is the word 'diary' better than the word 'blog'? probably not.

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Room for Dessert.

Room for Dessert.

Yesterday I had lunch in Berkeley with one of my dissertation advisors. She has a new book out and in it she thanks me for showing her the importance of Levinas for ethical thinking! That made me feel proud and also perhaps overrated. Perhaps that only means proud but not prideful? There's something humbling about having an impact on someone. It's a reminder of how ethical responsibility presents itself everywhere. Both those statements (about humbling, and responsibility) could be read as if they were negative, but only if you don't really know me. (And, I would argue, only if you haven't give much thought to what it takes really to live with other people.) Anyway. In addition to the good company on this lunch, the food was lovely and I had a very good pot de creme for dessert.

Last night we (Liz, Ivan, Evany, Marco, Caroleen, Jeff, Heidi and I) had a birthday dinner for Liz at Goat Hill Pizza in Potrero Hill. Man, that pizza is good! I cheated and ate a shitload of tomatoes and tomato-based foodstuffs, and I took the blue pill. We also had a bunch of champagne of a particular kind that Liz likes and that Evany located and then I picked up in Walnut Creek thanks to Jonathan's car (complicated!). We also had cookies from Tartine. I myself do not recommend that triple-combo. Alone each element was fantastic. But my stomach was not so happy later. It is possible that my stomach was mostly unhappy about the tomatoes, however.

Monday I had lunch with Liz at Bette's in Berkeley. We had diner food and a brownie sundae. As you can see, this week is dessert-tastic. So it's dessert storm, and I haven't been yoga-ing, and I feel a bit unshaped. However today I walked for a very long time. Heidi was at my side, and she didn't even complain very much. It's not that she hates walking (well, she kind of does hate walking, and her shoes weren't being kind to her today) but that she likes complaining! It is her Way. So instead of complaining about walking, she marveled at how complicated it can be for a person (AKA me) to get the right toiletries. We walked to Levon's place (AKA St. Francis) for an exceedingly yummy brunch and then walked from 25th and York to 17th and Valencia where I got a new charger for the Sidekick (charger disappeared. mysterious. gave up trying to explain it to myself.). Then we walked to 16th and Market to get my shampoo (best shampoo ever!). Then we walked to Muni and went downtown to get my face lotion. On the way to face lotion store (miraculous face lotion! overpriced, yes, but it gets rid of my pinkness and allergy bumpiness.) we stopped in Sephora to look for something Heidi wanted and I tried on the new Chanel perfume, Allure Sensuelle. It sucks. It's powdery and smells like something a grandma would wear. So unless you are a grandma who wants to smell like a grandma, don't bother. However, if you do happen to be a grandma who wants to smell like a grandma, the good news is that the scent has some serious staying power. I tried it on at 3pm and it's still going strong at 10:30.

Heidi and I had a good time walking around today, discussing a magnificently wide array of topics. I felt lucky that she was able to take a day off from her very demanding job. I introduced her to Forever 21, and she bought a skirt. I bought nothing, though I did try on numerous items.

Heidi took off to go to Kabuki Sauna around 4, and I went to Anthropologie where I bought a strange top that is like a cross between something you might find bedecking a Grecian goddess statue and something a Goth might wear? I can't explain exactly why I ended up buying it except that it looks really good and isn't like anything else I own. Plus it was on sale for a very good price, and is black, and a potential "problem solver." I could wear it with jeans or with one of those numerous floor-length skirts I've mentioned. Yes, this is all FASCINATING.

Then I went to Loehmann's because I have 20% off coupons. It was a wasteland. I bought nothing.

Then I went to Berkeley to meet my mom for dinner. We ate at Venus. We both had scallops with spinach and mashed potatoes with an apple cider reduction, and it was such a perfect meal. I had some prosecco and she had a cheeky pinot noir. Then we split an apple-pear tart with caramel and chantilly.

I wrote something about Serenity when I got home from my date on Monday night. But it's stuck in my computer. Right now I'm typing on Evany's computer. Since she's not a Mac person and she doesn't have a wireless network, I can't drop my Serenity wisdom on you just now.

Basically the entry is about what I appreciate about the drawn-out nature of a television series that a movie cannot capture. That doesn't mean the movie wasn't good. I enjoyed it. It just made me reflect on how great that series was, and how sad it was that it got cancelled instead of being allowed to run for five years or so, like Buffy and Angel. (More later.)

I have a new name for Walnut Creek, scene of my high school unhappiness and disaffection: "The W.C." It's perfect.

Back to work now.

10:42 p.m. - October 12, 2005

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