mccullochblog

Fragile.

There we were, Dave and I, driving back to Alamo Square after a beer and a burger at Frankie's on Divisadero, when an asshole in a Mercedes jumped the lights in front of us at Geary Boulevard and missed smashing into my car and another beside us by inches.

I slammed on the breaks; the driver of the car to my right slammed on the breaks and both of us sat stunned and immobile as the numbskull Merc driver sped away up the hill.

"And yet it can all be over just like that..." said Dave, appropriately capping an evening-long, broad-ranging conversation we'd been having about life, children, aspirations and expectations. "Too true," I replied. What else was there to say?

It really is frightening sometimes how easily it can all be snatched away from you. I have a recent example, of course, with my grandad, but our little encounter with Mr AssMerc was a stark reminder that you don't have to be 100 years old to value each individual day of your life.

All of which got my thinking - as Emma and Dushka already have this week - that it really is worth taking stock of what you have once in a while, and - hopefully - giving thanks.

Today, I'm thankful that Emma can wake me up every day at 5am when she gets up (as quietly as she can) to go to the gym. I'm grateful I have someone for whom I can pretend to be asleep at that ungodly hour. I wouldn't want it any other way!

I'd like to thank...

Well, it hasn't been a good February, for obvious reasons, but a frenetic working week after Opa's funeral, and a simple, fun, family-style evening tonight, have certainly helped life return to something I would describe as 'normal'.

Tonight was Oscars night - a night that has meant 'party' in the McCulloch/Wischhusen household now for several years. It's also a night that has typically brought a fiercely contested sweepstake, but I'm delighted to say everything turned out wonderfully this evening, as Luca, Stacy, Dave and Matthew sensibly avoided upsetting Emma by correctly predicting more Oscar winners than she did. (Finally, all those hours in front of 'Entertainment Tonight' are rewarded!)

While I could also highlight my highly-credible score of 9 correct predictions (joint sixth), I'd prefer to take a moment to thank my neighbors for tolerating the noise; Cal-Mart for catering; CostCo for providing alcohol; PG&E for an excellent uninterrupted electricity supply; Comcast for a crystal-clear TV signal, the Academy, and of course Stacy, Matt (and two-year-old Abi), Dave, Sarah (and two-week-old Oliver!), Dave, Jill (and soon-to-be-born Eva), Sarah, Dushka and Luca for a great old-fashioned, story-telling, noisy, indulgent evening that reminded me what life's all about!

Oh, and I'd also like thank Emma for outstanding services to quiche-warming, bruschetta preparation, champagne-pouring, and last, but not least, for consoling an unhappy fiance for the past three weeks. Let's keep the good times rolling now they're back!

Oh.....for those who left early, here are the final standings on the Oscars sweepstake........

• Emma - 13
• Stacy - 12
• Matthew - 10
• Dave - 10
• Luca - 10
• Jill - 9
• David - 9
• Duska - 7
• Dave, Sarah and Oli - 7
• Sarah - 5

And yes, Emma, I concede that the fact Alan Arkin was dead for most of Little Miss Sunshine does make it seem a bit odd that he won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. However, I maintain that he continued to act while he was wrapped up in that bedsheet. Staying so still when he was being lowered out of a hospital window must have been tricky.

One hundred years and forty five days.

My grandfather died this morning. My uncle Ton said he died in his sleep, probably around 8.10am. I have the impression he woke up a little before then but decided to hit the 'snooze' button on life's alarm clock one final time.

I loved him deeply. He will always be a tremendous influence on my life. Mum occasionally tries to persuade me he wasn't quite worthy of the sainthood Ron and I were ready to bestow on him, but I've always believed his life set a standard so high he made the Pope look like a gangster and Mother Theresa look like she was in Calcutta for the publicity.

I'm mourning, of course, even though for some stupid reason I feel like I shouldn't. I keep thinking of the line from "Priairie Home Companion" when the 'angel' manages to console the broken-hearted, just-bereaved widow with: "the death of an old man is not a tragedy". Unfortunately, I'm not big on religion and the after-life, so I have a harder time moving to the whole 'celebrating a life' phase.

I will celebrate in time, and hope to laugh too. Whether I'll hold it together to give the comic eulogy I'd like to at his funeral, I don't know, but people should remember that my Opa loved to laugh. He had such an infectious grin; you couldn't help but laugh with him.

Growing up he was always the practical joker of the family and even as a 'young' grandpa he loved nothing more than telling Ron and I outrageous bedtime stories. To this day, I'll never know why mum allowed him to tell us stories about two witches named Jannie Rottenshit and Nel Sproutbridge whose evil mission was to turn the friendly giant Nelis into a meatball with deadly deodorant cans. Rest assured, I'll try to make my kids laugh as much one day.

My mum recalled this morning that he even had a joke ready for his own death: "When I'm gone," he said, "put my ashes in a grey sack on the kerb with all the other rubbish."

My grandpa never thought he was anything special; he just treated other people like he thought he would like to be treated himself. Of course, if you can do that for a hundred years, it makes you pretty damn special to a lot of people.

So sue me!

I read in the New York Times that Levi's - the San Francisco-based inventor of the denim jean - has become the most litigious clothing maker in the world. Levi's has seemingly taken offence at the mimicry by other jean makers of the 'seagull' motif (did you ever recognize it a such?) that adorns its back-pockets (and often theirs).

Surely the lawyers at Levi's are missing out on a huge opportunity! Given the average pair of denims sells for, what, $50, and the average car sells for $18,000, surely Levi's should be suing Mazda?

Brrrrr.....

While it's been unseasonably cold in San Francisco, it still hasn't snowed in the mountains north of here and the temperature has only once or twice threatened to produce any frost in the city. Nevertheless, I count myself amongst the San Franciscans who think it is 'cold' in the city in the winter. And then I went to New York...

My GOD it was cold in New York this week: 24 degrees! The funny thing is New Yorkers are so much better prepared for cold than San Franciscans (and me). Let me cite a couple of examples:

1. The improbably-quilted coat. While all around the world winter-sufferers are wrapped up in scarves, hats, gloves, sweaters etc...New Yorkers just buy these amazing duvets-with-a-zip coats. Brilliant.

2. The small-shed by the front door. I'm damned if I could find a picture of one on 'The Google', but New Yorkers are great at keeping the cold OUT of restaurants, cafes, shops etc., by building temporary entrance constructions which add an extra sprung door to prevent the wind blowing in. I'm not describing it well either, but it's all very ingenious!

Anyway, the New York trip was good. I got a promotion at work as a result, so I guess a bit of a chill wasn't such a sacrifice. Speaking of sacrifices though...allow me to give you a resolution update while I have your attention:

• The Blue One - I've lost 3lbs by swimming a lot.
• The wedding one - We dispensed with the orange cushion idea thereby saving hundreds of $$. If you come to the wedding, please say how nice the chairs look.
• The Book one - chapter one is SOOOOO close to finished. Gimme a couple of days. 
• The Energy one - turned the boiler down while in New York, turned dishwasher to economy mode (which we didn't know we had until it broke down)
• The Purple one - Emma tells me our 'new thing' for January was to send out wedding invites together. Technically, that's true, but I'm not sure it counts. I'm still looking at brochures for a trip to Bhutan
• The Charity one - we continue to be self-centered heathens until after the wedding

And finally...I'm welcoming two new bloggers to my blog roll. Following the fine tradition that got my blog (and Gina's) started, Brad is about to swan around the planet for three months, so I suspect he'll get up to something interesting. And Preeti is moving to India for two years...crazy woman...perhaps Steph could give her some tips on where to find good maggot cuisine in Delhi?