So its official, I have been on the road long enough that I have run out of the liquid body wash I brought with me from home. So today I used a Molton and Brown shower gel that came from some nice hotel, and while Molton and Brown make my favorite hand soap in Boston (Eastern Standard) this particualar fragrance is driving me crazy. Nothing tweaks my nose worse than smelling different then I normally smell, basically like me smelling like some (hopefully cute) girl I don’t know. And as much as I used to appreciate that circumstance back when I was a seemingly unattainable assistant poetry professor at Wellesley College – I’m older and wiser now…

Here’s what I like about California: 1) My parents. 2) My parent’s dog 3) Listening to loud techno in a mini-van with an above average sound system 4) thinking while doing number 3 5)Meals cooked by someone other than me, without me even asking for them 6) The sunrise drive through the big desert hills 7) Knowing I don’t live here when looking at smog or analyzing traffic 8) In-N-Out Burger 9) That my family is the kind of family who really stop everything and watch the silent tribute to our war dead at the end of the Jim Leher Newshour, which is just haunting and should be exceptionally relevant to our daily mindset as a nation – especially since that program is the only one doing it.(!)

What I don’t like about California: 1) My Parent’s TV, which is ironically my old TV, the pride of young teen years since I sold my saxaphone to buy it and it was the biggest most beautiful thing ever – considering we had a 13″ my whole life and it was 25″. I still remember seeing Picard’s big bald head on it the first day I owned it, and thus awash with pride. ( I watched a ridiculous amount of TV back then, totally ridiculous –) Anyway now the TV is way old and has a high pitched whine that only I can hear (well the Dog must hear it too but has just resigned herself to bear it I guess) – I cringe at the whine, at the commercials, and the volume that seems to increase with every visit – 2) The pathetic lack of any good sandwich places around where I work, I would sell your first born child for a Cosi or Chacarero in Corona, CA 3) The fact that I know two people here I would like to see and they are too far away to see when factoring in traffic and my insane work load. It’d be like working a 10-12 hour day in New York City and then trying to hang out with someone in Hartford the same night. That’s bullshit.

What I miss about Boston: 1) You, if you are in Boston 2) My Shower and its reliable instant heat and perfectly violent spray 3) My bed 4)On that note, You, if you are in Boston, and single, and perfect for me, and a woman 5) My dual monitors – working with Excel just sucks when you get used to them and then dont have them. 6) My 3 eggs every morning, the moment I get out of bed. 7) My poor pathetic plant which is alive because I remember to water it occasionally 8) That first “is it going to snow today?” day which I’m sure I have missed.

What I don’t miss about Boston: 1) College students, especially the ones in my building. 2) You, if you annoy me or represent everything I hate about the world, like People Magazine or raw white onions. 3) Irrational Red Sox fans intentionally burning themselves on the hot stove.

I have spend most of my time in California quite cold actually. Constantly cold. I brought two sweaters with me and a jacket and I’m practically wearing all three. Oase’s home office is air conditioned like a meat locker and my sister’s place is near Monterrey and even though it was remarkably sunny (normally fog galore) I was always cold. My sister never uses her heater either, I guess she is just used to it. Now I am the only member of my family who still lives in the Northeast and yet I am the person most bothered by the cold, and heres why: In the northeast you are cold when you are outside. Your cold is a matter of moments as you traverse from one place to another, or wait for your car (your car – I don’t have a car) to warm up…. but then the rest of the time, you are toasty warm. Your home, your workplace, the stores you frequent – these are all warm places. Warm and extra cozy considering the difference between them and the barren outside. (And when its really cold I’m not even cold outside cause I have flannel lined jeans and a huge goofy parka to wear, under which you have only an undershirt on and still be roasting)  Now here in California, its mostly hot throughout the year, and so the whole universe is built to avoid warmth. It was 46 today and I swear the A/C was on at work, set to “70” supposedly. So at home in the Northeast you really do live your life in the 70s, minus some cold hands or ears, for minutes at a time. But you have a coat on, you have a radiator to love you at home, a fireplace at some friends house or restaurant. I have spent this whole trip at like 55-60 and its wearing me down. — And while my apt is always too hot – I see mirages sometime in the middle of the day — but man I cant wait to have my 76 degree furnace of an apt back – tshirt and boxer briefs – hell yeah.

Otherwise – had a nice, if short, trip to San Fran on Saturday. This was precluded by me introducing myself to The Silicon Valley by driving around looking for a Starbucks (Wi-Fi) I needed to plan out my day in SF and so there I was, in Silicon Valley, unable to find a STARBUCKS.. IN SILICON VALLEY. When I finally did as I was trying to U-Turn I found some sourdough bakery with free wi-fi and real breakfast which meant I happily got to spend no money at Starbucks.(Push Back) At least now I have seen the Ebay complex. Drove across the Golden Gate bridge and gazed at it from its overlooking cliffs as I tried to forget how much I dislike tourists. Then I hit SFMOMA which was wonderful. Saw a great early Pollack, tons of amazing photography (& a Weston Mexico exhibition!), and they had this incredible videography piece in which this guy named Phil Collins (no, not Phil Collins) tapes a whole bunch of people singing karaoke to the Smiths – which was like a simaelotaneous (I fucking HATE spelling that word – seriously – fuck that word with its perfect meaning yet its pervasive impossibleness) love letter to humanity and humanity loving music. Just a funny joy to admire. Way to go Art, you rock! And they had lots of postcards so my bedroom witll be happy. Finally I met up with the seldom seen and always engaging Jordan Pierce, who I took out for dinner and then ended up on a cable car with as a result of my inability to read my map – but it was a happy accident and I got to see the Crookedest Street and wish I could afford a home in SF. (also there are still peep shows and nasty characters in absolute downtown San Francisco – which is astounding. It reminded me of the New York of my childhood. That kind of shit was pushed out of New York and Boston long ago. Now its all condos and, of course, Starbucks. Stay gold San Francisco! Keep on truckin, or err hookin…)

I rebuilt my sixth computer of the year, for my sister, who was using it only as a DVD player since she doesnt have the internet, because she is insane. Anyway I souped it up and installed all the video game emulators with all the games we used to play, and apparently she has been up every night since playing Castlevania and The Legend of Zelda (She’s never even played the SNES Zelda either – my god that was an awesome game) Running out of time in the year, but I still have two more re-rebuilds to do, which will bring me to 8 for the year a record I have no intention of making a run at again. And actually if you include rebuilding two computers for myself, that would bring it to 10. Damn.

Saturday – Saturday – Saturday – Saturday – Saturday – Saturday