It was a beautiful day and I enjoyed the drive up. When I got there I went over to the hotel to pick up Angela. They had been there this week for an Eckankar seminar. Angela’s mother Joanne has been involved with Eckenkar for years. I got the impression that Angela had about gotten a belly-full of it this week. I met Joanne’s new boyfriend John before they struck camp and emptied out the room. We met back at Joanne’s place (she lives in Asheville, but they had stayed at the hotel for the convention), and talked for a few before splitting up.
I had Angela to myself for a little bit. She was speaking at TEDx, and had to be there by 3pm to turn in her PowerPoint slides for the talk. We wandered downtown, and stopped at a pub called Hannah Flanagan’s. We had eaten there the last time she was in town. They have a delightful shady little outdoor seating area that dips below street level. It was mild enough today to enjoy being outside. We had a couple of beers, split an order of nachos, and caught up on what’s been going on in each other’s lives. I reflected while we spoke on the fact that neither she, Lisa, nor I appear to be able to maintain a healthy or happy relationship. Sigh.
My gorgeously photogenic sister Angela, at lunch today.
Angela is back in LA, after a brief hiatus in Malibu. I don’t see how she can stand to live in LA, but she appears to thrive on it. She has a gay friend she’s staying with at the moment, and she seems quite happy to be there. He is apparently ‘cock-blocking’ for her at present. (Both Angela and Lisa draw men from all over the hemisphere when they are unattached. Without the dedicated work of an escort, they become quite overwhelmed.)
By the time we had eaten and chatted things over it was time to head over to the Orange Peel for TEDx. I had no idea what TEDx was, but as is frequently the case, Angela is my window to the world of the new and trendy. It’s basically a free-form speaking symposium. I’m not sure what the criterion for invitation to speak is (they say that it is for any ideas), but the time for each speaker was limited to 10-15 minutes at this event. The speakers, I have to say, were interesting. These events tend to draw an unusual amount of terribly earnest people (credit to Quentin Crisp), and searchers.
One man talked about his experience with the natives in a South American jungle, which led him to a personal epiphany. One man talked about his experiences living ‘off the grid’, and some of the extraordinary things he had accomplished (riding across the country on a horse, for instance). The first speaker was a woman who talked about embracing the person you are and how that had changed her life.
Angela was speaking about her new theory of how to reverse negative thought patterns and self feedback. As usual, she put her heart into what she was saying. Her natural charm, comedic timing, and willingness to laugh at herself won the room, and she was well received.
We then watched a conspicuously gorgeous man named Doc Hendley talk about his experiences in working to establish a foundation called Wine to Water, which helps set up delivery systems for potable water in distressed areas like Darfur and Ethiopia. He wasn’t the most polished speaker I’ve ever heard, but he obviously was very passionate about his subject, and has undoubtedly done important things with is life.
At this point though, I was about spoken out. The event was sold out, but Angela had gotten me in as a volunteer, which meant that I was in standing room only. I did find a place on the floor to sit, but we had been there for about three hours by this point. There was inadequate air conditioning for all that earnestness, and the event had drawn (as such things seem to) people who don’t approve of personal hygiene products (i.e. deodorant). I was ready for a comfy chair, a bit more personal space, and some air conditioning.
Angela and Joanne agreed to go eat supper with me before I headed back down the mountain. We walked around the city a bit, and then agreed to go to The Laughing Seed. I love The Laughing Seed. It’s where Michael and I went on our first date long ago, and is the site of innumerable happy occasions and delicious meals. It wasn’t crowded tonight, and we had no problem securing a table. I had a lovely veggie fettuccine carbonara with gorgeous crispy smoky little shitake mushrooms. Joanne had I think the tastiest meal, an interpretation of manicotti which used steamed zucchini strips in place of pasta, and was served on a bed of sassy tomato and balsamic coulis, drizzled with fresh pesto.
I could tell Angela was torn though. She really wanted to see me, but she also wanted to follow everything that was going on at TEDx. Her solution to this was to tweet through most of the meal, which became a little tiresome for me. This was the wrong night to suggest a leisurely dessert at The Chocolate Lounge. After supper we walked to my car, and I dropped them back at the event before I headed out of town. It was really good to see Angela, and it was a good day.
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