was one of three stories nominated by the editor of the magazine where it was published for the 2009 Million Writers Award! More information is available here.

Bulldogs forever!

Today I found out that some of the guys at Aikido call our fifth kyu group Bulldogs because we're tough and tenacious.


After class we had a rooftop party at the dojo.


We're all a bit socially awkward, but we managed.


Good friends and conversation.


I spent time with amazing people like Ilsa and Alex.


We stayed upstairs until the downpour.


After my time away, I'm glad to be back.

Today I learned that Sensei loves Scotch, Elvis, and cigars. Personally, I'm not a fan of these three things. But the love of Aikido is mutual.

Intersections

Tara and I have known each other longer than any other friend I have. This doesn't include Facebook "friends," like a certain old friend of mine from elementary school, who is now a youth minister and very publicly anti-choice and anti-feminist.

The nice thing about knowing Tara for so long is that in many ways, our lives have remained parallel. She's been away at school for the past two years, and I've been living in her sister's hand-me-down apartment. Tara's back in New York for the summer before she begins an MFA program in the Midwest, and yesterday we ran around town, catching each other up on the past two years. We fell right back into our friendship. I'm excited to have her company over the next couple of months.

I love how New York invites intersections. But for today, I'm escaping New York. I'm on the bus to Boston. Free Wi-Fi! Thinking about Sandra who is somewhere far away, enjoying the good life that the West Coast offers. I'm taking time away from New York for a short trip to see Kimberley and Riva, and to take some space from Aikido, which is currently causing claustrophobia.

There's a little girl in the back of the bus who is singing the alphabet out of order.

I can't wait to get a good night's sleep in Kimberley's perfectly curved futon, with a nook in the middle to hold my body in place.

Breathe out

A full weekend began on Friday night: Kimberley and Beth are in town for Grace's wedding. Joe and I met up with them for a delicious dinner in Murray Hill at a vegetarian/vegan Korean restaurant, Franchia Tea. Who knew there was such a thing?


Today I took my 5th Kyu test for Aikido, my very first Aikido test. I passed!


I feel like I've been running a month-long marathon.


All of us who tested for 5th Kyu passed!


I'm so proud of the 5th kyu group.


Then the rest of the levels took their tests. (5th kyu is the first test. Then there's 4th, 3rd, 2nd, and 1st before blackbelt.)


Our test seemed so easy compared to the other kyu's, but it didn't feel that way during preparation time.




Me with my 5th Kyu partner, Marina; Elsa and her husband, Chris; Leyla; Indra (a blackbelt); Alex, who rocked her 3rd kyu test; and Andrea, who also holds a higher rank as of today.


There are so many young women who have started practicing at my dojo. In the fifth kyu group, six out of seven of us are women.




I'm completely wiped out from all the build-up. Joe and I treated ourselves to burgers and fries from St. Dymphna's


and (of course) a dessert stop at 16 Handles. No celebration is complete without a yogurt buffet.


Exhaustion consumes me. Tonight, for the first night in a very long time, I think I'll be able to sleep all the way through.

Finally, I can breathe again.