I finally broke down and mimiced part of Jack's blog -- the "Current Terror Alert Level" as designated by Sesame Street Characters (see side bar -- Thanks Jack!). If we hit Elmo, run for your lives. But if you see Oscar the Grouch (oddly enough), we have at last achieved world peace.
(~_-) -- Oh by the way, MERRY CHRISTMAS!! My Christmas this year was more satisfying than I've known in some time -- I think that has a lot to do with money being a bit more precious now that I'm on my own, plus coming home after a long time of being away. Things that were tired and tedious last year are fresh and exciting this year, and I at last have some frivolous shopping ahead of me without the impending doom of rent impinging on the fun (gift certificates are the best!!). The only thing that didn't quite add up was my family's team losing this year's tundra bowl* by 3 whole touchdowns...We're gunning for you next year, Team Hawvermale!!
Saturday, December 27, 2003
Wednesday, December 17, 2003
On the sidebar to the right is a new link -- "Elise Groo in Serbia." This is not some weird reference to myself -- this is in fact the Elise that I worked with at Jack's Bakery over the summer of '99. She is sardonic, nomadic, and hysterical, and I am overjoyed that googling someone's name can lead to getting back in touch. Anyway, she just left for Serbia and she takes beautiful pictures.
Monday, December 15, 2003
So, today is our first day at Hayward. It's a more modern facility, slightly more upscale vending machines, slightly more urban people -- a little more mellow, a little less parental. The Auburnites threw us a good-bye party, cooked us a homemade meal, left us a huge gift basket on our last day...in short, we're terribly spoiled! But thus far living at home -- not having to leave at 7pm on Sunday & knowing I'll be going home tonight -- is nice. I feel like there's so much to get done, especially christmas shopping before I leave for Bethlehem on the 22nd. They're giving us two whole weeks off for the holidays, which is a gift in itself.
Wish me luck -- got to pare down the finance$ without those per diem$. And Happy Holidays to all, across religion and culture.
Wish me luck -- got to pare down the finance$ without those per diem$. And Happy Holidays to all, across religion and culture.
Thursday, December 04, 2003
Last night I went for my usual swim. This consists of sitting in the hot tub for half an hour -- contemplating the usual bluster of blackbirds who gather in the pines after first flying in swooping formations, scattering, landing everywhere, then bouncing to a branch and disappearing into the warm inner depths of the trunk area (note to self: come back as a blackbird next time) -- until I get too hot to deal, and then swimming 20 laps in the pool. From my post in the hot tub last night, though, I noticed that the pool-cleaning vacuum machine was going haywire -- it kept surfacing and spitting and hissing and then re-submerging and speeding up and down the pool's length, not at all like its usual slow and steady bottom heavy self. I have an innate, visceral fear of underwater thingies brushing up against me when I'm not paying attention, especially serpentine-corded ones that might suck your toes if you don't see it sneak up on you, but I figured what-the-hey, I like my swim.
I swam one lap -- back and forth -- and then the vacuum threw a fit and I had to stop in the deep end to time my next lap away from it. The deep end is only 5 feet, so I can stand and contemplate. As I watched the vacuum zoom down towards the other end in a fury, something along the pool's rim to my left caught my eye...
...it was a blackbird, swimming!!
My only theory is that in the fluster of its arrival it flew into one of the pool's gutters, and then since the lip of the gutter is recessed slightly under the rim of the pool, it must have gotten wet and been unable to fly back out. My presence -- or perhaps a particular fit of the vacuum -- must have led it to seek escape via swimming. It kept its wings spread out at its sides to give it some float and treaded with its teeny tiny legs towards the edge of the pool. Had I not been there this would have been futile and had depressing results. But I was there. I lifted my hand beneath it, but that only caused it to try to fly instantly, before my hand even broke the surface, and thus it hopped right back into the water. We tried again; it hopped again. But by then it had swum to the very edge of the pool, to where it could not hop forward, and I used both hands to lift it up and out.
The remarkable thing about this bird was its calm, and its enormous sense of dignity. Upon reaching solid ground -- never once struggling against me or lamenting my presence -- it kept its soaking wings out to its side and walked slowly and carefully -- like a courtier spreading her embroidered skirts out in their full glory to exit the room -- and then crossed into the bushes and hopped to the lowest brances of the pine tree. It then proceeded to hop and fall off several small branches -- too wet to keep its balance -- until it found a particularly fluffy one to support its weight and braced itself against the trunk. It then fluffed itself up and gave me a relieved look.
It never once gasped, hissed, panicked, fought, or rolled its eyes the way scared or hurt birds will. It just swam, rode the elevator, and left the lobby. It was charming.
It's those moments -- tiny toothpick bird feet on my submerged hands, supernatural dignity, human and beast together for 30 seconds of rare union -- that I absolutely live and breathe for.
I swam one lap -- back and forth -- and then the vacuum threw a fit and I had to stop in the deep end to time my next lap away from it. The deep end is only 5 feet, so I can stand and contemplate. As I watched the vacuum zoom down towards the other end in a fury, something along the pool's rim to my left caught my eye...
...it was a blackbird, swimming!!
My only theory is that in the fluster of its arrival it flew into one of the pool's gutters, and then since the lip of the gutter is recessed slightly under the rim of the pool, it must have gotten wet and been unable to fly back out. My presence -- or perhaps a particular fit of the vacuum -- must have led it to seek escape via swimming. It kept its wings spread out at its sides to give it some float and treaded with its teeny tiny legs towards the edge of the pool. Had I not been there this would have been futile and had depressing results. But I was there. I lifted my hand beneath it, but that only caused it to try to fly instantly, before my hand even broke the surface, and thus it hopped right back into the water. We tried again; it hopped again. But by then it had swum to the very edge of the pool, to where it could not hop forward, and I used both hands to lift it up and out.
The remarkable thing about this bird was its calm, and its enormous sense of dignity. Upon reaching solid ground -- never once struggling against me or lamenting my presence -- it kept its soaking wings out to its side and walked slowly and carefully -- like a courtier spreading her embroidered skirts out in their full glory to exit the room -- and then crossed into the bushes and hopped to the lowest brances of the pine tree. It then proceeded to hop and fall off several small branches -- too wet to keep its balance -- until it found a particularly fluffy one to support its weight and braced itself against the trunk. It then fluffed itself up and gave me a relieved look.
It never once gasped, hissed, panicked, fought, or rolled its eyes the way scared or hurt birds will. It just swam, rode the elevator, and left the lobby. It was charming.
It's those moments -- tiny toothpick bird feet on my submerged hands, supernatural dignity, human and beast together for 30 seconds of rare union -- that I absolutely live and breathe for.
Monday, December 01, 2003
I tried a persimmon today. It is quite extraordinary after 24 full and hearty years of food consumption to discover not just a new fruit, but one that actually has an appeasing taste and texture (i.e. one that is not on the fringe simply because its taste is not compelling or because its texture is mealy, etc). The particular kind of persimmon that someone brought in looked much like a small orange tomato, but was hard and firm. Apparently most persimmons need to ripen and become soft, but these could be eaten hard.
It's really hard to describe the taste. There's an element of a kind of squash to it -- pumpkin or butternut, if one were to eat them uncooked -- and that's definitely apparent in the texture as well, though not explicitly -- but sometimes there was a slight essence of plum, a hint of tomato (I emphasize, a hint -- I can't stand raw tomato usually, so more than a hint would have lessened my experience), a sense of cinnamon or nutmeg -- all of it smoothly melded together enough to defy direct comparison.
If you haven't tried one, do. It's kind of like eating an October night -- before it gets truly cold, when you could still sit out on a screened-in porch so long as you wore a relatively warm jacket, and you could smell the last tiny hint of the summer's flora on the air, and the first hint of fallen leaves.
It's really hard to describe the taste. There's an element of a kind of squash to it -- pumpkin or butternut, if one were to eat them uncooked -- and that's definitely apparent in the texture as well, though not explicitly -- but sometimes there was a slight essence of plum, a hint of tomato (I emphasize, a hint -- I can't stand raw tomato usually, so more than a hint would have lessened my experience), a sense of cinnamon or nutmeg -- all of it smoothly melded together enough to defy direct comparison.
If you haven't tried one, do. It's kind of like eating an October night -- before it gets truly cold, when you could still sit out on a screened-in porch so long as you wore a relatively warm jacket, and you could smell the last tiny hint of the summer's flora on the air, and the first hint of fallen leaves.
Thursday, November 27, 2003
I'm stuffed. Not so stuffed that I won't eat more turkey -- a lot of turkey -- obsessive turkey consumption -- in the next 2 days. But right now, full is full and tradition is great. Williamsburg, and more particularly, 7 Gables holds as true as it ever did -- running ship shape, aside from some Canada Geese that need running off the back lawn, and an incident with the gravy boiling over and then -- literally -- vacuum sealing the lid on tight. But at least I didn't put the pumpkin pie on "convection bake" this year -- that was a classic!
The real highlight came in the auto world this year. Dad has been mulling over what to do with his 1963 Ford Falcon Convertible, white with red leather interior, seats wider than a Clydesdale and a motor that sounds like a Harley's. His parents bought it new in '63, passed it on to him about 17 years later, and he's had it ever since, and will most likely pass it on to his eldest daughter from his first marriage, who has the money and the garage to maintain it. But the discussion last night inspired him to have us take it out today for a drive -- man, what a lulu, I mean, way outtasight, the tip top kaleidiscope of cool, the never-living end. Okay, so we only topped about 40 mph and mostly kept on the roads of my dad's gated community, but what I wouldn't give a) for the three of us to have been decked out in full 60's regalia (my dad allowed as how he wouldn't really know what that was, but maybe if he dug around in his closet...) or b) to drive that sucker across country. I would have to know car repair, though, have to have some mechanical innovation, and combined, have to be able to tweak a car from the early 60's with nothing but a big set of sunglasses and some luck -- but can you imagine??
Happy Thanksgiving!!
The real highlight came in the auto world this year. Dad has been mulling over what to do with his 1963 Ford Falcon Convertible, white with red leather interior, seats wider than a Clydesdale and a motor that sounds like a Harley's. His parents bought it new in '63, passed it on to him about 17 years later, and he's had it ever since, and will most likely pass it on to his eldest daughter from his first marriage, who has the money and the garage to maintain it. But the discussion last night inspired him to have us take it out today for a drive -- man, what a lulu, I mean, way outtasight, the tip top kaleidiscope of cool, the never-living end. Okay, so we only topped about 40 mph and mostly kept on the roads of my dad's gated community, but what I wouldn't give a) for the three of us to have been decked out in full 60's regalia (my dad allowed as how he wouldn't really know what that was, but maybe if he dug around in his closet...) or b) to drive that sucker across country. I would have to know car repair, though, have to have some mechanical innovation, and combined, have to be able to tweak a car from the early 60's with nothing but a big set of sunglasses and some luck -- but can you imagine??
Happy Thanksgiving!!
Thursday, November 20, 2003
Last night I discovered that the pool is heated in winter. I am tickled pink. Unfortunately our time here in Auburn is depleting -- we will be done in early December and then we move on to Hayward...which means we'll be commuting every day from SF. So I'll get to be in the city, but commuting, even against the flow of traffic, is not so very appealing. We'll see.
Tuesday, November 18, 2003
So my blog has been running on empty for a while because I haven't much of news (or flora & fauna research) to report. One of my best friends from college was in town this weekend, so I spent much of the weekend, dancing, eating, and even playing a little sand-court volleyball (which is truly fun, as it takes away that little mental barrier towards diving and leaves you covered in sand from head to toe and feeling like a champion).
OH! I ran into still ANOTHER friend from the past -- a girl in the class below me from high school, with whom I was good friends for a semester, until she decided to leave. We kept in touch for a little while but ultimately the friendship trailed off. This means I have not seen or heard from or about her in...7 years!! The "small world" count now lies at 2: high school and 1: grade school. Her departure from EW was kind of devastating to two of my closest friends from high school, and her life thereafter was something pondered every now and then. It will be of no small fascination to catch up with her, which we have plans to do this coming weekend.
The other good news is I will be coming home to Williamsburg for Thanksgiving, which, obviously, is what I'm thankful for this year. (~_-)
OH! I ran into still ANOTHER friend from the past -- a girl in the class below me from high school, with whom I was good friends for a semester, until she decided to leave. We kept in touch for a little while but ultimately the friendship trailed off. This means I have not seen or heard from or about her in...7 years!! The "small world" count now lies at 2: high school and 1: grade school. Her departure from EW was kind of devastating to two of my closest friends from high school, and her life thereafter was something pondered every now and then. It will be of no small fascination to catch up with her, which we have plans to do this coming weekend.
The other good news is I will be coming home to Williamsburg for Thanksgiving, which, obviously, is what I'm thankful for this year. (~_-)
Sunday, November 09, 2003
Halloween WAS indeed quite fun, which is indicated by the fact that I found no time to write last weekend. Fred was recognized as Ali G. from HBO by nearly every foreign person in the Castro and a decent amount of Cable-savvy Americans, and they LOVED him. He had over twenty people come up and want a picture with him, not to mention those who just wanted to shake his hand. Leslie and I, having had some arrangements fall through at the last minute, scrounged together a pretty decent J-Lo and Ben Affleck ensemble: I was Ben, and though forced to wear a hundred pounds of facial tanner and an equally large amount of hair gel, I was pretty comfortable in Ben's slouchy jeans and t-shirt over a long sleeve shirt outfit. (Note, if I have not yet sent you the link to the pictures and you are interested in seeing them, email me.) The Castro was people-watching central, with the most popular costume being Siegfried and Roy -- people dressed in all white with stuffed tigers and fake blood attached to their necks. The atmosphere was jovial and lacking malice (good thing too -- apparently there were FOUR stabbings in the Castro last year!) and of course a little bit bawdy at times, but in good fun if not in good taste. Fred and I also took in a couple parties, the sea lions at the wharf (which we had to tear Mom away from after over an hour, but it took Fred five minutes to feel he'd "gotten the gist of it"!!), the Vtech game v. Miami at a Union street bar (the at the time 11th ranked Hokies romped on the 3rd ranked Miami -- awesome to watch), In 'N Out, reunited with some of Fred's St. George's friends and Will, his best friend from childhood in CT, dealt with a dead battery in my car (though I have to say, not very well!) and basically on the whole tried to stay hydrated, keep moving, and pounce when we saw the whites of their eyes.
This work week flew by and was great fun, thanks to it being our Team Lead's birthday on Thursday. We bought her a "hotel survival kit" filled with indulgent goodies we'd thrown together -- lotion, bubble bath, a stuffed bear, a buttercream scented candle -- and a lemon meringue pie (her favorite), and then the utility company employees surprised the pants off her with a SpongeBob SquarePants party!! Then when we got back to the hotel, the front desk clerk (whom we are on very familiar terms with at this point) had come by on her day off to drop off a cake she'd baked especially for A., complete with fancy roses and sparkling sugar accents. We were STUFFED when that day was over, especially since we took her to a delicious Italian restaurant for her special dinner. It was a great day. Plus, our latest dealing-with-repetition-and-windowless-confinement theme right now is to address each other as "Comrade," and speak in our best stiff Russian accent, which, especially when it is extended to song lyrics, makes for endless hilarity.
Finally, I saw the third Matrix movie on Friday night down at the Metreon, and I can't say that I recommend it that highly, though it does its best to wrap things up. I thought at the very end they concluded it as well as they could, but the clunky dialogue and inevitable plot twists that it took to get there, plus some seriously hokey acting and an overdose of religious imagery, made it a bit easy to disdain and detach from on the whole, which doesn't bode well for a movie. (But really, how could they have possibly followed up such a groundbreaker as the first Matrix? They have my deepest sympathies...) The group agreed that the nicest thing about the movie was hanging out as a group before hand (we went an hour and a half early, since it was opening weekend), and for me it was also the long walk home afterwards -- James, Dan, Denny and I decided to walk the entirety of Market Street from Fourth all the way to the Castro. About an hour and a half's walk at 2am, but flanked by three guys and amped by the action sequences, it was a good (and ultimately uneventful, safety-wise) way to unwind.
This weekend brings two extra days off thanks to Veteran's Day, so I won't be heading to Auburn until Tuesday night. I relish the break, and wish you all similar rest and relaxation, Comrades!! Take care...
This work week flew by and was great fun, thanks to it being our Team Lead's birthday on Thursday. We bought her a "hotel survival kit" filled with indulgent goodies we'd thrown together -- lotion, bubble bath, a stuffed bear, a buttercream scented candle -- and a lemon meringue pie (her favorite), and then the utility company employees surprised the pants off her with a SpongeBob SquarePants party!! Then when we got back to the hotel, the front desk clerk (whom we are on very familiar terms with at this point) had come by on her day off to drop off a cake she'd baked especially for A., complete with fancy roses and sparkling sugar accents. We were STUFFED when that day was over, especially since we took her to a delicious Italian restaurant for her special dinner. It was a great day. Plus, our latest dealing-with-repetition-and-windowless-confinement theme right now is to address each other as "Comrade," and speak in our best stiff Russian accent, which, especially when it is extended to song lyrics, makes for endless hilarity.
Finally, I saw the third Matrix movie on Friday night down at the Metreon, and I can't say that I recommend it that highly, though it does its best to wrap things up. I thought at the very end they concluded it as well as they could, but the clunky dialogue and inevitable plot twists that it took to get there, plus some seriously hokey acting and an overdose of religious imagery, made it a bit easy to disdain and detach from on the whole, which doesn't bode well for a movie. (But really, how could they have possibly followed up such a groundbreaker as the first Matrix? They have my deepest sympathies...) The group agreed that the nicest thing about the movie was hanging out as a group before hand (we went an hour and a half early, since it was opening weekend), and for me it was also the long walk home afterwards -- James, Dan, Denny and I decided to walk the entirety of Market Street from Fourth all the way to the Castro. About an hour and a half's walk at 2am, but flanked by three guys and amped by the action sequences, it was a good (and ultimately uneventful, safety-wise) way to unwind.
This weekend brings two extra days off thanks to Veteran's Day, so I won't be heading to Auburn until Tuesday night. I relish the break, and wish you all similar rest and relaxation, Comrades!! Take care...
Tuesday, October 28, 2003
Oh my blogs have gotten away from me...sorry guys. The tree in our backyard is a Brugmansia -- I believed crossed with "Candida" -- according to the website I looked it up on. My Mom and Steve and I (lo these many weekends ago) asked in a local horticultural shop. The man there was right about the Brugmansia, but WRONG about the Bottlebrush. My favorite trees on SF's streets are indeed called CRIMSON BOTTLEBRUSHES and you can look them up to see how cool they are. Mom -- you were right!! Whatever weird pine the man suggested did not have any kind of flowering appendages at all...
It was a busy weekend this weekend, with Leslie and I having quite a bout of bad transportation luck -- due to slow buses, miscommunications, our own ignorance about the numbering of SF's piers, and all out crowds and confusion, it took us about 2 whole hours just to get to Red Bull's Flugtag on Piers 30-32 Saturday. Flugtag is basically Redbull sponsoring people to create "flying" machines which they then pilot off a ramp 30 feet up from the water, and whoever gets themselves the farthest wins a pretty sweet cash pot -- $7500! The second and third placers get cash prizes too. Leslie and I got there just in time to see the last two teams go, the very last one being the winner, so at least we got to see that. The winners created a human catapult -- with one guy seated at the lowest end and four pullies attached to the highest end. His four friends then held on to the pullies and jumped into the water, thereby yanking the catapult down and sending the man 61 FEET!! It was hysterical (they were wearing kilts no less) and fortunate that we saw it.
The night before we had time to kill before the 8:30 showing of Kill Bill, so we ended up exploring Yerba Buena Gardens and Center, and boy is it beautiful at night. Really thoughtfully constructed waterfalls involving well placed rocks, artful use of surface tension, carved spouts...all lit up and set up so that you can sit right at the edge. As you can imagine, it was teeming with young couples, but they proved unobtrusive. -_~
I am in love with swimming at night right now -- it somehow gives me more energy to swim when it's dark and cold than during the daylight hours.
That's about it here -- me and my team are otherwise having a great time at work, and Halloween should prove quite fun this Friday, as the Castro is the hotspot for revelry and Fred is joining me out here. I'll be sure to let you know how THAT goes!! Happy Halloween and drop me a line, you people!
It was a busy weekend this weekend, with Leslie and I having quite a bout of bad transportation luck -- due to slow buses, miscommunications, our own ignorance about the numbering of SF's piers, and all out crowds and confusion, it took us about 2 whole hours just to get to Red Bull's Flugtag on Piers 30-32 Saturday. Flugtag is basically Redbull sponsoring people to create "flying" machines which they then pilot off a ramp 30 feet up from the water, and whoever gets themselves the farthest wins a pretty sweet cash pot -- $7500! The second and third placers get cash prizes too. Leslie and I got there just in time to see the last two teams go, the very last one being the winner, so at least we got to see that. The winners created a human catapult -- with one guy seated at the lowest end and four pullies attached to the highest end. His four friends then held on to the pullies and jumped into the water, thereby yanking the catapult down and sending the man 61 FEET!! It was hysterical (they were wearing kilts no less) and fortunate that we saw it.
The night before we had time to kill before the 8:30 showing of Kill Bill, so we ended up exploring Yerba Buena Gardens and Center, and boy is it beautiful at night. Really thoughtfully constructed waterfalls involving well placed rocks, artful use of surface tension, carved spouts...all lit up and set up so that you can sit right at the edge. As you can imagine, it was teeming with young couples, but they proved unobtrusive. -_~
I am in love with swimming at night right now -- it somehow gives me more energy to swim when it's dark and cold than during the daylight hours.
That's about it here -- me and my team are otherwise having a great time at work, and Halloween should prove quite fun this Friday, as the Castro is the hotspot for revelry and Fred is joining me out here. I'll be sure to let you know how THAT goes!! Happy Halloween and drop me a line, you people!
Saturday, October 18, 2003
Last weekend, my mom and Steve were here -- it was great fun. They flew out on a Thursday and I was able to meet them Friday afternoon, show them the place, and then wander about the city with them. (I heartily invite any of you who can swing it to come out for a long weekend -- both Mom and Steve report that it was shockingly easy to manage. You just need to cough up the cash for the plane tickets, and otherwise you're welcome to stay with me.)
As is often the case, in showing them the city I learned a lot about it myself. For example, I took them to see the Sea Lions down at Pier 39. For those of you who have been here around 1989 or earlier, you honestly have no concept of how they've taken over one part of the bay. Apparently the earthquake of '89 changed something -- the theory is that it most likely changed the underwater lay of the land such that it changed the migratory paths of herring schools -- and brought a massive bloat* of Sea Lions to the pier. (*"Bloat" is the term for a group of hippos. I don't know the term for a group of Sea Lions, so bloat seemed fitting. ~_-) When I brought my mom and Steve to the pier, there happened to be a woman there who worked at the Sea Lion hospital in Sausalito and was here checking on the local population and answering questions. Thus I learned many things about Sea Lions -- for example, the herring/migratory/earthquake theory mentioned above. Nearly the entire population of s.l.s gathered at the Wharf was male, as well, since right now is birthing season and all birthing age females would be in warmer waters doing so. You can tell gender when a sea lion is lying on its back (which they do quite a lot -- coming back as an s.l. would be just as ideal as coming back as a cat -- lots of lolling, sunbathing, snuggling, and general loafing going on -- that is if you don't mind the sharks...) but you can also tell because males develop large sagittal crests (imagine an oversized lobe on their foreheads) after 4 or 5 years and grow larger in size. Females also tend to be slightly blonder in color, though when they're wet the colors are pretty indistinguishable. There were lots of BIG boys out there, but also a bunch of yearlings, who all look way too small to be weaned (but that's probably just by comparison to their 1,000 lb counterparts -- literally) and provide an added element of cute out there.
Anyway, at some point these sea lions discovered the bay, and as you may recall from news in years past, proved quite a menace to fishermen, but also to boat owners -- the flimsy docks they put up that mere humans can strut around on proved no match for whole bloats of one ton big daddies, and within no time the sudden confluence of sea lions literally sank the docks! There was a lot of debate over what to do with them -- to get rid of them or not and how -- but in the end a compromise was reached by creating huge sea-lion-sturdy floats towards the opening of the bay, which they took to immediately. Occasionally, an errant sea lion will still rest his girth on a boat dock (the woman told us that this is rare, sea lions are group-oriented, and only one that is very ill or has recently been in a doozy of a fight will stray off alone to recuperate) and the boaters are provided with large human shields which they literally hide behind to shuttle the sea lions off the dock. This is both to provide them protection from sharp canines and to keep the sea lions from getting acclimated to humans -- keeping a bit of fear and natural distrust there maintains an important boundary between shared space and unmanageable nuisance.
For the most part, the sea lions lie there and soak up the sun; they literally climb over each other like steam rollers searching for the right lions to squeeze between for a nap; despite the snooziness, a moment of silence is rare, especially when a boat wake comes through and rocks the docks, and also because the odd male will get territorial and chase interlopers off "his" dock, until the sun proves strong enough to lull him. When the sun is too strong, a sea lion will appear to be lazily waving at you, but really they are "thermo-regulating," that is, by sticking a flipper up they create more surface area for the wind to catch, and this cools them down.
If it sounds idyllic -- and it is -- in the bay sea lions have hardly any natural predators -- except for the horrific creature known as a cookie-cutter shark. These are so named because they swim up to prey, grab a piece of flesh and spin (!), leaving a perfect circle shaped scar.
Anyway, that's my report on Sea Lions -- I have more to tell you about my backyard garden, but I have things to do in the meantime. ~_-
As is often the case, in showing them the city I learned a lot about it myself. For example, I took them to see the Sea Lions down at Pier 39. For those of you who have been here around 1989 or earlier, you honestly have no concept of how they've taken over one part of the bay. Apparently the earthquake of '89 changed something -- the theory is that it most likely changed the underwater lay of the land such that it changed the migratory paths of herring schools -- and brought a massive bloat* of Sea Lions to the pier. (*"Bloat" is the term for a group of hippos. I don't know the term for a group of Sea Lions, so bloat seemed fitting. ~_-) When I brought my mom and Steve to the pier, there happened to be a woman there who worked at the Sea Lion hospital in Sausalito and was here checking on the local population and answering questions. Thus I learned many things about Sea Lions -- for example, the herring/migratory/earthquake theory mentioned above. Nearly the entire population of s.l.s gathered at the Wharf was male, as well, since right now is birthing season and all birthing age females would be in warmer waters doing so. You can tell gender when a sea lion is lying on its back (which they do quite a lot -- coming back as an s.l. would be just as ideal as coming back as a cat -- lots of lolling, sunbathing, snuggling, and general loafing going on -- that is if you don't mind the sharks...) but you can also tell because males develop large sagittal crests (imagine an oversized lobe on their foreheads) after 4 or 5 years and grow larger in size. Females also tend to be slightly blonder in color, though when they're wet the colors are pretty indistinguishable. There were lots of BIG boys out there, but also a bunch of yearlings, who all look way too small to be weaned (but that's probably just by comparison to their 1,000 lb counterparts -- literally) and provide an added element of cute out there.
Anyway, at some point these sea lions discovered the bay, and as you may recall from news in years past, proved quite a menace to fishermen, but also to boat owners -- the flimsy docks they put up that mere humans can strut around on proved no match for whole bloats of one ton big daddies, and within no time the sudden confluence of sea lions literally sank the docks! There was a lot of debate over what to do with them -- to get rid of them or not and how -- but in the end a compromise was reached by creating huge sea-lion-sturdy floats towards the opening of the bay, which they took to immediately. Occasionally, an errant sea lion will still rest his girth on a boat dock (the woman told us that this is rare, sea lions are group-oriented, and only one that is very ill or has recently been in a doozy of a fight will stray off alone to recuperate) and the boaters are provided with large human shields which they literally hide behind to shuttle the sea lions off the dock. This is both to provide them protection from sharp canines and to keep the sea lions from getting acclimated to humans -- keeping a bit of fear and natural distrust there maintains an important boundary between shared space and unmanageable nuisance.
For the most part, the sea lions lie there and soak up the sun; they literally climb over each other like steam rollers searching for the right lions to squeeze between for a nap; despite the snooziness, a moment of silence is rare, especially when a boat wake comes through and rocks the docks, and also because the odd male will get territorial and chase interlopers off "his" dock, until the sun proves strong enough to lull him. When the sun is too strong, a sea lion will appear to be lazily waving at you, but really they are "thermo-regulating," that is, by sticking a flipper up they create more surface area for the wind to catch, and this cools them down.
If it sounds idyllic -- and it is -- in the bay sea lions have hardly any natural predators -- except for the horrific creature known as a cookie-cutter shark. These are so named because they swim up to prey, grab a piece of flesh and spin (!), leaving a perfect circle shaped scar.
Anyway, that's my report on Sea Lions -- I have more to tell you about my backyard garden, but I have things to do in the meantime. ~_-
Thursday, October 16, 2003
This work week has been pretty smooth, so I've been concentrating my attention on birding. If you are not at all interested in birding, don't bother to read the rest, since it reads like a backyard ecology grade school report!
I am definitely an amateur "birder" these days, especially since the move to the West Coast has brought in a whole new batch of things to identify. For starters, in Auburn at our hotel there are tall thin decorative pines that attractive an entire flock of what I believe are Brewer's Blackbirds, who make wonderful "chuck chuck" noises and are fun to watch swirl and settle, swirl and settle. In looking up these birds I learned how to tell the difference between the ubiquitous European Starling and Blackbirds -- Starlings: often speckled, often irridescently greenish/purpleish, plumage looks a lot rougher, dark eyes, yellow bills; Blackbirds: clean, smooth, black plumage, less noticeably irridescent, generally yellow-eyed and black billed. They are often larger than Starlings too.
At the deli where we eat our lunch, there is a single brownheaded cowbird who is missing his foot. (He has his leg right down to the ankle joint, just the actual foot is missing.) He gets along just fine amidst the sparrows who frequent the deli, and ultimately I realized that since cowbirds are "brood parasites" -- meaning the parent cowbirds lay their eggs in other birds' nests and leave their young to be raised by "foster" families -- that this cowbird most likely was raised by these sparrows.
I've also been introduced to the Western Scrub Jay, which is in the family of blue jays -- it's got that lovely blue jay color, but it has a grey "vest" and no crest, and a dashing white stripe above its eyes. On my road trip I was exposed to Steller's Jays as well, which look exactly like a standard Blue Jay whose head has been dipped in black ink up to the neck. They are quite eye-catching.
Finally, while lazing in the hot tub my coworker and I noticed some gulls soaring inland. Everyone expects gulls to be closely tied to the sea, but they love lakes and ponds just as much, and as scavengers can survive quite nicely in open grasslands (and often, parking lots!) too. Out here, though, the gulls are most likely California gulls, and in hearing of this and deciding to find out what differentiates them from the East Coast Herring Gull, I was surprised to find that Gulls go through quite a variety of plumage before hitting their standard grey and white. In fact, even for experienced birders, it is hard to tell the difference between varieties of immature gulls, which start out almost uniformly brown and go through the entire spectrum of speckledom before becoming white and grey. The best way to tell gulls apart is when they're in their adult form; the Herring Gull has light eyes (i.e. yellow) and pink legs and is generally slightly larger, while the California gull has dark eyes (i.e. they look uniformly black) and yellow legs.
Back in San Francisco, I have had the delight of exposure to two new kinds of birds: Cormorants, which are sleek black birds who literally dive underwater for fish; and black-chinned hummingbirds (who frequent our back garden), whose males look much like Ruby-throated hummingbirds (i.e. emerald green coat, whiteish/grey bellies, and beautiful rich purpley throats) except that the b.c.hummers have a slight strip of black above the violet, while the rubies don't. The only reason I'm confident that I saw a b.c. hummer is that Rubies stick to the East Coast and Black Chinnies stick to the west.
I am definitely an amateur "birder" these days, especially since the move to the West Coast has brought in a whole new batch of things to identify. For starters, in Auburn at our hotel there are tall thin decorative pines that attractive an entire flock of what I believe are Brewer's Blackbirds, who make wonderful "chuck chuck" noises and are fun to watch swirl and settle, swirl and settle. In looking up these birds I learned how to tell the difference between the ubiquitous European Starling and Blackbirds -- Starlings: often speckled, often irridescently greenish/purpleish, plumage looks a lot rougher, dark eyes, yellow bills; Blackbirds: clean, smooth, black plumage, less noticeably irridescent, generally yellow-eyed and black billed. They are often larger than Starlings too.
At the deli where we eat our lunch, there is a single brownheaded cowbird who is missing his foot. (He has his leg right down to the ankle joint, just the actual foot is missing.) He gets along just fine amidst the sparrows who frequent the deli, and ultimately I realized that since cowbirds are "brood parasites" -- meaning the parent cowbirds lay their eggs in other birds' nests and leave their young to be raised by "foster" families -- that this cowbird most likely was raised by these sparrows.
I've also been introduced to the Western Scrub Jay, which is in the family of blue jays -- it's got that lovely blue jay color, but it has a grey "vest" and no crest, and a dashing white stripe above its eyes. On my road trip I was exposed to Steller's Jays as well, which look exactly like a standard Blue Jay whose head has been dipped in black ink up to the neck. They are quite eye-catching.
Finally, while lazing in the hot tub my coworker and I noticed some gulls soaring inland. Everyone expects gulls to be closely tied to the sea, but they love lakes and ponds just as much, and as scavengers can survive quite nicely in open grasslands (and often, parking lots!) too. Out here, though, the gulls are most likely California gulls, and in hearing of this and deciding to find out what differentiates them from the East Coast Herring Gull, I was surprised to find that Gulls go through quite a variety of plumage before hitting their standard grey and white. In fact, even for experienced birders, it is hard to tell the difference between varieties of immature gulls, which start out almost uniformly brown and go through the entire spectrum of speckledom before becoming white and grey. The best way to tell gulls apart is when they're in their adult form; the Herring Gull has light eyes (i.e. yellow) and pink legs and is generally slightly larger, while the California gull has dark eyes (i.e. they look uniformly black) and yellow legs.
Back in San Francisco, I have had the delight of exposure to two new kinds of birds: Cormorants, which are sleek black birds who literally dive underwater for fish; and black-chinned hummingbirds (who frequent our back garden), whose males look much like Ruby-throated hummingbirds (i.e. emerald green coat, whiteish/grey bellies, and beautiful rich purpley throats) except that the b.c.hummers have a slight strip of black above the violet, while the rubies don't. The only reason I'm confident that I saw a b.c. hummer is that Rubies stick to the East Coast and Black Chinnies stick to the west.
Wednesday, October 08, 2003
This week we hit the world's most annoying roadblock: Quality Control. My team rocks, first of all, and further, we set up an assembly line system that means we QC each other by default anyway, but we still have to go back and "double check" piles of work...it's frustrating when you strive for excellence and yet pay for the sloppiness of people you don't even see or know. >:(
That aside, this week has been easy socially and moving rather quickly. And Mom and Steve fly in tomorrow night, which should be fun -- both showing them "my" San Francisco and learning their history with it too. Ghirardelli, here we come...
By the way, if you have never heard the noise a Cowbird makes, you should see if you can find it somewhere. It's fascinatingly different from other birds; it sounds more like a water drop than a chirp.
That aside, this week has been easy socially and moving rather quickly. And Mom and Steve fly in tomorrow night, which should be fun -- both showing them "my" San Francisco and learning their history with it too. Ghirardelli, here we come...
By the way, if you have never heard the noise a Cowbird makes, you should see if you can find it somewhere. It's fascinatingly different from other birds; it sounds more like a water drop than a chirp.
Tuesday, September 30, 2003
This is going to be a whirlwind, this travel thing. By Monday morning the drive out here Sunday night (a mere 2.5 hours) seemed like it had occured years ago, and I can hardly remember the weekend. Of course, I've been experiencing a sense of time dilation ever since I got to California: I wake up each morning with every previous day feeling like it occured eons ago. I feel as though I've been in California for a year by now (I can't believe it's just barely been 3 months), if not more, and I feel as though I've spent half of it in Auburn, though it hasn't even been a full 2 weeks.
This time dilation is not the bad "I'm bored" kind, just an odd sensation, as though my internal clock revs way up at some point, and when it stops I snap to, completely mystified that only a day has passed.
For those of you who are constantly exhausted by a monontonous job of endless paper pushing, I highly recommend going for a swim every day at the end of the work day. It ebbs all that repetition right off your body, and more importantly, your psyche. I don't know WHAT I'm going to do when I get a permanent job that does not involve a hotel with a pool, but I'm living it up for now. The hotel also has a hot tub, so even when Auburn starts to get chilly, I'll have a post-work-day-soak to look forward to...
Love and water jets to you all.
This time dilation is not the bad "I'm bored" kind, just an odd sensation, as though my internal clock revs way up at some point, and when it stops I snap to, completely mystified that only a day has passed.
For those of you who are constantly exhausted by a monontonous job of endless paper pushing, I highly recommend going for a swim every day at the end of the work day. It ebbs all that repetition right off your body, and more importantly, your psyche. I don't know WHAT I'm going to do when I get a permanent job that does not involve a hotel with a pool, but I'm living it up for now. The hotel also has a hot tub, so even when Auburn starts to get chilly, I'll have a post-work-day-soak to look forward to...
Love and water jets to you all.
Thursday, September 25, 2003
So, the whole internet updating thing is trickier than I thought. The connection in the hotel is "wireless," which although it sounds cool, actually means that it goes slower than dial-up! I tried to sign on to this Tuesday night and couldn't even get the sign-in page to load after about 20 minutes of waiting patiently.
That said, the computer we use at work for data-entry works well, but obviously, we are using it most of the time. I happen to be the data-enterer today and since this is my 15 minute break, I get to partake.
What this info translates to is that I can't promise updates in any consistent way. Some weeks I may be able to update, some weeks I may not. Thank you for your patience.
Everything is going well: my team, as projected, is awesome. We are also goofy, witty and brilliant. In the space of 4 days we've come up with about 35 billion inside jokes. We have a list of the greatest names we've come across in the files (interestingly enough, though I did this on my road trip, they came up with it independently of me. In case you're curious, the names are: Mr. Killingsworth, Volcanoville, Lawrence Root, Hillish Rock Road, LoneTree & Blue Oaks Road, and Darryl Sniff), we have lists of all the silly things we've said, and we've drawn some great personifications of things we've come across.
I found out on the drive out here though -- I AM SURROUNDED BY WATER SIGNS. 2 Scorpios (agh!), a Cancer, and a Pisces. So far though, I have not experienced the dreaded interpersonal problems one would expect from being surrounded by a bunch of emotional, crazy water signs. Perhaps I will have to give up a now-outdated conception of what water signs are like. (One of the Scorpios, in hearing my concern about them all being water signs, immediately pointed out that as a Gemini I'm schizophrenic. I am so not. Yes I am. No I'm not. Am to. Are not. Har har har. Anyway...)
We'll see...one of my team members also noticed that the 4 of us temps fill out the Scooby Doo team profiles almost perfectly: One of us is bearded and loosely locked (Shaggy), one of us is blond and built (Fred), the other girl has short hair and wears glasses (Velma) and I, being a tall blond, am supposedly Daphne (YES! After being a Velma nearly all of my life, I have finally achieved Daphne status...). Our team lead, however, is not really Scooby -- she decided she's more of a Scrappy Doo. So most of our spare time is spent trying to figure out just what the mystery is and who's behind it. ;0)
Last but not least, Auburn is a lovely little town (it has an "old town" section that is very Jackson Hole/Gold Rushy/Store Fronty. But it's pretty small) and our hotel has a pool and a hot tub (both of which I use every day) AND is located 500 feet from In N' Out. We also have a Marie Calender's built into the hotel. Yay!
The momentum is gathering. Though I miss my friends in SF, conditions are ideal and everything is going smoothly. Talk to you soon!
That said, the computer we use at work for data-entry works well, but obviously, we are using it most of the time. I happen to be the data-enterer today and since this is my 15 minute break, I get to partake.
What this info translates to is that I can't promise updates in any consistent way. Some weeks I may be able to update, some weeks I may not. Thank you for your patience.
Everything is going well: my team, as projected, is awesome. We are also goofy, witty and brilliant. In the space of 4 days we've come up with about 35 billion inside jokes. We have a list of the greatest names we've come across in the files (interestingly enough, though I did this on my road trip, they came up with it independently of me. In case you're curious, the names are: Mr. Killingsworth, Volcanoville, Lawrence Root, Hillish Rock Road, LoneTree & Blue Oaks Road, and Darryl Sniff), we have lists of all the silly things we've said, and we've drawn some great personifications of things we've come across.
I found out on the drive out here though -- I AM SURROUNDED BY WATER SIGNS. 2 Scorpios (agh!), a Cancer, and a Pisces. So far though, I have not experienced the dreaded interpersonal problems one would expect from being surrounded by a bunch of emotional, crazy water signs. Perhaps I will have to give up a now-outdated conception of what water signs are like. (One of the Scorpios, in hearing my concern about them all being water signs, immediately pointed out that as a Gemini I'm schizophrenic. I am so not. Yes I am. No I'm not. Am to. Are not. Har har har. Anyway...)
We'll see...one of my team members also noticed that the 4 of us temps fill out the Scooby Doo team profiles almost perfectly: One of us is bearded and loosely locked (Shaggy), one of us is blond and built (Fred), the other girl has short hair and wears glasses (Velma) and I, being a tall blond, am supposedly Daphne (YES! After being a Velma nearly all of my life, I have finally achieved Daphne status...). Our team lead, however, is not really Scooby -- she decided she's more of a Scrappy Doo. So most of our spare time is spent trying to figure out just what the mystery is and who's behind it. ;0)
Last but not least, Auburn is a lovely little town (it has an "old town" section that is very Jackson Hole/Gold Rushy/Store Fronty. But it's pretty small) and our hotel has a pool and a hot tub (both of which I use every day) AND is located 500 feet from In N' Out. We also have a Marie Calender's built into the hotel. Yay!
The momentum is gathering. Though I miss my friends in SF, conditions are ideal and everything is going smoothly. Talk to you soon!
Saturday, September 20, 2003
Dudes: I am now totally like Cali in a vehicular way. I bid a fond adieu to 210-MOS and welcome 5DKY203. And just as I was about to say that I'm finally done with that long list of things to do when moving (new: job, residence, housemates, cable, DSL, electric, bank, phone, driver's license, registration...whew) I realize I just need a parking permit for my neighborhood! But you can mail away for those, so other than that, everything's squared away ------ just in time for me to leave. And also just in the knick of time financially. Aside from having next month's rent tucked safely away in my savings, I'm about $94 away from bankruptcy! Of course, if my @#$%^&*! phone rebate would just hurry up and appear, I'd have a bit more breathing room.
Parents: this is not a sly entreaty for money. I'll be getting my (albeit meager) paycheck for this week's training next week, and all of my bills for this month are paid. I'm just keeping everybody posted on my masterfully down-to-the-wire but solvent financial planning. Yeah, that's it. ;0)
In job-related news: Auburn is East just past Sacramento and towards Tahoe. So it's actually probably only 3 hours away, really. This small elimination of an extra 2-3 hours projected driving time is quite a relief, I have to say. The projected time line for the project has us in Auburn until Mid November, and then in Eureka or Santa Rosa until the end of January, which would be a solid 3+ months of work. (This may mean that my Thanksgiving and Christmas vacations will be tiny. I'm sad about that. But I think they'll still be doable.) Also, on Friday we combined two-teams-to-a-group and did a workshop with "sample scenarios" for what we'll be doing at the electric company. And I must say, my team rocks! While the other team we were working with was all, "wai', wha???" we were all, "do this and this and this. DONE." And, while I have a feeling this applies to a majority of aspiring twenty-somethings in San Francisco, the two boys on my team are both writers, which is great, because if there's anything Wesleyan trained me to do, it's relate to writers. Mom, I will not be marrying, dating, or in any way teaming up with either of these boys, so let's nip that dreamy look in your eyes in the bud right now, okay? But just know I'm in great company. To that end, one of these boys is most definitely bringing his laptop and told us we could use it for email if we'd like. While I don't intend to abuse this situation by writing to you all every single night, it does mean I'm slightly more reachable electronically.
Take care everyone!
Parents: this is not a sly entreaty for money. I'll be getting my (albeit meager) paycheck for this week's training next week, and all of my bills for this month are paid. I'm just keeping everybody posted on my masterfully down-to-the-wire but solvent financial planning. Yeah, that's it. ;0)
In job-related news: Auburn is East just past Sacramento and towards Tahoe. So it's actually probably only 3 hours away, really. This small elimination of an extra 2-3 hours projected driving time is quite a relief, I have to say. The projected time line for the project has us in Auburn until Mid November, and then in Eureka or Santa Rosa until the end of January, which would be a solid 3+ months of work. (This may mean that my Thanksgiving and Christmas vacations will be tiny. I'm sad about that. But I think they'll still be doable.) Also, on Friday we combined two-teams-to-a-group and did a workshop with "sample scenarios" for what we'll be doing at the electric company. And I must say, my team rocks! While the other team we were working with was all, "wai', wha???" we were all, "do this and this and this. DONE." And, while I have a feeling this applies to a majority of aspiring twenty-somethings in San Francisco, the two boys on my team are both writers, which is great, because if there's anything Wesleyan trained me to do, it's relate to writers. Mom, I will not be marrying, dating, or in any way teaming up with either of these boys, so let's nip that dreamy look in your eyes in the bud right now, okay? But just know I'm in great company. To that end, one of these boys is most definitely bringing his laptop and told us we could use it for email if we'd like. While I don't intend to abuse this situation by writing to you all every single night, it does mean I'm slightly more reachable electronically.
Take care everyone!
Friday, September 19, 2003
Thursday, September 18, 2003
Wednesday, September 17, 2003
So this is what, under attorney-client privilege, I am allowed to say: I am working for a consulting firm at an electric company to aid them in an internal audit. ;)
Today's meeting went well. Most of the day was spent learning exactly what we'd be doing, where we'd be going, and meeting our team leaders and the E.C. affiliates. There are 6 teams, each of which will be sent to two major areas. I ended up in one of the teams that starts out in Auburn -- Northeastern CA -- and then moves to the Santa Rosa/Eureka area. For now it will mean driving 5-6 hours in a van with 4 other people (3 other temps and our team leader) every Sunday and Friday afternoon and staying in a hotel all of the corresponding nights. The good news is, we are paid for all of that driving time (which means lot$ of overtime) and we get the food allowance as well, so...essentially I will have little to no expenses besides rent and bills from now until late January.
My team seems cool -- two guys, another girl, myself, and our team leader (who's a girl). They all seem nice, charismatic, diligent. I have a positive outlook on this one.
I'll do my best to stay in touch -- we may or may not have internet access, and I'll be avoiding using my cell phone until after 9pm PST or on weekends, since last month's bill was a whopper, plus I'll be busy anyway. But those are loose guidelines and not to be considered restrictions.
Yay!
Today's meeting went well. Most of the day was spent learning exactly what we'd be doing, where we'd be going, and meeting our team leaders and the E.C. affiliates. There are 6 teams, each of which will be sent to two major areas. I ended up in one of the teams that starts out in Auburn -- Northeastern CA -- and then moves to the Santa Rosa/Eureka area. For now it will mean driving 5-6 hours in a van with 4 other people (3 other temps and our team leader) every Sunday and Friday afternoon and staying in a hotel all of the corresponding nights. The good news is, we are paid for all of that driving time (which means lot$ of overtime) and we get the food allowance as well, so...essentially I will have little to no expenses besides rent and bills from now until late January.
My team seems cool -- two guys, another girl, myself, and our team leader (who's a girl). They all seem nice, charismatic, diligent. I have a positive outlook on this one.
I'll do my best to stay in touch -- we may or may not have internet access, and I'll be avoiding using my cell phone until after 9pm PST or on weekends, since last month's bill was a whopper, plus I'll be busy anyway. But those are loose guidelines and not to be considered restrictions.
Yay!
Thursday, September 11, 2003
In honor of New Mexico, one of my favorite poems:
A Blessing
Just off the highway to Rochester, Minnesota,
Twilight bounds softly forth on the grass.
And the eyes of those two Indian ponies
Darken with kindness.
They have gladly come out of the willows
To welcome my friend and me.
We step over the barbed wire into the pasture
Where they have been grazing all day, alone.
They ripple tensely, they can hardly contain their happiness
That we have come.
They bow shyly as wet swans. They love each other.
There is no loneliness like theirs.
At home once more,
They begin munching the young tufts of spring in the darkness.
I would like to hold the slenderer one in my arms,
For she has walked over to me
And nuzzled my left hand.
She is black and white,
Her mane falls wildly on her forehead,
And the light breeze moves me to caress her long ear
That is delicate as the skin over a girl's wrist.
Suddenly I realize
That if I stepped out of my body I would break
Into blossom.
-- James Wright, 1963
A Blessing
Just off the highway to Rochester, Minnesota,
Twilight bounds softly forth on the grass.
And the eyes of those two Indian ponies
Darken with kindness.
They have gladly come out of the willows
To welcome my friend and me.
We step over the barbed wire into the pasture
Where they have been grazing all day, alone.
They ripple tensely, they can hardly contain their happiness
That we have come.
They bow shyly as wet swans. They love each other.
There is no loneliness like theirs.
At home once more,
They begin munching the young tufts of spring in the darkness.
I would like to hold the slenderer one in my arms,
For she has walked over to me
And nuzzled my left hand.
She is black and white,
Her mane falls wildly on her forehead,
And the light breeze moves me to caress her long ear
That is delicate as the skin over a girl's wrist.
Suddenly I realize
That if I stepped out of my body I would break
Into blossom.
-- James Wright, 1963
Wednesday, September 10, 2003
I got the J-O-B! I start training next Wednesday. The pay is enough, plus they compensate for all lodgings, travel time (i.e. when I'm sitting in a van on the way to Eureka, I'm getting paid for that time) and include a more-than-is-necessary food-stipend per diem. It will involve a lot of travel but I'm looking forward to that...the document collection & organization should last 2-3 months, and then they may hire me to stay on for the analysis portion...anyway...I think the words of the day are "at last!" I'll be sure to keep you posted on what the job is actually like, what the people are like (we work in teams) and hopefully what the towns themselves are like....
Monday, September 08, 2003
THE LOST ARCHIVES OF A HOUSE:
So...the thing to tell you is that I got a little mini vacation thanks to the good news about the interview. Chad, who lives in Santa Fe, NM is about to start a job at a book store this week, and I learned of said interview first thing Tuesday morning, and so it struck us both that this past week would be the last "free" week for us. Ergo, I dropped everything (which, since I had to twiddle my thumbs until the interview, was actually dropping nothing) and hopped in my under-used and still ever so eager Forester and drove to Santa Fe. As you may or may not know, I've been to Santa Fe before -- briefly with Lex and Leslie on our first road trip -- but never with Chad on the insider track. I now know where to get the best tamale, tapas, or anole pinon pancakes, the best place to go if you need a pinata or to see some prairie dogs, the best pawn shop to find old Native American crafted turquoise jewelry, and the best place to drive to if your dad loans you his Sea-Foam green mint-condition Mercedes Convertible (the ski basin)...I now also know why there's all that hype about desert sunsets (if you've ever ordered a universe-sized scoop of rainbow sherbet and then spilled it all over the clouds, then you know what a Santa Fe sunset looks like and why it's called "God Sky") and just exactly how the locals get rid of Old Man Gloom every year -- they spend a week in festival and burn a gigantic effigy (named Zozobra) at the stake. (We didn't actually see this for reasons about to become clear. But just learning about it was cool.)
If it sounds action-packed, it's because it was. We had a few days total to see the sights, because we also took off for Chad's childhood home, located on a mesa in the middle of nowhere, about an hour and a half or so from Santa Fe. About three decades ago his parents bought a bunch of acres of *rural* New Mexico land, built a house from scratch and lived off the land, from building fences and keeping horses, pigs, and fowl, to farming for food and raising two kids. Eventually they built another home on the land, and as life ran its course, they were able to move to Santa Fe (so a very intelligent Chad could get an education better-suited to his future) and revamp the second home entirely (while renting the first to a reclusive but shockingly normal Ohio State Lottery winner in need of cutting down his expenses). It's now complete with such things as a gigantic TV and pool table -- but it's still in the middle of nowhere on top of a mesa, and thereby gorgeous and uncorrupted. There are petroglyphs carved into rocks, ball cacti that hitch themselves to your flip-flops, furniture that his grandfather made by hand, and water that reeks of sulphur when you first turn on the tap. It rained off and on for the time we were there, but the first night it cleared up enough such that you could see EVERY STAR IN THE SKY, from the Milky Way to Mars, and on to meteor showers -- not just little points of light that shoot across your field of vision, but burning balls that trundle, effervesce, and spit, the kind of shimmery stuff you only see when a small child makes a wish about a whale's friendship on the Disney Channel.
It was beautiful and exhausting -- the whole trip -- and I learned as much about Chad's history (his parents have some fantastic stories about life on the Mesa -- and just some fantastic stories in general) as anything.
I apologize for being out of radio contact -- my cell phone didn't work on the Mesa, and I was in general pretty engrossed...but grateful for a last hurrah that I could actually enjoy knowing that work is on the way.
So...the thing to tell you is that I got a little mini vacation thanks to the good news about the interview. Chad, who lives in Santa Fe, NM is about to start a job at a book store this week, and I learned of said interview first thing Tuesday morning, and so it struck us both that this past week would be the last "free" week for us. Ergo, I dropped everything (which, since I had to twiddle my thumbs until the interview, was actually dropping nothing) and hopped in my under-used and still ever so eager Forester and drove to Santa Fe. As you may or may not know, I've been to Santa Fe before -- briefly with Lex and Leslie on our first road trip -- but never with Chad on the insider track. I now know where to get the best tamale, tapas, or anole pinon pancakes, the best place to go if you need a pinata or to see some prairie dogs, the best pawn shop to find old Native American crafted turquoise jewelry, and the best place to drive to if your dad loans you his Sea-Foam green mint-condition Mercedes Convertible (the ski basin)...I now also know why there's all that hype about desert sunsets (if you've ever ordered a universe-sized scoop of rainbow sherbet and then spilled it all over the clouds, then you know what a Santa Fe sunset looks like and why it's called "God Sky") and just exactly how the locals get rid of Old Man Gloom every year -- they spend a week in festival and burn a gigantic effigy (named Zozobra) at the stake. (We didn't actually see this for reasons about to become clear. But just learning about it was cool.)
If it sounds action-packed, it's because it was. We had a few days total to see the sights, because we also took off for Chad's childhood home, located on a mesa in the middle of nowhere, about an hour and a half or so from Santa Fe. About three decades ago his parents bought a bunch of acres of *rural* New Mexico land, built a house from scratch and lived off the land, from building fences and keeping horses, pigs, and fowl, to farming for food and raising two kids. Eventually they built another home on the land, and as life ran its course, they were able to move to Santa Fe (so a very intelligent Chad could get an education better-suited to his future) and revamp the second home entirely (while renting the first to a reclusive but shockingly normal Ohio State Lottery winner in need of cutting down his expenses). It's now complete with such things as a gigantic TV and pool table -- but it's still in the middle of nowhere on top of a mesa, and thereby gorgeous and uncorrupted. There are petroglyphs carved into rocks, ball cacti that hitch themselves to your flip-flops, furniture that his grandfather made by hand, and water that reeks of sulphur when you first turn on the tap. It rained off and on for the time we were there, but the first night it cleared up enough such that you could see EVERY STAR IN THE SKY, from the Milky Way to Mars, and on to meteor showers -- not just little points of light that shoot across your field of vision, but burning balls that trundle, effervesce, and spit, the kind of shimmery stuff you only see when a small child makes a wish about a whale's friendship on the Disney Channel.
It was beautiful and exhausting -- the whole trip -- and I learned as much about Chad's history (his parents have some fantastic stories about life on the Mesa -- and just some fantastic stories in general) as anything.
I apologize for being out of radio contact -- my cell phone didn't work on the Mesa, and I was in general pretty engrossed...but grateful for a last hurrah that I could actually enjoy knowing that work is on the way.
Thursday, September 04, 2003
Tuesday, August 26, 2003
James and I have three rooms in this apartment and two of us. So we are interviewing for a third. For those of you who have heard of Craig's List (www.craigslist.org), it is an exceptionally useful tool for finding nearly anything in any major city. It is a website built around community. So we posted a listing on it seeking a third roommate and got 50 responses in the space of three days.
Before the advent of reality tv, it might have been a far rarer concept to interview someone in the hopes of thoroughly plumbing their personality for all its little cracks and blockages in order to ascertain whether after 5 months you will still be comfortable sharing space with them. Or rather, to do so as a roommate and not a landlord. James and I -- two totally compatible roommates, something we're both terribly happy about -- are hoping to find a third totally compatible roommate, someone who will not skulk about but will want to hang out, someone relatively clean without being anal-retentive, someone who shares our general tastes and worldviews but can bring new interests and concepts into our lives, and obviously someone reliable -- in short, it is most definitely like interviewing someone to be a new friend. Out of these 50 responses, we had 10 "definitely interview thems," 5 bench warmers, about 30 people who just didn't give us enough information to go on, and about 5 definite no's.
If you read this and you can thing of a real whizbanger of a question to peel away a layer of someone's mind (in the next two days -- interviews begin at 5pm pacific time Wed-Thur), do email me! Otherwise, James and I -- two fairly good judges of character in combination -- will have to go on instinct, employment status, and luck.
On a different note: our friend Noah bought a crossword puzzle book that has perhaps some of the CHEAPEST answers to clues ever. For example, a 7 letter word for "irritable" beginning with PE and ending with ISH was not PEEVISH, but PETTISH. Wha?? On a different note, however, I learned a (supposed) synonym for "preen" -- "prink." (Wha??? again.) Of course, the clue was "prink," which meant I had to solve it by getting every other clue in relation to it, double-checking the answers in the back of the book to be sure, and scratching (prinking?) my head in confusion. According to another source, John, another synonym for "preen" is "fard," as in, "Oh, before my date I spent an hour farding in my room." (Ha!!)
It all makes you notice that it is a rather vainglorious and silly thing, the little rituals and ministrations that people partake in just to look nice for other people, and so I suppose the language must reflect that. Huzzah to you, communicators of yore! You've made us look no less stupid and feel no less stupid about trying to look less stupid, but you sure provided fodder to fend off the ubiquitous doldrums of bored Crossword-makers worldwide.
Before the advent of reality tv, it might have been a far rarer concept to interview someone in the hopes of thoroughly plumbing their personality for all its little cracks and blockages in order to ascertain whether after 5 months you will still be comfortable sharing space with them. Or rather, to do so as a roommate and not a landlord. James and I -- two totally compatible roommates, something we're both terribly happy about -- are hoping to find a third totally compatible roommate, someone who will not skulk about but will want to hang out, someone relatively clean without being anal-retentive, someone who shares our general tastes and worldviews but can bring new interests and concepts into our lives, and obviously someone reliable -- in short, it is most definitely like interviewing someone to be a new friend. Out of these 50 responses, we had 10 "definitely interview thems," 5 bench warmers, about 30 people who just didn't give us enough information to go on, and about 5 definite no's.
If you read this and you can thing of a real whizbanger of a question to peel away a layer of someone's mind (in the next two days -- interviews begin at 5pm pacific time Wed-Thur), do email me! Otherwise, James and I -- two fairly good judges of character in combination -- will have to go on instinct, employment status, and luck.
On a different note: our friend Noah bought a crossword puzzle book that has perhaps some of the CHEAPEST answers to clues ever. For example, a 7 letter word for "irritable" beginning with PE and ending with ISH was not PEEVISH, but PETTISH. Wha?? On a different note, however, I learned a (supposed) synonym for "preen" -- "prink." (Wha??? again.) Of course, the clue was "prink," which meant I had to solve it by getting every other clue in relation to it, double-checking the answers in the back of the book to be sure, and scratching (prinking?) my head in confusion. According to another source, John, another synonym for "preen" is "fard," as in, "Oh, before my date I spent an hour farding in my room." (Ha!!)
It all makes you notice that it is a rather vainglorious and silly thing, the little rituals and ministrations that people partake in just to look nice for other people, and so I suppose the language must reflect that. Huzzah to you, communicators of yore! You've made us look no less stupid and feel no less stupid about trying to look less stupid, but you sure provided fodder to fend off the ubiquitous doldrums of bored Crossword-makers worldwide.
Friday, August 22, 2003
Wednesday, August 20, 2003
Monday, August 18, 2003
I just read more of Josh's website and it makes me pale in comparison. As soon as the "trivialities" of signing a lease and finding a (permanent) job are past, I hope to do something more thoughtful with this website. There are plenty of things worthy of rumination out there, plenty of poetry quotations that should well be shared, things to observe, queries to posture...bear with me as I tromp forward through all this financial wear and tear, because I do hope the aftermath will be far more interesting...
Friday, August 15, 2003
I have a job.
It's temporary, admin assistant to a Financial Services group in downtown San Francisco. 3-4 weeks.
I have to thank Barbara for her indirect help with this one -- she emailed me some monster.com jobs, which prompted me to upload my resume to monster.com and make it searchable by any employer. Thus a national staffing agency in Illinois saw it and contacted me on Tuesday about this job! I didn't even have to work for it -- they saw that I had plenty of admin experience and want me to start work on Monday, no interview necessary. What clinched it, apparently, was that they saw I was from Wesleyan. The recruiter who called me hadn't heard of Wes but they sure had, and she said they're very excited...
Anyway, Helen -- a teacher of mine at Rumsey in 5th grade -- is checking her connections for more permanent teaching jobs, and I'm still actively looking myself. But at last, a break through and a little peace of mind. And just in time to tell the Landlord, whom I meet with today! (It may not have longetivity but it at least proves my viability in the job market...I hope.)
It's temporary, admin assistant to a Financial Services group in downtown San Francisco. 3-4 weeks.
I have to thank Barbara for her indirect help with this one -- she emailed me some monster.com jobs, which prompted me to upload my resume to monster.com and make it searchable by any employer. Thus a national staffing agency in Illinois saw it and contacted me on Tuesday about this job! I didn't even have to work for it -- they saw that I had plenty of admin experience and want me to start work on Monday, no interview necessary. What clinched it, apparently, was that they saw I was from Wesleyan. The recruiter who called me hadn't heard of Wes but they sure had, and she said they're very excited...
Anyway, Helen -- a teacher of mine at Rumsey in 5th grade -- is checking her connections for more permanent teaching jobs, and I'm still actively looking myself. But at last, a break through and a little peace of mind. And just in time to tell the Landlord, whom I meet with today! (It may not have longetivity but it at least proves my viability in the job market...I hope.)
Added to my side bar now is a link called Josh's travels. Josh is a friend of mine through the Men's Club Volleyball Team at Wesleyan who won the Watson Fellowship. If you want to read super intelligent and involved stuff about the global effects of technology up close and personal, go to his site and look around. It's pretty awesome.
Today I meet with the Landlord of this place to start the application process. He told me that "in principal" he has no problem with James and I living here. It bodes well!
Also, I have had calls from two temp agencies and my former grade school vball coach has put me in touch with some SF area contacts about possibly teaching in the area, which would be a *dream*. I mean, obviously tough and challenging and hard. But also really exciting. As I seem to say a lot -- or at least think a lot -- keep your fingers crossed!!
Today I meet with the Landlord of this place to start the application process. He told me that "in principal" he has no problem with James and I living here. It bodes well!
Also, I have had calls from two temp agencies and my former grade school vball coach has put me in touch with some SF area contacts about possibly teaching in the area, which would be a *dream*. I mean, obviously tough and challenging and hard. But also really exciting. As I seem to say a lot -- or at least think a lot -- keep your fingers crossed!!
Thursday, August 07, 2003
Wednesday, August 06, 2003
Hey all, it's been a while because I've been spending nearly all my time trying to find a job, and there's just not much of interest to say about that until I get one. There have been some really cool ones, though, so I'll keep you posted if anything comes to fruition.
I did have time to do one really interesting thing, though: Alcatraz, aka the Rock. So my blog today will be a little history lesson for the unintiated. There's a lot more history to it than you might expect -- it was developed in 1853 to be a fort (along with several others) protecting the bay. So you'd have all these lonely sailors posted on Alcatraz and overlooking San Francisco over a mile and a quarter away who ultimately never saw any military action, and then they'd get their shore leave and go wild. It was then quickly discovered what a great holding pen Alcatraz was for miscreants -- originally the soldiers were lowered into a single basement cell for periods from days to weeks. And by 1861, they were shipping civilian (and unfortunately, native american) prisoners in as well: Confederates, for example. But the problem with Alcatraz was always its cost -- it has no source of fresh water (it had to be shipped in from the mainland) and had to provide its own electricity, etc. So in 1892 with Military equipment improving leaps and bounds, Alcatraz as a fort became expensive and obsolete, and thus in 1915 becomes entirely a military prison, and then 19 years later becomes a federal prison. That's where famous inmates like Al Capone and The Birdman come in. Al Capone was able to buy out all the guards at his first prison and continue his booming prohibition business et al. from his original jail cell, so they moved him to Alcatraz to completely isolate him. He only served 10 years for tax evasion, but by the time he was released, he was in the full throes of syphilis-induced delirium, and died not long after. The Birdman, as we learned in a lecture, was sentenced to be executed for murder and placed in solitary confinement pending that somewhere in the Midwest. But his mom intervened with a huge writing campaign, actually gained an audience with the president, and convinced him to repeal the death sentence. The catch was, it was still on his orders to be in solitary confinement, so for the entire rest of his prison "career," which lasted for some 40 years, he was in isolation!! He was, by all accounts, a true psychopath -- prone to stabbing anyone he got in an argument with. He gets his nickname from his practice of keeping and studying canaries and their diseases, but he didn't actually keep them at Alcatraz, he kept them at Leavenworth, having OVER 400 in his solitary cell with him there! He wrote the definitive work on canaries and their diseases while in prison -- he was the authority on them for decades -- until finally in 1980 someone looked into it and it all turned out to be complete "bunk" -- literally the word they used in the report. He was pretty much a major celebrity once Burt Lancaster played him in a movie about his life, though his death went unnoticed because he died the day before President Kennedy was assasinated.
Alcatraz ran as a federal penitentiary from 1934-1963, and that was the main focus of our tour. We took the night tour and also got the audio tour thrown in, which was narrated by actual security guards and former inmates who had lived through Alcatraz, who were amazing to hear from. There were 4 major cell blocks and depending upon their relative appeal or location, they were named after New York streets -- Broadway was the central corridor down the middle and ended in "Times Square" (where the central wall clock was located) -- the cells with the best views were called Park Place, etc. There was an unsuccessful riot and of course the infamous escape (the escapees are to this day on the FBI's wanted list: though they are presumed never to have made it across the bay, there is no evidence of their death either).
After it closed, once again for financial reasons, they almost sold it to a Texas billionaire to be made into a space-themed amusement park, except that a group of Native American Political Activists occupied it to make a statement to the "Great White Father and All His People." These occupations (three in all) lasted from 11 days to 19 months and had a lot of positive public support initially, but like every other endeavor on Alcatraz, eventually they couldn't support themselves and most of them left or were escorted off by federal agents. At this point, the National Park movement had begun and Alcatraz became part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Because there are no land predators whatsoever (in fact, there is only the deer mouse and the California slender salamander as 4 footed representatives) it's home to all kinds of gulls and birds, including one of the largest western gull colonies in California, along with the black-crowned night heron, both of which are valuable enough that they close parts of the island during nesting and breeding season. During some of the outdoor lectures, the gulls were so loud it was hard to hear the tour guy standing 7 feet away.
The ferry ride to and from was beautiful -- we got a perfect, clear, warm evening with little to no fog, so the ride back when it was dark and we were facing all the lights was astounding.
Anyway, that's about it...I need to stop writing this and get back to the job market. Keep those fingers crossed!!
I did have time to do one really interesting thing, though: Alcatraz, aka the Rock. So my blog today will be a little history lesson for the unintiated. There's a lot more history to it than you might expect -- it was developed in 1853 to be a fort (along with several others) protecting the bay. So you'd have all these lonely sailors posted on Alcatraz and overlooking San Francisco over a mile and a quarter away who ultimately never saw any military action, and then they'd get their shore leave and go wild. It was then quickly discovered what a great holding pen Alcatraz was for miscreants -- originally the soldiers were lowered into a single basement cell for periods from days to weeks. And by 1861, they were shipping civilian (and unfortunately, native american) prisoners in as well: Confederates, for example. But the problem with Alcatraz was always its cost -- it has no source of fresh water (it had to be shipped in from the mainland) and had to provide its own electricity, etc. So in 1892 with Military equipment improving leaps and bounds, Alcatraz as a fort became expensive and obsolete, and thus in 1915 becomes entirely a military prison, and then 19 years later becomes a federal prison. That's where famous inmates like Al Capone and The Birdman come in. Al Capone was able to buy out all the guards at his first prison and continue his booming prohibition business et al. from his original jail cell, so they moved him to Alcatraz to completely isolate him. He only served 10 years for tax evasion, but by the time he was released, he was in the full throes of syphilis-induced delirium, and died not long after. The Birdman, as we learned in a lecture, was sentenced to be executed for murder and placed in solitary confinement pending that somewhere in the Midwest. But his mom intervened with a huge writing campaign, actually gained an audience with the president, and convinced him to repeal the death sentence. The catch was, it was still on his orders to be in solitary confinement, so for the entire rest of his prison "career," which lasted for some 40 years, he was in isolation!! He was, by all accounts, a true psychopath -- prone to stabbing anyone he got in an argument with. He gets his nickname from his practice of keeping and studying canaries and their diseases, but he didn't actually keep them at Alcatraz, he kept them at Leavenworth, having OVER 400 in his solitary cell with him there! He wrote the definitive work on canaries and their diseases while in prison -- he was the authority on them for decades -- until finally in 1980 someone looked into it and it all turned out to be complete "bunk" -- literally the word they used in the report. He was pretty much a major celebrity once Burt Lancaster played him in a movie about his life, though his death went unnoticed because he died the day before President Kennedy was assasinated.
Alcatraz ran as a federal penitentiary from 1934-1963, and that was the main focus of our tour. We took the night tour and also got the audio tour thrown in, which was narrated by actual security guards and former inmates who had lived through Alcatraz, who were amazing to hear from. There were 4 major cell blocks and depending upon their relative appeal or location, they were named after New York streets -- Broadway was the central corridor down the middle and ended in "Times Square" (where the central wall clock was located) -- the cells with the best views were called Park Place, etc. There was an unsuccessful riot and of course the infamous escape (the escapees are to this day on the FBI's wanted list: though they are presumed never to have made it across the bay, there is no evidence of their death either).
After it closed, once again for financial reasons, they almost sold it to a Texas billionaire to be made into a space-themed amusement park, except that a group of Native American Political Activists occupied it to make a statement to the "Great White Father and All His People." These occupations (three in all) lasted from 11 days to 19 months and had a lot of positive public support initially, but like every other endeavor on Alcatraz, eventually they couldn't support themselves and most of them left or were escorted off by federal agents. At this point, the National Park movement had begun and Alcatraz became part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Because there are no land predators whatsoever (in fact, there is only the deer mouse and the California slender salamander as 4 footed representatives) it's home to all kinds of gulls and birds, including one of the largest western gull colonies in California, along with the black-crowned night heron, both of which are valuable enough that they close parts of the island during nesting and breeding season. During some of the outdoor lectures, the gulls were so loud it was hard to hear the tour guy standing 7 feet away.
The ferry ride to and from was beautiful -- we got a perfect, clear, warm evening with little to no fog, so the ride back when it was dark and we were facing all the lights was astounding.
Anyway, that's about it...I need to stop writing this and get back to the job market. Keep those fingers crossed!!
Monday, July 28, 2003
Sorry to have taken so long to write -- my roomie took her computer away with her for the weekend...
Thanks to a recommendation from Steve, on Friday we had a DELICIOUS lunch at Scoma's on Pier 47. I had the delight of ordering Roasted Whole Cracked Dungeness Crab, which for the unintiated, is a bowl with an assortment of crab parts (still in the shell) soaked in garlic, butter, and olive oil. YUM. They serve it with shell-crackers and a long thin fork, but there is no possible way to eat it politely, and so in no time I was so covered in garlic, butter and olive oil that I could not pick up my drink for the duration of the meal for fear of sling-shooting it out of my greasy hands. But the great thing about lobsters and crabs is that they make a meal not just a meal but a *process*, and so at the end of it you feel like you've really accomplished something.
I've also had some great wines: St. Francis, Kendall Jackson (a House family favorite), and Ironstone Chardonnays, as well as 2-Buck-Chuck -- a particular type of Merlot sold at Trader Joe's out here. It's produced by Charles Shaw, who had such a prolific vineyard year that he can afford to sell a really delicious Merlot at 2 bucks a pop (hence the nickname). It may be the only time in my early life where I could go buy a whole case.
The great thing about having Chad here for a long time was that he wanted to really see San Francisco, so see it we did. In addition to the things I've already listed, we went back to the wharf area to get a Ghiradelli sundae, explored the exploratorium (excellent good fun for all 5 senses), got to know Noe Valley pretty intimately, saw Finding Nemo at last ("Mine! Mine! Mine? Mine!") as well as Pirates of the Caribbean (quite funny, actually!), bought Skecher's rollerskates (4 wheelers, baby -- on sale for the ridiculously low price of 2 pairs for $35) and SKATED through much of Golden Gate Park (hard work -- but worth it) where we experienced the rose gardens and the lakes and ponds, checked out some italian food at North Beach (where the Jazz festival is coming up this Wednesday through the weekend) and walked through Chinatown, watched "Hero" on dvd with Leslie (unbelievably gorgeous cinematography, with a style and storyline not unlike Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon -- rent it if you can, it's an escape unlike any other) after walking around her neighborhood a bit, saw Chad's friend play in a band in Berkeley, and basically did a lot of walking, talking, eating, and exploring.
After he left, I also went to the 25th annual Garlic Festival in Gilroy -- the most delicious day you'll spend anywhere, at least until the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin festival -- where we sampled everything from pasta to kettle corn to ice cream -- that's right, ice cream -- flavored with Garlic!! Gilroy is south of S.F. so it was a whopping 104 degrees. We started sagging pretty quickly, though the occasional fruit smoothie and bowl of shaved ice resurrected us every now and then. They had great t-shirts, mostly along the lines of "eat, drink and stink," but we all wanted to save our cash for food, and it was well worth it. (Steve and Mom -- you need to time a visit for the festival next year. It's your kind of shindig.) The cool bonus to going to the festival was that Vida Long, one of my Wes teammates and good friends and a native Washington Stater, happened to be driving up from a visit to L.A., so she met us there and then followed us home. I got to spend most of this morning walking around Haight street with her -- perhaps one of the last key areas in San Fran that I haven't visited yet -- wacky, fun shops. I didn't buy anything -- buying's for people who have jobs! -- but I certainly know where to go to shop from now on.
In small world news: while waiting for the other half of our party to show up at Finding Nemo, I ran into none other than Bear Witherspoon, an old friend from Rumsey (grade school). The last time I saw was in EIGHTH GRADE, and to his credit, he recognized me and came over to talk to me. I'm hoping to have a meal with him some time this week...
It's been a really fun July, but now that I'm on my own again, this week and all of August is all business. I have some great leads, and I hope to have some interviews lined up by the end of this week. Take care!
Thanks to a recommendation from Steve, on Friday we had a DELICIOUS lunch at Scoma's on Pier 47. I had the delight of ordering Roasted Whole Cracked Dungeness Crab, which for the unintiated, is a bowl with an assortment of crab parts (still in the shell) soaked in garlic, butter, and olive oil. YUM. They serve it with shell-crackers and a long thin fork, but there is no possible way to eat it politely, and so in no time I was so covered in garlic, butter and olive oil that I could not pick up my drink for the duration of the meal for fear of sling-shooting it out of my greasy hands. But the great thing about lobsters and crabs is that they make a meal not just a meal but a *process*, and so at the end of it you feel like you've really accomplished something.
I've also had some great wines: St. Francis, Kendall Jackson (a House family favorite), and Ironstone Chardonnays, as well as 2-Buck-Chuck -- a particular type of Merlot sold at Trader Joe's out here. It's produced by Charles Shaw, who had such a prolific vineyard year that he can afford to sell a really delicious Merlot at 2 bucks a pop (hence the nickname). It may be the only time in my early life where I could go buy a whole case.
The great thing about having Chad here for a long time was that he wanted to really see San Francisco, so see it we did. In addition to the things I've already listed, we went back to the wharf area to get a Ghiradelli sundae, explored the exploratorium (excellent good fun for all 5 senses), got to know Noe Valley pretty intimately, saw Finding Nemo at last ("Mine! Mine! Mine? Mine!") as well as Pirates of the Caribbean (quite funny, actually!), bought Skecher's rollerskates (4 wheelers, baby -- on sale for the ridiculously low price of 2 pairs for $35) and SKATED through much of Golden Gate Park (hard work -- but worth it) where we experienced the rose gardens and the lakes and ponds, checked out some italian food at North Beach (where the Jazz festival is coming up this Wednesday through the weekend) and walked through Chinatown, watched "Hero" on dvd with Leslie (unbelievably gorgeous cinematography, with a style and storyline not unlike Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon -- rent it if you can, it's an escape unlike any other) after walking around her neighborhood a bit, saw Chad's friend play in a band in Berkeley, and basically did a lot of walking, talking, eating, and exploring.
After he left, I also went to the 25th annual Garlic Festival in Gilroy -- the most delicious day you'll spend anywhere, at least until the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin festival -- where we sampled everything from pasta to kettle corn to ice cream -- that's right, ice cream -- flavored with Garlic!! Gilroy is south of S.F. so it was a whopping 104 degrees. We started sagging pretty quickly, though the occasional fruit smoothie and bowl of shaved ice resurrected us every now and then. They had great t-shirts, mostly along the lines of "eat, drink and stink," but we all wanted to save our cash for food, and it was well worth it. (Steve and Mom -- you need to time a visit for the festival next year. It's your kind of shindig.) The cool bonus to going to the festival was that Vida Long, one of my Wes teammates and good friends and a native Washington Stater, happened to be driving up from a visit to L.A., so she met us there and then followed us home. I got to spend most of this morning walking around Haight street with her -- perhaps one of the last key areas in San Fran that I haven't visited yet -- wacky, fun shops. I didn't buy anything -- buying's for people who have jobs! -- but I certainly know where to go to shop from now on.
In small world news: while waiting for the other half of our party to show up at Finding Nemo, I ran into none other than Bear Witherspoon, an old friend from Rumsey (grade school). The last time I saw was in EIGHTH GRADE, and to his credit, he recognized me and came over to talk to me. I'm hoping to have a meal with him some time this week...
It's been a really fun July, but now that I'm on my own again, this week and all of August is all business. I have some great leads, and I hope to have some interviews lined up by the end of this week. Take care!
Wednesday, July 23, 2003
At laaaaaaaaaaaaaaast, my love, at laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaast, my car is back. I drove her home and she seems fine. The nice thing is they cleaned and vacuumed her (sorely needed post-road trip); the not nice thing is that there was additional damage. They are going to send me the final bill in the mail, but I already know there was at least $300 more damage. I said it before and I'll say it again: deductibles are a great thing.
Now to get my CA license and registration...I'm sure they can't WAIT to have me as an official driver in this state!!
Good news: Laura, my roomie, and Leslie, one of my best friends, have decided to move in together -- in a separate apartment somewhere nearby. This means James, my good friend from Wes and roomie from last summer, can move into Laura's old room and we can (hopefully) take over the lease come September. I really love this house and neighborhood and James and I live together really well, so I'm really excited at the prospects. The only thing I don't know is if our third roommate, Emi, is staying or going too; but either way it will work out. Emi, by the way, was also born on June 15th. (If any of you were wondering just how many geminis it takes to change a light bulb...)
Now to find a job. Prospects are good!
Now to get my CA license and registration...I'm sure they can't WAIT to have me as an official driver in this state!!
Good news: Laura, my roomie, and Leslie, one of my best friends, have decided to move in together -- in a separate apartment somewhere nearby. This means James, my good friend from Wes and roomie from last summer, can move into Laura's old room and we can (hopefully) take over the lease come September. I really love this house and neighborhood and James and I live together really well, so I'm really excited at the prospects. The only thing I don't know is if our third roommate, Emi, is staying or going too; but either way it will work out. Emi, by the way, was also born on June 15th. (If any of you were wondering just how many geminis it takes to change a light bulb...)
Now to find a job. Prospects are good!
Friday, July 18, 2003
Hello all. I've had quite a busy few days -- Chad is here so we've been hitting the more touristy side of town. We walked around the Mission pretty thoroughly the first day (we almost bought roller skates but they didn't have our size). Yesterday we hit the MOMA -- the exhibits were amazing -- and Fisherman's Wharf, and then met up with our friends at the Pac Bell Stadium for a Giants game. (They whupped the Colorado Rockies 8-4.) There was a moment of frustration there when we were trying to get from the Wharf to the Stadium and there was not a cab or bus in sight, but in a moment of divine benevolence, what should appear but a pedi-cab! I can't remember if I've ever been on one before, but it was probably the most ideal means of transportation in downtown San Fran late rush hour congestion. The game was great fun -- can't beat a ball park frank. No home runs though, which means we're going to have to go back. ;)
We're going out dancing tonight and we hope to visit Alcatraz at some point soon, plus dig up some serious seafood. Any suggestions from SF veterans re the latter will be greatly appreciated...
We're going out dancing tonight and we hope to visit Alcatraz at some point soon, plus dig up some serious seafood. Any suggestions from SF veterans re the latter will be greatly appreciated...
Monday, July 14, 2003
Today is a gorgeous, 75+ degree day. A block up from where I live, someone has a planter full of tiny flowers so ultra bluey-purple that you cannot look at them in direct sunlight. Just across the street from them, someone has painted a giant turquoise hippo (who closely resembles William, the Mascot of the Met) above a garage (along with a toucan and some other animals). I am definitely in love with San Francisco right now.
But if I am indeed in love with SF, then I have to admit I had a torrid affair with Pajaro Dunes this weekend. The beach house was amazing -- perfectly situated and suited for the 26 or so of us who descended upon it. It was a dune away from the beach in the back, and 100 yards from the sand volleyball court in front, with its own hot tub. (I was literally in the top 3 of the most frequent hot-tubbers.) Mornings were foggy and cool, days were hot and clear, and nights were just the kind of cold to wear a sweater comfortably. The first night, despite staying up so late that all beds and viable floor space were taken, I was more than happy to camp out on the porch with two of my friends and watch the sky lighten in blue and then gray scale stages. (The second night we snagged some of the beds.) I met new people and got to see people whom I've always wanted to see more of. There was dancing, singing, cooking, grilling, and continuous good spirits and celebration. Alexis and I built a totalitarian government and a sea turtle out of sand and detritus. There was even a spate of foot massages. Not a single negative event occured. Well, arguably, there was a dead sea-lion on the beach, which made a few people sad, but being the arm-chair zoologist that I am, I was thrilled at the chance to observe one up close. (It was not yet in a real state of decay and did not smell, so don't get grossed out.) If anything, the weekend ended too soon...
...but most of us, instead of splitting up, stopped at an In & Out Burger (I must say, I was a first timer and it was ALL that it was cracked up to be -- the fresh ingredients are unbeatable) on the way back to Berkeley, and then played volleyball in the park until the sun went down.
I suppose it's not really fair of me to have a vacation within a vacation, but I am no less grateful for such a fun, escapist, hitch-less weekend with my closest friends. ;)
Ultraviolet flowers to you all, and good day.
But if I am indeed in love with SF, then I have to admit I had a torrid affair with Pajaro Dunes this weekend. The beach house was amazing -- perfectly situated and suited for the 26 or so of us who descended upon it. It was a dune away from the beach in the back, and 100 yards from the sand volleyball court in front, with its own hot tub. (I was literally in the top 3 of the most frequent hot-tubbers.) Mornings were foggy and cool, days were hot and clear, and nights were just the kind of cold to wear a sweater comfortably. The first night, despite staying up so late that all beds and viable floor space were taken, I was more than happy to camp out on the porch with two of my friends and watch the sky lighten in blue and then gray scale stages. (The second night we snagged some of the beds.) I met new people and got to see people whom I've always wanted to see more of. There was dancing, singing, cooking, grilling, and continuous good spirits and celebration. Alexis and I built a totalitarian government and a sea turtle out of sand and detritus. There was even a spate of foot massages. Not a single negative event occured. Well, arguably, there was a dead sea-lion on the beach, which made a few people sad, but being the arm-chair zoologist that I am, I was thrilled at the chance to observe one up close. (It was not yet in a real state of decay and did not smell, so don't get grossed out.) If anything, the weekend ended too soon...
...but most of us, instead of splitting up, stopped at an In & Out Burger (I must say, I was a first timer and it was ALL that it was cracked up to be -- the fresh ingredients are unbeatable) on the way back to Berkeley, and then played volleyball in the park until the sun went down.
I suppose it's not really fair of me to have a vacation within a vacation, but I am no less grateful for such a fun, escapist, hitch-less weekend with my closest friends. ;)
Ultraviolet flowers to you all, and good day.
Thursday, July 10, 2003
Sorry -- I didn't realize how long it's been since I updated. These three days have been good -- I've been getting some info on local banks and wireless calling plans, doing a lot of walking around, and keeping Lexi and Leslie company on various tasks. To my K&T cronies -- the best bank around according to my research is that esteemed and honorable bank right above you. (You understand why I'm being cryptic -- the internet being public). I'm going today to set up an account!
On a different note, I am reading the 5th Harry Potter book -- it's pretty good, in that its style and tone and general set-up is very consistent with the first four. (Thanks Leslie.) I am still reading Bill Bryson's Mother Tongue -- a GREAT book about the English language, if you are a linguaphile at all -- factual without being dull, lots of great trivia and hilarious idiosyncracies -- but I needed a good story to get my momentum back.
We are preparing for a weekend get away at a beach house that a group of us is renting -- it should be excellent fun, and I am looking forward to being around the ocean. Which is not to say that I am at the point where I need a break from the city, but I always love a good jaunt in the natural world. So I will most likely not be updating this again until Sunday or Monday. The weather, by the way, is gorgeous here -- I hope the heat wave has broken out there...
On a different note, I am reading the 5th Harry Potter book -- it's pretty good, in that its style and tone and general set-up is very consistent with the first four. (Thanks Leslie.) I am still reading Bill Bryson's Mother Tongue -- a GREAT book about the English language, if you are a linguaphile at all -- factual without being dull, lots of great trivia and hilarious idiosyncracies -- but I needed a good story to get my momentum back.
We are preparing for a weekend get away at a beach house that a group of us is renting -- it should be excellent fun, and I am looking forward to being around the ocean. Which is not to say that I am at the point where I need a break from the city, but I always love a good jaunt in the natural world. So I will most likely not be updating this again until Sunday or Monday. The weather, by the way, is gorgeous here -- I hope the heat wave has broken out there...
Monday, July 07, 2003
Today was the first day that I didn't wake up cringing. The moon is waxing, and it's time to move on. I went to the garage today where they provided me with an estimate: $2,400.00 Thank heavens for deductibles. I also heard from the other girl's insurance company today, which means this accident is pretty much wrapped up. I just have to get my car back -- their estimate for that is the 18th. That is, if Subaru gets the parts to them by the end of this week. He showed me underneath the wheel and there's more damage than initially met the eye -- metal folded back, damage to the bumper, stuff like that. But they think they can iron out the metal that's wrinkled under the quarter panel instead of having to replace it.
Funniest moment today: I went to the DMV and asked the lady at the first desk, "Um, hi, I'm here to fill out a traffic incident report and to pick up a driver's manual..." The look on her face was perfect.
I think today I am finally starting to get inklings of falling in love with San Fran, but I don't want to jinx that. A definite perk, however, is eating a huge, good meal and then ALWAYS walking it off. Living on an incline is the perfect anti-guilt.
Funniest moment today: I went to the DMV and asked the lady at the first desk, "Um, hi, I'm here to fill out a traffic incident report and to pick up a driver's manual..." The look on her face was perfect.
I think today I am finally starting to get inklings of falling in love with San Fran, but I don't want to jinx that. A definite perk, however, is eating a huge, good meal and then ALWAYS walking it off. Living on an incline is the perfect anti-guilt.
Saturday, July 05, 2003
The rest of Thursday was almost therapeutic. I calmed down and got some other little things done until my friends called, and then we picked up one of my favorite people from my Wesleyan class, Duke, from the airport and then went out dancing. THAT was what I needed, because I was still all clutched up inside, and we danced for 4 hours straight. Then yesterday, for the fourth, we went and played volleyball in a local park and then went to a barbeque at another one of my Wes friend's house, where I got to see even more people I hadn't seen in a while, while eating grilled corn and s'mores. I decided to leave a bit early because my roommate Laura was leaving, and but it worked out because as it turned out, we could see most of the fireworks at Pier 39 from our doorstep. We're on a slight incline and we could see them just over the horizon, and as always, they were colorful and shimmery. Happy 4th to you all!
Thursday, July 03, 2003
So the first thing to tell you is that there were absolutely no personal injuries whatsoever. The second thing to tell you is that the preceding sentence is there because I got in an accident today. And the third thing to tell you is that my car is not badly hurt, and to reiterate, neither am I or the other driver.
I went to the Dept of Parking and Traffic today to get my temporary parking permit, and I got it with no hitches and no waiting in line, since I went a half an hour before they opened and was the first in line. So I left, but turned the wrong direction, away from the street I needed to get to, to get home. So I came to an intersection where I could turn left (so I could go around the block and reorient myself in the right direction), but there was also a soft left to get on the freeway, and one lane going straight. And I panicked and waited for the traffic in the "hard" left lanes to clear so I could make the hard left from the soft left lane. And then I did. And then there was someone I didn't see, who hit me solidly in the left rear wheel. And that tore her bumper off, and remarkably, only hurt my left rear wheel -- it didn't even scratch the exterior casing. (Although, it did wrinkle the casing inside behind the wheel, which is attached to that whole rear quarter paneling, so they're going to have to take the bumper off and straighten that out.) I had mostly completed the turn at that point and everybody else was out of the way, so we were both able to pull over with no repercussory damage or danger.
She was young (27) and shaking and we both apologized and exchanged info. Her friend from work happened to be driving by a minute later and stopped and helped her reattach her bumper (he had bumper stickers for the magazine they work for -- "Juxtapoz" -- which they used to tape her bumper up so she could get to work. He then stuck one on my rear window. I figured it was a fair recompense for what had happened, which is a pretty funny way to take advantage of a situation. But I figure as well that it will always remind me to chill out on the road -- false panic is worse than getting lost.) I called USAA right away. I'm pretty sure I'm at fault so I'm pretty sure my rates are going to go up. But it was only a matter of time -- I am, of course, a country Bambi in a big city. And I'd never been in an accident before. So the law of averages sharpened its teeth on those factors. USAA was really helpful; they gave me a place to call near where I live. (I also, after the claim, changed my insurance to CA insurance. So I am one step closer to being able to register my car.) The tow truck driver came remarkably fast -- literally, within 5 minutes -- and told me that the intersection where this happened is infamous locally for accidents. Which made me feel a little bit better. He was also from Grenich, CT, even, though he moved when he was 8. (He loves the city, he gave me the low-down on how to find my way around and other insider tips.) He also told me that USAA is the best insurance out there and never to lose it, and that the auto place he was taking me to was definitely top 10 in the city, maybe even top 5. And he was right, because they were all remarkably nice, too. They even gave me a ride home even though there's a convenient bus route that goes from there to here.
They guesstimated it to be around $1700.00; my deductible is $500.00 (and I do have that, so don't worry). But it's going to take some time. At least 24 hours before USAA gets the forms to them, then they have to send an estimate and have me come approve it, then they have to get the parts from Subaru, and then it will take 5-7 days after that. So it could take up to 2 weeks. They guarantee their work for life, though, which is nice. Not having a car in the city is also no big deal, because 3 of my friends (one of which is my roommate) have cars and there's great public transportation anyway. But I am kicking myself for that dumb onslaught of panic, for that sense of "no one's watching" and the results. I suppose it's not very bad as reality checks go -- no injuries, no major damage, with the benefit of being humbled on the road and remembering not to sweat the small stuff. And that added motivation to get a job fast.
I am exhausted and tremulous, so I'm going to go. But that's the news on my second day here in San Francisco. Drive safely...
I went to the Dept of Parking and Traffic today to get my temporary parking permit, and I got it with no hitches and no waiting in line, since I went a half an hour before they opened and was the first in line. So I left, but turned the wrong direction, away from the street I needed to get to, to get home. So I came to an intersection where I could turn left (so I could go around the block and reorient myself in the right direction), but there was also a soft left to get on the freeway, and one lane going straight. And I panicked and waited for the traffic in the "hard" left lanes to clear so I could make the hard left from the soft left lane. And then I did. And then there was someone I didn't see, who hit me solidly in the left rear wheel. And that tore her bumper off, and remarkably, only hurt my left rear wheel -- it didn't even scratch the exterior casing. (Although, it did wrinkle the casing inside behind the wheel, which is attached to that whole rear quarter paneling, so they're going to have to take the bumper off and straighten that out.) I had mostly completed the turn at that point and everybody else was out of the way, so we were both able to pull over with no repercussory damage or danger.
She was young (27) and shaking and we both apologized and exchanged info. Her friend from work happened to be driving by a minute later and stopped and helped her reattach her bumper (he had bumper stickers for the magazine they work for -- "Juxtapoz" -- which they used to tape her bumper up so she could get to work. He then stuck one on my rear window. I figured it was a fair recompense for what had happened, which is a pretty funny way to take advantage of a situation. But I figure as well that it will always remind me to chill out on the road -- false panic is worse than getting lost.) I called USAA right away. I'm pretty sure I'm at fault so I'm pretty sure my rates are going to go up. But it was only a matter of time -- I am, of course, a country Bambi in a big city. And I'd never been in an accident before. So the law of averages sharpened its teeth on those factors. USAA was really helpful; they gave me a place to call near where I live. (I also, after the claim, changed my insurance to CA insurance. So I am one step closer to being able to register my car.) The tow truck driver came remarkably fast -- literally, within 5 minutes -- and told me that the intersection where this happened is infamous locally for accidents. Which made me feel a little bit better. He was also from Grenich, CT, even, though he moved when he was 8. (He loves the city, he gave me the low-down on how to find my way around and other insider tips.) He also told me that USAA is the best insurance out there and never to lose it, and that the auto place he was taking me to was definitely top 10 in the city, maybe even top 5. And he was right, because they were all remarkably nice, too. They even gave me a ride home even though there's a convenient bus route that goes from there to here.
They guesstimated it to be around $1700.00; my deductible is $500.00 (and I do have that, so don't worry). But it's going to take some time. At least 24 hours before USAA gets the forms to them, then they have to send an estimate and have me come approve it, then they have to get the parts from Subaru, and then it will take 5-7 days after that. So it could take up to 2 weeks. They guarantee their work for life, though, which is nice. Not having a car in the city is also no big deal, because 3 of my friends (one of which is my roommate) have cars and there's great public transportation anyway. But I am kicking myself for that dumb onslaught of panic, for that sense of "no one's watching" and the results. I suppose it's not very bad as reality checks go -- no injuries, no major damage, with the benefit of being humbled on the road and remembering not to sweat the small stuff. And that added motivation to get a job fast.
I am exhausted and tremulous, so I'm going to go. But that's the news on my second day here in San Francisco. Drive safely...
Wednesday, July 02, 2003
So I got into to San Fran yesterday with no problem. Goodness, was it ever nice to unload my car of all that stuff, and then to find that it wasn't all that much stuff such that it would clog up my room. Said room, by the way, is big and sunny. The whole apartment is nice -- a kitchen overlooking a neighboring garden, a big living room, a washer and dryer, off the main streets so no rush hour traffic or parking issues...if Laura does decide to leave in September, I may just stay. But she may just stay too, so maybe I'll look locally. But anyway, that's putting the cart before the horse; I need to find a job. I have some leeway in my bank account, so no worries. I believe I'll be fine for all of July, at least, and I shouldn't even need that much time. I saved all the other listings on the job engines that looked interesting to me, so I have lots of leads.
I am DEFINITELY suffering from shell-shock -- I've visited NYC and Boston and Chicago hundreds of times, it seems, and stayed for whole weeks sometimes, but living here is such a different story. I have no guide, no one leading me by the nose and showing me stuff, the way you do when you visit someone. Though 4 of my friends took me out to dinner last night, so I am by no means isolated. I really, really like feeling like Bambi -- it's a regaining of innocence and newness and adventure that most people don't get to re-experience so keenly after childhood. I have so much to do -- change addresses on accounts, get parking permits and my CA license, get a job, get used to the neighborhood -- but that's really the only downside, a downside that should be gone almost entirely in the next week, completely in the next month. Two months from now, I will be completely settled, and that is exciting and inspiring.
I will be celebrating the 4th of July with some Wesleyan friends -- it will be quite a reunion, people I haven't seen in ages, people who live here, people who are visiting -- and then the next weekend we are all going to a beach house. So I'm trying to get the business side done ASAP so I can enjoy myself more thoroughly.
Happy 4th to you all and stay in touch!! I should be able to email more consistently in about a week.
I am DEFINITELY suffering from shell-shock -- I've visited NYC and Boston and Chicago hundreds of times, it seems, and stayed for whole weeks sometimes, but living here is such a different story. I have no guide, no one leading me by the nose and showing me stuff, the way you do when you visit someone. Though 4 of my friends took me out to dinner last night, so I am by no means isolated. I really, really like feeling like Bambi -- it's a regaining of innocence and newness and adventure that most people don't get to re-experience so keenly after childhood. I have so much to do -- change addresses on accounts, get parking permits and my CA license, get a job, get used to the neighborhood -- but that's really the only downside, a downside that should be gone almost entirely in the next week, completely in the next month. Two months from now, I will be completely settled, and that is exciting and inspiring.
I will be celebrating the 4th of July with some Wesleyan friends -- it will be quite a reunion, people I haven't seen in ages, people who live here, people who are visiting -- and then the next weekend we are all going to a beach house. So I'm trying to get the business side done ASAP so I can enjoy myself more thoroughly.
Happy 4th to you all and stay in touch!! I should be able to email more consistently in about a week.
Monday, June 30, 2003
Americorps regrets to inform me that the ENTIRE YES Crew has been cut because of Bush cutting funding to Americorps. But anyway. Lexi and I made it to Eureka yesterday around 5pm, had a DELICIOUS dinner and strolled around. Today we are in a little town above Santa Rosa visiting our friend James, and tomorrow we reach San Francisco. I'm annoyed about the Americorps thingy so I have little to say. Bye.
Saturday, June 28, 2003
The previous post has today's date but is actually about yesterday and the day before -- I've had bad luck with internet access. Here's the ACTUAL post from today:
Today we drove to Portland, got a delicious Vegan breakfast, and strolled the shops on Hawthorne. Then we took off for the town of Hood River, which is situated in the lovely Columbia River Gorge. 4 of my predecessors are buried in the cemetery there -- Elwin, Sherlie, (my dad's grandparent's) and Elmer and Ethel House (my dad's aunt and uncle). Pretty cool to see the town where there's some House history. We toured the town itself a bit, following a pamphlet on the historic buildings, most of them from the early 1900s. Then we cut back towards Portland and southwest, through Corvallis where Dad went to college, and had a DELICIOUS dinner of steamed mussels and salad (Alexis had couscous) and a shockingly decadent bread pudding, in Newport, Oregon. We finally stopped in Reedsport, Oregon -- not as far down as we'd hoped but we were tired from all the sun we got walking around. We lucked out anyway, since it's the weekend and there's been a hotspell inland, so the coastal towns are PACKED. The hotel we're staying in just happened to have a room open up just as we called. The 101, our trusty highway, remains simply gorgeous -- a winding, hilly, tree-framed, rocky road along the ocean.
Best Names: Bridal Veil, OR; Zigzag, OR; Rhododendron, OR; Boring, OR (a REAL town name!!); Marmot, OR.
Most Beautiful: Mount Hood -- gorgeous; and the Columbia River, which is itself fairly pristine, has carved a colorful and textured gorge.
Tomorrow we hope to hit the Redwood National Forest -- in Cali -- pretty solidly, get in a good long hike. Just about 2 days until we get in to San Fran!! I hope everyone else's June is wrapping up so well!
Today we drove to Portland, got a delicious Vegan breakfast, and strolled the shops on Hawthorne. Then we took off for the town of Hood River, which is situated in the lovely Columbia River Gorge. 4 of my predecessors are buried in the cemetery there -- Elwin, Sherlie, (my dad's grandparent's) and Elmer and Ethel House (my dad's aunt and uncle). Pretty cool to see the town where there's some House history. We toured the town itself a bit, following a pamphlet on the historic buildings, most of them from the early 1900s. Then we cut back towards Portland and southwest, through Corvallis where Dad went to college, and had a DELICIOUS dinner of steamed mussels and salad (Alexis had couscous) and a shockingly decadent bread pudding, in Newport, Oregon. We finally stopped in Reedsport, Oregon -- not as far down as we'd hoped but we were tired from all the sun we got walking around. We lucked out anyway, since it's the weekend and there's been a hotspell inland, so the coastal towns are PACKED. The hotel we're staying in just happened to have a room open up just as we called. The 101, our trusty highway, remains simply gorgeous -- a winding, hilly, tree-framed, rocky road along the ocean.
Best Names: Bridal Veil, OR; Zigzag, OR; Rhododendron, OR; Boring, OR (a REAL town name!!); Marmot, OR.
Most Beautiful: Mount Hood -- gorgeous; and the Columbia River, which is itself fairly pristine, has carved a colorful and textured gorge.
Tomorrow we hope to hit the Redwood National Forest -- in Cali -- pretty solidly, get in a good long hike. Just about 2 days until we get in to San Fran!! I hope everyone else's June is wrapping up so well!
Drive to Seattle/Olympia (6/25) and then to Seaside, Oregon (6/27):
Best Plates: CRMELOT (Montana); 2SUAVE (Washington);
Best Names: Superior, Montana; Othello, Washington; Sappho, Washington; Humptulip, Washington; Cosmopolis, Washington.
Most Beautiful: all the various Mountains in the Rainier/Olympia area; Lake Crescent, Washington – beautiful, crystal blue water.
I got to spend a 2 nights and a day with my former teammates, Vida and Katie. Olympia’s a cute college town, with delicious fresh produce at their farmer’s market and a fun, old, entirely too claustrophobic theater where we saw Bend It Like Beckham. (I highly recommend it! Lots of fun.)
Alexis and I split the day today (6/27) driving, which was a luxury for me, and we went from Olympia north along 101 all along the coast (a long, long drive that, 6 hours later, brought us back to within 20 minute or so of Olympia!) and eventually into the Hoh Rainforest, the U.S.’s only rainforest and one of the only temperate rain forests in the world. It was gorgeous, jungley because of club moss and ferns coating all the trees like wizard beards – both of which are epiphates, plants that never touch the soil and yet are not parasitic. We did about an hour “hike” (a completely level ¾ mile walk in our flip flops!) and learned a lot. It was a great mid-day break.
We stopped in at Oysterville, Washington, where I’m told Grandma House lived at one point. It was a beautiful town, reminding me of Rhode Island a bit in its saltiness, but with a lot more flair, somehow.
An hour later we stopped for the night here in Seaside, Oregon – the bridge over the Columbia River at sunset, perfect timing!! – and it reminds me quite a lot of Martha’s Vineyard. There are hoity-toity stores, bars, arcades, and home-made candy stores (yeah, you know we hit those!!) all commingled on the same block. We went down to the beach which was still glowing with a sunset-like haze and enjoyed the sensation of standing at the edge of our continent – and not the edge I’m used to. ;) Funny thing – the more you travel west, the later the sun seems to set – it sets around 10 pm here because it only has the sea to sink behind, instead of the bulk of the continent.
Being by the ocean is so fulfilling, and Washington was BEAUTIFUL country. I also had the luxury of seeing it during its slim window of non-rainyness, which made it even better. Tomorrow we hit Portland and hopefully I will at last be able to post this!
Best Plates: CRMELOT (Montana); 2SUAVE (Washington);
Best Names: Superior, Montana; Othello, Washington; Sappho, Washington; Humptulip, Washington; Cosmopolis, Washington.
Most Beautiful: all the various Mountains in the Rainier/Olympia area; Lake Crescent, Washington – beautiful, crystal blue water.
I got to spend a 2 nights and a day with my former teammates, Vida and Katie. Olympia’s a cute college town, with delicious fresh produce at their farmer’s market and a fun, old, entirely too claustrophobic theater where we saw Bend It Like Beckham. (I highly recommend it! Lots of fun.)
Alexis and I split the day today (6/27) driving, which was a luxury for me, and we went from Olympia north along 101 all along the coast (a long, long drive that, 6 hours later, brought us back to within 20 minute or so of Olympia!) and eventually into the Hoh Rainforest, the U.S.’s only rainforest and one of the only temperate rain forests in the world. It was gorgeous, jungley because of club moss and ferns coating all the trees like wizard beards – both of which are epiphates, plants that never touch the soil and yet are not parasitic. We did about an hour “hike” (a completely level ¾ mile walk in our flip flops!) and learned a lot. It was a great mid-day break.
We stopped in at Oysterville, Washington, where I’m told Grandma House lived at one point. It was a beautiful town, reminding me of Rhode Island a bit in its saltiness, but with a lot more flair, somehow.
An hour later we stopped for the night here in Seaside, Oregon – the bridge over the Columbia River at sunset, perfect timing!! – and it reminds me quite a lot of Martha’s Vineyard. There are hoity-toity stores, bars, arcades, and home-made candy stores (yeah, you know we hit those!!) all commingled on the same block. We went down to the beach which was still glowing with a sunset-like haze and enjoyed the sensation of standing at the edge of our continent – and not the edge I’m used to. ;) Funny thing – the more you travel west, the later the sun seems to set – it sets around 10 pm here because it only has the sea to sink behind, instead of the bulk of the continent.
Being by the ocean is so fulfilling, and Washington was BEAUTIFUL country. I also had the luxury of seeing it during its slim window of non-rainyness, which made it even better. Tomorrow we hit Portland and hopefully I will at last be able to post this!
Tuesday, June 24, 2003
Hey guys -- a pretty seamless day today. I woke up early, checked the tube and saw that all snow and other mayhem would be in the Bighorn Mountains in Northwest Wyoming, i.e., not on my route, and 7 hours later here I am in Missoula, Montana, having arrived at 4pm. The first part of my drive was consistently rainy until about Bozeman, Montana, and then it was sunny but overcast ever since. I drove over all sorts of terrain -- the Rocky Mountains in particular -- and it was lovely and easy.
Best Names: "C'mon Inn," (in Billings, WY); Crazy Mountains, Montana; Anaconda, Montana; Opportunity, Montana; Phosphate, Montana.
Best Plates: "WEBGOIN" & "GTOVAIT."
States Accumulated since CT: 14
Tomorrow I meet up with Alexis in Olympia (along with Katie and Vida, potentially) after a self-tour of Seattle. Should be an easy drive (a mere 5 hours) and a fun day all around.
Best Names: "C'mon Inn," (in Billings, WY); Crazy Mountains, Montana; Anaconda, Montana; Opportunity, Montana; Phosphate, Montana.
Best Plates: "WEBGOIN" & "GTOVAIT."
States Accumulated since CT: 14
Tomorrow I meet up with Alexis in Olympia (along with Katie and Vida, potentially) after a self-tour of Seattle. Should be an easy drive (a mere 5 hours) and a fun day all around.
The missing blog from yesterday:
Sorry guys – tonight I am in b.f.e. Wyoming – or rather, Buffalo Wyoming, and can’t connect, though they claim to have “data ports.” In any case, I have a lot to say about today, and none of it really works with the list format I was using. So this one will be slightly different, and I’ll post it tomorrow. I woke up in Denver, CO early – 8am, probably because of the 2 hour difference from EST – enjoyed a continental breakfast and headed to the Denver Zoo, which was WONDERFUL. Their exhibits are set up such that you’re always very close to the animals, and if they think you want to be closer, they often set up little indoor rooms along the outdoor habitats where they put nothing but a tinted pane of glass between you and the animals. This was the most effective with the Macaques – a kind of monkey who rather enjoyed studying their reflections and putting their hands to the glass – but even more so with the Gorillas. I happened upon the Gorillas at a moment where there was a young one inspecting the hay by the glass and the big, bad silver-backed leader of the pack decided HE wanted that spot, so he abruptly charged (at the glass!), banged his chest full-on King Kong styles, and then promptly swung around and displayed his enormously muscular posterior at us. When he was done looking like a bad-ass (literally) he sat down perpendicular to the glass and appeared to morosely contemplate his aggression. This means one could go up to the glass, turn side ways, and basically be face to face with a great ape. His features were gigantic – the flat-nose, the deep eyes, the fat fingers – and simply amazing to study so closely.
There were also hippos – I took about 4 billion pictures; a rainforest display (with a fish about the size of me in length, quite literally the biggest fish I’ve ever seen!) full of all kinds of amphibia and reptilia; plenty of scraggly looking versions of African quadropods; tons of other monkeys and monkey-type animals (the Golden-Headed Tamarins in particular awed me – they’re like mini versions of a cross between a spider monkey and a lion); rhinos, elephants; African Wild Dogs, Bat-Eared Foxes, wolves; sea lions, penguins, peacocks roaming freely…but the other best besides the Gorillas and the Hippos were the Bears, who were active and playful. One Asiatic Black Bear had just had a cub in January – cuter than cute – and two grizzlies -- who were born and orphaned in 2002 and thus picked up by the zoo – were chasing each other all over their habitat. The polar bears were more low key but beautiful in person. I have great videos and pictures of everything. The only mildly disappointing exhibit was the felines, who were either MIA or asleep. Though there was a great placard outside the puma enclosure showing a tourist’s photo of a woman holding her daughter out in some park or other, and in the bushes not 20 feet behind them is a puma looking quite involved and poised to pounce. The people, of course, did not know it was there until they developed the film.
That put me through to about 12:30pm, when I quite innocently decided to get a quick oil change and head to Wyoming. The phone book had a Valvoline listed on pearl street – pearl street in BOULDER, that is. An hour later, I figured this out. So I stopped in a gas station to find any old oil-change place, and they directed me to “Pep Boys,” a chain that does repair, sells parts, and changes oil. The woman said it would be 45 minutes, but an hour and a half later, I was still sitting there while my car baked in the sun, unmoved and unnoticed. So I took my keys back and decided to drive to the AAA office in the city, because THEY would know where there was a gul-blamed oil changerie. And of course, a block before I got there, I spotted a jiffy-lube. They were great and changed my oil quickly, and I also had them coat my windshield with stuff that makes rain-water bead – it was on sale cheap and I knew I’d be driving into rain. (It works like a dream – so well that the wipers are hardly necessary. They clear water up on the first sweep, but stick on the way back down!)
By the time I hit the road, it was 4:15pm. I was pissed. I just barely dodged Denver’s rush hour (the radio a half an hour out of town reported that there was a major accident on every side of every major highway going through Denver by 5pm!). Fortunately, Wyoming from South to North is only about 7 hours long, so somewhere along the way I decided to stay here in Buffalo, about an hour from the Northern border, which put me in here at about 9:45pm – a waste of good scenery, but I saw a lot before it got dark. The sky was full of clouds and the land was so low-lying and panoramic that there were vistas in the sky to match the vistas on the land. I had mountains to my left, dark and covered in rain; pasture to my right, with red desert dirt and sage-looking bushes on hills and buttes; and before me, a vast spread of clouds, sometimes so thick as to be ceiling-like, and sometimes bursting at the seams with sunlight. It was captivating and held my attention. The rain wicked off my waxed windshield and made me feel like I was inside a soda bottle. It literally looked like the windshield was effervescing.
The only interesting town name was “Chugwater, WY.” And also, “Crazy Woman River, WY.”
About an hour before I got into Buffalo, I hit Casper. Craving Chicken Tenders and a little carbonated sustenance, I pulled into a Burger King. As I was filling my soda at the self-serve station, I hear a raspy male voice on the other side of the room going, “I bet SHE wants one!” and a meeker voice saying, “who?” and the first voice saying, “the girl in purple.” (I was indeed wearing a purple shirt.) There’s nothing like some strange man vocalizing about what a woman “wants” to make one instantly paranoid, but I shifted calmly into my tall-girls-are-intimidating-persona and sat on the other side of the room to eat quickly. But I made the mistake of glancing over to see who was being so loud and of course, made eye contact. His name was Jessie and what I “wanted” was actually a rough-hewn garnet from a little tin he’d been collecting. He was college-aged and totally innocuous, just tired and loopy and overly extroverted. I say this with all confidence because he didn’t hit on me, he just insisted I have a garnet and went back to his seat. As I got up to leave, I had his friend take a picture of us so you guys can put a face to the weirdo. But like I said, he wasn’t lewd, so it just made me smile; providence is a strange bird indeed. (Of all the Burger Kings in all the towns in all the world, I had to walk into HIS, Sandie!)
Now I’m tired and hoping to make it to Missoula, Montana in daylight, barring the unforeseen. The desk clerk here reported that the hotel is full because there was a snow storm everyone hit that turned them back…I’ll be checking the weather in the AM.
Sorry guys – tonight I am in b.f.e. Wyoming – or rather, Buffalo Wyoming, and can’t connect, though they claim to have “data ports.” In any case, I have a lot to say about today, and none of it really works with the list format I was using. So this one will be slightly different, and I’ll post it tomorrow. I woke up in Denver, CO early – 8am, probably because of the 2 hour difference from EST – enjoyed a continental breakfast and headed to the Denver Zoo, which was WONDERFUL. Their exhibits are set up such that you’re always very close to the animals, and if they think you want to be closer, they often set up little indoor rooms along the outdoor habitats where they put nothing but a tinted pane of glass between you and the animals. This was the most effective with the Macaques – a kind of monkey who rather enjoyed studying their reflections and putting their hands to the glass – but even more so with the Gorillas. I happened upon the Gorillas at a moment where there was a young one inspecting the hay by the glass and the big, bad silver-backed leader of the pack decided HE wanted that spot, so he abruptly charged (at the glass!), banged his chest full-on King Kong styles, and then promptly swung around and displayed his enormously muscular posterior at us. When he was done looking like a bad-ass (literally) he sat down perpendicular to the glass and appeared to morosely contemplate his aggression. This means one could go up to the glass, turn side ways, and basically be face to face with a great ape. His features were gigantic – the flat-nose, the deep eyes, the fat fingers – and simply amazing to study so closely.
There were also hippos – I took about 4 billion pictures; a rainforest display (with a fish about the size of me in length, quite literally the biggest fish I’ve ever seen!) full of all kinds of amphibia and reptilia; plenty of scraggly looking versions of African quadropods; tons of other monkeys and monkey-type animals (the Golden-Headed Tamarins in particular awed me – they’re like mini versions of a cross between a spider monkey and a lion); rhinos, elephants; African Wild Dogs, Bat-Eared Foxes, wolves; sea lions, penguins, peacocks roaming freely…but the other best besides the Gorillas and the Hippos were the Bears, who were active and playful. One Asiatic Black Bear had just had a cub in January – cuter than cute – and two grizzlies -- who were born and orphaned in 2002 and thus picked up by the zoo – were chasing each other all over their habitat. The polar bears were more low key but beautiful in person. I have great videos and pictures of everything. The only mildly disappointing exhibit was the felines, who were either MIA or asleep. Though there was a great placard outside the puma enclosure showing a tourist’s photo of a woman holding her daughter out in some park or other, and in the bushes not 20 feet behind them is a puma looking quite involved and poised to pounce. The people, of course, did not know it was there until they developed the film.
That put me through to about 12:30pm, when I quite innocently decided to get a quick oil change and head to Wyoming. The phone book had a Valvoline listed on pearl street – pearl street in BOULDER, that is. An hour later, I figured this out. So I stopped in a gas station to find any old oil-change place, and they directed me to “Pep Boys,” a chain that does repair, sells parts, and changes oil. The woman said it would be 45 minutes, but an hour and a half later, I was still sitting there while my car baked in the sun, unmoved and unnoticed. So I took my keys back and decided to drive to the AAA office in the city, because THEY would know where there was a gul-blamed oil changerie. And of course, a block before I got there, I spotted a jiffy-lube. They were great and changed my oil quickly, and I also had them coat my windshield with stuff that makes rain-water bead – it was on sale cheap and I knew I’d be driving into rain. (It works like a dream – so well that the wipers are hardly necessary. They clear water up on the first sweep, but stick on the way back down!)
By the time I hit the road, it was 4:15pm. I was pissed. I just barely dodged Denver’s rush hour (the radio a half an hour out of town reported that there was a major accident on every side of every major highway going through Denver by 5pm!). Fortunately, Wyoming from South to North is only about 7 hours long, so somewhere along the way I decided to stay here in Buffalo, about an hour from the Northern border, which put me in here at about 9:45pm – a waste of good scenery, but I saw a lot before it got dark. The sky was full of clouds and the land was so low-lying and panoramic that there were vistas in the sky to match the vistas on the land. I had mountains to my left, dark and covered in rain; pasture to my right, with red desert dirt and sage-looking bushes on hills and buttes; and before me, a vast spread of clouds, sometimes so thick as to be ceiling-like, and sometimes bursting at the seams with sunlight. It was captivating and held my attention. The rain wicked off my waxed windshield and made me feel like I was inside a soda bottle. It literally looked like the windshield was effervescing.
The only interesting town name was “Chugwater, WY.” And also, “Crazy Woman River, WY.”
About an hour before I got into Buffalo, I hit Casper. Craving Chicken Tenders and a little carbonated sustenance, I pulled into a Burger King. As I was filling my soda at the self-serve station, I hear a raspy male voice on the other side of the room going, “I bet SHE wants one!” and a meeker voice saying, “who?” and the first voice saying, “the girl in purple.” (I was indeed wearing a purple shirt.) There’s nothing like some strange man vocalizing about what a woman “wants” to make one instantly paranoid, but I shifted calmly into my tall-girls-are-intimidating-persona and sat on the other side of the room to eat quickly. But I made the mistake of glancing over to see who was being so loud and of course, made eye contact. His name was Jessie and what I “wanted” was actually a rough-hewn garnet from a little tin he’d been collecting. He was college-aged and totally innocuous, just tired and loopy and overly extroverted. I say this with all confidence because he didn’t hit on me, he just insisted I have a garnet and went back to his seat. As I got up to leave, I had his friend take a picture of us so you guys can put a face to the weirdo. But like I said, he wasn’t lewd, so it just made me smile; providence is a strange bird indeed. (Of all the Burger Kings in all the towns in all the world, I had to walk into HIS, Sandie!)
Now I’m tired and hoping to make it to Missoula, Montana in daylight, barring the unforeseen. The desk clerk here reported that the hotel is full because there was a snow storm everyone hit that turned them back…I’ll be checking the weather in the AM.
Sunday, June 22, 2003
I made it to Colorado!! 12.5 hours of driving and nothing to show for it but 2 more states under my belt and a sore gluteus maximus -- not bad, eh?
Yesterday's List O' Stuff, from Lexington KY to St. Louis MO:
Best Names: Waddy, KY; English, IN; Birdseye, IN; Santa Claus, IN (yes, that's a real town in Indiana. Who knew?); Burnt Prairie, IL; "Skeeter Mountain Rest Stop."
Best Plates: JOY X 5; BG-LOVE; and TRL ATTY (on a convertible, green lincoln town car, naturally).
Most Exotic Plates: Alaska. Yup that’s right – saw some Alaskan plates.
Road Kill Factor: Minimal.
Bug Kill Factor: Yipes.
Most Beautiful: Horse pastures all over KY; and the Arch in St. Louis is a tall and awesome as ever. My God parents’ house should be included here too -- lovely.
Biggest Annoyance: getting lost trying to find the Thomas Edison House.
Best Personal Educational Experience: The Thomas Edison House. Though Larry and I think his biggest collection of stuff is in Fort Myers, FL, there’s a teeny tiny house in Louisville, KY that he boarded in at age 19 for a while. A man by the name of Charlie gave me (the sole visitor on a Saturday morning) a personal tour of the place. Though Thomas Edison is most famous for inventing the light bulb, his favorite invention is, of course, the phonograph. His first invention was a vote counting machine that he presented to Congress, but Congress didn’t want it because it was too quick! (I told Charlie I was pretty sure that was the machine they were still in using in Florida elections…) They wanted time to filibuster…so he vowed only to make things that people would actually buy. Thus his next invention was a stock market ticker-tape reader, for which he was paid $40,000 – in HIS time – which is roughly $1 Million these days. Get thinking people!!
Thanks to the Umlaufs for stuffing me full of *home cooked* nutritious food and for being dazzingly fun people.
Number of states accumulated since CT: 10.
Today’s List of Stuff: St. Louis, MO to Denver, CO.Best Names: Pottawattamie County, Kansas; Enterprise, Kansas; Manhattan, Kansas.
Best Plates: Hey – U.
Road Kill Factor: Disgusting. Gross and prolific enough that I am hereby eliminating this category, cuz I don’t want to think about it any more. (And neither do you, trust me.) I only started it because I was shocked at how little there was a couple days ago. Sorry.
Bug Kill Factor: I now know what it’s like to BE a Pollack canvas.
Most Beautiful: Aw, C’mon guys, Kansas wasn’t THAT bad – I’ve heard you can even drive past fields of sunflowers at the right time of year. Now is not that time, but pasture land has its own charm. There was an informational sign about the pioneers saying they called their wagons “schooners” because the visual and emotional allusions to the ocean were so strong, and I definitely agreed. Though I do have to say the mountains off in the distance as I arrived at the outskirts of Denver were pretty magnificent.
Biggest Annoyance: Aggressive Pick up Trucks, as always. And a sore butt.
Number of States Accumulated since CT: 12.
Yesterday's List O' Stuff, from Lexington KY to St. Louis MO:
Best Names: Waddy, KY; English, IN; Birdseye, IN; Santa Claus, IN (yes, that's a real town in Indiana. Who knew?); Burnt Prairie, IL; "Skeeter Mountain Rest Stop."
Best Plates: JOY X 5; BG-LOVE; and TRL ATTY (on a convertible, green lincoln town car, naturally).
Most Exotic Plates: Alaska. Yup that’s right – saw some Alaskan plates.
Road Kill Factor: Minimal.
Bug Kill Factor: Yipes.
Most Beautiful: Horse pastures all over KY; and the Arch in St. Louis is a tall and awesome as ever. My God parents’ house should be included here too -- lovely.
Biggest Annoyance: getting lost trying to find the Thomas Edison House.
Best Personal Educational Experience: The Thomas Edison House. Though Larry and I think his biggest collection of stuff is in Fort Myers, FL, there’s a teeny tiny house in Louisville, KY that he boarded in at age 19 for a while. A man by the name of Charlie gave me (the sole visitor on a Saturday morning) a personal tour of the place. Though Thomas Edison is most famous for inventing the light bulb, his favorite invention is, of course, the phonograph. His first invention was a vote counting machine that he presented to Congress, but Congress didn’t want it because it was too quick! (I told Charlie I was pretty sure that was the machine they were still in using in Florida elections…) They wanted time to filibuster…so he vowed only to make things that people would actually buy. Thus his next invention was a stock market ticker-tape reader, for which he was paid $40,000 – in HIS time – which is roughly $1 Million these days. Get thinking people!!
Thanks to the Umlaufs for stuffing me full of *home cooked* nutritious food and for being dazzingly fun people.
Number of states accumulated since CT: 10.
Today’s List of Stuff: St. Louis, MO to Denver, CO.Best Names: Pottawattamie County, Kansas; Enterprise, Kansas; Manhattan, Kansas.
Best Plates: Hey – U.
Road Kill Factor: Disgusting. Gross and prolific enough that I am hereby eliminating this category, cuz I don’t want to think about it any more. (And neither do you, trust me.) I only started it because I was shocked at how little there was a couple days ago. Sorry.
Bug Kill Factor: I now know what it’s like to BE a Pollack canvas.
Most Beautiful: Aw, C’mon guys, Kansas wasn’t THAT bad – I’ve heard you can even drive past fields of sunflowers at the right time of year. Now is not that time, but pasture land has its own charm. There was an informational sign about the pioneers saying they called their wagons “schooners” because the visual and emotional allusions to the ocean were so strong, and I definitely agreed. Though I do have to say the mountains off in the distance as I arrived at the outskirts of Denver were pretty magnificent.
Biggest Annoyance: Aggressive Pick up Trucks, as always. And a sore butt.
Number of States Accumulated since CT: 12.
Saturday, June 21, 2003
Hello from St. Louis Missouri. I am tired from good wine (and creme de cassis in my ice cream -- courtesy of the genius of my god parents) but I will fill in the fun place names and details of my drive tomorrow. Tomorrow is going to be a haul of a day: 12-13 hours to Denver. But I'm going to get up early and brave Kansas as best I can. My god parents are extremely funny, smart, and convivial and I can see why my parents liked them so much.
Please forgive the short blog -- I am safe and well and will write tomorrow when I am safe and well then too. Mom -- Ellen found me a gun to take with me. (Not really, but ask her for the story.) ;)
Goodnight.
Please forgive the short blog -- I am safe and well and will write tomorrow when I am safe and well then too. Mom -- Ellen found me a gun to take with me. (Not really, but ask her for the story.) ;)
Goodnight.
Friday, June 20, 2003
A List to sum up the trip from Williamsburg, Virginia to Lexington, Kentucky:
Left at 8am, arrived 4pm.
Number of Cookies my Step-Mom sent with me: 15, and a fresh baked loaf of bread.
Best Names of Things: Mechunk River (VA); Lake Moomaw (VA); Humpback Bridge (VA)
Best Names of Towns: Mossy, WV; Nitro, WV; Hurricane, WV; Salt Lick, KY
Best Multipurpose Name: Kanawha County, Turnpike, Road, Boulevard, & River. (This is an inside joke with D&P: "Kanawha" made me laugh because it sounds like "Can I WHAT??" if you're FIB. Wai' Wha'?)
Best License Plates: AIGHT DN; GOT JZUS.
Last Foreseen Dunkin' Donuts that I might ever get to have again: Fisherville, VA. (This was a "self serve" D&D in a mini-mart/gas place. Never before known to me that D&D can be self-serve, but it didn't cut down on the magic.)
Road Kill Factor: surprisingly minimal.
Most Beautiful: the Allegheny/Blue Ridge Mountains, which I drove through, around, and over quite thoroughly on Rte 64. It started with light green trees and embankments directly by the highway (and bazillions of red, pink, and purple wild flowers); then panned back to a rich forest green on the nearby hills; and then a green so deep that it was blue on the mounts in the distance. (Aptly named.) Cap off with lush fog and you have quite a sight. The road took you over them, so there were vertical panoramas off over either shoulder. And the Kanawha River ran along and under the road around Charleston as well -- Ch. may be one of the more beautifully situated capitals in the U.S. (As a city itself, it's got the usual run-down industrial buildings and gold-capped capital building; but we're talking location, location, location.) It was breathtaking. I have pictures. Will send you the whole album on Snapfish.com when I get through with the trip.
Biggest Annoyance: Pick-up trucks playing aggressive tortoise and hare in the left lane. BUZZ OFF!
Runner up: TORRENTIAL RAIN as I first got into the B.R. Mounts. But also gorgeous in a way.
Road Buddy: A red Honda CR-V from Ohio played road frog with me (think leap frog only in cars on 2 lane hwys) from Charlottesville, VA to Roncevert, WV -- quite a distance. Then construction forced the 70mph limit down to 55mph, and then the CR-V got in front of a truck and I got stuck behind him, and then the road reduced to one lane and the truck, who couldn't hack the hills, reduced to 35mph for about 5-8 miles. When I FINALLY got out from behind him, my road buddy was gone. But it doesn't end there: I randomly stopped at a rest-stop at Paint Creek in WV to take a picture of the Blue Ridge Mts nearly an hour later. I got back in my car, went to back up, and saw a Red CR-V parked behind me. When I turned around and got a look at it -- you guessed it -- it was the same CR-V. If it wasn't a mental game I was playing with myself, I would have left a note. ;)
Thanks to my Dad & Sandie for hosting me for a night, helping me with all those last minute tasks, and stuffing me full of nutritious food before I began the car-carbo marathon that will sustain me for most of my trip...here's looking at you, kids.
By the way, whether it was an early blast of adrenalin or I've inherited the Pratt car stamina, today's 8 hours were a piece of cake. No worries!
Left at 8am, arrived 4pm.
Number of Cookies my Step-Mom sent with me: 15, and a fresh baked loaf of bread.
Best Names of Things: Mechunk River (VA); Lake Moomaw (VA); Humpback Bridge (VA)
Best Names of Towns: Mossy, WV; Nitro, WV; Hurricane, WV; Salt Lick, KY
Best Multipurpose Name: Kanawha County, Turnpike, Road, Boulevard, & River. (This is an inside joke with D&P: "Kanawha" made me laugh because it sounds like "Can I WHAT??" if you're FIB. Wai' Wha'?)
Best License Plates: AIGHT DN; GOT JZUS.
Last Foreseen Dunkin' Donuts that I might ever get to have again: Fisherville, VA. (This was a "self serve" D&D in a mini-mart/gas place. Never before known to me that D&D can be self-serve, but it didn't cut down on the magic.)
Road Kill Factor: surprisingly minimal.
Most Beautiful: the Allegheny/Blue Ridge Mountains, which I drove through, around, and over quite thoroughly on Rte 64. It started with light green trees and embankments directly by the highway (and bazillions of red, pink, and purple wild flowers); then panned back to a rich forest green on the nearby hills; and then a green so deep that it was blue on the mounts in the distance. (Aptly named.) Cap off with lush fog and you have quite a sight. The road took you over them, so there were vertical panoramas off over either shoulder. And the Kanawha River ran along and under the road around Charleston as well -- Ch. may be one of the more beautifully situated capitals in the U.S. (As a city itself, it's got the usual run-down industrial buildings and gold-capped capital building; but we're talking location, location, location.) It was breathtaking. I have pictures. Will send you the whole album on Snapfish.com when I get through with the trip.
Biggest Annoyance: Pick-up trucks playing aggressive tortoise and hare in the left lane. BUZZ OFF!
Runner up: TORRENTIAL RAIN as I first got into the B.R. Mounts. But also gorgeous in a way.
Road Buddy: A red Honda CR-V from Ohio played road frog with me (think leap frog only in cars on 2 lane hwys) from Charlottesville, VA to Roncevert, WV -- quite a distance. Then construction forced the 70mph limit down to 55mph, and then the CR-V got in front of a truck and I got stuck behind him, and then the road reduced to one lane and the truck, who couldn't hack the hills, reduced to 35mph for about 5-8 miles. When I FINALLY got out from behind him, my road buddy was gone. But it doesn't end there: I randomly stopped at a rest-stop at Paint Creek in WV to take a picture of the Blue Ridge Mts nearly an hour later. I got back in my car, went to back up, and saw a Red CR-V parked behind me. When I turned around and got a look at it -- you guessed it -- it was the same CR-V. If it wasn't a mental game I was playing with myself, I would have left a note. ;)
Thanks to my Dad & Sandie for hosting me for a night, helping me with all those last minute tasks, and stuffing me full of nutritious food before I began the car-carbo marathon that will sustain me for most of my trip...here's looking at you, kids.
By the way, whether it was an early blast of adrenalin or I've inherited the Pratt car stamina, today's 8 hours were a piece of cake. No worries!
Thursday, June 19, 2003
I write this from a room in my Dad's house in misty, gray Williamsburg. I decided with the late start to crash in D.C. yesterday with my brother, which means I got to see him and a surprisingly snazzily-dressed Anthony one more time. I left this morning and am at last back to being on schedule...sort of. I made two executive decisions: 1) to allow the Forester to breathe a bit, to give me some visibility out the rear window, and to allow foot room in the seatwell for my eventual reunion with Alexis in seattle as well as space for her bags, I mailed some packages from the Williamsburg PO to Laura in SF. And let me tell all of you this if you're not aware of it: there's an option called Media Mail with which you can ship books, videos, cds, etc. at RIDICULOUSLY low rates. One BIG box of books was going to ship for $90 priority/$30 parcel post, and instead shipped for a mere $16. Now that's a bargain. 2) I'm stopping in Lexington instead of Louisville. It cuts my drive down from 9 hours to 8, but the drive to St. Louis after that was going to be at most, 5, and now will be 6. Found a cheap hotel in Lexington, too. Tip from my dad: always CALL in advance for reservations. Even if you find the hotel in the middle of the night off a random road, call from the pay phones or your cell phone. They always quote & book cheaper if you call "in advance." Being a AAA member helps too. Hey Mom -- Dad had recent trip tix and maps from them here, after all. So I now have all the skinny on most of the areas I'm driving through.
The hotel I made a reservation for supposedly has "dataports," so I hope to email more tomorrow, if there's any news. Until then...
The hotel I made a reservation for supposedly has "dataports," so I hope to email more tomorrow, if there's any news. Until then...
Wednesday, June 18, 2003
Whew. Today is lift-off and I am officially running 3.5 hours behind schedule. But that's because I'm a pressure-packer -- I can't do it 2 days ahead of time. Last-minuteness helps me cut through the crap more insistently, but it sure is stress-inducing. My car is stuffed to the gills. This means Alexis and I will have some serious rearranging to do in Seattle. But 2 Phi Beta Kappas should be able to figure it out, right? I am, however, happy to say that I can fit all of my life in my car -- one single car -- which was never true before this.
Anyway, wish me luck and bon voyage. To the family and friends I'm leaving behind: I'll miss you and I promise to keep in touch. Thanks for all your generous support, too.
Anyway, wish me luck and bon voyage. To the family and friends I'm leaving behind: I'll miss you and I promise to keep in touch. Thanks for all your generous support, too.
Monday, June 16, 2003
The updated itinerary:
the 18th: Williamsburg with a stop in D.C. for an "aloha" dinner with my bro.
the 19th: Stroll and loll about in luxurious Williamsburg with my Dad and Step-Mom.
the 20th: Head to Kentucky, ultimately Louisville.
the 21st: Drop in on my Godparents, the Umlaufs, in St. Louis, Missouri.
the 22nd: Cruise-control through Kansas all the way to Denver, Colorado.
the 23rd: Spend the day touring Wyoming.
the 24th: Spend the day touring Montana.
the 25th: Jet over to Seattle, where I meet my likely much-needed road warrior companion extraordinaire, Alexis.
the 26th to the 31st: Explore the west coast -- family sites in Oregon in particular. Maybe a whale watch. Savor, not guzzle.
the 1st: arrive in San Francisco and relax.
the 18th: Williamsburg with a stop in D.C. for an "aloha" dinner with my bro.
the 19th: Stroll and loll about in luxurious Williamsburg with my Dad and Step-Mom.
the 20th: Head to Kentucky, ultimately Louisville.
the 21st: Drop in on my Godparents, the Umlaufs, in St. Louis, Missouri.
the 22nd: Cruise-control through Kansas all the way to Denver, Colorado.
the 23rd: Spend the day touring Wyoming.
the 24th: Spend the day touring Montana.
the 25th: Jet over to Seattle, where I meet my likely much-needed road warrior companion extraordinaire, Alexis.
the 26th to the 31st: Explore the west coast -- family sites in Oregon in particular. Maybe a whale watch. Savor, not guzzle.
the 1st: arrive in San Francisco and relax.
Sunday, June 15, 2003
Hello all. I am back from Vegas. Vegas is one bizarre place -- a big random burst of wholly contrived environment in the middle of a desert, compounded by the fact that my upbringing has been so thorougly un-desert, un-city, un-sin. I know I am not the first to have this opinion, but I thoroughly confirm all previous intimations of how bizarre Vegas is. And all previous intimations of how fun it is. It IS fun. ;) Especially "old" Vegas, you know, the famous Vegas strip with the winking, waving neon cowboy and the high-kicking neon cowgirl, the Golden Nugget and the Horseshoe and all that -- more lights than the sky has stars, and that's just INdoors! There were elderly playing slots, young playing craps, cheap drinks, cover bands, one of my friends counted 12 brides just ambling along bedecked in white -- a lot of honest kitsch and history that just isn't there in "new" Vegas, though that was spectacular in its own right, of course. The Luxor, for example, is cavernous and vertigo-inducing, a black jewel of a pyramid with a beacon at its top than can be seen from space; and then there are the city casinos -- the Paris, the NY NY, the Venetian -- with the outdoors indoors in scale, every detail characatured to perfection, the essence plucked at its most pure of each real place. (Most of the other casinos, though thoroughly thematic, had facades more impressive than interiors.)
Activities? We lounged at Mandalay Bay's wave pool and "lazy [tube] river" each day, Mandalay Bay being home base for us; then evenings led to all sorts of things: walking the strip; (me) trying the nickel slots (won back half of what I put in, most of the time); (me) watching (the boys play) several rounds of craps and poker; eating at a buffet and a steakhouse; counting brides; dancing at RA! -- the Luxor's night club -- where giant, golden, ancient egyptian god statues presided over the mayhem, and Rum Jungle -- the M.B.'s night club -- where women in any shade optimal for black-lighting danced in cages, on trapezes of all sizes and shapes, ropes; we did not, however, take in any shows -- perhaps next time. The key moment, though, not surprisingly, was the Bellagio's fountains -- set to opera arias and underlit, waving like graceful ballerinas at one moment and then soaring sky-high with a sound like a jet charging past at another -- gorgeous, beyond gorgeous, past past.
I write this on 2 hours of sleep (on the plane) in the last 31 hours, but Vegas does a good job of keeping you energized enough to pour out your money and awe for cascades of hours. Cheers to Vegas, and thanks to my friends for helping me celebrate the big 24 (I've been awake for every last hour of it!!) today, and for sponsoring me on this trip.
2 days 'til the E of the East become the E of the West, and counting...
Activities? We lounged at Mandalay Bay's wave pool and "lazy [tube] river" each day, Mandalay Bay being home base for us; then evenings led to all sorts of things: walking the strip; (me) trying the nickel slots (won back half of what I put in, most of the time); (me) watching (the boys play) several rounds of craps and poker; eating at a buffet and a steakhouse; counting brides; dancing at RA! -- the Luxor's night club -- where giant, golden, ancient egyptian god statues presided over the mayhem, and Rum Jungle -- the M.B.'s night club -- where women in any shade optimal for black-lighting danced in cages, on trapezes of all sizes and shapes, ropes; we did not, however, take in any shows -- perhaps next time. The key moment, though, not surprisingly, was the Bellagio's fountains -- set to opera arias and underlit, waving like graceful ballerinas at one moment and then soaring sky-high with a sound like a jet charging past at another -- gorgeous, beyond gorgeous, past past.
I write this on 2 hours of sleep (on the plane) in the last 31 hours, but Vegas does a good job of keeping you energized enough to pour out your money and awe for cascades of hours. Cheers to Vegas, and thanks to my friends for helping me celebrate the big 24 (I've been awake for every last hour of it!!) today, and for sponsoring me on this trip.
2 days 'til the E of the East become the E of the West, and counting...
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