I was mailing some letters today, when I noticed a sign on the mailbox which said "any letter over 13 ounces must be mailed in person at the post office because of a heightened security alert.". This is new for me, or is this old news for everyone else.

I'm at my local Starfreaks writing this and a Grateful Dead song is playing. I am on writing jag and about to finish chapter 2 of my next novel. If I keep up this pace I may have a finshed first draft by the end of the year, which would be amazingly exciting.

My new writing routine is to take notes on my story and what I'm writing about that day, if I get a seat on the N Judah. Then I head to Starfeaks to write for an hour. This is my third day of this new routine and it's working so far. My only problem is I am way too tired to workout when I get home. This part is not working. I'm thinking I have to get up an hour earlier and workout then, but I hate to get up early. I will have to resolve this issue soon because I so need to keep working out.
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My baby brother is so cool. He remembered that I kept talking about wanting a gold plumeria bracelet. He's been saying since May that he was going to buy me one, and he finally sent it and I picked it up today. I found a picture on the Net that sort of looks like the bracelet he sent me.

My bracelet has 10 plumeria blossoms on it and my brother says he bought it from Hallmark Jewelers at Ala Moana. The back of it says it's 14k gold and when I asked my brother if it was expensive, he said it was mid-range. The gold is not sanded but very smooth.

I've been researching prices for these kinds of bracelets and he must have at least spent over $300 on it. I love my bracelet! I feel so hawaiian wearing it. I've been wanting one of these bracelets for years, but it seemed like such an extravagant thing to do. I mean I do love jewelry and I love buying pieces for myself, but it's still a big deal for me to spend more than $200 on a piece. Buying a 14k gold plumeria bracelet has always been one of those items I told myself I would buy when I got a big chunk of money, but it was a "someday I might buy it" kind of item.

So I have it now, and I'm like so happy and excited. My brother told me when we were together in LA in June that I was now his favourite sister, because I was the only one he didn't have to worry or financially take care of. He is so funny; like I would ever expect him to do that.

First of all, he's my half brother and I never had any expectations that he would take care of me. My brother inherited money from his dad's family, include several pieces of property on the island of Oahu, because he was the only male grandchild. Along with money and land, my brother also inherited several museum quality chinese antiques. But my brother is also a workaholic who's been working since he got out of high school, including a stint as a male model. So it's not like he's just been lazing around and spending his inheritance. He even dabbled in stocks for awhile and made a small fortune doing call and put options. He went to college and trained to be a real estate appraiser and finally decided four years ago to open up his own business.

The guy like works all the time. When I stayed at his house last January, he was getting up and starting work at 6:3o am and keep working till around 8 pm. Even when we were in LA in June, he was checking the boards for appraisal jobs. He's on like some list for a large bank where he's the one they call first. God, I wish I had his energy!

My brother is very generous but he's also very frugal. He likes to spend money on the things he thinks are important and then totally be tight-fisted about everything else. It used to annoy the heck out of me, because he would harass me for buying $100 silk Tommy Bahama shirts, but my brother says if things go right financially he'll be able to retire in a few years. I wish I had his bank accounts and his frugal spending ways.

I was out having drinks with friends at Faz on Steuart Street, and as we were walking past Boulevard Restaurant I saw this woman who looked so familiar. I knew she wasn't anyone I knew, but then it dawned on me that it was Famke Janssen from X-Men. She was coming out of Boulevard with some guy. Her featuress were exotic and so beautiful and she was Hollywood thin, but she didn't look as good in person as she did in the movie. She actually looked a little tired. She was wearing one of those long sweaters in a beigish colour, jeans that were rolled up and gorgeous high heeled black leather boots.

Her and her man were walking up Mission Street to probably Hotel Vitale. I normally never ever recognize famous people, but her face was so distinctive. I told one of my friends about her and when she looked at her, she agreed with me that it was Famke. What a hoot! She actually looked quite distinctive even for San Francisco, which is saying alot.

I went to the Feast of Lanterns the weekend I was in Monterey in July. My friend who we were visiting took this picture and sent it to me.