Tag Archives: the Mission

Goodbye, Crazy June, Lazy June

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June has been an intense month!

One big change up was saying, fondly, gratefully, “goodbye!” to the cafe at House of Air and, breathlessly, excitedly, “hello!” to Coffee Bar. Working both jobs was a bit of a trick, and I’m happy to now be exclusive with the lovely CB. I’m so pumped to be apart of their barista staff.

A big highlight of the month was participating in Hecho Local, a new arts fair that has sprung up in the Mission district at SubMission arts space. It was amazing to be apart of the first round and I’m looking forward to be apart of its growth. Here are some doodles and pictures from the event:

 

Psst! I hear there’s gonna be another Hecho Local in August! Sadly, I will not be there, but GO ANYWAY!

Today is the last day of the online event, 30 days of creativity! This was a great event. It was so much fun to keep track of my creative ways and to see others who embraced the month’s goal. Please, check out my board on Pinterest: This is where I showcased what I did everyday this month.

Happily, I finally got a few days off in a row this week. I was able to catch up on important things like sleep, emails, manga, and doodling. It looked a lot like this…

And this…

What’s coming up? An indie film shoot, the Hot August Tour of CO & KS, and SFZineFest 2011 (oh yeah, we’re gonna be there)!!!

Dancer+Demolition

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The drawing I wanted to post yesterday when I was deep in Tax-land: a doodle of one of my dance teachers. Pencil & ink in my sketchbook.

And today’s spontaneous photo captured while walking in my neighborhood. “Mission demolition”…

Happy Wednesday!

April Summer

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April Summer (in the Mission)

the rare heat,
the damp collection
under my arms,
and sunscreen grease -
a rare happiness
like the Prince cover/folk lady duet:
stand-up bass,
stompin’ powered drums
on the corner -
hot concrete
cooks errands
into meanders
past parklet loungers:
sticky cool
“salt of the earth”
murmurs
“mission mango”
stains
“dias de los Gigantes”
shirts
translate
to tipsy evening
a rare warm one
on 16th between Mission & Valencia
…
we left the jungle behind, right?
but trees grow inside
darker wilderness
than I’ve confronted -
green groves of the interior
a rare sight

Oh, morning! Oh, mornings…

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I love mornings.

When I was… maybe in the 5th or 6th grade, or younger – I’m not sure – I used to get up early and write. I would always make a cup of Earl Gray with too much sugar in the fancy blue cups with the saucers. I’d sit in front of our PC, my mom’s exercise music in the background, and click away in my pajamas. I had aspirations of writing a novel. Young adult, fantasy.

When I was in high school, getting up early was less of a choice and more of a requirement. By then I was making time for yoga, not writing, but I still had to catch the bus. I hated riding the bus, mostly because of the other rowdy teenagers. With no one I ever really knew on that bus to talk to, their chatter seemed crass, overwhelming, infringing on the possible meditations of the hour (poetic snobbery? I am guilty). But I was the first stop, so my only favorite part of the bus ride was the stretch when it was just the bus driver and I, trucking down Gold Camp Road. With the glowing mountains at my back, the still, glimmering city stretched out to the glorious sunrise. The colors in my memory are Intense.

I liked that bus driver. I don’t remember her name now, but we had some good chats on that stretch.

These days, 7:30 is typically my earliest. But this morning, I was awakened by my boyfriend getting an early morning call and suddenly having to head out much earlier than we expected. I found myself sitting in the kitchen alone, with two full cups of Earl Gray, the sink dripping forlornly, and the city starting to buzz. I admire the shade of the sky. The quality of light in the early mornings is what I love most. Is it gray? Pale blue? Tinged with pinks and yellows? Like a perfectly pale streaked Easter egg. Those in between shades…

But what’s my inclination? To write.

Here’s a poem about mornings in my neighborhood that I wrote not too long ago:
mission morning

mission morning
laundry lines
tangled stairs
bright
teal and adobe
mysterious murals
the Green Lady
leads
our search
for 5
interlocked
interpretations

see: bright sky
hear: restaurant clatter
smell: ripe melon
taste: torta gorda
feel: sharp-edged palm leaves
on my cheek
contrasts
your
sweet
kiss

written september.23.2010
remembering september.20.2010

Featured: i live here:SF

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I am thrilled to announce that my story and photos for the amazing blog by Julie Michelle featuring stories by those who live in this city, i live here:SF, went live this morning!

It’s an honest account of how I moved to SF and my experiences living here. I had a great time with Julie doing my photo shoot. She has a warm presence. I’ve always felt at ease with her and her camera. We spent time in my lovely apartment and wandered my neighborhood streets – Hampshire, 19th, Bryant, Harrison, 20th, Shotwell…

I would be honored if you would check it out.

Links:

Me on i live here:SF

i live here:SF home

Julie Michelle

All of my friends are so nice!

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I didn’t quite understand this comic by my friend Amy until today.

I woke up emotional and exhausted. Lately, I’ve been having these nights where I sleep deeply, but I have these crazy dreams that are so intense I wake up feeling like I’ve run a marathon. My brain isn’t resting even when it’s supposed to! Last night was vampires + ice skating + university graduation… WTF? Less amusing, my lower back and hips have been hurting a lot again in the last week. Towards the end of the day I’ll start feeling really sore and tight and then by the time I lie down, it’s painful.

Of course, all of this whining is following a really good Monday yesterday, when I got a TON done, saw friends, got ear acupuncture, so I feel bad for complaining.

Anyway, I went to my chiropractic appointment and almost burst into tears describing my chiropractor how my back and legs were feeling. Luckily, I have the BEST CHIROPRACTOR IN THE WORLD, and he really helped me talk it out, calmed me down, adjusted my spine and my soul, and sent me back into the world feeling so much better.

He reminded me that when I started treatments with him, I was injured and overly emotional about that. I’ve been doing so much better the last couple months really allowing myself to rest, which is hard for a dancer/athlete, but I AM healing. But now I’m on the other end of the spectrum – I’m going through a lot of changes which is emotionally difficult and now my body is reacting to that, asking me to continue to take it easy and be kind to myself. Why is that always the hardest thing to do? Why do I always run myself ragged?

When I got back from my appointment, my new roomie, M, asked me if I wanted to go get a torta with him down on 24th. It was a really simple gesture, but today, it meant a lot. And it was my first torta in the Mission and it was AMAZING. I definitely want to try all the torta places near our place now! Which means I will get increasingly chubby, but it will be sooooooo worth it…

Also, I picked up some flowers for the apartment, to brighten our kitchen. I’ve been missing sunny Colorado a lot these days, and sunflowers always remind me of Bear Creek Canyon in late summer/early fall, bright against that brilliant CO sky…

Maybe the CO vibe somehow inspired my CO BFF to contact me today… a long chat with the MQ is always a life saver!

Lastly, I’m quite pleased with how a new project is turning out… more to come, but here’s a little preview pic…

Now if only I could escape to a nearby mountain for a good hike, I would feel right as rain… hopefully soon! But until then, I really am grateful for the good people I have in my life.