Enchanted Week

The past week has been filled with micro-adventures and cosmic goodness. It has been one of those periods where there are so many positively cool little things that happen, the negative stuff just melts into non-existence.

My project with Mister and Missus Noe has been challenging (understatement of the month) and successful and... Fun as hell! Should be finished later this coming week. i've thoroughly enjoyed working at their place and hanging out with them. Sweet people. That was Street Cleaning Day thru Friday daytimes.

Wednesday evening, Kush and i were getting together for some guy-time. We were meeting in North Beach for dinner and a drink or two, so i invited Tres to join us. He was otherwise engaged, so it was gonna just be Kush and me. Figuring that driving home would be ill-advised, i took BART to Montgomery and walked to NB.

As i headed up the street, i caught Gnome out of the corner of my eye. i had just been thinking about him. This is the time of year he normally shows up from Alaska - And points between here and there - On his annual journey to different parts of Asia. And here he was with a couple friends. Kush was running late, so i hung out with them for a few. Turns out Falcon and Nemo are great spirits who just happen to be into stuff like Ecovillages and GIN. i figure our paths will cross in the future. After killing twenty minutes chatting on the sidewalk, i continued on my journey.

i had no sooner sat down at our pre-determined meeting place when Kush walked in. We caught up on our lives over some awesome seafood linguine and a couple drinks. We continued our conversation as we wandered the streets of North Beach... Hearing a great blues riff from inside The Saloon, i told the doorman that i just wanted to poke my head inside and check it out before deciding whether we would pay the Ten Buck cover. Tommy Castro was onstage and ROCKING! Yeah, we'll go in...

The place was absolutely packed. The crowd was, shall i say, not exactly your normal San Francisco crowd. For starters, it was all white folks. i really hate to say this, but i felt bad for the club, because if these people weren't so fat, they could have gotten another fifty people in there paying cover. Kush and i traded our coats with the bartender and each got a beer in return. As my eyes adjusted to the lighting, i looked around the room. At least half these people made me think i had just walked into a Jerry Springer Reunion. Now, i ain't anything special to look at, but there was no question that Kush and i were the two best looking guys in the room.

"Come on, Kush. Let's go dance." We squeezed onto the packed floor. Good, jamming blues always gets my hips shaking. And this was great, jamming blues. When i'm in a groove, i'm a spacemaker on the dance floor. This is always a mixed bag... Some people get pissed and others smile and enjoy being entertained by my enthusiasm. Yeah, i hear their comments. i see the look on their faces. And i just smile and keep grooving.

i danced my way over to a spot with a little more room to move. The best looking gal in the place took a turn dancing with me. Definitely NOT one of the Reunionites. She had some nice moves, but wore out after a couple songs. i wondered whatever happened to gals like Christine Fromengland or Wife #3? Gals you can groove WITH in synchronous rhythm... Ladies you can twirl and swing and never stop smiling. With sparkling eyes of joy and spirit. The ones who leave it all on the floor and don't stop until the band is safely home and tucked into bed. Whatever happened to them?

During the break, i wandered the streets, cooling off. Shared some Green Goodness with a couple who were celebrating thirty years of marriage. Then i did something completely out of character. i got my shoes shined. Yep. First time ever. Maybe it was the lure of the hottie in the seat before me. Yeah, that was probably it. Then i went inside to put my newly shined shoes back to work. Being a freak on the floor is always a wonderful feeling for me.

Kush and i retrieved our coats and headed to The Mission. We wandered into The Lex, put some tunes on the jukebox, and continued our conversation from earlier. Last call. Kush headed home. i went and closed Gestalt.

Gnome came to stay at our place on Friday. That evening, he and Miss E went to Lucky Devil's to record some of his songs. It was Christmas Eve. Since i'm leaving SF in three weeks, i have this little mission to check out as many different places, and connect with as many people, as possible. So i walked the neighborhood and sampled a few bars that i've passed hundreds of times, but never went in. Met and rapped with a dozen new peeps over the course of the evening. Brought some light and fun into their day. Nice!

Christmas Day started with a wonderful present. A letter from Christine Fromengland was in my inbox. Christine has been on my list of people to notify about GIN, but i missed her when i called a week or so ago. i prefer to connect with them on the phone, or in person, before sending an email. It's more personal for both of us that way. The time difference between here and there is always tricky. i sent her a brief note asking what the best time to call would be. Then i proceeded to finish deleting all the non-personal contacts in my Contacts. This was my Christmas present to myself.

The number is 207. Counting a couple of my alter egos. This is the new starting point for people in my life. Merry Christmas to me!

Christmas Day was Hardwood Floors Day. Miss E was going to spend Christmas with friends then up to Harbin. i was putting a new floor in the hallway. I spent time visiting with Miss E and Gnome before tackling the floor. Looking forward to getting a copy of Gnome's songs from the night before.

This morning i was double ecstatic to see, not one, but two letters from Christine. Including a time to call. Now, before anybody gets to thinking i have something "going on" with her, put that out of your mind. She's a kindred light spirit to mine. A total sweetheart. Half a world away. She brought some beautiful feelings to me when we met at Rooster. And i want to return the favor. i'm really looking forward to talking with her and catching up. Meanwhile, i'm back to the hardwood.

That, my friends, is the shortest version possible of my enchanted week. There are many, many details missing from this post, but i hope you get the idea. Now go have one of your own!