oh! the holidays! oh! the big apple! oh! the food!! "i'll tip the newsboy i'll take a shine i'll ride this dream to the end of the line"

my heart just felt it... holidays are here! ooh my soul! it swells w/love! may your days be merry & bright!
(& now to blablablog re nyc trip - kinda out of order)
- flew on jetblue LAX to JFK - absolutely no hassle, lots of leg rm & i love that airbuses are quiet on take-off/landing, the horrifying roar being the pt of the plane ride i usually most dread... jetblue also has great snacks & serves dunkin' donuts coffee, but you gotta pay for headphones if you want to watch tv (i didn't)
- used airtrams to navigate jfk & then got wk pass (a deal! do it, if you plan to use NYC public transport, which you must!) & metrorailed into manhattan... NYC is safe now! my sis traveled to NYC 20+ yrs ago & still deems it "dirty & stinky & scary." but it's not, sister. it's just not that way no mo. unlike the buck owens song, i love new york, & you will, too!
- checked in @ hostel on upper east side w/o much of a hitch... neighborhood's safe & clean &, like cow hollow in SF, off the beaten path, meaning a refuge, removed from the excitement (mess), quiet @ nite (tho the french guy next door snored as loud as the witch in suspiria, ultimately kinda funny, not annoying).
- neighborhood planters are filled w/gourds & scarecrows, store windows w/lights & stars: it's the intersection of autumn thanksgiving & winter yuletide & you can feel it on your cheeks, in the crisp air, quickening the pulse: cars & taxis honk, brakes squeak, foodsmells swell, windows pop w/beautiful things to see & buy (not today, thanks), skyscrapers loom... the city's alive!!
- walked 42nd st, time square @ nite, lit up like daylight, neoned like tokyo, crowded like new yr's eve... this whole area never sleeps!! no plan on this trip except for meditation seminar... the unexpected is around each corner & delights outweigh frustrations by far, like a quick run down W 24th st that reveals a whole free, fun row of avante-garde art galleries; or a subway musician improv-embellishing upon lovely gershwin melodies on lonely clarinet; or the most delicious curried rice & chicken plate, steaming hot on a cold night, from street foodslingers the halal guys... :)
- delicious la mia plain pizza, unbeatable famous ray's pizza (they ship to cal!), blueberry cheesecake, overwhelming eataly (an italian food super-emporium), 99c slices, bagels, morning eggs on roll for a buck-fifty, so much great food everyplace!; walked & walked miles & miles ea day, tho foot is still killing me (gd plantar fasciitis)... can't get over how great it is to explore the city afoot; can't get over that it's not freezing; can't get over the city loveliness, vibrancy (that is, til the moment near end of trip i get bumped by one too many ppl on crammed street & subway & realize: time to go home)
- went down to greenwich village, up to the bronx (where i go is open, rural, dilapidated, like where cops might find the body in a crime movie, but beautiful somehow), had awesome coconut-pistachio gelato bar @ former, pastrami & soup in cozy hole-in-wall @ latter, then a white castle slider, too. gluttony.
- empire state bldg, statue of liberty, top of the rock (watched the sun set over the city, red & orange make-your-eyes-water gleam waning between gray buildings like final scene of an end-of-the-world movie), waldorf-astoria marbled toilet rms: so much influence of art deco, neo-classical, egyptian, even: opulent mash-ups create architectural finery
- central park!!! a jewel!!! giant rocks, giant trees, grassy fields, waterfalls, lakes, ice rinks, walking, jogging, climbing, ambling, strolling, overcoated, watch-capped, happy, chatting, everywhere everyday people... what could be better?
- ellis island: so moving & interesting, but the energy drains your soul. so many ghosts. on the register of arrivals is one egio gia: dad's grandpa
- acem meditation seminar: terrific, non-religious, so effective! floating in meditation, my nail-in-heel pain is abated; thoughts of hats flying atop of mailboxes waft in my brain & it's cool, to be conscious & yet watch a dream in action, then return to the meditation phrase, which, like jogging, calms & cleans the mind & body www.acem.com
- am treated to #1 b'way play MEMPHIS & spend 20 bucks on 2 cokes & peanut m&ms, but am happy for the whole experience, in the lovely & surprisingly (to me) small shubert theatre, velvety, brocaded, gilded... when the performers start hoofing, w/a shock i realize this is BROADWAY indeed! what polish!
- pickles, beets, rye bread, matzo ball soup, potato pancake, post-b'way crowd @ junior's...
- "skate" @ rockefeller plaza (well, i watch) - have skated (unsuccessfully) just once, as a child, so mostly hug the rails this time, too, but what exhilaration, the festive spirit, the glisten & crunch & sizzle of ice, the smiles & pink cheeks of others, the joy & sounds of laughter all around... jani said today she'll teach me to skate, & i can't wait! i tried, but... i suck. still, what tremendous good-cheer fun it is. :)
- went thru MOMA & got to see up-close (tho too-fast) van goghes, cezannes, matisses, picassos, etc etc, in what looks to be a bigger painting collection than has the british museum (also saw fun baldessari exhibit); then watched @ museum of natural history mind-blowing planetarium show about stars (how can SOMETHING come from NOTHING?? from where, then, did the hydrogen gas & dark matter that formed it all come?!? clearly i'm no astronomer, not even close) as well as margaret meade hall on ppl of south seas & another on the near east & what stuck w/me was learning that dharma INCLUDES want of artha (wealth) & kama (desire), but that then one realizes these are temporary fixes & seeks moksha (salvation)... was reassured to learn hindus recognize that (Wo)Man has a need, even craving for the material @ a certain life-pt, but then matures & sets such things aside... it seems forgiving of we frail, (too) oftentimes ignoble humans...
- cab, train, bus, plane, finally reached california & reveled in big pink sky & sun & lovely weather... the weather: why all those NYers want to be here! waited all day & eve, jetlagged, for cousin to arrive frm TX, but this, too, allowed meandering adventure: bargains, eating, veering off to awesome women's mtg in venice, driving in circles listening to NPR til i find my gym, a 3-story version packed w/young ppl of all colors (something i loved in NYC: the tremendous cultural & racial diversity), awesome kickboxing class, watts times on way out. scooped up family @ LAX, then we arrived home to mountains for final gift: dad & mom had been there that day, put up new curtains, turned on heaters, so my little house was cozy & golden-warm against the freezing cold night, & in the morning, we had coffee & the kids had juice & donuts & oh, to be home. what a wondrous thing. :) happy holidays to you. :)

the city by the bay, schooling, driving, 3-part-wang-dang-ding-dong-harmonalizing, pax tecum (y'all)

my life lately's consumed with school. school school school school. in sf yesterday, i turned in my 2nd paper & lunched w/my wise & gentle advisor. my thesis is four parts: problems "young" people face developing a sense of authentic purpose; a few suggested solutions; a school curriculum based on the philosophy of the solutions (help people feel safe so they can learn, grow, become happy, useful); & last, how to make the philosophy workable & successful when it faces opposition... i stayed in a gorgeous hostel at ft mason in the n. reaches of the city, w/dining rm overlooking sf bay, view of the golden gate bridge, presidio, sf, all just so lovely, w/verdant & safe ocean-breezy jogging paths beneath giant trees, all only $25 (tho the beds were paper thin)... home takes forever on boring I-5, tho less so this morning in golden sunlight, then we had a big family powwow w/my visiting tx cousin & her brood, full of enchiladas, tamales, rice & beans, champagne cake de smith's, embarrassing stories, little cousins running & screaming, loud laughter.
the band had a great & crazy uptempo rehearsal the other day w/wonderful phil on bass & brian paxton & i getting along; it felt like energy was zapping our cans again, & that's nice. i've practiced 2x now w/some nice guys who are looking at putting up a more expert gig, w/the exciting part being full 3-part harmonies. they have their eye on big shows, professional musicianship, & this unnerves me a bit since i'm adrenaline & little polish, but for now, i love the rich harmonies, which thrill to the bone: it's pleasing, plus doubles the music i get to experience... listening to npr this am, i learned this wk to watch for ronnie spector & patti smith, both going into the R&R Hall of Fame, plus the new stooges LP... if you're lucky enough to be headed for sxsw this yr, tell austin hi for me & drink up all that good music like sunshine & oxygen... for me, this yr it'll be school instead, but this MA program is changing & restoring my life, so i'm all for it, even if i can't wander so congress & guadalupe & sneak into sxsw events like last yr. also, we're going to rockin' 50s in may, & that'll be the living end, bound to be as good as in 02 (www.actionpackedevents.com)... pax et felix tecum, & may you ride joyously thru your day.