Wow! That looks like quite a [inlink]metalpeter,755[/inlink] birthday bash! I don't even remember what I did for my 30th. Too bad I didn't have a blog back then, haha.

Oh wait -- now I remember! Thanks to (e:Jenks,130) that is. Guess it's never too late to start documenting your life. As long as memory serves, that is.

Better get back to it, then.

I've had a hankering for lobster (my typical birthday dinner request) for a while, so I headed down to the wharf and decided to play tourist in my own town for a bit.

Most locals would say it's nuts to venture anywhere near a tourist area on a weekend, especially in the height of Christmas shopping season. But it was fun, and beautiful, and tasty. I'm not jaded enough not to appreciate that.



Only (e:j3sse) could probably decipher this pic, so I'll interpret for anyone else who may be interested. You can see Coit Tower lit up on the hill, with the pointy pyramid-shaped Transamerica tower to the right. The box-outlined buildings to the left get lit up every year like Christmas packages. And that's the start of the Western span of the Bay bridge on the far left. Boats decorated for the holidays along the pier in the foreground.

So for my birthday I found out I have a tree stump under my front sidewalk. You might think, so what? But turns out this tree stump was heaving the b'jesus out of the sidewalk, and lo and behold it's my responsibility to fix it before someone breaks their neck and sues me. Who knew? Anyway, I've been researching some options, thinking maybe I could take this opportunity to put in "permeable landscaping" (that's the term the SF Department of Public Works "Friends of the Urban Forest" uses, and yes, you do need a permit to do that, which doesn't seem that friendly to me).

Anyway, long story short, when the second round of upstairs demolition came along, I decided I'd better grab the opportunity to have four brawny guys haul away that damn concrete. I've been breaking it up and putting it in my garbage week by week. (You're not really supposed to do that, so don't tell anyone.) They made short work of it, and therein uncovered the root of the problem.



The tree stump. I hope it's not still growing, but recent events might indicate otherwise.



Here's a pic before the guys hauled away the concrete. Oh yeah, and a random car parked in front of my house with it's passenger window smashed in. Welcome to the 'hood!

p.s. to MMK -- Thanks for the birthday wishes! And for being a loyal reader all this time. ;-)

p.p.s. to (e:Paul) -- THANKS!

Definitely was a Not So Silent Night last night. It was so freakin' loud down on the floor even with earplugs we moved up to the balcony after Silversun Pickups and The Shins. Sound quality sucks on this video (and my camera didn't even have earplugs, haha), but here are some clips of the Raconteurs, Modest Mouse, and the Killers.

::Download Flash Video::

Have fun at the (e:Party) tonight!

I know, I know -- I haven't been keeping up with what's been going on with me lately. Mostly because, why would you give a damn? But also because, it would irrevocably dispel any illusion you may or may not have of "that twisted! living the life of luxury in San Francisco!" At least I have that going for me.

So anyway. Have you ever known something you didn't want to admit, and made up a convincing enough story that other people believed it too? And then somewhere along the line realized you're still going to have to pay for this mess, so you might as well come clean? Well, that just happened to me. Luckily, my general contractor is willing to work out a payment plan for the additional work I was hoping wouldn't have to be done, but obviously has to be done.

This may not make sense to anybody else -- and it's small comfort to me now -- but I consider this more of a rescue mission than an investment proposition. Guess I can't stand to see a great place that deserves more wasting away. Let's look at the pix one more time to see what I mean.





Yeah. I really can't see myself making dinner in that kitchen.

Oh! My title. So my general contractor tried to convince me I have to gut the entire top floor apartment. I really wasn't thinking that was necessary. We debated back and forth. He had many interesting arguments. I think my favorite was, "we're due for another earthquake -- better to have drywall than plaster." Great! That's just what every homeowner wants to hear before sinking a bunch of cash into a renovation. I have a better idea! What if I take out earthquake insurance, wait for the "big one" to strike, then rebuild on the insurance claim? That seems like the right answer to that scenario.

Anyway, tonight it's off to see The Killers, Modest Mouse, The Raconteurs, and The Shins at Bill Graham Auditorium (within walking distance of my soon-to-be-condemned hovel). After that I'm on a strict austerity program.

p.s. - this would be a great time for that contractor boyfriend to materialize. Anyone?

p.p.s. - Happy Birthday Tony! And to all you other Saggitarians. Mine's on Sunday!

Ever get the feeling computers have taken over the world, and there's no one at the wheel? I've had a rash of outright wrong automatic notifications lately, followed by infuriatingly futile attempts to find a human to right them.

"I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that..."

I'd like to ask them if they really mean, December 31, 3006. But I don't want to draw attention to the fact they haven't been charging me for the past year or so.

UPDATE:

I couldn't help myself. So now I have an open trouble ticket with them. Great! Just like old times.



UPDATE #2:

Just an update that all the files and accounts are moved over. Propagation has already begun for some domains here and others will happen over 24 hours.

Please let us know well before December 31, 2006 (not 3006) if you are missing files. After that date the old server will be gone.

THANK YOU!

Or you can upgrade for only 99 cents/month.

The latest development from the brave new world of social networking: FakeYourSpace.com, a new site that promises to hook up the socially inept with model-beautiful friends to spruce up their pages on MySpace and Facebook.

You can add these fake hot friends to your friends list and they will leave you messages and comments on your comment wall.

"FakeYourSpace makes it easy for any regular person to make it seem like they have a model for a friend. It doesn't stop there however," the site says.

The models will even pose as your lover, leaving any kind of message you would like. Want to make your ex jealous? No problem. Want to become more popular? The models will flirt with you on your comment wall.

I was just about to forward the mail that's collected for my ex-tenant when I noticed this was delivered to the wrong address. 620 Buchanan instead of 620 Grove.



I am so curious to see the photos inside! That would be wrong, right?

My Dad sent me this picture for the family calendar. Does it seem vaguely obscene to anyone else or is it just me?

The kitchen & bath remodel is moving along. Luckily they didn't need me for much of the demo phase, except when they uncovered a hornets nest (literally) in the ceiling on Friday. It's amazing what you can co-exist with peacefully without even knowing it. But the hornets didn't take kindly to having their territory invaded and you do NOT want to get on their bad side.

After alternately feeling somewhat on top of things and outright panicking, I decided to take a short-term view of my part of the project. (This will probably bite me in the butt when it turns out the floor tile I like takes 3-4 weeks delivery time, but I'll work on dependencies like that next.) So I asked my general contractor what's the first thing he's going to need from me? He says, "the rough-in valve." Say WHAT? That does NOT sound like something I should have to pick out. Then he explained it's part of the shower system and depends on whether I want a thermostatic mixing valve, volume control, diverter for tub to shower, etc. Oh yeah. I probably do need to figure that all out! So I got right on it.

I thought Black Friday would be a fine time to go bathroom fixture shopping, since who in their right mind does that? Turns out I was all too right. Apparently nobody does, since the bathroom supply stores were all closed. Doh! So I did my homework online, then found what I needed locally yesterday. One thing down, about two million to go. ;-)

UPDATE: Pictures added. You asked for it!


It's images like these that keep me awake at night.


The toilet remains for obvious reasons.


Where the tub was.


View from the kitchen through to the bathroom.


I really wish my kitchen sub-floor went all the way to the outside wall.


On a happy note -- I think my sis-in-law really liked her birthday present!

Haven't bought any Christmas presents yet, but I got this cool laptop bag for my sister-in-law's birthday tomorrow. It's gold brocade and comes with a matching pouch for your cell phone/iPod. Only $29.97 at the Sony Style store! Don't worry -- rug sold separately, haha.



Some other interesting things here. I especially like these items:

Missing Image ;(

Laptop for Frustrated DJs -- the lid contains a touch-sensitive LCD panel which allows you to control your MP3s, either from the laptop itself or from a connected player. (Still just a concept piece.)

Missing Image ;(

Handbag with solar panel to charge your cell phone.

Missing Image ;(

Thwart would-be laptop thieves with the pizza box laptop bag!

(e:Kara,110) a photo-a-month calendar is a great grandparent gift. You just need 12 family photos (or more if you want to get creative with collages) + one for the cover. $19.99 minus 20% off with coupon code XPP112 at Kinkos if you order by December 15. Or do it the easy way with iPhoto.