Cell Phone Lot

Nestled amidst . Other manned buggies . Engines at rest . Mostly

Patient chauffeurs . Sip from coffee mugs . Poke at iPads . Or snooze

Incoming call . Jars serenity . Disturb the peace . "I'm here"

Prius wakes up . With a hushed whisper . Jeep rumbles, groans . To life

So long, lot mates . Soon it'll be my turn . Summoned to leave . The pack

Week 7 in Review

Squeaks's Top 5:

1. Priceless time with old friends. Spent a couple of hours each, catching up with two faraway friends whom I've known since Middle School. Friends who were there... by my side, chorusing "trick-or-treat!" when I was Danielle Boone; at my birthday party when I first put on make-up; at the next table in the cafeteria when I was asked out on my first date. How far we've come, ladies.
2. Me gusta espanol. Two good Spanish practice sessions con la vecina y los amigas de la iglesia.* Update on #4 of "2011 To Do's": Esta llendo bien.**
3. Promising Open Houses. Keeping our cool to temper possible disappointments,... while the excitement mounts...!
4. Tasty aged meat. Birthday festivities for my guy continued with a friend's invitation to dinner at Alfred's, the oldest steakhouse in SF. Either we lucked out or the unimpressed Yelp reviewers have a different palate, but all three of us swooned over every dish we ordered, from the fried calamari, to the hearty split pea soup, to the thin crispy fries, to the juicy steaks themselves. My martini (Priscilla) and the chocolatey desserts were also hits.

5. "Free" Lucky cookware! Traded in my 70 Lucky Supermarket rewards stickers for a 10.2" Thomas Professional frying pan worth $50. Amazed by the Use & Care Instructions in 22 languages, incl. the very unfamiliar "Svenska", "Suomi", "Eesti Keel", and others with characters un-typeable on this keyboard.

Al Jazeera English's Top 5:

1. Gaddafi's hold on Libya weakens.
2. Egypt gears up to evacuate citizens.
3. Iranian navy ships enter Suez canal.
4. Quake rocks New Zealand city.
5. Cyclone Atu batters Vanuatu islands.

_______

*...with the neighbor and friends from church.

**So far so good.

Photo credit: Squeaks.

Week 6 in Review (feat. Vegas weekend)

Week 6 of Gregorian Year 2011 -- or Week 1.5 of Lunar Year 4709 for you LNY revelers -- started out as a lazy stroll,... then picked up speed over a tasty mid-week Peruvian dinner at Limon with long unseen friends,... and culminated in a race towards our weekend getaway to sin city, Las Vegas -- which brings us to...

Squeaks's Vegas Top 5:

1. Seeing the Jabbawockeez! More awesome than expected. My face is still sore from grinning so much. When's the next hip hop class?
2. Roadtrip to Hoover Dam. Far cooler than the website, especially with a ka-boom!-flappa-flappa (or blown bus tire, in non-Batman lingo) en route and engineering buds who were pretty pumped up about the tour.
3. Casino time: Slipping $1 into a 2-cent slot machine, then leaving with $28.88 and a swagger 10 minutes later. Peering over my guy's shoulder at the roulette table and whispering "lucky numbers"... that were all bad, but he still emerged with winnings. *whew*
4. Quotes by... (a) Bell Trans shuttle driver: "If you're drunk or feeling sick to your stomach, let me know. Respect yourself and respect me. Enjoy the ride." (b) TV ad for defense attorney: "Charged for the crime but don't want to do the time? You know who to call!"
5. And last but definitely not least,... Priceless time with friends. *aw shucks*

And as we tried in vain to avert our eyes from the gyrating table dancers,...

Las Vegas Sun's Top 5 (headlines):

1. Owner of unfinished Wyndham hotel files for bankruptcy.
2. Giunchigliani releases first video in Las Vegas mayoral race.
3. Missing Las Vegas man found dead Friday night in desert.
4. Drivers behave when they're being watched.
5. Sean Kingston celebrates the big 2-1 at Tryst.

_______

Photo credit: Google image

BART Musings (take 2)

Our Pastor's account of his recent inaugural MUNI ride in San Francisco reminded me of how much I enjoy taking public transit -- in Chicago, San Francisco, France,...anywhere, really. Great for people-watching and rubbing shoulders (literally, at times) with an interesting cross-section of society. Here are snapshots from this morning's train ride, a reprise of my earlier musings on BART:

Eastbound (morning commute)

The New Yorker . People . San Francisco Chronicle

Until.org poster . "Until A Cure Foundation" for HIV/AIDS awareness

Smart phone . laptop . iPad . those distinctive white earbuds

Kenneth Cole . Anne Klein . Aerosoles . Rockport

Briefcases . rolling laptop bags . backpacks slung over suited shoulders

"We'll be holding here momentarily due to police activity at Civic Center."

Hoop earrings . pink scarf . unusually big hands...for a woman

Westbound (3 hours later)

Sing Tao Daily . La Raza . San Francisco Bay Guardian

GreaterThan.org poster . The "Greater Than AIDS" movement

Discman . 2nd generation iPod . those distinctive white earbuds

Unlaced suede boots . Chucks . flip flops revealing french manicure and toe rings

Timbuk2 messenger bag . Billabong pack

Hoodies . Raiders sweats . Giants raincoat

Fedora . beanie . menacing barbell in the lobe

Never a dull moment.

Week 5 in Review

Squeaks's Top 5:

1. Spanish practice over pupusas and platanos con crema at El Zocalo, an El Salvadoran restaurant in SSF. Especially grateful for our waiter Roberto who patiently (and amusedly) engaged us in Spanish. Muy amable!
2. "The guy who invented the [toilet] flapper should be put in jail." - commentary from handyman Bob Antonelli on how traditional toilets waste so much water. He and his right-hand man, Jesus, spent most of a day touching up our past D.I.Y. projects to help us prep our home for sale. Five-star service!
3. Rang in the Lunar New Year -- the Year of the White Metal Rabbit in Chinese Astrology -- with a hot pot family dinner, complete with a bubbling cauldron of soup, vermicelli, sliced pork, shrimp, meat and fish balls, and an assortment of vegetables. A heart- and tummy-warming feast.

4. Explored and got to know the neighborhood a bit better via a circuitous 4-mile jaunt to post flyers for upcoming Clinic By The Bay health workshops. Encountered friendly neighbors en route, tending their vegetable gardens in this unseasonably warm weather.
5. Birthday Boy weekend, featuring authentic Chicago-style Lou Manalti's sausage pizza, freeze-dried and flown in from the source!

The San Francisco Chronicle's Top 5 (local news):

1. SF Bay Area frolics in record-setting heat.
2. Six hats in ring for SF mayor's race.
3. Protesters march in San Francisco to support Egypt.
4. Task Force finds little support for injection center for drug users.
5. Two arrested for shooting at police in Oakland.

And as a bonus, my favorite quote of the week (while catching up on HULU shows)...

Peter: Walter, are you all right?

Walter: If "all right" means despondent, then yes.

(Fringe, Season 3, Episode 10, Firefly)