A shot of coffee to go

A couple of neighborhood policemen gather around my local coffee spot most mornings to get their breakfast croissant and double cappuccino. They hang out for a while, talk to the patrons and the baristas and catch some sun, leaning against their nicely parked vehicles.
I have to say, it bothers me. I don't like uniformed authority. Not that I have a problem with them, I have nothing to hide, but they don't make me feel any safer, mostly they just intimidate me. I don't think that is what these particular guys set out to do, they seem like a friendly bunch, but there you go: I am not big on authority.
Men in uniform - not calming, just unnerving.

TV

Last night I had absolutely nothing to do, and I was too tired to embark on something stimulating, like reading my book. The best movie I found on TV - and this is my argument against American television, 'nuff said - was G.I Jane.
I watched it.
That is 2 hours and 15 minutes of my life I will never get back. I could have gone to bed, caught up on some sleep. Cleaned out my sock drawer. Put on a face mask.
Instead I sat through the worst piece of absolute s*** I have ever watched in my entire life and not once did I even attempt to turn the damn thing off.
Tomorrow there's a new episode of Real Housewives of NYC. Then I am finally back in my comfort zone again.

idontheartthefamilyrabbitrightnow

So far, our 2 year old rabbit has proved to be the most expensive member of our family. She has managed to rack up a few thou's in vet bills only, add to that an expensive diet of hay, pellets and organic vegetables and you have yourself one spoiled bunny indeed.
After investing in both indoor and outdoor habitats and having her spayed we thought it would be smooth sailing, but then she caught a number of dandruff and mite related stuff which has needed vet attention, and she digs excessively which keeps everyone up at night. The latest thing is that she is shedding fur to the point where she ends up with bald patches which is harmless, but hardly nice to look at for the kids.
More vet bills, treatments, and a fungal inspection that came back .... negative.
Turns out that young rabbits are like teenagers: they are moody and have sensitive skin.
Had I known I would have insisted we'd have a third child instead. Cheaper, and definitely less time consuming.

She worked as a nanny for Tom and Kathleen Waits

and now she has a wicked album out!

Having ice cream at Ben&Jerry's on Haight Street on a Saturday afternoon is a little like trying to take the tube to work in London on a Monday morning: it's warm, crowded and you're bound to be touched by someone's sticky fingers.

Sitting outside is the guy by his table with his old typewriter. For a small fee he will write you a poem on any subject you like.
You just never get bored with Haight Street.

Goodbye brief sunshine, hello rain, welcome back - and big welcome to my friend, who managed to defeat the ash clouds (or maybe the tightened rules of the airline companies) and landed on SF ground yesterday.
Am very much looking forward to a good catch up and some well-needed Swedish gossip.

- You can wait a little while.

Words from a snooty mother who blocked me in with her Honda SUV while leisurely waiting for a parking spot of her own outside La Petite Baleen. And meanwhile holding up a long line of traffic behind her.

Someone's having a bad day

The husband is out, the daughter is at a friends, the son is sleeping, and I am just getting in to my gorgeous tikka boti takeout when the neighbor knocks on my door and asks me to move the car which is parked outside.
A portable Mexican Taco's truck has broken down right outside the house and is blocking traffic in both lanes. My street has the longest incline of any steep SF street. When the driver is trying to jump start the truck to reverse it to a safer spot closer to the pavement he turns the wheel the wrong way and is rolling backwards and across lanes down the street.
He is inches away from either taking a long row of parked cars with him or - drive straight in to the living-room in the house across the street.

It is a really, really bad place to be braking down.

For some reason it makes my neighbor really hungry for Taco's.

The group makes the person

People like to join groups. It gives them a sense of belonging and identity. It separates them from the others as individuals, yet gives them a sense of purpose in a a bigger context.
There's a hula hoop group at Crissy Fields, a drumming circle in Golden Gate and a little dog's meet up every Saturday at Ocean Beach, to name only a few.
I miss my Highgate Book Group, though. We met up once a month for wine and book discussions. I have yet to find a compatible equivalent in this city.

I am in Sonoma, taking it easy, eating some food and tasting some wine. I'll be back Thursday. Consider this my automatic Out of Office reply.
Wish you all the best.

More about driving in the city of doom.

The other day I was waiting to move out on to Lincoln from a side lane. This intersection is very busy, and often you have to wait for a long time for the road to be clear of oncoming traffic. The driver behind me was very impatient, and kept honking me as he thought I should be more aggressive in turning out despite big white van's coming towards me with reasonably fast speed. Finally I got fed up with him, turned around in my seat and mouthed:
- F***, will you.
When I finally hit Lincoln he came after me, drove up in the lane next to me and started to pull faces. When we had to stop for red light I watched a hilarious show of distorted facial expressions as he was trying to wind me up. When I laughed at him the expressions got even more colorful, and when he drove off I said to Finn, who'd been in the back of the car all the time:
- Wave bye bye to the crazy man.
- Bye bye, crazy man.
That's the kind of driver's you deal with in SF....

Epilogue:
Today, Richard told me that as he drove down Lincoln with Finn, Finn kept saying hello to some crazy man, and he couldn't figure out what he was talking about.
- Oh, shit, I said, because I dropped a piece of apple on the floor.
- Oh, shit, says Finn.

I need to watch what I'm saying...

Question of the day

Is moving city because of it's bad car driver's considered reasonable, or not?
Not sure for how much longer I can tolerate ignorant, reckless and/or just plain bad drivers.

The expression "Right on" is alive and well and thriving at the intersection of Divisadero and Bush, as I found out tonight when I went to buy my first Hula Hoop at a hoop work-shop.
Right on, groovy and rad.
You've gotta love this city.