Or I could be in Germany

I am extraordinarily greatful to be back in California. I could be in Munich, soaking up the good vibes in Bavaria. Instead, the rain let up the minute my plane landed at SFO, and the weather has been wonderful. I don't have any pictures of Germany at hand, so just use your imagination in this brief comparison.



























The unexpected time off has been great. I have found the time to sleep, unpack, and even give my 2 month-old rice cooker a name.















I noticed yesterday that my kitchen is beginning to look a bit like Jackson Pollock's pants.
















I was inspired by this link on Harley's blog to a site about what 'creative types' have on their desks. I was really into this illustrator who collects old mugs to put pens and pencils in. He has a really great Gromit one that I'm pretty jealous of. So, I decided to take a picture of the desk where I had been sitting. I don't spend a whole lot of time here as I am usually in, well, Germany or some such hell hole. In the few days that I've been back I have managed to ravage what little space there was on the small desk. In the photo you can make out the following:

-The complete Calving and Hobbes set
-A half filled-out pile of tax forms
-The remains of my unopened mail from the last month
-A care package for my little sister who has mono
-A postcard of a dog balancing 3 cups and saucers on its nose
-A glass of white wine
-A band and crew photo from the last show of the Death Cab tour
-A copy of Kramer's Ergot

It's starting to look a bit like the kitchen.















I am fortunate enough to live at the base of a street that climbs at about a 45-degree angle. In the few months that I have lived here I have seen all manner of strange shit happen on this hill. A month or so ago a guy with an old pickup hauling a washer/dryer in the back really went for it up the hill and the washer/dryer toppled out the back of the truck and hit a parked car. I watched this from my living room window. I was in a bathrobe and slippers eating a bowl of cereal at the time. A few days ago I saw an old van tear ass up the hill and watched with sheer delight as the entire bumper ripped off the back, dragged for a block or so and fell completely off. I am not the type who delights in the misfortune of others, but I am also not one to pass up a good laugh, occasionally at the expense of someone else (or their vehicle). So the other night I was sitting in my living room, halfway through a bottle of wine, and I hear the sound of someone throwing a bucket full of cutlery down a drainpipe. It turns out that these two kids were riding this beat old scooter up the hill when it crapped out and the two totally ate shit in the middle of the street. I was fairly concerned for a moment until I realized that they were visibly stoned from a hundred feet off and the kid on the back of the scooter had a huge drum strapped to his back which, undoubtedly caused the weight displacement that pitched them off the bike. The laughing continued as they dropped the scooter not twice, but three times trying to start it on the hill. Sometimes the world is a great place.