But not really.
It just feels like it is.
I had a half lazy day, half busy day, and a “I was half way out of it day,” at one point from going to bed so late last night.
2:30 a.m.
I cannot remember the last time I went to bed at that hour.
I had gone out dancing with a dear girlfriend.
We met up in the city at Brenda’s Meat and Three where I had wrapped up a delicious dinner with my person, cheese grits with shrimp, bacon and tomato.
My God.
It was so good, I could have licked the bowl.
The server laughed when I said that, and added, “I’ve seen it happen.”
I do not doubt it.
I once licked a plate at a meal out with friends, but I suspect I was a little tipsy when I did it.
The grits were just that good.
I will be having them again.
And I got a lot of compliments on my costume
I went as a sugar skull from Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead).
It was my first time trying to do the makeup.
I think I did pretty good, all things considered.
The place that I stop at, Ulta Beauty over by the Nordstrom Rack and Trader Joes shopping area, was out of Halloween face paint.
I was like.
Seriously?
You guys are a freaking makeup store!
It’s three days before Halloween and you’re already sold out?
What the heck!
But.
I’m a clever girl.
First I asked what the lightest foundation that they had in the store was.
I’m brown-skinned enough that a very light foundation is going to look close to white on my skin.
Then I got a finishing powder that was tinted with green to pull any redness from my face and then another that was a translucent white powder.
Then I pillage the NYX cheap makeup.
Big white eyeliner, big black eyeliner, a pink one, a turquoise one, and a liquid eyeliner in lilac with glitter.
And I found a really cool blue lip gloss that was matte and had glitter in it.
I have no idea when I’m ever going to use this make up again.
But the end result, though not professional caliber, well, I thought, was pretty damn good.
I actually got a lot of compliments last night, both at Brenda’s and at the dance.
My friend also had a great costume, she was a Hip Hop Zombie.
Which was apropos as we were going to the Time Travelers Ball in Oakland.
Great music, lots of old hip hop, lots of funk, so early electronic, old 80s and late 70s movies playing on the wall, great light system, a small fire in the courtyard, in a portable fire pit.
I ran into a few folks, from, yes, of all places, Burning Man.
I didn’t recognize the woman at all who came up and squealed at me, and how she recognized me with all that makeup on, I have no idea, but she did.
It was a good time.
And.
Heh.
Although I did not make the top three prizes in the costume contest, I did win an honorable mention and was given back my entrance fee and an open bar tab.
Which for me was hilarious to contemplate.
I had a La Croix.
It was tasty.
Heh.
And.
I had fun and I danced a lot, so much so that I was afraid I was going to break a sweat and my make up was going to slide off my face.
It stuck though.
It stuck really well, it took a lot of make up removing wipes and washing my face to get it off, in fact, I didn’t get all the white eyeliner off, man I tried, but I gave up the ghost at some point.
I was also up late as it was 9 hours a head in Paris and my best girl friend from school sent me a message on What’s App about having a Face Time session and I just said, fuck it, it is super hard for us to co-ordinate our time, so screw it, yes, I had a Face Time session this morning around 1:45 a.m.
It was so good to see her face and hear her voice.
Oh, how I miss her.
We got caught up and talked about all the things and made some tentative plans to see each other in the new year.
She may be coming back for a training and I’m pretty sure I’ll be in Europe in July and I’m going to make sure I go up to Paris and spend time with her.
I was in tears when I got off the call, it was super hard to hang up.
But man, it was late.
And I had lunch date that I wanted to be ready for.
I was going to sleep 8 hours, I was.
I set my alarm for 10:30 a.m., which is unheard of for me, but I figured, I can skip yoga, I got a workout dancing, and I want a full nights sleep.
of course.
I was up at 8:30 a.m.
Which is why it feels late right now when it’s not really.
I’m glad for it though, I did a ton of writing and I had a leisurely breakfast and a quick phone call with my best friend and plans to connect later.
Which was sweet.
So sweet.
And then off across town to Mario’s on Columbus and Union.
I hadn’t been there before, but it was classic, pure North Beach Italian Cafe and bar.
It was so good to see my friend and we chatted about all things art and kindness and words and poetry and talked about Burning Man, since that’s where we met three years ago, and projects, and life.
I am enthralled with that aspect of my life, that sometimes, out of nowhere, because I am moved to connect with someone, a new relationship happens.
It startles me every time.
It was like that with my best girl in Paris, we were sitting next to each other, an empty seat between us, at the first year retreat for our school.
And we turned to each other and we’ve never turned away.
The loveliness of it still astounds.
The people in my life who I love, who I consider my family, my loves, my friends, I am so, so lucky to know.
Beyond lucky.
Graced.
I am graced.
And tired.
Just saying.
I got a lot of other stuff done today too, grocery shopping, lots of cooking, lots of homework.
But really.
It was the connecting with my friends, with my people, with my loves, that made the most impact on my today.
An hour-long phone conversation sitting on a bench in the sunlight (the only sunlight that I got to see, man was it cold and foggy today) at Washington Square Park.
The confirmation of love.
The power of poetry.
The great gifts of kindness.
The art of being human.
It gets me every time.
Every time.
Auntiebubba 