Comfort in a slow clock

I got up from the computer today, and it was 12:15. I went to the bathroom to do something, I don’t know what. Then I went to the kitchen. The clock on my stove said 12:15 (it’s a few minutes late). Somehow I found this really comforting: I had gone to the bathroom, and no time had passed at all. This was an illusion, of course, but isn’t all time an illusion?

Odd

I saw this bumper sticker the other day that I liked:

Don’t get even. Get odd.

Gifts

I don’t think I have ever felt as loved and appreciated as I do now. My birthday and its celebrations throughout the week were astounding.

I got an amazing number of well wishes and birthday messages on Facebook. Here are some of my favorites:

“you are a beautiful princess tonight! i am at dna wishing you a happy birthday!!!!!”

“I am so glad you were born. The world is a brighter place with you in it.”

“Such a fantastic lady, I’m so blessed to share your company in life.”

In the mail I received five books from my wishlist from my mom and some awesome black wearables from my brother and sister.

I also got a new translation project on my birthday, probably the funnest and most interesting project I have worked on so far: I get to translate quotes related to music and art from English to German, many of which are very inspiring.

For my birthday party at Kean’s house, we had made Mac and Cheeseless (vegan) for our guests. It was delicious. And two different people brought cupcakes – one vegan batch and one non-vegan batch. Some of us had a cupcake toast where we made our cupcakes kiss. Siri gave me a beautiful drawing of myself.

The day after my birthday, Kean and I were both off work so I wore my birthday dress from Amy, and we inline-skated to Piedmont Cemetery.

On Thursday, Kean spun at Noc Noc as usual, except this time it was also one of my birthday celebrations. Before that, Kean and I went to a store across the street from Noc Noc called Trunk, which features reconstructed clothing from local designers. Kean had announced a few weeks earlier that he wanted me to pick something out from there for my birthday. I chose a teal shirt with a puffy heart on it, and then Kean said “I also want to get you this scarf“, so he also got me that scarf. Oh glee.

Kelly brought some more homemade cupcakes to Noc Noc. Lux drew something precious for me. Icka gave me a framed print of a picture of myself she had taken last year. Linda wrote an amazing poem for me. Ramat, the owner of Noc Noc, brought out a bottle of sake that I got to share with Kelly and Lizzy. I glowed all night from all the love and attention.

On Friday night Kean and I went to Slanted Door for some expensive bites and sips, accompanied by sounds from a DJ we both know. And that concluded my birthday celebrations.

The next morning I found my birthday present for me from myself. I always try to give myself one and had been wondering what it was going to be this year. I saw three people at the BART station carrying huge dreamcatchers. I started talking to one of them and found out that she had made all three of them and was going to sell them at Golden Gate Park. I bought the biggest and most colorful one from her, and I can already feel that it is bringing magic into my life. Not that it doesn’t already have a lot of magic.

I feel lucky!

An unintentional birthday present from Intoner

My favorite DJ released a new mix on my birthday. I don’t think I have ever mentioned him on my blog, but Intoner is the DJ who has played in the upstairs room at Death Guild ever since I have been going there. Unfortunately he left for Germany about a month ago, so the music on the upstairs dance floor has changed a bit.

Intoner’s music was one of the main reasons I kept going back to Death Guild so regularly for so long. Yes, dressing up in all black has been really fun too, but now that he is gone (for now), darkness and the swirly downstairs music alone don’t have the same pull. Listen to his set – it’s not necessarily what you’d expect at a goth club. He plays a combination of hard techno, grime, tech-step, drum&bass; and dubstep. Dancing on the upstairs dance floor every week for over a year and a half has really shaped my taste in music and introduced me to artists such as Edgey, Vex’d, and Enduser. It has also introduced me to quite a few good friends, including Kean.

So if you want to know what I have been dancing to, check out his set and/or tracklist. It’s a really good representation and brings back lots of nice memories for me.

Love times 33

My friend Sarah gave me the cutest little home-made birthday card yesterday. It was heart-shaped, and had the number 33 on it – one 3 on each cheek of the heart. It inspired me to use the symbol <33 a lot this year – two hearts with a 33 “hidden” in it. My intention with that is to spread love and to surround myself and my life with love in the year where I am 33 so that it may be the best year yet for me.

Tomorrow is my birthday!

Tonight, I will be celebrating at Death Guild where my birthday starts at midnight. Tomorrow there is a party at Kean’s house. On Thursday, I’ll be celebrating at Noc Noc. And hopefully on Friday there will be dinner at Slanted Door, a fancy restaurant that has a drum & bass DJ!