December 20, 2014

Slept fairly well.  This is Hipnic, only hotel-style.  We did decide, later on, that this is the perfect midyear gathering, and I announced to the lovely man at the front desk that we would be taking over the hotel every weekend prior to Christmas for the shows.

Royce came by... He had mistakenly picked up my cards last night, so through the magic of FB(which we had discussed) I contacted him.  Whew.  I can go to the show (license for will-call), & eat (bank card).  Coffee and rolls for breakfast.  It is so nice to have it waiting for me…  The simple pleasures in life.

I intended to walk to Union Square, but <again>only made it 20 feet to the HMB4 crew(Cassie was her son's event) .  We talked and hung out in the courtyard before we headed to Toast to eat brunch.  The food was delicious..the mentally ill man who kept peering in the window broke my heart.  The Tenderloin is a plethora of homeless people, mostly mentally ill and addicted to drugs.  After a full meal, we headed back to the Phoenix where I grabbed my headphones so I could listen to some Dead on the way to Union Square.  While walking through the Tenderloin , I noticed that I fit in by just singing and doing some Jerry guitar.  Union Square was… crowded as hell.  I tried going into a few stores, but the people, the Chaos….I found nothing and left.    I did end up going into a camera store.  I had shot some great pictures the night before, but because it was an iPhone, they didn’t turn out.  I’m tired of losing pictures, so I got a camera.  There goes my raise from work.   On the way back to the Phoenix, I spoke with a homeless man for about 30 minutes.  It was a very interesting talk.  He wasn’t high, he was lucid…and had landed in a bad spot (as they all have).  The trick is tools.  I disclosed my history with being homeless due to substance abuse.  Of course, when he asked for me number, I set a firm boundary.  <smile>

It was almost time for the Thai dinner Half Moon Bay 5 reunion. I showered, put on my pantsuit with Oscar de la Renta covering (is that what you call it??)  My mom’s groovy Italian 70s purse.  I was ready.  The food was heavenly…this is becoming a tradition.    We had an hour left to kill, so we headed back to the hotel and chilled…then, off to the GAMH.  The show was very good – lots of guests, such as Rusty Miller from Jackpot, Jason Hill from Convoy….  I was just so tired.  My half-inch too small shoes were killing me.  I headed back to the hotel while the show was still going, then remembered I was to get my receiver/amp from Jason, so I rushed back and caught the rest of the show.

Finally, after 9 months or so, I have the receiver and what a fancy thing she is.  Now I can hear my records!  I think….  There are an awful lot of cables and input/output doo-dads.  Still, Ethan can help (maybe) and then there is L.  He has the Denon, so really this is right up his alley.  There was a celebration of sorts going on upstairs, but I was too tired.  In bed and ready to sleep….

Pictures: The front of The Phoenix;  Hanging out and waiting for the table at Toast; The inside courtyard of the Phoenix; GAMH and the Hips.