Sam and Kim’s San Francisco trip

mighty-sam and kimatha came to San Francisco last week! We met at their hotel at Fisherman’s Wharf then walked to the Top of the Mark via the Embarcadero. After a refreshing, if brief, round of drinks, we had dinner at Fino’s. I had the salmon and vegetable pasta–delicious! Then we walked back to their hotel via Leavenworth. It’s a delight to talk with them (How many people do you know have been serenaded by Anne Margaret over a can of baked beans?), and I highly recommend their company if you ever get the chance to meet them.

Sam and Kim at the Top of the Mark:

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Happy Easter!

I had a great weekend. Dinner with friends on Friday, waffle-ganza on Saturday, and Easter brunch on Sunday. Thanks everyone for making my weekend so much fun!

Picture via riotclitshave.

Liberty on the Rocks: Thirsty Bear

Turnout was quite high — I’d guess probably 30-35 people. The place was packed, though most of that was due to Mac World, I’d guess.

Cheryl Cline
Liberty on the Rocks - Thirsty Bear

I don’t remember his name, unfortunately. He’s a filmmaker of some sort.
Liberty on the Rocks - Thirsty Bear

Seditious Mission
Liberty on the Rocks - Thirsty Bear

Justine, organizer of Liberty On the Rocks
Liberty on the Rocks - Thirsty Bear

Nathan and Justine
Liberty on the Rocks - Thirsty Bear

The best thing you can do for your life is surround yourself with good people

Wise words from boffo:

If you choose friends and/or lovers who are constantly spewing drama, pain, negativity, and sadness, then your life will be filled with drama, pain, negativity, and sadness. But if you avoid those people and instead choose friends/lovers who generate joy, fun, and affection, your life will be filled with joy, fun, and affection. That’s way better.

It’s also a good idea to think about which category *you* fall into. If you’re constantly spewing drama, pain, negativity, and sadness, not only will you be compounding the drama, pain, negativity, and sadness in your life yourself, but you’ll also miss out on some wonderful friendships because the best people won’t be willing to hang out with someone like you.

I would add indifference to the list of things to avoid. I don’t think I have any friends who consistently bring negative emotion into my life. But in the past, I’ve sometimes pursued relationships too long, when it was clear that the person I liked didn’t feel the same way about me. The person did nothing bad, they just didn’t reciprocate. And sometimes I’ve neglected those who have been enthusiastic cheerleaders for me. It would be better to redirect my energies to nurturing my already healthy friendships, and to let the sickly ones quietly fade away.

To those to whom I have been a source of pain or negativity, my apologies. And to those I’ve neglected, I’ll try to be a better friend.

And to those who have been good friends to me: my thanks.

Marcus’s first birthday

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Marcus II: Goodnight Moon

Marcus II: I bet I can eat that

Nom, Nom, Nom
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Wall-E, Herbivore, Salsa, Places in the Heart

WALL-E is superb. Go see it!

****POSSIBLE MILD SPOILERS****
My only criticism: I thought it had an excessively pessimistic view of the future of humanity. The movie depicted humans as rotund, bland cruise ship passengers, incapable of even walking without the help of their ubiquitous robot servants. And due to reckless disregard for the environment, the earth has been turned into a gigantic toxic waste dump.

I don’t think that’s happening. If anything, I think humans have become much more capable, complex beings than they were 100 years ago. And the environment is cleaner now (in the west), due to increases in wealth and knowledge. And I expect that trend to continue, as we become ever more efficient.
****END MILD SPOILERS

Today, I had lunch today with James, Kim, Alex, Darryl, and Kai, in honor of Alex’s soon departure for London. We were originally scheduled to have brunch at Universal, but it was too crowded. So, at Kai’s suggestion, we relocated to Herbivore. I had the green papaya salad. I’d never had it before, and I was expecting a green salad, with chunks of papaya added. It was, in fact, a huge mound of shredded papaya. A little would’ve been okay, but as an entire dish it was too much. I liked the decor though, and everyone else seemed to like their dishes. I’d go again.

It was fun to watch Kim’s reactions to the boy talk.

Immediately afterward I had private salsa lessons. I really should film myself. I’m sure my moves right now are comic gold.

After salsa, a nap.

Then dinner with Carly, Doug and Marcus. They’ve been in the typical new baby hermit mode–this was the first time I’ve hung out with them since Marcus was born six months ago. We had steak, baked salmon, fruit salad, and mashed potatoes. So yummy. Then we watched Places of the Heart. Sally Fields was so cute!

A fun weekend.

Carly and Marcus

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Anyone know “izuminka”?

Any of my Boston/Cambridge/New York readers know this woman? A friend of mine would like to be introduced to her, and her OKCupid profile seems to be dormant (no login since August 1, 2007).