One of Hearts

J♥ and I went to see the Canadian awesomeness that is Mother Mother last night at Cafe du Nord and it was oh so great!

First off, as a bar and a venue Cafe du Nord could never be disappointing. The lighting is perfect, they have pretty good beers on tap, there is plenty of room to hug your friends and gesticulate without punching someone in the eye and the crowd is always laid back in the way the take in the scene. A relaxing drink, good conversation and a tasty nibbles are to be had here, most definitely.

Secondly, Mother Mother live and in person do not dissapoint! I have to admit I had my doubts about going to see them. With voices that unique and so much going on musically as far as instruments go (when listening you can clearly hear all the standard instruments plus keyboards, synths, clarinets, and some horns) I figured there had to be a whole lot going into post production to make them sound that pulled together. How wrong I was, and gladly so! They didn’t sound exactly like they do on their albums, that’s to be expected, but they were still spot on with their sound. Voices were small and squeaky, music was fast and filled with passion (or sad and angsty when needed), and their energy was up up up!

J was able to get a few pictures of the action when I wasn’t trying to dance all over him…

If you don’t love them already, you really should start now.

Monday Monday, so good to me…

This is how I am choosing to see Mondays, nevermind the other lyrics in the song. I definitely think that if people started changing their outlooks and trying to embrace Mondays and what they could possibly stand for, the whole work week would seem a whole lot less dreary.

And what could Mondays stand for? Life changing, earth shattering happiness! Chances to make everything you want to happen happen, at least for a week.

You could …

· Plan a wonderful picnic in the park complete with something fruity and bubbly.
· Spruce up your resume and start going for your dream career.
· Learn to make a dish Chef Gordon Ramsey would love..or yell at you over, who cares as long as you love it?!
· Have an inspirational movie marathon and take what you want, leave what you don’t.
· Grab a bike and explore the knooks, crannies and allyways that usually go unnoticed.
· Be a badass!

What are you going to do this week that would make life wonderful?

There have been rumors floating around for the last few weeks that a strike of mass (or not so mass) proportions is potentially upon us San Francisco Bay Area residents, and according to the official Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) website, these rumors could quite soon become truth.

From BART:

The Amalgamated Transit Union has announced its intention to strike at the close of service on Sunday, after the BART Board of Directors voted Thursday to impose terms of employment on the union. A strike would halt BART service. The Board took the action after members of ATU, which represents train operators and station agents, rejected a tentative labor agreement and the board said an impasse had been reached in negotiations.

Looks like fun times ahead, huh?

The site then goes on to give a few handy dandy tips for dealing with this pretty large inconvenience, two of my favorites being…

“Adjust work hours – Ask your employer about adjusting your work hours to avoid commuting during peak traffic periods.”

and

“Telecommute – Ask your employer about working from home during some of the time you’d normally be in the office.”

I don’t know where BART thinks I work, but if it was the kind of place where I could just tell them my demands and they would submit to my every whim and will, life would be much much sweeter.

It’s not all doom and gloom for Bay Area public transit warriors though. Bart will be running a limited bus service between five of it’s stations. In the morning you have

Dublin/Pleasanton BART to West Oakland BART (10 Buses)
Fremont BART to West Oakland BART (10 Buses)
Walnut Creek BART to West Oakland BART (10 Buses)
El Cerrito del Norte BART to West Oakland BART (10 Buses)
West Oakland BART to San Francisco (Fremont/Folsom) (16 Buses)

and in the afternoon

San Francisco (Fremont/Folsom) to West Oakland BART (16 Buses)
West Oakland BART to El Cerrito del Norte BART (10 Buses)
West Oakland BART to Dublin/Pleasanton BART to (10 Buses)
West Oakland BART to Fremont BART (10 Buses)
West Oakland BART to Walnut Creek (10 Buses)

Each trip cost 5 bucks and parking at the BART stations is free during the strike. That’s good right?

Hooray for poor negotiation skills and greed!

So lovlies, do you rely heavily on BART to get you from point A to point B? Any ideas for turning shit into sunshine if this actually hits the fan? Do tell!

This week has been wonderful! The weather has been amazing, people are out on their bikes in large numbers, layers are coming off! On top of these great things there is, of course, much more to love…

big smiles – staying in all weekend watching canceled tv series on hulu – branching out and getting involved with the union at work – teeth that get into all kinds of mischief and adventures @ my milk toof – sailor inspired t-shirt from Em & Sprout – falling asleep to chanting monks under my pillow – smelling lovely

writing down all the ideas that pop into the brain whenever possible (possible millions to be made on ideas!) – bike baskets and the freedom of not having to worry about getting overly sweaty in the back region – a boy named chris in a mustard cardigan = hell yes! @fashionist – jelly fish for your neck! – oh so sweet and deliciously cold ice cream sundaes from Maggie Mudds – short shorts!

two warm days, a cold day, and a warm day once more – entertaining thoughts of getting someone else to tidy the house and the freedom and happiness that could bring – planning for next months vacation to copenhagen and stockholm – fruit flavored carbonated water w/ no sugar – phallic mammary pet! – increased reporting on homelessness in america

a delicious soy chorizo burito at mariachi’s (first time there, woot!) – pie! – Dr. Daniel Jackson & Teal’c geekery

How about you? What’s tickling your fancy right now?

photograph taken by TruShu and used under creative commons.

Hunter-gatherers roam the TL fo’ sho.

@ 459 Turk Street.