Daniel Franco, where did you go?

We can't stop singing this song.

We totally should have gone to see Daniel V. when he was at Rakestraw!

What Happened to Andre?

Tim Gunn is a good sport.

I would totes go to Red Lobster with any of these people, fo' sho.

He's Our Little Lamb

Sweetie and I are enjoying a Project Runway marathon, so he'll be caught up by the time the next season debuts on August 20 (remember: it's moving from Bravo to Lifetime Television for Women). So glad we have cable now!

By far the best part of Season Two is Santino Rice imitating Tim Gunn.

Thursday Night

Wow, sad news about Michael Jackson. I always thought that maybe he had one more comeback in him. What a sad life. But he did leave behind a lot of great music. Prince vs. Michael Jackson nights at Madrone Lounge will never be the same.

Speaking of which, the news called Thriller one of the bestselling records of all time. I Googled the list to see what #1 is - it's The Eagles Greatest Hits. Looking at the rest of the list, I said "Hey, a lot of these are Greatest Hits records. So maybe that's what new artists should do - just come out with a Greatest Hits album right away!'

Sweetie just looked at me. "You're starting to sound like Michael Scott."

He's so right. And to think, we didn't even watch The Office tonight because it was pre-empted by the Michael Jackson and Farrah tribute show! Oh, well - at least it's better than when I was in the middle of a Curb Your Enthusiasm Netflix marathon, and found myself being a little belligerent with people a la Larry David.

RIP, King of Pop.

Help, we're trapped in our CSA box!

A couple of months ago, Sweetie and I started getting a CSA box (community supported agriculture, for everyone who doesn't read stuff like The Omnivore's Dilemma). He always wanted to get one, and I've always been curious about them myself (since I think of myself as a person who would do something like subscribe to a CSA box). People I know who get them rave about them - the quality of the produce, plus the fact that you're challenged to find ways to use some vegetables that you've never even heard of before and wouldn't think to buy for yourself.

Anyway, we discovered a new-ish cafe in the Marina that serves excellent salads and sandwiches, and lo and behold, when we found out that they did a CSA box service, we signed right up. It comes every other Wednesday. Unlike other CSA programs, they don't deliver to your home - you have to go to the restaurant to pick it up. And that was totally fine with us - I think we secretly love going to the Marina because we get to take that lovely shortcut through the Presidio.

We were thrilled with our first box. It came with the loveliest flowers, which we never expected.

Our enthusiasm kept up for the next few boxes. But then, the novelty wore off and we found that maybe we don't need a bi-weekly CSA box. The produce is fine, but Sweetie LOVES going to Farmer's Markets - he's at one right now - so sometimes we just have more food than we need or can use. I'm not sure about our usage rate of the boxes we've been getting - what we use vs. what we toss - because I confess, I do think of it as "his" box, so I rarely do anything with the veggies myself (though he'd be thrilled if I did). So maybe a CSA box isn't for us right now, especially on a regular basis.

The problem? The woman who runs the cafe is SO nice and sweet to us, we don't have the heart to quit. After our recent box pick-up I found myself suggesting all these excuses ("Tell her that we're going to be out of town a lot!") that we could give her for quitting. We just feel guilty for some reason. This totally feels like it could be the plot of one of those Seinfeld re-runs that I've started watching again - us giving her some madcap excuse, getting caught, and then ending up being banned from the cafe for life: "No Chinese Chicken Salad for you!".

I'm sure we'll find a way to break it to her gently. Until then, I guess we're just going to have to keep eating our veggies.

Half Dome

I was skimming the headlines on SFGate tonight, and my jaw dropped when I got to this one: "Hiker falls to his death from Yosemite's Half Dome." It was short on details, but it seems that weather conditions may have been a factor, since it was cold and cloudy and there had been some hail, which made the slippery granite rock even slicker. The story mentioned that "The last death at Half Dome was Japanese hiker Hirofumi Nohara, 37, who slipped off of cables on June 16, 2007 as other hikers watched in horror."

I was there that day, June 16, two years ago, and I was one of those people who watched in horror.

I remember that after a long, hot, wait -- it gets so, so crowded up there at the cables -- it was finally my turn to head up the steep granite part of the trail leading to the top of the Dome (it's not scary once you get to the top - they could put a football field up there). Just as I put on my gloves and was reaching down to pick up the cables, I heard a clatter coming from the sheer drop just up and to the left of me. In the space of one second, my mind processed what my eyes were seeing: "Oh no, some hiker near the top lost his Nalgene bottle and it's tumbling down the hill. Oh no, there's a backpack tumbling after it. Oh shit, that's not just a backpack, that's a man tumbling down the side!''

It was AWFUL, truly one of the most AWFUL things I have ever seen. Other hikers started yelling at him to grab on to something, but there was nothing to stop his fall - just smooth, steep granite. He was much too far out of reach - a good 20 feet away from the nearest person on the cables, and getting further away the further he fell. There was nothing anyone could do. Most people stared, but I had to turn away - I couldn't look. But not before taking a step further to the right, so that if he abruptly changed trajectory and headed our way he wouldn't take us down with him. Amazing, how that instinct for self-preservation kicks in.

Afterwards, people were shell-shocked - some were crying, some were just quietly stunned. I was in the latter category. Since my group was splintered - some were already at the top, the rest of us were still down below - I sat and waited there for the others to come down. I remember thinking "What am I doing out here? This is so dangerous, always traipsing off into the wilderness like this where anything can happen." I was ready to hang up my hiking boots for good.

I got over that feeling. But another feeling remains: anger. Anger that such a dangerous, difficult hike has grown so popular that on a summer weekend you'll see hundreds (thousands?) of unprepared people swarming the trails so they can "do" Half Dome. Anger at all the people who don't take it seriously enough - they arrive with inappropriate footwear (tennis shoes do not cut it), inadequate water, clothing that's not right for conditions that can turn on a dime. Anger at all those frat boys who drag their skimpily clad, terrified girlfriends along - because they're often the ones who are crying halfway up the cables, frozen in fear, so that no one behind them can move and it turns into a dangerous situation for all. Anger at all the parents who do that to their kids; my first time up Half Dome, I was behind a petrified 12 year-old who held up the line. Her mother didn't take her fear seriously, even though she whined all the way up, and then when they were stuck she had to be helped down by a stranger. Anger that all these things happen every weekend and yet nothing is done to regulate it. I say do a lottery - limit the number of people who can go up the cables every day, and make sure the ones who do are prepared. It might alleviate a lot of this.

I don't think I'll hike Half Dome again, even on a day when it's less crowded. I did it once, and I have too many bad memories of my second attempt. No loss - there are tons more trails I have yet to do.

I did go back to Yosemite two months later. I hiked to Cloud's Rest from Tuolomne. It's a long hike - 14 miles, with a section at Cloud's Rest that, while not as frightful as the final part of the Half Dome climb, nonetheless scares me a little (you're walking on big boulders with long drops on either side). I was hoping it would be cathartic, and it was. At Cloud's Rest you're actually a little higher than Half Dome, and it feels like you're looking down on it. I borrowed binoculars and watched the line of people making their way up the cables, slow as ants. I was glad I wasn't there with them.

Anyway, I suppose the surprising thing is that stuff like this doesn't happen more often at Half Dome. You'd think it would. I'm glad it doesn't. But I was dismayed to read that it happened again. My thoughts go out to that guy, his family, and especially to any friends who might have been there that day to witness it. It's something that I wish no one would have to see.

The China Question

Swagfest '09 (aka my engagement) continues with our latest acquisition: a Monique Lhuillier mug that I "won" at a drawing that I don't remember entering when I went to that party thing at Bloomingdale's last month. When I went to collect it last night, I expected them to just grab it from a pile that they had reserved for all the other brides-to-be who didn't actually register that night, but no, it was gift-wrapped and had my name on it and a personalized card and everything. Classy, Bloomies!

It's quite pretty, and if I were a china person I would consider her collection even though I haven't a clue how to pronounce Lhuillier correctly. But we decided against registering for china, because really, when would we ever use it and where the heck would we store it? Do couples who live in cities in apartments without formal dining rooms really need that stuff, with the matching gravy boats and all? Is our marriage doomed if we just keep eating off those same basic Crate & Barrel plates? I don't think I've been subscribing to Real Simple and Martha Stewart Living long enough to know the answer.

If I change my mind, I'm sure my Mom will give me hers. She's become quite the minimalist in her later years, and seems frustrated by her house filled with stuff (she happily gave away the dining room furniture to my niece a couple of years ago). I've actually already alerted her that I am interested in the crystal and please don't give it away to my nieces. I just have to figure out a way to get that stuff from CT to here someday...

Away We Zzzzzzz.....

So far, this has been the summer of lackluster movies. It's so sad when you really, really look forward to seeing something, and then it's not so great. The latest example of this is Away We Go, a movie that seemed to have so much going for it: 1) It stars John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph, 2) directed by Sam Mendes, 3) written by Dave Eggers and his wife with the fun name, Vendela Vida. PLUS, as a happily engaged person, I am a sucker for anything relationship, wedding and/or baby related lately.

But...it kind of just dragged on. The best part was with Maggie Gyllenhaal, who played a super-annoying, hippie-dippie earth mother chick. She was good because you were grossed out by her enough to be interested in what was going on. But that only lasted 15-20 minutes. Another good part was with the friends they visited in Montreal who were having their own problems, but again, that was over quick. The rest of the movie was pretty much zzzz....

Other disappointments: The Hangover. It lacked the surprising warmth of I Love You, Man, and wasn't nearly as funny or clever. And Management? Sorry Jennifer Aniston - I'll bet you were expecting it to be another Good Girl? It's not.

Oh well. I'd still rather sit through any of them again than watch Star Trek.