Playing piano is a hobby that I’ve tried to incorporate more into my life (as in, practicing more) since I stopped working at a job at the end of 2019. I have gotten better, though it doesn’t always seem that way!
Here’s a piano rendition of one of my favorite tunes Recuerdos de la Alhambra (originally written for guitar).
Every Wednesday I shoot a little video excerpt of the novel-in-progress I’m working on.
It’s for Instagram reels, but I share it to my Facebook and heck, here on the blog!
This week the b-roll behind the words is from North Hollywood Park in (you guessed it) North Hollywood, CA which is adjacent to Valley Village, where I live.
Dear Diary: The week of January 8 — Honestly, not always so grumpy in the morning! It’s just that this is the place where those feelings get processed!
The familiar, don’t feel like writing the novel. So I won’t, at least not yet. I’ll write about how I’m feeling instead.
Which is: tired, tired eyes in particular. I can feel them sagging around the edges. Itchy, squirrely, too. Not sure why, thought I slept pretty well and Fitbit agrees somewhat (82 sleep score!)
How I feel about volunteering for non-profit assistance or charity work: I think it’s a laudable thing to do. I like to help people, but I also like to feel like I have helped people and made a difference afterward – so that aspect of volunteering is important to me. The Gay Center here is certainly an organization worth supporting in that regard.
They have what they call a “pride pantry” which is a food program for seniors and others who need it – and they have some volunteer opps around that. The one that I wanted was on Thursdays – it sounded like bagging or boxing items for deliveries on Fridays. But, no openings were available. They did have delivery options available on Fridays, but I don’t want to do that.
Because I hate driving. I just do. So, I think if I’m going to volunteer, it should at least be for something I don’t really hate, right? I mean it can be enjoyable and not feel like a “Catholic sacrifice activity” to be worthwhile?
I’m not sure I even really want to do this specific kind of volunteer work. Is my motivation genuine, or is it more along the lines of “this would be a nice thing to do — so you should do it,” even though there might be better and more rewarding options out there. Like something closer to me than Hollywood. Like something to do with dogs, I dunno, like maybe walking them for shelters or rescues.
Maybe I’m just selfish. That could be it, too. Or have no desire to be bored, even for a minute.
Body check, aches and pains division: hips, ankles cranky. It sort of feels like a bit of sciatica, but without that constant, totally disheartening pain. Still, I need I have to go back to stretching and doing yoga a couple times a week (at least!) or else there’s just going to be more and more pain.
It’s the 11th, Mom would have been 97 today. I’m grateful we celebrated family birthdays as much as we did, I remember looking forward to any Arnold birthday, not just my own because it was a day of celebrating that person, whoever they were, and always ending with cake.
Also made a Novel Snippet Wednesday Instagram Reel for just a little taste of what I’m currently working on (when not diary-ing about how tired I am, blah blah bleh):
I wasn’t going to do this – write – at all. Reason – slept badly and honestly not feeling it at all, worse than usual. However, with the passage of a little time – an hour – feeling like at least a shorter effort is doable.
One of my goals really is to “show up for the page” on a regular schedule as a professional writer would. This kitchen timer method really does make that easier, as I can always, always just sit here and do stream of consciousness reporting if nothing else comes to mind.
I did look up something earlier when still connected to the internet and not on Freedom, which was some blender information for a character in the book. The character is wealthier than your average person and also very fussy about things. I needed to determine exactly what kind of a blender he’d have in his kitchen and I figured I got a pretty good answer (Vitamix) that can at least nail it down to make and grade. He’s also so obsessed he has 3, side by side.
Now I’m concerned about eating healthy in Mexico. I think on my 2022 trips there I ate LESS than I usually do, in face I’m sure I did because I weighed about 145 when I got back, both times, so I lost a couple of pounds at least.
I attribute that to only eating at meals, even if they were in restaurants, as I had very little food at my Airbnbs, and also the activity quotient – I was walking much more than I do here, which of course helps.
It’s Friday the 13th! I’m back at office hours, making the time on a regular schedule for writing, and not waiting for something like inspiration or a muse. Some days are tougher than others. Some days I feel more awake. Some days I know where to begin, and on others I have no clue.
Also made a Piano Fridays video – one of my favorite songs, trying to memorize it so I can play it at tempo for my legions of adoring fans (I wish):
Till next time. That was the week of January 8.
What does go on in the mind of a 67-year-old American gay man? Read on for dear diary excerpts and fun asides. (Not always a downer, though I do use the diary to work out problems, probably like most people do!) (It’s the week of January 1, though I include the last part of December here.)
I’m pleased the LA Times printed my contribution to the memorials for P-22. Honestly have to say I will feel safer hiking in Griffith now and feel more at ease to go off the paved roads, which I’ve consciously been sticking to for the last decade or so.
There are some rocky heights (like, for instance, top of the Bronson trail) that I like but haven’t been to in really a long time, but which now would seem safer without a mountain lion in the park.
Some days are harder than others to get started. This is one of those mornings.
It’s the anniversary of Dad’s death four years ago. Maybe that’s why, though I don’t feel like it’s keeping me from writing, maybe that’s the reason I didn’t sleep so well? And the result of that is foggy brain that resists working.
I haven’t decorated at all for Xmas yet. I did take the box of trimmings out of the closet and set it on the floor. I may have even opened it up, but I didn’t take anything out. Thinking I might do that this afternoon – it’s three days till Christmas, and I’d keep up lights/ornaments until January 2, then immediately put all that crap away. I think the holiday season goes on too long. I’d like a machine where I could be transported from the evening of Thankgiving to the morning of January 2 each year, and not have to experience the end of November and the entire month of December—that is, unless I was in a place where summer occurs in that month, say Rio de Janeiro or Australia. On a gay beach. Mexico’s Pacific Coast also qualifies.
There’s not much motivation this morning. December 23, palpable closeness to the actual dates of real holidays. I’ve had the audacity to have thoughts of taking the entire next week off, conveniently as the holidays fall into the actual week structure more than usual with Christmas and New Year’s both falling on Sundays.
So you already pretty much know that out in the real world NOTHING will get done next week Monday through Friday and EVERYONE will be on vacation or holiday and so WHAT IS THE POINT in TRYING? And why not just rest up, look back and evaluate the year, plan for the next, and so on?
Which I don’t want to do. I had a terrible time sleeping last night. I’m pretty sure I had a reaction to the vaccines I got yesterday – the pneumonia vaccine and the shingles vaccine (which was only the first of two). The reaction was body aches plus headache, as well as soreness on both shoulders.
I woke up in the middle of the night, worried about that, and about mortality, really. Worried about my fluctuating blood pressure numbers, other things.
Like the old saying, doesn’t help at all to borrow trouble. And indeed, we are all mortal. If I live 20 more years, I’d be almost 88. If I lived 25 more years, I’d be almost 93, as old as Aunt Joan when she died. Let’s see, 25 years ago was 1998, the year I moved to San Francisco and started working at Dolby. That, to me, seems like yesterday! It doesn’t really seem that much of any time has passed since then.
That’s kind of scary. Really – should I live to be 92 going on 93, will I look back at 67 going on 68 as if it was yesterday? Probably.
My writing: Maybe I’ve forgotten how. It all just seems so awkward and bad. I guess that’s why there’s this thing called Editing.
I slept great last night. So great, in fact, that my Fitbit score is 85 – equal to the highest I’ve ever received (I’ve received this score several times) but the time I spend asleep (according to the Fitbit) is 7 hours 15 minutes, which is nothing short of miraculous.
And that’s Dear Diary (week of January 1) for this time.
Selections from my journal entries the week of December 12, 2022. What goes through the head of a sixty-something gay man? Read on.
Lots of trouble sleeping last night. In fact, I did the thing you’re supposed to do when you find yourself tossing and turning for more than 20 or so minutes, which is to get up and read. Which I did for half an hour, then was able to go to sleep. And you know what, I got a sleep score in the 80s, even though the duration ended up only being like 5.5 hours. It was quality time.
I really think I’m EATING TOO LATE and also that CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM at night is counter-productive. I have to remember that chocolate does contain caffeine even in very small amounts and probably enough of a stimulant to keep me awake, as is digestion of food when I’ve eaten too close to bedtime.
Took pictures of ginkgos. Posted it to Instagram. They’re so pretty. Especially all gold in bright morning sun.
Checking Airbnb Mexico City:
Yes, it does have space for another guest. So I can invite Billy if he wants to come down for a few days.
I guess I should check the others for similar opportunities. I believe all three are one bedrooms, so that portends well. (note – going to Mexico again April-June 2023)
It seems like it’s taken forever to get to the middle of this month. And I still have a ton of money to get me through the month. It’s probably connected to the fact that I spent SO much less than usual in November, mainly due to my trip to Mexico and my spending (or lack of it) there. Not only did I not spend anywhere near what I budgeted for day-to-day, I came back with the equivalent of about $225 USD in pesos for the next trip down there in April.
Here’s the thing: if you don’t go much of anywhere and do much of anything, you will save money. I think that has a lot to do with it. It’s been cold since I got back—to me it seems colder than a usual fall or winter here. Maybe that’s because when I left it was warm summery weather, I went to a very hot place (Merida) so when I returned to somewhat seasonal temperatures here, it just seemed colder.
And so I’ve been hibernating. Working out here at home, only a couple of social engagements, even AA Meetings I’m doing on zoom. (That just makes so much more sense, in a way – why drive a half hour there and back when I can do the same meeting with no commute at all?)
Interestingly, when I can’t write something or can’t figure out where to go from where I am in a story, my head tells me I’m a horrible writer who can’t write anything anyway. Even though always these roadblocks tend to dissipate with enough time and serendipity. Or, the answer will come during a hike.
Also, I made this. Roasted vegetables and sweet potato in quinoa. For lunches.
And that was the week of December 12, 2022.
On to the final part of the Mexico Trip: Puerto Vallarta!
I was a little worried about morning traffic from Chapala to the Central de Autobuses de Guadalajara in Tlaquepaque, but I needn’t have been. An acquaintance of Chris and Terry’s who drove a cab picked me at the designated time and got me there in less than half an hour.
The ETN bus ride took about 6 hours. Once in PV mid-afternoon, I called an Uber from the bus station (which is in the north of the city, not too far from the airport, actually).
In PV I also stayed at an AirBnb. (In fact the only hotel I stayed at the entire trip was the Real Maestranza in Guadalajara.) It was on a crazy hill (see photos). I can’t say that I wasn’t warned, as the place description and the all the reviews mentioned it.
PV is well-known as one of Mexico’s premier beach resort cities which is also extremely popular with the LGBT community (both Mexican and foreigners). The week I happened to be there coincided with Gay Pride Week there, so there was probably even more going on in that regard than usual.
It was great to end the trip in PV for a few reasons, not the least of which is that I had three friends who happened to be there: Michael, a friend from LA who lives in PV about half the year; James, another LA friend who was on vacation for a few days there; and Jim, that friend who moved to Mexico City who was also on a little vacation in PV (and who has since moved from CDMX to PV).
I have to admit that as I get older I’m becoming one of those people whose fascination with the beach ends at the edge of the sand, looking out. It’s so pretty! It smells so nice!
But I don’t really want to lie in the hot sand with my body slathered in oils (to which the sand will stick) to frolic in waves of questionable cleanliness. (I guess I’ve turned into that guy.)
But I was down for long walks along the Malecon, which was the best way to get from where I was staying, a couple of kms north of the main touristy area, the Zona Romantica (which is also the gay area).
One of the best things I did was go to dinner with James at Casa Kimberly, a fine restaurant located in Liz Taylor‘s old Puerto Vallarta house. Here’s a photo of me on the footbridge there:
One of the days Michael took me to the Vallarta Botanical Garden (along with Billie, his pup). Well worth the trip. We walked around the grounds, looked at flowers, plants and some fauna (I saw an iguana! In the wild!) and then had lunch. A perfect activity for the men of a certain age (and dogs of a certain age). We took a cab back into town and I thought that would be the last ride of my life – the guy was constantly passing on the two lane cliffside road.
But — here I am. Adios Mexico Trip: Puerto Vallarta – till next time.
The bus trip from Guanajuato to Guadalajara took about four hours. I had been here before, and also to Lake Chapala, which is about 30 miles south of the city. The Mexico Trip: Guadalajara/Chapala began with a ride on the city’s newest rail line (Linea tres), which conveniently went directly from the bus station to the Centro.
I stayed at the Hotel Real Maestranza, just a couple of blocks from the Centro stop so I was able to walk there on a lovely afternoon. It was a beautiful modern hotel, with a gym I didn’t get to use (sadly). Price-wise it was extremely reasonable. I’d go back anytime.
I mainly wanted to see my friends Chris and (his husband) Terry, who were old friends of mine from California and who’d made the move to Mexico. They owned a home in Chapala and also had an apartment in Guadalajara, not far from where I stayed.
While waiting to connect with Chris, I did do a little walking tour of the University area, which is just to the west of the Centro:
This statue of Antonio Alcalde is somewhat imposing and it makes him look quite frightening but Wikipedia says:
“The people came to respect their bishop and knew him best for his gentle and affable attitude while noting him as a jovial but direct individual. He had a bed of simple sheepskin on the bare ground and would use wood as his pillow. He wore a rough blanket in the winter and fasted often. He often fed on vegetables but would sometimes add meat to his meal on some occasions”
Among other accomplishments, he was one of the founders of the University of Guadalajara – so perhaps not as scary as the statue suggests.
I spent several days in Chapala (also seeing Ajijic, the adjacent town) at an AirBnb, just a couple of blocks from the lake itself. Apparently the lake is safe enough to swim in, though I did not see any swimmers while I was there.
It’s Mexico’s largest lake and quite beautiful (see photos). Close enough to Guadalajara, Mexico’s second largest city, it’s a popular and convenient getaway. Also, Lake Chapala and environs (including Ajijic) have large expat communities from the U.S. and Canada.
My old friends Chris and Terry have lived there now for about three years (from California). Some of the views below are from their rooftop mirador in the neighborhood San Antonio Tlayacapan, along the lake between Chapala and Ajijic.
A great few days for the Mexico Trip: Guadalajara/Chapala. Next, and finally, on to Puerto Vallarta.
On the Mexico Trip: Guanajuato, the ETN bus ride from San Miguel de Allende was only a couple of hours, if that. Another hill town, it’s the eponymous capital of the Mexican state of Guanajuato.
Also like San Miguel de Allende, a UNESCO Heritage Site. Fascinating city built on and into hills, with staircases, at least one funicular, and below ground streets in tunnels (which I read used to be rivers or creeks).
Homes are often painted in colorful pastels on the many hills (see pix). The Airbnb where I stayed in Guanajuato was part of a complex that included several Airbnb units, as well as an enormous common patio as well as an attached restaurant/coffeehouse.
Shortly after I checked in it was time for lunch, so I snapped this picture from the little restaurant right after a downpour began:
You can see the painted houses on the hill opposite. (The young couple walking on the sidewalk across the street was perfectly framed in the doorway kissing, but I wasn’t quick enough to get the shot!)
Like so many historical city centers in Mexico, Guanajuato is also centered around a church, this one being the Basílica Colegiata de Nuestra Señora de Guanajuato. The first time I walked over there, the day I got to the city, there was already a procession and some kind of celebration (involving costumed skits, I don’t know what of though) in front of the church.
There were guys up in the bell tower throwing firecrackers, a band playing and also singing coming from inside the church. Quite the cacophony but totally intriguing and enjoyable.
As mentioned, I stayed at an AirBnb that was on Calle Tepetapa which turns into Avenida Juarez (kind of the main drag to the center of the old town). It was run by a couple who had several units to rent out, as well as being the owners/operators of the cafe in front.
The unit I stayed in was hidden in the back, down several flights of stairs, across a bridge and in back of a huge shared patio, so although in the center of town, was sufficiently quiet and also felt very secure. Some photos:
Couple of other notable sights in Centro: The giant Hidalgo market, mostly indoors but with a significant spillover to adjacent patios under a lot of shade trees. Most of the vendors sold food items but there was a little bit of everything here. Loved this building, originally designed as a train depot but ending as a market.
The funicular goes up to the statue of El Pipila, a hero of the Mexican independence era. There are outstanding views from up top, also lots of food and souvenir vendors. If you’re more adventurous than I was, you can walk up or down through the warren of narrow alleys and staircases. Some photos:
Guanajuato was at the center of silver mining for a long historical period, as it sits in the middle of one of the richest silver mining areas the world has known (the Valenciana Mine). I took a short trip up the hill to the mines and did the tour, which was underground and I do not have photos of.
It was very interesting, somewhat claustrophobic (but I was OK). The guide was Spanish-speaking only, so I got a few things here and there but where I was able to read placards it filled in most of the picture.
The mine entrance I went to (Bocamina San Cayetano) was right behind the church Templo de San Cayetano Confesor, which has altars filled with locally produced silver artifacts.
Some photos:
Last but certainly not least, some random shots around the city, including my visit to Las Momias – the mummies, perhaps Guanajuato’s most infamous “sight.” Others I will identify in the captions. So much for this portion of the Mexico Trip: Guanajuato. Next up: On to Guadalajara and Lake Chapala.
I wanted to spend a few days on my Mexico Trip in San Miguel de Allende, or SMA as I’ve seen it short-handed. It’s long been a place with lots of immigrants (or expats or whatever you want to call them) from the U.S. and Canada.
Even though I read somewhere that it was kind of “Disneyland version of Mexico for expats” I really wanted to check it out for myself.
Was only there for three days and nights but I found it delightful.
Situated on a number of hills in a kind of “bowl,” there are amazing vistas of the town from all over but especially along the rim.
The older, colonial part of town spans a few different hills in the center of the city. At the top of the biggest one stands the Parroquia de San Miguel Arcangel, a beautiful church, somewhat salmon-colored.
Across from the church is the leafy plaza Jardin Allende. As you might expect, a central gathering spot for tourists and locals alike (or at least it seemed to me). Lots of food, vendors, musicians, people watching.
Here’s some photos from the Centro Historico area of San Miguel de Allende:
One of the places I would not miss is the Botanical Garden, or El Charco del Ingenio, which sits on the edge of town up on a ridge.
It has a few pretty easy yet private trails showing flora and some fauna from this area of Mexico’s Central Highlands. It also is the location of an old aqueduct which still has a lot of the ruined infrastructure from that era still visible.
I spent a few lovely, quiet hours there and had some fresh juice and water before leaving. Since the (short) way back to town was all downhill, I decided to trust the GPS on the phone and walk. It was a hot hike but worth it, as I had to go through some of SMA’s tonier areas. So, if you’re adventurous. . .
Photos from the Jardin Botanico:
This time (as opposed to CDMX) I did take a few photos of the Airbnb. It was on three levels: ground floor was a full kitchen with a table and chairs. Up one flight of outside stairs was the bedroom, closet and bathroom level. Another flight of stairs led you to the roof deck (sometimes they call this a mirador in Mexico).
Thus ended my Mexico Trip sojourn to San Miguel de Allende. Back to the Bus Station to catch the ETN to Guanajuato (next post). Some random shots to end with. . .
My trip to Mexico City wouldn’t be complete without a set of photos which may seem to be random. Maybe they are — things that just caught my attention in the moment and decided to take a picture.
That’s what we do these days, right? Anyway, will try to explain the images in the captions.
The neighborhood I stayed in, a few blocks north of the Angel de Independencia.
A lot of these photos below were taken from the tour bus I took to Las Piramides de Teotihuacan. (so at street level but raised a bit)
Some of the nicer neighborhoods in central CDMX that I walked around in – also my friend who’d moved there (at the time), Jim, lived in Condesa.
From Mexico City I took an ETN bus to San Miguel de Allende. Next post!
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