I think I might be allergic to chocolate and if I am, I will be so bummed. I so love chocolate, but lately when I eat chocolate my mouth itches. I don't know if it's just my other allergies or if I'm truly allergy to chocolate.

I know when I'm stressed I crave chocolate like you wouldn't believe, like it's an addiction. Addictions to food are sometimes a sign of an allergy. Damn, I'll just be like my sister. She's allergic to fish and eats it anyway, and has a constant rash. I used to just lecture her about it, and now I'll be in the same boat if I find out I'm allergic to chocolate. I'll eat it anyway and have my mouth constantly itching, not mention be bloated like a whale for the rest of my life.

AAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!

I am saddened by the Pope's death. He was a good man and tried to do much for the Catholic Church. Although I disagreed with many of his views, I admired his tenacity for life and how much he kept holding on despite his failing health in the last several years.

I have always wanted a Tizio lamp. Here's what a few websites have to say about this lamp.

"Tizio desk / table lamp is perhaps the most recognizable lamp in the world."

"Tizio Lamp, Large Black, Richard Sapper, 1972
Probably one of the most famous modern lamps of the century, this lamp is notable for the absence of visible wiring, its counterweighted arms and adjustable head. It is constructed of aluminum and thermoplastic with a matte-black lacquer finish. Made by Artemide."

"The Tizio lamp (1972) has probably made an appearance on the desks of more architects and designers than any other object since the lead pencil. Richard Sapper, its designer, has provided a model for product design that combines the rational approach and technical sophistication of his German homeland with Italian flair and originality. After receiving an engineering degree from the University of Munich, Sapper began work for Mercedes Benz and then moved to Italy to work in the design studio of Alberto Roselli and Gio Ponti.

In 1959, he received a Compasso d’Oro for his Static table clock, subsequently collaborated with Marco Zanuso and finally, opened his own design office in Stuttgart in 1970. He continued, however, to team up with Zanuso and together they produced a number of notable products including a plastic child’s chair for Kartell which doubled as a construction toy. They also created the highly styled Doney television for Brionvega, a sewing machine for Necchi and the compact Grillo folding telephone. These products represented state of the art technology, elegantly housed and designed to convey function with a visual clarity that was eloquently modern.

The Tizio lamp was created for Artemide in 1972. Matte black and minimal in form, it had not only a new look but operated in a completely new way. It was equipped with an inner balancing mechanism that allowed users to alter its position by the lightest touch of the hand. It won the Compasso d’Oro in 1979. Since 1981, Sapper has been a design consultant for IBM, designing portable computers like the minimalist "leapfrog" computer. He has also given his high tech style post-modern inflections, creating successful designs for Alessi including the Caffettiere coffee maker and Bollitore kettle. Sapper is an impressively versatile designer who can create compelling visual images for sophisticated electronic technology, and still respond to the simpler challenge of making everyday objects like flatware or a child’s chair."

But having a famous lamp does not come cheap; it's a $300 something lamp. But maybe that's why God invented eBay. So I'm bidding on a Tizio lamp now. You gotta love eBay.

I think I had a visitation from an angel on St. Patricks Day a couple of weeks ago. I was on the train going to work, and I was reading a book on Remote Viewing (Mind to Mind by Rene Warcollier). I had closed my eyes to nap, and when I opened them this man sitting on the side of me asked me if I liked the book. We started conversing and he said something about synchronocities and then he got off at the next stop. When I meditated on the experience a few days later, I got the feeling that he was an angel reminding to pay attention to synchronicities.

The guy looked kind of strange as well. He kind of reminded me of this Amish guy I saw at Chicago Greyhound station. He had kind of odd haircut, like really old fashioned and cropped, and his features were ancient, like he could have a monk in the movie "The Name of the Rose". If you've ever sent that movie, you'll know what I'm talking about. Some of the guys they had in that movie looked they were from another century and it wasn't just their costumes, it was their facial features. You just don't see men with those kinds of features walking down the street of a modern city. I'm not quite sure how to explain it either, but again if you've seen the movie you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.

If he was an angel, this was my second angel visitation. My first one was in 1990's sometime. I was walking home from church and it was raining and I had forgotten to bring my umbrella. I was really depressed that day too. I was dating someone at the time whom I really liked, but he was your classic "bad frat boy". I knew it was not a good relationship for me, but the guy was so much fun, really really smart, so charming and really, really cute. I spent all service telling JC I needed a sign that every was going to be okay.

A woman asked me if I wanted to share her umbrella with her as she was going in the same direction I was. I looked at her and was shocked because no one had ever asked me that before. She has a nice smile and friendly face and kind of reminded me of a nun, although she wasn't wearing a nun's outfit. So we walked up the hill to my apartment together, didn't actually chat at all, and then at top we said our goodbyes. I turned around a minute later to check her out again, but she was gone.

I don't know who that woman was, but her gesture of generosity really, really touched me deeply. I don't know. Maybe I looked so incredibly depressed and pitiable that when the woman saw me, she felt she had to do something. I don't know. In a big city like San Francisco, her gesture was just so unbelievable. This experience hasn't happened to any of my friends who've lived here all their lives. And I've yet to repeat the experience.

The woman had to be an angel. She looked so otherworldly too, like familiar and yet not familiar. Totally nunlike, but she definitely wasn't in the outfit.

So now I'm into angels and am attending an angel seminar this Sunday being given by Doreen Virtue, who's written all these books on angels. I found out about the seminar by accident, by sychronicity, and I'm going and I'm excited. Maybe my muni angel boy will be there, or others angel boys like him.