Rainy Day Mind Game

The following is a repost from a Myspace blog I posted on January 2, 2006. If I'm not mistaken that was probably the last time Los Angeles experienced a significant rainfall. Call me nuts but I love this weather. I've been dying all summer. I'm not a fan of the sun, heat and uncomfortableness of triple digit temps. I love walking and/or singing in the rain. I prefer piling on the layers of clothing and blankets to summer wear. If you don't know me yet you will soon find out I'm not your typical California Girl. Tans and sunstreaked hair are not for me. Maybe I'm a descendent of the cave clans. I don't know, whatever it is I love the cold overcast days like we're having today.

*Rainy Day Mind Game *
Can you travel within your mind? Leave everything behind and find yourself in another city, state, country, and world. Today's rainy weather makes me yearn for the streets of San Francisco and I don't mean that 70s TV show with Michael Douglas and Carl Malden, although that would be a welcome relief to all the Rose Parade/Bowl crap on the tube. . Instead of hiding from the rain here at home I'd rather be pounding the pavement through Chinatown on Grant where I'll make a quick duck into LiPo to whet my whistle with a midday Gin & Tonic and rest my soles before continuing on to Jack Kerouac alley where I make a sharp right and soak in the spirits of the beat poets of years gone by. Up ahead, Columbus where City Lights awaits my arrival with open door and the smell of musky books and patchouli oil worn banisters. Shelves everywhere stocked with loads of literature. I could stay here the entire day browsing and making myself at home. Nowhere in L.A. have I ever felt this welcome. I'd buy a book or two from the poetry section, most likely one by a Chicano/a author I never heard of and another random selection because the title and cover caught my eye. I should have an appetite by then and will have to decide if I want to cross over to North Beach for Italian or stay where I am for Pan Fried Noodles at Chef Jia's. Noodles it is as I seat myself at a window table for good lighting and a view of the people walking to and fro. I'd crack open a book and begin reading while sipping hot green tea. Fed and read I grab my stuff and walk down Kearney to Market where I hop on the bus to the Haight to see what Amoeba has for me in way of bargain bin tunes possibly Tom Waits or Screamin' Jay Hawkins then off to People's Cafe for a boost of caffeine and flourless choco cake giving another break for my feet. Getting dark, time to head back to the Commodore for a quick nap and a hot bath before hailing a cab to Bottom of the Hill for more drink and live music or off to one of many dive bars in the Mission. Call it a night and tuck myself in for good night's sleep for another foot traveled journey the next day all by myself. I have been to SF on solo trips several times and I never once felt alone or lonely nor did I care how cold it was or if it was raining. No matter the weather or part of the city you plant yourselves you just can' have that sort of day here in Los Angeles. Sometimes I wonder what the hell I'm doing living in L.A. guess I may have left my heart in San Francisco but this is where my soul is.

Chinatown, S.F.

The Commodore Hotel was my lodging choice.. The Red Room bar was attached as was The Titanic Cafe. Great location and reasonable. Old boutique style eerie vibe.