Away Twice --- Days 7/325 & 6

Walk: 1. Golden Gate Theater (Come From Away) 2. Hood buying supplies before weekend storm
Distance: 3 miles  2. 4 miles

Come From Away: Schoenfeld Theater, New York 

Ciwt was lucky enough to get to Come From Away in New York this fall and then again yesterday in San Francisco.  She liked it very much in both cities.  It starts kind of like a college review or talent show but gets deeper and deeper as the threads of the story begain weaving together and becomes a heartwarming, dare Ciwt say fun?, musical about September 9/11.  Impossible to believe, but true.

Come From Away: Golden Gate Theater, San Francisco

Beach Houses at Crissy Field --- Day 7/324

Walk: Hood
Distance: 2 miles, Yoga

Or maybe you would prefer this Sea Ranch home currently on the market for $2,290,000:

One Year With Ciwt --- Day 7/323

Walk: Crissy Field, Pet Food Express
Distance: 4.6 miles, Yoga

A year ago today Ciwt put two frightened cats into her almost new car and drove them to their new home. Truth be told, Ciwt was frightened too.  So it is One Year Anniversary  Celebration Day around here, and their gifts are two New Boxes!!!   She's sure their excitement about these presents will grow  - and that she'll be able tell them apart by their Two Year Anniversary.

I Said NO Porridge --- Days 7/320, 21, 22

Walk: 1. No, chained to computer  2. No, chained to computer then club  3. Trader Joe's
Distance: 1. 0, teeny yoga    2. 0, try on dress clothes from deep in closet for club dinner, teeny yoga,
                3. 2.8 miles, Soon to do necessary Yoga

So, on Day 1 Ciwt in San Francisco got a call, text And email from her credit card company asking if she was the one charging a slew of video games in Bellevue, WA.  No, of course, and you know the rest: she was condemned to spend the rest of the day at her computer notifying various accounts about her cancelled card.

Then on Day 2 Ciwt still in San Francisco got an email from Apple telling her she was about to run out of storage on the cloud.  So, it was back to her computer for more hours of deleting old files and pictures - and reliving years of her life.  

When she was done with that second nearly complete day at her desk, she had to go to the darkest part of her closet, dust off her dress up clothes and figure out what to wear to a dinner event at her club - again reliving part of her past and capturing her thoughts.

So, today, Day Three,  she is home from the club, caught up with computer stuff for a while, recovering from the club event, and basically recovering her life.  She has no interest in thinking of things her CIWT readers might like to hear because, if she did, she would have to go Back to Her Computer to write about them.  No Thank You.  

Off now to her yoga mat on which she will do only the poses that she enjoys. Calmness will hopefully prevail .   Omm.......

Sequential, Not Permanent --- Day 7/319

Walk: Union Square, SFMOMA
Distance: 2 miles

     At SFMOMA today on her way to visit Richard Serra's massive steel sculpture, Sequence, Ciwt saw instead a huge dark grey wall with portholes and people couching to see through. "Oh no, she thought, "Sequence is leaving the building," and, sadly she was right.  

Actually, part of the building was leaving the building in order for that to happen. Sequence arrived before the renovated SFMOMA reopened in 2016. It was set in place and then a ceiling and walls were built around it.  So, on its departure an entire glass and steel wall was removed from SFMOMA, Sequence was reduced to its huge parts, loaded on 12 flatbed semi trucks and readied for travel back from whence it came: the Cantor at Stanford.  Ciwt will miss it. 

Last Segment of Sequence Leaves SFMOMA

Teacher, Are You Sure You're Looking at the Clock? --- Day 7/318

Walk: Iyengar Yoga Institute, Trader J's
Distance: 3.5 miles, Big Yoga

Iyengar Yoga Teacher (Not Ciwt) plus ropes, wall and blocks

Five minutes is a long time to be in a headstand for Ciwt.  And the same or longer for shoulder stand.  Not to mention a bunch of poses yanking (ooops) assisting herself with ropes, blocks, bolsters and using the wall and chairs to make absolutely sure she is doing the forward bend as deeply as she possibly can.

Such is Iyengar yoga.  Not fun, endorphin releasing like the movement yoga Ciwt has done, taught and now teaches herself.  But good for Ciwt because, even when teaching, she didn't put students in inversions or really any poses for long.  And now that she is her own teacher, No Way. So Iyengar and now those teachers trained in his system is Ciwt's (occasional/supplemental) taskmaster, at least for a while.  

By The Memorable Moody Sea --- Days 316-17

Walk: 1. No, Home cancelling credit card accounts because someone got Ciwt's #
          2. SFMOMA,  Embarcadero Cinema (Cold War)
Distance: 1. 0, Yoga   2. 5 Miles, Small Yoga

Are we at Sea Ranch yet?  No, Virginia, we're at SFMOMA taking in their current architecture and design show.  Usually Ciwt passes on such shows on top of which the whole Design area of SFMOMA is nearly hidden around a barely noticable blind corner on the 6th Floor.  But today she was glad she made the effort because they had built a 'typical' Sea Ranch house for her and other mueum goers to hang out in and equipped it with a TV that told the Sea Ranch story.

That meant she didn't have to study all the original architectural drawings.  Many people really enjoy poring over those, but not Ciwt.

                                    

What is Sea Ranch you may ask.  It is a planned architectural community about 100 miles north of San Francisco that was developed with great Utopian vision and 60's idealism, saw some of those smashed and has now become a tranquil (if Very Windy) vacation favorite (for architectural purists and people who like to  ramble and read books in near absolute silence).  One New York Times writer who visited says the median age of visitors was 69 when she was there.  It is a fun article is you feel like reading.

The Sea Ranch: Architecture, Environment, and Idealism runs until April 28 at SFMOMA. 

Can You Hear Me.....? --- Day 7/315

Walk: No, Waiting for Comcast
Distance: 0, yoga while waiting

If you haven't heard from Ciwt for a while, it's nothing personal. Today Ciwt spent Sunday with Comcast waiting for and then 'working with' a tech to resolve those communication glitches. We've all been there; no need to elaborate.  So far, so good.  Let the communication resume...

Biking to Work --- Day 7/314

Walk: Fort Mason FOG and Design Art Show
Distance: 4 miles

Cat's Got My _____ --- Days 7/311,12 &13

Walk: No (stomr), No (storm), Crissy Field
Distance: 0, 0, 2.5 and yoga

Ciwt is glad she has cats because she can blame them for:

Deleting emails she was sure were in her inbox,
Misplacing things she can't find,
Not making the bed or washing the dishes,
Letting Ciwt get away not writing CIWT for 3 days!

Watch what other cat owners put up with in the video above.

 

                          Sneaking Away

Whale Out of Water --- Day 7/310

Walk: PGCC Book Group (An American Marriage)

Distance: a few blocks, a few asanas

So Ciwt was walking on Crissy Field the other day when she spotted this: 

Whaaa?  Looked like a whale out of water and on Crissy Field field.   

So she walked closer:

and closer

Until she was so close she could see the huge ocean creature was made of PLASTIC! 😱 

Then she was able to read a sign that told her that every nine minutes 300,000 pounds of plastic, the weight of a blue whale, makes its way into the ocean.  Turns out the whale out of water is also out of the Monterey Bay Aquarium; it is visiting Crissy Field to make people aware of our plastic footprint and is just one visual, educational part of the Aquarium's campaign to take on plastic pollution.  If you can't visit the whale at Crissy Field, you can read more here.

http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/conservation-and-science/our-priorities/ocean-plastic-pollution

Heeeere, _____?? --- Day 7/309

Walk: Crissy Field
Distance: 3 miles, Yoga

                     Okay, which cat are you?

What Did You Think of.......? --- Day 7/308

Walk: No, Home Reading (Enemy Women by Paulette Giles)
Distance: 0, but good Yoga

Back to back reading groups coming up this week, so Ciwt is turning pages as fast as she can.

Maybe Destroy Your Ticket --- Day 7/307

Walk: Embarcadero Cinema (Destroyer)
Distance: 2 miles, small yoga

Nicole Kidman in Destroyer

Ciwt Oscar prediction: Destroyer will not win the Oscar for Best Costume.  The drab, dirty outfit above is what Nicole Kidman wears during the entire interminably slow, nihilistic movie.  

Appreciating Grey --- Days 7/305 & 6

Walk: 1. Hood   2. Crissy Field
Distance: 1. 3.5 miles  2. 2 miles

The rainy weather here in San Francisco is the color of Ciwt's cats with, they say, six more days to go.  Ciwt's creative brain has returned to semi-hibernation, but she found a blog, Limitless San Francisco that puts a nice spin on What to Do When SF is Grey.

It's January. Winter, even if it is California winter, is here, and SF is cold, grey and foggy (Ciwt: and rainy). While I'd much rather have some sunshine and a comfy place outside to bask, these grey dreary days present their own bit of wonder. The mood is calm, the streets are more empty than usual, and Netflix and chill is completely appropriate.

If you do venture out, head for the best fire pit in town or into a cafe for some coffee. Bring a book, catch up with someone you love, and just take it easy. Winter is a time for rest, don't be so worried about filling your schedule or wasting the day at home. Watch a movie, read a good book, try a new recipe or have a drink. 

Take this time to focus on any resolutions you may have made, but balance them with mellow activities and good company. Add a few blankets and pretty lights to your living or bedrooms, and make yourself a winter's nest. The City will still be there when you're ready to venture out. Plus, everything starts blooming right around Valentine's Day!

Oh, That One --- Day 7/304

Walk: Iyengar Yoga, LP Nails
Distance: 2 miles, Big Yoga

As her own yoga teacher and pose picker for the past few years, Ciwt wasn't quite ready for a ten minute headstand in someone else's class today.  Oh, well, as yoga sage Pattabi Jois famously (and often) said, "All things coming..."

Cats and Eyes --- Day 7/303

Walk: SPCASF (cats annual exam)
Distance: A Few Blocks, Small Yoga

Two cats to vet for annual exam is enough for Ciwt for one day.

She might say the vet techs were ooohing and aahhing and taking pictures of Ciwt's girls.. Apparently they are quite fetching or something.  Ciwt is so busy cleaning, grooming, clipping, feeding, brushing off her black clothes (partially successfully) - and enjoying their company -  she doesn't notice.  Which reminds her of a story a friend once told her:

Her husband of 40+ years was filling out some form that required information about his wife.  At some point he called across the room, "What color are your eyes?"*

*One of Ciwt's cats has gold eyes, the other, light green.  See?  She does notice them after all. 

Golden --- Day 7/302

Walk: AMC Kabuki (Bohemian Rhapsody)
Distance: 3 miles

      Rami Malek                         Freddie Mercury

Ciwt was going to believe the critics and skip the poorly reviewed Bohemian Rhapsody.
But, the movie and its star stunned the Golden Globes last evening by winning Best Picture and
Best Male Lead, so Ciwt decided to check out what those awards were all about.

Luckily.  The awards were about 2+ hours of Queen's Freddie Mercury. One of the most electrifying and iconic stars in any field ever, and Rami Malek channeled him.  There he was right on the big screen before Ciwt's eyes.  Even in his quiet moments, the energy crackled off of him and it was thrilling to be present.

Busy Watching --- Day 7/301

Walk: No, Necessary Rain Again! 😊
Distance: Up and down from office chair, Yoga

Red carpet season begins with Golden Globes tonight.  So Ciwt has been taking advantage of her retirement status and the pouring rain to sit in her office and get acquainted with TV shows she's never watched but are in the running. (Of course she's seen all the movie candidates).  The Good Place, Barry, The Assassination of Gianni Versace among others.  TV is Soooo good - and extensive - these days.

California Reading --- Day 7/300

Walk:  No, Reading An American Marriage in Rain with Cats  
           Yes, YouTube to Zagreb, Croatia and Zion National Park, Utah
Distance: 0, Yoga

Yoga Teacher Back to Life (as student) - Day 7/299

Walk: Iyengar Yoga Center
Distance: 2 miles, Yoga

Ciwt is back on her mat Big Time.  Feels good - and necessary.  Word to fellow seniors: Keep on truckin.  Yoga, Tai Chi, Swimming, Water Aerobics, Bicycle Riding, and of course Walking (with or without dog)- these are all very good for us and essential.  Choose the one, or ones, that are are most enjoyable and enjoy them every day.  10 minutes is fine.

Getting Informed --- Day 7/298

Walk: SF Towers (Residiential Community)
Distance: 3.7 miles

Could Ciwt be writing CIWT from here in 5-6 more years?

Back to Class --- Day 7/297

Walk: Iyengar Yoga, Trader Joe's
Distance: 3 miles, Yoga class 

BKS Iyengar teaching sirsasana (headstand)

So, Ciwt has been her own home teacher after taking a hiatus from teaching public yoga classes.  She began the new year today back at class in a type of yoga she has more or less avoided since beginning to practice over 50 years ago.  Iyengar yoga.  It is actually the yoga she started with, pretty much the only yoga being taught back in that day.  Long holds, little movement, liberal use of props (straps, blocks, chairs, blankets galore) and extremely booooorrrring to then young athlete Ciwt.

But now perhaps just the modality to return to.  She shall see. 

And now... --- Day 7/296

Walk: Hood errand, Crissy Field 
Distance: 4 miles