Winter in New York

Diligence

A sign in Chinatown outside of my favorite bakery.

Ritual of Duty and Devotion

We were at the de Young today for the Yves Saint Laurent Retrospective (a good show and a great collection of his work) when we happened upon the sweetest scene. We were on our way to the gift shop when we passed a window and noticed a pigeon waddle by. He had a leaf in his mouth and was hastily heading in our direction. At his destination? Another pigeon nestled amongst a spread of leaves each of which had already made the trek from the corner of the courtyard in the beak of it's proud courier. We watched as he fulfilled his duty with dogged determination -- waddling around, tossing aside everything except the best leaves (nothing torn or mangled made the cut), and returning with his find to the side of his truest mate. Each leaf a representation of the relationship between the two birds. Sure, I may be romanticising things a bit but with all of the drama that we fill our lives with on a daily basis, isn't it nice to be reminded of how simple true devotion can be?

Where were you on this day?

Watching the live CNN broadcast on the big screen at work!

Fort Funston

This weekend we took Baz to Fort Funston Beach to stretch his legs. If
you have a dog in the bay area, this beach is tops.

Rituals of Hope

I was walking around my neighborhood the other day and noticed this curious site of 2 clubs on one steering wheel. It made me think of the rituals individuals often have that realistically have no functional purpose (if someone can get through one of those clubs, they can probably get through the second) but which we do to give us a feeling -- a sense of security, togetherness, etc. At the end of the day, these rituals represent a hope -- a hope that 2 clubs will keep your car from being stolen, a hope that leaving the light on will keep your home safe.

What rituals do you have that help give you hope?

Oh So Scholarly

Homemade gifts are a mix of extreme emotions. You either hate 'em or love 'em. Well, this year, I got one and I love it so much, I had to write about it. My good friend, Robert, made it for me and I've worn it everyday this week. It's called a Scholar (half scarf, half collar..."I'm a mog -- half man...I digress). It's warm without being bulky and handmade without being crafty. Plus, with a name like that, I'm pretty dang sure it makes you smarter!

Stay tuned for my own version...The Head Nest. (Bri is currently testing it for safety...spontaneous strangulation, combustion, and the like.)

Hooray for handmade!

Change of scenery

There was something up with my normal Muni today so I hopped on the
surface car and am enjoying a nice change of scenery. It's a welcome
change from the usual squashed-under-some-tall-guys-armpit routine.

Testing Mobile Blogging

No...not from the beautiful trails of Mammoth Mountain. I just thought
this was a great photo from my recent trip there. I swished and swooped
down the slopes -- trying my hand (feet, rather) at snowboarding and
reacquainting myself with skiing. It was a great trip...more photos
and thoughts tk.

Happy new year!