some things change, some things stay the same

i got to looking at my pictures

THINGS CHANGE
EXHIBIT A: hair changes
(pictured left to right: carol with long hair, michael with long hair, matt with no beard)

EXHIBIT B: gas prices go up (and then down, sometimes)
(gasoline in fort worth, texas 2004)













EXHIBIT C: we sleep in different places...
(pictured left to right: texas, berkeley, palo alto, menlo park, san francisco)
























THINGS STAY THE SAME
EXHIBIT A: my family is still great, and we still eat at my fave chinese restaurants in dfw
(pictured left to right: mom and dad at kiran court, carol and michelle at ren ji)













EXHIBIT B: i still talk to my friends, who are still great though they tend to move away
(pictured roughly from left to right: kat drew jessica harry tracy sammy rob naureen terry)



























EXHIBIT C: high five, an ancient form of expressing happiness!
(matt m. and carol on the beach, 2007 and 2008)












EXHIIBT D: the same things make me smile
(riding on fuzzy animals, blue bell ice cream, and kite flying)

serious stuff

in my head:

• love doesn't mean very much without commitment.
• and commitment is real only when you're willing to give up something.

i think i'm right.

thanksgiving is my favorite holiday

• thanks. i like the idea a holiday that is dedicated to appreciating what we have.  i'm thankful for my loving, supportive family with whom i had a chaotic four-way call today.  i'm thankful that i can still trace friendships back to my childhood, that there are people who share my view that friendships can be more than convenient, temporary relationships.  i'm thankful that there are so many caring people in my life.
  
• cooking.  i like making food for people i love.  in my mind, cooking shows you care.  it totally makes my family, my family, and by extension i am the same way.
  
• texas.  i miss it, and i miss the gang.  people in california don't appreciate pecan pie the way texans do.  and, they mispronounce it as 'pee - can instead of pu - 'kan.
  
• turkey 3.0, great success.  happy to catch up with eugene alicia harry jose brendan sydney eddie stephen.  simplified menu of arugula and tomato salad, turkey n' gravy, fennel-mushroom-prosciutto-pinenut stuffing, roasted garlic herb potatoes n' squash, sauteed green beans, pecan pie, wassail, and cheese 'n grapes.  yummy contributions of cupcakes and enchiladas. 
  

weekending notes

last weekend:

• animation film festival
• made mushroom ragout and polenta;  dumplings and the works with friends.
• shopping

 

this one:

• eating.  little star, suppenkuche, city view dim sum, indian oven
• hiking.  land's end.
• reading nyt aloud.

 

cut and run

i've developed this reaction to boys in the past couple of years:

 

-  the urge to bolt as soon it is not easy

-  but i'm uneasy when it's easy

 

run before he runs from me.

managing your parents

some jumbled thoughts:

 

-  preemption.  call your parents before they call you.  do this whether you are 15 or 50 years old.  this prevents random calls on say, a friday night date.  tell them enough about your life for them to feel like they know what's going on.

-  don't upset them.  one friend approaches it like this: "i don't bother letting my parents know i live in san francisco [they think she lives in safe suburbs].  why worry them?  they are old and have worked hard -- i don't want to upset them."  i'm not sure i agree. generally, i feel like transparency is a good thing.  but i see her point -- why potentially upset your parents especially if you don't see them very often.  if keeping the peace means pretending large parts of your life don't exist, so be it 

-  partner / friendship.  i'd like to think, instead, that my parents are friends and potential advisors.  they have a lot of wisdom, even if it's based on the world 20 years ago.  so i mine my mom for her perspectives on things like:  how to move forward in times of uncertainty, how to do finance stuff, how to decide if someone is your life partner, and deciding when is a good time to have children.  i'm not sure if the partnership approach is good either though -- it may be inviting too much commentary.

my little pony

i did three things this weekend:

 

- sleep 12+ hours a night

- play little big planet

- make crepes and cookies

 

goings-ons

briefly and uncreatively,

• kicked the gre
• barcelona.  lots of gaudi stuff (even the science museum managed to link natural shapes to guadi).  enjoyed a crazy three-nozzle shower and tentacled food.
• fuck casablanca.  gave toll man euros and dollars, stopped by two police officers, lost for long time.  no monies paid, eventually we figured out where we were and three hotels later, we found a bed.  nothing to see but this mosque. 
• end of the road.  two day drive through pretty mountain pass (tiz 'n tikcha) and palmtree-lined desert (draa valley) to the end, where we spent a couple nights in the desert.  lessons learned -- camels hurt buttocks; sandstorms no fun; mint tea is really sweet; do not underestimate kia's ability to go off road; picking up man off side of road could lead to a tour of the kasbahs and an invitation to carpet-seller's home; say "en-sh'allah" every few sentences.
• looped back to marakesh -- softer hills, trees.  random little hike.  drove through foggy (and scary) mountain pass, tiz 'n test, which led to the sunny side of the mountain.  slept at quaint places in the country, slept at a beautiful place in the city.  best meal of morocco.  fireplaces are fun.  street food in the square and on the streets.  matt's hairs cut and hammam.
• thought a lot about my and matt's dislike of bargaining, why we travel, why we travel to developing countries, and a lot more but i can't remember.