June 29, 2004 Out of Alignment
Sure have been busy lately. I've gotten many new work projects on, some of them very exciting. I've been trying my best to train capoeira within my hectic schedule and it seems to be going well so far. Usually it is the first thing to drop off. I've also been doing lots of nice meditative yoga in the morning which helps keep my brain in line during the day. My body still gets out of whack from sitting in front of a computer all day.
Today I went to an amazing chiropractor and got massage and adjustment. She was great- I've been to several chiropractors for my constant back pain, and they have all told me how messed up my spine was, but she really put it all into perspective. Now I know that my hips are torqued and that is why one leg is an inch and a half shorter than the other. It isn't because of a skeletal defect or that my legs are actually different lengths. The good news in all this is that it can be corrected with adjustments and specific exercises. The scar tissue in my back can also be reduced through acupuncture, which I will also be getting next week. Yay! Maybe now I will have balanced kicks on both sides of my body.
June 16, 2004 Go Pistons!
Yay! Ok, to be perfectly honest, I didn't watch any of the games, and although I know it would've been great to sit around with Detroiters and watch them win, I didn't. I'm not too into watching sport on TV. I much prefer live, or playing the game myself.
Once upon a time several years ago when I was living off Woodward, the Red Wings won the Stanley Cup. I was at the Majestic (as per usual in those days) chilling with a nice Bell's beer after they one. All the freaks were out along side the artsy types and the stiff Bloomfield Hills types. Cars were driving down the street with brooms (sweep, sweep) and everyone was just...so...happy! I was very amused by the beauty of it. I was arm and, well, shoulder with the one armed dude that hung out in our neighborhood (we called him nubman because he would say 'gimme some nub' instead of 'gimme 5'), folks were singing, dancing, getting real drunk in a happy way and a part of me wishes I was there for the Pistons win. Even though Detroit is so different now.
June 13, 2004 Crazies
I strolled around the mission with a friend visiting from LA today. We went for breakfast at The Pork Store Cafe (where Bitteroot used to be) and walked around 16th and mission, where a few years back I had an office. I was recollecting to her stories of all the homeless people - crazy and drugged up as we came to the corner. Sure enough the crazies were still at it, even on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
I've always had issues with the homeless situation here in San Francisco. As anyone who lives here or visits knows, it is completely out of control. The majority are mentally ill and drug addicted and I feel as though I watch them die more every day. There are the regulars you see in your hood and sometimes they disappear for a while, sometimes they return, sometimes not. I'm not sure where they go - I like to think they got help, but I know it's doubtful.
This article in SFGate talks about how Philadelphia virtually solved it's homeless situation. Philly worked HARD to provide them with care- not just a bed. They had scores of outreach workers in the streets persuading homeless to us the services offered. They offered them a chance right then and there, with no waiting. I hope this is a model that other cities can adopt.
May 28, 2004 Vancouver
Just posted the Vancouver and Victoria photos- check the photo archive for the Vancouver ones (we had so many photos I separated them out!). Vancouver is a terrific city. I forgot how much I heart Canadians. They are so warm, friendly and genuine.
We stayed in Yaletown and ate most of our delicious dinners there. We also checked out some amazing shops in the district. Bought some rad placemats and Tom and I splurged on a shirt (for him) and skirt (for me) made by local designers. I love the skirt - I should wear it this weekend and get a pict of it. It is very unique. We dined on amazing seafood - lobster, oysters, wild salmon, sashimi and sushi. Some of this was a new experience for me as I starting eating fish about 3 months ago.
We also checked out Gastown and the downtown area, and spent a whole day wandering and cycling around Stanley Park. The aquarium there entertained us for hours. It was one of the only places in the city that didn't have fish on the menu. hehe.
We took the ferry over to Grainville Island one afternoon, but the markets kind of bored us over there (and there was some really crappy folk singer wannabe with an amp who pissed me off) so we wondered outward and went shopping instead. You'd think the dollar would go far being that it IS Canada, but we found everything was pretty expensive. We still bought crap, but not with reckless abandon.
One of our waiters at dinner suggested that we check out Tofino for whale watching, but we found out it would be a long drive, so we ended taking the sea plane to Victoria for a day. To be honest, we didn't spend a whole lot of time touring around the island. We did go whale watching and then got straight on a bus to Butchart Gardens - both of which I highly recommend. We saw a pod of Orcas, from a distance. They are so amazing and precious. I kind of felt bad for putzing around in a boat, making noise and polluting the water. Hi! I'm a dumb human. We also got to see a porpoise, seals and a few bald eagles. Tourist photos of Butchart Gardens is probably the main reason why Vancouver has been on my travel wish list for years. I am a plant and flower geek. I really loved it. Me, Tom and all the old ladies. Even the rose garden was beautiful - and the roses haven't even bloomed yet!
May 25, 2004 We're Back
Vancouver was amazing! I'm going through all the photos and will post soon with commentary!
May 10, 2004 Spring Cleaning
Spent the weekend spring cleaning- we repotted and cleaned our urban jungle plants, got a filing cabinet for all that paperwork crap, finished building out our massive shelves and generally started moving our junk around. Living in a loft is great, but organizing storage is like squeezing a balloon- fix one end and the other bulges. I think we may have finally contained it! We also bought these shelves from DWR in the brown color, which helps with deep storage and gives a home to the books that were exploding out of our bedroom shelves. We also relaxed this weekend and watched The Magdeline Sisters which is a very disturbing look at the Catholic Church's version of 'rehab for wayward girls' in Ireland in the 60s. The film is based on true events...so messed up. Good film.
May 5, 2004 Cinco de Mayo
Happy Cinco de Mayo! Work has been slow this week so I've been on a mission to update jenfumedia.com. It's well overdue. If I'm not mistaken, the work I put up there was a specific pitch for a client and it's also old as fark. I'm also working on the entire company identity, which has been in the works for about 2 years now. It's the hardest thing to do - at least with a client you have some direction. This is entirely up to me. I pretty much know exactly what I want to do- keep it simple, updatable, informative, elegant. I just have to put the pieces together. I get on a roll with these things and then I get swamped with client work- which is a good thing because I can go back to it with a fresh eye afterwards. It is just a sloowww process (it took forever to get this site up and running).
May 4, 2004 Yay! It's Jenfu.org!
We are going to Vancouver! Tom and I just booked our tickets for 5 days up north. We have never been so we are quite excited. I've been saying that if Bush wins again I'd move out of the country. I just couldn't figure out where. Since I grew up north of the great mass of Canada (in Detroit, where Canada actually dips below the US - haha) I was always fond of dem up dare. I fell in love with both Montreal and Toronto when I've visited and Vancouver was just one of those places on both of our lists. Not to mention we got frequent flyer tickets and a cheap hotel. Yeahh! I was checking the weather and it looks as thought it might rain, but it won't faze us! Now if there were snow, then we could hang at Whistler- maybe another time.
May 3, 2004 Spring Skiing
Tom and I went up to Tahoe for our last weekend at our cabin (check out the thumb album archives for images of our shared cabin in 2004). It was a nice relaxing weekend. Saturday we went for a nice hike in Incline Village, then we had some friends over for a sunset bbq. Sunday we went to Squaw for our last day out in the snow. The conditions were actually pretty good. Granite Chief, Siberia, Shirley, Gold Coast and a few others were open with decent conditions early on. The weather was perfect - not too hot and sweaty but not cold. We had a great time. It's sad to lock the cabin up for the last time though!
Ok, now it's time to rant - we were hoping to come home on Sunday and watch the Sopranos since we missed last week because our cable sucks ass. We had it reset 3 times last week AND had a technician come out (albeit during the day, when I guess it works) and no one could find anything wrong with our service. Of course we get home to watch it and we have no HBO again. Basically I am sooo pissed! I spent a lot of time on the phone with those folks at Comcast- and they are very nice and helpful, but damn digital cable is total crap for us and has been since we bought it. We are hoping for a resolution by the end of the week or it's goodbye Comcast...we will get a dish.