yays for gays!!

....and everybody who is in support of love with no boundaries! yesterday we got to be a part of an exciting and enormous leap in history. marriage equality is finally in true existence in California and i am ecstatic! at the gym, while watching coverage of the day's events on the news, i found myself smiling at the posters, hugs and community that was broadcast over tv. and when anybody with a pro-Prop 8 opinion came on, my smile quickly turned upside down. i was visibly bipolar in attitude while jogging on the treadmill. at some point i almost clapped and yelled "YEAH!" but held in my excitement (though in retrospect i really shouldn't have held back. guys do it with sports all the live long day so i should have hollered for gay rights). 

you know, marriage equality was inevitable. too many people were willing to fight the fight until change was upon us for it not to eventually happen. it's actually quite embarrassing how long it took California to catch up to twelve other states and the District of Columbia. in situations like this i'm reminded that living and growing up around the SF Bay Area gives you blinders. when Prop 8 initially passed it was shocking (SHOCKING!!!) to say the least. i'd thought California would hands down be on board with equality but it was evident that the rest of CA (except LA) was far more conservative than my upbringing taught me. but yesterday proved that if you keep fighting for what's right, eventually the truth prevails and humanity wins! 

my boyfriend, who is in Beijing, said that the LGBT community in China was celebrating the win as well. yes, it's just one state in a whole 'nother country but it's part of the journey to a glorious future and a big deal for the LGBT community here in the US as well as their supporters over seas and along with their supporters in general. doesn't it just make you feel all warm and toasty inside? yays!

this is a photo from last year that i took of my friend who has been in a relationship for many years and has regarded his partner as his husband regardless of whether it was accepted. and now (if they choose to) he can legally put that ring to good use!

your own company

sometimes the best company is your own company. when i was a young twenty-something and a server at a restaurant i used to see people come in to have a meal by themselves. initially i thought it was sad and assumed they didn't have anybody else to hang out with. but as i matured, i realized that sometimes people prefer to sit by themselves and have some time without others. upon this epiphany (at about 22 years old) i decided to spend a day doing things that people would typically do with others and experience them solo. i remember going to get a bowl of ramen at Katana Ya and then watching a chick flick at the theater. in both cases i first felt like people saw and took note that i was by myself, then wondered if they thought the same things i did about the solo diners i had encountered. but after ten minutes, i decided that i didn't really care. it didn't really matter what they thought. plus, i was having a good time eating the food i wanted to eat as well as watching a stupid movie i'm sure nobody else wanted to see. it was nice to not have to coordinate with others about when, where, who and what we were going to do. also, it was quite liberating.

since then, i often do things by myself. i think it's important to spend time alone to take a moment and just relax. do the things only you want to do. have no conversations. take time to just be. so yesterday i decided i needed a spa day in Sonoma. i threw in a couple of restaurants i wanted to check out as always! and on my way back i stopped to take some pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge at the Marin Headlands because there are never enough pictures of that gorgeous structure. 

The Fremont Diner is a great place to grab what you might stereotypically think of as 'grub.' it's just hearty, homey kind of  food. i hear their milkshakes are really good but i went for breakfast and decided that ice cream at 8am probably wasn't the best call. but don't think it didn't cross my mind.

sausage biscuit. i added a fried egg because if you're going to eat shittily, do it the best way possible. take note at that crisped cheese. that's the good stuff! also,  a single ricotta pancake. 

after breakfast i went to the Spa Terra at the The Meritage Resort. i haven't had too many 'spa' experiences. my massages usually consist of a small asian lady and a table covered with a blanket you'd find at the flea market (don't knock it till you've tried it! no frills, but gets the job done). though i'm fairly inexperienced in pampering, i'm going to have to say that i think Spa Terra is probably one of the better spa spots in Wine Country. if you get a treatment done (whether it be facial, massage, etc) you can use their facilities for the whole day. they've got a large steam room, jacuzzi, nice 'serenity' room for relaxing, and you can use the hotel pool which has cabanas and food/drink service. my experience at Spa Terra was spectacular. super peaceful and relaxing. very cleanly and equipped with anything you might need. i can't wait to go back and make use of the pool. next time i'll spend a whole day there.

entrance. to the right, wine tasting. to the left, the spa.

serenity room. i spent an hour relaxing here.

rehydration station. they also had trail mix and apples.

with a bun in my hair, i felt like i looked monk-ish. 

this notebook was in the serenity room for people to write about their experience or any positive message.

this was mine....

lunch at Boon Fly Cafe. Kobe beef burger with blue cheese and bacon. good stuff! 

fresh fried donuts with chocolate dipping sauce. yummmm! just the right amount of chew. 

aaahh this city. 

everybody always takes pictures of the bridge but how about these rock formations along the headlands, hmmm? they're pretty awesome looking too, y'know! 

such a sight!

original

the iphone/instagram version

115:365 views from my favorite run

115:365 views from my favorite run

i didn't have any photo for the 115th day, so i'm making up for it by posting two photos i took from a run i did yesterday. my favorite run is on the Embarcadero from AT&T Park towards the Golden Gate Bridge. with all of the people tourists walking around, it gives you a distraction from the physical act of running. plus, it offers up some nice sights, such as these....

GG Bridge

Alcatraz (a little hard to tell, but it's there)