create_destiny

I'm pretty damn lucky in some ways.

The Mister and I saw R.E.M. last night at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley. The National and Modest Mouse opened. I was fairly pleased with our seats as they were closer to the stage than I had imagined. R.E.M. played for 2 hours. They didn't play my dream set list. I did however, manage to remain conscious for the entire show, unlike the last time I saw them in 1987 when I "slept" through the whole show.





Here's the only half-way decent photo I managed to take during the show. They were performing "Orange Crush" and Michael was singing into a bullhorn as he always does when they play this song. Mike Mills unfortunately didn't make it in the frame. He was too far to the left and of course I was trying to avoid having my camera confiscated or whatever it is they do to camera sneaker-in-ers who get caught. Peter Buck is in the middle. Scott McCaughey is to his right on guitar and Bill Rieflin is on drums.


( Emo Blathering )

( R.E.M.'s Set List )

( Modest Mouse Set List )

Sixty-five miles south of Monterey on Cape San Martin, there is a unique eco-lodging experience to be had at the Treebones Resort. Precariously perched on a ridge between the Big Sur coast and the Los Padres National Forest are sixteen yurts with wooden floors and canvas walls stretched across lattice frameworks.



We got lucky and scored a yurt with a full ocean view and a gas fireplace.

( You Know You Wanna See Inside )

After San Francisco we headed south to the sand dune town of Marina, just a few miles north of the Monterey Peninsula. We checked into our hotel around 6:00 pm and rushed to the nearest beach to catch a phenomenal sunset.



After the evening light took its final bow, we headed to a randomly selected seafood restaurant. We looked at their menu and decided the prices were too high. Next door was a Korean BBQ. We looked at their menu and decided the price was right.

None of us had ever eaten Korean food before so we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. My Mom and I played it safe and decided to split an order of "Tofu and Vegetables." My Dad ordered "Beef and Vegetables" with the beef on the side (this cracked my Mother and I up -- that's pretty much like ordering lasagna with the noodles on the side, wouldn't you say?).

Anyway, what the waitress delivered to our table will be the subject of a humorous yet cautionary tale passed down in my family through the generations for at least the next few weeks.

What came to our table was a large tray with 8-10 small white bowls, each filled with an unidentifiable "vegetable" matter. We politely thanked the waitress and waited until she was out of ear shot before we started in with the what in the hell have we got here jokes. My Mom thought it was the discarded remains from a fisherman's bait bucket. I wondered if it was the same organic sea debris we had just seen washed up on the shore.

We started forking small portions of the more edible-looking matter onto our plates. One bowl contained rubbery minnows (none for me, thank you). Another had white blubbery chunks in it. Other bowls held what looked like fried grass. I thought I recognized a form of zucchini in another.

In the spirit of adventure I tried to shirk off my narrow, white American culinary expectations and experience something new. I stabbed some of the blubbery substance onto my fork and gave it a go. It was soft and actually kind-of tasty truth be told, but I couldn't get past the fact that I didn't know what the hell it was. It could have been octopus testicles for all I knew!

We ate as much as we could. My Dad even ate some of the minnows. "Oh God, they're chewy!", he said as he ate them.

The next morning we explored the Carmel River State Beach. Here's some sea matter that looks suspiciously like our dinner at the Korean BBQ. I just now googled "Korean cuisine" and it's true! Seaweed and other algae are part of a balanced Korean diet.



My Dad dared my Mom to pick up this thick, ropey strand of seaweed. She was apprehensive at first, but figured, what the hell we were putting this stuff in our mouths the night before. She said it felt like a garden hose. The part she's holding on to is called the "stipe." Finally, the mystery of Michael Stipe's last name is revealed! From here on out you can think of him as "Michael Seaweed Stem." I know I will.

The Boyfriend and I checked out Yosemite National Park for a few days. In spite of illogical maps and a plethora of assholes, it's a beautiful place, man. Go, and bring drugs to calm you down.



( Enter the Glory That is Yosemite )

I dreamt it was 1991. She was still alive. We could still take guitar lessons in the spring, learn how to harmonize like the Indigo Girls. I'd beg her not to go to Texas. We'd drive to Alaska in my Ford Escort, end up working at a resort for minimum wage. Exhausted in the evenings, we'd put down our cigarettes and pluck out teenage dirges. (I wouldn't make fun of her poetry this time). We'd sing Harry Chapin songs and Simon and Garfunkle songs. We'd write goofy songs about a yellow tabby with a million nicknames, songs about rocks we found along rivers in Missouri, songs about the stormy Indiana summer nights, how we ran barefoot in the downpour, the pavement still holding the heat from the day, how we skipped and twirled on the soft, wet grass between the Esplanades, the sky cracking open above us.

Best Things That Happened in My Life in 2006

-Landed a new job that doesn't suck
-Experienced an amazing trip to the coast with my parents
-Writing poetry again after a ten year hiatus
-Exploring the Feather River
-Seeing Little Miss Sunshine (Hell yes! This is a freaking high point!)



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-First Camping Experience with Boyfriend and his dog at Naked Lake
-First Christmas in Yreka with Boyfriend and his family
-Hiked to Bumpass Hell on Mt. Lassen with BF and friends
-Walked through one of the world's largest lava tubes

This eight-mile round-trip hike kicks my ass every time. Today was no exception. I'm thankful to be alive and in one piece.

Frey Creek


( Four More Pics )