never forget

I had an excellent birthday in the city of sin. Despite last night's blog post ending abruptly, I was actually pretty sedate yesterday - I guess we're all growing up, or something. After seeing Jess yesterday afternoon, I came back to my hotel, freshened up briefly, and then went to ABV for a pre-dinner drink. ABV was one of my old haunts in my youth, and it's still got it - I had a Mumbai Mule that was quite tasty. Claudia and Sam joined for the pre-dinner drink, which was a nice way to get the party started. 

Then we walked to Burma Love, which I chose specifically because I now live hundreds of miles from the nearest Burmese restaurant. We met up with Adit, Priyanka, Chandlord, and John, and the seven of us had a decadent and delicious dinner. It of course devolved into the usual shenanigans (i.e. everyone got to ask me a question; we wanted to do a candle ceremony, but there were no candles, and the birthday dessert that was brought out to me had a rather dangerous sparkler in it instead of candles). Then we adjourned to Elixir, where we drank alcoholic slushies (mountain = irish coffee; beach = spicy margarita) and felt like we were going to get run over in our parklet every time the MUNI went by. I must say, I like the proliferation of parklets (booths outside in former parking spots, created tanks to covid), but this particular parklet felt like we were going to die (especially after John and I accidentally broke the plastic divider, ha).

Side note: San Francisco feels like it's finally coming back to life. The handful of trips I've taken here since the pandemic have been strange and sad and apocalyptic, since no one was out and everything was closing early. But Friday, Saturday, and today were all busy and bustling and wonderful. The first two bars we tried to go to before Elixir were either too noisy or had lines out the door and around the block; Friday was also surprisingly busy and back to normal. It's too early to say what the future holds, but this is closer to the San Francisco I remember, and my heart was happy to feel it.

After Elixir, the final crew (me, Chandlord, the cat, and Dirty John) went to the Hideout and had a final cocktail while ensconced upstairs. Then it was last call, and we got overly-expensive ubers to get ourselves out of the Mission. As usual, family dinner was a success, and as usual, I remain happy/surprised/delighted/confused that I've been friends with most of these people for twenty-three years and counting.

So, this morning was better than it could have been - last night's alcohol consumption was pretty relaxed, and my physical health this morning was wrecked more by lack of sleep than by tequila. So, I was lazy this morning before eventually rallying to have brunch with Chandlord, since we haven't had 1:1 time in ages. We went to True Laurel, which was incredible (I've had some great meals this weekend, and Burma Love and Beretta held their own, but this may have been the best) - I had a fantastic deconstructed pork fried rice that I'll probably dream about. We also got to catch up on work and life in ways that are harder in big groups, which was much overdue. And I got to see Chandlord's remodeled bathroom, which gave me some ideas...

Then I came back to my hotel, took a long nap, and talked to my parents. And then I had a late afternoon snack with Katrina, who came to Japantown for me - I had ended our hangout Friday rather abruptly, so we continued the convo today. We hung out in one of the pedestrian areas of Japantown, then had some shishito peppers and seaweed salad (for her) and buns with pork and sweet/sour chicken (for me), and it was v. lovely.

Then, I spent approx ten minutes switching out of sweats into a dress and also putting on eyeshadow, and then I met up with Veronica for dinner at Gardenias. Today was v. much a #girlsdayout since I purposefully chose to hang out with some of my favorite girlfriends, and dinner was exactly what I need. V and I hung out over dinner, then came back to the Kabuki for one last drink before she headed home. And then I switched back into sweats, came back to the bar, and nursed a final ginger beer while writing this.

And now, my birthday is nearing its close - but it's the best one I've had in quite some time, and I'm happy that I got to spend it here. And now, I should sleep - goodnight!

seconds ticking killed us all a million years before the fall

I didn't write today, but I'm okay with that...way back in the day, when I quit my job and thought I had everything figured out and knew how to plan for my writing life (lolololol, sigh), I had told myself that I should take at least one weekend day completely off from writing. And I think I was right about that, which makes me wonder what other things I had said to myself then (see movies! go to museums! read books! drink with strangers!) that I haven't actually been doing, and which I need to revisit and actually follow through on. Considering that the two nights I drank with strangers since leaving the day job (Joe and the thirty-five dollar shot of gin; the tattoo artist and copious amounts of whiskey) were two of the most perfectly serendipitous nights of my summer, and considering that I haven't been to a movie or museum in months....maybe Past Sara was onto something in terms of what I should be doing with my free time (i.e. things that aren't mindlessly surfing the internet to avoid thinking about the book)....

sssanyway. As I said, I didn't write - but I woke up this morning full of intention, and full of the desire to focus on what's in my control and let go of what's not. So I made some iced coffee and sat at my 'desk' (dining table) and made a bunch of lists, and contemplated my calendar, and sent some emails, and generally figured out where I need to focus. Then I did some menu planning, ate some breakfast, and eventually vacated the apartment to go grocery shopping.

The grocery shopping and menu planning, and later house cleaning, were for a dinner party I hosted tonight. It was the first time I'd cooked anything substantial for people in my new place, and it was a little hit-or-miss - I'm definitely not as comfortable in my kitchen as I was in my old place, probably because I have less counter space and almost infinitely fewer drawers. I also chose to make a new recipe that I'd never tried before, which was probably a mistake - Mario Batali fucking lied to me, and the tomato sauce that was supposed to cook down in thirty minutes eventually, after nearly an hour, needed an immersion blender taken to it to make it into a sauce. But I think I was unhappy with the outcome because I used gluten free pasta and it just wasn't as good...or maybe the pasta was okay, but the gf bread crumb substitute was too weird. I don't know...all I know is that the baked pasta with eggplant and cheese was edible, and okay enough, but not something I would ever make again.

sssanyway again. I didn't know that before the dinner party - I was just trying to get ready for it. So I spent the afternoon arranging flowers like a boss, cleaning, cooking, napping, etc. The dinner party was smaller than what I usually cook for, and also a v. different group - Adit and Priyanka comprised the 'college friends' half, and Anne and Matt comprised the 'writer friend' half. Actually, Anne is the only writer in that half (I've gone to Montauk and Tahoe with her, and am about to go to Tahoe again), but her husband worked with Adit years ago, which is why it seemed like this dinner party needed to happen.

As it turns out, the company was delightful, even if I wasn't pleased with the pasta. We sat around nibbling on cheese and meat while waiting for the pasta to bake, and we had ice cream after, which was delish. Adit gave them the choice of 'candle ceremony' or 'dramatic reading' to end the evening, and they chose candle ceremony, which was probably the right call - I'm not sure how a dramatic reading of a sex scene would have played out with another writer in the room (although there was a threat of doing a dramatic reading from my journals instead of my books, which would have been a next-level disaster). So we went around and answered questions and blew out candles, which was an appropriately bizarre end to the evening.

Anne and Matt had to leave at ten to rescue their babysitter (or rescue their son...jury's still out), but Adit and Priyanka stayed to help clean up, and then Priyanka and I discussed baby names while Adit napped on my bed. Eventually, they left me to my own devices, so I came promptly to blog about the experience since blogging is sooooo hip and modern.

And now I need to sleep, since I intend to write tomorrow - goodnight!

i didn't know i was lonely til i saw your face

Awesome. Today was awesome. I should leave you in suspense and close out now (or, I should close out now because I have to get up in seven hours so I can go down to Palo Alto and train with Alyssa), but I guess I'll record for posterity.

[begin boring part]

I spent some quality time lazing in bed, which was key since I was still recovering from the debauchery earlier in the weekend (and knew I would have more debauchery in the rest of the weekend). But I eventually dragged myself out of bed, had breakfast at the cafe down the street, and then went to BevMo to buy a lot of wine and to Whole Foods to buy a lot of groceries. Then I came home, was v. relaxed about taking a shower and getting ready, etc., and then called my parents. They were the usual - they told me stories about strange deaths, normal deaths, meetings with governors, the weather, etc., which is all pretty par for the course for them. But I talked to them while enjoying the sun on the roof, which made for a surreal juxtaposition of their #smalltownlife and my #firstworldproblems.

After I finished talking to them, I commenced preparation for tonight's family time dinner, which I volunteered to cook for since I hadn't cooked anything more difficult than tuna salad in ages. I made chicken bouillabaisse, which was divine; I also made truffle butter pasta, which I couldn't eat, but it seems to have been a hit.

[end boring part, begin ridiculous part]

Claudia showed up early, so we had plenty of time to catch up sans other people (and she also chopped the potatoes for the bouillabaisse for me while I finished getting ready, which was a real champion move). The rest of the family rolled in later, as is typical for this particular group at my particular dinner parties. It was all the usual suspects (Chandlord, Katrina, Claude, Terry, John, Jess, Adit, and Priyanka), + this guy named Hugo who is friends with Chandlord and Katrina. I think most of us thought that Katrina's email saying that she/Vidya/Hugo would be in attendance was a joke, given the questions we asked Hugo (namely, 'are you human?'), but it turned out that the guy was a winner...

...and this was confirmed when we did a reverse candle ceremony to welcome Claudia (aka Santy Claude) back to the bay area, and Hugo managed to hold his own. The candle ceremony is typically done when someone moves away; as you'll recall, each person holds a candle, says something about the person leaving, and blows it out. The last candle ceremony was a switch on that format, since it was my thirty-second birthday and everyone blew out one of my birthday candles (which were stuck in a ham sandwich). But in this one, each person said something about Claudia and how they felt about her coming back, something about their last week, and then everyone else in the circle had an opportunity to ask that person a follow-up question.

With nine people, this took awhile, but we all learned a lot about each other and ourselves. Also, before the candle ceremony, it was determined that they would read the second sex scene from Thorington's book, which was just as horribly awkward and ridiculous as it usually is. But we all survived (nay, accepted) the emotional trauma, and I think we're all better off for it (even if we now all know that Adit = Gavin (jhokes)).

[end ridiculous part, begin filler part]

But all good things must end, and so everyone left and I spent some time taming the kitchen. And now I must sleep if I have any hope of surviving Alyssa tomorrow + pursuing my other social activities - goodnight!

say my name, say my name

Double entendre. Ha!

Terry is v. transfixed by a football game...which was true three hours ago, when I began to write this blog post. I would like to claim that I am perfectly sober and reliable as a narrator of my own story, but that would require a leather jacket and a 'mission accomplished' banner, neither of which are easily procurable or accurate. So I will fill you in by saying that I had a birthday party/royal baby shower today, which went off with flying colors.

As usual, I way overextended myself and made way too much food, but this is not something I regret. As usual, Chandlord threw a drink down my shirt, then demanded to have cake (which I had no intention of baking). As usual, Adit called and feigned ignorance of my party, only to show up ninety seconds later. As usual, Heather (aka dear respected madam) was a v. good sport. As usual, Katrina didn't understand basic human sexuality. As usual, John made awkward sexual references to my fake baby doll (who was Prince George for the evening). As usual, Subz took me at my word and showed up with a fascinator, which was v. welcome.

So basically, as usual, everyone was totally ridic. I made a v. tasty champagne punch with cognac, triple sec, and grand marnier, which was dangerous and encouraged bad behavior. And bad behavior was easily achieved - this was one of zee most enjoyable nights I've had in quite some time, particularly since everyone turned my ham sandwich into a birthday cake and did a candle ceremony for me (in which everyone said something nice, then blew out their candle, which got dangerous for the last people to go since the candles were dangerously short by that point).

Post party, I went out with Adit and Priyanka, which was a mistake I was willing to live with. Then Priyanka and I talked for a bit before I uber'd it home like the fancy bitch I am. And now I must go to sleep - goodnight!

let's make love and listen to death from above

Work was inconsequential today. What I really want to discuss is family time. I came home around five and began prepping for family time dinner -- I made a lemon cake, caprese salad, and truffle butter pasta. Ritu came home around 6:30, and we waited for our friends to arrive; technically dinner was supposed to start at 8pm, but we watched "Bring It On" and eventually our friends arrived between 8:30 and 9:30pm.

Eventually we reached quorum -- me, Ritu, Adit, John, Jessica, Oniel, and Stephanie. We had a perfectly lovely family time, replete with talking, laughing, music (include "All the Way up to Heaven" twice), eating, and watching "research" videos of copulation on MRI. We ended it all with a candle ceremony for Ritu and Steph - the candle ceremony started when Claude left for the east coast, and Oniel requested it for Ritu Rani tonight. So, we all sat in a circle, lit our candles, then went around and said nice things about Ritu and Steph one by one before blowing our candles out. It was all v. ridiculous and lovely at the same time, and a perfect conclusion to family time. The east bay-ers all went back to the pit of despair that they live in, and Adit, Ritu, Steph and I went to a bar nearby, where we proceeded to make the tragic mistake of drinking more. Now we're all drunk, and I should really go to bed -- I intend to spend the entire weekend doing as little as possible, hopefully only opening my laptop to write blog entries. Goodnight!

tin omen

Tonight was the end of an era - Claude is moving to Yale (aka jail) on Friday, and we got together for one last dinner tonight. The participants were the remnants of our original crew; Adit, Oniel, John, Jess, Vidya, and Sri were all in attendance as we bid a sad farewell to our departing comrade. We had a generally merry time, punctuated by a ritual that I awkwardly forced on everyone, in which we each took a candle, said a nice thing about Claude, and then blew the candle out. In general, though, it was clear that we will all miss her tremendously - particularly for me, this is going to be hard, since Claude was my go-to best friend for all sorts of mischief and merriment, in addition to my partner in culinary adventure. I don't use emoticons lightly, but I shall use one here. :(

Anyway, we had a v. nice evening, and I just parted ways w/Claudia and Vidya. Now, I should really go to bed; the weekend will be soon enough to dwell on Claude's absence. I'm busy at work tomorrow, and will want to clean up my kitchen when I get home (although it's not too bad - I just need to run another dishwasher load and clean up a couple of serving pieces). I will also want to eat more boeuf bourguignon - it turned out fantastically, if I do say so myself, particularly over the mashed potatoes that I made on a whim tonight. I also made a spinach, pear, walnut, and gorgonzola salad that was good, and the quiche that Claude brought was excellent. We topped it all off with some walnut brownies that Sri brought, so in general we had a feast that was worthy of Claude's last supper with us.

Please think of one nice thing about Claude; and now I shall go to bed!