Twinkie

Hoppy Tonks-geeving! That's how my dad would say it.

This morning I went to the Castro to see Milk. I've been wanting to see it for the past two days since it has opened but never got the chance. Went to a 10am show, was surrounded by the older gays, one of whom I actually think was Armistead Maupin. There have been other times that I've thought I've seen him....but then again he looks like every other older gay man with a mustache. It was then that I wondered, being surrounded by old gays in the Castro theater watching Milk by myself and sitting near Armistead Maupin...am I gay twink stuck inside the body of a 27-year-old Asian girl?

Today i cannot believe we are celebrating the 4th installment of Vegan Thanksgiving. This is a great tradition originated by Greg, Tom, and myself and we've expanded to a few others over the years. You don't know how many sympathetic faces I get when I say I celebrate Vegan thanksgiving but I really love it. I've never been a turkey fan (too dry) and Thanksgiving is really all about the sides. Stuffing, beans, squash, jellied cranberry, potatoes...yum. Do you need to harm an animal for any of this? No. It is also the one time of the year that Greg buys meat, save for paying for dinners and stuff. He buys me a small ham grenade since I don't like turkey. It's smoked and yummy and a good compliment to all the sides. He usually buys it for me because I'm working. Come to think of it, this is the first Thanksgiving in three years that I am not working. I'm thankful for that.

So the movie Milk was awesome. I love love love (and always have) reading books, seeing pictures, and watching movies about places I live in and have lived in. I love seeing what my city used to look like. A great gift for me (hint hint) would be those sepia-colored picture books of old neighborhoods like Noe Valley and the Haight. Anyways, Harvey Milk was the first openly gay city official and he got shot by his colleague. I have seen his name all around the city and knew he was gay because of the influx of his name around the Castro area but didn't really know why. It's so sad, he knew he was going to be assassinated someday and even taped a few recordings just in case that happened. I think Sean Penn did an amazing job in his role and Josh Brolin was awesome. Doing research before watching the movie made me despise Dan White for what he did, but Josh Brolin gave him a human aspect and even made you feel bad for him. I still think justice wasn't served (Dan White only got 5 years for manslaughter when he clearly committed murder) but I don't think he is the demon I once thought before.

I earned my Thanksgiving dinner today by running 4-odd miles. I am afraid my knees are starting to ache a little when the mileage gets longer which means I need to do more core and leg strengthening. I'm really proud I ran as far as I did this afternoon because I was feeling under the weather.

Tomorrow we go to Reno. I decided to bag the Black Friday shopping because the tv we want isn't going to be on sale so it's not worth it. I am still highly curious to go just to see if I can get a good deal on something. And to see the insanity and crazy ladies. I am hoping this weekend will end with some additions to my wardrobe including at least two or three sweaters to keep me warm during "winter" (real winter Chicago, fake "winter" SF).

These are the things i'm thankful for:
- Nice apartment
- Well-paying job that I love and is fulfilling
- Ability to travel and buy nice things for myself and not feel anxiety for it
- Wonderful family and friends
- Wonderful boyfriend whom I love more and more each year
- Good health and ability to train and run marathons without injury (knock on wood)
- My car that has been good to me so far
- Pizza for always fulfilling any type of role I need it to
- Wine
- A new president/administration who gives us hope
- My new boots for keeping my feet warm

Have a happy thanksgiving everyone!

Oh, and the reason for the title of this post stems from the "Twinkie Defense" which is what was supposedly used to help Dan White's argument. And it is because I like twinks, because they're funny and cute when not being assholes.

updates

it's 8:30am and my toes are freezing.
i have been reunited with my car and it feels so good.
14 kiddos in three days separate me from a 4-day weekend bliss.
I woke up at 5:15 am for a "no-buddy" run. Grr.
I am eating a vegan tiramisu cupcake that weighs approximately one pound.

Epic

That's the only word I can think of to describe this weekend. One where I didn't really have any work or obligations, besides TNT. I could never ever complain about it being 80 degrees in November...but my capacity for running in it is super low.

I love my mentor team. Everyone is pretty cool and non-asshole, and they all definitely have a good committment towards the seasons and team. We had a gorgeous run in the Presidio/Marina, and I kept pace with a girl that's a little faster than my normal pace. I'm not sure how much we ran but my legs have been rather tired since. Afterwards I treated myself to a Lobster roll at Woodhouse...very yummy but it's so disappointing that these delectable sandwiches cost so much here. Followed by two beers and a pedi, then a house party with the most gorgeous view of the city. If it weren't in the middle of nowhere and with no access to public transportation, I'd live in Twin Peaks in a heart beat. Rachel was kind enough to practice her massage skills on my tired legs and we ended the night with beer and games at the Buckshot.

Today Greg and I started our day lazily and for some odd reason he wanted to watch Weird Science. I then joined him for a light bite at Blue Front before meeting Junbee at Town's End. Yummmyyyy! Walked along the embarcadero and then searched for a gift for a friend at Sur La Table. I could spend so much unneccesary money there. Finished the weekend off with a trip to Whole Foods and made some yummy dinner.

Epic. Too bad it has to end early, because this fool has to wake up at 5:30 am to go running. Ugh.

OMG

Ok there's another reason to have nightmares. I was doing my usual perusing of dlisted.com, and there was a bit about Salma Hayek is addicted to breastfeeding. Apparently it's addicting? Anyways he posted a youtube link of some bizarre documentary in the UK about a lady who is breastfeeding her 5 year old!! The little girl asks for it, and has a major obsession with her mom's boobs. It was alarming. It was disturbing. And now I will never look at English people the same way again.

Dammit

I am watching one of those dangerously addicting Law and Order: CI marathons on Bravo and I'm afraid I won't be able to go to sleep tonight.

mixed feelings

I woke up this morning with glimmer of hope that the rest of California would come to its senses and vote no for Prop 8. I am disheartened. Overwhelmingly over 60% of people voted for the rights of animals, but 52% of people would "eliminate rights" for people. Constitutions have NEVER been amended to deny rights of people.

People are so concerned about the "sanctity of marriage" but it's ironic that the religious organization that donated the most most money and energy believes in polygamy. And when it all comes down to it, your marriage is truly rendered official to the world at City Hall, not at church. People wonder if there's a difference between marriage and civil unions. Many of the rights are the same but not all. When you fill out any census or demographic survey the choices are "single, married, widowed, divorced." One of my kiddos moms had to go through a very, very long process of adopting her own twin boys because she wasn't the carrier and wasn't officially their blood relative.

I am very proud of the Bay Area, we came out in droves to support equality. I forget that we live in this bubble, and without the major cities California would probably be a red state. I can only maintain hope, as this was on a referendum a few years ago and the margin was larger. Maybe someday the hate and fear will stop.

Yes, we did.

I'm not going to lie, I actually teared up when we heard the news that Virginia went blue. What a momentus moment (that sounds so silly) but it's so true. I've had butterflies the whole day and had to go for a run immediately after work so as not to stay glued on the couch watching CNN, MSNBC, PBS, etc.

The lines where I voted were not too bad. It was a little confusing because there were two lines. One to get the ballot, and one for a pen. Seriously. When you got your ballot it looked like there was another line to get in, so I got in it. As it turns out, if you were really in a hurry you didn't necessarily need to vote behind the booth, so long as you didn't mind everyone around you seeing what you were voting for. But the polling place only had like 5 of those felt-tip markers used for casting your vote! I got in at 7:30 and left by 8:20. Greg went after work and he was the only one in the polling booth!

I cannot go to bed and sleep peacefully. Prop 8 has not been decided yet and it's not looking good at this moment. I just pray that Californians support love and equality, not hate and fear.

moving forward

There's no point in excusing myself for a really long hiatus in writing. I don't know why it's so hard for me!

Some things:
- I did, in fact, lose the aforementioned expensive MJ sunglasses like I predicted I would. Drunk and on a boat, what can I say
- I am excited and incredibly nervous for the outcome of tomorrow's election
- I discovered there are several websites/blogs with extreme hate for Jon and Kate plus 8
- I am currently borrowing my friend's Jeep Cherokee and I'm not used to driving such a behemoth. For the next week I plan on parking like an asshole on the street, as don't trust my parallel parking skills in this thing
- I am hoping this new space heater will be enough to keep us warm and toasty for the winter
- I cannot wait for election day to be over so I can finally stop recieving these stupid election circulars in the mail.

That is all.