I’m leaving out who because if you’re here you know who I am.
What I’ve been doing a lot of lately is spending time with my grandmother. She’s been going through a lot of radical changes in her life, losing her son (my father) and her husband last year, moving out of her home and into an apartment, facing the prospect of perhaps not being able to drive (in a hometown that has fairly well been planned out around automobile transportation since the mid-60′s)…and just being older and not quite as adaptable to radical change as she used to be.
She has lived through and done so much in her lifetime. She has survived two husbands and most of her closest friends. She helped to raise me and has supported me in so many ways my whole life.
Most of my focus has been on trying to be a good granddaughter to her now, especially now that my father is gone.
Mostly I figure I am not doing enough, that I could be doing more for this woman who has done so much for me…who has loved me so well her whole life.
I’ve been working, too, by and by. I’ve done some good workshops and a few good performances…but there’s always more to do than I have time to do, and I’m still not entirely altogether together.
One fun thing was a little Hallowe’en-inspired skit where I was a drummer who couldn’t stop drumming in for a doctor’s visit that so annoyed the doc she killed me but even death couldn’t stop me and I came back as a re-animated skeleton that eventually managed to both kill and re-animate the doc who was turned to the “dark side” and also started drumming.
It was all tremendously great, except the part where we were blocking out and running through the part where I died and did a prat-fall off the table we were using as prop exam table directly on top of a BOLT shime.
yes. ow.
I’ve also done a little bit of work for my cousin that should prove to be very interesting and I am indebted to Anchan and Elaine for their help in pulling everything together for my end of the project.
I got some incredibly great deep tissue massage/bodywork done by Delia Enevoldson while I was in Vancouver (good luck trying to book an appointment, she’s usually so swamped), and Millie Bun put me back together when I got home.
Hopefully that sort of covers when and why, too.
I was on a flight home from Vancouver when the pilot, or maybe it was the first officer, announced that we had a new President-elect and it was Barack Obama.
Many of us cheered. Some did not.
I had recently been in an airport flight lounge and had been temporarily shocked to see cable news reporting McCain ahead with 56% of the vote, until I realized it was results by state and they were focusing on Georgia.
Now here’s the part about the food.
I’ve been eating at the Posh all-you-can-eat-sukiyaki restaurants in Vancouver (and Burnaby) and I love them and think they are a great deal. I wish there was a shabu-shabu option, but the sukiyaki is great. The meat is sliced very thin, the rest of the ingredients are very fresh, and the tare is is not too sweet and not too salty.
I also had an incredible roast beast dinner with friends and it was so tasty I could weep for joy just thinking about it now.
Another friend made bread pudding for me and if I close my eyes I can almost still taste its custard-y goodness.
I’ve been making a lot of calabrese salads (fresh tomato, mozzarella, salt, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and basil) and winning over the hearts and tongues of friends with them.
I had some very tasty French Toast at the Tower International Cafe when I got home to Sacramento that almsot matched the goodness of the bread pudding.
I also bought some Luxardo (marasca) Marasche cherries. Real maraschino cherries.
I thought, you know, that it would be a good thing to experience. They are tasty, deep dark red and packed in their own syrup. The freaky bright red ones chock-full of FD&C #5 are not too far off in the overall taste, but I have the distinct impression of the real thing being more intense and wholesome and sublimely flavorful. They are also interestingly textured.
I want more of my friends to try them, so please do come visit if you get a chance and ask for one to try, as they are still kind of a rare thing in the world. I also couldn’t possibly eat the whole jar so someone has to come help before they go bad.
I picked up a garnacha varietal by Monte Oton Vineyards from Corti Brothers, and it’s a steal at about $8 a bottle.
I’ve been told that this is a good year to buy reasonably priced good wines, and I’ve had more expensive ones that weren’t near as good.
Meanwhile we’re still gearing up for SFTD’s 40th Anniversary, our own Spring concert and 20th Anniversary concert next year, and Asano Taiko’s 400th Anniversary.
Then, too, there is the Shidara residency in April.
Lots of stuff happening in the next little while.
Lastly I want to add that my life is filled with incredible, passionate, brilliant, dedicated, warmhearted, good, and loving people. I feel blessed by the amount of love and support I have. I feel blessed for the time I have with my grandmother. I feel blessed to have a loving family and extended family.