Eat * Play *Love

Swank

2008-09-27T19:28:00.000-07:00

Danny is here!

I dropped off Kristi at the airport on Tuesday night and picked up Danny on Wed. Danny is staying in this swank hotel in Union Square called the Serrano. It looks like a cross between a circus and the hotel in the Shinning. If you were on drugs this place would either freak you out or make you think you were in heaven. The halls have this over the top 70's design, the curtians go from the celing to floor a look like they were made from a circus tent but the flat screen tv, deluxe bed and ipod docking station turn the circus feel into a swank David Lynch type feel.

Danny's plane was late because something malfunctioned and it had to turn around and go back to Dallas! Whoa. So When he arrived I only had 5 hours before I had to get to work at midnight. So, I have him the quick car version tour -- fishermans warf, chinatown... etc. We stopped of course at the San Francisco Art Institute so he could get the now notorious "andy gish" view of the city from the rooftop. It was late at night so the lights across the city were all super sparkley. I did not know you could see the bay bridge from the rooftop. It was beautiful!

I have found that Jones street from north beach to Union Square is one of my favorite drives. It has everything! Super high inclines that challenge my clutch, a huge bump and then decline that made my stomach jump, stops on the way with fab views and then down into Union Square. A wonderful sampling of San Francisco by car. We then had some pretty good food and aweful coffee at Cafe Mason in Union Square before I whad to scurry off to work.

Danny apparently is a conasaur of swank hotels because he is staying at La Plague in Carmel on Sunday. I think I might just have to hang out there too. It's not often I get to hang out in hotels that cost more than my car payment, especially on the Pacific Ocean!

WHALING

2008-09-27T19:13:00.000-07:00

So my friend Kristi came to town and despite the fact that I had a cold we drove all around northern California to explore!

On Sunday we went to a swing dancing event in Golden Gate Park (she danced with several gentlemen, I watched and played with people's dogs that were there). We went to a orchid show and walked through
Chinatown.

On Monday we partook in a little wine-a-tasting in Napa. We first went to this super fancy Venetian type winery in St. Helena just north of Napa. The building was over the top and the grapes in the vineyard looks so fancy they did not even look real. We had reservations at 2pm and got there at about 140. We went to check in and pay and the snooty 22 year old receptionist said "Well, you are early. There is really nothing to do here until 2pm. I mean I guess we could give you a taste of some of the wines but there really isn't anything to do so maybe you should go see another winery first." Really? I mean seriously? You actually have customers at your door, a fancy greeting area and bar with no customers at the bar and you want us to go to
another winery? So -- that we did. I suggested to Kristi we walk out without an explanation and without cancelling our reservation. That we did. We then drove back to Napa where we were greeted with very accommodating tour guides that did not care that we were 15 mins early. the wine 'cave' there was built by immigrant workers in 1885. A lot
of wine had been fermenting in that cave.

What was super awkward and funny was that our daring tour guide (who probably sampled a little too much of the company stash) decided to ask our group of 6 women what we thought about Sarah Palin! Whoa. AND he asked this question when we were stuck in a dead end corner of the cave so there was no escape. Now let me explain.... the group was comprised of two middle aged Texas ladies that were all done up in their makeup and such and sported pretty nice attire and healthy
thick accents. The other two women were vacationing lesbians -- one with a thick new york accent in semi-business attire and the other was french in what kind of looked like jogging attire. Then there was Kristi and myself who tried to slither down the cave towards the open end because the air was thick with opinions. The new yorkers reply to the Palin question was a sarcastic "Isn't she running for president". The Texas women said in a weak voice "Uh.... we like her.... she seems
nice." Kristi and I said silent and drank more wine.

We drank up on about 8 types of wine (I like the cheapest one best, go figure) and had to go to the deli next door to sober up before driving back to Silicon Valley.

Tuesday was sooooo cool! We went whale watching on a boat in Monterey bay and saw 4 humpback whales. For this you will have to refer to the movie Kristi posted because it was sooo cool. They really looked like sea serpents. Once we heard them before we saw them as they made this really cool sound as they blew water up in the air. This I am doing
again and maybe again. We also so tons of sea lions (which really are not lazy I found out) and a baby sea otter with its momma. This is one of my favorite California memories so far.

I have been a negligent blog writer!

Missing

2008-08-26T18:00:00.000-07:00

I am away from home.

This is a good thing. Sometimes a hard thing. But honestly right now it would be harder to be at home than it would be to be pretty much anywhere else.

But you can not help but miss the familiar sometimes, right? The smell of some place or someone, a familiar touch, the sound of someone's voice you could recognize at a distance 40 years from now, a best friends annoying but endearing habit.

We as an American culture put so much emphasis on the "new"... places we have not been, things we have not done or seen. It all sounds exciting and exotic. But once we see the new and exotic, we want to retire in the evenings to the familiar. Am I Right? After all someone told me a great and simple truth "It's hard to want what's always there".... which implies that it is easy to miss what is not.

I am not implying I am ready to go home. That's far from true. I have just started on this journey. And i am sure enough not sitting around listening to John Waits Missing You and sobbing alone in an empty room! ;) Though I admit to listening to Left and Leaving by the Weakerthans which is about coming home. Anyway -- I am signing another contract that will keep me from home for sometime, but that does not mean I don't miss home. It's sometimes good to want for something.

So, I listen to one of my favorite songs by my favorite lyricist. Its about about and Edward Hopper painting. It about looking into windows and capturing the past. It's a little about regret. It's definitely about missing the familiar. I love this song for the gentle lyrics and imagery. The last four lines are some of my favorites. Plus, I LOVE looking in people's windows. I know that's kind of weird. It's not like I want to see them indecent -- I just like to watch life play out in its own 'familiar'.

Now I ask you to do something with me. I really want you to listen to this song and deconstruct the lyrics. Even look at the painting. Here is what we are going to do (read all the instructions before starting ;)

1) Open this link in a new window Night Windows

2) Come back to this page while you listen

3) Read the lyrics and look at the painting

What comes to mind for you?

Night Windows by The Weakerthans

In the stick count for the song with knowing you're gone
Glancing up at where you lived when you lived here
I see you suddenly alive and nearly smiling
Stop and hold my breath and watch the way we used to be

The full moon makes our faces shine like over-ironed polyester
Then disappears behind blue clouds
And leaves me under empty rows of night windows

We could walk to where these streets get pulled together
Blinking, lined with gravel, shoulder squared towards an end
Where the radio resounds from doppling traffic
Where the power lines steal lessons from the hourly news

Depluralize our casualties, drown the generals out in static
We turn and watch our city sprawl and send us signals in the glow
Of night windows

But you're not coming home again, and I won't ever get to say

Remember how...
I'm sorry that...
I miss the way...
Could we...

Remember how...
I'm sorry that...
I miss the way...
Could we...

Night windows

I realise more today than normal that life is short and sometimes jagged. It does not always come in a pretty shiny package. Life is messy. It does not know to follow the rules. It does not always make the right choices even when it knows what the right choices are. It's a negotiation. It's a moving puzzle. Boy, is it interesting and unexpected!

Don't worry, I am still a card carrying, banner holding member of the Optimist's Board of Directors. I am throwing no pity party. I am just acknowledging the 'missing' and taking back the controls. I don't want to miss out on anything in life and sometimes that means stepping back and watching from afar.

Plus how can you take anything too seriously when you misspell 'familiar' SIX times in ONE post.

PRAYING

2008-08-26T10:07:00.000-07:00

I met a man last night... a solider.... he had found the only way to quite the voices in his head was through a bottle of liquor. He was crying and he was telling me over and over "I have killed too many people, I have killed too many people." .

That will stop you in your tracks. It humbles you. How do you respond to that? I just held his hand and said "I can not imagine what you are going through, what you have seen."

He was trying to escape. I would. AND he was still on active fucking duty! My god, what are we doing to these kids.

I pray that he finds a way to forgive himself and allows himself to go on living. I pray he find peace. If you'd like -- say a little prayer for him too. It can't hurt.

Explaining: What is this about using your verbs?

2008-08-23T01:28:00.000-07:00

For those of you who I have subscribed to the blog, I should explain how this works.

The Blog is called Eat Play Love, a parody of a book called Eat PRAY Love.

The web address is http://www.usingyourverbs.blogspot.com I am trying to learn to "use my verbs" more by exploring while I am in California and documenting it here.

When I publish a post it sends you an email with the blog text but no photos. If you follow the link though -- it takes you to the original post with photos and all -- much more glamorous.

The last post about my date with Oliver "Dating: Doggie Style (No! Not that you dirty minded ninny" follow the link above.

Now: back to my red wine and watching Ratatouille for the first time. I think I need fancy european cheese too! ;)

xoxo -- to everyone I miss back home. SMOOCH.

Dating: Doggie Style (No! Not that you dirty minded ninny)

2008-08-22T23:44:00.000-07:00

Oliver and I had a date today, a beach date. And boy was it an adventure.

I started out the day by getting together a bag full of beach stuff: A good book, extra clothes, bathing suit placed underneath my street clothes, beach towel, doggie water, poopy bags (I needed more of these turns out, sorry city of Carmel) and a camera. I got all this together walked both dogs and then came back to the apartment to try to sneak Oliver out with the beach bag before Oscar figured out he was not going.

sidebar: I would take Oscar but he is so badly behaved that I would have no fun and we would undoubtely get into a fight. Oscar loves to go to the dog park (which Oliver hates) and Oscar is well behaved there -- we go there often now -- but Oliver is more of the date dog you take out in public without ending up pissing people off ;)

Back to story: Oscar is too smart for his own good. As soon as I akwardly load up Oliver, beach towel, beach bag and open the door Oscar is out the door like a greyhound. He looks back for a moment as if to say "Ha!" as he runs down the stairs and into the parking lot. I throw Oliver and the beach gear back in the house and grab the Oscar trapping devices (car keys and leash). Oscar never wanders far... he never does... he just goes and waits for me at the car BUT this time the car was around the corner of the complex due to parking issues. So he is standing in the parking lot looking at me like "where the hell is the car mom?" I venture down the stairs with Oscar trapping devices in hand and Oscar in a panic jumps in the nearest car -- an unoccupied Jeep. Thank god no one was in the Jeep. So Oscar is now running around this open air bright yellow jeep saying "ha ha catch me if you can" and when I come close to leash him he growls. Argh! Why do I have the most stubborn dog EVER!

So, I go to plan B. I start to walk away and I say -- ok Oscar I am going to OUR car. I start walking, which is a little ways and he jumps from the Jeep and follows. Luckily he is desperate to find our car so he keeps close because I still do not have have not lassoed the monster. So, I walk around the complex and beep the alarm and Oscar runs to the car and waits for me to catch up. I let him in the car, drive the car around to our apartment, leash him (he always lets me leash him once IN the car) and now he starts behaving like a saint. Once he has his leash on he knows he is cooked turkey.... but before that he thinks he owns the world!

I take Oscar back into the house, place him in the bedroom and close the door. I grab Oliver, the beach bag and sadly forget the camera and beach towel in all the chaos. But the rest of the day was FAB despite not being able to document it (Oliver hates cameras anyway) and getting sand in more places than sanitary.

BEACHING:
Now onto the good. The drive from Sunnyvale to Carmel on Sea is beautiful. You have to drive up a mountain, then down the mountain and you end up driving down the coast next to the freaking Pacific Ocean for about 40 mins through Monterey. Then we turn down this steep hill that goes through this beautiful little town where there are about 100 dogs walking and SHOPPING with their owners. The steep street dead ends into THE PACIFIC OCEAN. Oliver and I get out and walk down the sand hill and find a place to settle.... oh yeah Oliver decides to defecate on our first choice spot. Hense poopy bag number one. I soon realized it is WAY to cold and the waves are much too big to be swimming in. I have a huge respect for the sea as it almost took my life when I was seven. So sans beach towel I use my beach dress I will no longer need as a mock blanket for us to lay on. At this point I realize that Oliver is super scared of something --- the wind, the sea, something. He huddles up on me and hides his head in my armpit for a while and then my crotch. No, he was not there for the organic ode de Andy he was just scared. I cover him with my jacket and he nestles up on my lap, relaxes and falls to sleep (sleeping is his a sport for Oliver).

I get out my book, start to read and am listening to these HUGH waves crashing. I have never seen waves like this on the east coast but I guess that is not saying a lot. I stop reading from time to time to play in the sand with my feet and to watch the waves. Then a school of Dolphins arrive. This is so cool! It is like they are performing for everyone. They are playing with each other and jumping out of the water doing tricks I thought they only learned at sea world. I have never seen wild dolphins. I want to see more!

It get chilly so we pack up and head into town.

DRIVING:
I hope the people who live in this town within blocks of the coast know how absolutely beautiful their backyards are. The houses there are tiny but they are all like indivdual fairy-tale houses. Some with thatched roofs, some with romanesque entry way -- all looking out unto the sea. What a wonderful view to look at each night.

SHOPPING:
Carmel is considered the most dog friendly town in the US and this might just be true. You can take your dogs into resturants and shops (that is if that are not like a bull in a china shop (this is why Oliver came and not Oscar). And there is a LUSH Cosmetics right there in town! ooooooooohhhhhhh yeahhhhhh. (I only spent $44 this time. good girl). Oliver went with me as I smelled all the new items and decided on what lavish bath items I would stock up on. The people were totally cool with the dog following me around in the store. In fact they led me to my next destination.

EATING: Doggie and I
Most of the resturants have areas where people can dine with their dogs but apparently the best place to take them is a place called Forge in the Forest. They seated us in this beautiful garden area where there were tons of dogs. One couple was brave enough to bring a large mut, a 3 month old rodesian ridgeback (really?) and a Schnauzer all to one little table. Three dogs! Oliver does not like Schnauzers. But he was well behaved nonetheless. He would get the Schnauzer back for being a Schnauzer later in his own way. So the waitstaff (sans MY waitress) were super nice brining out treats and water bowls for each of the tables and addressing the dogs like they were our kids -- cuz they are!

And this is the coolest part: THEY EVEN HAVE A DOGGIE MENU!!!!

Plain Ol' Kibble $2.50
One cup of crunchies

The Quarter Hounder $4.95
"For the hound with a hankerin' for beef!" A quarter pound hamburger patty.

Hen House Chicken Strips $4.95
"Run, Chicken, Run!" Five ounces of grilled and sliced boneless chicken breast.

Hot Diggity Dog $3.95
An all beef kosher dog for your dog.

"Good Dog!" $12.95
For the very, very good dog! Six ounces of grilled and sliced New York steak.

MilkboneTM "Bonies" ~Free~
All it takes is a wag.

Oliver had the beef. It was bigger than his head. The Schnauzer and his two buds raised their ears and stood at attention as Oliver dove into the bowl and did not come up for air until the bowl was licked clean. You could smell it across the whole patio and it smelled yummy (even to a veggatarian). After he was done Oliver ran up to me, put his paws on my knee and looked at me with desperation saying: MORE! PLEASE MOMMA! MORE! I figured that would be a bad idea considering we had a long drive home. When the waitstaff lady came by to give him a milkbone later he kindly took it in his mouth and then spit it out. He did not want anything to cover up his sweet braised beef breath.

We paid, walked back through the town and drove home through the mountains. Oliver passed out, sleeping with his eyes open.

What a wonderful day!

SWIMMING: Actually & Figuratively

2008-08-13T15:25:00.000-07:00

As a Scorpio, I am a water sign. I very much appreciate the danger and power of water. I learned this at a very young age as my mother and I almost drowned in the ocean off of Galveston Island when I was about 7. I love to swim but I am also very shy about going deep into natural and uncontrolled waters.

Water is renewing. Water births new life. Sustains life. Water transforms itself and others. It can evaporate, float and then land in a place far far away – it can even carry fish and frogs with it. Boy those creatures must be confused when they land. Check out BBC news if this concept interests you: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/3582802.stm

Back to the water sign thing:

From Wiki: According to astrological theory, water signs are characteristically deeply intuitive, imaginative and emotional. In human equations, water signs are generally supposed to be reserved and not gregarious, but are exceedingly passionate. However, they tend to nurture self-consciousness and self-pity. Some may be able to empathize with their spouses, obliging themselves to pour passion and devotion to a spouse under all conditions, along with their emotional intimacy with children that allows for easy relation to them, means water signs are often referred to as fruitful signs or fertile signs. Due to their awareness of energy, feeling & intuitive natures, they are often considered the psychic signs.

So why am I consumed with water?

Actually: This weekend I had a wonderful trip to Lake Tahoe where both of my boston terriers frolicked on the sand beach in the blue blue water. I was so proud of my little Oliver monster because he is afraid of EVERYTHING. I slowly brought him with me out to the water on a leash and let him get just deep enough to swim. He actually looked proud! My little scared monster was PROUD. Of course after he came out of the water he shook and looked scared but while doggie paddling he seemed happy and free. My other dog Oscar is a veteran swimmer -- which is saying a lot for a Boston terrier. They are heavy and muscular for their small frame. He was even let off leash to run and swim and of course he too was proud to show off. It was such a nice moment to have. Plus the water on my broken toes felt wonderful too.

Figuratively: The official end has now come for a long-term relationship that was most near and dear to my heart. The last 24 hours of my life went from swimming in healing natural waters to mentally swimming in the torturous rapids of my own thoughts. You know when something hits you like that emotionally it feels so dreamy and disorienting. Like your head is so big and floating and you can't tell up from down. Your tummy hurts like when you swim too quickly after eating. Its like you are putting together a floating puzzle without your contact lenses in. You are ungrounded, floating and unable to control your direction or depth. That is where you will find me today. Watching, experiencing the end of what I thought was a damn good relationship. I guess I was wrong this time.

So, today I start to learn to deal with that. Learn to make new associations, new plans and dreams.... open myself up to thinking of living my life with a different person, with a different path.

So, I am off to the pool to fill my body with warm sun and cool waters. Just the thought of it makes me feel a little better.

Photo credit: EP

Stumbling: Seriously?

2008-08-03T08:35:00.000-07:00

So, how do I explain the progression
from the last post and
THAT photo to this one.

It's sad.

Seriously.

It's stupid.

It's classic Andy style.

My lesson: don't move furniture, EVER.

I moved a chair in my apartment. Apparently I did not communicate this to the lower half of my body.

On friday, I yanked my RIGHT pinky toe on the foot of the chair -- broke it and hobbled around for days. But wait, that is yesterday's news. Last night -- just when RIGHTY was starting to feel good (though still a nice shade of purple) -- LEFTY decides to get in the game -- the same way on the same chair.

Yes, really. Now I have two purple feet and at least one broken pinky toe.

Seriously, am I that dumb?

In my defense the chair has little legs that flair out like a cats claws trying to grab toes everytime you walk by it.

I moved the chair back to its original place. I am not messing with it anymore. It obviously did not like being moved.

Resting: Ouch!

2008-08-01T16:19:00.000-07:00

I have a few days off and was going to venture into San Francisco for a concert. But the CLUTZ that I am, I broke my pinky toe!

Last night I was convinced I just hurt it. But the big purple swollen foot, super duper pain and inability to walk on it and not look like an invalid brought me to the self diagnosis of BROKEN. Maybe it is the worlds way of saying -- stay in, be lazy and quiet. This is why you came here in the first place! Well, not to be lazy but to be quiet at least.

So I am watching movies and lounging around with the dogs. Of course I did not go to the ER (why would I do that!) ;) I am a d%& ER nurse -- I know what a broken toe is like. all they would do it wrap it and give me pain meds.

Oh wait! But you have to hear what happened this morning! I wake up and screetching with pain as I place my foot on the ground. I don't want to look at it because I am still convinced I only hurt it, no breaky. The dogs are looking at me with crossed legs -- so I hobble down the stairs in my sandals -- limping along -- going "ouch! ouch! damnit go ahead and pee already!"

I manage to get both the dogs to pee a bunch and one to poop. Too bad for Oscar. He will have to wait. I hobble back up the stairs and decide i need to wrap the toe. I think my eyes are still somewhat closed. I search through my stuff and find tape from work but no ace bandanges or gauze. So what do I do ?? I do what any good Macgyver nurse would do -- I grab a max-pad and tape and make my own buddy-taped toe splint (ER term). It's almost like a piece of art.

So I am walking around the house with tape and a maxi-pad on my foot (and I go to get some tea from the kitchen -- GUESS WHAT??? Apparently, I had gotten up too late this morning because on of the dogs had used the kitchen floor as their fire hidrant. And now my "super absorbant" splint was soaking it up. Yea.

So I gave up on any idea of going out tonight. So far I have have watched law an order (surprise) and i recorded Over the Hedge and started to watch it -- until I realized I had recored the version in SPANISH!!

I think today is a wash. I am going to watch Oprah!

EAT: All the worlds foods in one place

2008-07-29T03:38:00.000-07:00

So, one of the great suprises I have found in this part of California is the diversity of food from all over the world.

This is a photo of Pop Bing Su, a fabulous Korean dessert of shaved ice, icecream (usually green tea flavored), fruit and other yumminess. You can get it here at many places and I had it yesterday for the first time since 2005.

My favorite food in Indian. Partly because they do veggitarian so well and you don't feel like you are missing out on anything by not having a side of carne with you food. Plus the spices are so aromatic. So, I have searched high and low for Indian food in any city I have lived in or visited. I have written some amature reviews (but lots of them) about dishes and places I liked and disliked. Comparing the dishes in an almost professional manner. But here in my little town of 131K people. There are THRITY ONE Indian resultants. 31! Like Baskin and Robins. This is a magic number. There are so many I have no idea where to start!

But this goes far beyond Indian food. There are Korean tea houses (and spas), there are Korean dessert palaces that serve the shaved ice montage called Pop Bing Su. Su means fancy… I remember that. They have Filipino resurants (which I have not tried even though said boyfriend is Filipino). Ethopiam, Indonesia, Vietnamese, Cuban and even AFGANI resutrants. Now I am impressed if a large city has an afganhi resultant. There is one in NYC called Khyber Pass that I eat at daily when I am there. There is one in Salt Lake City that has a devine buffet. And in my little California city of 131K people there are at least THREE afgani restaurants. Really? This seems like the seat of the world where all the good crumbs from all the other parts of the world fall into the crease and mix together and offer you some yummy left overs. That's kind of gross but it works. My town is small and skinny (from what I gather from the maps and highways) and down this main crack (called El Camino Real road) all the good stuff seems to have fallen.

So, this is where I get eat. And with this I will share my experiences as I savor all the non-american flavors of my neighborhood. Its gonna take me a while so bear with me.

Verb: PARALLEL

2008-07-28T06:40:00.001-07:00

So I guess I need to give a little bit of a background of what my situation is at the moment. I am living in California - temporarily. In fact, I just moved here about 8 days ago. So this is super new. Before this I lived in Atlanta for 10 years, the last two of which I lived with my boyfriend and our million dogs. I came out to California on a whim…. to work… to quiet my mind… to seek and re-prioritize my verbs ;) Good reasons to come.

I used the verb PARALLEL because I my decision to hault everything in Atlanta, jump in the car with my two dogs and drive 2700 to sunny california to 'quiet my mind' seemed like something that Liz Gilbert would do in her book that is the namesake of this blog. It's kind of selfish -- which I admit her book is too. But selfish in the name of seeking. And without seeking -- I would become a very dull person.

So, here I am. In California. On some sort of journey I guess. LOL.

Life is easy out here. Rent is paid for me by my company. My apartment is furnished. All I had to do was bring me, my dogs and a few suitcases of personal stuff most of which I don't even use/wear. The work is amazingly easy. I mean 1/8th the work I am used to doing in Atlanta. I get paid more. People are nicer. The weather is soooooo fabulous.

I also know no one here so life IS quiet. Except for the friends that are coming out to visit -- which will keep me sane and grounded back in the Southern soil from time to time.

It is kind of like a vacation -- a quiet vacation. I have never been able to go on vacation and do "NOTHING". I guess I am trying to practice "doing nothing" now.

As one could deduce, I was going through some personal transition in my loud life in Atlanta which is why I went AWOL. Back in Atlanta I just did not even have a moment of quiet to hear what I was thinking -- much less make decisions that were good for myself or others. In fact, I was just kind of swimming. Though I am a resourceful swimmer, I just did not want to have to be resourceful anymore. As one of my best friends and I discussed recently WE ARE TIRED OF BEING STRONG WOMEN WHO CAN HANDLE WHATEVER COMES OUR WAY. Can't we just gasp and faint and have someone come take care of us ONCE when the going gets tough. When I was talking to my father about this – which was a new concept in itself – he said something like "honey, you can handle this. You are so strong". And I plainly said "Dad, I am tired of being STRONG." ;) it true.

So, I found my self in California with my two dogs. Living a quieter, easier life and making a lot more money. A nice place to get your mind straight.

For those that have read the book -- not that I am pushing it on anyone -- I found an interesting review of it from the male's perspective. There is a little truth in this review it points out that if the book was written from a males perspective that we would not look at it so much as a journey of self discovery but we would possibly just call the guy a selfish asshole who left his wife and went through a midlife crisis. I have to admit -- he has a little bit of a point ;)

Eat {Play} Love -- The Namesake

2008-07-28T06:37:00.000-07:00

This journal is a parody of Elizabeth Gilbert's highly adored Eat, Pray, Love. I go out on a limb – calling such close assemblance to the book because I have yet to finish it. But I picked up the book to read on a cross-country road trip and accidentally started to read it before I even left 'home'. As soon as I read the first few chapters I realized the book was eerily mocking the transition I was going through at that very moment. I don't read much but when the time is right – the right book seems to just drop in my lap. I had no idea what this novel was about when I bought it, I just knew everyone was raving about it.

Using my verbs: {Play} Vs. Pray

I have changed the word PRAY to PLAY for several reasons. One is that there are sooooo many writings on the internet that have been inspired by this book that I felt like using the word pray would just get lost among the rest of the people moved by and writing about the book.

Secondly, I am a musician – or really I consider myself more of a songwriter than a musician. Wait. I am a musician as a means to write songs. Music is probably the most important thing to me after people and my dogs. If I had to loose eyesight or hearing I would choose listening over seeing in a second. Music to me defines everything else. It is a perment reference point. It defines moments. Like when I was living in Austin, Texas in the early Fall of 1995, driving down Guadeloupe and Spacehog's "In the Meantime" came on the radio. I had the windows down, was driving my new car I bought from by best friend Kelly when she went into the airforce. And Spacehog came on the radio. All of that detail from one little 3 minute pop song. It was like a soundtrack following me around, defining that moment.

Thirdly, as Gilbert says herself in an interview I saw on you tube – she does not want her narrative to be everyones gospel! It is a great book but it is not a religious text. It is just a journey that some of us identify with maybe even envie. But each person needs to make EAT PRAY LOVE their own. If that means changing the verbs, well then by all means do so – find you own three defining verbs. Mine at the moment are Eat Pray Love. I did consider Eat DRINK Love but that would be reverting back to my 20's now wouldn't it. ;)