40, Finally!!

My birthday was Sunday. I am forty, finally. I had a blast with my forty days of fun. I didn't know what an undertaking this would turn out to be. The last week was hard. I caught a cold. I think all those nights of going out caught up with me.  Some of the things I've learned over the course of this project are:

1. Arrive early.

2. Get tickets in advance.

3. Everything is better when you are with family and friends.

4. Snow days are a good thing.

5.  Allow days for resting.

6. Maybe 25 for 25 would have been a better idea.

Now onto the next adventure!

40 for 40 - Week 6, 3/11 - 3/15

Tuesday, Mar. 11 -- Dinner at Mamacita's

Wednesday, Mar. 12 -- Snow Day

Thursday, Mar. 13 -- The Bravery Concert with Slugo

Friday Mar. 14 -- Get Ready for the Par-ty

Saturday Mar. 15 -- Birthday Party

Sunday Mar. 16 -- 40, Finally!!

Day # 33: Surprise Day at Angel Island

So I thought it was just gonna be my girls -- Nora, Gren and Olive, at a picnic on Angel Island but I was quite surprised. Turned out M&R along with Pat, G, Slugo, Duke and Raf also showed up. At 1 pm, R&A came with their minis A and A. Oh, and the sun came out as well so that was quite nice. We had a great feast and I even got on a tandem bike (surprise) but only rode on the flat surfaces.

Gren, R, G, A and Olive went for a 5 mile bike ride. It took a while for Olive to make it back but she finally did. I was quite relieved because although you can camp on Angel Island we really did not have enough supplies to keep us warm. We were also gonna play A**Hole but you really can not play that game with kids around. I will have to get R to teach us how. 

We headed back to Tiburon at 3:30 and had drinks at Guyamas. Slugo had to pay because he was being all crazy and obnoxious which is rare but does happen on occasion. I blame the sun! Luckily, G was good and hydrated so she could drive us home.

A huge shout out to Nora, Gren and Ms O for all their work planning this surprise! I loved it.

Day #32: Haunted Haight Walking Tour

At 7 pm on Friday night we met M&R, P, and C in front of Coffee for the People to take the Haunted Haight Walking Tour . Tommy, the founder of the SF Paranormal Society, was our tour guide extrodinare. M arranged with him to bring along the VP of the Paranormal Society who turned out to be Annalisa, a psychic and a former grammer/high school friend of ours.

I won't give too much away but he is quite entertainning and we did find out a lot about our neighborhood. Now I want to go on the celebrity Rock tour. I've got the map but it would be great to have some one to tell me the cool stories like Tommy, aka the Ghost Guy, did. Oh, and if your place is haunted the SF Paranormal Society will come over, free of charge, to check it out for you. 

Day #31: Wishful Drinking

Gren, Olive and I had a fabulous dinner at Nora's ( salad, Mediterranean chicken, and cupcakes for dessert) then we drove over to her old stomping grounds of Berkeley. At the Berkeley Rep., which is also turning 40 this year, we saw Carrie Fisher in her one-woman play named Wishful Drinking (to tell you the truth I don't know why it is named that).


She was awesome! We loved it. She did a complete run down of her life told us why she did not have to wear a bra in Star Wars - you don't need them in space, according to George Lucas. Even brought out the old wig. She gave us run down on her whole family history and why she is who she is. She talked about her ex-hubbies Paul Simon and Bryan Lourd whom she turned gay because she was taking codeine. Next time she will read the label better. She analyzed a bunch of Paul's songs that he wrote about her and their relationship. We all left thinking about what a great addition she would be to our group of friends.


Her show runs till April 12th and is well worth seeing.

Day #30: Run, Fat Boy, Run

Ms Olive and I went down to the Embarcadero Cinema to see a free screening of Run, Fat Boy, Run  directed by David Schwimmer and starring Simon Pegg. All courtesy of the  San Francisco International Film Festival . It is a really good, funny movie. Much of the action of the movie revolves around a London marathon and Ms O actually ran the Flora London marathon in April 2001 and I went to cheer her on. It was cool to be reminded of that time in our lives. 

David Schwimmer came by after the movie for Q&A and he was quite funny and endearing. I did not really like his character on Friends but here in person he seemed so likable. I guess he seemed less neurotic and know it all-y. This is the first feature he has directed. He was wearing a black leather jacket and so was I. When he came down the aisle are jackets touched so I can say that I've touched a celebrity on my forty days.

Day #20: A Little Spontaneity

40-4-40 has sure been fun.  One thing that has been hard for me is to have to follow a schedule. I like to be spontaneous and having a planned activity every day has taken a little of the fun out of it. On February 20th, Mother Nature intervened. I had planned to go on a Mural tour of the Mission but it was raining off and on, plus it was windy. It didn't seem to be a good day to be outdoors. So instead I went to dim sum at Ton Kiang with Gren and Nora. I love dim sum but I hardly ever eat it so this was definitely a treat. 

Then if that wasn't enough fun, Gren and I went to the Conservatory of Flowers . It had been ages since I'd been here. We saw a cool exhibit of Chinese penjing, these miniature plant landscapes. See the photo in the previous post.  All in all it was a very good day.

40 for 40 - Week 5, 3/4 - 3/10

Tuesday Mar. 4 -- Dinner with Mom and Dad

Wednesday Mar. 5 -- Movie Night -- "Run, Fat Boy, Run"

Thursday Mar. 6 -- Wishful Drinking at Berkelep Rep (dinner at Nora's)

Friday Mar. 7 -- Haunted Haight Walking Tour.

Saturday Mar. 8 -- Sh, It's Surprise Day

Sunday Mar. 9 -- No Baggage Bon Fire at Ocean Beach

Monday Mar. 10 -- Day of Rest

It Has Finally Happened!

I admit I was overly ambitious in planning 40-4-40. Well, it's finally happened. Today I didn't do anything fun. A grant was added to the schedule at the very last minute. So today all I did was work and work and work! Luckily, I talked to Gren and she had a great solution to my problem --

(drum roll, please) a snow day. That's right today is going to be my snow day. I'll just add it to the end of my forty days of fun. Gren grew up back east so she is all familiar with the snow day concept.

40 for 40 - Week 4, 2/26 - 3/3

Tuesday, Feb. 26 -- Edinburgh Castle Pub Quiz . The Castle is located at 950 Geary Blvd, between Larkin & Polk Streets. The Quiz start at 8:30 PM. Entry is free but the beer isn't.

Wednesday, Feb. 27 -- Book group (aka wine club) meeting to discuss Tess of the D'Urbervilles

Thursday, Feb. 28 -- Bars by the Book visit to the Dubliner Lincoln

Friday, Feb. 29 -- Leap Day and Sadie Hawkins Day

Saturday, Mar. 1 -- Dinner at Elizabeth's with Cathy and Stacie then to Comedy Club

Sunday, Mar. 2 -- TBA. Please check back. I had planned to go on a Mural Tour of the Mission but the weather isn't cooperating. Now I am going to dim sum at Ton Kiang.

Monday, Mar. 3 -- TBA. Please check back

Day #16: The Hives and The Donnas @ The Fillmore

Chisco, Slugo, Chica and I were in a rush so we went to Burger King for dinner. It is just so great that it is convienetly close by. Then we high tailed it to the Fillmore about a block away where the Donnas were already rocking the house. The four D's were great and gave mad props to the Hives. We loved them but only wished you could see some of their faces. I guess bangs are IN in a big way.

We gave Chisco a tour of the Fillmore stopping up stairs to see Live 105's entertainment. I have no clue who the guys were. They were playing this old timey instrument from like the time when instruments weren't invented yet or something. I think I'll have to check out Live 105's blog to see who they are and what they are about. We checked out all their killer posters and they had one of a band from Mexico and that is when my cousin got impressed.

The Hives came on and the front man was awsome. They all were. The drummer, Chris Dangerous, really rocked as did the Donna's drummer. The guys are supper tall and hella hot in their suits. When Idiot Walk came on the singer, Pelle Almqvist, did his version of Mick Jagger's strut. It was killer show!

The only downside was that there were no free posters. I love the free posters.

Day #14: BBTB's 1st Anniversary

This President's Day we headed over to the 1 year anniversary party of Gren's BBTB. I know I won't do the night justice so you have to visit her blog! But some highlights: the most barflies ever at one time; a blast for the past came and brought a new barfly; and the joke fest ensued. Yup, you'll even find out the CC did not stay for the whole night!

Oh, Gren on the History Channel they aired a show called, History of the Joke, and "What is brown and sticky?" was the most sent in joke! I have to side with Lewis Black -- It's just not that funny and SH*T would be a better answer.

Day #13: Marie Antoinette and In Bruges

Today, I hooked up with my friend H and her girls N & F. We stopped by Golden Gate Park and then over to Clement Street for lunch. We finally got around to the Legion of Honor, where we met Ms Olive, and saw the marie Antoinette exhibit. The line was crazy and the show was a little disappointing since it was mainly furniture and cheap replicas of her necklaces. The interesting part of the exhibit is learning about her hideaway palace at Versailles and it's surroundings. She had her own carousel, theater, and English and Chinese gardens.

After the museum, we headed to the movies at the Kabuki which I am planning to boycott. You have to pay for assigned seating and then the movie is wrecked because people can't find the seat they forgot they picked. We, San Franciscans, are not use to such rigidity and can not be forced to conform. Tbone met up with us and we ended up having a good time.

If you haven't guessed by know we saw Colin Farrell's movie, In Bruges. Only Chisco had been there. He is a major world traveler. Right now he's visiting from Leon, Mexico. We'll be there in May for his wedding!

-- B

At the end of the evening I couldn't make up my mind whether to eat or go home. Luckily, I choose to go home becuase I should rest my liver tomorrow is a BIG day!

40 for 40 - Week 3, 2/19 - 2/25

Tuesday, Feb. 19 -- Have dinner at Delfina

Wednesday, Feb. 20 -- Concert Night: The Hives and The Donnas at The Fillmore

Thursday, Feb. 21 -- It's Not My Birthday Celebration! (Hey, other people have birthdays too.)

Friday, Feb. 22 -- Dinner at C & M's house

Saturday Feb. 23 -- Family Day (Mom's B-day)

Sunday Feb. 24 -- Precita Eyes Mural Tour (postponed due to rain)
Instead, Dim Sum at Ton Kiang and a visit to the Conservatory of Flowers

Monday, Feb. 25 -- ???

-- B

Day #12: The Big Lebowski Party

Well, I should begin with the fact the Mom, Slugo, Chisco, Ms Olive and I had dinner at the yummy Park Chalet, where Ms Olive insulted the live musicians by asking them if they were "Diego's Umbrella" the usual Tuesday night band. They weren't.

Then we headed over to the Blur to meet up with Gren. By the time we got to Blur it was just Ms Olive and me as the others had jumped ship. We found Gren chatting up half the bar (really just some guy and the bartender). We had a PBR in honor of the Dude. Some nice guy from Detroit came into the bar looking for some other straight bars on Polk St. We sent him over to the R Bar on Sutter and told him about Big Foot Lodge on Polk near Washington Street. Both great bars in our book!

We went over to Space Gallery for the party. It has some great inexpensive art pieces for sale. Ms O is vowing to go back on her next payday and buy something. She'll let you know when she does.

We got our $7 White Russians and headed upstairs where they had a dj, bowling and of course were screening the Big Lebowski. There were a few people dressed up as John Goodman's character, Walter Sobchak ("I told those fucks down at the league office a thousand times that I don't roll on Shabbos!") and others dressed as the Dude in his bathrobe. But the best costume was the guy who stripped down to his leopard bikini underwear and just mingled about. But I guess he either got too cold or too embarrased because he changed back into his street clothes.

Gren left us to meet Just So Jeff and we stayed as long as possible but it was a bit hard to see the movie or have conversation when the dj started. The space is just too small. But it is a cool place for a small party and the art is amazing.

-- B

Day #11: A Million Little Pictures

Ms O participated in a very cool art show. Back in December she ordered a disposable camera from A Million Little Pictures . The premise was for her to take pictures around the theme, adventure. Once she was done she sent the camera back. They developed the photos along with the ones taken by 226 other people and organized an exhibit.

The exhibit took place on February 15th at 111 Minna Gallery. Ms O's photos were there. Her photos were taken on our trip to Minneapolis. There were pictures of the ice fishing and the hockey game, which is pretty adventurous stuff for San Francisco natives.

Now our cousins can say that they've been part of a gallery show, too.

-- A

Day #6: More SF Indie Fest

We were back at the Roxie volunteering for the fest. We saw a collection of animation shorts and a doc, "The Bodybuilder and I." Our favorite shorts were
Hope Springs Eternal , The Cock Song , and the "Fantasies of Bubblewrap".

We met the composer, Armando Sandoval, for Hope Springs Eternal. He was really sweet, funny and very proud of his work on the movie.

Later that night we saw the short, "Surfing Thru" about women surfers who have cancer. It was quite moving and inspiring. The movie is only 24 minutes long which we found out is the length of one chemo treatment. The filmmaker, Chloe Webb, who was Nancy in the film, "Sid and Nancy" is hoping to get this film into hospitals so that women (& men) can watch it during chemo sessions. What a great idea!

We also saw "Sliding Liberia", a surf movie with a social justice twist. I don't know if it will get released but their basic goal is to turn Liberia into the next big surfing spot which at the same time will help the country's economy by turning it into a tourist destination. The director, editor and two of the surfers featured in the film were going over to the Bissap Baobab after Q&A. We didn't go because it was a school night and we haven't even finished one week of fun yet!! Ugh, I really am turning 40 when I turn down drinks and talks with film makers.

-- B

Day #5: SF Indie Fest

I am still going strong! Luckily, Ms Olive is really into the 40 Days of Fun! On Saturday, February 9th, we went to the Roxie to volunteer at SF Indie Fest. It really is great event and they have killer films. In exchange for volunteering you get to see the movies that are playing during your shift for free. We saw a collection of shorts and later saw a funny Armenian movie, "Big Story in a Small City."

For dinner, we had shwermas at Truly Mediterranean. They use to have a place on Haight St. and the shwermas rocked. Now they are just so-so. We'd love to find a good shwerma, if you know of a place let us know. After dinner, we saw Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation . It was made in the 80's by a bunch of teenagers and it is pretty funny. They recreated and filmed their version of the movie following the original word for word and scene by scene.

At 9ish we met up with G for the IndieFest Roller Disco Party. The party was good but it was so packed (about 500 people there) that you couldn't really skate. They had a killer dj but after two hours of going 2 miles per hour and dealing with really long lines at the bar we decided to bail! (But we are looking for a roller skating place, if you know of one in the Bay Area let me know asap!)

-- A & B

Day #4: Double Date Night

Slug, A, R and I met up at SPQR on Fillmore. The restaurant does not take reservations. We got there at 6:30 p.m. and the wait was an hour. We really wanted to try the place so we waited. Luckily, there are so many places to have a drink in the area and I'm not opposed to having a good drink.

About an hour later, we went on over to SPQR and had a great dinner. If you go there, you should try the fried brussel sprouts. They are very tasty!

-- B

40 for 40 - Week 2, 2/12 - 2/18

This week's activities include:

Tuesday, Feb. 12 -- Dinner at Tadich Grill with my friend Vi from college

Wednesday, Feb. 13 -- Mani/Pedi

Thursday, Feb. 14 -- Valentine's Day

Friday, Feb. 15 -- A Million Little Pictures Exhibit at 111 Minna Gallery. The exhibit runs from 12-9 pm and there is no cover. Ms. Olive took some pictures on our trip to Minnesota! We'll be there at 6:00.

Saturday, Feb. 16 -- Indie Fest's Big Lewbowski Party
White Russians! Mini Bowling! Nihlists! The party is at Space Gallery at 1141 Polk Street. It starts at 9 pm and lasts till they kick us out. Free admission with any IndieFest ticket stub or in costume, otherwise $10. We've saved our stubs so you are covered. The Dude Abides.

Sunday, Feb. 17 -- Marie Antoinette Exhibit, Legion of Honor.
Open from 9:30 to 5:15pm. I'll be there at 1pm. I have a family musuem membership which lets four people in for free.

Monday, Feb. 18 -- Bars by the Book 1st Anniversary at Deluxe Club at 1511 Haight Street. The Bar opens at 5pm on Mondays!

-- B