The Dating Game

There is a live action "Dating Game" now playing in San Francisco.

I'm not being ironic or anything like that; I'm being quite literal. A stage version of the old 70's game show happens weekly (or is it monthly?) at a little theatre space South of Market. I happen to think this is a most excellent idea. Their set is not quite as fancy as the set from the TV show, but it's a tough economy right now. We all do what we can. Anyway, the producers of this live action "Dating Game" solicit contestants any way they can, including on Craigslist, and treat the winners of the game to a complimentary round of drinks at the restaurant downstairs from the theatre. No, it's not three days and four nights in Palm Springs, but this is independent theatre and again, the economy.

Kurt and I went to this little show last night after attending an Ivy League alumni mixer (don't ask). We actually met a very nice woman at the mixer who thought the live "Dating Game" sounded fun and came with us. She may have come to regret that decision, however. Not that we did anything, and the producers of the show do a great job, but...

Well, the point of this little journal is most certainly not to disparage or publicly mock anyone, so I'll stick with what I liked about the show. The host was great; he had a ton of energy and was pretty funny. And the bachelor contestant who questioned the panel of bachelorettes in the second half was awesome. His questions were incredibly clever, and he was rather attractive. Actually, I didn't find him particularly attractive until he started asking those well written questions. It's amazing what a little wit can do for a guy. Plus, they sell beer and wine at the box office, so you can drink while you watch. Which may be for the best.

I know I just said that I don't use this space to disparage, but there was one point during the show in which I decided to give up dating, myself. Or sex. Or talking to men. Think what you will about the superficiality of Hollywood, but there is something to be said for the fact that many of the contestants on the original "Dating Game" were aspiring movie stars (like, for example, our current governor). That show was cheesy, but at least those contestants didn't scare you.

Just Another Reason To Love the City

There are a lot of reasons to love living in San Francisco: the culture, the architecture, the landscape, the Mission District, the cute bartenders at every corner. With big city glamour in such a convenient bayside package, it's no wonder Tony Bennett left his heart here.

However, perhaps one of the best things about San Francisco, in my opinion, anyway, is the politics. This city is unabashedly liberal, and I love that. Case in point: in what must have been the wee, wee hours of Inauguration Morning before the sun even rose, someone plastered over every white street sign along the entire four (or so) mile length of Bush Street with the word "Obama." It didn't last long; I believe city crews had the Obama stickers removed by late morning. But I saw most of them at 8:15 a.m., and it was brilliant that my commute to work that morning took me down Obama Street.

Apparently, this is kind of an old joke. Word is that in 1988 the Bush Street signs were plastered with Dukakis stickers. But Dukakis lost that election; so I can't imagine those stickers had quite the same effect. This time it was great, though. A new president and a street temporarily named for him? Good times, my friends.

After the emotion and celebration of President Obama's first hours in office, I headed to Pauline's Pizza for Chris' official birthday dinner. He'd had a bigger birthday party last weekend (see previous post), but Tuesday was the actual anniversary of his birth. I thanked Chris multiple times not only for being born, but for giving us a new president. Pizza was devoured, champagne was imbibed, and when all was said and done, we were quite satisfied, as evidenced by this photo of Nick, myself and Tom. Several of us then took off for an late evening Inauguration party, but I didn't stay long. I was suddenly tired (not to mention very full) and heard my bed calling me in full voice. But I went home happy and awoke the next morning still gleeful that we get say President Obama for the next four years.

Parties, Parties Everywhere

Well, now this has been a bit of a lively weekend.

On Friday night I reconnected with my dear friend Marissa. Marissa and I worked together years ago and had become quite good friends. However, for reasons that I cannot, for the life of me, identify, we drifted apart sometime around mid-2006 and hadn't seen each other since then. Not right at all. So we rectified the situation by meeting for cocktails at Sens and getting caught up. After two rather strong Sens martinis each and some unintended conversation with the genuinely crazy woman who sat down next to us, we went to Tony Nik's for a couple more drinks before calling it a night. Marissa truly is wonderful, and it's great to be back in touch with her.

Then last night I decided to pretend I was back in my twenties when I could easily and handily party hop. And party hop I did. The first affair was for Chris's 34th birthday. A bunch of us gathered at the Orbit Room to celebrate, and that's where this photo of Chris, Valerie and myself was snapped. So much fun. Then Kurt and I took off for his friend Sheila's birthday party. Unfortunately, that soiree was at a very crowded, very scene-y club South of Market, and neither Kurt nor I had very much fun there.

So we bolted and headed to Russian Hill where we joined the aforementioned Marissa, along with Bridget, Shannon and Anne, for fondue in honor of Shannon's birthday. I knew we'd made the right decision as soon as I walked into Bridget's apartment and heard "The Porpoise Song" by the Monkees pouring out of the stereo. They were only playing it because it was on the Vanilla Sky soundtrack, as opposed to spinning an actual Monkees record, but I'll take it. These girls had been partying all day; so Shannon began a little nap almost as soon as Kurt and I arrived. But the rest of us drank wine and bonded in her honor until about 2 a.m. Again, so much fun.

And if the parties this weekend weren't enough, the biggest party in eight years is coming up on Tuesday. Yippee!

The Beauty of Sleep

I, like many of you, I'm sure, am addicted to Facebook. That little social networking phenomenon has reconnected me with college and high school classmates and buddies, old co-workers and even former bosses. Not to mention providing yet another cyber-dimension for me and most of my current friends to play in. So a few days ago, when my Facebook friend and real-life acquaintance Andrew posted on the site that he had learned the value of a good night's sleep, I, of course, had to play along and comment. I not only agreed with him but confessed a bit of jealousy because I spent four days last week getting up at 3:30 a.m. for work.

The first morning I had to rise before the birds came as a surprise to me. You see, my co-worker Susan unexpectedly called in sick Tuesday morning, causing my phone to rudely awaken me at 3:30 and beckon me to my place of employment as soon as I could get there. As it turns out, Susan has fallen rather ill and ended up being out for the rest of the week; meaning every day by the mid-afternoon, I was told that I'd be returning the next morning at 4:00. For the record, I usually arrive at work at 9:45 a.m. That's a little different. Frankly, I don't know how Susan, or any of the early morning staff at work, keeps such a schedule. I couldn't even exercise for most of the week because my body clock was so screwed up.

All of this is to say that 2009 has gotten off to a bit of a slow start, as my temporary early morning work schedule prevented me from doing much. Also, some unexpected stress arose this past week. None of it is that big a deal; many, many people deal with much bigger problems than mine, but stress is stress. I did manage to join a bunch of friends to toast Devon on her last day of bartending at Joey and Eddie's in North Beach Thursday night, but I only stayed until 8:30. Am I a partier or what? On Friday, I met Bill, Kim, Terry and Suzanne for drinks at Tony Nik's, but that ended up being a relatively early evening, as well, even though it began the weekend.

And last night... ah, last night. After a late morning facial, afternoon laundry, grocery shopping, a run/walk and dinner, I had about an hour to lounge before needing to get dressed and head out to my friend Mike's birthday party. Well, that hour of lounging turned into a four hour nap, followed by an actual trip to bed about two and a half hours after that. Good times. I love birthday parties, too, and am sad to have missed the fun, but clearly, I needed the sleep and feel rather fresh this morning. Who wouldn't after a grand total of about eleven hours and a half hours of sleep?

So today I intend to be very productive before meeting Kurt and some of his friends for Sunday evening cocktails. I've become a big fan of the Sunday afternoon/evening cocktails. They're a great way to end the weekend before the grind begins again. Let's just hope I can sleep until my oh, so late, regular weekday waking hour of 6:30 a.m. this week.

Welcome to 2009!

I'm either a total rock star or a total moron.

You see, it's just after noon, and I'm wearing the same clothes and make-up I was wearing last night. Before you make any saucy assumptions, I'll tell you that there were no walks of shame this morning. I had to be at work at 6 a.m., so I slept at said job to accommodate some New Year's Eve celebrating.

Yes, you read that correctly.

When I learned that I'd be working early this morning, it occurred to me that maybe I should just stay in for New Year's. After all, New Year's Eve is always amateur night, anyway. Well, I guess I'm an amateur, too, because out I went... armed with a blanket and toothbrush to stash at work so my sleeping and early waking could be more comfortable. First, I went with Kurt to a house party thrown by a couple of his friends. That was much fun and featured snacks, champagne and a feisty round of Celebrity. But I figured I needed to be close to work as midnight approached; so at about 10:30 I took off for a bar near my place of employment (first dropping off the blanket and toothbrush).

You may be thinking, "Oh, dear lord, a bar on New Year's Eve?", but actually it was okay. I know the owners of this bar, and my friends Helen and Janelle were there, too. So one more glass of champagne and hugs all around helped me ring in twenty-oh-nine. And at 12:20 I was on my way, picking up snacks and caffeinated beverages before heading to work to get a little shut eye.

My co-worker Ted woke me at 6 o'clock this morning, and I was good to go. Again, in the same outfit and make-up I donned last night. But it's a good outfit, so at least I look cute. I'm not sure if I should be proud or embarrassed about my commitment to socializing, but you know, I'll only be sort-of-still-young-and-not-quite-40 once. Right?