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!

Waddaya think?





Only $60! I can make a pair to match every theme at that price!

p.s. - 15% of the net sales goes to (PRODUCT)RED

p.p.s. - if we could just get a portion to go to estrip, we'd be all set!

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..."