2 lame reviews, sorry no story

yesterday after all day trying to clean for rich's soon to visit parents while pulling dirty mops and sponges and dustpans out of maya's strong and helpful grip and negotiating with miles for him playing alone and us being lemurs with him around 4 rebecca and emily swept in. suddenly we were in the front room, rebecca telling us how great it looked, maya serving well handled little chunks of cheese right into our mouths,waiting for the curtains between the rooms to part so the show could begin. they open, and here are miles and emily, doing some kind of russian folk-dancing interpretation with miles in a spider man hood and emily with a wooden sword. they fight while dancing and we are laughing so hard and then they disappear. another show minutes later with a ring-tailed lemur and some sort of english accented girl character, doing gymnastics and monkey moves and more folk-dancing. it is time to slip out for 10 minutes with my friend and we leave rich lying on the floor with 100+ pounds of child jumping on him.

it is a beautiful sunny early evening. we step neatly around a man lying face down on the sidewalk in front of the hospital. "nigh nigh maeh" says maya matter-of-factly from her stroller. across potrero we bump into my friend jesse who tells us about the disastrous end to a party at their house last night--some acquaintance of a friend started a fight with our friend s and he ended up with a shattered ankle. they were on a mission to find him some porn to read while he was stuck in a hospital bed. they were having no luck.

aren't i glad i was home watching the movie i will review in a minute.

we go to el metate at 22nd and bryant. now when we first moved out here my whole household was all over el farolito. huge huge greasy tasty portions. perfect for those very non-discriminating times like 2 am after a drunken rock show. those big styrofoam containers full of super grilled chicken nachos covered with goopy sour cream and barely melted cheese prevented many a hangover. but now farolito seems a little, well, nasty. so we were so happy when el metate moved in. it is super fresh and a cute little place with a clean and slightly artsy vibe. fried fish tacos. shrimp burritos! quesadillas to feed several. grilled vegetables. bottled cokes. 5 kinds of agua frescas (sp?), and a big glass container of icy cold water. you can sit outside while your food is cooked by about 6 young guys at once, and mingle with (last night)doctors from sf general, a mexican mom and daughters, 2 older travelling french women, a hip 20 something woman who appreciates maya, and the owner, who looks like a love and rockets character whose name i can't recall and is doing quite well for himself with write-ups in lonely planet, zagat, etc etc.

i obviously am not a food writer but i do love el metate. there are cool people with dogs and kids running around nearby in the about to go down sun, and rebecca likes 23rd street, as do i.

i am so tired lately. we all are, with colds and their repercussions, and no rest for anyone. my sinuses are full of scary bright orange liquid and other stuff. but rich and i muster up our energy to watch the netflix movie that has been sitting around for a while now waiting to be opened. we watch God Grew Tired of Us and within about 10 minutes i am sobbing, my sinuses filling right up, as we watch these young men from sudan talking about what happened to them and their families and see the insane footage of them emerging from a march through the sahara with nothing to eat or drink for a long long time. 8 year olds carrying babies on their backs for miles and miles while their bodies just wasted away. these guys were together for over a decade, and without being sentimental about it you see the incredible human connections they have made with each other. when a few get picked to go to the u.s. there is a hard transition time as they feel the new to them american loneliness and alienation. waiting for buses alone to come home early in the a.m. to an apartment where your roomate has just left for work. no time to be with friends, work work work. cold and dark and crappy jobs and prejudiced neighbors. it does get better for them. they are amazing. but the transition has them lamenting the loss of the community they had in the refugee camp, lamenting hard being away from their loved ones.

so i knew i had to put the movie on the blog. cause part of me wishes i was in a village with all my friends and family. but the men that leave do so because they want to eat more, help others more, and be independent. it is a good movie that gives you lots to think about, check it out.

the lemurs are sleeping here, it is 7:30, what shall i do? i wish there was someone i knew at a neighborhood bar. sadie's flying elephant would be a nice walk for one jameson's and coke. or someone to meet me at a cafe for a writing date. or a band practice to drag my tired a*& to. or a hot tub to go soak in that was not a drive away.

anyone out there want to make some plans soon?? i think i could stay out until 9 some night.

love,
me