Saturday, November 10, 2007
Computer maintenance: RealPlayer updates—not sure if the October 2007 patch had installed correctly, so in RealPlayer I choose Help > About > Check for Updates and install "RealPlayer 10.5 plus Harmony with all current updates" or something like that to get the world's most complicated software version identification in history: "RealPlayer (tm) (win32) Version 10.5 Helix Powered With Harmony(tm) Technology Build: 6.0.12.1663 Distribution: RN31PRM." I sure am glad that it's helix-powered, though. I don't know what I would do without the helices making everything go. I've been submitting suggestions to everyone else who makes software for my computer that maybe their products should be helix-powered, too. Weight training: reverse incline dumbbell press, front raise. (I have been neglectful in recording weight training activities lately.) Cut my hair. Showered. House chores. Light rain today. Archived all 5dollarhosting (Navisite) websites. Mom Ryan called me on the telephone to sing a song to me. Went to the auto parts store but they didn't seem to have the wiper refills I needed. Home: late lunch: leftovers. Shopped downtown for clothes, bought some clothes at H and M boys. The day was rainy, and I got a slice of pizza at Blondie's. While hiking up to California Street, I saw various pedestrian disasters. A man's Macy's shopping bag tore open unexpectedly, and his many brand new dress shirts flew out onto the wet sidewalk. The sidewalks were crowded, and other pedestrians stopped to help him pick them up. In another, a woman slipped on a metal plate in the sidewalk and fell forward onto the wet sidewalk. She luckily caught herself with her hands, did not suffer a severe impact, and instantly got up, mostly unperturbed and still looking her best. However, the young boy who was holding her hand did not fare so well. Since he was holding her hand, her fall forced the boy's hand to the ground and he did not catch himself at all and started bawling like a young boy. I stopped long enough to ask the woman if she was okay, and she said yes, so I continued along. I waited forever on California Street for a cable car to come. Four or maybe five cable cars headed toward Chinatown had passed before one heading toward Van Ness appeared. No agent on the cable car collected money or even checked to see if people had a pass. I stopped at Recharge Spa to relax and to wait for Danny to finish work. He runs the spa very well; a staffperson was always available to help customers along their way toward relaxation and their next event of the day. I hadn't been in a few months perhaps and it was nice to see many new changes and improvements. For example, walls in the rear room have been erected to create private spaces for massage, waxing and other medispa treatments. While I waited they served me a hot and delicious tea. I was impressed with how well the entire staff treated all the customers. When customers left, they all had smiles on their faces. Around closing time, Danny handled an emergency nail repair from a woman who had just done some shopping downtown like me. I didn't think broken nails where you didn't see blood counted as health emergencies, but now I've witnessed it myself. It took only a few minutes, but when Danny was finished it looked like any other normal nail—amazing! We chatted about Oracle, the Oracle event happening downtown now through Thursday, websites. Before she left, she gave us a quick peek at the knee-high, fur-lined beige boots she had bought which were just as gorgeous as she was. Afterwards Danny and I walked to Modern Thai (415-922-8424, 1247 Polk Street, San Francisco, CA 94109) where we met Drew, Quyen, Dave, Chris, and Nate and ate a delicious meal. (Phil was in Las Vegas.) The service was very good. Chris and Nate gave me a gift: a digital photo frame. (Thanks!) We went to N'Touch where it was dead, presumably because of the underwear party happening across town. Quyen and Nate played a game of pool. The rest of us watched the video screens, half of which played footage of Brasilian men frolicking on a beach and rowing in a rowboat in speedos and the other half of which played The Wizard of Oz from cable television with subtitles. We left and met at Danny, Drew, and Phil's where some of us chatted and some of us watched The Manchurian Candidate. Chris and Nate drove me home.