good-bye mister rogers
I can’t believe he’s gone….I’m so sad….he was this timeless icon and possible, just underneath the surface, I thought he wouldn’t leave….
February 27, 2003
February 24, 2003
adventures of model boy…part2
model boy strolls into the hair salon for his free cut….she said his hair was soft, but very thick…
saturday rolled around and model boy was ready for his hair cut….just earlier that day he was pumping iron at the gym.
We drove down to Chinatown, Oakland. We found the salon, just a few blocks away from the main parking garage. The sun glinted off his glossy mane, as we walked around.
Everyone wanted a piece of model boy….even the pinay hostesss at lunch, didn’t want us to leave. She offered him some “dessert”….but he was so noble and he didn’t want to be late for his hair cut. (did I forget to mention that it was FREE?)
as he sat down smoothly into the styling chair, he chatted about life from buffalo, to berkeley, and about his stylist’s aspirations for her a salon of her own…
she said his hair felt soft, but thick….i’m sure this was a dream come true, for her….
maybe someday - he’ll find this name among other famous redheads…
let’s see…since the world doesn’t revolve around model boy - I should tell you about the other cool stuff that happened this weekend….
we had a lovely spot of tea at Celadon. It was a bit expensive, but it was also a relaxing experience. They don’t serve cream or sugar with their teas, so that one can get the full experience and enjoy the flavor…I leafed through a children’s book on the orgins of tea. According to this book, the bhodi-dharma was old and pissed off that he kept falling alseep - so he cut off his eyelids. Buddha saw that he was suffering, so he told him to bury his eyelids into the ground and tea bush sprang up. Then he chewed on the tea leaves and found that he felt awake and ready to do more meditating. Try imagining that - bloody eyelids….ewww…..
Yesterday, I took a JapanTown Walking Tour, with the Loteria gang…we checked out some, historical stuff, old bordellos, a mystery house, and a swastika on the cornerstone of a Buddhist Church. Thankfully, we didn’t come close to getting arrested on this adventure. We certainly got sided-tracked at the garage sale - a benefit for a Shinto Temple…oops…not Shinto - but the Konko Church. I also found out about what areas were considered part of Japantown - like the Queen Anne Hotel on Sutter Street.
by the way….
have you lost it?
the worst Caramel Macchiato…ever
it’s a miss…a big fat, disappointing miss for *$ stores
yesterday, after our cool little outing to the city, I had a craving for some coffee. We were driving back to Berkeley and we thought we could stop at the Starbucks in Emeryville….we should have kept driving.
The parking lot was sooooo crowded…plenty of bad drivers about - but you can’t blame Buckie’s for that.
Mark had to hit th restroom, so I waited in the long long line. It was a busy day - but you can’t blame Buckie’s for that.
Mark came back, thoroughly disgusted with the bathrooms. It was dirty, lacked toliet paper, and you could see they were cutting corners - instead of soap in the dispenser, there was water. Since I use to work at the store, I know it’s not acceptable or even sanitary to leave your facilities in such a disarray - but I can understand how difficult it is to maintain them, with a small Sunday crew.
I wanted a toffee nut latte - but they ran out of syrup. It’s a new drink and it’s popular. You can’t blame Buckie’s for that.
So, I ordered a triple grande non-fat Caramel Macchiato. Before I ordered it, I read the sign - “you will be charged extra for extra carmel”.
When I got my drink back - it tasted HORRIBLE
at first thought since they were a carmel conservation kick - that the drink lacked the syruppy sweetness. I took a few more sips as we drove back to Berkeley. Then, my Starbucks training from last year kicked in - I realized that the barista pulled a very long shot. Argh! I was pissed. I wanted to drive back and demand they re-make it for me. Then I remembered the parking lot and I let it go - it wasn’t worth the additional frustration of parking. But I vowed to never step foot in that starbucks again.
What’s a long shot? Well, here’s a little lesson -
Next time you’re at a Starbucks, make your way over to the espresso bar - position yourself as close to the barista’s vantage point as possible. After she pulls the grounded espresso and pops it into the machine, to brew it with hot water - notice the timer ticking off seconds as the espresso brews into the shot glass. Then remember this table:
- 0-13 seconds = Ristretta (sp?) - some people want a 1/2 shot of espresso in their drinks - a very light tasting thing
- 13-18 seconds = a short shot and a weak drink. It doesn’t taste good and it looks light brown in the shot glass. give it back! tell them to make you another one!
- 18-23 seconds = a good shot - the espresso taste nutty and bold, with a slight carmel aftertaste (from the crema). in the shot glass you can see the three different colored layers, the lightest one being the creme.
- 23-beyond = a long shot - it taste bitter, like old coffee and it’s nasty. it’s the one I got. I wasn’t able to see the shot glass, but it pours out a dark, almost black, gucky substance - give it back! tell them to make you another one!
I could have went to the Starbucks at Barnes and Noble - but I didn’t want to pay a dollar for the damn parking structure….now I realize, I should have forked over the Washington, because I wasted more than $3.00 on a lousy drink.
February 21, 2003
sunny day….
ìSunny day, sweepiní the clouds away,
On my way to where the air is sweet,
Can you tell me how to get,
How to get to Sesame Street?î
so, yesterday was a bit gray….mark was able to jet out earlier, so he brought the car around to the front. by the time i headed up the stairs to meet him, his car was boxed in by a truck (without a driver) and a mean lookin’ asian chick in a grey honda.
i doubled checked and confirmed that our straight-forward exit was out of comission….the truck can’t drive itself. so mark started backing up.
now - a normal, sane, human being would have saw this situation and shifted his/her car in reverse as well, right? i’m not like, jumping to conclusions here? no? well - mean looking asian chick stayed planted in place, not giving an inch to the slowly reversing Saturn. I turned around and motioned to move back.
she rolled her eyes at me
after a few minutes, mark austin powered his way to an opening in traffic and I turned around to wave good-bye to the bitch.
that was yesterday.
the sun came out today 
and people were just nicer.
and now…
funny joke from maxim…
Zen and How
A Zen master visiting New York City goes up to a hot dog vendor and says, “Make me one with everything.”
The hot dog vendor fixes a hot dog and hands it to the Zen master, who pays with a $20 bill.
The vendor puts the bill in the cashbox and closes it. “Excuse me, but whereís my change?” asks the Zen master.
The vendor responds, “Change must come from within.”
February 20, 2003
orgins of model boy….
you can be a star! just walk down college ave and look for a hair stylist with a portfolio to complete…
Gau and I had to come up with a ghetto name for Mark. This was when we headed over to the Paramount Theater to catch the bond classic - “Goldfinger” (and I don’t care what you say, Sean Connery is the only Bond - shaken and not stirred….)
Our ghetto posse was not complete:
- Gau = g-money (damn, he got a good one!)
- me = special K (can I get a wha wha?)
- Mark = ????
Then I remebered that fateful day…when Mark was discovered…
after lunch, Mark and I walked down college ave and a cute asian chick in a tiny baby t-shirt stopped Mark.
“Do you want a free haircut?”
Obviously, she was taken in by his un-tamed, rebellious hair and bold faced walk….and apparently, I blended into the background, like Mr. Cellophane…
As the sun glinted off his red hair, I’m sure she was enchanted by his radiant glow….and she explained, gushingly, that she’s applying for a position as a hair stylist in that neighborhood. She needed to “style” a male haircut for her portfolio….yeah, I’m sure she wanted to get her hands all over Mark’s hair.
after more talking, to him….she managed to squirm away with his phone number….
(yeah, I told this story to my bro and he was impressed by Mark’s playa potential…according to Gau, the boys maybe duking it out for Mark’s “castaways” pretty soon).
I found out this evening that Mark followed up with the Asian chick and heard that the position fell through….however, since he was so flexible with his time and probably because of his amazing head of hair, she decided she had to see him one more time - to give him that free haircut.
can you imagine how ga-ga she would get when she sees him arriving to the salon on his new bike? oh yeah….she gets to tame the hair of the bad biker boy, with a heart of gold….be still - her beating heart
who knows, this brush with idolatry may be the boost he needs to break-in to some stardom….
Mark could soon be staring down the lens of a real Hollywood Camera, some day….
Norma Desmond: [to newsreel camera] And I promise you I’ll never desert you again because after ‘Salome’ we’ll make another picture and another picture. You see, this is my life! It always will be! Nothing else! Just us, the cameras, and those wonderful people out there in the dark! …”
“All right, Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my close-up. “
February 19, 2003
what’s your vision of heaven?
according to ned…everyone is getting goofy from the gas…
lot’s of details to pay attention to, today. administrative stuff for work and for the radio station. especially for the radio station….it’s spring recruitment and it’s all about keep my records straight and making sure everyone gets the right info….
i was up a 4:30 to get some yoga in and to get ready to drive to campus. i got some sound from Berkeley’s ROTC program, during their PT stuff, at 6:30 AM. It’s for my next radio segment on the the human side of the army - a counterpoint story to the anti-war stories we ran on
OTR last month.
i tried making martini’s last monday evening….i found these olives stuffed with blue cheese, from bev mo….boy was i disappointed. i thought they would be something similar to my cheesecake experience - a well-mannered dirty martini, with cream cheese stuffed olives.
i guess i should have bought a dry vermoth as well. the sweet stuff was brown and the martini didn’t look right….it was smooth, but not the same type of tasty drinks i found in the bars…c’est la vie. i’ll try again, another night…
February 18, 2003
how are you today?
three days free from work….it felt nice to wake up late on Saturday…..it was the only morning I could sleep in. You see, when my family comes up, they have a problem with sleeping-in: 8 AM is considered sleeping late. So when they come up, my body switches to family time and I’m up around 7 or so, making coffee for the rest of the house….as the experienced Starbucks barista - my coffee comes out special :0
let’s see - I can do this weekend recap…like this…
v-day
chopped off my hair and bought a rose for Mark. the undergrads were selling them downstairs and I made arrangements to deliver them up to Mark’s office.
Mark made reservations for Incanto - a classy little Italian place in Noe Valley. I was impressed with the food…a bit crowded, but to be expected since it was a romantic holiday. The portions were perfect and I was also happy with the chianti.
I picked up tix to see Pieces of a Dream at Yoshis. They were a nice R&B group. The band surprised one of the piano players by bringing his wife to the performance. He was quite shocked by that whole business.
it was a lovely night….and the first Valentine’s day in 7 years, in which I didn’t get flowers. however, i would have felt kinda bad, about getting any of those big roses…after reading how much the rose industry has screwed over the people of this region in Ecuador. (you’ll need an ID to access this article)
in any event…I suppose it’s time I grew up and lose the un-reasonable expectations for flowers….
sat
I made dinner for my family coming up to the bay area….it was an ediets meal and they loved it 
- chicken and rice salad
- chilli salmon over rice
my family likes rice….
mark and i also took my bro out to bowling with Gau and Wes….that was fun…I suck at bowling…
sun
my dad wanted to go to the protest….but with my brother up here and the fact that a couple hundred thousand people were planning on attending, I took my parents in the opposite direction - to napa. it kept raining on and off….stuff like that….
my bro got to sing with choir again….that was really sweet….
and we did the Brain Tease challenge at the albatross….for our first time competing, we made the middle ranking….not bad….our team name: Three Men and a Baby
mon
mark bought a motorcycle….wow….
well, aren’t you special….
and my family left the bay area…but before they took off - my dad pointed out that my 2003 tags are missing on my car. argh! I theorized that the same jackass who broke my window, but couldn’t snag my car stereo, decided to screw me over and steal my tags instead.
so….if you’re reading this….and you know who you are…I’m going to kick your butt when I find you! be scared. be very scared. i’ve been told that i have no control over my kung fu fighting….
February 13, 2003
underpants-ies!
hahaha….just finished watching the showdown between Harbucks and Tweek’s Coffee on South Park….
it’s tooo funny….
do you remember those underpants gnomes?
phase 1 - collect underpants
phase 2 - ?????
phase 3 - profit
and now, everybody join in:
Time to go to work
Work all night
Search for underpant-ies
We won’t stop till we have underpants
Lots of yummy pant-ies
[repeat]
Sing along with the underwear gnomes!
on to other random TV…
checked out the new Survivor - the Amazon….I remember back in the day with this show didn’t NEED to assoicate itself with any exotic locale! It looks like the men lost to the women in the first gender battle for immunity…..if it were me, i would choose the co-ed tribe any day…..being stuck with a tribe of females - it’s a no win situation. I know what females are like!
history channel….
pay $1500 for a driver’s license in Germany….the Autobahn looks awsome! Speed doesn’t cause accidents! As long as you don’t have stupid Americans behind the wheel…Mark and I were talking about an American Autobahn. We figured that American drivers would still be talking on the cell phone, drinking lattes, and doing their make-up - while pumping up their cars to more than 100 mph….and plus, American drivers would have an issue with yielding to the faster cars. Not on my shift, some of high school girlfriends would say. Mark wants to be a part of what the author of the American Autobahn called, “…one of the most life affirming experiences.”
funny joke from sfbg.com
Those who jump off a Paris bridge are in Seine.
ghostly picture of me….
ok…not much to say or report….still raining and i just found out my parents are coming up to visit for the three day weekend….gotta start cleaning, don’t want them thinking i’m a slob.
despite the conditions outside…it feels like a lull before the storm - i’ve taken care of a lot of stuff for the radio station and work…but i know next week will be nuts, especially with orientations and department meetings at the station.
i got up at 5 AM to bake cookies and buy krispy creme donuts for my staff meetings….I had only one cookie out of that massive collection of sweetness….I suppose that’s a good thing, with me ediet and all.
i hate how tired? i feel when it’s grey outside. it’s like i’m sapped of energy if i don’t see a ray of sunshine in the sky. damn that was cheesy. sorry.
February 12, 2003
it’s raining….
and i forgot my jacket at the rsf…real brilliant
mark was suppose to get a free haircut today…..
After last week’s lunch at crepe vine, a cute Asian chick stopped Mark on the street and asked if he wanted a free hair cut…without lifting a finger, he managed to get a girl’s phone number. talk about dumb luck.
i’m a bit bummed, gained some weight, despite stepping up my exercise regime with hankido. I guess I’ve been eating out too much, these days. Bad me!
just feeling a bit blah….the rainy blues…
