iPhone365 #101: morning glory

Whenever Michael takes an early flight, I go straight to work after dropping him off at the airport. This morning, I got here at 6:15 and was rewarded with one of my favorite views of the city: the university up the hill from our building, all lit up with the early morning sky as its backdrop. Nice.
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iPhone365 #100: looking up a fig tree

Well, ok, it's a ficus tree. Still a fig. I thought my 100th iPhone picture would be something iconic or memorable, but here it is, a mundane view of the underside of a tree while I wait for the 6:03 p.m. trolley. It feels odd -- almost as if I were looking up someone's skirt or something.

But maybe I shouldn't call it unremarkable. I could have taken a picture of a trashcan and it would still mark my 100th iPhone picture.

And it's still a slice of my day, the highlight of which, unfortunately, did not give me an opportunity to pull out my phone and take a snapshot. That story is for another day.
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iPhone365 #99: knobless but pretty

With the countertop in place, the base cabinets ended up looking not too shabby. Now if I can remember where I stashed the Home Depot bag with all the drawer pulls and knobs, I can finish this project once and for all.
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iPhone365 #98: table saw

I was wondering how I would cut a butcherblock countertop to size without hurting myself or ruining it in the process. But my favorite cousin (now it's official, I've declared it in public) saved the day by offering his table saw. That takes one more mini-project off my list.
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iPhone365 #97: sun tea

Healthy, refreshing, made fresh daily, and with zero calories, sun tea is my new favorite drink.
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iPhone365 #96: friday night lights

It gets dark early now. I am on my way to meet Randy and Henry at the Farmhouse Cafe for dinner. The streets seem quiet for a Friday night, but the lights look bright, almost too bright.
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iPhone365 #95: flexibility

One thing I can't complain about my job is the flexibility it affords me as far as what time I show up in the morning. It's helpful when i have early appointments or errands to do. The drawback is that I end up staying late.
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iPhone365 #94: sitting out

There is nothing better than sitting outside after all the day's work is done. The moon has set and Jupiter is up high. It is almost bedtime for me, since I had an early start this morning.
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iPhone365 #93: morning lull

I just finished my early physical therapy appointment and met Michael at the Kona coffee shop on 5th and Washington. I like this time of the day when the city is just starting to wake up and chilly air still lingers in the shadows.
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iPhone365 #92: priorities

What else is more important than peanut butter and jelly?
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iPhone365 #91: bone

My dog Eli doesn't get a real steak bone too often. Tonight I gave him one, and after he cleaned out the leftover meat on it, he walked around with the bone in his mouth, never changing its position, never letting it go, and drool dripping all over the deck because his mouth stayed open the whole time. One might think I starve the poor thing!
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iPhone365 #90: carwash

I have never completed any one of those frequent customer cards to get a free something -- a coffee, a meal, a one-way flight -- until today.

When I handed my payment to the cashier at the carwash, he said, "Don't you want to use your points? You have enough to pay for this wash."

I said , "Yes, of course," and felt happy like a kid getting a gold paper star.
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iPhone365 #89: movie night

Friday night with friends at home with pizza and a movie.
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iPhone365 #88: physical therapy

I stare at the three pretty pictures taped to the ceiling as electric impulses stimulate my lower back muscles and the heating pad makes me drowsy.
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iPhone365 #87: subscriptions

Why is it that I read a magazine less after I subscribe to it?
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iPhone365 #86: mission beach

An impromptu afternoon at the beach with Michael, Daniel, and Henry "happened" after a heavy breakfast at the Antique Row Café. Living in a beach city, we felt should see the ocean at least once before the summer is over.
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iPhone365 #85: one voice

Tonight, my chorus, the Gay Men's Chorus of San Diego, and the San Diego Men's Chorus held their first joint rehearsal and sang as one group.

We will be the second city in about 30 years that will have a major merger like this, the first one being New York City. After the official union in January, 2010, we (there is no official name yet) will be one of the ten biggest GALA choruses in the country.

After tonight's rehearsal, after we sang our first note together, I think things will go well.
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iPhone365 #84: magnets

I've always liked refrigerator magnets, but haven't been keen on sticking them on the fridge. So I decided to get a couple of magnet boards and mounted them next to the refrigerator. Now I have all my magnets up and my refrigerator clean.
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iPhone365 #83: jrdn@pb

My plan was to have a "Cheetos and white wine" evening at home (a phrase I will define as vegetating in front of the television, borrowed from my friend Chef Gavin Kaysen). But I received a call from my friend Victor, inviting me to dinner at JRDN in Pacific Beach with him, Derek, and Lila. My lazy "Cheetos and white wine" turned into "Texas red fish and white wine".
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iPhone365 #82: eight years ago

I was standing at this spot early in the morning eight years ago when Michael called and told me to turn on the television. Life was never the same after that moment.
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iPhone365 #81: september sunsets

September is my favorite month for sunsets in San Diego. But sunsets are so fleeting that I have to catch it wherever I might be, this time at a stop light by the university.
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iPhone365 #80: just like soaps

Some people finish one book before starting a new one. I usually read three or four books at a time.

A friend once asked me, "Doesn't it confuse you? How do you keep track of the different stories?"

I told him, "It's just like following three soap operas on TV. You just pick up where you left off the last time. It's not confusing at all."

"Oh," was all he said. I think I got my point across.
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iPhone365 #79: urbane lunch

I am sitting by the fountain at Morena Vista, waiting for Michael to come out with our lunch from Urbane Cafe, my favorite lunch spot.
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iPhone365 #78: labor day

The only work I did today, Labor Day, was wash a few dishes. For the rest of the day it was mostly sitting and eating. I need more days like this.
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iPhone365 #77: biscotti

This morning I brewed a fresh pot of coffee and tried the biscotti that my friend Rick's father made. Yum.
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iPhone365 #76: plaza de panama

I am waiting at The Prado for Rick and Fernan. I look out through one of the arches at the Plaza de Panama and I see the carillon tower of the Museum of Man piercing the clear summer sky. Once again I am struck by how beautiful this part of Balboa Park is. I wonder why I don't come here more often.
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iPhone365 #75: end of day

This is what I see everyday at the end of my workday when I walk out of our building. No, this is not our building. I wish it was. But if it was our building, I would have to see the plain, bare, boring, beige building across the street, which is really our building. I like it better the way it is now.
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iPhone365 #74: noh masks

I didn't know that some Noh masks were designed to show various expressions depending on the angle that light strikes it or the angle that you look at it: from a smile to a frown.

It's almost like a deliberate artistic interpretation of perception: what one sees all depends on one's perspective.
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iPhone365 #73: crickets

Another evening spent outside. Sometimes I wish I could take a picture with sounds: the continuous singing of crickets in the background makes the candlelight much more interesting.
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iPhone365 #72: twilight

Maybe it's because of how I was raised, but there is no other place that I would rather be when the sun sets than at home. My day is not complete if I spend my evening somewhere else.
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finger painting

Here is my latest attempt at finger-painting on my iPhone using the Brushes app. It's a little more challenging than actual painting because you really can't change the "pointiness" of your fingertip, but it's just as fun. And it gives me a more creative way to kill time, not that I have much to kill.
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