Well (e:peeps), 'tis the turning of the seasons. I know it's sad to put the green and gluten-free goodies of St. Matty's Day behind us - and far be it for me to end that holiday season early. But it's time to start looking ahead. I'm speaking, of course, about the upcoming "California Here I Come" Days!

Now I know California isn't for everyone. But if you managed to drink green beer last weekend, would it kill you to dig out that tie-dye t-shirt from high school and raise a glass of California Cabernet in the spirit of the holidays?

Anyway, whether you're among the dedicated CHIC '07 Revelers or just observing from home, here are some links to get you in the mood. (Or help you plan your own CHIC holiday...)

Culture
Art
Events
Music
Performance
Art & Entertainment Guide (All)
Half-price theatre tickets
Half-price theatre tickets available in advance

Museums
Asian Art Museum
Cable Car Museum
California Academy of Sciences, 875 Howard St
California Palace of the Legion of Honor, Lincoln Park
Cartoon Art Museum, 655 Mission St
Chabot Space & Science Center
Conservatory of Flowers
de Young Museum
Exploratorium, Palace of Fine Arts
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 3rd St @Mission
Vibrator Museum, Good Vibrations
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Mission St @ 3rd

Outdoors
Golden Gate National Parks
Maps of the Parks
GG Park & Presidio Arial Hybrid Map
Chrissy Field Bird Guide
Wave Organ
GG Park Map
SF Botanical Gardens
Marin Headlands
Bay Nature
City Stair Climbing
16th Ave Tiled Steps
Bay Trail
Bike & Pedestrian Maps
Night Rides

Local News/Events/Club Calendars
SF Gate
Indybay
SF Weekly
Bay Guardian
SF Magazine
Yelp
SF Station
Local Music Calendar
Myspace Music Calendar
Club listings by Date
7x7SF
Upcoming.org

Live Like a Local
Rainbow Grocery Coop
Neighborhood Guide
Castro Theatre
Red Vic Theatre
Amoeba Records
Mass Transit
NextBus

Shop
Flax
Wesfield SF Centre
Japantown

Eat/Drink/Music
Embarcadero / Ferry Building
Bargain Bites
Velvet Cantina
Aroma Tea Shop
NY-Style Nightclubs
After Hours
late night clubs
DNA Lounge
Laptop Electronica
Mezzanine
Mini Bootie

Seafood
Kappa
Weird Fish
Tsunami
Alamo Square Seafood Grill

Intensive Tourist Track
Free Walking Tours
SF 101
SF CityPass

Day Trips:
Monterey Aquarium (2 hours away)
Stinson Beach (45 minutes away)
Wine Country (1 hour away)
Alcatraz (it's really close, but you need to make advance reservations because you can only get there by ferry and it sells out)

Oh yeah, I got invited to this Saturday night. If we wanted to do the intensive Burning man track, this would be the place. Although we'd have to leave early to pick up (e:Hodown), so probably wouldn't be worth it. There's plenty of other stuff to do though!

See you soon!

p.s. - darn it, (e:hodown) why aren't you here tonight? I hope something good comes up while you're here.

The homeless people in this town - at least in my 'hood - are extremely polite. Case in point:

Tonight is garbage eve, so I had to put the garbage/recycling out. A small homeless embankment has sprung up outside my back gate (see (e:Twisted,23283) for the scoop, haha), and as it turns out, I had to skirt around not one but two bodies in the night tonight. Looks like my resident bum scored a girlfriend! Or redeemed enough bottle deposits for a hooker, I'm not sure. Either way, there was a lot of smoke coming from under the blanket. Which is why I couldn't help looking even though usually I'm all about privacy when it's called for. Anway, this cute face peers out and says, sorry ma'm! I have no idea what she was apologizing for, since I was the one making all the racket with the recycle bins. So I say no problem and apologize for the noise.

Anyway, I'm proud to say I didn't bum a cigarette off them. Although I was tempted too.

The guy who is replacing me started yesterday. He's hot! And cute, and smart, and nice. Almost makes me want to stay. But if I was staying, he wouldn't be working there. How ironic is that?

Speaking of ironic, I got an email from my ex this morning saying he's coming here April 11 - April 16. I'll be in Italy April 1 - April 18. If he wanted to see me, maybe he should have checked first. Guess that means he didn't really care about seeing me. Ouch.

And to top the week off, I ran into Steve [inlink]twisted,36599[/inlink] coming into my gym on Monday when I was on my way out. It was nice to chat. Not quite as steamy as the yoga room after Jehfree's class (see below), but still.



Which reminds me, I think I have a couple free passes if anyone wants to join me for Jehfree's class next Monday, haha.

I got rear-ended big time tonight. Ok, you can hardly tell by looking at my car (thank god, since I didn't feel like pulling over on the Bay Bridge during rush hour). Although the impact was hard enough to feel my teeth rattle. A couple Ibuprofen will probably do the trick.

The guy's front end was seriously smashed - most likely from multiple previous run-ins. I'm guessing he suffers from ADD. In any case, that's probably what his insurance company would have claimed. If he is insured, that is.

omg. I can't believe this. I've been keeping my eyes open for a show when (e:Paul) is here. Not because he'd be into the same music I am, but because I would love to have him experience a show in SF. Well, this isn't what I was looking for, but when I read it, I almost freaked my freak. Mitch Easter/Let's Active is going to be here the Day Before I leave for Italy. And they're playing at the Rickshaw Stop, less than 1/4 mile from my house. How crazy is that?

So that's where I'll be Thursday, March 29th. I really can't recommend the show to anyone else. It's kind of a personal thing for me. And within walking distance of my house! How crazy is that?

p.s. -- usersound is "Every Word Means No" by Let's Active.

p.p.s. -- Note to (e:Matthew): matt, I totally neglected to see if you wanted to come along that night. I just assumed since (e:Paul) was down for the count that you were going to stay in too. although at some point after I got to the show it dawned on my overloaded brain that's probably why you roused yourself. sorry. I didn't mean to be rude/antisocial, I was just brain-dead at that point.

I just bought these murals from a laundromat going out of business in my neighborhood. I think they'll all fit in my new hallway. Granted, I'm not sure what that last one is of, but they look pretty cool as a set. At least, I think so.











p.s. - I lead a charmed life. If only I believed in fantasy...

I was walking past the Hayes Green near my house when a runaway hula hoop crossed my path. I returned it to it's rightful owner after chatting for a bit, then thought to snap this video. May not be blog-worthy, but what else am I going to do with it?

::Download Flash Video::

Turns out it was the SF Bay Area Hoopers. No surprise there. Although I thought it might have been a reincarnation of this Black Rock Arts Foundation event which happened just before I moved here. I do miss having the Burning Man pagoda in the green though. That was pretty cool.

In other news, if my neighbors hate me now, just wait until I paint my house this color. Ha!



Yeah, it's a little bright. But I like it.

Hey, it'll totally match my new estrip cons! Sweet!



p.s. - yes, it was warm and sunny here today. No snow in the forecast yet. I am enjoying the snow pics from afar though.

The SF Tool Lending Center is CLOSED for several MONTHS!!!

The San Francisco Tool Lending Center is currently transitioning to a new location and is not open to the public. We anticipate this transition to take several months. Sorry for any inconvenience and we thank you for your continued support. Please check this website for any updates.

What if I have a tool-lending emergency? I was going to borrow some stuff to dig out that tree root, plant my garden, and repair the concrete. Oh yeah, in addition to posting it on my door, the city also sent me the 30 day notice by certified mail. I guess they're not kidding. Maybe if I sent Pacific Gas & Electric a certified letter they would finally hook up my neighbor's new service line instead of continuing to feed off mine. We've been waiting since August 8. They have promised to come out "next week" several times. Six months later and we're still waiting. This city is really fcked up about some things.

I can't seem to buy a break these days. Which may be just as well since I probably couldn't afford it anyway, haha.

p.s. -- Also closed now for renovation is the Steinhart Aquarium at the California Academy of Sciences. It reopens March 31. Figures.

Oh well, I'm heading over there for the neighborhood free day today anyway. I was checking out the differences between the SF City Pass vs. the 7-day passport vs. the weekly MUNI pass (don't ask, I need a spreadsheet to compare all the nuances) to see if any of them would be worth it for (e:Matthew) to use on the days Paul will be at the conference and I might be at work. Anyway, that's when I stumbled on the neighborhood free days schedule. 94102 baby! Just in the nick of time.

My niece is the cutest:



My sister said she asked her what Aunt Lisa likes, and my sister told her I like dogs. So she put a dog in the picture. That is so cute! If only everything in life was that easy.

In other news, I biked down to Golden Gate park last Sunday to take some pictures of the California Native plants at the Arnold Arboretum as potential candidates for my urban sidewalk garden, now on the fast track. I have to submit a plant listing with my application to the city, and although California native plants aren't required, they're highly encouraged.











I realized later I may have wandered into South Africa for part of my photo shoot. Oops! Well, how different can that be? All these plants seem to be thriving just fine in California soil, which is all I care about. So sue me for not being a botanical purest.

p.s. - (e:Matthew), I wish you were here now to help me pick out my landscaping and paint colors. On the other hand, maybe by the time you get here my little construction zone upstairs will be habitable. That would probably be better all around.

This is what I have to contend with:



No I was NOT cruising (or posting) in casual encounters -- just looking for a Pete Yorn ticket. Which is no time to be picky, so I searched all the personals at once.

I guess I'm pickier than I thought since I didn't respond. Although my first thought was, why didn't I think of that? And my second thought was, why is this classified under m4w? Then I realized it's a guy looking to GET a hand job or blow job in exchange for a ticket, not the other way around. I wonder if he would have accepted some marketing tips instead, haha.

The crazy thing is, Pete Yorn came up on Pandora just as I hit this. I never entered him in any of my stations, and I was listening to a new station based only on Lou Reed (trying to remember a song from a dream last night). Weird, huh? Or did the terms of service I always accept without reading say something about capturing and interpreting my every keystroke? Oh well, either way it seemed random.