Thursday, December 29, 2005
California Dreaming
Back from California, a place I could live if I weren't retired. It's real expensive but there are far more people there who are in the same state of mind as I. It's also safe to say that since it has more people than any other state there are gonna be far more assholes as well. I was lucky enough not to have to deal with any of them on my trip.Here are some things that were new to me on this trip: GPS in a rented car, San Francisco's Theater district and the Elton John/Bernie Taipan/Anne Rice musical Lestat, Alcatraz, San Jose's Santana Row, Carmel-by-the-Sea and the $1.2 million average homes, Monterey's Cannary Row in depth this time, the utter dreariness of Salt Lake, the joy of returning to Florida. It's flat and green but it's warm. I like warm.
Cathy amazed me at the Hertz counter when she agreed to an extra charge for GPS. This was coming from a woman who printed out every destination we would need on the trip from Yahoo Maps. This is a woman who clips coupons and moves our money around like a professional money manager. This is a woman who refused to read the directions for the GPS but sent us on our way from the San Jose Airport to downtown San Francisco in the middle of the night. Hertz calls their system Never Lost. And for a good reason. Try as we did, we could not get lost even when we disobeyed it's commands to turn. I was glad it remained polite and just said "recalculating route" instead of "I said turn, dumbass!" I'm not sure if I am more scared than amazed by this technology in a time when the government doesn't feel it's necessary to obtain a warrant to spy on it's citizens.
How Orwellian is this? I can be found by credit card or GPS in an instant. I can be triangulated and found when I use my cell phone. Every product I buy is a matter of record. Every book I check out of the Library is also a matter of record. And because I'm a good patriot, the Patriot Act is allowed to read those records. Since I've been using G-mail, I realize that Google reads my e-mail and sends me ads based on the content. These are the same bastards that refused to pay me for my ads because their "algorithm detected abuse" of my account. No arguing nor explanation. An algorithm is an algorithm. I have to wonder what "algorithm" the government uses to decide if I'm a patriot or a terrorist. I'm sure ethnic background is a factor.
That's a digression for another day. Or a song.
Cathy got us front row center seats to see Lestat. It was a Christmas gift for my son, Jason and his wife Anne. I have to admit I was busy looking down into the pit. The conductor was close enough for me to goose. The guitar player had a Line 6 Variax, which I once owned and then e-bayed because I didn't like the tone. The technical production was extremely interesting. The music was obvious Elton but the arrangements could have used a bit more punch in my opinion. Good play, though. It's trying out in San Fran and heading to Broadway next month, I think. We ate in a amazing gourmet Mexican place right across from the theater on Geary Street. No jokes about tacos with cloth napkins, please. The place was awesome and I never did get the name.
Alcatraz is a tour we always kept putting off. Glad we got there. The place is bleak. Violators of the Patriot Act may wind up in places worse than that. In foreign countries where they can easily forget about you. It happens.
We picked up my stepdaughter and headed for a couple of days in Carmel. Her kitty, Monty, is a blog fan of mine. You can see him attempting to leave me a comment here. So although I didn't get to meet up with Jill or Bella or other Californians who have disappeared from the blogworld on this trip, Monty and I became fast friends. Every once in a while he stays still long enough for me to catch him and get a picture of us in the same photo. Normally, it would be a picture of a red and white blur and my reaching hand.
The GPS took us to Carmel. Clint Eastwood was once the mayor there. My neighbor, Joe, quipped, "What is he now, the Sheriff?" It's a stunningly adorable town with more shops, restaurants and art galleries than you would imagine sustainable in any economy. There is art everywhere. Many of the small houses are works of art. Here I am with a cute bronzed couple. They missed the bus long ago because they were fooling around. But this is a town where people happily plunk down well over a million bucks for the simplest of homes. And I assume they are well decorated. Apparently nobody cooks as the restaurants are always full. A round of golf at the nearby famed Pebble Beach Country Club costs well in excess of $400. I hope you get sex with that.This time at the Monterey Aquarium, I learned a lot about the fish canning business, the men and woman who worked it, the depletion and reestablishment of the fishing industry and that I forgot more Steinbeck than Doctor Seuss. That's forgivable when you consider I read the latter out loud many many times to my kids. John Steinbeck, I had to read at home as I don't think it was acceptable in my Catholic high school. Those suckers invented the Patriot Act.
Flying back with a stop in Salt Lake City was a surprise. Not judging from what I saw from the air but, the place just looks gray and well, salty. Also the airport is very bush league for a town that size. Five flights leaving at the same time from the same conjoined gates which were too small to handle the passengers. But that was a quick impression. Correct me if you know better. Lisa? You reading this?
Back in time for my training session this morning. That girl continues to kick my ass. But I deserve it. I didn't exactly stay to any kind of training regimen over the past two weeks. Now I have to cram for a cholesterol test.
Getting aquantinted with my new Taylor T5 Guitar. Getting ready for a gig Friday (the 30th) and the official beginning of my busy season with five gigs this coming week. I'll see the first draft of my video on Sunday. Don't know when it'll be ready for this space but I'll get it to you as soon as I can.
Happy New Year, everybody. They're all good to me. Every minute I'm breathing is a good one. I hope you come to feel the same way. A lot sooner than I did.
posted by Bud @ 10:48 PM
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