mchl mchl

the one i once knew

2011-04-23T22:38:00.000-07:00

song to the siren

long afloat on shipless oceans
i did all my best to smile
'til your singing eyes and fingers
drew me loving to your isle
and you sang, "sail to me, sail to me, let me enfold you."
here I am, here I am, waiting to hold you.

did I dream you dreamed about me?
were you hare when I was fox?
now my foolish boat is leaning
broken lovelorn on your rocks
for you sing, "touch me not, touch me not, come back tomorrow."
oh my heart, oh my heart shies from the sorrow.

well I'm as puzzled as the newborn child
i'm as riddled as the tide
should I stand amid the breakers?
or should I lie with death my bride?
hear me sing, "swim to me, swim to me, let me enfold you.
here I am, here I am, waiting to hold you."

modern dancer

2011-04-23T07:48:00.000-07:00

dreams of dancers last night.

i was working at a coffeehouse again and
we were auditioning dancers to work at the coffeehouse.
i'm not sure why, but we were. and i was there to... judge?
i'm not sure of that either, but i was there, sitting at the
head of the table. i had the knowledge and confidence of a
knowledgeable and confident judge of dancers.

the best part. her.

the. best. part. her. she.

she was the in-between auditioners entertainment.
she slowly walked to the middle of the floor and performed
the most graceful and elegant dance i'd ever seen. her expression
was serious and full of emotion. you could feel the warm energy.
like waves or pulses of warm, buzzy, goodness.
before you know it, she was done and
the next auditioner was up.
i only saw her dance once,
i knew she'd dance again.
and again. and again.

dreams are dreams are dreams.

then, the ocean

2011-04-22T21:47:00.000-07:00

the ocean beckoned and i came a-coming.

i skipped yoga, because i felt it was okay.
i wouldn't feel guilty about missing one day of practice--
seeing as how i've been going twice a day lately. so, instead
of grabbing my mat and yogitoes, i grabbed a couple of cameras,
a bottle of water and i was out the door. i briskly walked toward
the train station, but i was 20-blocks away and only had 10-minutes
to catch the next train. missed the first one. i stopped and bought
a coffee, sat down and chilled for a bit in the morning sunlight.
i checked my email and checked my voicemail.

unbeknownst to me, she called my three times
and texted another three times. my phone had been turned off,
because i hate when phones go off in the middle of yoga practice.
i listened to her messages several times, as i was not quite awake.
i tried to make sense of the timeline in which she sent them. apparently,
it was throughout the latter half of the day. realizing this, i suddenly felt
sorry that i wasn't able to reply sooner. i sat in my thoughts for a moment,
but couldn't stay put for long, the next train was due to leave in
30-minutes. barely made it aboard. i had to run for it.
literally. it's actually one of my simple pleasures.
it's how one should board a train; running after it
and hopping aboard just as the train begins
to pull away from the platborm.

i called her a couple of times
on my run to catch the train. no answer. voicemail.
i can't remember what i said. my mind was a whirlwind.
i worried that my legs weren't long enough to get to the train on time.
i walked light and quickly.

all i could think about was her. i felt uncomfortable.
a day earlier, i felt comfortable. i thought we were in a good place.
but somehow, i had burdened her with something heavy enough to
cause a need for her to contact me throughout the day.
a 2.5-hour ~~road~~ track trip with her.

i found myself walking through golden gate park,
trying to be lost. lose my mind in the trees. it worked.
something about the smell of wilderness. makes me think of childhood.
good times. carefree. now, as adults, life weighs down on us,
until we need to escape back to the good times.
good memories.

i exited the park on the west end.
never thought i'd find it. a few times i thought maybe
i was being tracked by a mountain lion. absurd right, a mountain lion
in golden gate park. maybe. maybe not.
homeless people sound like
mountain lions inside
urban parks.

the beach.

then, the ocean.

all was right.

Tartine Bread

2011-04-14T11:17:00.000-07:00

so... i'm waiting

2010-06-26T21:00:00.000-07:00

I went to the Apple Store today
with the intention of purchasing one of them there
shiny, new iPhone 4s, but I knew, in the back of my head,
that there was no way in hell there'd be any left.

As I approached the store, in the middle of the f#cking mall,
I could first sense, then see that it was pretty much
packed in there. Like sardines.

So, I am without an iPhone 4. I am without any phone,
for that matter. My one-year old Blackberry is
on it's last legs. Or so I assume, cause it
won't turn on! Well, it did,
then it didn't again.
I'm done with it.

I put my name on the waiting list at the Apple Store.
The dude with the iPad, taking names and emails,
told me they'll be receiving "shipments of
one-hundred, every few days". I asked
him how many people are waiting.
He said "several hundred".
So... I'm waiting.

running thoughts (or get your act together man, pt. ix)

2010-03-16T00:11:00.000-07:00

it was my birthday on sunday.
ah, yes, yet another year has passed.
happy birthday to me! happy birthday to me!

i organized a birthday bowling party with all of my workmates.
white russians were imbibed with irony.
balls were bowled with inaccuracy.
and tons o'fun was had.

and for this,
it was quite a good weekend.
one for the history books.
aka, the blog.

how was your weekend? hm?

img: karol pichler

she and him, in the sun

2010-03-11T15:05:00.000-08:00

hooo boy! what a fantastic spring day!
wait, is it spring yet? what'd that gopher tell us?
groundhog, whatever. did he see his shadow? is it still winter?
actually, it really doesn't matter what season it is, it's sunny outside!
and the air is brisk. my favorite, non-wintery kind of weather.
i love it, dammit! if it could stay like this all summer,
i'd... i'd kiss a horse's ass. yeah. literally, kiss it!
no, figuratively! but i'd totally do it!

these blossoms are killing my sinuses,
but they ain't dampened my spirit!

are ya enjoying this weather?

impeccable manners and grace

2010-03-06T18:17:00.000-08:00

moss: look, but don't touch. yick!

yeah then yogurt wednesday?

2010-03-04T15:35:00.000-08:00

this is my pencil.
there are many like it,
but this one is mine.

is entitled to 4 tickets to any show

2010-02-28T23:01:00.000-08:00

hello people!
where the eff did february go?
sheesh, that was fast!

ain't it true that
there is absolutely nothing better
than a pot of tea and peanut butter toast.
okay, maybe a pot of tea and nutella toast, but whatevah!
the most important part is the tea.

do you drink tea?

grey sky with setting sun

2010-02-27T00:10:00.000-08:00

eero got himself stuck
on a windowsill 10-ft. up from the floor.
he meowed and meowed, but wouldn't jump down to me,
so i had to tear him off. this wasn't the first time this has happened.

i have the scars to prove it.

i have a headache that just won't go away!
i've a hunch it stems from this ache behind my shoulder,
which runs up the right side of my neck
and into the back of my right eye.
it no longer aches, really.
just nag, nag, nagging.

why is this happening?
is this gonna last forever?
is this real life?

i don't care what nobody says

2010-02-25T00:31:00.000-08:00

sometimes you just gotta get right to it.
you gotta be straight and simple. get your message out.
get in. get out. get clean.

today was somewhat productive.
oh, it's almost 1 AM, so i gues it's tomorrow.
so, yesterday was somewhat productive.
or at least it felt that way.

was your day productive?

prelude to the violet hour

2010-02-24T10:00:00.000-08:00

happy hump day! it's almost over.

i had one hell of a breakfast for dinner last night.
i grated two potatoes for hashbrowns, which turned out to be one too many.
and i didn't want to waste a potato, so i made more bacon and eggs.
one might say i had two breakfasts for dinner last night.

this morning i woke up with a slight headache.
one of those that you can feel even before you open your eyes.
and you think "oh great! it's gonna be a fun morning!"
i wonder if it's to do with what i ate last night.

i started reading catcher this morning.
the first couple'a pages pulled me in well enough.
i should be done in... oh, an hour? it's short.

so, how's the rain treating you today?
'sposed to rain on friday too.

shudder (eye)land

2010-02-22T17:10:00.000-08:00

hello.

i took a relaxing stroll this morning.
when i say morning, i mean just before noon.
but nonetheless, it was still, technically, morning.
and a nice morning of a lovely day for a man with no plans.
on days like this, i like to catch early matinees.
the earlier, the better.

on my way home, i stopped at time tested books,
on the off chance they might have an old copy of catcher in the rye.
no old ones, but one new one.

how are you? how was your monday?

you know you're gold

2010-02-21T10:33:00.000-08:00

g'morning, friends!

i was about to mention that it's so nice
that the sun is shining through those awful grey clouds,
but now it is gone.

i'm drinking early gray, but i have no milk.
this is fine, but i'd rather have just a bit o'milk in it.
the honey helps.

i found this neat little easel
while browsin' around at the art store.
i haven't any idea what i'll display on it.
perhaps someone will make me something.
a small painting or collage. perhaps.
i need to make more artsy friends.

oh, and how are you?

etcetera etcetera etcetera

2010-01-20T18:36:00.000-08:00

with glowing hearts we kill the arts

2010-01-12T23:47:00.000-08:00

bottle cap sneak attack

2010-01-12T11:34:00.000-08:00

barely hanging on

2010-01-10T22:06:00.000-08:00

come hell or high water

2010-01-10T01:07:00.000-08:00

peach pit removers

2010-01-04T22:58:00.000-08:00

he cannot stop fidgeting when she is near

2010-01-03T21:48:00.000-08:00

1 Fantastic Man
2 McSweeney's 23
3 Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks

i love ebay! canon canonet 28! $15!

2009-12-26T20:52:00.000-08:00

go without 'til the need seeps in

2009-12-16T17:02:00.000-08:00

Michael's Christmas Wish List (random order):

Gloves. Fingers get cold when riding in cold weather conditions. All-weather/golf gloves would be nice, but wind- and waterproof gloves would be ideal. (approx. $25-$50)
Monocle. A subscription to this fine monthly magazine would make my life complete. (approx. $62/6-mos.)
Ottoman. Just a little something so's i can kick up my feet after a hard day. (approx. $50)
27-inch iMac. I'm in desperate need for an upgrade. I'm in danger of becoming obsolete! (approx. $2000)
Moleskine. I could never have too many of these wonderful notebooks.

against the wall

2009-12-05T22:29:00.000-08:00