Day - 1762

Thursday, February 28, 2019

The Mueller investigation is taking a back seat to bank fraud, campaign finance violations, and money  laundering from the presidential inaugural.  Looking forward to Weisselberg's testimony.  Will he spill the beans on the crooked Trump empire?  Will he plead the fifth?  Will he save himself or go down with the captain of the ship?  Can't wait to see how that spectacle plays out.

Meanwhile, I have a lot of practicing in front of me if I want to learn La Mer.  Tough piece.  Several passages are fluttery effects so it's really a matter of getting the phrases into my fingers.  Still, it will be a challenge.

Day - 1763

Wednesday, February 27, 2019

Listened to much of the Michael Cohen testimony this morning and early afternoon.  No surprises here about Cohen's involvement in the criminal enterprise that is known as the Trump Organization.  What was noteworthy, however, was the GOP enabling throughout and their complicity in covering up the high crimes and misdemeanors of our Compromised Asset in Chief.  The GOP "strategy," apparently, was to state, re-state, and re-re-state the already known conclusion that Michael Cohen lied, is a liar, and it going to prison for lying.  We got that.  What the GOP didn't ask were questions regarding the evidence Cohen brought to the hearing.  What the GOP didn't ask were questions relating to the Compromised Asset in Chief.  They were intent on playing this sick meta-game of Red vs. Blue when the time for that has clearly passed.  It was something to see.  I thought Chairman Cummings' closing remarks captured the day:

The smoking gun is the check Trump signed to Cohen for $35k and hush money payment for the Stormy Daniels conspiracy.  The Southern District will eventually indict this criminal president and life, eventually, will get back to normal.  Eventually.  Hopefully.

Later in the afternoon, I went with Alice to UCSF for a doctor visit regarding her hip.  Her images look good so the only thing they can encourage her to do is continue to work the muscles in physical therapy and experiment with creams, CBD products, Chinese medicine, and anything else that might alleviate the pain.

In the evening, we had our first practice of Debussy's Le Mar, Wagner's The Flying Dutchman overture, and Rachmaninov's Isle of the Dead.  Tough program this set.  Really tough.  Lot of practicing the next two months.

Day - 1764

Tuesday, February 26, 2019

Busy today, not much time for anything else.  Studied our music for next month's program.  Hmm.  Wow.  Lots of notes in Wagner, Rachmaninov and Debussy.  Very hard pieces.  We'll see how well I do.  If I can play Strauss Til Eulenspiegel, I can play these.  At least that's what I'm thinking.

Day - 1765

Monday, February 25, 2019

Racquetball, work, came home, had dinner, then went to bed at 8:30 tonight.  I was so tired from a very busy weekend and late night last night.  Over dinner, I watched the first hour of the Oscars.  I missed the non-opening act and no host.  

Day - 1766

Sunday, February 24, 2019

I practiced an hour or so before we left for Oakland.  We had lunch at Lin Jia, which is always so good.  Alice watched HGTV while I got ready for the concert.  I took bus 29 to the church and made it by 3.  Warming up was fine.  The actual concert was very good.  Everyone played well and there were no inadvertent solos.  This concert was really fun with very playable music.  I'm not sure the next concert will be so carefree.  I've taken a peek at the music and it's really hard.

After the concert, we went with Richard, Lisa and Sophie to Rhonda and Biff's to watch the Oscars.  We arrived an hour or so after the show had begun.  Glenn Close not winning was probably the biggest surprise of all.  She deserves an Oscar but hasn't won one yet.  Instead, the Best Actress Oscar went to Olivia Colman.  She was excellent in The Favourite, but Best Actress?  Okay, no problem.  I wouldn't have guessed it, but she was mighty good.  I did enjoy that film.

Watching Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper together made me wish I'd seen A Star is Born.  The film slipped away for me.  Not enough time.  I'll see it this month. 

I'll have to watch the first hour tomorrow to get a sense of the show.  It seemed a bit dull.  Oh, yes, I guess Best Actor was a bit of a surprise, too.  Rami Malek won.  I thought he was great, but in such a strong field, I would have predicted Viggo Mortensen, Christian Bale, or (though a longshot but I loved the performance) Willem Defoe. 

A long evening indeed.  After the show, Alice and I drove back to SF.  

Day - 1767

Saturday, February 23, 2019

Morning dress-rehearsal, then to SF for an evening of R&R before tomorrow's marathon day.

Day - 1768

Friday, February 22, 2019

Drove to SF early this morning in order to return to the house straight from work to help Alice complete some last-minute details to her Airbnb, which will be up and running after two weeks of repairs.  Her latest guests arrive tomorrow afternoon.  Alice put in new hardwood floors instead of new carpet.  It looks really nice.  We had dinner first at the take out Hawaiian BBQ place on Sloat, then spent two hours getting the downstairs ready.  We had another little crisis in the upstairs landing with a hummingbird trapped beneath the clear plastic roof above the front door.  It wasn't able to fly down the stairs and outside.  It only wanted to fly upward, banging against the plastic roof.  It doesn't look good for the little bird.  

Day - 1769

Thursday, February 21, 2019

Day started slow but ended up busy.  Bought $40k worth of bond ETFs.  Not sure if I'll have time to see A Star is Born before the Oscars Sunday.  After work, I had dinner, cleaned up, did one load of laundry, then watched the Warriors Kings game before going to bed.  Warriors won by two.

Day - 1770

Wednesday, February 20, 2019

A full day, racquetball, work, practice, extended rehearsal, home at 10:15, then to bed.  The concert should be good Sunday.

Day - 1771

Tuesday, February 19, 2019

Up at 3:45, got ready with enough time for one last Nespresso.  Uber Doug arrived at exactly 4:40 a.m. and off we went to Sky Harbor Airport.  My flight was packed but luckily I was B6 and got a window seat for snoozing.  We touched down at SF at 8:30 and I was in the office at 9:20.  It was a busy day so it went quickly.  Two books arrived, my book on Fred Aistaire and a book on world history. 

This book is amazing.  Every dance sequence is analysed.  It weighs about ten pounds.

I came home beat with little energy to unpack or practice.  I went to bed around 8:45 and didn't wake up until the alarm went off at 4.

Day - 1772

Monday, February 18, 2019

We watched At Eternity's Gate, with Willem DeFoe as Vincent Van Gogh.  A very human, emotionally broad performance, nuanced, pronounced, it felt real to me and very moving. 

Mom's friends came over at 5 and we played a few hours of cards, a fitting end to a wonderful long weekend.

Day - 1773

Sunday, February 17, 2019

A full, leisurely day of watching movies, soaking in the hot tub, sipping Nespresso lattes, and of course eating!

I began the day with Bohemian Rhapsody.

Enjoyable fan-pleasing biopic that doesn't stray too far from what we'd always known about Queen and the incomparable Freddie Mercury.  The high point in the film is Queen's Live Aid performance.  Not sure it will win anything, but what's not to enjoy about this pic.

We went to AMC Cinemas outside Maracopa to see Green Book.

Very good film.  Viggo Mortensen was terrific.  He gave a mesmerizing performance.  Mahershala Ali was also first-rate, with a roll that was more limited yet equally refined.  Mortensen's performance was truly masterful.  I was blown away at how good he was.  With such a crowed Best Actor field, it's a shame he won't win.  Green Book was much better than I thought it would be.  Intense, thoughtful, memorable.

We saw the film with Rich, the guy mom's currently seeing.  He seemed nice enough.  He's retired now.  He was an engineer.  He's a nice guy with a sense of humor that might be a bit limited for someone from the Petty family.  If you don't get the jokes, that usually doesn't bode well.

Back at home later in the evening we watched Blackkklansman.

Much like Oliver Stone, Spike Lee has a habit of inserting his personality (intensity, beliefs, opinions, etc.) into the film, just in case you missed what the story is trying to say.  He can't help himself, but I tend to forgive such lapses in artistic judgment when the rest of the filmmaking is so good.  Spike delivers here.  It's a crazy, passionate, very good film with a rousing conclusion.  John David Washington is wonderful in the lead role.  Really good movie.

Bed time!

Day - 1774

Saturday, February 16, 2019

Left the house in SF at 4 a.m. and flew into Phoenix at 9:30.  Took an Uber to mom's and arrived around 10:30.  Staying at mom's is like arriving at the best five-star hotel.  Her place is always so nice and clean and wonderful.  Then there's the jacuzzi, which is the best ten minutes of any day!  Her Nespresso machine and frother are also favorites.  I made two lattes today (with a splash of chocolate).  We played some crib, watched half of Roma, then had a few of mom's friends over at 4:30.  We ended up playing cards (Hand in Foot) until 10 p.m. They love this game.  It's a little like Canasta with simple rules and a high degree of luck-of-the-draw.  We played five-handed with Gene, Jamie and Nancy.  It's a fun game with an ounce of strategy and liters of luck.

I was surprised to hear Roma is the new darling of the Academy this year.  I haven't finished yet (mom's already seen it, so I'll watch the rest when I'm home), but I found my mind wandering and even closed my eyes a few times.  The pacing is deliberate and reminiscent of all those art house films made in the '60s that I watched in college back in the '80s.  It's beautifully shot, but a little too slow for me.

After cards, we watched The Wife.

Glenn Close and Jonathan Pryce give two fantastic performances.  I enjoyed this story of a giant writer who wins the Nobel Prize but must come to terms with the fundamental truth of his oeuvre.  Close may win her much-deserved Oscar this year.

What a great day in Maracopa!

Day - 1775

Friday, February 15, 2019

A mad scramble to get ready after racquetball this morning (the games were too much fun and I didn't leave the club until 6:45).  Met Lisa at the curb and we commuted in together.  Lisa met Chelsea Clinton at Twitter two days ago.  Chelsea's a VIT (very important Tweeter).  Lisa is the perfect Twitter employee.  It's fun hearing her work stories!

Work was fine today, though busy after 2.  I was hoping to get all caught up on this and also research a few bond choices, but I didn't have time. 

Went to lunch with Lillian and Maria at the Embarcadero to check out the new Brown Sugar restaurant from Oakland that's known for their chicken and waffles.  I had fried chicken and mac & cheese.  It was good, not awesome.

After work, we went to Outerlands for dinner, our post-Valentine's outing.  Very good enjoyable meal and a nice escape from the drama of the week with the flooded downstairs floor and ruined carpeting.  Alice's Airbnb will be out of commission for a week or two.

To bed early.   Uber picks me up for my weekend trip to AZ at 3:50 a.m.

Day - 1776

Thursday, February 14, 2019

We're celebrating Valentine's tomorrow instead of today.  Too many things going on right now. 

Alice and I called Nest early in the morning and spoke with a customer service rep.  the rep had Alice remove the front casing and blow into the wire plate that holds all the wires.  Apparently, there was some dust that was interfering with the unit and tricking it to believe we had more wires inserted than we did.  Once the dust was clear, the Nest worked perfectly.  That was a relief.

The flooding situation was not so good.  A drain in the back of Alice's house had been clogged from all the heavy rain.  The drain was cleared, but the damage was done.  The carpet in the Airbnb needed to be replaced.  A company came to dry the downstairs unit using huge power vacuums.  We had to cancel the next two guests, which gave us two weeks to repair everything.  Alice called her contractor, who was available to take care of the floors.  What a nightmare.  I don't know how folks living in flood zones do it.  The legs on the coffee table in the Airbnb were waterlogged.  Everything else seems okay.  Alice is thinking of replacing the carpet with hardwood floors.  I think that will look very nice.  

Day - 1777

Wednesday, February 13, 2019

I received a text from Alice to call her after rehearsal.  Her Nest temperature gauge was no longer working.  Then she learned from her Airbnb guests that the carpet was wet in the living area.  The guest suite had flooded.  It was not good, but her guests (from Florida) were very understanding.  They didn't seem to mind the inconvenience. 

I looked up troubleshooting issues on the Nest website and sent in a ticket via email.  Alice called her insurance company to look at the house in the morning.  Blah!

Day - 1778

Tuesday, February 12, 2019

Preparing for my trip to visit mom.  Alice and I will celebrate Valentine's on Friday.  

Day - 1779

Monday, February 11, 2019

I bet there are a lot of these photo bombs in folks' past in America.  It makes me wonder what's lurking around in my high school year books.  This one by the governor of Virginia is particularly disturbing and insensitive.  There are probably a lot more of these on the East Coast and South than in the Pacific Northwest.  What a troubled history we have.  I'm reading a very good book right now that brings some of that troubled history to light:

This  is such an interesting book about the history, development, institutional support and traditional beliefs of racism in America.  Powerful stuff and full of details that bring a greater understanding to the great curse of this country.

Day - 1780

Sunday, February 10, 2019

Too cold to bicycle today, so I stayed in doors and read and practiced.  Low key day of rest.

Day - 1781

Saturday, February 9, 2019

Up early to prepare for Chinese New Year lunch at noon.  Alice cooked four dishes while I helped her out and cleaned upstairs.  We all ate so much food.  A very enjoyable family gathering.

In the evening, we headed to Davies Symphony Hall for a fantastic concert featuring Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4 and Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 1 performed by Gil Shaham.  The first piece was a world premiere by Steven Mackey.  So good!  Review

Day - 1782

Friday, February 8, 2019

Quiet at work.  Stayed in Oakland tonight, catching up, preparing for the weekend.

Day - 1783

Thursday, February 7, 2019

Jill's birthday today!  

Day - 1784

Wednesday, February 6, 2019

Just another mid-week.  Our orchestra music is coming along.  

Day - 1785

Tuesday, February 5, 2019

Lots of new ideas to kick around.  Waiting to work from home.  It'll probably be a few months.  Can't wait for the process to begin.

Day - 1786

Monday, February 4, 2019

Racquetball in the morning, then the busiest day I've ever had a Hanson Bridgett.  I got it from all directions.  Everyone came out of the woodwork today, Howard, Candice, Jonathan, Robia, Deepa.  I stayed until 6:10, unheard of for me.  I came home, had dinner, then went right to sleep.

Day - 1787

Sunday, February 3, 2019

The game was a bust and the wrong team won, but it's a tradition and Alice, Lisa, Richard, Sophie, Sydney, Margaret, Lillian and Jessica had a lot of fun ridiculing the game and commercials, catching up and eating tons of food.

Day - 1788

Saturday, February 2, 2019

A full day of cleaning, organizing, zoning and cooking for tomorrow's Super Bowl party.  Making red sauce for pasta with beef, pork sausage, veges, and lots of spices, along with curry chicken stew, rice and beans, plus the regular Super Bowl fare.  Spent the entire day preparing. 

Day - 1789

Friday, February 1, 2019

What an amazing conversation about race, justice, privilege and social justice on Morning Joe this morning:

So fascinating.  Anand Giradharadas was so insightful and eloquent, as was Tiffany Cross, in challenging a particular white male perspective whose blinders are on lockdown. What's so challenging about race discussions is the profound lack of shared reality white guys experience from everyone else, and when it's brought to our attention, we're too busy thinking about the next point we want to make instead of truly listening to the perspective of a fundamentally different life experience. Anand and Tiffany and even talk-a-lot Joe were trying to present that other perspective to Noah Rothman, but he was way too wrapped up in his own white male view of social justice to hear a word anyone else had to say. Great discussion though. I wish there were more discussions like these. I found Noah Rothman particularly smug, young, and thoroughly insufferable, but I remember how I too saw things back in the day when my blinders were on lockdown.

Worth watching and watching.  I wish there were more conversations about race on TV.  So valuable.

Day - 1790

Thursday, January 31, 2019

I like turtles in general, but not this turtle:

He's the cause of so much that's wrong with America.  He's also gotten so much of what he's wanted, a very conservative Supreme Court, white male dominance, regressive thinking, duplicity in the extreme, and the continuation of this winner-take-all mindset.  He's the worst, and I hope history portrays him as such.

Facebook reported their largest earnings ever.  So much for combating evil with bad press.  This would annoy me so much had I not doubled down on Facebook stock, which is still very cheap.  Invest in evil, it's the future. 

Day - 1791

Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Met with Stella at Fidelity to go over my portfolio.  I've made progress in juggling my assets, but still have a ways to go to properly allocate funds into various areas, namely bonds (18-20%) and sectors beyond tech.  Hard to change much during earnings season, however, with tech rallying and Boeing up 5% after a killer earnings report.  And with Fed Chair Powell announcing no rate increases in the short term, I can see another acceleration forming with my holdings.  Facebook reports tonight.  I'm curious to hear what the numbers are. 

Stella was obligated to suggest I have my account managed by a team of Fidelity experts for the not-so-low prices of 1.12% per annual.  That transalates to about $4,400 per year.  Ah, no thank you, I'll manage the funds myself, thank you.  But for folks who don't like paying attention to the financial world, it might behoove them to hand over their retirement reigns to someone else.

OCO rehearsal was tonight.  I know all the music, so now it's just keeping the notes fresh in my fingers.  So much fun.  Love Harlem Symphony and Coleridge-Taylor's Ballade. 

Day - 1792

Tuesday, January 29, 2019

Busy day at work, practice in the evening, and a early bedtime with the heating pad on 8.

Day - 1793

Monday, January 28, 2019

Earnings season is in full swing.  I'm optimistic about this week's numbers. 

Racquetball in the early a.m., followed by a reasonable day at work.  I'm still reviewing my portfolio, reading blogs, looking up new ETFs to sock away funds and spread the $ around.  Practiced tonight for an hour.