My Dead Body Friends

2011 is pretty much the best year ever. I’ve reconnected with a lot of my very good friends and seen a lot of my local friends. I dub thee the Year of Friends, 2011. It’s a good thing, too, because when you’re down a spouse you really need your friends.

Recently my BFF Niya and my BFBM (best friend before marriage) Brett came to town. I don’t like the phrase Best Friend so I make sure to use it a lot to vex and annoy, but also to indicate the importance of these people in my life. It sounds exclusionary and I am all about inclusion. I have a lot of BFF’s who cycle through my life in varying degrees of talk-to-every-day and talk-to-every-year. You are probably my BFF.

Brett and Niya are my dead body friends. The saying goes, “An old friend helps you move, a good friend will help you move a dead body.” My heart kinda broke last year, these are some of the people who are putting it back together.

I’ve mentioned Niya a lot. She’s an artist and occasionally poses for people who are selling things ;) Here’s some of her art:

Talented, no? If you’re in LA her show is still up at SubUrban and you should swing by and buy some. Or check out her website.

Any who, Niya and Brett were here.

Wait, Brett is supa cool too. He’s a real bonafide filmmaker who makes a living doing only filmmaking and does not sleep on his mother’s couch. No, he and Niya are not an item. He’s dating this girl.

Here’s his production company and a flier for one of his movies that is on TV sometimes.

Whatever, enough with the resumes.

Brett and Niya were in town and we went fun places and did fun things. And Brett fell down a lot.

And my chest still hurts from all the laughing. Seriously funniest people ever.

Tilden Park Trains, beautiful day.

Please kids, look at the camera. I beg you. View from Berkeley hills of SF Bay.

At the Lawrence Hall of Science.

Ethiopian Food in Berkeley (thanks Some Guy for the recommendation! Love that place!)

Also, my own piece of Niya Art. I got a tattoo on my back when I was 18 and didn’t know what a tramp stamp was. I like what it is, just not the location or the fact that it’s there at all (Tattoo regret?! who knew there was such a thing?) I tried to get it lasered off once but have not had the courage to go back because I don’t enjoy being electrocuted. Worst pain of my life, ever. So I’ve been thinking of changing the tattoo to something I like a bit more since it’s not going anywhere. There’s your warning, mom.

Two artistic types couldn’t take ONE good picture of me with the minions? How am I supposed to recruit a new man when it’s clear my kids are fully a swarm? Can we just pretend the last two are one person? Does Mimi’s free spirit count for two? How am I going to sell us??

Also, it was Brett’s 74th birthday and we happened to be at Pam’s. One mention of his birthday (I hadn’t told them in advance) erupted into a full on GreenBomb party, complete with clown and face paint and singing. Brett was game and I think learned a bit about why I am the way I am. I was totally born this way. And so were my kids!

Art in Motion at the Lawrence Hall of Science.