the saddest pepper plant that ever lived (and then died).

it's true. my friend gave me a beautiful pepper plant boasting red, robust chilis and bright green healthy leaves. i've since repotted it and it's shriveled into a depressed few stalks. there are a few peppers hanging on for dear life, but the sheer weight of them threatens the stability of the entire plant now. oh, it's all just so sad. any advice on how to resurrect this little guy?

very special lemon meringue cookies.

i found this recipe on a blog run by an enthusiastic baker of delicious cute things.

meringue isn't difficult at all, and after attempting what looks like a complicated recipe tonight, i'm wondering why i don't just whip up some egg whites more often. this was easy and the results made me feel like a pastry badass. the delicate flavor of these sweet little nothings is sort of divine. it's like a lemon pillow floated down from a warm spring cloud and alighted on my tongue. and the lemon curd, well... i mean, butter and sugar and lemon juice. come on.

joy's cookie recipe called for a pastry bag and parchment paper. i substituted the bag for a ziplock baggie with the corner cut out and the parchment with a non-stick pan that required a little more scraping than these delicate little cookies deserved. que sera, etc.

still not too shabby for impromptu baking.

**and i wish my good friend, the amazing and talented katie newburn, were here to take a better picture of these little guys than i did. look at her food photography at http://www.katienewburn.com/

attention, earthlings...

there's a satellite burning its way through the stratosphere right this minute. that's cool, as long as it's not headed for anywhere/one/thing i like.

"Lazily falling from space, the 12,500-pound satellite UARS on Friday headed toward an early-morning reentry somewhere over North America, Africa, or, most likely, the open ocean." - Washington Post

il lee.

from katie's blog: cloudsandcoffee: crazy good:

::ballpoint pen abstractions by Il Lee::

resigned.

tea spoon.

i resigned from my job today.

it was strange to finally release all that swelling pressure with a simple and forthright email. i worried i was being a coward by neglecting to do it in person. but then, i work remotely, so it makes sense that i'd resign remotely.

i suppose there were a number of things leading up to the decision, but ultimately, i need to be my best at school. i need to move on. and so i did, from a distance, with this sort of pounding in my head followed by an anti-climactic silence after hitting send.

now, my thoughts are of freedom. i'm not a risk-taker, and i have doubts, but i'm looking forward to doing what i love. i'm excited about putting all of my energy into the things that matter, and i'm onto something big and wonderful. i can feel it.

good sunday.

the loo at the st. regis.

home.

my friend and i explored pockets of the city previously undiscovered. found beauty and booze with the whole universe spread out before us. nice.

new work.

santacon 2010.

if you've ever tried to imagine a flash mob of people dressed like santa and drinking heavily, look no further. this year's santacon, or santarchy to veterans of the mob, was my first. it was freezing cold, and i had no santa suit. i did have a couple of well-decked-out friends to guide me, though. ultimately, fun times. i mean, what's not to love about a massive hoarde of drunk grown ups running around the city dressed like old saint nick?

santarchy!

this is right before kyle ran out into traffic.

you put the lime in th' coconut...

santas at blackbird.

more info on santacon can be found at:
http://santacon.info/

obvi.

gay in saudi arabia.

The Kingdom in the Closet

"Sodomy is punishable by death in Saudi Arabia, but gay life flourishes there. Why it is “easier to be gay than straight” in a society where everyone, homosexual and otherwise, lives in the closet."

By Nadya Labi

The Kingdom in the Closet - Magazine - The Atlantic

giving thanks.

carrots and fennel and butter, oh my!

vintage bike race in tuscany.

(photo: nadia shira cohen/source: new york times)

the famous race, or Giro d’Italia, circa 1930, requires only a vintage bike
and clothing and a desire to eat as much as one can while riding. i love italy.

full new york times article

san francisco: miniature city.

San Francisco: The Miniature City from MINIMUS on Vimeo.

(thanks, ronny!)

marine layer.

fuzzy phone picture.

yosemite.

it's taken me five years of living in san francisco, but i finally made it to yosemite; and for a pretty magical weekend. it was far more beautiful than i imagined, and in this way that makes a person feel really small and expansive at the same time. maybe you know what i mean.

these first pictures are of the tiny waterfall oasis ronny and matt found before we all arrived at the camp.

babble babble...

babble.

where's waldo. except it's matt.

ronny being cute.

back at camp, the rest of the gang started to filter in around 5 o'clock. it's a hell of a drive from the city through some very interesting little towns. for example, i passed a cactus shop in manteca that i'm sure was called "pooty's cactus". oh, little california cities. so cute. so strange. the longest part of the drive doesn't begin until until you hit yosemite national park itself. it's exciting to actually get there, but then it's miles and hours of switchbacks and altitude adjustment before you're anywhere near a stopping point. pretty treacherous, but i'm a very courageous driver. ;)

friend love.

the boys found (fake) weapons in the woods. here they are hunting (real) bears...

andrew... sort of like peter and the wolf.


taylor's an authentic idahoan.

much fun was had in the evening, and the last of our crew arrived at around 2 AM after we'd crashed. i'm sure i thought they were bears when i heard them moving around outside, but i didn't dare open my tent. the next day all of us were there and we hiked to elizabeth lake. yosemite is huge. so huge. so we had to drive a few miles to the trailhead to start the long walk up to the water. there was a grade increase of 800 feet over the course of two miles. someone did the math, but regardless of the percentage, that was a steep climb. the endup was worth it though. the lake was beautiful and the trail itself was all sun and shadow and dancing trees.

five o'clock shadow.

see? dancing trees.


i swear this chipmunk was posing for me.


sweet sugar pines.

when we arrived at the lake, i think we were all a little awestruck. the sun was still just peeking from behind the mountain that rose out of the water. everything was clear and bright and so, so quiet. so silent that when i bit into an apple at the bank, the sound of breaking skin echoed all over.

the majesty was broken when josh decided that the giant boulder off-center in the water was reachable...

the pictures get even funnier.





they made it to the rock...
but then had to somehow get back...


which was slippery...

difficult...


and pretty hilarious.

the next day was warm and golden; possibly warm and golden enough to cause heatstroke. we packed up camp and set out to find half dome. i got a good shot of it from the road, but we ended up sitting around a little brook under some other dome. or maybe it was half dome. no idea. it was all pretty beautiful though.

this is half dome from the road. take that, ansel adams.

is that you half dome?


i think so.

i'm not so sure...


is sepia more convincing?


my best look of wonder.


more sepia.


trying to take a picture of myself and the pebble rocks and failing a little.




matt can juggle! who knew?


lovecats.


this guy was hanging out with a doe and two little baby deer.


she kept moving between me and her fawns as though she knew i was trying
to get a picture of her kids. at least she didn't get all bjork on me about it.

the sun was gone shortly after that, and we started the long drive home. that was an adventure in itself, complete with highway closures and el pollo loco.

goodnight, yosemite.

incidentally, there's no such thing as bear repellent, and the "spray" the guy at sports basement talked me out of was just bear-sized mace. eh.

also, if you want to hike half dome, you've got to sign up six months in advance and obtain a waiver. in addition, you'll need to put aside two days. i'm telling you because no one told me, and i rolled into there thinking hiking that thing was an option. next summer for sure.

cheers.