Since I am usually inclined to document trips and special occasions, I decided to archive one week of my 27-year-old life as I live it in San Francisco. It is also a study of how I spend my time and energy. Here is a snapshot of my world Monday, April 19-Sunday, April 25, 2010.
Monday
Monday is my day off. I think its fun to have this day of the week to myself since most people are stepping into the grind Monday morning. I wake up at eight and get the headlines from NPR radio. I make coffee in the french press to go with my breakfast of eggs and Nutella on baguette. I also write some "morning pages," a creative practice of free writing every morning, and check my email before biking to ODC. I take Sandra's 10:30 AM ballet class, which I relish. She is my favorite teacher and today we are working on freedom in the neck by hinging the head forward and back over an imaginary axis that runs through the temples. When I return home I shower and clean out my email again. I do my laundry at Senor Burburjas and buy groceries at Casa Lucas, the market below my apartment. Lots of fun produce is in season right now: strawberries, tangerines, artichokes, sugar snap peas, asparagus and beets. After tidying the apartment I make myself a spinach salad to eat on the sunny redwood deck and work on scheduling at my computer which includes summer travel to Pittsburgh and New York. While I am at home Iisten to the Vampire Weekend station on my Pandora radio. Kennedy gets back from working at the hospital around six and I make us a pasta with asparagus. We enjoy a date night which takes us to the Embarcadero Center Cinemas to see the new Banksys movie, Exit Through the Gift Shop.
Tuesday
I wake early at 5:45 AM Tuesday to quickly brew some coffee and bike to the world music and dance center, Zambaleta, where I teach yoga. Back at home I write my "morning pages" and do some email correspondence. I bike to rehearsal at La Pista on Brannan to work on The Dark Season, an adaptation of Macbeth with a group of international multidisciplinary artist. During rehearsal from 10:30 AM-3:30 PM, we work through selected scenes and collaborate in a movement improvisation of the action. I bike to Philz Coffee on Folsom and 24th for my 4 PM barista shift. I like chatting with the regulars and wearing frilly colorful aprons and seeing the familiar faces from the Mission. I wear a navy polka-dotted apron with lime green accents given to me by former barista Andi. I help a customer take some photos before starting my shift. When I get home my neighbor graciously shares two giant Nicaraguan tamales and I boil one for me dinner. Kennedy is on call. The tamale is filled with spicy chicken and is delicious and satisfying. I have a quiet evening with chamomille-mint tea, Budget Travel Magazine and the book I am reading: "Woman", by Natalie Angier.
Wednesday
This morning with my coffee I work in my pajamas drafting a dance article about Bay Area National Dance Week for my column on Examiner.com. Its exciting to be reminded of all the rich opportunities in this dance community, a place that exhibits a process and growth-oriented culture. Writing about Bay Area dance is like my own dance homework. It keeps me engaged and informed and helps me think about the craft from different angles. Kennedy gets home from being on call overnight around noon and we eat lunch together before he catches up on some sleep. I sit in the sunny living room writing thank you notes from my recent birthday and also call to wish my dad a happy birthday. While I am at Philz today, Kennedy sets up at the coffee shop to study. As usual the atmosphere is cheerful and spunky. When I get home I cook us breakfast for dinner-veggie omelettes and we drink some IPA while adding to our joint art project - a giant sheet that we are stenciling and painting to adorn a very white wall. It looks a little silly and is not very cohesive but it is fun to use the mural paint and make something together.
Thursday
Again today I wake early at 5:45 AM brew some coffee and bike to the world music and dance center, Zambaleta, where I teach yoga. Back at home I write my "morning pages" and do some email correspondence before taking BART to Berkeley's Subterranean Art House for rehearsal with Suzanne for her upcoming evening "Between Curious and Biting." For two hours I rehearse a fun and humorous duet with pants around my ankles. I go to the new Burger Meister on Shattuck for lunch for a California burger and plan my yoga class. At the Berkeley YMCA I have some time to take a soak in the hot tub and use the steam room and sauna before my class. I teach Yoga 1 from 1-2:15 PM for a lovely and earnest group of about 20 students. I spend the BART ride back to the city reading my book, "Woman" and walking home on 24th Street I cave and buy a creme-filled bar donut from The Jelly Donut. They always sneak in an extra donut or two into the bag. I come home to Kennedy on his way to Dolores Park with some resident friends and I prepare to work at Philz. During my shift at the coffee shop he bikes by on the tandem honking the horn and shouting "happy birthday." When I arrive home he is cooking dinner with three friends. We have tapas as the dishes are ready: chorizo and asparagus stew, lemon rosemary-marinated chicken, bread with queso fresca, artichokes and Ben & Jerrys for dessert. We pass around the pints of Chubby Hubby and Cookies n Cream until they are empty.
Friday
This morning we play loud music and open the windows. San Francisco summer is here. I read my email and then sit outside drinking coffee and reading the New York Times which I get delivered on the weekend. Kennedy has the day off so he comes with me on my breakfast date with my good friend Kate. We get three straws for the vanilla milkshake and eat eggs together at St. Francis Fountain. We drive the Subaru to Pacifica for a sunny beach afternoon. Kennedy surfs and I practice yoga on the beach and read until friends join us at the beach, kids in tow. We contribute to the sandcastle building and enjoy the gorgeous Northern California vista. I work at Philz during the evening and when I get home Kennedy is cooking Friday night dinner: more marinated chicken, asparagus, beer and a mint chocolate "Itz It" ice cream sandwich-an SF special. I read my book in bed, relaxed.
Saturday
Another sunny morning of coffee and the paper on the deck. I gather my thoughts on the BART and teach Yoga 1 and Yoga 3 back to back today. I love the busy energy at the YMCA on Saturdays, kids everywhere, people taking care of themselves. After class and fielding the usual handful of questions, I wonder through Bekeley's Earth Day festival and farmers market on Milvia. Live music, craft vendors and fresh produce abound. I get a smoothie from Planet Juice and BART to 24th St/Mission reading my book. The musicians are playing the usual Saturday beats above ground at the BART station percussive with conga drums and wood blocks. Everyone dances-the hipsters, the bums, the yuppies-to this soundtrack of the Mission among the palm trees. I get lucky and catch a New York friend on Skype at home. We muse about our past year of changes and adjusting to life in new American cities. I bike to the Hayes Valley Yoga Tree for Karl Erb's 4:30 PM class. It is always a very special and insightful yoga practice which gives me inspiration for life and the teaching ahead of me. Today we work on the wheel of the armpit and shoulder-as well as a million other things. The bike ride is beautiful. I feel like I am flying. I think about bringing food to the hospital for Kennedy while he is on call overnight but he is getting ready to sleep for a bit so I clean the apartment and cook quinoa with beets, sugar snap peas and romano cheese for dinner and enjoy a quiet evening.
Sunday
I am lucky again to have the luxury of time this morning to read the Sunday Times in the sun and drink some coffee. I also listen to a podcast by Seth Godin my favorite idea guy who encourages innovative leadership. Kennedy brings salmon home and we lunch together before he goes surfing and I bike to work at the Yerba Buena gallery. I am a gallery guide for the Renee Green exhibition. When I work at the gallery I feel like I am the host of a party, greeting everyone, sharing some juicy nuggets about the art and then guiding visitors to explore the space. I also use the time in the gallery to practice Visual Thinking Strategies, mining the art for clues and using my own observation skills. I bike home, still wearing my black smock dress. I regroup with Kennedy and have my Sunday night phone date with Mom and Dad. Kennedy and I ride the tandem bike to our friends' house in the Mission where they are cooking a middle eastern dinner of hummus, spicy chicken, rice, salad and a Knefe which has phyllo dough, cheese topped with rose water syrup. Biking home it is a cool clear San Francisco evening.
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