A Friend, Food, Books, Music.

This past weekend was a highlight in an otherwise drab summer. I got to spend Saturday afternoon and evening with someone who has come to be a very good friend. We started the afternoon at the south shore of Alameda, eating amazing burgers from Koja Kitchen, while gazing out at the San Leandro Channel. It was a welcome relief from the 90-100+ degree heat that my home town in Southern California was (and still is) experiencing.

From the upper left clockwise: my Teriyaki Zen Koja burger (made with a soy and portobello mushroom patty, sesame vinaigrette lettuce, pineapple, teriyaki sauce, sesame seeds), Carina’s Beef Koja (made with Korean BBQ beef, sautéed onions, sesame vinaigrette lettuce, pineapple, red sauce, sesame seeds), and the Kamikaze Fries we shared (of course I shook the meat off).

From there, we went to Berkeley, to visit Amoeba Records. I have only been to the Hollywood location before, so going to see a different Amoeba store was exciting. Even though I had never been to this area of California before, I felt like I fit right in. Telegraph Street, with its multiple bookstores, music stores, and dining options just felt very me. For a moment, I lamented over the fact that I didn’t attend a public university located in an area that had such things.

From Amoeba, we went to another music store, Rasputin Music, which was one block over from Amoeba. Literally right across the street. I was in heaven.

One of my most favorite musicians, Joan Baez, was on the “Folk” sign at Rasputin.

From there, we went to a bookstore called Moe’s, that reminded me of some of the multiple story bookstores I visited in England last summer. Then we drove to a comic book store, and then finally Half Price Books.

 

Just another instance of pop culture lingo meeting millennial humor.

We ended the evening by going to Yogurtland, and then started the hour-long drive back to where I was staying.

Carina and I met in 2011, at an X-Files fan event that raised money for a charity that Gillian Anderson was involved with. We were mutual friends/followers on Facebook and Twitter, but didn’t really talk much. Then that all changed one day, a few years ago, when I tweeted something about Xena: Warrior Princess. Carina replied back, and we only talked briefly on Twitter. I then messaged her on Facebook Messenger, and the rest was history. We have a lot of similar interests, and we fangirl for each other when we see something that the other likes. It is nice to have like-minded people in your life, people who have similar struggles as you, and who can relate to you. I have told Carina multiple times that if we lived closer to each other, I would come over when she was feeling lonely, or just because.

When I chose the title of this blog post, I didn’t think about the deeper meaning it could hold. The things I listed are all things that can feed your soul. It felt good to have my soul fed in all of these areas. I wish I lived closer to “fun” things, but I am not at a place in my life where I am able to relocate. Luckily, I know some pretty awesome people who can feed my soul when I least expect it.