create for yourselves a new heart a new spirit

this mural is from the side of the building i work in. the phrase above is the inscription on the white rotunda, the one housing a creepy guy in a mask. like many things about Oakland, it's really random.

it's hot

There's nothing like getting up at 5 am, watching the sky turn from dark to light, listening to Kind of Blue, and drinking coffee. I used to do this my first year in college. It was the only time my mind was clear enough to do physics homework. Today, it was due entirely to the weather. Slept with all the windows open, which made almost no difference except for the bugs. Tossed and turned, searching for a cool spot on the pillowcase. Felt like a kid again. I haven't been this hot since I was a kid. The heat is astounding for this time of year in this part of the Bay Area. July is normally still cool here.

When the weather's like this, I sometimes feel like I should be out in the City, dancing and walking the streets of the Mission District. But these days I usually suppress the urge, let the feeling pass, and stare out the window -- at the lights that appear on the horizon, above the rooftops of the other condos and against the tiny view I have of the water, the mountain ridge, and the rest of the sky. I heard Flamenco Sketches the other day when someone being interviewed on the radio mentioned Coltrane. The DJ played just enough of this song to lodge in my mind and surface this morning as something I wanted to hear.

things i like

Mexican food and wine are probably two of the best things about living in California (yeah, and the weather too, right). By the way, the link on the side takes you to a great radio station in L.A. that I've been listing to a lot lately. Despite the name, "Metropolis" is a great program. Good station in Seattle too. Wish we had better radio stations here. Oh, while wasting time at work, I read a fantastic article on language. This guy is a hipper, non-conservative version of William Safire. Thank god.

la musica

(photo from .philipp on flicker)

Got ipod. Opened up the box today. Feel like I'm finally joining the 21st century. Left work early as a further gift to myself. Trying not to overthink everything.

Made time to exercise today. At the gym, the guy on the treadmill next to me was breathing very hard. I could hear him through both our ipods. Thought he was going to pass out. Felt a mixture of concern, disgust, and wonder at how he could pant so loudly and not seem self-conscious in the least. Wondered if he was one of those people who have loud sex. Of course. Tried to tune him out and concentrate on my bangra hip-hop and my breathing.

Movement & music. Great way to release energy. Although I'm conflicted about how we tune each other out, especially in public places. Oh well. For now, oh well.

Heard a great Talk of the Nation interview with Stanley Crouch. He cited Picasso and said something about how artists keep going back to the same themes in their art; how everyone's art is made up of a few things that they keep going back to, again and again.

I'm discovering more about the blog thing everyday. Love it. Helps me reduce the number of times I obessively check email. Thanks to those who sent comments. I feel less alone.

friday night blues

I love how KCSM plays the blues on Friday nites. It's so fitting. Got home from work just now. Was in the office until the cleaning lady came, and then I had to tell her, as gently as I could, that her dusting my office was distracting and could she please clean another office first? (because there are a whole bunch of other offices and I was the only one actually trying to *work* in mine).

And, of course, I felt bad about telling her to get out, but at the same time did not want to be distracted and have to stay all nite and then walk to my car at 10 pm and get mugged. When you work a certain number of hours a day, or a week, or whatever, you just really start to go numb. This is one reason overtime laws should protect us all (but they don't) -- so we can still manage to have feelings at the end of the workday.

This is not the life I want to live. I'm eating takeout too much again. Tonite, I ate leftovers of takeout from yesterday. Which is several degrees of separation from my eating a home-cooked, semi-organic meal, a goal I thought I'd aim for but am failing miserably at, even once a week. At least I've upgraded what I pick up on the way home. And the wine. I drink better wine now that I'm drinking more of it and can tell the difference. As I trifle away what's left of the evening.

This is my Friday nite for now. To all the people (person?) reading this (high-five if you're reading this), I hope you have a good night and retain your sense of humor and bounce your knee a bit to some low-down, dirty blues for me tonite because yeah, I'm feelin it too.

starting to get it

this is my first attempt at posting something with substance. i've been logging onto the parisdailyphoto site and can understand now how people get sucked in. a community really does spring up from common interests. it's amazing.

i realize that i am behind the curve. deciding whether (and how much) to take on something like this. feels self-indulgent but must be great for writers, and others. another one i've checked is apersonalsite or something like that. would like to find a way to delete earlier posts. experiencing technical difficulties. more later.

idonthaveablog - i do now

why is there a "title" to each... oh, i am getting this better now. god, i feel like a moron. i am basically just talking to myself in cyberspace when i should be getting some sleep. is this what the internet has been about all this time? this, and porn?