10 00 am pdt [ impressions ]
Last night was an experience and if I may give it an
anthem, it was the song Tatouage Bleu by Ben Onono on the the CD Café Del Mar - Volume 8.
At the end of my last day with the middleschoolers, one
of the parents gave me a tip. It was one of the sweetest gestures I've
ever been party to.
My supervisor and I did our normal rideshare to
Rockridge, where our bar is, but we were headed to Uzen for our good-bye
dinner.
We had a private room upstairs and it was a strange
isolated experience -- not unpleasant, but certainly noteworthy.
Dinner was an extravagence in which I barely
participated. They had softshell crap, shrimp in various forms, exotic
tempuras, and, of course, sushi as the main course. I ate organic edamame
and vegetable tempura and modestly sipped saké while keeping my
boss' and co-worker's glasses full.
I never felt drunk but I was certainly in good spirits
when we finally departed. I had planned on walking home (it would only
take a half hour) and did so despite all of the offers of rides.
I called Matthew on my ever-convenient cell phone to
double-check that he was spending the night in the south bay. He was, and
was planning on seeing a movie. I thought of renting something, then came
up with the brilliant plan of hurrying so that I might catch Y Tu Mamá También at the local
theatre.
[To interrupt my own story, Matthew and I were just
discussing moving. Then the manager called and said the owner would lower
our rent $200 (which is $100 for each of us) and I told Matthew I thought
we should move. He agreed, and I called the manager back three minutes
later and left our notice on her answering machine. It gave me a bizarre
sense of satisfaction.]
So I arrived at the theatre and the film was starting
in 35 minutes so I had plenty of time to walk the two blocks to our place,
change into something more comfortable, wash my face, and head back out.
It was an interesting film; I don't think Matthew would
have liked it. I'm glad I saw it, and the whole experience, including the
guy selling tickets, the people in the theatre searching for seats, and
the manager letting me know that Café Del Mar - Volume 8 was playing on the
loud-speakers when I asked, left a deep impression on me. I came home
after and made banana bread batter, called Matthew, read, and fell asleep.
I awoke quite early this morning.
Photos to be posted upon my return from London.