Thoughts in Random Patterns

Happy 38th Birthday, Wendy

Today is my younger sister's birthday, which is always a special day.  She and Stacy and I went to lunch at Bloom and had a delicious meal, including Stacy's wonderful orange amaretto creme brulee, and then had a mini shopping spree at Yankee Candle and the Coach store.  Best gift of all, of course, is Stacy being out of the hospital and doing well and being our patient sherpa (those candles are heavy!) and witty companion today.  Happy birthday!

And the other sister

had a successful diverticulitis surgery yesterday and is recuperating at University of Colorado Hospital in Denver.  Sometimes I feel like I'm playing a zero sum game that keeps one loved person in the hospital at all times..

Tablet Hotels

Just had to cancel a trip to New York with my sister Wendy at the last minute because her fiance is back in the hospital with a neutropenic fever following his chemotherapy.  We had reservations at the Mercer Hotel in SoHo, which I was excited about, as well as the chance to connect with our friends Jenny, Scott, and Theresa.  And this is just a great time of year in New York with all the Christmas decorations and great department store window displays and the tree at Rockefeller Center.  I had made our hotel reservation through Tablet Hotels, which we’ve had good experiences with in the past (The Clift in San Francisco, Chambers and the SoHo Grand in New York, Hotel Aleph in Rome, etc.).  Their website wasn’t happy with my attempt to cancel, even though I was within the “before noon the day before check in” window on the cancellation policy.  I sent an email to customer service explaining the situation and received a quick, helpful, and friendly email response taking care of the cancellation.  Another positive experience with Tablet Hotels.  I highly recommend using them.

Imagine

Today is the anniversary of the death of John Lennon. 

Imagine Imagine there's no heaven, It's easy if you try, No hell below us, Above us only sky, Imagine all the people living for today... Imagine there's no countries, It isn't hard to do, Nothing to kill or die for, No religion too, Imagine all the people living life in peace... Imagine no possessions, I wonder if you can, No need for greed or hunger, A brotherhood of man, Imagine all the people Sharing all the world... You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one, I hope some day you'll join us, And the world will live as one.

Lords of Dogtown

It's fun to watch a California dreamin' movie when it's about 3 degrees below zero outside, which we did tonight.  I'm just on the margin of being old enough to have nostalgia for the '70's.  1976 was 4th grade for me, with all the bicentennial red, white, and blue painting of garbage cans and mailboxes -- but I completely missed out on the skateboard craze, which is much of what this movie is about.  Pretty young boys with long blonde hair and tube socks with bright stripes around the top bonding with each other and their addled surfing / skateboarding mentor.  You care some about the boys and their fractured lives, and I liked the soundtrack (great cover of Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here), but this one didn't do much for me.  I usually like the guy version of chick flicks, especially when they involve car chases and crashes and explosions -- maybe this one was too sensitive for me?  Or maybe I have a serious case of beautiful silky long blonde hair envy..