S and I went out to lunch today. I had a mild throat spasm, so I got up to go to the bathroom (sometimes just walking it off helps). In the bathroom was a young woman and the restaurant hostess. As I walk into a stall, I hear the young woman say, "are you okay?" Then a lot of thudding. (At first I thought the hostess was upset about something and crying and slamming on the soap dispenser.) Then the woman says, "excuse me, EXCUSE ME" and I realize she's calling out to me. I come out of the stall and the hostess is in a full grand mal seizure: flat on her back on the bathroom floor, arms, legs, head flailing, eyes bloodshot, mouth open; her feet had kicked through the plaster in the wall.
I recall what my Mom has told me about seizures and immediately stabilize her head while the other woman runs to get help. I talk to her and tell her she's okay. (I know that during a seizure people black out but I figure anything soothing I can do can't hurt.) The manager, a woman, comes back with her and immediately puts us at ease -- I would not be surprised if she had RN training. The first woman wets a paper towel with cold water and kneels on her left, gently wiping the hostess's forehead. I'm kneeling at her head, keeping my hands on either side of her head and gently stroking her temples with my thumbs. The manager is to her right, talking to her. The seizure is easing -- she's gaping like a fish, and jittering, but not flailing any more. The manager keeps in good humor and rubs her sternum and tells her to breathe, and tells us there will be maybe another minute of this. The manager is watching the two of us to be sure we're not flipping and when I look over at her, she says, "Women are great, aren't they??" with pride and kindness in her eyes. (Definitely.) I ask the manager what kind of seizure this is and she says epileptic. Finally, the hostess' body and face goes slack, she takes her first full breath, and then her eyes start to track the manager's, who continues to talk to her, often in a playful manner ("you're looking at me now, aren't you hon?"). The manager is very good at relieving everyone's tension.
When I feel the hostess's head is safe, I hold her hand and squeeze it every now and then. The first words out of her mouth, heart-breakingly, are a slow, thick, "I'm...sorry..." to which all three of us are immediately like, "don't be silly, honey!!" Then, "water?" The manager goes to get her some and the woman and I help her slide a little away from the door so a few women who had tried to come in can finally enter. We reassure them that she's okay, and she is. The manager comes back with water, and the woman and I help her sit up, and the manager kneels behind her so she can lean back against her and helps her stabilize the glass -- the hostess' hands are still shaking. (The manager tells her it's okay to lean back and says, "don't worry, I'm wearing non-skid shoes.") At this point the manager says we can return to lunch, it's under control, and she says she's going to comp our lunches, to which of course both the woman and I say, "not at all."
I return to S., poor guy, who's seen women running to and from the bathroom and is starting to worry that I choked. He's relieved to see me. I tell him what happened and a few minutes later the manager and a waitress walk the hostess over to a booth and sit her down. She still looks a little lost -- a little like she's moving underwater -- but otherwise she's fine. I want to run over to her and verify that she's fine and soothe her and also ask her a million questions about her condition, but I decide to respect her privacy instead. It's her place of work and we eat there a lot, and I don't want to embarass her. The manager comes over again to thank me, and of course ends up comping our meal anyway.
Afterwards, I shake and tremble from the adrenalin rush as my muscles slowly release their tension, and for the next few minutes eat like I just fought all of Sparta. My throat spasm disappeared instantaneously the moment that woman called for my help, and is all but forgotten as my body's fight or flight response makes way for its renew-lost-energy response.
I suppose it may seem sentimental but my emotional response in the moment and in the aftermath was gratitude. As frightening as the seizure appeared, I knew she'd be okay, and I felt strangely grateful that I got to understand something I'd never witnessed before. I recall hearing about certain cultures where epileptic fits are taken as shamanism, and I wonder what she saw and felt when she was gone from 'this' world. In the meantime I took my instantaneously appointed role as her guardian as a welcomed education in the human body, compassion, and my own ability to stay calm and focused when chaos drops in on lunch.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Denver
As many of you know, S and I took a long weekend and visited Denver to help aid me in making my MSW decision. My preconceived notions about Denver -- mountain town, ski town, athletic town -- were all proved quite wrong.
Seriously, that's it. Not kidding. In the South East corner on the road back up towards Parker there are a bunch of horse ranches. And in Boulder there are some more houses. Otherwise, that tiny little circle in the middle and the one in Englewood is about all we spotted. Fortunately, Englewood is where University of Denver is located, so we might actually get to live in a real house.
1) Mountain Town: False. Aside from the fact that 'town' is an obvious misnomer, seeing as it's a city, this concept was proved false because Denver squats on the very last vestiges of the plains that stretch through Nebraska and Kansas. Denver is flat. Denver has gorgeous mountains off in the background. That's about it. Denver also has the flavor of a central/midwest state in that it has more strip malls and housing developments than I thought could possibly be packed into one city. There were at least four Walmart complexes in ONE city, not to mention the Target complexes, the J.C. Penny complexes, the outlet malls, and fast food after fast food after fast food chain. (If I had spotted one Dunkin' Donuts, maybe I would have forgiven Denver. But I didn't. It seems they couldn't spare the extra McDonalds and definitely needed two Long John Silvers.) San Francisco in all its high-and-mightiness tends to eschew major chain stores within city limits: we have our Walgreens and our McDonalds but they are far, far outnumbered by privately owned pharmacies and food places, not to mention all the independent clothing and furniture and art and knick knack shops. Denver was perhaps the complete antithesis, almost as though Denver eschews indepedence. It made me want to start a website listing independent stores in Denver so that if one wants to find them, one can. (Maybe I will!)
To help you understand just how much of Denver is made of "new homes" -- town houses, condos, and McMansions, all painted dull colors to blend in and avoid being even more of an eye sore, I have created this handy jpeg showing just exactly where there are "normal" brick and wood houses in the Denver area:
Seriously, that's it. Not kidding. In the South East corner on the road back up towards Parker there are a bunch of horse ranches. And in Boulder there are some more houses. Otherwise, that tiny little circle in the middle and the one in Englewood is about all we spotted. Fortunately, Englewood is where University of Denver is located, so we might actually get to live in a real house.
2) Ski Town: Inconclusive. I had half expected a Jackson Hole, Wyoming type place, but as reported above, Denver is a plains city. I'm sure the occupants love to ski. There is a train that takes you directly from Denver to the ski resorts. There is lots of skiing to be had within mere hours. But it's not a ski-town per se. It is, after all, a city, and can't cultivate that much cute and yuppie with so many other things to do. Also, I don't ski, so one might question why I care. It's not so much the skiing as it is that ski environments are often rustic and full of great food and cozy scenes, all of which I like. And I do cross country ski -- perhaps I can take that up as a hobby again.
3) Athletic Town: Inconclusive. I am used to California where the equation is something like: (warm + sunny) / most of the time = less clothing + higher levels of vanity = fitter bodies. Denver suffers no such mathematics. But it was March and still somewhat cold so perhaps the athletes were hidden under layers of wool or in the gyms getting ready for hiking season.
This post undoubtedly comes across as negative, as it is conveying my disappointment in Denver, which I foolishly thought I could compare to San Francisco. (I certainly have a whole new appreciation for San Francisco now!) There is one caveat to my experience there, and many things that I like:
Caveat: I caught a head cold the day before I left and was sick the whole time. It wasn't a full body cold, at least, but I did have to spend much of my time in Denver "toughing it out," and so I associate the city with a mild sense of post-nasal nausea.
Things I liked: The zoo. Always love a good zoo. You may recall that on my road trip out to San Francisco, I stopped at the Denver Zoo. Steve and I went again on Saturday. This time we got there around 2pm and it was overcast. Many of the animals were asleep, but many more were inside and restless to eat as the day wore on. The lions in particular were spectacular. One male and three females were in a small pen with a large glass wall and they were hungry. We were treated to lots of small spats and the male lion suddenly deciding to majestically, loudly, well, whine! Think of the ordinary housecat making those repetitive whiney meow noises when they want to be let inside or they're hungry, and then deepen the tone quite a lot and make the melody of it a lot rougher, and boom, that's what we heard. ROOOWW! ROOOWW! ROOOWW! We also walked past the giraffes, which had two babies stirring up each other and the elders, and they have the most eye-boggling run. Because their limbs are so long they appear to be running in slow motion even as they're running at a speed faster than a human can match. It hurts one's brain to watch. Very cool. We saw a lot of beautiful birds in their indoor atriums as well.
We also enjoyed the Wynkoop Brewery, which we found on the first night. The top floor was a pool hall with darts and shuffleboard; the middle floor was a restaurant and bar; and the bottom floor housed an improv comedy troupe and bands. We, of course, hit up the pool hall. It was the only place I took pictures (on my cell phone -- I just kind of forgot to after that):
Steve and I played horrible pool and ended up having a better time playing darts. We have a dartboard at our apartment so both of us got some practice in, and I actually beat him the first round, after which he beat me, after which I think he beat me again, but I can't remember. It was quite close each time. The beer there was quite yummy and the food was solid.
Lastly, Saturday evening after the zoo, we finally found a cute little neighborhood that reminded us of San Francisco: Highland Square. There were real houses there! And independent shops! It reminded us of Cole Valley, in that it was basically a neighborhood centered around one intersection that had shops and restaurants. We found the 8 Rivers Cafe there by chance and I was treated to my first great Caribbean food since Wesleyan. Steve and I both got Jerk Chicken dishes, mine with the traditional rice and plantains, his over pasta. The slow burn commenced, and we were treated to a quiet and reserved snow fall while we ate.
Other things I liked: the view of the mountains was beautiful, and merits exploration time that we could not carve out in one weekend. The vast emptiness of the plains and the blueness of the sky at that altitude made me want to write. Costs are generally cheaper out there, especially things like housing and gas. And the weather is so dry that the environment feels more tolerable. Steve and I stepped out of the airport on the first day and laughed because we were comfortable in t-shirts in 50 degree weather -- no wind and humidity to creep under our clothes and our skin. Our hair and towels dried quickly. And it was, as promised, quite sunny. The horse ranches in close proximity hold the promise of me getting to ride again for the first time in years. The University of Denver has picturesque brick buildings, and holds the promise of a career waiting to be learned.
Initial shock now over -- I think we can make it work. News to follow as it comes!
Monday, February 25, 2008
a big update of small things
1) I got into University of Denver's Masters in Social Work program. They have a program for animal-assisted therapy that inspired me to apply. It's looking likely that in September I'll be going to school for the first time in 6 years, and finally pointing myself down a career path!
2) S. and I talk about some day opening up a bed and breakfast; little did we know we already have. We've become quite the rest stop for the birds in our neighborhood, many of whom troll our fabulous finch seed diner, and some of whom even sleep for the night on our carpeted porch -- mourning doves in particular seem to like our cozy housing. Our most recents guests have extended their stay -- I guess Oregon Juncos found it a pleasant winter stomping ground, perhaps recommended to them by the house finches who are our daily customers. We also are familiar enough with the birds to notice that we now have white-capped sparrows as well as regular house sparrows partaking of our sumptuous buffet. The scrub jays and humming birds seem to have taken the winter off for now, but we're hoping to see them back when the spring weather rolls in.
3) My hair is the longest it's been probably since Freshman year of high school -- that would be in 15 years! I'm getting cut and colored tomorrow though, as it's fallen into the trap of being so heavy as to lose all body. I don't think I'll go too short -- I'm enjoying the length.
4) How to tell the weather in Oakland if you were somehow unable to see, hear or feel it: the kinder the compliment, the nicer the weather; the more direct the request for money, the worse the weather. On sunny days, especially the first one after a long spell of cold, fog, or rain, I get told I'm beautiful, a supermodel, and I've made someone's day. On lackluster but not particularly ugly days, I'm always asked to smile. And on gross days, everyone cuts to the chase: spare some change?
5) I'm coaching a volleyball team of 13-14 year olds; I'm loving every minute of it. The organization is called the starlings, and I've enjoyed titillating and horrifying the girls with stories of how starlings were brought to the U.S. because they were mentioned in Shakespeare, but now they've become a veritable plague. Of course, I try to spin this as a good thing -- we can be a plague on the court! We'll be a bad disease our opponents can't shake! We'll devour points the way starlings steal resources!
No, it's not really working. But it's still fun to say. :)
6) Buckets. Buckets are the bane of corporate lingo right now. Every time finances come up here, it's bucket this, bucket that. It makes me want to put a bucket on my head and bang it with a wooden spoon until I go deaf. Just saying.
2) S. and I talk about some day opening up a bed and breakfast; little did we know we already have. We've become quite the rest stop for the birds in our neighborhood, many of whom troll our fabulous finch seed diner, and some of whom even sleep for the night on our carpeted porch -- mourning doves in particular seem to like our cozy housing. Our most recents guests have extended their stay -- I guess Oregon Juncos found it a pleasant winter stomping ground, perhaps recommended to them by the house finches who are our daily customers. We also are familiar enough with the birds to notice that we now have white-capped sparrows as well as regular house sparrows partaking of our sumptuous buffet. The scrub jays and humming birds seem to have taken the winter off for now, but we're hoping to see them back when the spring weather rolls in.
3) My hair is the longest it's been probably since Freshman year of high school -- that would be in 15 years! I'm getting cut and colored tomorrow though, as it's fallen into the trap of being so heavy as to lose all body. I don't think I'll go too short -- I'm enjoying the length.
4) How to tell the weather in Oakland if you were somehow unable to see, hear or feel it: the kinder the compliment, the nicer the weather; the more direct the request for money, the worse the weather. On sunny days, especially the first one after a long spell of cold, fog, or rain, I get told I'm beautiful, a supermodel, and I've made someone's day. On lackluster but not particularly ugly days, I'm always asked to smile. And on gross days, everyone cuts to the chase: spare some change?
5) I'm coaching a volleyball team of 13-14 year olds; I'm loving every minute of it. The organization is called the starlings, and I've enjoyed titillating and horrifying the girls with stories of how starlings were brought to the U.S. because they were mentioned in Shakespeare, but now they've become a veritable plague. Of course, I try to spin this as a good thing -- we can be a plague on the court! We'll be a bad disease our opponents can't shake! We'll devour points the way starlings steal resources!
No, it's not really working. But it's still fun to say. :)
6) Buckets. Buckets are the bane of corporate lingo right now. Every time finances come up here, it's bucket this, bucket that. It makes me want to put a bucket on my head and bang it with a wooden spoon until I go deaf. Just saying.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Corp Speak Alert, edition 2
Come, let's journey down Corporate Etymology Way again. Lately I've been hearing:
Machine: an organization's structure and processes, writ large. E.g.: "We need to fix our machine if we want to get this done."
Siloes: over-specialization among departments. Indicates a need for better communication and even overlaps among departments. E.g.: "Let's tell everyone about the change in this department; we don't want siloes about something so important." Note: this one is so well built into our lexicon where I work that it only just occured to me to think it strange and share it.
Fred has an East Cost update:
Flow-Down: a report communicating decisions from upper-mgt to the rest of the team. E.g.: "Today's flow-down includes the following..."
My final word is a little bit separate from the others because I know its source exactly and there's only one manager here who really abuses it (and I adore her, so this has no bearing on who she is).
Arranger: from the book Now Build Your Strengths, it is defined thusly: "People strong in the Arranger theme can organize, but they also have a flexibility that complements this ability. They like to figure out how all of the pieces and resources can be arranged for maximum productivity." The manager who learned this as one of her 5 strengths has been running with it ever since - now everything is a product of her Arranger strength, from coming up with creative ideas, her interest in staff perks, or just pulling a meeting together, and if you do the same, then you must be an Arranger too! I particularly like this one, though, because I keep hearing it as "A Ranger," and I think of her tromping through the woods in a Park Ranger outfit, helping the trees to organize their leaves and giving the woodland creatures assignments and words of encouragement...
Machine: an organization's structure and processes, writ large. E.g.: "We need to fix our machine if we want to get this done."
Siloes: over-specialization among departments. Indicates a need for better communication and even overlaps among departments. E.g.: "Let's tell everyone about the change in this department; we don't want siloes about something so important." Note: this one is so well built into our lexicon where I work that it only just occured to me to think it strange and share it.
Fred has an East Cost update:
Flow-Down: a report communicating decisions from upper-mgt to the rest of the team. E.g.: "Today's flow-down includes the following..."
My final word is a little bit separate from the others because I know its source exactly and there's only one manager here who really abuses it (and I adore her, so this has no bearing on who she is).
Arranger: from the book Now Build Your Strengths, it is defined thusly: "People strong in the Arranger theme can organize, but they also have a flexibility that complements this ability. They like to figure out how all of the pieces and resources can be arranged for maximum productivity." The manager who learned this as one of her 5 strengths has been running with it ever since - now everything is a product of her Arranger strength, from coming up with creative ideas, her interest in staff perks, or just pulling a meeting together, and if you do the same, then you must be an Arranger too! I particularly like this one, though, because I keep hearing it as "A Ranger," and I think of her tromping through the woods in a Park Ranger outfit, helping the trees to organize their leaves and giving the woodland creatures assignments and words of encouragement...
Old building, new building
About 3 weeks ago, we packed up our old office and moved into a new one 6 blocks away. I have never been a part of this kind of shift before, and so there are lots of small culture shocks I have to get used to.
Today, for example, when I got in the elevator, every single button for every floor was pressed. Had this happened in our old building, I would have considered it a very bad sign -- our old building had 14 floors, and that would have meant there were at least 13 people in the elevator. Our new building has 6 floors, and there were 7 people in the elevator - it was a short and comfortable ride.
Another good example is the bathrooms: Old Building: genders alternated floors, there was only one per floor, everything was manual, there were two stalls per bathroom, entry doors didn't lock, and each had either windows or those squirty smelly air fresheners blasting out canned scents every 10 minutes. New building: both genders on every floor, 3 sets of bathrooms per floor, automated everything -- flushing, sinks, and soap (!) -- three or more stalls per bathroom, keyed in codes for the bathroom entry doors, no windows (at least in the one we we use most frequently), no air fresheners. For some reason the soap is the kicker for me -- automated soap? Who does that? New building does.
There are large things that are different too -- the fact that we have twice as much space, the fact that we moved into a Class A building (i.e. really really nice), the fact that I have my own office -- but those were all known changes. It's the little things that truly reinforce that we moved on -- and up -- in the world.
Today, for example, when I got in the elevator, every single button for every floor was pressed. Had this happened in our old building, I would have considered it a very bad sign -- our old building had 14 floors, and that would have meant there were at least 13 people in the elevator. Our new building has 6 floors, and there were 7 people in the elevator - it was a short and comfortable ride.
Another good example is the bathrooms: Old Building: genders alternated floors, there was only one per floor, everything was manual, there were two stalls per bathroom, entry doors didn't lock, and each had either windows or those squirty smelly air fresheners blasting out canned scents every 10 minutes. New building: both genders on every floor, 3 sets of bathrooms per floor, automated everything -- flushing, sinks, and soap (!) -- three or more stalls per bathroom, keyed in codes for the bathroom entry doors, no windows (at least in the one we we use most frequently), no air fresheners. For some reason the soap is the kicker for me -- automated soap? Who does that? New building does.
There are large things that are different too -- the fact that we have twice as much space, the fact that we moved into a Class A building (i.e. really really nice), the fact that I have my own office -- but those were all known changes. It's the little things that truly reinforce that we moved on -- and up -- in the world.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Trilogy
Today marks my 3 year anniversary at the Donor Network. Remarkable. Not only have I worked here longer than any other job I've had, but I've worked here longer than all my other post-graduation jobs combined!
In honor of this momentous occasion, I wanted to let you know of three new corporate-speak alerts. We all know that the lingo flies fast and furious in an office...but have you heard these recent new-comers to the scene?
Have Energy About: A guarded way to state that you're really worked up and angry about something. E.g.: "Can I talk to you privately about something? I have a lot of energy around it and I need feedback..."
Bucket(s): a way to financially group costs, employees, etc. "Let me know if that event is going to cost a lot because if I have to put it in a different bucket I will."
Operationalize: Taking something theoretical (or not perfectly functional) and making it practical. "We need to work on operationalizing this plan so it makes sense given work flow."
As an addendum, Fred notes that he's hearing a lot of "the reality is..." over in Virginia!
In honor of this momentous occasion, I wanted to let you know of three new corporate-speak alerts. We all know that the lingo flies fast and furious in an office...but have you heard these recent new-comers to the scene?
Have Energy About: A guarded way to state that you're really worked up and angry about something. E.g.: "Can I talk to you privately about something? I have a lot of energy around it and I need feedback..."
Bucket(s): a way to financially group costs, employees, etc. "Let me know if that event is going to cost a lot because if I have to put it in a different bucket I will."
Operationalize: Taking something theoretical (or not perfectly functional) and making it practical. "We need to work on operationalizing this plan so it makes sense given work flow."
As an addendum, Fred notes that he's hearing a lot of "the reality is..." over in Virginia!
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
The ultimate in armchair ornithology
Click here to see the live-Falcon camera up on top of San Jose City Hall: Swoon!
Today I saw:
*Mom and Pop both falling asleep and startling awake depending on the chicks' activity
*Pop shredding a small bird and feeding the chicks
*Pop resting on his very fuzzy brood
*Pop pacing to and from the nest (to stretch legs?) and checking out his surroundings
*Pop taking a quick flight (to stretch wings?) and coming right back
*Mom standing nearby to keep an eye on things
I'm assuming that the lone bird I saw today is the dad, but I might be wrong. I'm looking into it and the easiest way to tell the sexes apart is that the females are 15-20% bigger and usually have slightly darker markings on the belly, and I haven't seen them together frequently enough to be sure...
I'm also guessing that the young are only a couple days old, as the websites say they will separate from each other a bit in the nest after a few days, and right now they're still huddling together. In only a matter of a couple weeks, they'll be growing their feathers and flying!
All right here in sunny San Jose!
Falcon information found here.
Post-script, 5/2/07: Apparently 11am-12pm PDT is nap time for the falcons. Today is the second day I've found them dotingly dozing on the job during this time frame!
Today I saw:
*Mom and Pop both falling asleep and startling awake depending on the chicks' activity
*Pop shredding a small bird and feeding the chicks
*Pop resting on his very fuzzy brood
*Pop pacing to and from the nest (to stretch legs?) and checking out his surroundings
*Pop taking a quick flight (to stretch wings?) and coming right back
*Mom standing nearby to keep an eye on things
I'm assuming that the lone bird I saw today is the dad, but I might be wrong. I'm looking into it and the easiest way to tell the sexes apart is that the females are 15-20% bigger and usually have slightly darker markings on the belly, and I haven't seen them together frequently enough to be sure...
I'm also guessing that the young are only a couple days old, as the websites say they will separate from each other a bit in the nest after a few days, and right now they're still huddling together. In only a matter of a couple weeks, they'll be growing their feathers and flying!
All right here in sunny San Jose!
Falcon information found here.
Post-script, 5/2/07: Apparently 11am-12pm PDT is nap time for the falcons. Today is the second day I've found them dotingly dozing on the job during this time frame!
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Better even than expected
Two weekends ago, S. and I finished moving everything we own into our new apartment, which is situated up on the side of Twin Peaks, one of the larger but less populated hills in the heart of San Francisco. This past weekend we were able to start building our environment from all the raw material we moved, and sacrificed our extra second bedroom to the clutter gods so that our actual bedroom and our living room could take on a semblance of organization and polish. We could -- and did -- finally, in good conscience, have guests over. We also discovered, to our delight, that S.'s projector can handle high definition cable channels, and we have been completely infatuated with the Discovery-HD channel's Planet Earth series ever since. (Watch it, watch it, watch it. Beautiful, astonishing footage! There was a scene with Birds of Paradise in which the display of a male bird was so surprisingly transforming that everyone watching literally exclaimed out loud "WOW - WHAT WAS THAT??")
Our biggest triumph, however, was our back roof-patio. We are situated in the building thusly:
So as you can see, we have nothing but roof stretching out before us, giving us a spectactular view of the bay. We are asked not to walk out on the roof past our little fenced-in portion of it (as indicated by the rectangle drawn above) as it supposedly weakens it and causes leaks for our neighbors below, but we loooooooove our little fenced-in portion of it so much anyway that it's no big deal. Our major project this past weekend was to find and put up some kind of pleasant barrier to give us more privacy from our neighbors to the left and right (we have a building's light well to the right of our little patio which has windows with a direct view of us, and the building to our left has the same set up as ours so that they can walk out on their patio and look directly on ours) without seeming to be completely unneighborly (to spin on the saying -- pleasant fences make pleasant neighbors). We found some great 6 foot high woven straw matting at Lowe's which we put up that gives the patio a bit of a tiki-feel while still being mildly transparent. We also chose to cut it into a triangle by our neighbors on the left, so we can still poke our heads around it and say hello. (I'll try to take pictures.)
Having this all done by Saturday meant we could bask in the glory of our patio on Sunday, and bask we did. San Francisco was kind and gave us a glorious, mostly-sunny day where we could stretch out on the patio chairs and enjoy that famously mild San Francisco weather. Even then, I got more than I bargained for: the neighbors who live on the top floor of the building to our left have a hummingbird feeder complete with black-chinned hummingbird client who pops by to feed (we ran right out and bought a feeder too!); a mourning dove is nesting in one of our gutters (which, oddly, is one long horizontal piece without a drain in it, (?!?!?) so we cut a small hole in it to drain it of accumulated rain and spare the dove a soggy nest!); two raucous scrub jays came by scouring for food (we bought a feeder and some seed for them too, althought if it attracts pigeons, we'll take it right back down -- fingers crossed); and either a merlin or a prairie hawk flew by (judging purely by the shape of its all-black silhouette against a pale blue sky) being heralded by alarmed smaller birds. And on top of that -- it is so quiet, so away from the city roar of street-cars, large thoroughfares, crowds, taxis, etc., that we can hear all kinds of bird calls, out of which the only ones I can identify so far are mourning doves and crows.
Can you guess? I was in heaven. Home sweet home!
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
All hail the hale and hearty hail!
Or as one of the managers I work with put it, "what the hail was that??"
Yes, last night at approximately 9ish pm PST we heard a familiar tap-tap-tapping at our window panes which was not the known rogue agent Jack Frost but was instead his sneaky samurai cousin, Jethro Hail. Only Jethro Hail could have snuck into San Francisco for about two minutes to regale us with morse code for "winter precipitation can happen to YOU!" and indeed, it did. Steve and I ran out to our back stairs and stuck our hands out to find cute little candy sized (think Nerds or Pop-Rocks) nubbins of hail tap-dancing with wee feet on everything around us.
Being the total weather-weenie that I have become after 3 years in San Francisco, I immediately rushed inside and put on a winter coat and then rushed back outside to ogle the little deposits of New England nostalgia still bombarding us.
We got a good two minutes of bonafide precipitation people! I was 30 seconds away from buying a snow blower...
It's been quite the eventful climate week -- a 3.6 quake felt by our office on Friday afternoon, the thunder and hail storm that struck last night, and as I'm typing still another thunderstorm is flashing its wares and gnashing its teeth outside. Highly irregular -- our 'thunderstorms' out here are usually the equivalent of a limp handshake -- lightning that would rather be on its lunch break, thunder that would prefer to hire telemarketers, and rain dropped from a machine whose meter is obviously set on the "low/moist" end of the spectrum, rather than the "high/zero to soaked in 7 seconds" end. Thunder that can actually be heard -- repeatedly -- is, well, unheard of. As is lightning born of something stronger than heat.
On another note -- does anyone know why it's called "hail?"
Yes, last night at approximately 9ish pm PST we heard a familiar tap-tap-tapping at our window panes which was not the known rogue agent Jack Frost but was instead his sneaky samurai cousin, Jethro Hail. Only Jethro Hail could have snuck into San Francisco for about two minutes to regale us with morse code for "winter precipitation can happen to YOU!" and indeed, it did. Steve and I ran out to our back stairs and stuck our hands out to find cute little candy sized (think Nerds or Pop-Rocks) nubbins of hail tap-dancing with wee feet on everything around us.
Being the total weather-weenie that I have become after 3 years in San Francisco, I immediately rushed inside and put on a winter coat and then rushed back outside to ogle the little deposits of New England nostalgia still bombarding us.
We got a good two minutes of bonafide precipitation people! I was 30 seconds away from buying a snow blower...
It's been quite the eventful climate week -- a 3.6 quake felt by our office on Friday afternoon, the thunder and hail storm that struck last night, and as I'm typing still another thunderstorm is flashing its wares and gnashing its teeth outside. Highly irregular -- our 'thunderstorms' out here are usually the equivalent of a limp handshake -- lightning that would rather be on its lunch break, thunder that would prefer to hire telemarketers, and rain dropped from a machine whose meter is obviously set on the "low/moist" end of the spectrum, rather than the "high/zero to soaked in 7 seconds" end. Thunder that can actually be heard -- repeatedly -- is, well, unheard of. As is lightning born of something stronger than heat.
On another note -- does anyone know why it's called "hail?"
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Release
For a long, long time now I have had one quotation serve a gentle reminder at the bottom of all of my emails:
"Let the beauty we love be what we do." ~Rumi
When it comes to quotations, particularly those I sign my emails with and see a lot, I tend to be fickle. They last weeks, in rare cases months, until I grow bored, or until I seize on a quotation from something I read and want it around for inspiration or further rumination. This one from Rumi, though, came at a time in my life (I believe something like 2 or more years ago) where I was struggling for so many things and the desire for the reminder was pervasive: in love, in your job, in your friends, in your independence, even in how you comport yourself on a day to day basis -- remind yourself of the beauty you love and let that govern your choices. This, too, necessitates knowing what you find beauty in, giving an added level of depth to the missive. I never cease to get a light frisson when my eyes fall on the quotation -- even now.
That being said, I have finally reached my saturation point with seeing it. I crave newness. Part of it is feeling some accomplishment in finding and doing "the beauty I love" -- I'm ready for a new challenge. Read for a little badinage in my emails, a little extemporaneity (is that a word?? It is now! Hmmm...how fitting). Those of you who get missives from me, be prepared for some fluctuation in the signature line. I did, however, pay small homage to the Rumi quotation by adding it as my scrolling screen saver at work, perhaps one of the most relevant places for such a reminder.
As for this blog, which I have left fallow for such a long time: This post is indeed a sign of a renewal, though I make no promises as to how often and how consistent it will be. I do like writing on a public forum, and at this point I have read enough personal blogs to realize that even the mundane musings of the most random person can still be relevant and interesting, so I feel renewed comfort in tapping out my own maundering mundane musings again.
"Maundering," by the way, is my latest favorite word.
Happy New Year to you all.
"Let the beauty we love be what we do." ~Rumi
When it comes to quotations, particularly those I sign my emails with and see a lot, I tend to be fickle. They last weeks, in rare cases months, until I grow bored, or until I seize on a quotation from something I read and want it around for inspiration or further rumination. This one from Rumi, though, came at a time in my life (I believe something like 2 or more years ago) where I was struggling for so many things and the desire for the reminder was pervasive: in love, in your job, in your friends, in your independence, even in how you comport yourself on a day to day basis -- remind yourself of the beauty you love and let that govern your choices. This, too, necessitates knowing what you find beauty in, giving an added level of depth to the missive. I never cease to get a light frisson when my eyes fall on the quotation -- even now.
That being said, I have finally reached my saturation point with seeing it. I crave newness. Part of it is feeling some accomplishment in finding and doing "the beauty I love" -- I'm ready for a new challenge. Read for a little badinage in my emails, a little extemporaneity (is that a word?? It is now! Hmmm...how fitting). Those of you who get missives from me, be prepared for some fluctuation in the signature line. I did, however, pay small homage to the Rumi quotation by adding it as my scrolling screen saver at work, perhaps one of the most relevant places for such a reminder.
As for this blog, which I have left fallow for such a long time: This post is indeed a sign of a renewal, though I make no promises as to how often and how consistent it will be. I do like writing on a public forum, and at this point I have read enough personal blogs to realize that even the mundane musings of the most random person can still be relevant and interesting, so I feel renewed comfort in tapping out my own maundering mundane musings again.
"Maundering," by the way, is my latest favorite word.
Happy New Year to you all.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Alas, poor Pluto
Alas, poor Pluto! I knew him a planet: a fellow
of infinite path, of most excellent orbit: he hath
flown him round the earth a thousand times; and now, how
abhorred in Nasa's imagination it is! my gorge rims at
it. Here hung those moons that I have ogled I know
not how oft. Where be your Charons now? your
Nixs? your Hydras? your flashes of astrology,
that were wont to set the hippies on a roar? Not one
now, to mock your own spinning? quite chap-fallen?
Now get you to milky way's chamber, and tell him that
we paint a fine line, to this favour he must
come; make him a dwarf at that.
If you're not catching on...read this.
And for facts about pluto, I went here.
of infinite path, of most excellent orbit: he hath
flown him round the earth a thousand times; and now, how
abhorred in Nasa's imagination it is! my gorge rims at
it. Here hung those moons that I have ogled I know
not how oft. Where be your Charons now? your
Nixs? your Hydras? your flashes of astrology,
that were wont to set the hippies on a roar? Not one
now, to mock your own spinning? quite chap-fallen?
Now get you to milky way's chamber, and tell him that
we paint a fine line, to this favour he must
come; make him a dwarf at that.
If you're not catching on...read this.
And for facts about pluto, I went here.
Monday, August 21, 2006
Dormant
My mom noticed the two month hiatus from the last post and asked me about it. I doubt very many other people are reading this besides my parents, but I think it polite to inform you that this blog is basically taking a note from Haleakala and lying dormant for a bit. I think the time for blogging may have passed, and it is due time to get back to other writing endeavors; plus most of the real updates about my life are too personal to post.
In other words, this blog's initial purpose as a forum for mass-updating has passed. If it speaks to me of another purpose that inspires me to update regularly, well then, it will stay. If it loses its appeal altogether, it will go. For now, I can only advise you to expect no more than the occasional anecdotal update like the one below. If you really miss having a blog in your life...maybe start your own? (~_~)
In other words, this blog's initial purpose as a forum for mass-updating has passed. If it speaks to me of another purpose that inspires me to update regularly, well then, it will stay. If it loses its appeal altogether, it will go. For now, I can only advise you to expect no more than the occasional anecdotal update like the one below. If you really miss having a blog in your life...maybe start your own? (~_~)
Seats, Walks, and Books
I had an illuminating experience today. Upon catching the train to head to work, a young man with Down's Syndrome immediately offered me his seat. I said "oh no, thank you though, please -- stay," thinking to myself, you have D.S., you should keep the seat. I had to laugh when he said, "but you're so tall, you should take the seat." Well met, my friend. I wouldn't have called my physical characteristics a disability either!
An organization in our office building apparently works with all kind of special needs children and adults, as there are many mornings in the week where the lobby will be full of these people as they await buses for a field trip. At first I was nervous -- am I staring? I am not looking enough? Should I smile or is that patronizing? -- but I've since learned that such second-guessing is not necessary. I treat them like anyone else I walk past, a smile if I make eye-contact, but for the most part being non-intrusive. I can't say that I've gotten to the point where I don't think about it when I walk in; I believe that's also because I relish the exposure. There are so many different walks of life that can give one's one life perspective, and daily reminders of perspective certainly don't do any harm.
In that vein, since as far as I know none of you work in my office building, I can recommend a few good books if you're looking for this particular kind of perspective.
1) Expecting Adam, by Martha Beck, a true story about a woman expecting a child with D.S. and the fantastic occurrences that herald his birth (and continue even after he's born). My aunt and mom clued me into this book -- it touched us all.
2) The Memory Keeper's Daughter, by Kim Edwards, which charts the consequences in a family unit when the father secretly chooses to give away a twin born with D.S. while keeping the other. (This happens in the beginning -- I am not spoiling anything, don't worry.)
If you read either of them, please let me know what you think -- and be sure to pass them along to friends and coworkers, or whoever else might be in your book network. These books have a lot to say and need to be heard!
An organization in our office building apparently works with all kind of special needs children and adults, as there are many mornings in the week where the lobby will be full of these people as they await buses for a field trip. At first I was nervous -- am I staring? I am not looking enough? Should I smile or is that patronizing? -- but I've since learned that such second-guessing is not necessary. I treat them like anyone else I walk past, a smile if I make eye-contact, but for the most part being non-intrusive. I can't say that I've gotten to the point where I don't think about it when I walk in; I believe that's also because I relish the exposure. There are so many different walks of life that can give one's one life perspective, and daily reminders of perspective certainly don't do any harm.
In that vein, since as far as I know none of you work in my office building, I can recommend a few good books if you're looking for this particular kind of perspective.
1) Expecting Adam, by Martha Beck, a true story about a woman expecting a child with D.S. and the fantastic occurrences that herald his birth (and continue even after he's born). My aunt and mom clued me into this book -- it touched us all.
2) The Memory Keeper's Daughter, by Kim Edwards, which charts the consequences in a family unit when the father secretly chooses to give away a twin born with D.S. while keeping the other. (This happens in the beginning -- I am not spoiling anything, don't worry.)
If you read either of them, please let me know what you think -- and be sure to pass them along to friends and coworkers, or whoever else might be in your book network. These books have a lot to say and need to be heard!
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
lots of activity
This weekend S and I had a going away/birthday party. It was fun. We played ring toss again. The drinks were somehow slightly less disgusting than last time. For those of you I may not have indoctrinated yet, ring toss consists of putting the entirety of your liquor collection out, along with a few gross bonuses like vinegar or cooking wine or lemon juice -- and then tossing homemade aluminum foil rings until you land on three, which you then must drink in a shot. Since it's only a shot, you don't get drunk; mostly it's a gross out game. Also -- L made me a pear ginger upside down cake, not remembering that I don't like pears. Fortunately for everyone involved, the pears she'd selected where mild in both pear flavor and pear texture, and it turned out to be delicious. I ate it for breakfast the next couple days. :)
I think I have told most everybody that I am moving to a new apartment. We moved a bunch of stuff and found some furniture and planned some more. It was good. I think we might actually be ready to move in this weekend.
Yesterday morning I threw out my back. I have gotten twinges and soreness before, but this was quite demobilizing -- twin sneezes and suddenly tilting forward or backward causes intense pain. I have never had anything quite like this happen, especially without a known cause -- moving furniture, or playing a lot of volleyball, or whatever. The heating pad and I are once again sharing quality time together.
Oh yeah -- my birthday rocked. I had the actual day off from work, so S brought me up to Napa on Wednesday afternoon where we stayed at an adorable homey B&B, walked around, ate the yuppiest of cuisines, and went wine tasting. We each tried five at one place, split two flights (six total) at another, tried 8 at another automated place where you create a little debit card that you can stick into a machine which then pours 1 oz of whichever wine you choose, with each one pro-rated according to its overall cost, and then I had a glass with dinner. That's 20 -- count 'em -- different wines in one night. The highlight was the first place, which had great picks, and the automated place, which allowed you taste a couple $100 bottles. We tried one at $8.30 for one ounce -- it was a dark, luxurious cabernet. I quickly learned that one way to tell the difference between a bargain basement wine and an expensive wine is that first smell -- cheap wines just smell medicinal (one even smelled like bug spray!), while expensive wines smell like a pantry, or a basket of vegetables, or a freshly planted earthy field. In other words, they don't smell like alcohol, they smell like other smells. It's not a far leap to see how this contributes to their flavor. I also learned that the proper time to decant a wine is a couple hours before you intend to serve it. Cool.
On the way home, we were passing by a six flags and though, why not? It turned out to be a great day for it. Being a week day and still early enough in summer not to be too inundated by families, the lines were fairly short and the crowds were manageable. We rode some great coasters, ate some greasy grub and dippin' dots (which are always an interesting taste sensation) and spent about 5 or so hours being, well, amused. They also had a sea world there and we ended up catching a show in which a dolphin and an orca swam around and showed off -- together. That was a first, and pretty fun to watch.
It's been a great last few days and a wonderful birthday. We're smack dab in the middle of a huge transition, but everything's going smoothly. In a few weeks time, we'll be starting a whole new phase of life.
Which reminds me, I signed up for the GRE in August. It's about time to start planning ahead.
I think I have told most everybody that I am moving to a new apartment. We moved a bunch of stuff and found some furniture and planned some more. It was good. I think we might actually be ready to move in this weekend.
Yesterday morning I threw out my back. I have gotten twinges and soreness before, but this was quite demobilizing -- twin sneezes and suddenly tilting forward or backward causes intense pain. I have never had anything quite like this happen, especially without a known cause -- moving furniture, or playing a lot of volleyball, or whatever. The heating pad and I are once again sharing quality time together.
Oh yeah -- my birthday rocked. I had the actual day off from work, so S brought me up to Napa on Wednesday afternoon where we stayed at an adorable homey B&B, walked around, ate the yuppiest of cuisines, and went wine tasting. We each tried five at one place, split two flights (six total) at another, tried 8 at another automated place where you create a little debit card that you can stick into a machine which then pours 1 oz of whichever wine you choose, with each one pro-rated according to its overall cost, and then I had a glass with dinner. That's 20 -- count 'em -- different wines in one night. The highlight was the first place, which had great picks, and the automated place, which allowed you taste a couple $100 bottles. We tried one at $8.30 for one ounce -- it was a dark, luxurious cabernet. I quickly learned that one way to tell the difference between a bargain basement wine and an expensive wine is that first smell -- cheap wines just smell medicinal (one even smelled like bug spray!), while expensive wines smell like a pantry, or a basket of vegetables, or a freshly planted earthy field. In other words, they don't smell like alcohol, they smell like other smells. It's not a far leap to see how this contributes to their flavor. I also learned that the proper time to decant a wine is a couple hours before you intend to serve it. Cool.
On the way home, we were passing by a six flags and though, why not? It turned out to be a great day for it. Being a week day and still early enough in summer not to be too inundated by families, the lines were fairly short and the crowds were manageable. We rode some great coasters, ate some greasy grub and dippin' dots (which are always an interesting taste sensation) and spent about 5 or so hours being, well, amused. They also had a sea world there and we ended up catching a show in which a dolphin and an orca swam around and showed off -- together. That was a first, and pretty fun to watch.
It's been a great last few days and a wonderful birthday. We're smack dab in the middle of a huge transition, but everything's going smoothly. In a few weeks time, we'll be starting a whole new phase of life.
Which reminds me, I signed up for the GRE in August. It's about time to start planning ahead.
Friday, June 09, 2006
Warning: extreme cuteness content below
This one HAD to get a mention on my blog. It is just too cute. SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
I would post it here but photographer has set it up so you can't capture her pics. The Cat's Jungle pictures of animals are awesome -- she's a regular at the San Francisco Zoo. But it's her otter set that has totally captivated me. They are so photogenic and adorable. I believe that's why this photoshopped pic rings so true. :)
Oh my goodness, it's nearly unbearable...the further along you go in the set, the cuter they are.
See? Otter cuteness even makes the otters squeal!
(This is from a different photographer all together...I'm just illustrating.)
I would post it here but photographer has set it up so you can't capture her pics. The Cat's Jungle pictures of animals are awesome -- she's a regular at the San Francisco Zoo. But it's her otter set that has totally captivated me. They are so photogenic and adorable. I believe that's why this photoshopped pic rings so true. :)
Oh my goodness, it's nearly unbearable...the further along you go in the set, the cuter they are.
See? Otter cuteness even makes the otters squeal!
(This is from a different photographer all together...I'm just illustrating.)
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
House Finch
That lovely bird in my profile photo is a house finch. I found Larry Hamrin's photo collection on Flickr; he is a talented photographer of all manner of birds, and was willing to share this photo for the sake of a pun on my last name.
Larry if you see this -- thanks again!
Larry if you see this -- thanks again!
Monday, June 05, 2006
Changes afoot
Most of you know by now...
Steve is moving (states, possibly even countries).
I am moving (neighborhoods).
Life is moving along.
Eh-adventures indeed!
We are having a going-away party on the 17th of June -- if you would like to go, email me. (Or leave a comment.)
Hurrah!
Steve is moving (states, possibly even countries).
I am moving (neighborhoods).
Life is moving along.
Eh-adventures indeed!
We are having a going-away party on the 17th of June -- if you would like to go, email me. (Or leave a comment.)
Hurrah!
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