Esthetic/Aesthetic

Really? 4 Years?

My birthday was great.   Hope and Anchor was delicious for dinner and the Pioneer Bar never disappoints.  I even got my tarot cards read again by Lisa who works there.  I adore her.  She always goes into the same things in my life - a boy in a suit, me being a "great lady" in the future, money, my mom (she even knew she was visiting soon).  An old friend I haven't seen in forever came by and we probably had 1 too many pitchers of beer.  There was even a surprise guest at the end of the night that I've written about before.  I didn't invite the newest member of my life, I like to refer to him as the Pinball Champion, I'm not sure if it was good or not but certainly I wouldn't have ended the night dancing at Hanley's if I had. 

Happy St. Patricks Day to you and Happy Birthday to me!

Burrough Hall in Green

I was asked recently by my friend Keith what I wanted for my birthday.  I didn't know what I wanted until yesterday.  I really want a playlist made up by Adam Schlesinger, whom I've had an enormous musical crush on for forever!  The man is a genius.  The new Fountains of Wayne album is at first listen exactly what you'd expect them to release and then on the third listen you start humming lines like "Your half baked alibis, so full of holes, I suggest that you stop in at the donut shop" or from my favorite song (at the moment) "Chuck Scarborough turns to Sue Simmons, says baby, you don't know what you're missing".   I love when an album makes you happier just by its existence.   

California in One Post

California is beautiful even if it is as cold as New York.

Day 1 I wandered all over San Fransisco and tried to see as much of the city that I'd missed before. 
Like the Flower Conservancy...

Pretty!

This one made me feel funny.

I found some grassy crop circles with no explanation.

For some reason there are bison in Golden Gate Park. 

Not exactly the same as Yellowstone.

Friday we drove down to Monterrey.

We went to the Aquarium.

Some guy tried to take a picture of us.

Saturday we drove down to Big Sur

and walked on a beach with purple sand!

Even in Big Sur I find
pools of blood.

This was my view at lunch.

The last day I went up to Sonoma with Becky and her parents.  We stopped by Jack London State Park.

I learned Jack London was very, very hot.

And I think he was haunting us.

We tried to take a self portrait, but only got some eyes and a shoulder from Rita.

Goodbye California.  Brooklyn, I've missed you!

Happy Birthday to Me (in advance)!

I got more presents!  This time from my family.  It was a whole box of things I obsess about and have obsessed about.  There was a huge Andy Warhol book (yes, that's an Andy quote at the top of your screen), a DVD of Annie (I couldn't stop watching it when I was 6, I think I just needed another redhead around), a DVD of Rent (someday I'll try and condense that obsession into a post), some Cd's and a bracelet...and of course because my mom is who she is, I also got a huge bag of condoms.  I really can't explain that one to you, you'd have to meet my mother to even try and understand. 

Actually, lets talk Rent.  Today I went to the doctor for a little physical and got some lovely shots and blood work done, including the dreaded HIV test.  I mean, logic says there's little to worry about, I'm a very practical girl with bags of condoms ready at all times, but it still makes your imagination go off in a million different ways when you know you'll be waiting for those results.  Granted, I'd just watched Rent the day before and hadn't eaten all day in order to give the blood, which makes my very tired and emotional, but I really freaked out for a bit.  I don't know anyone anymore that has HIV, at one point a knew a few people, but, I also know that considering medication and treatments, I actually may.  No one is really forthcoming (not that they should be, but not that its obvious either) about it anymore.  We're certainly not foolish enough to think its gone away, but ten years ago it was something I thought about ten times as much.  It just made me think is all.  Then I went to H & M and did some retail therapy had some lunch and felt much better. 

I'm off to San Francisco tomorrow, so behave yourselves while I'm gone.  Happy St. Patrick's Day to you and Happy Birthday to me!

Update: I'm perfectly fine, thanks for asking.  Even my cholesterol is fabulous, in fact can you have too low cholesterol?

5 days

All I wanted from my weekend was to chill out, continue with my new running hobby and start out my vacation by being all responsible and organizing my life.  Instead, I got: too much tequila, air hockey, ping pong, more tequila, bartenders who smoke too much and invite themselves over, dancing to the 80's greatest hits, a random SNL writer (he said his name was Andy, I'm positive he was lying because it was definitely the same guy in the background waving behind Matt Dillon), running into the same bartender again (awkward...), wine, 2 birthdays, poker, ghetto Jenga and not enough sleep.  At least I've had one last crazy weekend in my 20's.  It might be a very good thing that I'm going away next weekend because the consequences of my actions will have to be dealt with, but not right now.  I hope. 

Yo, Frankie

Last
night I was taken to Frankies for a birthday dinner.  Delicious!  We noticed that the entrees were much bigger than we remember them being a few months ago.  It seemed that although you'd order an entree and a salad you'd still need a snack after to really feel full, but last night after my arugula salad and gnocchi I was stuffed.  So yummy.  I also got some pretty earrings and a first edition of Wolfgang's single Not_in_love_(not_true), which sounds awesome, I'm downloading it to my ipod right now. 

I'm reading Eats, Shoots and Leaves  and I think Frankie is missing an apostrophe.  I got the book because (I'm very comfortable with my nerdiness) I love words and proper grammar.  I worry every time I write an email or a post here that I'm misplacing a comma or an apostrophe.  The reason I called my blog Esthetic/Aesthetic was because I was reading a book that spelled esthetic with an E and I was appalled that the editor would leave a misspelled word in the book.  Then I second guessed myself about whether I knew how to spell it properly and when I looked it up learned you can spell it either way!  Fascinating! 

28 Days

There are exactly four weeks left of my twenties.  Yesterday I decided to go to San Francisco for my 30th, which I just realized this morning (I'm a little slow) will be exactly 10 years since I first went there.  Yes, I went to San Francisco for my 20th birthday, too.  I didn't actually turn 20 there, instead my birthday happened the day after we left to drive all the way back to school in Bozeman, MT.  So, my birthday happened like this.  About 11PM we arrived in Reno and I went to my first IHOP at which me and Jeremy decided to get married in order to live in married student housing...don't worry we realized soon after it probably wouldn't be a good idea.  Then we drove on, danced on the side of the highway to the Trainspotting soundtrack (if I remember correctly), and then 6 hours later a semi crushed the side of Jeremy's jeep while I was driving.  Ah, such good memories. 

And now your update of 481 Court St.  I wish there was more information besides this - there are people going in and out of there.  The metal gate in the front is up and a nice looking middle aged couple seem to be the masterminds.  They don't look like the type interested in opening a loud rowdy bar, thank God.  If I didn't have this pesky job I had to go to every day I'm sure I'd know more.