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near work
Was near work when this thing caught my eye. I have no idea what it is, but I like it. It clearly knows what it is. and graffiti artists know what it's good for. it dosn't seem perturbed by its decoration. too busy working, I suppose. 
Perhaps when it grows up, it will run away to join the circus.
parking is hard in san francisco. I will restrain myself from commenting on the sign sign. it speaks for itself. 
3/26/2001 08:48:36 PM | link
sunday fleamaket
it was sunny (briefly) so my sister and I took a short excursion to the alemany fleamarket
If it looks bright and chaotic and full of useless stuff no one would want, you are getting the picture. That's what happens when you visit the fleamarket after noon.
it can be fun to look at some of the old stuff, even if you aren't sure quite what you are looking at.
And of course people watching is always entertainingIn the end, I bought nothing. Not even costume jewelry. I found out my dream couch and chair set had just been sold for 200 bucks. Sigh.
3/25/2001 04:01:05 PM | link
the nice thing
The nice thing about getting married at the city hall is every single time I go by it (and that's often; it's in the heart of san francisco) every single time I feel love and joy and my very great good fortune to have found someone like Philippe. 
More nice things about San Francisco: a street car named desire
old cars in showroom windows and strange sunsets.
3/18/2001 09:25:47 AM | link
sunday nothings in sf
Sunday I went to PBC with Tracy. 
after a couple beers we needed starch. garlic fries are god.
there are some very chi-chi types at PBC.
I biked home in the twilight.
it's always very strange, biking along seeing inside someone's house.
I ride over the freeway. I like to watch the lights draw lines through the dark.
3/12/2001 09:12:58 PM | link
breakfast with erika
always a pleasure.
3/11/2001 07:10:33 AM | link
1 year
My husband and I have been married 1 year. (We still don't live together, but I'll leave my increasing agony over the INS out of this). For our anniversary, we thought we'd explore Morocco together. Here is a brief tale of our trip.(Click any picture to see a larger version)
All pictures shown here were taken with my infamous lousy little digital camera, of which I am most fond. However, nicer picutres are coming as soon as they are developed.
I arrived after dark in Paris. The plan was to spend a couple days there, then fly to Morocco, then back to Paris and back home. We were stumbling around Montematre, when suddenly turning a corner we saw the Sacré Coeur. It's quite lovely at night.
The next day we walked Paris Sometimes I think that Paris was designed just for wandering. It's always a pleasure, and there are always surprises.
We flew out the day after, into Casablanca, where we stayed a day. I fear I didn't take any pictures with my little digital camera here (none that came out anyhow) so it'll have to wait to be chronicled.
In Marrekesh we wandered the streets of the medina for two days. We were badgered to buy and guides insisted they show us around. Maybe we should have accepted, for we got lost over and over again. But we saw a ruined palace and a preserved one, the last covered with wildly intricate carvings. We paused in its central leafy courtyard for the only moment of peace we had in Marrekesh outside of our hotel room. And every night we visited the Djem el Fnaa.
The Djem el Fnaa is a giant plaza at the edge of the Souk (market) in Marrekesh. It is full of arab storytellers, dancers and muscians, snake charmers, fortunetellers, henna painteres and there is a large section of it reserved for food stalls, where they cook everythign from boiled snails and sheep heads (ew) to beautiful fresh fish and lamb brochettes. One can go to a rooftop cafe, as we did, and look down on the excitement.
After Marrakech, we were exhausted by the crazy city, and headed for the peaceful port town of Essouria. Essouria was a hippy retreat in the sixties, and it has become a quiet and relatively clean little town where one can rest, wander the souk without getting harassed, take a camel ride on the beach, eat lovely meals or windsurf. 
It's also a working fishing port, where-- if you stay out of their way-- you can watch fishermen build boats, repair nets, and unload their boats of shiny silvery fish-- sardines.
And of course since Essouria is on the western coast, there were amazing sunsets to enjoy.
After Essouria, we rented a car and headed north back toward Casablanca. We drove along the coast-- empty, near deserted except for the occasional small town usually hosting a lively souk. 
The beaches were amazingly empty. I have never seen such long stretches of beautiful sand unexplored, except occasionally in Northern California when cliffs prevented access. It was probably windsurfer heaven.
We made a brief stop in Safi, know in Morocco to be the pottery capital. There is a hill where they make all the pots, digging the clay out of the hill a few feet from the kilns. 
As we were climbing the hill, we were met by one of the potters, who took us on an impromptu tour of the potterie.
In Morocco you are always begin attacked by guides, but in this case we really didn't mind.
He showed us everything, from where they prepare the clay, to the potters working the wheels, to the kilns to the place where they painted the pots, and 
finally we ended up in a cave full of finished pottery where we had the idea that we really ought to buy something in exchange for the tour.
Our guide then proceeded to take us to shop after shop. We realized we could be taken shopping for hours unless we made our escape. 
I took a final snapshot of the old Portuguese fortress that overlooked the potterie.
We resumed our journey up the coast. It was odd, driving along. We were going at a good clip, but as we drove often children walking along the road would run at our swiftly moving car yelling "stylo, stylo" (French for pen). for some reason this is the common item children beg for. Sometimes I though they would throw themselves in front of our vehicle. Thus we made our way up the coast.
We came to rest for a night in Oulida, a tourist town with not much to recommend it but a cute little cove. We had one of the worst meals of the trip here. Overall the food in morocco was better than I had imagines (and safer-- I'm allergic to chili peppers, and feared I wouldn't be able to eat anything. There was no problem.) The only downside is it was all about the meat. If you were a vegetarian you could get veggie dishes, but they tended to be a pile of mushy vegetables. Not a very happy thing. But if you love fish it was amazing. Beautiful shrimp, fresh fresh fish of many varieties, grilled lobster... not too rough.
From Oulida we shot quickly up the coast, making a brief visit in El Jadida to wander the old Portuguese fortress there, and then we finished in Casablanca, flying back to Paris the next day. It was an adventure.
3/8/2001 08:25:21 AM | link