The Daily Sabs

This afternoon dk told me that my outfit coloring made her think of a
1960s kitchen. Olive green tights, camel colored sweater, and a mumu
with mustards, oranges and hot pinks. I would actually like to find a
set of pans that match.

I love this dress although to be honest it could really use some darts
and some shape (I've got it pulled back a bit in the photo). It's too
big to belt (it ends up being too big and bunches up awkwardly) so I
end up looking like a pregnant lady. Maybe I can use it to trick
people into giving me their seats on the muni.

Ps. This is the mirror in the work bathroom. I find it odd that i
match my surroundings. Also, it is sadly the only actual full length
mirror in my life. The weird 60s era copper closet piecemeal mirror
doesn't really count.

Growing up, my family always decorated for Christmas the weekend
following thanksgiving. I haven't always kept up the tradition, but
this year it felt right. Although I'm not really sure why, it was 75
degrees here in San Francisco, not exactly holiday weather.

After a full morning of errands (and a giant carnitas torta), Randall
and I set foot in the warm sunshine and picked out a Christmas tree. I
must admit that it felt a bit disconnected to do so. We ended up going
for this lil' six feet tall guy. It fits the space well and is a good
size for just the two of us. When we mounted it to the tree stand, we
ended up having to cut off a few of the branches on the bottom.
Instead of tossing them out, I went all martha Stewart and turned the
branches into a wreath. I'd never made a wreath before so it's a bit
wild in parts. It's fun though and I'm happy with how it turned out.

But I've never been good at listening.

This is my brother bao. Today is his birthday. Usually we do a few
candles in a turkey, but today we decided to celebrate pig family
style. We started with soup dumplings at shanghai house and ended with
homemade chicken tortilla soup and chocolate-cinnamon cake.

It's weird, sometimes I think bao and I don't look much alike, but
other times I do. Samshrew says we look like twins in this picture. I
think it's because bao and i have the same guffaw.

geoloc

This morning Randall and I woke up earlier than usual in order to pick
up his grandma and head to his parents house. The whole journey was
supposed to take about 4 hours. I figured it would take closer to 5
and a half -- there was even a who has to clean the bathroom next bet
riding on it -- but I was wrong. We left early enough to avoid traffic
and that combined with randall's driving meant that it only took 3 and
a half.

Dinner at his parents' house was really nice and almost tv-like in the
way it looked. They had a huge feast and all nine of us ate our fill.
In fact the side dishes kept coming, I wasn't sure there would be room
on my plate for everything (don't worry, I found some).

While the adults chatted, the young neice and nephew went through old
toys. Inside one of the boxes was this guy. I think he looks just like
Randall. It even has his pastyness and messy hair. I wanted to steal
it just so Randall could put on an identical outfit and pose with this
guy in random places. Maybe next year.

Ps. Despite having been a couple for nearly ten years, this was only
my second time to randall's parents' house. Going there and seeing the
place up on the mountain -- seriously, we had to leave our car at the
bottom of the hill it wouldn't make it -- really makes me understand
why Randall is the way he is.

I've been really busy at work lately, and so when this week started I
already felt over it. The short week fever was in the air and I just
wanted to get out there. Lucky for me a project I was working on
finished up on Tuesday and so I decided to bail on today. However I
didn't really want to sit around doing nothing, so I found a few
places to hang out.

First up was 826 Valencia where I helped Erin and the rest of gang
stick preforated tabs and addresses on the holiday fundraiser mailer.
It was a few hours of sticking and labeling, and it was an oddly
almost fun time. I love what 826 does and have always wanted to help
out. I just never had the chance or got around to it. So while there I
agreed to start helping out on a weekly basis. I figured i might as
well put my actions where my mouth is.

Afterwards I headed over to Martin de porres over on potrero to help
out with thanksgiving dinner prep. I'd never helped out there before,
but I called yesterday and they told me that they'd love the help.
Martin's is a soup kitchen/free restaurant where folks can come get a
homemade meal and a hot shower. If you're looking for a place to lend
a hand they could always use one. They're looking for folks who can
commit. Randall and I are thinking of going once a month if their
weekend needs match our availability.

Yes. I have been hit by the volunteer bug. But I've been saying this
for a long time. Like I said, it's about time to put my words into
action.

Ps. While at 826 Dave eggers stopped by. I loved that he didn't know
the mailer letter was (supposedly) co-written by him.

Pps. I wanted to take a pic with the folks at martins, but we were all
too busy and then it felt weird when there were just a few folks left.

After work anneh and I hit up Target. We were killing time before
picking up her mom betty at the airport. Amazingly I bought nothing --
that might be a target first.

Ps. This is Betty and I laughing at anneh. I'm sure we must've had a
good reason.

back in college i went through a plaid phase. i don't think it was as much a love of plaid as it was a love for old man pants. whenever i'd hit up the thrift store, i'd make sure to peruse the old man polyester plaid pant section for new duds. it lasted a few years (in fact there was one year where i think i wore exclusively plaid old man pants, dumb t-shirts and cardigan sweaters), and then it went away. it wasn't sudden, but one day i realized the plants had all been phased out. my plaid

a few years ago, i found this pair. and they weren't used, or old, and they're actually cut for women. i don't wear them that often, because for some reason people notice when you're in plaid pants. but every time i put them on, i think about being young and hanging around doing nothing in particular.

generally speaking, i am not a pillar of strength. while i don't cry often, when pushed emotionally i tend to become a blubbery crybaby. however these days it seems like it's my turn to be a rock. i'm sure it's a lame mushy sort of rock, covered in algae, but it's a rock nonetheless.

Today I steered my life downtown for the Randall beautification
project. He's not much of a shopper but has an upcoming meeting that
calls for something that, well, looks less than three years old and
isn't covered in funny animals. It was definitely a long and
exhausting excursion but luckily I found a boat wheel to make sure we
were right on course.

Ps. My favorite part of the day was that fact that we were able to run
all these errands, eat lunch at a great sandwich place, and yet never
once had to get into a car.