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VV was updated...actually a while ago ^^;; but here’s a little (handsy) teaser anyway:
So in some ways turning 34 has sucked but I still have lots to be thankful for overall; I’m ringing in this new age with back pain, tooth pain and bruises, but I’m alive and still relatively healthy, I've received some sorely needed assistance and solved some problems, I’ve truly felt some love from outside, and importantly, I’m doing demonstrably better than I was at this time last year! Again I am filled with hope :)
My bday ended up pretty low key but nice - the Saturday before, R took me on a candy jaunt in Noe Valley and while there bought me a gift of two new pairs of boots (on top of the winged zergling house slippers he'd already gotten me), inspired by me selling my main boots the week before (a whole story in itself ^^); the new ones are basically higher-end versions of the ones I’d been wearing out, so it made me feel all fancy and adult :P It was wonderful of him, and he also got me a beautiful little strawberry-vanilla chantilly cream cake from Noe Valley Bakery (I’m glad their kickstarter was successful!), and we enjoyed some custard french toast and house-made strawberry milk tea from La Boulangerie ^^ and then we headed down to the Castro, viewed the Orlando shooting tribute corner, got R’s dad’s father’s day present, and stood in line to watch the premiere of Pushing Dead at the Castro Theatre, complete with glimpses of all the main actors (except Danny Glover).
I was lured in by seeing if they 'got' San Francisco, and by Khandi Alexander, who ended up with one of the smaller roles, but still, the movie was kind of great! About people, getting by, the quiet ravages of the American health insurance situation, and a more modern take on AIDS as it affects the psyche with its stigma, more than affecting the body. As it started I was a bit skeptical, wary of it being too “let’s cram SF references in here” and hipstery, but they didn't get annoying and did do a good job overall of capturing the somewhat chill/casual vibe that pervades the city even in times of crisis - I liked that the ensemble had some age and development/history with the city behind them (guess that would be necessary to make them sympathetic in SF’s current climate) and there were lots of funny and sweet moments. My view of all the characters started out nonchalant but grew in affection over time :) Then we stayed for a cast/director discussion and ran into a friend to catch up a bit, whee!
Sunday we had our traditional Talk about Stuff, and then met R’s family for Father’s Day Brunch at Bernal Star. It was lovely - they were friends with one of the chefs which got us free table waffles/churros and cream ^^ and I discovered the mild, subtle limoncoco and enjoyed a nice lipsmacking chile relleno. R’s dad seemed to love his present ^^ and then we all went and looked at cars and shopped for food (gah, so many limited oreo flavors! What are they trying to do to me?), left off to have tea with my mom and her bf, who gave me a generous gift and some fancy coconut chocolate :P and then we went home and supped over a pretty thrilling HBO block (Battle of the Bastards).
The day itself went pretty quickly, working in the morning, painting in the afternoon, but with some little sweet gestures here and there - one of my next door neighbors, a jolly Mexican guy, asked what the big box was about and when I told him he pressed a $20 into my hand and expressed his regret that he didn’t know in advance to get me mariachis XDDD too adorable! And from my friend J I received a beautiful and yummy gourmet strawberries-and-basil-sugar chocolate bar, on top of amazing standing offers of real photography training (including second shooting), and maybe some personal boudoir shots once I can deal with it :)
Then we headed back to R’s family’s house where his mom lovingly made me birthday dinner - handmade gorditas and albondigas. Ugh. SO good. The TEXTURE. <3 We shared lots of laughs and ice cream cake from Mitchell’s XD and opened some presents - all super generous ^^ (very much appreciated monetary gifts, a Mitchell’s gifty card, some pretty hair flowers and an allocation of funds/shopping trip to get a much-needed new pair of glasses courtesy of my darling near sis-in-law, whom I love dearly ^^ She joined us to watch Finding Dory afterwards ^.^
I’m hearing a ton of mixed stuff about the movie, and a lot of it I can agree with, but I honestly think it’s being judged by unfair standards, and it was pretty delightful. Finding Nemo being probably my favorite Pixar movie of all, I can see people getting super hype about the sequel only to be disappointed by comparison, but looking at the movie as it was it’s still pretty extraordinary as far as kid’s movies go! I did agree that the premise of the movie got a little redundant in phrasing, and lots of stuff happened that made no sense, both according to natural science (:P) and with the main characters’ motivations (“I just feel like we have to do this thing right now, don’t really know why!”), but the new characters were endearing, the new settings pretty gorgeous (and I like the alterations they made to the movie post-Blackfish), and it was focused enough so that it didn’t become forgettable to me like Cars 2 did. There was much squeeing over cuteness and fairly constant chuckles. AND my viewing was subsidized by my awesomest AZ friend, who sent me movie passes unbidden that very day! The love!
I still want to do something physical like dance, but my squishy feelings got well covered this year ^^ it’s really nice to be recalled once in a while. And speaking of, this Sunday I attended Kellyhime’s memorial service, which was lovely - it was held at the University Club, in a stately, classy room, in which us dolly weirdos shared space with Masons, genealogy enthusiasts and Daughters of the American Revolution. Kelly was into so much, and threw her heart into it all, volunteering, donating, doing, making families for herself wherever she settled into, hopefully making up many times over for a lack of siblings. It was painfully sweet to see! Her husband (a perfect gentleman) put together an emotion-stirring slideshow and speech for her, and through it I got a real glimpse into their happy world together - funny, distinguished, proper - and ever in love. My heart swelled, honestly, at the thought of being one of her memory keepers. Then we chatted and explored the reading room, gave a last look at some of her cherished dolls...and then a group of us absconded to the nearby Tonga Room to give tribute over cocktails (in a fittingly kitchshy tiki atmosphere with fake rain), then walked over to Chinatown for dinner at Hang Ah dim sum teahouse. It was tasty, and so, so nice catching up with some of my dolly friends that I’ve only just rediscovered. Kelly was in my life for over 10 years, I can’t believe it - and so were we all together this motley SF crew. I have so much love for all of them. We’re of this age! We shouldn’t forget to celebrate life together while we can <3
It’s true of all of us in this world right now! Life has felt so much less awkward since the whole of living humankind really registered in my mind as my fraternity. We’re stuck with each other so may as well make the best.
P.S. Oh my stars that masterpiece of a Game of Thrones season finale D: And I want the black gowns, all of them...