Glamour / Furniture / Neighbours / Ensenada / Here is Tijuana!

Glamour

I cleaned and wrote a lot of bids and project proposals today. My best job so far was writing for a gay travel website. It was fun, but that client vanished into nothingness. They did pay me, at least.

Furniture

I also got a coffee table for free. I'm not going to use it as a coffee table though, but as a kind of hall table/bench. Mark and I don't have a hall, but I've put it under the window to the left of the door, next to Lester's cage. Now we can throw (I mean, uh, place) our shoes under it, and I can stack mail and chapbooks on it. Lester has begun thowing seeds on it already.

My dude neighbours

One of my dude neighbours greeted me as I returned home from yoga this evening, sweaty and dazed. He was sitting in his car--one of those Jeeps that's all open. Anyway, he greeted me by a name that wasn't mine. I stared at him. I didn't have my glasses on, and for a moment I thought he was this kid from a Baha'i youth weekend in high school who'd a crush on me. I approached and squinted. He shook his head, knowingly and said, "you have no idea who I am, do you?" When I was close enough to tell that he was no one I'd ever met, he said, "I met one of your roomates, Jennie." I smiled and was very friendly. I said, "I think you've mistaken me for a more friendly blonde. My roomate's a dude, and I'm pretty sure you two haven't met." Then I held out my hand and said, "I'm Lorraine." "Oh, this is embarassing," he said. "I'm Kyle." "Ok then, Kyle," I said, "I'll see you around."

Ensenada

Ian suggests Ensenada. I admit that I first became aware of Ensenada because of, um, Lyle Lovett. "The Road to Ensenada" is a good song for melodramatic crooning and/or weeping. Now I'll have to go play it. Oh well. Certainly a weekend excursion is in order for Mark and I. I love that even though the public transporation here is relatively crappy, we can take it to Mexico. Come visit and you, too, can take public transportation to Mexico.

Here Is Tijuana!
Fiamma Montezemolo, Rene Peralta, Heriberto Yepez

Synopsis: "'Here is Tijuana!' is a compendium to Tijuana, on the border of Mexico and the USA, and site of fluctuating population, mixed identities, interests, and negotiations. A city with a reputation for intoxication, gambling and prostitution, there are also more benign forms of recreation available, and increasing opportunities for economic development. This book looks to the history of the city, and to its future; to its dark side, and to the possibilities it offers, through a range of texts and a fascinating photographic records. As the work of three editors, an anthropologist, a writer and an architect, the book is a combination of three distinct research projects. It is divided into three sections: "Avatars", addressing the socio-cultural issues surrounding the city; "Desires", which explores questions of morality, cultural practices, and entertainments; and "Permutations", which looks at the built environment. The material presented here is taken from a diverse range of sources, including Mexican and United States government reports; newspaper editorials; travel guides; architectural criticism; market research statistics; homeland security bulletins; tourism and convention literature; the Rotary Club of Tijuana; Yahoo News; and contemporary literature. Contributions include text by Jesse Lerner, Michael Sorkin, Neil Denari, Mike Davis, Jorge Bustamante, Lewis Baltz, Kathy Acker, and Raymond Chandler, amongst others. "