Monday, December 11, 2006, 10:18 PM - Travels, Sex, Politics, Dancing, Snow, George, Friends, Food, Books, Technology, Art, Los Angeles
I've been terribly neglectful of this little enterprise post-election - mostly because the last thing I wanted to do was spend a single additional second looking at a screen. (I've read three novels and am reveling in Against the Day now, which will slow down my book-devouring rate considerably). The beginning of November was a frenzied adventure- although we were better prepared than in 2004, things as always slid just under the wire (on election day people were making 40 calls a second with our tools - it was amazing to watch people swarm through our lists)...then election night was blissful, and the morning after even better. It felt wonderfully fulfilling on 11/9 to come back from a run along the Seattle waterfront (the first sunny day since I'd arrived) and see Rumsfeld getting the axe. I'm sure that our program turned out more votes than the margin of victory in key races (MT senate, several house contests, probably VA Senate as well) - of course we were only part of a larger progressive effort, but it's exciting to know we had such an impact. I've been on an extended episodic victory tour - multiple DC parties, and little celebration cocktail evenings in SF and NY, which were all great fun. I've been to one disjointed, we-were-still-too-tired-to-think official debrief, and one enervating multidisciplinary free-for-all that was loads of fun. I'm back in LA, wrapping up my work at GCI - getting ready to dig into all the data from Call for Change as part of a team of people working for MoveOn to make sure we understand what we did and learn as much as possible for next time. It's always a little hard to go from being so thoroughly consumed by a project back to a more balanced life, and I'm a little nostalgic for that laserlike focus, but this is infinitely more sustainable. Dad came out and Angela and Erik and Aurora came down for Thanksgiving and we all had our first Angeleno holiday - lots of sitting in the sun and as many revisionist recipes as George would let us get away with. I've been rediscovering the pleasures of cooking and reading the New Yorker and spending whole afternoons with friends. It's nice to remember that I like to eat in fancy restaurants (have had tasty dinners at Frankie's 457 in Brooklyn and Joe's in Venice and Lucques in LA) and go see art. I have done some dancing, but I need more of that. There are, as always, intriguing new and resurfacing romantic possibilities, which will at minimum be interesting to explore. I hope to get into some of that abundant early-season snow soon, too. What I'm not particularly motivated to do is keep writing this - it's been quite enjoyable, but I'm going to keep my personal ramblings a little more closely held. I think it'll be healthy, although probably less entertaining for many of you. I'll likley start some sort of painfully geeky political data diatribe after the holidays, that only I'll read. And I'm sure there will be the occasional tidbit I won't be able to resist posting...we'll see. Love and mounds of appreciation for everyone who helped with Call for Change and let us all find out what winning an election feels like. I'll try and make sure we get used to it.Thursday, September 14, 2006, 11:56 PM - Travels, George
Last weekend (after training new staff in Boston) I took my dad up to Maine to see his navy friend Mike (yes, from WWII). The Friedmans are some of Dad's oldest and closest friends - he was in their wedding in '48, and we would trek up to Maine periodically when I was growing up. My first seder was in their rambling old farmhouse in Bridgeton. It was an emotional weekend for everyone - Dad reacting to the undeniable change in his friend and himself and the realities of being in his mid-80s- Mickey dealing with the demands of an older partner, family drama, and a kitchen remodel - Dad and I appreciating being together on the anniversary of Mom's death, but that not meaning we were less affected by it. We had the best parts of Maine weather (summer Saturday, early fall Sunday). Both nights before dinner I circumnavigated the whole rocky perimeter on my sunset run... I can't tell if it's because I savor the isolation or the community of islands that I like them so much, but ferry rides and places you can't drive to always appeal to me.
BTW I turned off comments for a bit since I was tired of erasing spam - will put them back at some point - feel free to send me anything you'd like posted for now.
Tuesday, June 13, 2006, 01:07 AM - George
There is no better check on my rampant ego than a trip home to Bridgeport. It’s impossible to believe I’m so damn fancy when I come home to a listing ’64 Fury up on blocks and rusting away under a tarp in the back yard. I had a relatively successful attempt to explain my current job to Dad the other morning – my favorite of his descriptives was “an actuary of the Twilight Zone” …trust me when I say this actually represented a breakthrough for us in him understanding what I do. Actuary= analyst, Twilight Zone= nebulous world of politics and political impact. He reiterated that real jobs include actually making things, so I tried to explain to him about the pretty new database I made for GCI – he wasn’t buying it. Of course the most fun part of the visit was getting paraded around in front of the crusty old golf course cronies, and spending an hour or so working on my putting. I got the abbreviated tour of the Bpt economic condition – there is actually some construction in the post-manufacturing wasteland along State St. – new tile and ice cream factories being built…and some of the neighborhood projects are being replaced by a Super Stop and Shop. No threat yet to the local pawn shops and strip clubs, though, so don’t worry too much about my neighborhood losing its ‘character’. And of course we’re now the proud home of the first-ever expansion of Pepe’s Pizza from New Haven, to which I made my dad drive me immediately from the train station. Not quite as good as the original, but easily takes any pizza in California.
Thursday, March 23, 2006, 02:30 PM - Travels, George, Friends, Food, Art
I've had not a minute to keep up with this little enterprise. Perhaps you'll be sympathetic if you hear that in the last 16 days I've been in Boston, New Haven, Bridgeport, Brooklyn, DC, San Francisco, LA, and Denver. Yikes! No wonder I slept in today. All have been good travels; really the optimal mix of work/family/art/fun/food that one can find on the East Coast. I made an excellent blanket fort with my goddaughter in Boston, went to the (kinda stinky) biennial with Andrew, ate homemade canneloni and cannoli with Leslie for the Sopranos premiere, and drank our signature cosmopolitans with my dear New Orleans friend in DC. I had a good visit with Dad - full of nice weather and walks by the water. I'm so lucky that he's still so independent. Denver had some swing dancing and a fun planning meeting for MoveOn's fall program, and back up in NorCal I took the Republican to Joan Blades' birthday party. He gets lots of points for a) venturing into the liberal lions' den and b) dancing with me even though he'd been on a million-mile bike ride that day. Now I have to finish unpacking my life and start seeing what things will be here....pretty much all I've done is see Claudia and Angel so far, but there's a whole city out there waiting. And an update on Griffith Park running: last night at dusk I saw a coyote and heard tons of frogs and crickets. I couldn't believe that I was in the middle of the great metropolis...Friday, November 11, 2005, 08:09 PM - George, Friends
It's being very much assisted by certain communications, like the note I got in the mail from my dad yesterday:
I was a little hurt about your love life. Better over before you become really deep.
Life has its cruel way of answering questions - Why? Who can guess them. All I can say is there is another street car. If it stops, get on.
I love my dad way too much. And someone else had this to say:
you are lovable, sexy and super-fucking smart. not to mention bold and spunky.
translation: dream date
My friends are the best.
Monday, October 31, 2005, 12:55 AM - George
Yesterday I had the most profoundly wholesome day. I not only went running around St. Mary's (hallowed family tromping territory), I went to Silverman's Farm for cider and half an apple fritter, hung out with the bad boys of Fairchild Wheeler (and had the Vazzy's counter girl tell me how dad keeps the language clean for her), carved matching mini-jack-o-lanterns with him, and took him out to his first ever Japanese meal. Thankfully I quickly retreated to the nearest megacity for a late night of dancing to retro early 90s hip hop. My dad is the best. 
