March 2009 - up and down

My March calendar reads like a ping pong game played across latitude lines.  Nicole in LA, Matt in Santa Cruz, Nicole in LA, Matt in Santa Cruz, etc.  That's a bit of a theme for the ensuing few months, but I think it was at its most regular in March.  A pretty good rally, I'd say.

Sam and I were at our all time peak of banjo interest, so we got acrylic nails on our picking' hands.  That was an interesting new sensation.  I still wish I had gotten them painted too, but considering the benefits were pretty marginal, I don't think I'll give it another chance.  Besides, they really got in the way of climbing.

One break in the ping pong game was meeting halfway for a night of camping on the central coast.  We slept out there on a cold night, one of the last of the winter, and then drove a bit to see elephant seals - so fat! - and then head down to LA for the remaining bit of time she had.  It was her spring break.  Mine would come in April.

Right at the end of the month, another era began.  Foxman and I no longer were living alone in our apartment.  His girlfriend, Jessi, moved in on the 31st, having come all the way from Milwaukee to live with the man.

February 2009 - to college and the capital

February 9th saw the first day of a new semester at Pierce College, where I was taking some courses…again.  Between Pierce and Valley, I was taking Environmental Design 101, Introduction to Architecture, Freehand Drawing I, and Architectural Drawing (AutoCAD) I.  My first concrete steps toward Architecture education.

February 14th saw the usual holiday.  I went to Santa Cruz to be with a certain someone for it.  We also did something really romantic that visit - go to Sacramento and lobby for marriage rights for queer folk.  It rained like mad, we stayed with Adam and Charlsie, and we both got quite soaked before and after our meetings with legislators.  I met my representative, Julia Brownley, who is quite the advocate apparently.  Not exactly the hardest sell I ever had to make, but it was a fascinating day at any rate.  Nothing like a California assemblyman yelling to a theatre full of queer folk and their allies, "Oh, let's just turn out the lights and have a big make out session!"  Sorry, Mr. Ammiano, I may not have captured your exact wording - I'm sure your phrasing was more colorful. 

Most of February was unremarkable though, getting used to the grind of classes and studying as well as the oddities of art and studio design based courses.  Top it all off on the 28th by my Uncle Bob turning a ripe 60 years old.  I think he's been 60 for years though, and probably will never age past that.

January 2009 - east by northeast by north

After recovering from New Years on the 1st, I flew to New York City on the 2nd.  This was a 3 day stopover on my way to Israel for my birthright trip.  I met Dani there and we stayed with his family on Long Island and then with Danny Gurman in the East Village.

It was pleasantly cold and there was snow on the ground in places.  I spent some time walking in the park and wandering up and down 5th Ave.  Then Danny led us into a subterranean sake bar, where I had coaxed Becky into meeting us, and then we ventured upstairs on another block to a soviet themed drinking establishment.  The next day it was to Newark early in the morning to catch our plane to the Holy Land.

That trip felt like at least a month on its own, so there really is no way to go into details.  We bussed around, camped in the desert, drank drank drank, danced danced, hiked hiked hiked, and were constantly amused and in awe of our guide, Jared.  This was all during the most recent war in Gaza.  The closest we got to any missiles was a lone rogue coming out of Syria from the North, some 15 miles from where we were that day.  So no worries, really.  Alright, I'm still totally giddy that I was within 15 miles of an actual Middle-Eastern missile attack.

Then it was back to Newark, then to Los Angeles.  The flight home was incredible.  From New Jersey to the Sierra Nevadas, the entire country was coated in thick white frosting.  I remember staring out my window the entire flight, though I'm sure I passed in and out of consciousness considering that was still a continuation of the day before for me.

The following weekend it was time to go visit Nicole in Santa Cruz, and then to Berkeley for Burnlesque, a sexy little burner party in downtown Oakland with Mr. Mann and Ms. Bouncy.  Eventually I would stay home for longer than a week, I promise.  It started in February.

December 2008 - typical socal winter wonderland

With the beginning of December, two things became official - Nicole and me, and Foxman and me.  One I was kissing a lot and the other I was moving in with.

My dad and I ran up to the Ranch to do so some upkeep on the remnants of our past lives we keep up there.  I did find a lot of goodies in the trailer though, goodies with which to fill my new apartment.  Sarah came into town and she and Gio and I went down to the Grove to hang out and see Milk, a perfect Christmas time story. 

Then it was all art galleries in Venice, rock climbing, sailing with Uncle Bob, going out to see the Nutcracker at the Music Center, Chanukah singalongs, Nicole in Hawaii, and caroling around the neighborhood with a mug of cocoa (spiked graciously, thanks to Shoghi's heavy hand).

When Nicole got back we launched immediately into a road trip that took us from the leaky palms of LA to the frozen boulders of Joshua Tree National Park and then up through the Sierras and down to her new home in Santa Cruz.  We moved in most of her belongings and slept on a bed made of an aggregation of couch cushions in the middle of her new bedroom.

We ended up back in LA, at Byran's loft downtown, for New Years, which involved a giant red eye and the phrase "HYPNOBELLY" painted on my abdomen, fire spinning on the roof, some very drunk people, sushi by Sam, some very high people, and just generally a lot of 'very' things going on.  And friends, good friends too.

November 2008 - easy living and new beginnings

Obama!  Yay!  Prop 8!  Booooo!  The first week of November was spent campaigning, voting, protesting, and escaping the fires burning in Sylmar.  A very dramatic time.  We all survived, and Lara's marriage even survived ultimately, thanks to (and, in a way, despite) the stupid, stupid court decision in spring '09.

Just before Halloween I had the first guitar lesson of my adult life.  I went in for finger picking lessons but ended up being paired with a jazz player.  It didn't really phase me since I wanted to learn more of everything, so in November I was taking my first steps into the world of jazz guitar.

Lara and Sam took me to my first Derby Dolls bout, a sporting event that hardly gets its due in the mainstream, though, if it ever did, it might just collapse entirely.  I played a gig with Nate at Cinema Bar in Culver City.  It was interesting.  I mostly just remember my water bottle full of gin and tonic, and being on the stage longer than I was comfortable.  Then I stayed the night at Lily's to comfort Nicole, and my car got towed.  In retrospect, I could argue that to be the most expensive first date ever.  But I learned my lesson - Los Angeles is serious about its anti-gridlock parking zones.

Nicole and I spent more time together in the ensuing weeks, eventually beginning something bigger than guitar lessons or even Derby Dolls.

For the bulk of November I was cradled in the lap of luxury at Chez Krawiec.  His parents had asked me to house sit for them again, looking out for Wiley and such.  I never have a problem doing so considering their house is spacious and gorgeous with views from atop a hill.  Add to that a spa bath and always generous compensation (for the imposition of living richly for three weeks, I suppose), and they had themselves a house sitter.  Wiley and I had some arguments about just when and how he wanted to play, but beyond that it was a flawless experience as always.

At my urging, Foxman and I found a beautiful, classic apartment just off the Blvd in Tarzana.  Staying in the Valley wasn't my first choice, but given my income (state unemployment checks) and his commute, it made sense.  Cathedral ceilings, hardwood floors, space space space, a huge deck and brand new kitchen appliances drew us in.  We were due to officially move in Dec 1, but we made it a few days early for the sake of harnessing the weekend.  I did something I never thought I would do: sign a lease for a Los Angeles apartment.