Elegant Black Cat

Moving: I have decided to try and move to Seattle at the end of March. The current plan is to head up there for four days at the end of January for [M]’s birthday. In February I am going to Michigan for ConVocation. Then move in March. I am still a little tense about the move, but more and more I am realizing I just cannot stay here.

Body: It seems my alcohol tolerance has decreased dramatically. Approximately in half, in fact – I seem to get about the same effect from one drink as I used to get from two. This caused me to get violently ill a couple of times, but I think I finally figured it out. And cutting back on drinking usually does not hurt anybody too badly.

Heart, Mind, and Spirit: Many things going on here. Mostly improvements. Not suitable subject matter for a public post. I may or may not write more about these topics later.

Social: I have pretty much been in a black hole of social interaction lately, with one or two exceptions. I am going to try to start gradually answering emails and writing letters again.

Happy: [M] came for a visit last week. I had a wonderful time with her – went to see the California Academy of Sciences (not enough penguins), cruised Haight Street, went to AsiaSF, and took in the view from The View Lounge. I was even inspired to cook a somewhat elaborate meal one evening – pan-seared duck breast with a blackberry-port glaze, sesame spinach, and wild rice pilaf. Cooking is one of my favorite creative outlets, and I do miss having people to cook for sometimes. Her visit helped pull me (a little bit) out of the state I’ve been in, injected some much-needed happiness into my life, and was all-around a very good thing.

I feel like there should be more to write but there isn’t. C’est la vie, desu ne.

After failing to get Akismet working, I have installed a CAPTCHA plugin to stop the ten-million spam comments I get (I never approve them, but it is a pain.) So, if you would be so kind, please leave a comment and tell me if it is working properly.

Dinner at Daffodil last night was fun. More for the company than for the food, however.

I arrived a bit early and decided to have a drink at read until my friends arrived. Upon mentioning my desire for a drink to the bartender, I might have expected to be handed a drink menu – or at the very least told about signature drinks the place might have (it turns out they did have a few). Instead, I was just sort of blankly stared at until I came up with something to order. I suspect it was a fairly inexperienced bartender. Maybe that makes sense for a Tuesday night, but I have had better drink-ordering experiences any night of the week at other places. No complaints about the drink itself.

When my friends arrived and we were seated, things were looking good. After placing our orders, however, it ended up being quite some time before the appetizer or my friend’s drink (he ordered a cucumber gimlet) appeared. The waiter was nice enough to come and tell us they had only one chef, and he was also responsible for the hotel’s room service. That explains the delay on calamari, but what about the drink? Eventually they both arrived together. Then it was another long wait until the food arrived, during which time the waiter came back again to tell my friend that the chicken pot pie was not being offered, so to pick another entree and it would be on the house. Then we wait some more. The waiter comes by again and offers us free champagne. I should mention there were only two people in this place. Maybe room service was going crazy?

The food was ok, but not really worth the price. Luckily, one of my friends had a 50% off coupon – the whole reason we were there to begin with. Dessert was excellent though, a cookies and milk plate with 5 kinds of cookie – baked fresh and still gooey – and bourbon milk that was a little bit sweet.

Overall impressions: Daffodil is too expensive to be a “cheap” place to eat, and the food is not good enough to be a “nice” place to eat. The benefits include a very courteous and friendly staff, nice ambiance, and excellent cookies. However, the overall experience left me wanting, and would not have been worth it if we had paid full price (we did tip the waiter on the full-price bill though, as he did his best to make the evening more enjoyable). In the end, I will probably not return.

After Daffodil, I took my friends to Level III for a peach and absinthe dessert drink.

When I was young, I knew nothing.
Knowing nothing, I was very agitated.

I studied and learned many things.  Each thing I learned revealed many more things beyond my knowledge.
In the midst of studying, I knew many things.

As I learned more, I realized that all knowledge leads to a single point.
At the end of studying, I knew only one thing.

Eventually, I will move beyond the limitations of knowledge; beyond those things that can be grasped and held in the mind.
Again, I will know nothing.
Knowing nothing, I will be content.

Although I come full circle and end up where I began, it is the journey that changes me.
This is called the transformation of things.

Walking around Union Square this morning I saw a pimp strong-arming a girl. I watched long enough to know that’s what it was, then tried to intervene. The guy was latino, pretended not to speak english but I know he understood me when I said I would call the police. He just kept walking… even when I put a hand on his shoulder to stop him, he didn’t turn around or get confrontational, just kept walking. The real giveaway is that at the mention of the police, the girl stopped resisting too, and just went with him holding hands. She would not have said anything, even if the police could have gotten there in time.

I talked to a gentleman who had also seen the whole thing, and another bystander followed the couple… I don’t know what came of that, if he did call the police or what. I felt sick afterwards. Partly just to see that side of humanity up close, and partly because I couldn’t do much of anything. Even if I’d had more time to think, my options were severely limited. I wonder if I feel worse now than if I had done nothing… I don’t know.

Last Monday and Tuesday, I got to stay at a posh hotel in Lake Tahoe and attend seminars on environmental policy in California. The hotel was fun, and the dinners were quite good.

I know you don’t care about the seminar, so here are some pictures from the hotel.

It has been over a month since I last updated this blog. Here are a few highlights from my month:

Experience. I attended an Energy-Workers conference in Ohio at the end of May. Extremely positive experience all around. I met some wonderful people, reconnected with some old friends, and learned quite a bit.
This makes me want to re-vitalize my meet-up group here in SF, but I have yet to do so…

New Furniture! I bought an antique oak vanity/dresser from a guy who lives in this very building. This makes me happy because it fits perfectly in the spot I had for it, between the couch and the kitchen island. It gives me room to finally organize my incense, candles, and oil lamp supplies. It also gives me much more room for the use of all the above. The new vanity replaces a much-too-small end table and the cheap hanging mirror I previously had in that spot.

More new furniture. I got rid of the large, fuzzy, blue shag carpet that had been infesting my abode. Actually, I liked the carpet, but it was a pain to clean. It also spawned blue fuzzies everywhere, so it was a pain to keep the rest of my place clean. And Spooky did not like it. I replaced it with a very nice Persian rug, blue and white pattern in silk and wool. I paid too much for it (even at 70% off), but I really love this rug. My house is starting to feel more like a temple, and I am happy with this dierection.

Writing. Been finally writing in the lovely leather-bound journal I got, specifically so that I would want to write in it. And using the ink and pen nibs I got for the same reasons. I am up to about 40 pages, so far, but not all of them are full. And no, you do not get to know what’s in it. It just feels good to actually be inspired to use it. The journal came from this place, it is the “Traditional Full Bound Hardcover” variety in the middle of the page, except that mine is black and has no design on the cover.

More writing. Bought some new pen nibs from Paper & Ink Arts at a friend’s suggestion. Used the to write this same friend a letter two nights ago. I am happy with them!
I am also behind on letter writing. Fear not! If I have your address, and you have not yet received a nice letter on fancy stationery from me, you shall!

Job. Job contiues to be a source of frustration, but also a source of income. The commute I do 3 or 4 days a week is leaving me little time or energy for other things. I have been a bit more reclusive than I even want to be, lately.

Moving and Parking. My lease was up on the first of July, so I am now on a month-to-month contract with the caveat that I must give the owner two months notice before I move out (same goes if he wants to move me out). I plan to save some money, pay off credit cards, and maybe move to a larger place early next year. On the saving money front, I did not renew the parking space I had leased for the previous year. Unfortunately, this means if any of my friends want to visit me, you are on your own for parking. I appologize for the inconvenience, but the infrequent use did not justify the expense.

I recently finished playing Braid, which is probably the best and most innovative video game I have seen this year. That is not why I am writing about it, however. I am compelled to post because the game is all about time manipulation. (Also bouncing on the heads of your enemies.)

Those of you who know me too well are probably familiar with my disdain for the concept of linear time, and watches. Braid explores concepts of reversing time, alternate time lines, time as a function of position, and time dilation. In other words, it treats time in a manner I would call more realistic.

You can view the trailer (or get the game) here. (It is available for Mac!)

It also has pretty good music.

It occurred to me recently that I still have not quite adjusted to my world view changing from one based on concrete thinking and empirical facts to one based on intuition and experiences. This shift happened a few years ago, really, but it has never occurred to me until now to look at it in this way. The very fundamentals of how I judge reality have shifted, and the logic I apply is likewise different. Perhaps if I can consciously realize that my experiences are now evaluated in a different reference frame, I can be free of some of this self-doubt.

Today I walked into a stationery store on a whim. Long story short, I dropped triple-digit dollars on custom engraved stationery cards and envelopes. Sure, I could write letters with a twenty-cent Bic pen and lined notebook paper that is a buck fifty for one hundred sheets, but what fun would that be?

So if you are on my “people I write letters to” list, prepare to receive some truly awesome letters. No, you don’t have to write back. Honestly, this is my hobby. It’s what I do to relax. So you are going to get a letter. If you are not on my letter-writing list, now is a good time to get added! Just email me your mailing address, and you will get a letter.

Whee!