Woo Hoo!: After trying to get pregnant for two years, a friend of mine is finally with child, through her first trimester and all is going well. Can’t WAIT to be an Auntie again! Love ya, Plum!
Woo Hoo 2!: Happy birthday, Deb! Tons o’ hugs, me2
Blog Peeps: Welcome to readers in Lafayette, IN, my regulars in Chicago and Atlanta, and ‘ellllo, Wiltshire, UK! (Plus the folks I made this blog for…)
2007: Want to ring the new year in somewhere different – maybe somewhere warmer than San Francisco. Hmmmm…wherever should I go?

30 November 2006
From My Journal: Strangest thing a guy ever said to me – from someone I saw occasionally while on the road the last couple of years (we both travel a lot). After having awakened together several mornings, he dopily muttered, “Bash, it’s nice that you don’t make a scene in the morning.” Completely out of the blue, with no context. Huh? I didn’t pursue clarification, but couldn’t help but conclude that he hadn’t been keeping good, sane company elsewhere. Some boys are so DUMB!

STILL Brrrr: I haven’t felt my fingers and toes for days…

Work: INSANE. Twice as much work this week as any time I can remember in my three years at the current post. So much meeting, strategizing and decision-making that the only time I have to WRITE (it’s what they pay me for) is when I log back on after I get home at night.

More New Views: Poland, Hungary and France have stopped by. Still have regular readers in Atlanta and Chicago. If I know you, leave a comment! (Comments from new friends also welcome.)

29 November 2006
Brrrrrrrrrrrrr: Tonight it may hit freezing in San Francisco – the coldest in the 10 years I’ve been here. Thank goodness my cats LOVE to crawl under the blankets with me!

Bubbles: I have a great old claw foot tub in my apartment, and there’s nothing better than a bubble bath on such a nippy night. Currently in stock are Christmas Day, Karma and Sunny Day bubble bars from Lush, Lavender bubble bath from L’Occitane and Almond bubbles from H2O+.

Addicted: Trader Joe’s truffles. Heavenly smooth, dark but not bitter, and $3 for a box of 25.

28 November 2006
Time Flies: Where’d November go? In fact, where have the last two years gone? I remember ringing in 2005 in Phoenix with a bunch of friends, some great music, parties and an hours-long romp in bed (how else would Miss L. Toe properly start a new year?). Since then, time seems to have kicked into hyperdrive. And the two years have morphed into a single unit – I have to stop and sort out during which year certain things happened. Folks assure me this is all a part of the aging process, but I really don’t want to accept that just yet. Let me continue to think there’s some other phenomenon driving the acceleration of time. Maybe someone threw kryptonite in the universe’s chronograph. Or some speed. We can’t be getting OLD…

Brrrr+: It’s still FREEZING. Here in San Francisco, many apartment buildings don’t have central heating units. They’re rarely needed. It stays warm enough here that most places are built with small electric heat fans in the wall or with steam radiators. That’s just not enough power for days like these – it’s just impossible to get this place warm.

New Views: New readers from various parts of Germany and all over the US Midwest, including St. Louis and Chicago for numerous visits. Also, a particularly faithful reader in Ireland the past few days – maybe you’ll share this blog with family and friends?

Currently on Nob Hill
Now Eating: Yoplait Light Key Lime yogurt
Now Playing: Blue Wonder Power Milk – Hooverphonic
Now Watching: Nothing. Waiting for 24 to resume in January.
Now Reading: My Life – Bill Clinton. Beneath a Vedic Sky – William Levacy.
Now Missing: San Francisco Giants baseball. Can’t wait for spring training!
Now REALLY Missing: My sister-in-arms Janet – wish you lived here.
Now Feeling: Grrrrrrrrreat! It’ been about a week that my energy levels have been close to normal. Woo Hoo!

27 November 2006
Blog: Yup, yer awake. It DOES look way different today. I like the look of the first one better, but it had no flexibility for longer messages, different categories or password-protected posts (which I hope not to have to use too often). So I installed some software (WordPress) and threw my old posts in. I’m not completely happy with the look but decided I needed these capabilities sooner rather than later. I’ll have more time next month to tinker with the layout and look, so please bear with me.

Brrr: Dag blast it, it’s COLD here! San Francisco doesn’t normally get so cold – a real oatmeal and hot chocolate kind of day.

26 November 2006
WTF?: Heard today that someone with whom I’ve had something of a misunderstanding thinks this blog is about her. (I thort it was about ME! ) Here’s the deal, dearie: There was one reference to you (now removed) that merely stated you appeared to be reading my blog. (And really, is there nothing else to read?) If you see anything else that you think pertains to you, then it does so beyond my ken. It’s not pleasing (but also not surprising) to find that others are being involved in your misperception regards this.

(For everyone else out there, sorry for wandering into such vague territory. I guess I could expound on it in a password-protected post for you, but I’d rather move along to other topics.)

24 November 2006
Wow: I started this blog so I could keep two friends back east, some family and a couple of fellow music fans up to date without emailing, PMing, IMing and texting the same thing to all these different folks while I’m off-the-grid busy. Been blogging for a couple weeks now, and thought I’d check my webstats to see if anyone’s reading. Although I posted a link on a small music board, little did I imagine so much traffic! Folks at Pentland Brands/Brandon Loadtite in Willesden UK. Someone reading my oldest blog page from a link in a Yahoo email in the St. Louis area. A potpourri of one-off viewers from around the world – different every day. Since word’s getting around and I seem to be getting broader readership than I imagined, perhaps I’ll develop a theme over time and give ya’ll more interesting stuff to read. Please bear with me, and welcome to BashUp!

Fun: UK pal called today. He was in good spirits. They played Toronto – a large, sold out venue, and a great vibe for them. Only downer was the loss of their merchandise – they were pretty steamed about that. He shared some gossip and news and made me laugh as usual.

Health: Four days in a row, I’ve felt great!

Food: Turkey. Turkey sammiches. More turkey. It was my best bird yet – I’m lovin’ it!

23 November 2006
Turkey Bash Awards 2006

Flighty Birds: Paris Hilton and her ilk. Mental featherweights. What’s attractive about such vapidity?

Musical Bird Droppings: Kelly Clarkson, et al. All these much better unsigned bands on MySpace and we’re stuck hearing “Since U Been Gone” at every turn. Why?

Tom Turkey: Former date – alternately inept, clueless, crying. Skip diving for “attention” from others (can’t lose face by retiring for the night arm in arm with THEM, can ya?)

What the Flock: Since when it is okay to take and use other people’s creative work without their knowledge or consent, and without even crediting them?

Goose Egg: Results of the Republican campaign strategies this time out. (Halleluia-it’s time for a change!) Perhaps a little less greed and fearmongerin’ next time?

22 November 2006
Thanksgiving: Thankful for great sisterfriends – Deb, Rani, Janet, Dyna and Plum. Health. Family. Amazing, soft, gorgeous feline-kids. Great co-workers. The opportunity to live in San Francisco. The cable cars that run past my place. Being single and loving it. Unique experiences with musical friends and the opportunity to help and host them on occasion.

Interesting: UK pal texted to say he and cohorts got a full hour instead of 50 minutes to play last night. They’ve traveled all the way across the pond to work less than 3 hours…

Health: Two days in a row, I’ve felt great!

Food: Brining the turkey, baking the pie. Looking forward to a day off tomorrow to feast, relax and enjoy.

CritterCheck: They’ve been sniffing around the refrigerator since I put the bird in to brine. They’ll be two happy puds tomorrow!

19 November 2006
Family: Happy birthday Dori!!! 11 more years and you’ll be old enough to marry Lightning McQueen, just like you want.

Food: Turkey – check. Bread for dressing – check. Pumpkin for pie – check. I’m ready – is it Thanksgiving yet?

18 November 2006
Fun: UK pal called today. He’s on the east coast for business next week – his cohorts, including various forms of madness and Mr. Kicked-to-the-Curb, will follow in due time. Pal flew over early to visit friends and was doing a bit of thrift shop trolling when he called. His descriptions of some of his findings were quite amusing…

Sad: Some dear friends lost their Mom/grandmom. There’s never a good time for this sort of thing, but just as the holidays are starting is the worst timing possible. My heart’s hurtin’ for them.

13 November 2006
Work: Lots of marketing writing lately, which is new for me. It’s hard – headlines and taglines have to be super-brief, but also deliver an impact. I have to ask more questions and write more drafts, but it’s fun! I’m also handling all the assignments for the UIW staff and planning our workload and helping schedule deadlines and milestones. It keeps me busier than ever and the boss is happy she doesn’t have to do it.

Personal: Still suffering some long-term effects of the surgery. Really tired compared to normal.

Weather: Cue Bette Midler/Bob Dylan, “Buckets of Rain”

11 November 2006
Work: Nope (it’s Saturday)

Personal: It’s that time of the year – the doldrums (in San Francisco it rains from November to March).

Survival Plan: Bubble baths, full spectrum natural light bulbs, oatmeal, yogurt and yoga.

Critter Check: Same story, different day (see 10 Nov 06 Critter Check for details).

10 November 2006
Work: Slowly recovering from our site redesign.

Personal: Birthday – survived another year on planet erff.

Critter Check: Sebastian and Sabrina are doing the Cat Thing – sleeping in a pile on the bed.

PoliCheck: Both house and senate are blue, and our next president should be, too (Obama 2008).

Joke: A duck walks into a bar and quacks its head…

Work: My team at work is morphing into a more final form – all except for the part of the team I’m on. I and my fellow UIW (User Interface Writer) are sort of drifting along while the merchandise/marketing writers are getting settled into their new verticals with their new bosses. Final preparation for the redesign launch took us up to the October 24th unveiling of the new site, which has been a real success.
Fun: Moving to the third floor with the rest of my teammates at work (we all got moved in phases, and my phase was delayed 6 weeks). Being assigned the task of investigating how UIW can better work with the rest of the User Experience team and then making recommendations as to how to proceed.

Work: More of it, all the time. The redesign will be worth it if it all goes off well.
Health: Still extremely exhausted, and late in the month the “shedding” began – loads of acne, hair falling out, etc. Was told to expect it!
Fun: Fun is a day when I feel sorta decent. Few and far between. This too shall pass!

Work: Chaos continued, long-form.
Health: So, it began. Nerve regeneration, pain and total exhaustion.
Fun: Well, sorta. Re-convened with Janet and a group of folks for a short stop in Las Vegas late in August. The pool at the Hard Rock was a fantastic experience and I met some nice new folks. But I was so tired that I couldn’t join folks for evening activities most of the time I was there. Still enjoyed what I could of it. Soap suds (they are always present when this group convenes) prevailed in the form of “kicked-to-the-curb” former date, who seemed bewildered by the lack of interest I showed in him – see, they just don’t get it, do they?

17 July 2006
Work: Back to work for the first time since late May. Total chaos as the site redesign was in full swing and I had to find a way to reintegrate myself into radically different processes. So much had changed in seven weeks.
Health: Feeling fairly well – still without pain and possessing more energy than I thought I would.

10 July 2006
Melancholy: Flew home today. Janet and I were both weepy as she dropped me off at the airport. Home was good, I had missed my cats, but it was so strange not having Janet and “the boys” around.
Joke: What do you call someone who always hangs around musicians? The drummer.

09 July 2006
Fun/Drama: Soapy, soppy goodbyes today, as our pals all disbanded to return to their homes. My date recommended we act like we didn’t know each other in front of the rest, even though they’ve known of our doings for a couple of years, saw us retire for the night together, etc. (Date has been kicked to the curb for good.) Ah, soap suds! Janet and I had played host and den mom to this troupe for almost two weeks and we’d melded into this strange but lovely social unit. We drove to her home in nearby SoCal, took a swim (I finally had medical clearance to get into a pool!), ate some great pizza with her family, and then spent the evening sipping red wine (yes! I could finally drink!), sifting through the mountain of photos we took and laughing about the myriad memories we’d made.

08 July 2006
Fun: Janet let me drive her brand new car half the trip from the Bay Area to Orange County. I flew 95 mph, and we arrived earlier than planned to our event on a lakeside beach. Oh, so many augmented breasts, botoxed brows, sun-damage wrinkles and silver spoons! Janet and I have one laugh after another at “new” noses, “exploding Jolies” (collagened lips), and snotty attitudes. The hotel corridor displayed a mad full moon that night. (That mad full moon turns up often in this crowd. Something about The Queen’s fetish…) The party afterward was nice, but I soon wandered off to a much smaller party with my date.

07 July 2006
Fun: Next stop on the road, next stop for some fun. The lot of us picked up a few more pals and had a lovely evening outdoors, with food, great music and fireworks during a small town event. The old girlfriend of one of our pals showed up again with her new boyfriend and continued her quest to make the old one jealous and to stir up trouble. Pushing 50 and acting 12. More soap suds, with more to come! Everyone turned in early this evening – a long drive to SoCal awaited the next day.

06 July 2006
Fun: Along with Roger, I rejoined Janet and the crew in upstate CA for more work/fun. I survived this road trip by napping whenever I could – in the car, while folks were prepping for work, anytime I could grab some Zs. Was really surprised I was able to keep up just a month after major surgery. The human body is an amazing thing. More lovely work/play time in Eureka with Janet, my recently un-estranged “date”, our UK pals, our extended road troupe, etc.

04 July 2006
Fun: First words I heard today were “Happy Fourth of July, Bash!” This greeting from one of the Brits in our traveling troupe. I said, “Yeah, good thing we kicked those dirty British bastards out of our country, innit?” Doh! This was a day off for all the revelers, so I journeyed back to SF to look in on my cats and repack my suitcase for the rest of the trip. Janet went to a barbeque with the rest of the gang at the home of an old friend. We kept in touch via text. Her phone plays a Depeche tune when I text her, and a certain someone kept asking her to play “Bash’s song” on her phone.
Joke: How do you light up a guitar player’s eyes? Shine a flashlight in his ear!

03 July 2006
Fun: Travel to Redding. First visit here – it’s gorgeous. Had a nice time with the travelers. Dinner at the casino was nice – laughter, food sharing and world-record amounts of black pepper applied to yet more soup by The Matchstick Boy. Janet gently lectured me that I’d punished the inconsiderate one long enough – the poor thing was acting all lost and bewildered. Ended up sitting up late and ironing out (well, temporarily – sometimes they just never learn) a couple of the issues I’d had with the lost soul, who was experiencing some emotional turmoil in the process. So there was a bit of drama in the mix – lots of soppy male tears, soap suds (and beer suds).
Running Joke: This day saw the beginning of the conversation about my athletic feats – as I left the party room, I hopped off the bed I’d been sitting on and landed with a solid bounce. I learned later that the move had been declared a full-twisting double back dismount and given an overall score of 8.6. Later, it morphed into a double axel (me being a huge figure skating fan and all.) Later still, it became a bit of legend recalled by one of the UK crowd, who delighted onlookers with his slow-motion, Bionic Man-type description of the event.

02 July 2006
Fun: Road trip to scorching Sacramento. Janet and I had gotten involved with our UK friends’ business doings and went along to continue helping. Once the day was done, we hosted a party for them and a few others who traveled with us. Still didn’t have much to do with inconsiderate one, but did manage to get a little message across about some OTHER selfish behavior that had been exhibited before. (Always, there are soap suds with this one.) Janet and I were to return to SF the next day and hang out, but our UK pals invited us to continue on the road to far Northern California with them.

01 July 2006
Fun: We were due to travel to Central CA coast with UK pals and associates, but their engagement was canceled. We remained in Santa Cruz for a brilliant day with friends and all that booze from the night before. Still couldn’t drink, but it was fun watching them. Was feeling all right, but was a bit angry at someone who’d displayed some very inconsiderate behavior the night before. Decided to keep my distance for a bit and see if the lesson might sink in…
Joke: What do you call a guitar player without a girlfriend? Homeless.

30 June 2006
Fun: Lots more friends arrive in Santa Cruz for an annual gathering that includes sun, sand, the beach, great music, food and drink – an ocean of booze (not for me)! The usual mayhem ensued, the usual trollop got drunk and hung all over guys just trying to make a former boyfriend in attendance jealous, plenty of soap suds in the beer suds.

29 June 2006
Fun: Drove to Santa Cruz with UK pal. Met up with dear Janet -hadn’t seen her in a year. She, pal Roger and I joined UK friend and two of his associates for a lovely seafood dinner on the Pier. The debut of “Pippi’s Capers.” World-record amounts of black pepper applied to clam chowder consumed by The Matchstick Boy. 80s music in the background prompted much hilarious commentary and the renaming of Prince as “FingerPrints” due to his diminutive size!¦

27 June 2006
Fun: UK friend a barrel of laughs – and brought me a Battenberg cake – yum! We wandered (slowly) around my neighborhood in search of items he needed for his US business travels due to start end of the week.

26 June 2006
Personal: Dying to get out of the house.
Fun: A friend from the UK will crash at my house a day or two, starting tonight.

22 June 2006
Personal: Recovery continuing well.
Fun: Off with Deb and Tory to see the Joe Jackson Trio. Incredible evening, amazing talent and brilliant songs. And luckily, a seated show!

Mid-June 2006
Personal: Many days of waking every 3 hours to take drugs (vicodin, mainly), lounging in bed, listening to XM Chill, Giants’ baseball on KNBR 680, working crosswords, coloring, and trying to read (and dozing off).

04 June 2006
Personal: Home from hospital; all went extremely smoothly. Abdomen cleared of the worst of the interloping growths and all is well.

01 June 2006
Work: Off until July 17.
Personal: Checked in to UCSF Mount Zion for major open abdominal surgery.

Work: Preparing for medical leave.
Personal: Preparing for surgery and post-op time at home.
Sport: “Month of May,” Indianapolis 500 kept me company; amazing 90th running of the race.

Work: Never-ending chaos.

Personal: Doctor visits, research, preparing for surgery.

Work: Relegated to clean-up crew on site redesign when it was to be my project (third-party issues).

Personal: Exhausted due to lack of time off and exasperated by the turmoil.

Weather: Rain for 30 days.

Survival Plan: Vacation in Orlando.

Detour: Trip cut short due to medical emergency.