Background Noise: kick ass playlist, song #3 and on
Last website visited: nytimes; it's my homepage
Mood: pensive
Right now i want... to know the best place to watch a sunset.

in general, and specifically here, the bay area, northern california, the united states of america, north america, northern hemisphere, the earth, the milky way, the universe.

i just drove back home from the movie theater. the sun was a giant ball of light disappearing behind the mountains, outlining the trees, bathing the world with it's golden glow. ok, so it was incredibly distracting considering i was driving on the freeway with a bunch of morons. but that's besides the point. it was stunning. i'd like to have a better look next time, though... one that preferably won't get me killed. or blinded. i'm actively asking for suggestions, so please, speak up.

when i ask questions like this, i like to think what i would answer, if someone asked me something similar in the place i grew up, or called home; an area i could place myself at with only a handful of descriptive terms, one i could then tell you everything and anything about from that point. where is the best place to see the sun set is one of the tricker questions; not nearly as easy as "where is the best place to get coffee around here, i don't care if i have to drive" or, "where is there an old navy? gap?... clothes?" or "what can i get delivered that's not pizza." maybe these are silly questions to need answers to, but i digress.

if i were home, south-eastern michigan, michigan in general, ann arbor, bloomfield hills, and someone asked me where the best place to watch a sunset was, i'd first have some counter questions of my own. are you willing to drive, and how far? do you like water? do you want to watch a city wake up as the sun goes to sleep? do you want to be alone, or private? romantic? anyways. i'm just going to list some of my favorites. because i really want to watch one tonight, i'll just have to remember others i've seen instead. be forwarned: most of these are by water of some variety. now, in no particular order:

- the big house, ann arbor michigan, durning a game, october.

- interlochen, kresge auditorium, during a concert. any concert, spring, summer or fall.

- the poarch, the grand hotel, mackinac michigan, late spring.

- on the boat. any boat. any lake, river, or stream. late summer. soft summer breezes required. fishing optional.

- baits I, back of the parking lot, overlooking med campus. fall.

- the path between bursely and pierpont commons, fall of the hill, as the trees break away. north campus. whenever the path is walkable.

- my little yellow house, the hammock swing under the tree at the top of the hill, overlooking the lake. spring, summer, fall. really, any time at all. espeically if there is a grill involved. preferably if the boats are in the water.

- the park looking up at the great white building, rome, italy. ask barb what the real name is.

- the park looking up at the eiffel tower, paris, france.

- novotel hotel, time square, new york city, the restraunt.

- the palace of fine arts, san francisco, california.

- the private deck attached to the beautiful room in the lovely hotel at the southern most tip of key west. you should probably ask barb for the name of that hotel, too.

- grand traverse resort condos, traverse city, michigan on the shores of the great lake. summer. wedding optional.

- lakeshore drive, toronto, ontario, candada.

- lakeshore drive, grosse pointe, michigan.

- lakeshore drive, chicago, illinois. navy pier optional.

- my grandparent's farm, milford, michigan.

- camp david, across the street from my grandparent's farm, milford, michigan. fireworks after a happy bonus.

- kirk in the hills, farmington hills, michigan.

- cranbrook academy, bloomfield hills, michigan.

- corner office, 3rd floor, IL 1, Apple Campus, Cupertino, California.

- florence, italy.

- the loire valley, france.

- the cam river, cambridge, england. punting if you can bear to pay for it.

- the rodin museum, paris, france. i haven't actually experienced this one at sunset, but in my imagination, it's at least as magical as the others i have.

- the glass pyramid, the louvre, paris, france.

- golden bear dunes, lake michigan.

i'm running on. there are more, my momentum is just slowing down.

remind me to write later about my trip to stanford today. and rodin. i must write about rodin.