Category: Uncategorized

The Normal Vacation

Today was the breeze of a first day back at work. It’s easy when day one is working remotely. My computer at home was not quite ready for prime-time Monday, as I got bumped from a few sites I was working on. Whatever, I’m prepared for it all. That’s my attitude after a good vacation and a few days of rest before the grind.

Joel and I got to see five shows in London, all professional quality productions. There were a couple of musicals in there that were wonderful and a drama, where we both got up from our seats and wiped tears away at the end. 

Larry Kramer’s The Normal ❤️ Heart was a powerful play to read but when you put a good National Theatre cast to it…wow. It was a three-hour appeal to action that grabs you and refuses to let go. (I’m still playing back scenes in my head).

As we sat there in the Olivier Theatre wearing our masks, one couldn’t help but notice the irony of connection with Kramer’s urgent message about the powers that be sticking their heads in the sand about the disease and today’s COVID reality. 

The timing, particularly in the UK with Boris Johnson slammed for little action on the COVID front is interesting and adds a 2021 poignancy to it. There are a handful of differences though, the PM acknowledges COVID but says the UK will live with it. In the early days of AIDS politicians (Koch, Reagan) wouldn’t mention it. Newspapers gave it little to no mention. That said, I think Kramer would have roasted Johnson. He doesn’t have patience for inaction.

His main character, Ned Weeks wanted action after gay men start dying. Weeks is fashioned after Kramer’s own story and the start of the Gay Men’s Health Crisis in New York City. Ben Daniels played Weeks with the outrage and fire needed for the part. But really the entire cast moved us with their portrayals. 

The vacation week contained a mixture of light and heavy shows. We opened with a couple of musicals, then Romeo and Juliet at the Globe. We saw Robert Shaw’s son Ian play his dad in The Shark 🦈 is Broken, which is all about the backbiting behind the scenes of Jaws. This was fun and really Ian Shaw is a dead ringer for his pop.

There were some extra hoops to jump through to make the trip happen, but it was worth it. Vacations are essential; bring on the slow computers, and bring on the coffee.

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All the World is a Show

All the World is a show, particularly if you’re inside a theater.

Shows are back in London, and it felt like things were back to normal for at least a couple of hours. Yes, I was double-masked. We had a buffer in the Garrick Theatre of a few rows in the stalls that did not sell, but we’re as COVID careful as we can be.

Honestly, all concern vanished once the show began. I didn’t feel any mask once that first song was underway; that’s the magic of the west end.

The Garrick Theatre was on the ball. All of their communication around the tickets and signage for the performance spoke of requiring masks for the show, and the show-goers for this performance were good with the requirement.

I was pleasantly surprised by The Last 5 Years. I’ve always enjoyed the music from the Jason Robert Brown show, but the movie version underwhelmed me, and it consequently put me off from seeing the stage version. That was a mistake. The hook in this failed relationship musical is that the two leads are going in the opposite direction. Jamie is singing from the beginning of the relationship and Cathy from the end. Part of the creativity here relies on the audience to fill in these scenes based on the songs. The only thing on the stage is a piano, and the two performers sing their parts leading to their story. Jonathon Boyle’s brilliant minimalist direction lets the words in each song have their effect: one actor would sing like the other plays on the piano or becomes a prop in their partner’s rendition.

Oli Higginson was powerful as Jamie, an author whose star is rising while meeting his “Shiksa Goddess.” Molly Lynch’s Cathy is effectively sympathetic, a role I found more cold in the film. She evened out that performance for me; I thought Lynch was fine. The show, as presented, has a real nightclub feel.

It was a Theater Thursday in London, so after a brief coffee break, we were off to the Barbican Theatre. Unfortunately, it was a different mask experience. The folks sitting to my right had masked, but the two older women to Joel’s left could not be bothered. We had one seat there as a buffer (Garry’s chair and had he been there, he would have left).

Sutton Foster did not disappoint. Anything Goes is a pure old-fashioned show with numbers and schtick that kept this audience afloat for the three-hour cruise. Foster is so incredibly solid as Reno Sweeney. When I heard Megan Mullaly had dropped and Foster would take over, that’s the moment we bought tickets.

Actually we overheard a story in the row behind us regarding what happened with Mullaly. I don’t know if this is accurate so take it with a grain of salt but according to the row behind she left because she couldn’t do all the tap choreography and tried to get it completely cut from the show. When Foster was called she only agreed to do it with all the tap back in. Anyway, the tap dance numbers were very good. The show of course was an evening of Cole Porter classics, Foster, Robert Lindsay and the talented cast made sure Anything Goes was a night we wouldn’t forget.

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City Scrape

I am very happy to see some fog today. This week has been a touch of summer, peaking around 80 degrees per day (since Monday). And like ice cream I melt into a sweet puddle of dissipating ambition. Its puffy existence obstructing the sun early Thursday.

I headed out to Union Square around 10:30 a.m.. There was a small line of tourists waiting for the Powell Street cable car. You can immediately hear the noise of the car on the cable when ascending from the metro underneath. 

It’s the scraping metal of normalcy here. Folks out and about hitting the shops, asking change for $100, or peddling hot dogs. The square itself is fraught with squatters; humans and bird’s alike caffeinating and picking at anything.

We are the masked marauders of the city walking up and down these cement hills. I’m heading up to an old deco building to get my usual teeth cleaning. Dentist visits aren’t my favorite, but I keep up with it. It helps that they are friendly people. 

My dentist is on the same block as a theater we used to have a subscription with then the pandemic hit. I’m happy to see they are going again. They began with shows online first, now they are offering both options. Different avenues for theater is a good thing in general. I do prefer a live performance. It’s a different sensation.

My dentist is always chatty. I find it a bit challenging to meet her level of chat with a drill in my mouth. The best I can do is a gurgling noise to indicate I’ve heard the statement. To her credit: she can translate gargle.  

After the usual scraping of she recommends invisalign for my lower half as a few of my teeth want to go in different directions. I sigh, wondering who I’ll be putting through college. I know she is right though and it needs to happen, at least the cleaning is covered with insurance. Can we agree that dental insurance in the United States is not adequate?

Back outside San Francisco decides to be warmer. I guess it’s time to get some sun for a couple of hours before the fog rolls in. It will be a beautiful night. Maybe the not-so-full moon will be shining down over the palm tree outback.

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The Sand Princess

I had a wild dream. It was a musical about Betty Knox, a vaudevillian back in the thirties who was part of a trio known as Wilson, Keppel, and Betty. She would later work as a journalist for the London Evening Standard. Her daughter became the next Betty. Anyway, the sand concept is a routine they did: the Sand Dance. In the dream, the musical was: The Sand Princess, and it was about her life, the highlights of it, which were plenty.

Some of thy lyrics to one of the songs I tried to piece together; however (below), it’s hard to remember actual specifics in the dream. I remember the entire stage covered with sand. The actors all looked like something out of Dune. It was a spectacle in my head, LOL.

Think your life is in the tank,
Don’t have two coins in the bank,

Grab your stuff,
Call their bluff,

Dreams are nuthin’ without a push,
Move those feet, get off your tush,

Squash that frown,
Take it out of town,

Let ’em eat dirt,
Let ’em pound sand,
Let ’em pound sand…

With some dreams, I have to wonder where the heck did they came from, but this one was pretty obvious to me. A friend from London had sent me the youtube link to the vaudeville number, and then I read up about the act. I read about Betty Knox and found her fascinating. She is a musical waiting to happen.

Betty Knox
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Knox

The Sand Dance

https://youtube.com/watch?v=bq7DGvfnr3U&feature=share

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Speedy September

Does anybody else feel that September is flying?

With some September rain predictions, unusually early in San Francisco, I guess it does already feel like October but seriously this month has been a blur. I mean, I feel like I’m looking up from my desk and September 20th is Monday.

Perhaps this is a positive sign. Life as we know it continues to change around us and we try to catch up with and adjust to it: vaccine cards, COVID tests, masks, etc. If the days are going quickly maybe psychologically we’re expecting change and are more ready to roll with it. However, it could also mean we’re busier than usual and there is more stuff on your plate to juggle.

Luna started limping again last week. Her hind left leg. This strain is not a new thing as she had a similar injury several months ago. Then, the Vet gave us pain and anti-inflammatory meds and it subsided. It’s back and X-Rays are saying operate. She’s got a tear in there. We’ve got her on meds until the procedure on Friday.

She’s in real good hands. We like our Vets and so does Luna. They’ve already done her right knee a few years prior and that worked out great. Currently, the doggie drugs are helping and she’s not even limping.

I really can’t forget her grogginess with the last operation. I had to carry a 65 pound pit bull up the stairs carefully. She stood halfway in the foyer and living room staring ahead, unmoving for the longest time as if in a trance. It took her a bit to shake off those meds.

Hopefully that’s the last big operation Luna will have to deal with but with dogs there are no guarantees. We want to keep her happy and healthy. She is a sweet thing.

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Anything Goes

I’m relaxing while listening to some lively tunes from Willie Colon. The SF skies are promising a little rain but that’s coming a little later. We could use some. Bring it.

Over here it’s a countdown to the October London trip. Joel will be flying to San Francisco (from Vegas) overnight then we are on a big bird flying across the pond on a non-stopper. Garry is not ready to get on a flight so Delta set him up with an ecredit, which is a nice way of saying: we don’t want to give you the money back.

The curveballs are beginning to happen. Delta / Virgin shutting down our return flight (not enough people?) and putting us on a plane that would give us an extra day in London. I immediately requested a change in my Airbnb for another day. Meanwhile, we are trying to move Joel’s seat but it can’t be done on the Virgin site so a phone call on their time zone is required.

All in all, I’m happy we didn’t make the COVID test appointments yet (UK side) as they’ve announced some changes that I have to find out about. The best advice I can give to anyone planning international travel today is to stay on top of things and be flexible (if you can) because anything goes.

It looks like Brits are tired of losing out on tourist money so now they are easing things early in October. It may translate into taking a cheaper COVID test coming back. We will see.

If we actually get to do it, it’ll be my first international trip since the world went COVID. London is making more sense as the first travel leap since before the lockdown. I feel comfortable there, the theatre, the museums, and all the great city walking. 

We will be double masking for theater. #suttonfoster

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Thursday

It’s a Thursday in late July, Fog City was doing its best to represent with a cool 55-degree outlook. The coffee was flowing because I care deeply for all the living things around me. Garry, who was awake earlier, left some for me in the coffee maker. I think I’ll keep him.

My half week at work turned out to be pretty busy and that’s normal for post-end-of-year inventory. I mean it makes perfect sense when we are in the middle of inventory, every other thing stops. When we are done with that, the floodgates open. The next few weeks will be more of the same.

I’ve got some website updates to do today for a client but otherwise, the weekend has begun. The only thing I’ve got scheduled over the weekend is a softball game Sunday. The potential for a really lazy weekend exists but I’ll throw in a few chores to keep it real.

We will actually miss the Russian River Softball Tournament this year. This is that weekend but the team didn’t vote to do it this year so the league kept us on schedule with a regular-season game. My wallet is alright with this decision. We did Denver. We did Seattle. At the end of August, we will be in Columbus, Ohio for an entire week and absolutely none of it’s free. The river would have tacked on an extra $700-900 to my softball budget. I enjoy the river but I definitely choose the Gay World Series over it.

It’s been a fun softball year. Our team has undergone some changes with new fun additions. There continues to be a sense of relief and gratefulness of being able to play this year. We started the season a month later due to COVID restrictions from the winter. The league was able to open up in April. We had almost a month off between mid-June and mid-July, in what was deemed as the first half of the season and the second half. It will be the first time the schedule pulls us into August, as our last game is the first of the month.

Thankfully, I’m playing pain and injury-free. I’m in my mid-50’s and still running around the bases with these youngsters. I’ll do it for as long as I can.

For now, though the coffee is flowing, the sun will break through the clouds in the next hour or so, my pitbull will finally wake up and look at me as if to say; “let’s get cracking, I’ve got to get out there and smell stuff.” It’s Thursday.

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Moments of Normalcy

It was a particularly lazy Saturday. There was sun early but all fog later. I made patatas sin bravas for dinner (roasted potatoes) and albondigas to round out the tapas fare. Luna, my precocious pit got into the napping action, here and there but mostly when there wasn’t eating happening.

I am not a real successful napper. It’s certainly not without trying. I lay there and close my eyes like a good sport. Every time I try to count sheep I lose count, then I try to start back at the beginning but those animals never cooperate. They are too busy voting for the wrong candidate or not vaccinating.

Tomorrow’s single softball game is a far cry from the seven games we played in Seattle last weekend but I will take it. This will be the first year that the SFGSL (San Francisco Gay Softball League) ends on the first weekend of August but that’s because of the late COVID start. The fact that we are getting a season in at all is fantastic.

We were able to travel and play in Denver and Seattle. No one got sick or tested positive for COVID-19. We are all vaccinated but can still get COVID (Don’t tell the sheep). Still up ahead for us is the Gay Softball World Series and I’m seriously committed to the week-long tournament in Columbus, Ohio. And yes, I’m reading up about the Delta variant and am not liking the spikes I see across the country. What can I say? I still have my mask and will use it around other folks. I’ll avoid crowds. I’m still planning on going for the time being. It’s our Comic-Con.

Seattle was great fun, aside from going 3-4, other teams were friendly and the weather was warm. We played ball during the day and had meals in a few places (that could sit a large group). It was also great to catch up with my old friend and teammate Jesse Fierro. It was really a weekend of regular life.

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Quality of Work

I’m back down to one day of working remotely. I’ll make a weekly appearance in our Pacific Heights campus but work a couple of days in the Mission. This is roughly what it was before the pandemic and it suits me fine. I love seeing all the doggies. There were some nice perks to working at home. If my dog could speak she would talk at length about it (for the price of a treat).

Anyway after several months of having one schedule, I have another one and there really was no adjustment period. I dove in. Well, I did forget my sandwich card and Tuesday’s is a double-stamp sandwich day but what are you going to do? It doesn’t always rain free lunch in the city, sometimes you get fog spit.

With more face time you tend to bump into familiar faces “Is Luna here, “ someone I know from softball asked, when spotting me, “She is fine, I work here”. We actually take her to a more local vet that we like but on off hours we have made the trip to the Pacific Heights campus. She has been pretty healthy overall. “I thought you were at the Mint, “ he said. “Ah, that was several years ago.” That was back when I was walking around town like a mummy version of myself, working graveyard shift and not sleeping, I thought but didn’t share.

It was nice to make the coins for a bit but the law of average catches up to you. You keep flipping coins, it’s going to be tails sometimes and that’s okay but I didn’t want to live in tails, I didn’t want to work another 20 years in there, until I retire. I believe in having some quality of life even during my working years. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to want time off and a regular sleep schedule.

I was pretty lucky to hook on with such a feel good pet organization. They do great work in the community and I feel like a cog in that machine, making sure the hospitals have their drugs.

After my softball acquaintance placed his little dog in the car. I asked, “and how is your dog?” “He’s got an ear infection. They gave me drops to take home.” I nodded, yeah, we got those. The coins we made at the mint were for coin collectors and while that was interesting, it was completely devoid of any personal satisfaction, in that the coins weren’t necessarily helping anyone. It’s one of the reasons I enjoyed my time with the American Red Cross and now with the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, I can get behind the endgame of that organization. It makes a difference to me.

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Pulling the Blinds Back

April 21 is almost over. Life as we knew it before the pandemic is peeking in, like sunlight in mostly closed blinds. Exterior activity that was already pretty lively in the city has a new mask-free lease on life, following the latest CDC recommendations.

I’m heartened by the vac numbers, locally and beyond. Where the country began so poorly in managing this effort, they have reversed course. Effective leadership makes a difference.

Physically, I’ve felt like a bear slowly coming out of hibernation. The new softball season began on April 18 with a doubleheader, then some of us had lunch. It seemed to mark the longest stint I’ve had outside with a group of (vaccinated) people in a long time. The off-season practices have kept me with at least a paw in the sunlight, but it’s fair to say I’ve had a hermit-like year and even more thankful for the company of my husband and my dog.

Between the weeding and the fact that it’s bloom time of the year, the garden is exploding in color. One thing that didn’t make it this season was the stinky Voodoo Lily, a certain pit bull that will go nameless, flattened it in one of her many wild runs. It’s impressive that we have plants.

Yesterday I walked to the BART train station without a mask. It felt good and weird. Like a gunslinger, I had it, at the ready, in my pocket should I encounter other town folks. You’ve got to be careful here in the Wild West; folks will pop out of anywhere. And naturally, my cloth barrier was back on before I entered transportation. This is where I’m at.

Next week, I’m rolling up some blinds, as my friend Joel (vaccinated) is visiting from Las Vegas. I’m looking forward to catching up and talking about our fall travel trip to London (we hope). If theater is happening again, I want to check it out.

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