Month: December 2013

in a good place

I’m sitting in my longtime friend Lisa’s beautiful new home in San Francisco, trying to rest up and dry out (sinus wise) before we head out to see the Melvins and Redd Kross tonight at the Great American Music Hall. What year is this, now?

Like me, Lisa has a lot of positive changes happening after some not-so-positive ones. I think we’re both looking forward to the new year and more good things happening. I like that we’re together to usher in 2014 — and tomorrow we gather with other friends to start the Year of 50th Birthday Mania, starting with Moya.

This has been an outstanding trip! Notable moments amongst many:

Stopover in Phoenix on my way to Boston, just to add an extra layer of memory and introspection into things.

A half hour in my nephew’s home-made sensory deprivation tank in the basement in Cambridge. Epsom Salts made skin sting; occasional drops from ceiling would startle; tried not to think that I was in a big coffin in the basement. However! It was funner than I thought; it’s remarkable to have skin, water and air the exact same temperature; so floaty! I wriggled out, thinking “now I’m ready to try for real.”

Family-created Nativity scene, featuring Lady in the Diabetes Medication Print Ad as the baby J.

Had a brief lunch with old friend Margaret in Peekskill. Delightful to see her, and delightful to overhear a conversation between three young men on the train back, who were en route to a concert in Manhattan. Their manner, dress, and conversation was so very out of time — it could have been 19712, 1978, 1989, 1995, now. I imagined that they were train-riding ghosts, ever riding the Express to fun, adventure and rock n roll.

Got to see Twelfth Night on Broadway. So, so good. I don’t often alight in NY long enough to schedule in a play, and boy, am I glad Tamar and Rich gifted me this time. Wow.

Not pictured: Four adorable great nephews and one adorable great niece, all outstanding, gorgeous, intelligent and squeezable. Another insane and perfect shopping spree at Fever. A wonderful drive to NY with my sister, brother-in-law and nephew, who I love with all my heart. After-karaoke snacks at Churchill’s in the wee of the night with Chris making me double over with laughter.

Cheesy, but: togetherness, family, friends, love, gratitude. THAT’S what it’s all about.

December 31, 2013
end of year wrapup wrapped up bubble wrap snap

Hello, hello! Moved, moving, on the move! This is the best stringing together of sentences I can do since passing the mic and catching a cold whilst karaokeing in Koreatown the other night.

So much fun, OUCH. My last couple days in NYC have been accompanied by suppressing the living daylights out of my symptoms so that I don’t get tarred with DayQuil and feathered by Emergen-C by all I encounter.

Anyways. Looking back over the past couple weeks. I MOVED, thank the heavens, I’m installed in my adorable apartment! The move was horrendous. NOTE TO THE FUTURE BECKY: find out how many humans your movers plan to employ. Two ain’t enough and it was a long and expensive lesson. Is there a world in which I can pay humans a decent amount of money and then just sit there and look pretty while they do the work in a reasonable timeframe? I slogged and dragged and heaved as much as they did and the whole event, from start to end, took six hours. I may have stuff, but I don’t have a six hour’s worth move worth of stuff.

But move I did. Then I busted my old-lady hump to get the place decent before I left for my trip, so that I didn’t not have to mark a fresh and shiny new year by walking into a sad canyon of boxes. I even hosted an overnight guest and had a tiny get-together just before I left for the holidays and, if my visitors could kind of squint, they could see a fairly put-together pad.

I arrived in Massachusetts on the 23rd and there was no mishap getting there. I realize I have not related the horror story here that was my flight to Boston last year, on Christmas day. Those who know me in person know the story by heart (and stomach). It involved lots of vomit from me. In, on, around the airplane and airport.

Vomit did not happen this time, so I’m so ahead of the game!

On that note, I’ll relate more about this wonderful holiday vacation in an upcoming post.

Snowflakes, literally, on my nose and eyelashes!

December 30, 2013
what travelers are saying

Originally I was going to post satirical, TripAdvisor-style reviews of the homes I would be staying in this week — this 10-day stretch during with I’m technically homeless as I wait to move into my new apartment (Monday 12/16 can’t come fast enough).

However, on second examination, it seemed snarky and unkind, even jokingly making judgments on friend’s homes they so graciously opened to me.

Not to mention: this whole process got rocked by scandal very early on. Scandal! Darling Andrew of Santa Barbara’s home was the first stop in my couch surfing tour. I had high hopes on every level — Andrew is a kind and entertaining friend; his home is lovely and eclectic; he is a detailed-oriented guy.

However. Well, however. There was a problem when I first got there. A problem that might have affected a TripAdvisor-style rating. A problem I won’t go into here, as THIS is what accompanied my breakfast coffee.

A bribe. Andrew bribed me to keep my mouth shut.

And I accepted it. And bought myself lunch.

So, suffice to stay: “Staying with Darling Andrew was perfection, from beginning to end! Not a single luxurious moment was marred by ANY PROBLEM WHATSOEVER. A++++++++!”

Plus, the cat jumped on my shoulder.

Fun. Ultimately a little sneezy, but fun. I had never had a cat jump on me and command me to be their personal limousine before in my life.

After leaving Santa Barbara, I moved on to Ventura to J and T’s, which is lovely. And there was a dog.

“Would bite again! A++++++!”

December 9, 2013