Excuse me while I kiss this guy...

I had a full on sensory overload weekend. It started on Thursday night at the Opera: The entertainment for the evening was La Boheme. Great production, longest dying scene, good wine, good times.

My usual Friday night of scrap booking, sewing or harvesting toe nail clippings (zexy, i know!) was replaced with an invitation to dinner and a concert. I was treated to a home cooked meal. It was a very lovely dinner. I even got flowers. No, not the traditional arrangement. This one came in a form of Pinot Noir 2006 called Flowers. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it since I heart Cabs. I almost felt guilty for a second and then I moved on.

After dinner we went to see The SF Chorus Girls Choir or maybe it's the Chorus Girls of SF Choir...Oh wait, I got it... It's the Girls Chorus...ah feck it, you know what I mean jelly bean :) Anyhow, they sang traditional old world Christmas Carols and some contemporary ones as well. My favorite one was "Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day" ch-ch-check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nq17LSg8uFM&feature=related

They also did a Sing-A-Long bit and that was pretty cool. I fought the urge to sing along for 2 reasons, A: Its not karaoke night, hence I was sober and B: My too cute to boot friend sang heartily enough for the both of us... :)

My most favorite part of the concert was the last song that they sang: 'Silent Night'. Yes, cliche I know but I always had this vision in my head of how 'Silent Night' should be sung, delivered and the whole ambiance. Check, check and check! It was beautifully done. I remember looking over to my gracious host and thought, it can't get any better than this.

Being the creature of habit that I am, I went on a hike Saturday morning for the first time at Marin Headlands. The sun was out, the temperature chilly and the wind factor, well, I'm still recovering from the wind burn on my cheeks. Nonetheless, it was my type of Saturday morning so it was perfect! As we sat on the top of the mountain, sipping hot tea with Sausalito, Tiburon, Mill Valley to our left peripheral view and the Golden Gate directly in front of us, my thoughts are silent and my inner voice at peace.

Here's an idea you can try to remind you of how magnificent and accessible the universe is. Next time you find yourself in the great outdoors and as you take stock of the beauty that is surrounding you and looking UP at the sky, remember that you're really looking OUT. Huh? what's Jake smoking now? Let me elaborate... Aren't we indeed simply stuck to the side of the planet? When you look at a picture of Earth, we're not necessarily on top of it. Nope. We're just stuck to the side of it; all of us just dangling out here on our sides of the rock. Thank God, Buddha, Yahweh, Allah for GRAVITY that is keeping us safe. Gravity is like the guard rail for that oh so exhilirating ride that you've been waiting to get on for like an hour! It's the fence that keeps us from peering too far over the edge of the Golden Gate Bridge. Gravity is our seat belt protecting us from oblivion. Pretty far out huh?

I promise this small activity; this paradigm shift in your thinking will make you feel different about the linear surface of the Earth, that which we often spend too many hours defending our egos, our political borders and religious beliefs.

If I'm in your thoughts, then I'm closer than I'll ever be

jakey

The Art of Being The Fifth Wheel

My dad is doing a lot better. Thank you for all the prayers and positive, healing thoughts. I am humbled. He is scheduled to be here on Monday. I welcome the opportunity to be able to spend Christmas with him. I honestly don't remember the last time we all spent Christmas together as a family. Should be interesting to say the least. Stay tuned for the next episode of "Dysfunctional Family Gone Wild Over Christmas Ham" :)

So prior to the excitement of the past weekend, I actually had a really fun Thanksgiving. It's been a while since I did the whole song and dance of splitting celebration. Goes with the territory when you're in a relationship. "Okay honey, who gets lunch and who gets dinner this year?" bit. I haven't had to worry about that for close to 3 years now and I have to say that it's been a nice break to not have to run around like a headless chicken...err...turkey :) This year though the monotony was broken. I had lunch with family and then dinner at my boss' house. Any time spent with the fam is guaranteed good times. Staying true to being the perpetual family ham, watch this and laugh with me...

Dinner at my boss' house was super fun as well. I ate like it was going out of style and drank a good amount of wine. After dinner, we played Mafia. This is hands down THE COOLEST GAME EVER!!! So being raised in a military like environment, a paid assassin for a father (an exaggeration of course, but you get my point) and a trained shot, I totally rocked the game. Every single time I called out the Mafia, I was dead on (no pun intended). It's easy though. People can be so transparent especially when they are inebriated. Ahmad, my boss, did the best God voice.

The 25 pounder birdie

And of course sticking to our shopping tradition and when I say tradition, it means that this is only the 2nd year we have done this. My mom, her manfriend ( I would say boyfriend but he's too mature to be called that), my sister, her partner and I made our way to Vegas for our annual after Thanksgiving shopping madness! Yes, I am the perpetual 3rd, 13th, or in this case the 5th wheel. I don't mind it at all though. I have mastered the art. Being the 5th wheel is no easy task. There's more people to keep track off and in making sure that I spend an equal amount of time with each person. I have to be sensitive to their alone time or intuitive enough to know when it's time for me to butt-in to their conversation that is fast becoming an argument. There is a fine balance to it. And if you're buying into all of this, then I must say that, I have also mastered the art of bullshitting :)

We left home around 12:30 in the morning. Armed with my iPod, Po, and a blanket I slept most of the way through, aside from the occasional bathroom breaks. Got to town at around 8:30ish in the morning and went straight to the outlets and shopped our patooties off. Needless to say, by the time we checked into the hotel later on that evening I pretty much passed out.

Geek in the Pink

View from our room

Her name is Eli...so cute!




Don't sweat the small stuff...love the small stuff :)

jakey

Stepping out for a bit...

This morning I woke up and my voice is gone. My thoughts are weary from events of the past couple of days. I am not present for your smile, hug or your generous listening. Today I give my all to the quiet devotion of prayer.

My dad had a stroke over the weekend. The stubborn being that he is helped himself with extra servings of the Thanksgiving turkey, ham and whatever else that was served to him. He had a quadruple by-pass about ten years ago so he should have known better. Tempting nature is never a good thing. He’s in a stable condition for now and his high blood pressure is mostly reversed but he’s not completely out of the woods yet. We’re supposed to get the MRI results by tomorrow to find out the percentage of the damage. I am grateful that he’s in a better disposition. I was at a loss when I heard of the news since I just made my peace with him not too long ago.

Today my energy falls short and my vocal adrift leaving me vacant as the wind of silence passes through me. I liken it to the weight of a broken heart. The clouds of potential thoughts are heavy today. It feels like rain.

The littlest warrior inside of me is screaming: It can’t rain all the time. The sun will come out. My voice will be heard. To let the rain stop me would be to let my mind stop me from living. And so, I take cover under the umbrella of my beloved…

jakey

Dear Gym Membership Card

I’m sorry for the way I’ve been neglecting you. I’ve been a shitty work out partner. Not only have I NOT been gracing you with my presence, but I’ve been starving you of the electronic scanner barcode thingy-majiggy and I know how much you love that sweet beeping sound of approval. I’ve been a deadbeat friend and I aim to make it up to you.

I have written a similar note of apology to your friends, the Stairmaster, treadmill and free weights. Gym card, I’m surprised you didn’t suffocate, lost at the bottom of my gym bag, smothered under some Luna bars, thirsty for air

Please don’t be jealous of the outdoor trails as you can sense we’ve been spending more time together. I’m not playing favorites. In fact I couldn’t have done all the hiking I’ve been doing if it weren’t for your initial help. Here take a look at some of the pictures I have taken where I’ve been spending loads of time.

Supposedly, the color of my Aura is Amber




View from Mountain Home Inn, Mill Valley




So Gym Membership Card, Dear, Snookums, thank you for hanging in there through all the recuperation time of the surgery and the beautiful summer weather.

With that being said, seeing you last night was amazing. Hanging out with the Precor machine for 45 minutes was intense. Sweat dripping down my body, blood pumping through my veins, and the music in my iPod cheering me on. No one else can make me blush and give my endorphins a run for its money. Oh, and free weights, you are still my favorite but let’s keep that between us. We’ve got a lot of work to do. You will help me get back in shape for the summer. I will be learning how to surf which requires a lot of upper body strength and then a marathon which means my legs and my ticker have to be in tip-top shape. So you see gym, we will be seeing a lot of each other. I promise.

P.S. Please don’t be upset if I take a day off every now and then so I can roll around in my Heely’s instead. That's just me being a kid. Hours of fun, here I come!


Love,
Jakey

Shaken and Stirred

Yesterday, as I sat on the rooftop of an apartment building overlooking the skyline of San Francisco, the sun on my back, hot tea on my hand I thought about the semi-warm summers I spent up in Alaska. I thought about the days of swimming in the salmon ladder or jumping off the platform into the cold Alaskan lake. The water temperature was on average about 62-65 degrees and that’s considered warm over there. Thinking back now, I have no idea how I ever managed to not come down with hypothermia or something. Oh that’s right, it must have been the cheap bottles of peach flavored schnapps that kept me warm :)

I reminisced about walking down the path leading us to the lake. Carefully setting my belongings down and changing out of my work clothes behind the big oak tree. I tip toe my way to the edge where the water meets the surface; bracing myself for the pretend warmth of the water. I get ready to go in, anticipating the chill in my bones that is about to turn into bumps all over my body. I go in one toe at a time. Minutes passes of me shrieking like a six year old and I am at waist level with my arms up like I’m about to go down a roller coaster ride, frantically shaking it about. My mouth is wide open with excitement, in unison with my body language, it looks as though I want to type something up in the air or maybe doing the Y to the YMCA. In this case, the anticipation is too much. Just go in already!

My dating experience is lot like my swimming story. I meet someone and I sort of test the water at first, one toe at a time. Trying to figure out if I want to get to toe, waist or completely immersed. Each level is equally important which leads to the next step. Each moment is exciting but of course being the semi Type-A person that I am, the risks are calculated and thought heavily upon. I get one shot in this life and I want to make sure that I make the most of it in the best way I know how.

So, being true to my word of trying things once barring drugs or stupid stunts I rode on a motorbike this weekend. WHAT!!! How does little miss calculated risks, type-a personality, my bedspread has to match my curtain be ever talked into riding a pocket-rocket? Well for starters the bike is orange…hee hee :) The owner is ridiculously too cute for his own good, and well, I’ve run out of excuses… So there I was fully garbed in a biker’s jacket, helmet and gloves, my vanity is crying as I hopped on the bike and left my heart in San Francisco on a curb side somewhere in the Mission.

I have to admit though that it was really nice to get from point a to point b in less than 15 minutes when it normally would have taken me close to half an hour in my car. I hung on for my dear life and enjoyed the experience. I have driven across the Golden Gate Bridge numerous times during my short stint of living in Marin but doing it now on a bike, completely exposed to the elements was a whole new level of experience. I was freezing but breaking out in sweat. I was terrified but giddy at the same time. I was a walking, talking contradiction. I saw the James Bond movie as well. Can somebody please explain to me the premise of the movie? Oh wait that’s right, there’s none! Regardless, it was nice to see Daniel Craig for 2 hours as the beautiful being that he is. Little factoid about the movie. It took 14 Aston Martin's to complete the opening car chase scene. The cheapest Aston Martin Vantage V8 is $117,000. Do the math...$1,638,000 to be exact. Wow, they're really banking on this movie to do really well.

Deflating from the excitement of Saturday night, I stayed home yesterday and watched my team, Colts beat the Chargers on SNF. Close game but Manning of course came through like a good man that he is. Just how I like it! Oh yeah, the undefeated Titans were beaten by the Jets! Can you believe it?!?! Brett Favre is tried and tested. He's a real man with a big heart for the game. Sigh!

jakey

Tobias: Perfect in every way even with his extra toe!

The 80's called, they want their ghetto blaster back!

Last night a group of us feasted our ears to the nostalgic music of the 80's at Cat Club in the city. We rocked to Billy Idol, Be-bopped to Cyndi Lauper and got all "Material Girl" on the dance floor. It was crazy good times. The song that's playing in my head right now is YMCA. I met a fire fighter, an Irish bloke, owner of the bar, his bodyguard and of course the obligatory crazy drunk white guy. Together they formed the YMCA boy group. You know what I'm talking about...

80's is A-okay!







Snowflake, Snowshoe, Snowball





Kinesthetics



The bane of my existence!





Irish bloke



Good times!

jakey

I am Agape

Agape love is above philos love and eros love. It is a love that is totally selfless, where a person gives out love to another person even if this act does not benefit her/him in any way. Whether the love given is returned or not, the person continues to love (even without any self-benefit).

Earlier this evening, I went out to dinner with my sisters and talked about our dad. There were times when things got really emotional but as the night wore on, laughter took over. The baggage that we have all been carrying collectively all these years were chucked out the window. I am agape with my sisters. I am so thankful that I have them. They inspire me in ways that no one else can. They wear their hearts out on their sleeves. I am learning. They laugh at my antics. I continue to entertain them. They are the best and worst of critics. I value their opinion.

We are three sisters
Three sisters are we
I love each of you,
And I know you love me

We’re not always together,
Life sometimes keeps us apart.
But we're never separated
We’re in each other's heart.

Now I know we've had our troubles,
But we always get through.
The real message is you love me,
And I also love you.

We have had lots of good times
That we'll never forget
Sometimes we worry
And sometimes we fret

But if God ever gave me
Something special you see,
It might have been the blessing of,
Three sisters are we.

The Lord above has gave me lots
Of happiness and glee
But the most special thing he did was
Make us sisters, all three.

jakey