Not Using Those Unsolicited Holiday Cards?

In the mail I recently received some animal holiday cards from a charity that would like to make me a donor. (I'm guessing that the San Diego Humane Society gave them my name.) I didn't want to use them, but I also didn't want to throw them away. I called up a local community center for the elderly, and they said they would be happy to take them and make them available to their clients. Now if I could only find a use for all those unsolicited return address labels that charities love to send out.

Election Night

Election night was a cathartic experience. I actually started crying in my car when I heard that Ohio went for Obama. It started sinking in at that moment that this--Obama being the next POTUS--was really going to happen. When "President-elect Obama" came up on the restaurant TV screen during dinner, the tears came back. The sense of relief and hope I experienced was almost tangible--as though I could feel it moving throughout my body, as though I radiated it.

On a less weepy note, I was lucky to spend the night up in Los Angeles with friends. Abe, Nico, Eric and I had dinner at a new restaurant, Desert Rose, in Los Feliz. The dining experience was a bit odd--amazing service in the beginning, followed by no service at all. Also, Abe was brought the wrong meal, and the correct one wasn't brought out until the rest of us were finished. They didn't even offer him anything to eat for the 20 minutes he sat there watching us chow down. There hummus was amazing though.


Abe, Nico, Eric and me with our lovely Nico-made glass paperweights; and people celebrating along Sunset Blvd.

After the meal, Abe and I went to see Diplo spin at the Echoplex in Echo Park. Along the way we passed cheering people gathered on street corners holding up Obama signs. We honked our horn in support. Our friend Shawn was supposed to join us for Diplo, but she bailed on us, as Diplo wasn't going on until 11:30pm. Even with tickets, we had to wait in line a bit. We didn't mind much, as everyone was so energized by the election results (people in line were even talking about California's different ballot initiatives) and Obama attended the show. Well, it was actually a life-sized Obama cutout, but it still made dancing more fun to look up and see the new POTUS's smiling face.

11-4-2008 Diplo @ Echoplex-1
Originally uploaded by -RYAN

I had no luck capturing the magic of Obama, Pizza and Diplo on my camera, so Flickr helped me out.

Things We Discovered About Balboa Park

There is a lavender garden to offer olfactory delights, and the California Bell Tower chimes Memories.


Balboa Park, much of which was built for 1915 Panama-California Exposition, has areas in in desperate need of repair, and that the planes fly overhead on their descent into San Diego Int'l Airport.


Matt could find to find his ideal dining room table, designed by George Nakashima, at the Mingei Museum, and that one can listen to the Spreckles organ while sipping Japanese tea.


The tram at the San Diego Zoo is visible from entrance along El Prado, and that Matt would be tempted to make himself invisible behind the plants.


Most surprising? Archery range.