Finding Your Happy Place

What do you do when your Big Trip to India has been thwarted for the second time?
You head to your Happy Place, that's what you do.
Ask someone where their happy place is and they might say, "Oh, I don't know, in my kitchen, with a nice cup of coffee," and that answer would be bullshit. Your happy place shouldn't be in your house or even near it. It should be within reasonable striking distance, by car.
So after hearing for the second time that my dreams of riding an elephant across the Punjab would again be put on hold, I went for the next best thing. My Happy Place (HP) which is unquestionably San Francisco. My clunky toyota Camry made it the 500 miles or so up the 5, pointed straight for the Bay Area - a place I can always feel the NOW.

More specifically my HP is the Wild Side West, a bar in Bernal Heights where I used to go and spend long hours dreaming of the future I am now living. The Wild Side is a lesbian bar, which is perfect as an HP. There are no barflys stuck to sticky counters asking "What brings you here?" But more of a 'Cheers for Woman' atmosphere, where no one knows your name and nobody cares. The girls behind the bar are surly, just the way I like them, and the back patio is someplace I could see myself being buried, which I guess I have been close to a few times already.
The whole India Drama has been lessened by the awareness that The Wild Side is consistent, it's (usually) always open, the price is cheap (comparatively), they speak the same language, and I don't need a special visa to get in. When in doubt, always head to your Happy Place.
Where is yours?

Hummel Vision observation # 1 - Out of the Closet

I recently discovered my prom dress languishing in the back of a closet. Dusty but intact, the little black dress got me thinking about one of my obsessions called 'Hummel Vision' or the inability to give something away that we believe has some kind of Nostalgic Value. The prom dress must stay, Hummel Vision tells us, even though I couldn't fit my left thigh into its taffeta torso.
There's also a little black jacket that goes with the dress, one that looks like it was made for a child. Did I really fit into this ensemble at one time? And wouldn't I rather get rid of the dress then face the fact that I have gained like, a million pounds since I was a senior in high school?
I can't, I've got Hummel Vision.

'Hummel Vision' got its name from the tribe of Hummels I inherited from my father, the little figurines that I can't seem to give away, sell, or otherwise dispose of. My dad loved those Hummels and now so too shall I. 'Hummel Vision' happens when we place some kind of mythic value on objects, rather than actions, work ethics, or love and other important things that should take precedence over mere things.

But that's not how we're hard wired, is it?

The little black prom dress was in the pile of 'give aways' until I swooped it up and put it back in the closet where it belongs. I got a better hanger for it and covered it in one of those plastic clothing protectors, the kind for special clothes. The prom dress is there to remind me that life has its cycles, that it moves in one direction, always forward. The dress will continue to sit in the closet until I either A. leave the known world, or B. find the courage to get rid it.

I can already guess which one it's gonna be.

Happy Chinese New Year!

The Year of the Ox comes at a perfect time. 2009 and beyond will go down in history as the time in which the American people (and the World) learned how to just say 'No.'

We've been on a National/International spending spree for so many years that we're lost if we're not buying things. For some of us, to stop shopping cold turkey is more difficult than quiting smoking. A good activity to keep us busy? Work. The Ox represents strength and tenacity, hard work and dedication; exactly what this planet needs right now. You can't picture the ox out there using an American Express card to purchase more superflous stuff, like say the monkey or the rat does, now can you?

2009 = Work hard, buy what you need, recycle, purchase used items when you can, be nice, good luck.
Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Congratulations America!

Congratulations America, you've done well!
On this Innuagural Day Eve America has shown the world, and ourselves, that we still have some smarts left in us.

America: It's a Good Place to Be Again