L.A Baby

Et me voici donc à LA - city of angels, city of soleil surtout!  Comme ça fait du bien d'être un peu au soleil.  Crème solaire tous les jours évidemment, mais vive le soleil.
Une journée bien remplie hier - matin relax chez Logan et Sharon, puis:  déjeuner en tête à tête avec Logan dans un petit restaurant Thai très sympa.  Ensuite, destination Hollywood pour être une vraie touriste : )
Grauman's Chinese Theatre.
Devant le théâtre, les pieds et mains de stars dans du ciment.  Pas mal de touriste, et pas mal de gens déguisés en "star"...spiderman, superman..assez étrange.
Puis, pour bien rigolé, Logan et moi décidons de rendre visite aux statues de cire de Madame Tussaut (française née à Strasbourg, ce que je ne savais pas).  Expérience hyper étrange au début, puis plutôt chouette en fin de compte.
[Avec Brittany pour Fanny]
La soirée commence avec un bon dîner dans un restaurant Koreen avec Sharon, Jin et Gorav.


On termine dans un bar karaoké, qui ressemble plutôt à un "strip-club" de l'extérieur.  A l'intérieur, des salles privées dans lesquelles surtout des  Koréens chantent des chansons pop.  Assez étrange mais drôle.
Aujourd'hui je crois que nous allons nous cultiver au Getty.

Smithies

Sitting at the Oakland Airport, waiting for my flight to Los Angeles – the sun is slowly setting, the light is beautiful.   These last few days in San Francisco have been filled with friends and laughter – a perfect remedy, a blessing, exactly what any woman might need to give her soul and heart a boost.  I am stunned once again at the power and importance of friendship, especially female friendships.  I spent Saturday evening surrounded by Smithies – women I met close to 10 years ago when I went to college and most of whom I hadn’t seen since.  Yet, so many years later, the bond is still present and still strong.  There must be something about Smithies…I wish I could describe it.  As I looked around the table I was stunned by these women’s beauty – not just physical beauty, but a “soulful” beauty.  They are strong and sensitive, funny, witty, intelligent, passionate, dynamic – they will admit to being lost or confused, or in transition, and might not see the strength and life that they carry as they carry on, but every single one of us sitting at the same table sees it so clearly.    Support, enthusiasm, understanding.  Strong opinions, good questions, tenderness, and lots of love.  Present in each other’s lives even from a far, there for each other in some unspoken way.  Thank you

San Francisco

First Stop:  Mantera with Emilie and Tom!
Tiny little town on the Pacific ocean - with one great Peruvian restaurant where Emilie and I had a wonderful dinner.

Second Stop:  My mom's friend Tara in Pacific Heights [photo to come]
Third Stop:  Sophia and Kevin's in Bernal Height.
Great vegan sushi diner with Sophia on Valencia, Cha-Ya, I belive.
[Pictures of actual people to come...]
Fourth Stop:  Brunch with Annie at Chow on Market and Church, followed by some sight seeing...

Quelque chose que j'aime bien à San Francisco: 
A la recherche de la maison bleue...adossée à la coline ~ trouvée mais j'ai un peu de mal à la photographier.

Excursion to Seattle

Today, I got off the rock to meet up with my friend JJ who was in town for work.  It was a sunny and crisp winter day.  The ferry was packed with sports fan, whom i really don't understand at all...but i will sit back and respect the fervor all while not understanding it AT ALL.  I don't understand either that the ferry people got on the PA 3 times to let passengers know that other passengers were selling tickets to the game.  I'm sorry, but don't get on the PA to sell me things.  Don't interrupt my lovely ferry ride to talk to me about purchasing tickets to a game which i don't care about.  Granted, probably 3 people on that boat didn't care about the game..but still.  I don't know why that bugged me so much, but it did.
That being said, JJ and I had a lovely time.
A la demande de Fanny, voici quelques photos:
With JJ..and then the ferry ride back and my attempts at taking a good self-portrait ~ un peu trop à gauche, un peu trop à droite, un peu trop près, un peu trop sombre, avec les lunettes, sans les lunettes..C'est "artsy". Si, si, je vous jure, c'est "artsy".

La coupure de courant...48 hours without power

Last Monday, snow started falling...on cedars and island roads.  The white fluff fell from the sky for hours and hours.  It eventually stopped and the wind took over.  Strong winds which brought 50,000 people to a halt:  lights out, electric stoves out, heating out - forget about charging your computer, your phone, forget about work, forget about staying up late past sunset:  no more power.
Now, I've been on the island before when the power has gone out.  It's quaint and fun for few hours...a "few hours" being key here.   This power outage however quickly lost its charm, mostly due to the fact that the temperature dropped significantly, that we were short on wood, and that i actually am quite dependent on my computer.  No way to make hot soup, no way to make tea, no warm showers possible - it quickly felt like camping, splashing freezing water on your face in the morning in an effort to maintain a certain level of hygiene.  Hats and coats were worn inside.  Beds were pushed together to capitalize on the body heat.  Everything felt stopped.  I tried to keep going, not wanting to allow my dependence on electricity to stop me from living - the way we live is such a luxury anyway and half of this planet has never known a life with power - but strangely, i felt stuck; unable to get myself to do the little amount of work that i could actually do without being plugged in.  We read out loud as a family, and did very little.  An imposed break from our plugged-in lives, our plugged-in selves.  A good reminder as well of the strength and kindess of communities - as friends of the family cared for us, bringing us food and wood and sharing the warmth of their propane powered homes with us.
I will continue to be thankful for a while everytime I step under a hot shower, wash the dishes in hot water, turn on the light.
A la demande de Fanny, voici quelques photos de cette aventure...
1.  Le début...c'est charmant.  Tout va bien.  En plus, il fait beau, donc bon.
2.  OK.  Il fait froid.  Mon père derrière en combinaison de ski quand   même..
3.  Presque 48 heures...allez!  La folie s'installe dans nos corps gelés petit à petit..

With the power back...happy thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

«Cet écran observe votre comportement» - article Libération

http://www.liberation.fr/societe/01012304713-cet-ecran-observe-votre-comportement
**1984**
Je vous encourage à devenir membre de l'association Résistance à l'agression publicitaire.
Bonne journée d'une petit île où il y a aussi de la pub...mais moins que dans le métro parisien.
Moins de pub mais plus de 4x4.
Et si on remplaçait les pubs par de l'art?  Certains diront que la publicité est une forme d'art..mais le but de l'art n'est pas de nous faire consommer plus, toujours plus...Enfin, je ne crois pas.

Chicago, IL

I arrived in Chicago over a week ago.  The weather was so kind as to remain autumnal  and lovely for my first few days in town.  I am thrilled to be reconnecting with my friends...all so talented and inspiring.
Spent quite a bit of time back at Strawdog for closing night of "State of the Union" and the Phonebook Benefit, which was fantastic.
Auditions, friends, dinners, drinks, dogs & autumn leaves.

Bainbridge Island

Arrived on Bainbridge Island, WA last Wednesday.
Cedar trees, family, coffee shops, quiet streets, island life, ferry boats  This picture was taken on the ferry on my way to Seattle to spend the afternoon with Stephanie.
Below, photo from Steph's hip iphone.

Grace

Sunday morning on Bainbridge Island...
On some Sundays in my family, that means going to church ~ especially when my little sister is singing.
Arielle sang a beautiful and soulful rendition of Regina Spektor's great tune "Laughing with".
A moment of grace and tears.
After the service, snow started falling. Winter is arriving and along with it the promise of more quiet and peaceful moments.