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A Young Man’s Fancy

2011/03/18 By ronnyd

Ah, Spring, when a young man’s fancy turns to thoughts of … fig and peach leaves.  Well, in this young(er) man’s mind anyway.  I was stoked to see my three trees in the front yard wake up from their winter dormancy, seemingly all at once and overnight no less.  Here are some shots of the peach tree and the budding leaves on the two fig trees.  I am REALLY looking forward to the fruit I’m going to get from them when they’re mature.  Trees getting to full production probably won’t happen for a while more, but I try and be as patient as I can.

Fig Leaves

Peach Leaves!

Peach Leaves!

Fig Leaves

Fig Leaves

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Filed Under: Bay Area, environment, food, house

san francisco movie tonight

2009/11/13 By ronnyd

As part of the San Francisco International Animation Festival a friend and I will be heading over to see A Town Called Panic. I’m really looking forward to it, as it seems right up my alley. You can watch a preview here.

Here’s the description for the flim:

Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar (Panique au village, Belgium / France/ Luxembourg 2009

One of the rare feature-length animated films (and the only one in stop-motion) to appear in the Cannes Film Festival, A Town Called Panicis sure to live up to the cult status of the Belgian TV series upon which it delightfully expands. As in the series, here the town of Panic is populated by a random assortment of plastic figurines whose daily activities recall children’s illogical narratives in their herky-jerky disjointedness, celebration of the quotidian and profound brilliance. Cowboy and Indian decide to give their friend Horse a birthday present, but thanks to an Internet shopping typo end up with 50 million bricks for Horse’s new barbecue. The trio must then travel to the center of the earth, trek across frozen tundra and discover a parallel underwater universe populated by pointy-headed (and dishonest!) creatures. In an age of high-tech animation and CGI effects, A Town Called Panic is refreshingly homegrown, the product of ingenious imagination and a surreal, often nostalgic, sense of childhood absurdity.

Before we go though, we’ll grabbing a bite at the Tadich Grill. I’d link to their site directly but they say it’s coming down soon.


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Filed Under: Bay Area, food, friends, movies

Night Running

2009/11/12 By ronnyd

The woman, dog, and I did some night running tonight.  I prefer it.  The trails are not crowded, there aren’t any other dog walkers and their dogs with which to contend (though most are fine, it’s really my dog about whom I have to worry), and the temperature is nice.  There is the added danger of running over ruts in the trail and not seeing them, but she and I were trading off holding the flashlight and wearing the headlamp.  I’ve seen lamps that runners can wear on their chests, and maybe it’s time to look into one.

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Filed Under: Bay Area, excercise, life, pets

Art — in the Latte (&Mocha)

2009/11/11 By ronnyd

So, my friend Fouzi and I went to Barefoot Cafe on Monday for a small class on late art. I need a lot more practice in the matter, as I learned in class, but here are the creations that we were served by the barista as we stayed for a latte and mocha after the class.

Heart in the Latte

Heart in the Latte

Hearts and Leaves in the Mocha

Hearts and Leaves in the Mocha

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Filed Under: Bay Area, coffee, food

welcome back!

2008/01/26 By ronnyd

Hello there. Well, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you around these parts. With this update I am happy to say that I did not neglect this website for a full two years. It’s been only 720 days. Which is a full 10 days short of two years.

So,what’s happened in those almost two years? In order, I…

  • moved to San Francisco
  • met a girl, and fell in love.
  • got a new job.
  • found out that the girl was going to have our baby
  • moved in with the girl to the East Bay
  • bought a house and moved the soon-to-be family in.
  • got a dog.
  • had a beautiful baby girl!

As you can see it’s been a busy (almost) two years.

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Filed Under: Bay Area, family, life, pets

man, this is a weird ad for a room …

2006/02/02 By ronnyd

You have to love some of the stuff you stumble across on craigslist when you’re looking for a new place to live:

$250 – SEMI-SHARED bedroom w/cleaning once per week: (pacific heights)

Reply to: hous-xxxxxxxxx@craigslist.org
Date: 2006-02-02, 1:30AM PST

This situation is a “BEDROOM ONLY” living space for a female (18-30). PLUS! you clean for two hours in the building once per week ***AND*** if you want to further reduce your rent you may do more cleaning. DSL, PG$E, cable and a tv, hotwater and 24/7 free long distance in the USA, ONLY, phone is included. “NOTICE*** NO GUESTS *** are allowed because the space is limited and we need the situation to work for everyone… This is completely furnished and in the bedroom are two separate twin loft beds up above your head. You go up a ladder/staircase to reach the beds with a TV up there. On the ground floor is a sink, desk, chair, computer, private closet. In the hall is where a male sleeps who uses the sink to clean up and the computer once in the morning and once in the evening. He manages the building. A female sleeps in room (25) who stays at her boyfriends home most of the time. NO other part of the flat is available for you to use except the laundry room once per week the day you clean. The bathrooms are in the basement and you must go through a females room to gain access. She is use to this and has NO problem what so ever… You may meet both females and discuss the situation. The shower is ONLY available from 11am until 10pm. We are looking for a non-smoker, no drama kind of person who has regular 9-5 hours or close. The #1 California, #24 Divisadero Muni lines and the beautiful Alta Plaze Park are one block away. This is month to month and is available February 7th. Please call Nolan: 415-XXX-XXXX

PS> I realize that there are some restrictions, however the price reflects that and the neighborhood is super nice, safe, clean and smells sweeet.

Makes you want to move in sight unseen, right? I think that they might have a position open for a gimp too!

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Filed Under: Bay Area

get a move on, little buddy!

2006/02/01 By ronnyd

Well, I just walked upstairs from depositing, hopefully, my last rent check for the apartment in which I live in the city of Oakland. With that check was attached the 30 days notice of my intention to vacate said apartment. I have until the 3rd of March to find my new abode in San Francisco. If I don’t have a place by that time, can I come and sleep on your couch?

I’m actually pumped for this. If this doesn’t light a fire under my ass to find a new place, then there’s really nothing that will.

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Filed Under: Bay Area, pondering

what are you up to, ronnyd?

2006/01/23 By ronnyd

So, I am somewhat gainfully employed again, on a rolling temporary basis. I’m taking a short term gig with a small consulting firm in Salt Lake City. No, I’m not going to move to SLC, it’s just that the guys for whom I’m going to work are based in Salt Lake City. I think. They might be in Denver. I should probably find that out.

It’s a short gig, about five weeks, doing the same type of work I was doing for my last company, but I’m like a free agent now. I can work when opportunities arise, and I can take some more time off when there isn’t anything to do. Sounds good to me. My first gig, which is probably going to start next week, is going to have me onsite at the client for the first week, and that’s going to be in either Denver, CO or Omaha, NE. I’m hoping Denver, but a friend said that Omaha is not that bad. If I’m sent to Omaha, I’ll be sure to let you know what I think.

I’m also going to take the CBEST exam on the 11th of February, which is the hurdle I need to clear in order to become a substitute teacher in CA. It’s the California Basic Educational Skills Test, and from all accounts I hear that it’s pretty easy. Rumor has it … okay it’s not rumor, it’s all over the freaking news at times, that CA has one of the worst public school educational systems in the country. I’m going to single-handedly change that. Or maybe not. Maybe I’ll just like being a teacher. I might get a few months of substituting in before the summer break.

Oakland probably isn’t going to be my home much longer. I’m going to find a room in a house in the city of San Francisco. It’s time for roommates again. It’s a long process, and I’m sure it’ll be fun. My current living situation is okay, I live alone in a studio, so I’m going to have to make sure that I really like the place I’m moving into because I’m going to want to say put for a while. I HATE moving. Loathe is a more appropriate verb.

Went on a nice hike yesterday with some friends in the Ohlone Wilderness near Livermore. It was a fun hike, and we met a new friend and her cool dog, a standard poodle. He had lots of energy and was really fun to hang around. When we stopped for lunch midway through the hike, her dog found a cowpie in which he proceded to roll around and spread all over his fur. We laughed and laughed, but he wasn’t pet by anyone else for the rest of the day. Good dog.

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Filed Under: Bay Area, pets, travel, work