The Joys of a Sugar Momma

Despite being unemployed, bored, and perpetually anxious, my life does have some perks. For instance, my roommate and good friend from college happens to work for Google in a fancy-pants position. This means she makes an absurd amount of money, and is often happy to share it with me. Two weeks ago was "Google Bonuseve", otherwise known as the week that Googlers receive their bonus packages for the previous year. (We are inventing a whole set of greeting cards around the specific holidays of the tech sector. Ex: Congratulations on Your Cliff Date!) When we realized exactly how much money she was going to get, we decided that a tropical vacation was the only possible response. So that Saturday we bought plane tickets and reserved a five-star hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico. We left the following Thursday. I planned the trip, and she paid for it. Like I said, perks.

Puerto Rico, for those of you who aren't aware, is gorgeous. I think a lot of people still associate the island with the tap-dancing gangs of West Side Story, but a lot has happened in the last 50 years. Large parts of the island are still rural, spotted with small towns, but the few metropolitan areas have become tourist hot spots, especially San Juan. This has some unfortunate side effects, like an explosion of fast food restaurants and big box stores vomited across the landscape. On the other hand, if you're willing to venture away from the hotel district you can discover as lovely fusion culture. And even a strip mall feels a little different when it's 85 degrees with a breeze and 100 feet from a glowing blue ocean.

One thing I will say for San Juan, they have done a great job of protecting their beaches despite the waves of tourists. The beaches are clean and welcoming, and even crowded they feel authentic because just as many locals are on the sand as tourists. I am a water creature, so for me the ability to simply bob in salty water at body temperature is a kind of heaven. As Frances said "My hindbrain is so happy right now."

Rhythm

Yes, I blog with spastic irregularity.

Since my last post, I have been fired, survived the holidays, and begun collecting unemployment. My current daily life consists of going through the humiliating process of applying for work with various green building companies, dicking around the house, and trying not to lose my mind. I figure blogging might help with the last bit, so here I am again.

I Had Excellent Taste for a Ten Year Old

I just had a moment of Web 2.0 serendipity. I was poking around the iTunes store (I know, I know, but sometimes it gives me ideas for stuff to look up on eMusic). Anyway, I was looking at the "Recommended for U" suggestions and I noticed a Leonard Cohen album. I discovered his poetry last year while working at the bookstore, and loved it, so I took a closer look. Browsing the track titles brought on that intense sense of almost-deja vu that means I'm remembering something from childhood, something powerful and important that I had almost forgotten. I listened to the clips. I knew the songs, but I knew them sung by a woman. Jennifer Warnes. I found her on eMusic. She was a backup singer for Cohen and released an album of covers which he co-produced. My mother played this album a lot when I was about ten, until I stole the tape to play for myself.

I downloaded the album and listened to it immediately. God it's good. I hear it through two sets of ears. My now self hears the music and lyrics together and loves the power of the language. At the same time, my ten year old self remembers the sounds and the feelings, while the words made only the vaguest sense. I remember singing along with Famous Blue Raincoat, knowing there was something big and strong inside that song. Now I listen and feel turned inside-out. I see my former lover, and the lover I left to be with him, and the girl he found to replace me. I see myself.

Usually profile-based recommendations are just toys, good for random thoughts and ironic amusements. But every once in a while I see the grand possibility. Some recommendation strikes a spark, begins a tenuous thread that I can follow back to something I absolutely love.

Larry Milas shuns the spotlight...

...like Paris Hilton shuns the spotlight. Which is to say, he talks about himself every time he can get within 10 feet of a microphone.

This post has absolutely no meaning to anyone outside the 500 or so people intimately connected to Olin College, but I wrote it anyway because the incident is a microcosm of humanity at its obsequious, arrogant, TACKY best.

Give a college a lot of money and they'll name buildings after you, write dreamy missives ignoring all your faults, and manage to forget that you spent the commencement address talking about how great you are, then presented yourself with a present taking credit for the whole graduation! Here's the best part: they'll do it even if you're giving them SOMEONE ELSE'S MONEY.

Not So Much With The Wuv

Always make friends with your building manager. They can be your best friend, or your worst enemy. Luckily, mine is the former. So when I asked him who was Douglas and what did he think about the card left under my door, he quickly informed me that Douglas does not live in the building and has been known to leave such cards for random residents every few months. The "yick" factor is reduced because he wasn't specifically targeting me, but still...Uncomfortable and sad.

Fascinating Medical Facts

Did you know you have oil glands on the edges of your eyelids? Well you do. They secrete oil that keeps your tears from evaporating too quickly. Without the oil, your eyes get dry and irritated, and more prone to infection.

Did you know that Oakland grime can clog your eyelid glands? This is why I am now sitting on the couch pressing a hot, washcloth-wrapped hard-boiled egg to my eyes. I just love the city.

Wots of Wuv

I woke up this morning to find a purple envelope slipped under my apartment door. It was addressed to Guess Who?? I know very few people in my apartment complex, and no one well enough to be exchanging cards. Intriguing. I tore it open and found a giant Tweety Bird holding a bouquet of flowers and telling me that right now someone was thinking of me with...Wots of Wuv! The card was signed by Douglas. Apparently, he would like to get to know me better. He thinks I have a great personality. He included his phone number. I have NO IDEA who this person is. Errr...

So, I have as secret admirer. That's sweet. He likes Tweety Bird. That's...something. I guess I'm flattered. But Wots of Wuv?? As an introductory note?

Of course, I have to call him.