Bay Area Chronicles, Part 2

The mornings around here are perfect. I start with a walk to the local Starbucks, which is about a half-mile or so from my sister's house. I grab a daily miracle that is the San Francisco Chronicle, and walk back. My sister has the coffee pot set to be finished brewing by the time I've showered, walked to the Starbucks (which is across the street from Peet's--and I wondered if people getting their morning coffees are more loyal to the brand or if they just go where the line is shorter) and I thumb through the paper outside. Didn't this morning because it rained.

Then we hang out with Margaux. I really like how I can be engrossed in a child that does little more than kick feet, move hands, and turn her head...but I can do that for a half-hour and not even notice the time.

Then we lunch. My sister knows what wine goes with a grilled cheese sandwhich...and sees nothing peculiar about this. I see nothing peculiar that she sees nothing peculiar about this.

Yesterday, Tracy stayed with Margaux while the higher-order barnstormers actually decided to take in the movie over the nap. Tracy told them that if they were still tired they could nap later...so we saw "Into the Wild." If you've read the book, you'll love the movie. Easily one of the top 3 movies I've seen so far this year...but the cinematography bordered on brilliant. See it on the big screen if you plan to see it. You won't regret the choice to do that...although I might suggest you read up on why it's rated "R." Again...read the book first if you haven't already. It'll help.

Property values are unbelievably high here...even in Oakland. We drove by a series of large houses that a realtor might describe as "fixer-uppers" but you could tell they were, at one time, beautiful homes. I commented that you might could get a good deal on them and fix 'em up, and Jilly told me they'd likely go for $300,000...and this is right after, as Shane told me, that a religious group burned a grocery store in the neighborhood for some reason or another. It wasn't in that great a section of town and the houses go for that much.

Then we went to a place called Whole Foods to get dinner. The locals refer to it as "whole paycheck" as, apparently, this place is comparatively expensive...but it's 50,000 square feet of grocery shopping, man. And they pretty much have everything you want. Parking is an issue, though. But I can tell you this: I think we've lost the joy of sitting down and dining around a table. We eat and run in my part of the world, but there's something cool about it when you sit down and have enjoyable conversations over a meal with no TV and interesting people. For example:

Then we were reintroduced to Mitch...we met him when Jilly & Shane got married...and he's staying here before a business trip. Here's what I learned about Mitch: He lives in New York City on the Upper East Side, with his wife of one year. There was a celebratory one-year anniversary weekend with friends in which there was "a lot of good times, a lot of late nights, and a lot of red wine." He chose to major in Mandarin in college because it "sounded cool." Now he does a lot of business in the Pacific Rim, and once rode on a businessman's yacht that just to fill it up with gasoline costs about what the average American would earn in a decade. He goes to Brooklyn a lot these days to listen for good music--apparently, the trend is for bands to rent out an old warehouse and just play--and he and his wife go out and "sometimes hear crap, and sometimes hear great stuff." He paints, and has a large record collection. He was once my sister's boss.

And, this morning, I hung out with Margaux for about an hour...and tonight, we're having dinner with Mitch and his former pastor (Mitch used to live in SF) and his wife. Apparently, this former pastor has done some pretty cool stuff for the Kingdom...so I'm looking forward to this. Shane & Jilly have some of the most interesting friends, man.

And, I'm sorry I'm kinda disjointed. It's too late in the day and I'm past my more "creative" time in my day's biorhythms.