I changed the title of my blog (note, this does not affect the URL, a.k.a. the web address, so don't worry) because House on Wheels just didn't seem proper any more. I was indeed once very mobile (in fact, within two weeks, the anniversary of my road trip will arrive, and two weeks after that, as of July 1, my one year anniversary in SF) -- mobile in flesh, mobile in mind, mobile in spirit -- but none of that's true right now. Circumstances have conspired both to cement me in the Bay area (yay job!) and to cement me from traveling for work (I said, YAY job!). As for mobility of mind and spirit...those are a little stagnant right now. A great deal of personal issues* have cropped up in the last three months, added to the long term anxiety of finding a job, paying bills, etc. Now that I have a wonderful job, I at last have the time to tackle these issues -- I'm going to Landmark in two weeks, which is VERY exciting, and I'm exploring local Al-Anon meetings in the hopes of finding one that I can attend weekly. June is going to be a revolutionary month for me, and I'll do what I can to keep you posted.

All of that in mind, I've changed the blog name to Dwelling. It is both a synonym to my last name (and thus an homage to the previous blog name) and a synonym for the act of recounting, though with slightly more obsessive connotations. I hope you like it.

*(To respect the privacy of the people around whom these issues revolve, I'll refrain from getting into them. Most of you who would want to know the gritty details do, and most of you who would rather not, don't, so I'm pretty sure this isn't as much of a tease as it seems. I'm open to discussing them privately if you'd like to.)

Hi Guys -- here's a bunch of pictures I'd been meaning to show you. Remember the easter feast I described? The sudden outburst of flowers I'd forlornly tried to describe with words? Tales of Halloween, Fred dressed as Ali G? At last, you can see for yourself. By the way, you can click on any of these pictures to enlarge them.


This was that easter feast I described. Leslie's behind the camera. Duke's holding a feta, spinach, and mushroom omelette; those are home fries in the frying pan; that's strawberry and chocolate chip pancakes on that plate; closer to Chad, you can see the French Toast I made...and the clock says 3:30 on easter Sunday. Can't beat it! 

James arranged this one. This is the smallest I've ever seen Dan. 

Ah ha! At last, proof of Fred's true alliance (and true fashion sense). If Daddy only knew... 

If you can see him...this is Will at the one and only performance I've ever been to of The Bother's. He's a great peformer.  

This is the infamous bottlebrush. I'd never seen it before I moved to San Francisco, but now it's a definite favorite of mine!  

This one needs enlargement. But if you look closely, the sun catches it in a way that's downright ethereal. I can hardly believe I took this picture! 

This rose was born to be a star. 

Bougainvillea is papery and ecstatic... 

Us Surprising Lexi In Seattle. 

AT LAST -- Blogger came up with a free way to post pictures. So very exciting. Consider this your warning...

Hey guys -- sorry for long time no update. I've been combatting a head cold since last weekend. I've also been super busy at work. This combination not only means that the cold stays put on a minimum level, but that my communication has been lacking as well. If nothing else, my health insurance kicks in on Tuesday -- AT LAST! -- and I can see a doc then.

I'm still loving my job.

Okay, this struck me as funny. A little background first. My brother joined Big Brothers Big Sisters a year ago, maybe two, and his contributions to his little brother's life and happiness have been such that he is up for an award -- Big Brother of the Year -- to be given to him by the Governor of Virginia. While I am proud of this accomplishment, I definitely had to call him up and give him some flack. You see, when my mom sent an email entitled "FRED HOUSE -- BIG BROTHER OF THE YEAR," I'm thinking, "um, says who?" Fred is indeed a wonderful, caring, considerate, consistent big brother to any kid -- he's great with kids -- of the non-sibling variety. Which is not to deny him this award, because he is great with kids, and he's great with siblings of the adult variety. But in my humble experience, Fred and siblinghood below the age of, say, 20 years, do not mix well.

Fred informed me that he'd been saving it all up for the kind of siblinghood you can actually get awards for. To which I replied, at least you got it right once in your life, bucko. The conversation then devolved in to taunting, raspberries, and cellular hair-pulling, so I'll spare you the rest, but all of this is to say, next time I call first right of "best/worst" designation. I'll be sure to let the Governor know.

Yesterday was our quarterly staff meeting, in which all the staff from all the locations come to a meeting center in Berkeley. We went over our collective mission, stats, finances, and then brainstormed and discussed what expectations of us are, who we answer to, how we affect the organization at large, how we'd like to see it change, what it would need to do to keep us as employees, etc. We also listened to a guest speaker talk about technology and usually we have a donor recipient come talk to us about their experience. This time they couldn't arrange that, which was disappointing, but there's always next time.

My real involvement in the staff meeting, though, was to put faces to names (since I'm in HR I see ALL the names, but have met few of the faces) and to be seen myself. And I realized that I really fit into this organization well. In one of the small group exercises/discussions, my group nominated me to present our views, and before we'd convened I'd hardly met anyone in the group yet. I made the whole organization laugh, intentionally, while I was presenting. I also participated in a presentation by all the administrative assistants in which they hoped to give people some background on where their experience lies and what they do now, in the hopes of personalizing us and garnering some respect. (I hadn't noticed this lacking, but apparently it's just a sensitive issue worth attention.) So I got a chance to talk about my experience with admin work, and my writing studies, and to joke about how if anyone had ever been to Middlebury, CT in the summer of 97 and ridden the Mad Mouse at Quassy, I was the one running the brakes. :)

My boss said she had all KINDS of people coming up to her and telling her how well they thought I fit into the organization, how capable and professional I was, how funny I was, how much they liked me, (and of course, how tall I was). Experiencing a day where I really got to see the face of the organization as a whole revealed to me that the average employee here is smart, dedicated, light-hearted, and even-tempered. It makes me really want to invest my time. For the first time, I can envision myself living in the bay area for more than just a year or two, and I can envision myself staying at a job for more than just a year -- as opposed to the annual wanderlust I seem to experience.

Time and management could change all that, and quickly. But for now, I really feel that not only did I survive the job-seeking experience in the Bay Area, but I came out on top, too.

I am running myself ragged at work today but I just wanted to post that I will actually be starting FULL TIME on 6/1/04. My boss is so busy that she made the case for needing the help and the CEO said it was fine.

I did enjoy the loose schedule but my finances sure appreciated the security!

Lord of the Rings!


What movie Do you Belong in?(many different outcomes!)
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Let me know...

I took away the google search bar. I didn't get the vibe that any of you were using it, and according to Dad it was causing viewing issues. So it's gone. Should any of you truly miss it let me know.

On the train every morning someone sits or stands next to me and who they appear to be in my peripheral vision is always completely and utterly different than who they are when I eventually look them full in the face. The tall, stylish, raven-haired woman standing next to me yesterday morning turned out to be young drag queen. The middle-aged, straggly haired woman sitting next to me this morning turned out to be a tan, friendly, clean young woman who didn't even growl when my bag bumped her as I was getting up from my seat. Facial expressions that I swear I see turn to dull spaciness when I confront them. Men are women, women are men, starers are reading, readers are staring...my eyes sideways are the most imaginative part of my body, brain be damned...not to be grandiose or anything.

Every morning when I come up from my BART stop into a small alley between two roads, there's a bright yellow sporty motorcycle painted to look like a wasp. Today the owner thereof was mounting it as I came up the escalator and it turns out he has a bright yellow leather jacket with dancing orange flames and big yellow helmet to match. I was mildly disappointed that his jacket did not follow the wasp theme...would a set of teflon transparent wings hurt??

Today I had my pre-employment physical. Basic physicals are incredibly silly. In sum, they had me pee in a cup, identify colors on different signs, cover each ear while facing a wall and repeat a whispered number, stand on a scale and have my weight and height measured, read a line of letters on an eye chart several feet away, and then read a paragraph of the smallest print I could see from a card I held in my hand. They then had me change into a paper gown and looked into my eyes, ears, and throat, listened to my lungs and heart, palpated my belly, banged my knees, had me close my eyes and hold my palms up and then proceeded to swiftly knock each palm and then each shoulder (is that a test for balance, reflexes, vertigo, what??) and finally had me touch my toes and arch backwards. Upon doing all of these ridiculous things, I was pronounced healthy and told to go.

Based on these activities, kindergartners seem to check each others' health ALL THE TIME.

Oh, and I spent the 5 minutes I had waiting for the doctor to come in counting the Pooh stickers on the wall. There were 11 tiggers, 13 poohs, and 12 eeyore/piglets.

Goo goo gah ga and adieu.

During the weekly Monday conference call today, Irma announced my presence as a new hire. She then pointed out that I also "said I bake a mean muffin." (In a fit of hubris, I had written that on my application under "other talents & skills." Looks like I'm going to have to put my money where my mouth is...or their mouth where my money is...or something.) The next woman who spoke also announced a new hire, though she admitted she "didn't know anything about HIS baking skills." Which prompted me to promise to help him.

This is a fun place.

Permanent jobs aside, I got to hang out with some of my old Auburn/Merced coworkers this Friday, and the really great thing about that job was them. I have 5 or 6 people I (hope to) see monthly whom I otherwise would never have met. They're funny and intelligent and I consider myself lucky.

Happy May!