Good

It's been about a year and 1/2 since I last wrote and published I think.  I hibernated and hid, at least creatively.  So much has happened since then.  Went through some tough landscapes for a bit, but thankfully things always change.  I've lived 3 years in the SF area now, and I can honestly say that I love it and am very happy here.  Attached are a few shots from America's Cup during the gripping time before we knew who was going to keep or take the Cup.  It was a dream to witness some of these races live.  Not to mention the fact that some of those sailors make me sit up and take notice, and then swoon ever so slightly.  And, the final shot is a black and white pic of the sunrise from this morning as I got on the 7:10am ferry in Sausalito....bleary eyed but happy..my morning commute into the city where I go to the job that I love.  No horns. Just peace.  And, the occasional sighting of a sea lion's whiskers peaking above the water's surface,  and gulls that glide along and pace the boat while we pass through the gate.

Til next time.....Ash

PS...the music selection is a nod to Marina Shifrin, the woman who quit her job earlier this week and submitted her resignation via video with a musical score by Kanye West....Marina created her communique one late night in which clearly she was on a creative bender that makes all other creative benders look like child's play.

America's Cup Park

The win on Saturday 9/14/13; and then everything changed

Morning commute; 7:10am Tuesday 10/1/13

I am not in Dallas anymore!!

I am not in Dallas anymore!! 65 degrees and sunny/breezy in Sausalito!
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This evening in Sausalito....

The fog is ROLLING IN! Glad it was clear on the 4th!!

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Boats and police boats lining up for the fireworks, and FIREWORKS!

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Happy 4th!

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Fog bank and rising sun 6-22-11

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Dawn 6-21-11

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Back at home in the twilight...

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Sunrise 6-13-11

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I took this shot this morning.  It was about 5:50am PST, and the singing birds woke me up.  I grabbed my cell phone, and snapped a picture.  The zoom wasn't working for some reason, so it's a bit of a distant shot, and you can't see the boats and the tanker way in the distance.  But still a pretty shot, I think, even for a cell phone camera.  Unfortunately, probably 5 or 10 minutes later, I was on the verge of fainting.  I had the worst abdominal charlie horse monthly cramps you can possibly imagine.  I quickly swallowed 3 Advil....which is a desperate measure on an empty stomach.  Standing in the kitchen, I immediately broke out in a cold sweat....my vision darkened and I saw spots...and I ran back to bed before I passed out.  I curled up in the bed and tried my best to relax, as the spasms of pain surged over me.  I have only had this happen perhaps 4-5 times in my life.  It's completely dreadful, as you know you are helpless until the Advil kicks in.  Still no relief after 20 minutes.  After 30 minutes, there was slight relief.  I was praying for the pain to stop, and trying to breathe deeply and think about a calm and happy place to try and take my mind off the pain.  I am not sure when I fell asleep, but it must have been before 45 or 50 minutes passed.  When I woke up, the sun was higher in the sky, the birds were going about their business and no longer singing their 'rise and shine' anthem, and miraculously, the pain was gone.  It is hard to describe to anyone what it's like, going through a moment of abdominal charlie horse cramps.  It is like the muscles get suddenly and intensely furious with you, without warning, and they clench their iron fist unrelentingly for an hour to render you immobile, and leave you completely and hopelessly transfixed within their raging furor.  Then, suddenly, the storm is over, and the fist unclenches, and though you lay limp and weak like a rag doll, there is peaceful reprieve.

Sunset in Sausalito last night...58 degrees

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Nothing Gold Can Stay

Robert Frost

Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

Small town Sausalito in the big city Wall Street Journal

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303745304576357501711847500.html

http://www.331fish.com/

See you there!

Coffee and music at Taste of Rome in the 'hood with Lorraine and the dogs tonight

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http://www.taste-of-rome.com/saushome.htm

My Morning Sky

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Dinner in the 'hood

Dinner in the Saus with my favorite neighbor, Chrissy 'Quigs' Quigley. Sushi Ran has the best sushi. But the drinks! Oh my! Fig wine + bitters + sugar cubes = nirvana! Yes, please!!! www.sushiran.com.
Next up: We are creating 'Salon Nights in Sausalito'! Stay tuned.....
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Playing around in a souvenir shop by the ferry...ala Picasso-style

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Breakfast for Lunch

It's a cold and misty day here in the Saus.

Lorraine (aka Yankee Doodle Sweetheart) and I (Confederate BlueBell) are going to The Lighthouse Cafe in our little town for lunch.......where they serve breakfast...........until 3pm.  (our nicknames were recently created by Daniel O'Hare...Lorraine's fiancee.....because I recently bought us Motorolla Walkie-Talkies.  Lorraine and Daniel live just down the street.  The Walkie-Talkies come in really handy on rainy days.....foggy nights....to discuss the latest episode of 'Dancing with the Stars', and just whenever we feel like playing!)  Over and Out!
















See you at The LightHouse Cafe!  http://lighthouse-restaurants.com/sausalito/

Cue the Weather Map today

My old home for eight years (July 2002-July 1010)....Dallas, TX:

In the eye of the storm.....

My home today....July 2010-present..........Sausalito, CA.........Home Sweet Home!

Sticks and Balls

Dental school buddies in town this weekend.  Lots of fun.  

Went to a cool dive bar last night in Sausalito with a friend I've know since I was 8 (he was 12).  Robbie.  He used to live in my neighborhood and we grew up together, and he just moved here from VA.  Wake Forest and Georgetown Law.  Anyway, we went to play a game of pool at a dive bar here in Sausalito.....Smittys.......fun game of pool.....he won of course but he taught me some of his tricks......great tunes from the 80s (Van Halen, Journey, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Hall and Oates, Sammy Hagar...).....then, a stray cue ball from a rather aggressive billiard breaker streaks through the air like an asteroid, and slams into my head!  HURT LIKE A MOTHER!  Very disoriented and dizzy, but no blood.  Lots of attention.  People flying around asking me if I need help.  The guilty pool shark apologized profusely, and kept offering to buy me a drink.  All I could do was hold my throbbing head, and say "I'm OK".  Robbie gets me out of there.  Spent the rest of the night with frozen coffee beans on my head, and downing advil!

Went to Stanford this morning for my 2nd fMRI neurofeedback research session.............and, I got through around 15 minutes of the 2 hour session feeling fine....but then....they asked me to close my eyes for a 5 minute interval..........and, I sort of panicked.......suddenly got claustrophobic.  Tried deep breathing, but couldn't stop from feeling claustrophobic.  So, I pushed the panic button, and they had to pull me out.  I guess because I was still sort of not myself from being hit in the head, I was just OFF this morning.  I dunno, but I had to end the session.  Very embarrassed.  But they were all very cool.  

Then, went with Janet today to the driving range!  Lots of sticks and balls this weekend!  I'm exhausted!

San Francisco girl

I wake up ever day......and look out over the bay.......
Some nights, I hear the fog horn...
My mind drifts and I think about the rest of the world's lovelorn...
The seals bark down in the water far below....
I look down at all the sparkles on the sea from my private window...
The raccoons skitter around the woods at night...
If they're hungry, they'll get into a sucker punch fight..
The moon rises high above the Marin Headlands...
In the morning, the fish are food for the diving pelicans....
I love it here, and have found peace for once in my life...
No chaos, no drama, no uninvited strife.....
In the mornings I listen to Beethoven on Pandora...
I may be in Northern California, but it may as well be Bora Bora
I will always wander the earth to see the world's best...
But San Francisco is where I will always come back to lay my head to rest.....