la pillule

went uptown to see if i could get a prescription from the village doctor.
she has office hours when anyone can come up and see her.
no appointment necessary.
usually there's hardly a wait, but i guess it was just one of those days.
anyway, after waiting 3 hours outside her office in the middle of a beautiful day,
i saw her.
didn't have to do an examination.
just showed her my pills and she wrote me a prescription to last me for 3 months.
she didn't charge us for "waiting 3 hours just to get pills."
and when we went to la pharmacie to fill it, they gave me all 3 months' supply
and being that i didn't have insurance, the total was still one-third less than
what i would pay in the states for the same prescription without health insurance.
amazing.
merci, dr. larcher.
(she looks like elise keaton from "family ties"!)

muse

i've been listening to certain songs over and over again lately.
you know how that happens sometimes?
sometimes you really just are feeling certain songs
that you can't listen to anything else.
maybe for me,
it reminds me of specific events or
people
that i never want to forget.

anyway, been listening to "stellar" by incubus a lot lately.
and "before today" by everything but the girl.

good songs.

patience as a virtue

vir·tue   (vûrchoo) n.
1.
a. Moral excellence and righteousness; goodness.
b. An example or kind of moral excellence: the virtue of patience.
2. Chastity, especially in a woman.
3. A particularly efficacious, good, or beneficial quality; advantage: a plan with the virtue of being practical.
4. Effective force or power: believed in the virtue of prayer.
5. virtues Christianity. The fifth of the nine orders of angels in medieval angelology.
6. Obsolete. Manly courage; valor.
. . .
my family agrees wholeheartedly that patience is what mjane's physical and mental being lacks.
c'est vrai, sans doute.
and as i've been learning to morph and melt into this new country, understanding the realm of patience is the bulk of my lessons these days.
they say (who are "they", by the way?) that patience is a virtue, but if you take a closer look at the definition of "virtue" right now, and then apply it to me, you're probably falling off your chair laughing very hard.
anyone who knows anything real about me can go through all six definitions of the goddamn word and know that my chances for achieving any sort of virtue are slim.
1. morals? being righteous? if saying "God Bless You" after someone sneezes is being righteous, then that's as much righteous as i want to be.
2. chastity [n. 1. The condition or quality of being pure or chaste. 2. a. Virginity. b. Virtuous character. c. Celibacy.]. the word allows for a total of four valid definitions, or in my case, four chances to not go to hell... fuck all, i must be the devil himself.
3., 4., 5. & 6. forget about it ( a la johnny depp in "donnie brasco").
. . .
conclusion: patience, in my case, isn't about my going to heaven or hell. it's prescription that my doctor gave a while back: smile really big... laugh... laugh hard... laugh out loud... laugh different sounding laughs to myself.
. . .
i woke up at 7am this morning. one of the cats pissed in my suitcase. actually, one of the cats pissed on a red sweater that was laying on top of my clothes in my suitcase that bled red onto my white jeans, white skirts, multi-color polo collar'eds, bikinis, you name it...
am laughing myself silly.

muse

visited monaco today.
it was pretty amazing.
making money's the first commandment
of that place for sure.

other than that...
went uptown to the cafe.
some people were doing a fashion
shoot in front of it.
photographer had a huge med format cam.
the clothes were eh.
probably for a catalog marketed to mid-lifers.
but i was inspired anyway.
if worse came to worse,
and shooting shit fashion in the south of france
was the worst one could do in life,
then it really can't ever be bad, could it?

"plain and fantastic..."

photos in my brain are not the same as having a camera!

finally got out and about this weekend.
i started friday night at 6pm (the first time i woke up since i got off the plane the night before).
had dinner with a DP and his girlfriend from japan and a second dinner with julian and toto.
made use of the nice little "welcome home" gift from amsterdam, too!
hooray!

saturday morning at 8am, picked up dan and karen from la gare.
went uptown to the cafe for breakfast.
jumped in the pool as soon as we got home.
fell asleep to "lost in translation" in the afternoon
while the boys shredded nice.
went to a vernissage (art opening) uptown before dinner
(champagne and crazy shoes everywhere).
ended the evening with dinner with an artist/private chef.

sunday! had an early start with the sun.
sunbathed on the terrace for breakfast.
watched a little french public tv
(all the female celebs wear push-up bras or own a pair of great tits).
sunbathed and swam at plage mala (mala beach) until evening.

the weather has been quite warm for this time of year.
thank you sun for letting me make use of my security blanket (a.k.a. bikini)
this weekend!
didn't feel homesick as wearing my bathing suit all day reminded me of the recent heat wave in l.a.
anyway, i think i was just lucky since i'm sure fall is right around the corner.

so it's monday morning now.
the sun is just coming up and shining brightly on st. paul de vence.
hmm, which bathing suit shall i wear today?
probably a more "professional" one while emailing and calling.
it's still a work day, no less.
"paris or monaco?" is the question of the day.
(trust me, it's not as glamorous as it writes)
but let's see what happens.
going to interview with this boss called "time"
and get it on my side.

work hard. play hard.

store cool. serve cool. drink cool.

there are still about 40 beers a la trader joe's left in the fridge.
i'm leaving behind (and this will probably be the only time this ever happens) a few stanky danky nugs of cali's stickiest weed and the heart-shaped tin that kept all of my supplies.
furniture everywhere... bed still in the closet...

but i'm bringing a hefty 5 pieces of luggage (sorry mackenzie),
2 ibooks,
the october elle,
my little cow (who finally received his name this summer),
and enough restless nights to knock out on the plane.

this is it!
c'est tout bon...

please excuse the mess

just got back into cali last night.
nyc was off the hook.
fixins crew:
too many great moments in my brain to edit at this point;
it's all love.
and hey, we're not done just yet.
. . .
now on to france.
suitcases and clothing everywhere.
aunties from PI are in town.
can't stop now.
you understand though.
gotta keep moving here.
in the meantime check out:
deadhippie
for the latest as mackenzie
holds
down
the
fort.
. . .
2 days and not counting.

(temporary) home, finally!

"i just go walking in the rain when i feel you in the sky
i just go walking in the rain when i feel you passing by..."

we got into JFK at about 1:30am, yet it's 6:00am as we settle into our room... hmm, how did that work out?

it was pouring rain as we got off the 6 onto 23rd St and Park Ave. water coming down in buckets as carlo, mae, karen and i walked to our hotel (backpacks, suitcases in tow). it was a baptism of sorts, pleasant, gentle and warm - not like those of catholics: cold, shocking, and many times, with crying and screaming involved.

after a little nap, off to the complex office we go.
it's good to be here.

vive la westside:part iii

80 degrees, hazy morning, afternoon sun.
there's still bits of construction noise here and there.
the foreman doesn't have his handmade "BUSH" flag on his car any more,
and i hear him laugh every once in a while now.

aaron snyder is walking by.
getting comfy out here, are you, stranger?
"the spots out here are so much better..."
well, this ain't HB, is it.
we welcome you anyway...
just let your lady know to lose the volcom
and gain some manners.

the roster of westside neighbors is a treasure of this little town.
christina and cathy, barbeques & cocktail parties on texas ave.
(thanks for opening our eyes to the wonder that is del's saloon)
eric dressen, monster car armor, and cafe 50s.
donny barley and random hellos at 14 & below.
steve kovatch, little vince, and part-time walking with mackenzie eisenhour.
bob k(ronbauer), crownfarmer king, valium, and billiards & bushes at del's.
chase, old english 40s, belgium, and 614.
matt solomon, you can tell your friends i was your secretary any time.
dean & spenser kuipers, bike rides at venice, tarot cards, and shrek.

...

and all the roommates who've graced me with their presence:
max & flo bayol and katiouschka, successful kitchen sharing.
pat canale, blind date episodes, and interesting diet.
jb gillet, please don't rub your athlete's feet on my carpet or growl at my girlfriends.
barrett loose, part-time bro (good looking out), bass-playing surfer, who's never home!
oliver barton (part i): capricorn, girls, iBooks, and fairy treats.
oliver barton (part ii): woah barcelona... i'm not there yet, but don't say i didn't warn you!
cameron postforoosh: mo' style, hot rod, fireworks, and sophie.

...

to the amherst compound (past and present):
robbie mckinley, dan rhoades, chris roberts, alek (whomainie?) kadan, and mike york.
my surrogate partners in all that is
criminal,
fun,
insightful,
and loving.
dinners, lakers, joints, plumbing, meetings on the terrace...
there's a lot more... but i know you feel me already.

...

photos:m.sanbuenaventura, originally uploaded by mjane.

san.beezee

photo:e.andal, originally uploaded by mjane.

if you have never met this man
then you only know half of me.

he is the comedy,
the style,
the smile,
& everything confident
that i show for.

pride has nothing to do
with how this guy makes me feel.
it's all him and i appreciate what of
him he's given me.

keep it coming, bro.

remember, where i'll be there's plenty snow...
come and help me land my jumps.

mark san b.
(qt.movie:dynomike)

15 more days to go...

photo:m.sanbuenaventura, originally uploaded by mjane.

mackenzie and i are off to france within days now... i miss my apartment already. man, for real though, if only these walls could talk...