What's the best way to spend a rainy day?
Submitted by Vee.
This is what you must do and hear:
In the morning, drive somewhere. Go kind of far, because you'll want to drive for a while, but not too far so that you end up somewhere it's not raining. Be careful, especially in California, because the roads will be slick with oil, especially if it's the first rain of the season. I always listen to Crowded House in my car when it rains. It's just perfect.
In the afternoon/evening go outside. Go walking or running in the rain. Try to bring someone with you; it's awfully romantic to walk in the rain. If you already feel good this will make your heart sing. If you're feeling low no one will notice you crying. Several songs come to mind: "All Mixed Up" by Red House Painters, "Title and Registration" by Death Cab for Cutie and, of course, "November Rain."
Nighttime. There is nothing quite like a dark and stormy night, is there? This is the time for robes and blankets and sad songs. You know what songs I'm talking about. For me, right now, Bright Eyes' "Lua":
When everything is lonely
I can be my own best friend
Get a coffee and the paper
Have my own conversations
With the sidewalk and the pigeons
And my window reflection
The mask I polish in the evening
By the morning looks like shit
Let it come down.
So the very first thing I do every morning at work is come in and turn on our XM satellite receiver. I've developed this weird superstition where the first song that comes on will foreshadow how the day will go. Sometimes this really feels true. I'll get Ryan Adams' "Let it Ride" and it'll make me try to gloss over the problems of the day. Or sometimes I'll get some wailey Sarah McLachlan song and I'll know it's gonna be a long one.
I've been very moody lately, which I hate. Predictably the song every morning has been abysmal. Yesterday I swear it was "Names" by Cat Power. Ack. I feel good today though, and everything is very surprising somehow. I can't explain it. So I was happy to flick the on switch today and hear "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel, one of my favorite songs. Of course, it was followed by "This Mess We're In", but hey, it's the first song that counts.
What's your favorite restaurant?
Some of my favorite places to eat:
- Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles, Pasadena - the giblets are a must have
- Chosun Galbi in Koreatown, Los Angeles - I know this is the pussy Korean BBQ place, but I don't prefer the reek of meat to invade every crevasse of my body, okay? So sue me. Plus they always have decent panchan. And the unmarinated beef that you dip into the sesame oil and sea salt mixture? Divine.
- Zachary's Pizza, Berkeley - Cheese pie. Always fun.
- Fu-Rai-Bo, West Los Angeles - So many wonderful things - the whole fried halibut, sweet potato croquettes, agedashi tofu and of course, the inimitable hanpen cheese.
- Any place with great dim sum is an immediate favorite of mine
- Rice to Riches, NYC - Infuckingcredible comforting creamy goodness. Another year in which to contemplate the shipping of a Moby size from New York for my birthday.
- Blue Marlin, West Los Angeles - I have never eaten anything here except for the Sea Urchin Rice, but that's enough.
- Golden Deli, San Gabriel - some of the best simple Vietnamese food outside of Vietnam, half a mile from my parent's house.
