Monday, July 14, 2003
Lunch on the library steps by myself: Panda Express. My fortune: Be careful in whom you share your confidence. Met Patrick after work at Nan King Road Bistro where we had dinner: Little Dragon dumplings (shrimp and green onions), sesame chicken, steamed rice, one Pu-Ehr tea—$20 after a $3 tip. Returned the Enter the Dragon DVD at Le Video where we had to stand around for 15 minutes while the guy behind the counter played the video to prove that it was so scratched up we couldn't watch some of the scenes. Once we'd demonstrated that we were right, the guy offered no apology and seemed even reluctant to credit our account, but he did. We left the store and I said to Patrick, "What a weirdo," to which he replied, "Movie geeks!" Took the N Judah to Embarcadero—a surprise event for Patrick. We went to a Bastille Day celebration which I'd found out about on flavorpill. And what a celebration of French culture it was! We heard the French house music and smelled the cigarette smoke all the way from Sutter and Montgomery. We entered Claude Lane from Sutter, and halfway up to Bush Street were the gigantic speakers pumping out the music DJed by Franky Boissy, Ellen Ferrato, Ruben Mancias, Dereck Grant, Frenchy Le Freak, Behrouz, Donovan, Alexis, Ryme, and Deep Swing (L.A.). We couldn't tell who was playing because it was so packed we couldn't see inside the cafe. And although Patrick didn't like the current DJ's style, the music was great. People danced wildly in the street. One woman was dancing in very big-heeled shoes. She and her two woman friends were dancing right in front of the speakers with no earplugs. Patrick asked me how they could do that, and I told him that they weren't human. They were flown in from another solar system to build the crowd *energie*. We didn't dance, but we bobbed our smiling heads and tapped our feet to the music like others splayed out in the svelte street. After we'd both gotten headaches from the cigarette smoke, we'd had enough of the French celebration and left to get a coffee. We tried at Cafe de la Presse (keeping with the theme), but it was crowded and we didn't feel it worth paying extra (you know how they charge extra there for everything) to selfishly take up a table for just a coffee. Instead we got coffee and peed at Starbucks. Hopped on MUNI, got home around 10 PM.