It's been a while, so hopefully no one's checking the blog anymore and I can noodle about with my writing without much notice. Plus, it's bedtime so I'll make it quick.
This year is our 81st birthday, and mine has already passed with K's coming on Tuesday. This means we held our annual backyard birthday BBQ on Saturday (yesterday), with perfect weather and a traditionally randomized cast of attendees.
I like our BBQ for a number of reasons. It lasts all days so parent and kids can come early, or anyone can stay late. Lots of folks bring food to share, which invariably results in a delightful smorgasbord of tasty food. We've got enough kids that they're mostly self-entertaining. And we get to hang out with a fabulous cross-section of our friends. I was really happy that an old high school friend (reconnected to on Facebook) came by, even as some other regulars couldn't make it for mostly legitimate reasons.
Plus this year I feel particularly grateful - I've described my June as one full of gratitude. May was a tough month: K was bumpily starting up his job search and structuring his downtime while we were all living in anticipation of R's heart surgery. (R, my niece, was born in late January with Tetrology of Fallot - a fancy way of saying "four things wrong with your heart".) The surgery went well, K has settled into a routine of vigorous networking and job interviewing, and I'm approaching my ten years (TEN YEARS) at Robert Half.
The way I figure it, my family is healthy, I have a job, we have a roof over our heads, and our cats are darling (if psychotic). The only things I can winge about are the pounds that refuse to come off, and signs of age (eyesight, vocabulary recall, aches). And that just doesn't seem like much. On the flip side, I am grateful for heart surgery technology, my fabulous family and friends, quiet moments at home, and so many other things.
So I put my love and gratitude out there, take a deep breath, and enjoy the days.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Saturday, August 1, 2009
The Great Cat Escape
Three weeks ago we were working on our garage as part of a long-term effort to clean out our basement. We were sealing the concrete so as to be able to use the space without quite so much dust being constantly created. While we had the garage door open to facilitate drying, the back door of our kitchen blew open (a not-unusual occurrence that has resulted in false-positive house alarm alerts in the past), and our cat Ka went downstairs to investigate. When I realized what had happened, I managed to follow her down the stairs and into the garage at exactly the right time to scare her onto the street. Kyle was just a few seconds too late to stop her from running away entirely, and followed her a few houses down, and then lost her in the bushes.
Disaster! Cats are normally hard to catch, but our Ka is a class-A fraidly cat and has never been comfortable being petted. We're not even entirely sure she likes us, for that matter. Well, she seems appreciative enough when food is in the offing.
So what to do? Not a day later, the woman from whom we adopted our cats emailed us with a cheery, "How are you doing and how are the cats?" check-in email. We had to tell her that Ka had gone missing, at which point she started showering us with information on how to find lost cats. Key points included: 1) have patience (cats take a while to get bcak) and 2) the cat is probably very near by (within 5 houses). She continued to pepper us with other advice, including how to leave tuna trails, walking the neighborhood to leave our scent around, and how to design an effective lost pet flyer (ask me if you ever want to know). She even brought us one of her humane traps (she catches lots of feral cats and takes them to get their shots and spayed/neutered) and a blanket to conceal it with.
Over the course of the next two weeks we did just about all the things I listed above. We left out food and water daily, and hoped that she was getting it (someone was definitely eating it - was it Ka?). We left tuna trails. We walked the neighborhood, making noise with her favorite toys and calling her name. We even posted signs on the block and talked with neighbors. We did manage to trap two possums (ick) and feed the local skunk trio (thanks for the smell guys), but no cats and definitely no Ka.
Finally, the day K came back from Comic Con in San Diego, he was putting out the cat food and came back into the house looking for a flaslight. "There's a cat eating the food right now and I think it's Ka!" It was, and we put the cage out with great anticipation. A few hours later, we had trapped something - another possum! (2 of 2) Catching possums, aside from being disappointing and somewhat guilt inducing (sorry, dude), requires that the cage and blanket be washed (to get rid of the scared possum smell). So on Monday I came home early and hosed everything down so we would be ready to set the trap again.
That night we set the trap, making much noise with the food bag and hoping fervently that Ka would still be in the area. Just as I was headed for bed, we heard the trap spring. Kyle went to check it, thinking, "Please no possums, please no possums!" and was delighted to find it was Ka. She was initially terrified and mewling to break your heart, but once we got her inside she very quickly realized she was home once again and seemed visibly relieved. She was hungry, thirsty, tired, and quickly went to sleep.
The only lingering bumpiness was that Pi'i did not recognize Ka at all and hissed at her viciously. We looked it up online, and after 2 weeks on the outisde, Ka smelled all kinds of foreign. Her familiar face was not enough to convince Pi'i to welcome her back. (Plus, Pi'i had seemed quite happy to be a single cat during those two weeks - perhaps she had pushed Ka out the back door??) Friends with cats reported that visits to the vet and even short separations could result in this kind of hissing behavior, and that it would pass. Even so, we decided to invest in a cat pheremone diffuser (Feliway) which would hopefully calm both cats and help Ka get rid of her old smells faster.
It's been almost a week since Ka came home, and I'm happy to report that the two cats are snuggled on the sofa now. Thank goodness. Ka seems much calmer than when she left, as though she recognizes a good thing now that's she's been without it. She's much less jumpy, and almost tolerates being touched. I'm just glad she's back, and glad Pi'i has company again. Let the romples resume!
Disaster! Cats are normally hard to catch, but our Ka is a class-A fraidly cat and has never been comfortable being petted. We're not even entirely sure she likes us, for that matter. Well, she seems appreciative enough when food is in the offing.
So what to do? Not a day later, the woman from whom we adopted our cats emailed us with a cheery, "How are you doing and how are the cats?" check-in email. We had to tell her that Ka had gone missing, at which point she started showering us with information on how to find lost cats. Key points included: 1) have patience (cats take a while to get bcak) and 2) the cat is probably very near by (within 5 houses). She continued to pepper us with other advice, including how to leave tuna trails, walking the neighborhood to leave our scent around, and how to design an effective lost pet flyer (ask me if you ever want to know). She even brought us one of her humane traps (she catches lots of feral cats and takes them to get their shots and spayed/neutered) and a blanket to conceal it with.
Over the course of the next two weeks we did just about all the things I listed above. We left out food and water daily, and hoped that she was getting it (someone was definitely eating it - was it Ka?). We left tuna trails. We walked the neighborhood, making noise with her favorite toys and calling her name. We even posted signs on the block and talked with neighbors. We did manage to trap two possums (ick) and feed the local skunk trio (thanks for the smell guys), but no cats and definitely no Ka.
Finally, the day K came back from Comic Con in San Diego, he was putting out the cat food and came back into the house looking for a flaslight. "There's a cat eating the food right now and I think it's Ka!" It was, and we put the cage out with great anticipation. A few hours later, we had trapped something - another possum! (2 of 2) Catching possums, aside from being disappointing and somewhat guilt inducing (sorry, dude), requires that the cage and blanket be washed (to get rid of the scared possum smell). So on Monday I came home early and hosed everything down so we would be ready to set the trap again.
That night we set the trap, making much noise with the food bag and hoping fervently that Ka would still be in the area. Just as I was headed for bed, we heard the trap spring. Kyle went to check it, thinking, "Please no possums, please no possums!" and was delighted to find it was Ka. She was initially terrified and mewling to break your heart, but once we got her inside she very quickly realized she was home once again and seemed visibly relieved. She was hungry, thirsty, tired, and quickly went to sleep.
The only lingering bumpiness was that Pi'i did not recognize Ka at all and hissed at her viciously. We looked it up online, and after 2 weeks on the outisde, Ka smelled all kinds of foreign. Her familiar face was not enough to convince Pi'i to welcome her back. (Plus, Pi'i had seemed quite happy to be a single cat during those two weeks - perhaps she had pushed Ka out the back door??) Friends with cats reported that visits to the vet and even short separations could result in this kind of hissing behavior, and that it would pass. Even so, we decided to invest in a cat pheremone diffuser (Feliway) which would hopefully calm both cats and help Ka get rid of her old smells faster.
It's been almost a week since Ka came home, and I'm happy to report that the two cats are snuggled on the sofa now. Thank goodness. Ka seems much calmer than when she left, as though she recognizes a good thing now that's she's been without it. She's much less jumpy, and almost tolerates being touched. I'm just glad she's back, and glad Pi'i has company again. Let the romples resume!
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Freeway Sightings
Noticed a few things on the commute recently:
-Overturned car. Yikes. I just don't see those often, thankfully.
-Wild turkey. Hopped up onto the outside rail as I drove by, proud as you please. Hope it didn't try to cross the road.
-Blue Miata with license plates "UH WTF". I laughed out loud.
In home news, the cats are adjusting nicely. Pi'i is the affectionate one, Ka'ohi more shy. They excel at CatOlympics including Hide 'n' Seek, Wrestling, and the CatChase.
-Overturned car. Yikes. I just don't see those often, thankfully.
-Wild turkey. Hopped up onto the outside rail as I drove by, proud as you please. Hope it didn't try to cross the road.
-Blue Miata with license plates "UH WTF". I laughed out loud.
In home news, the cats are adjusting nicely. Pi'i is the affectionate one, Ka'ohi more shy. They excel at CatOlympics including Hide 'n' Seek, Wrestling, and the CatChase.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Denver Weekend. Geh.
Spent the weekend in Denver with my old buddy J and his fiancee L. He's been there for almost four(?) years now, and pathetically, this is the first time I've gotten out to visit him. He has a lovely house in an area that features Craftsman bungalows (just like home!), and seems to be doing well at work for Lockheed...not that he can tell me what he's working on of course. He and L have adopted a dog, B, who has the magical quality of shedding hairs that are visible no matter what color clothing you're wearing. (In fact B's main breed - Swiss Mountain dog - is known for being "tri-colored". It's a feature.) We had just about a perfect Denver weekend. On Friday morning we picked up L's engagement and wedding rings, and got them insured on the way home so L could wear them with a clear conscience that day. They are, of course, gorgeous! J and I went cross-country skiing at Eldora near Boulder...and I'm happy to report I survived with most of my muscles in decent working order. J bought himself a new pair of gloves because the ones he had were waaaay too thin for the near-katabatic winds that were howling through the base area. Thankfully, once we were on the XC trails we had protection from the trees. I only wiped out twice: once when I wanted to turn - and failed - and once when I wanted to stop - and failed. I can carve an S or do a mean hockey stop on downhill skiis, but not on teles. No way. No idea how. Ouchie!
When we got home, J was unable to find one of this gloves. A thorough search was conducted, but no glove. Perhaps it had fallen out in the ski rental hut? Or on the way back to the car? Bummer.
That night we had dinner downtown (bison burger, baby!) as it started to snow. Neat! Happy, fluffy snow. Yay! Late that night when J when to pick up L from downtown (she was at a birthday party with friends), he said the roads were full of accidents - the temperature had dropped and created icy conditions. Thankfully they got back safe.
Saturday dawned with an even coating of snow. Fabulous! It being Denver, though, the morning sun slowly melted the snow, and B was able to roll about in the grass and mud, tracking only some of it back into the house. Silly dog. As we were watching him in the backyard, I happened to notice a glove partially visible in the snow. Was it the missing glove? Turns out that B had stolen J's new glove and taken it into the backyard for overnight safe-keeping! Well, at least we had both gloves back.
That morning we strolled along the Dinosaur Ridge, a simple but effective showcase of the local geology and its propensity for hiding dinosaur tracks and plant and animal fossils. While not particularly eye-popping, it did make for a nice walk and some insight into plate techtonics. The weather was warm and clear, which meant we had a great view of the surrounding landscape. After that we went over to the Red Rocks Ampitheater, a performance venue built into the dramatic rock shapes. It was impressive and beautiful, but by then my head was hurting due to altitude incompatibility so we called it a day. On the way back we stopped by their wedding venue; unfortunately there was a wedding going on and J didn't feel like crashing, so we looked at it from the outside and imagined how nice it will be in summer with the hogback mountains and flowers.
On Sunday we checked out the Denver Art Museum (nice acronym, guys). Designed by Daniel Liebeskind, the new buiding looks like a large, crazy, titanium ship. We took the architectural and the collections highlights tours which turned out to be a much better approach than just wandering the (confusing) halls. I really enjoyed the space, and how it encourages exploration. The curators have a challenge in figuring out how to display the art, but I don't feel the building detracts from the artwork on display. Rather, it put me in a more open and thoughtful mood, which accentuated the experience of seeing new art. Though truthfully, the angles also made me feel queasy. I was personally fond of the floor map.
It was a very fun and chatty and interesting weekend. We had good food, talked a lot, and do a bunch of things. I'm glad I went, and even gladder we'll be back in July to celebrate!
J's new favorite lamp
Kittehs!
We've adopted some cats. Long story short, we think they are Russian Blues and we got them from a woman who was fostering 10 other strays in her garage plus owning 12 cats of her own in her house. Yeaaah. I just uploaded pics on Facebook so check there for more updates.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Birthday Bash
Dad's 70th birthday party was this past weekend in SF. The weekend started with a Chinese banquet dinner at Great Eastern restarant in Chinatown on the actual day of his birthday (Dec 5), followed by the birthday (observed) dinner, and rounded up with dim sum brunch on Sunday at Canton Restaurant south of Market. Am I full yet?
We started planning for this months ago, of course. IWOM put the venue negotiations and menu in motion; Dad slowly filtered names for this invite list to me. I sent a "Save the Date" email consisting mainly of one of his baby photos. Later, Dad and I selected and ordered the invitations online (note to self: October is rush season for card-printing due to the holidays) and then he went out of town, leaving his near-career-long admin and me to address the invites and send them out. Thankfully, they turned out great - another victory for the internet!
Once he returned from his trip, we went to design the cake, and I was struggling to think of something appropriate. Something from Dad's professional career, like a microbe or infectious agent? Or maybe something travel-related, like the glass pyramid at the Louvre? I finally hit on it as he told me about his most recent blue-and-white purchase, a Ming plate in the shape of a lotus. We showed the cake folks what we wanted, and they said they'd give it their best shot. Dad went into their storefront wanting passion fruit flavor, and thankfully it was one of their options. Done!
Meanwhile, I had a dress and matching necklace made in Shanghai. The dress was based on a design by Valentino from the Neiman-Marcus website and the necklace was made of weird pearls that looked like teeth. I felt like an extra from "Conan the Barbarian" wearing them.
The actual party was a tremendous success, which I judge mainly by the sheer bliss exuded by Dad. He's not someone to get emotional, but he was clearly happy to be surrounded by friends, and they were happy to get a chance to celebrate their experiences with him. Toasts were funny, heartfelt, and exemplified the diversity of his experiences. One of his oldest friends, S, had a typed copy of a letter that Dad wrote to him in 1960 after a trip to Europe with comments that had the audience howling. His sisters were generous and sweet, and I learned that I'm not the first relative he's subjected to his opinions on opera (apparently he lectured Auntie P. on a number of musical topics before he left for college). The reception started at 6:30, and the last guests wandered out around 10:30, whereupon the aunties and cousins and our family migrated to the lobby for drinks. Dad disappointed by not falling asleep at that point (an historical tendency of his), and we finally went to bed around 1am.
And the cake was totally awesome. Beautiful AND tasty!
J managed to tough it out for most of the night, and came down for a final bow in jammies before going to sleep. She was a high point of the evening.
We started planning for this months ago, of course. IWOM put the venue negotiations and menu in motion; Dad slowly filtered names for this invite list to me. I sent a "Save the Date" email consisting mainly of one of his baby photos. Later, Dad and I selected and ordered the invitations online (note to self: October is rush season for card-printing due to the holidays) and then he went out of town, leaving his near-career-long admin and me to address the invites and send them out. Thankfully, they turned out great - another victory for the internet! 
Once he returned from his trip, we went to design the cake, and I was struggling to think of something appropriate. Something from Dad's professional career, like a microbe or infectious agent? Or maybe something travel-related, like the glass pyramid at the Louvre? I finally hit on it as he told me about his most recent blue-and-white purchase, a Ming plate in the shape of a lotus. We showed the cake folks what we wanted, and they said they'd give it their best shot. Dad went into their storefront wanting passion fruit flavor, and thankfully it was one of their options. Done! Meanwhile, I had a dress and matching necklace made in Shanghai. The dress was based on a design by Valentino from the Neiman-Marcus website and the necklace was made of weird pearls that looked like teeth. I felt like an extra from "Conan the Barbarian" wearing them.
The actual party was a tremendous success, which I judge mainly by the sheer bliss exuded by Dad. He's not someone to get emotional, but he was clearly happy to be surrounded by friends, and they were happy to get a chance to celebrate their experiences with him. Toasts were funny, heartfelt, and exemplified the diversity of his experiences. One of his oldest friends, S, had a typed copy of a letter that Dad wrote to him in 1960 after a trip to Europe with comments that had the audience howling. His sisters were generous and sweet, and I learned that I'm not the first relative he's subjected to his opinions on opera (apparently he lectured Auntie P. on a number of musical topics before he left for college). The reception started at 6:30, and the last guests wandered out around 10:30, whereupon the aunties and cousins and our family migrated to the lobby for drinks. Dad disappointed by not falling asleep at that point (an historical tendency of his), and we finally went to bed around 1am.And the cake was totally awesome. Beautiful AND tasty!
J managed to tough it out for most of the night, and came down for a final bow in jammies before going to sleep. She was a high point of the evening.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Bah, Humbug
I hate Christmas. Well, I hate shopping at Christmastime to be more precise. I wrote more about it in another blog I've started experimentally, where I can put my thoughts around how to make the world a better place. I did say experimentally.
We had a great B'giving at Stately Rawson Manor in Oregon, with giant piles of food, multiple sets of electronics simultaneously in play (computers, Wii, drum sets), and even a plate-painting session where K created the "Caffeine Threat Levels" mug a la Homeland Security: zombie (low), human (guarded), awake (elevated), alert (high), ADHD (severe). Totally. Awesome.
Dad and I got to see the SF Opera's production of "La Boheme" last night, which was pleasingly decent. The last time we saw "Boheme" at SFO it was awful and we left early, so we were both happy that the leads could carry their arias (unlike the last time). I love the moment in this production when Rodolfo and Mimi are singing their love duet, and the sides and back wall of the garret disappear, leaving them bathed in moonlight and singing about love. It's a class-A romantic moment.
It's been a tough week at work from an attitudinal standpoint. I'm hoping I'm just suffering from post-vacation seasonal affective disorder and will be put right by consumption of massive quantities of calories. That starts tomorrow with my company holiday banquet, followed on Friday by Dad's Chinese banquet and (same night) K's company party, and then Dad's 70th birthday party on Saturday. Oh, and dim sum brunch on Sunday. Am I full yet?
Can't wait to see C & J & J - they're staying with us on Friday and have had quite an adventurous trip, starting in Hawaii to see Popo and currently in Oregon with J's family.
We had a great B'giving at Stately Rawson Manor in Oregon, with giant piles of food, multiple sets of electronics simultaneously in play (computers, Wii, drum sets), and even a plate-painting session where K created the "Caffeine Threat Levels" mug a la Homeland Security: zombie (low), human (guarded), awake (elevated), alert (high), ADHD (severe). Totally. Awesome.
Dad and I got to see the SF Opera's production of "La Boheme" last night, which was pleasingly decent. The last time we saw "Boheme" at SFO it was awful and we left early, so we were both happy that the leads could carry their arias (unlike the last time). I love the moment in this production when Rodolfo and Mimi are singing their love duet, and the sides and back wall of the garret disappear, leaving them bathed in moonlight and singing about love. It's a class-A romantic moment.
It's been a tough week at work from an attitudinal standpoint. I'm hoping I'm just suffering from post-vacation seasonal affective disorder and will be put right by consumption of massive quantities of calories. That starts tomorrow with my company holiday banquet, followed on Friday by Dad's Chinese banquet and (same night) K's company party, and then Dad's 70th birthday party on Saturday. Oh, and dim sum brunch on Sunday. Am I full yet?
Can't wait to see C & J & J - they're staying with us on Friday and have had quite an adventurous trip, starting in Hawaii to see Popo and currently in Oregon with J's family.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Rainy Shanghai
Shanghai is more familiar every time I come here; things just don't seem to catch my eye the way they used to. I wonder if this is because I am more comfortable here, or because the city continues to Westernize itself?
This time, the vendors aren't constantly shouting at us and grabbing our arms to come into their stores; they wait until we express an interest. This is VERY different from before. More shopkeepers speak English. More foreigners are everywhere, and they know how to bargain - throwing up their hands and walking out of the stores in mock disgust. There was even a Chinese man dressed in full Stanford regalia waiting for Shanghai dumplings at Xin Tian Di - on the day of The Big Game.
The air quality seems slightly better, though the rains have brought a disgusting sheen to the streets...at least until the scum is temporarily washed away. The city is also preparing for the International Expo in 2010, so there are posters showing what not to do on the streets and sidewalks: spitting, leaving construction materials, dumping dirty water and garbage out the windows, smoking in non-smoking areas...Mom wants to steal one of the signs because she thinks it's hysterical.
We're supposed to go for a walking tour near the Bund today with mom's architecture friend, but I've been having stomach problems since last night and am not convinced it's the best idea. Staying in doesn't hold much appeal either, unfortunately.
This time, the vendors aren't constantly shouting at us and grabbing our arms to come into their stores; they wait until we express an interest. This is VERY different from before. More shopkeepers speak English. More foreigners are everywhere, and they know how to bargain - throwing up their hands and walking out of the stores in mock disgust. There was even a Chinese man dressed in full Stanford regalia waiting for Shanghai dumplings at Xin Tian Di - on the day of The Big Game.
The air quality seems slightly better, though the rains have brought a disgusting sheen to the streets...at least until the scum is temporarily washed away. The city is also preparing for the International Expo in 2010, so there are posters showing what not to do on the streets and sidewalks: spitting, leaving construction materials, dumping dirty water and garbage out the windows, smoking in non-smoking areas...Mom wants to steal one of the signs because she thinks it's hysterical.
We're supposed to go for a walking tour near the Bund today with mom's architecture friend, but I've been having stomach problems since last night and am not convinced it's the best idea. Staying in doesn't hold much appeal either, unfortunately.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Musings
It's hot in the Bay Area. The weather conditions that are literally burning up Southern California are making for a balmy November weekend in NoCal. Some of my Red Cross friends have headed south to help with the fires - many thanks to them. My NoCal friends, meanwhile, are breaking out their summer clothes. Good thing K and I weren't fooled into switching to our flannel winter sheets or...damn.
Went to see "Boris Gudonov" at the SF Opera last night, starring Sam Ramey (no, not the horror film director) in the title role. I must be genetically conditioned to like bass voices because he had me when he started to sing. Amazingly, Sam is 66 years old. He's had an incredible career. The article in the program discussed the affects of aging on his voice, and how this might be the last time he sings the role of "Boris". I'm grateful I got to see him, and that I've seen him in a few roles over the years at SFOp. Some of his YouTube performances (including one as a toreador who loves the letter "L" on Sesame Street) are thrilling, if not priceless. I'm officially a fan.
So, is it shallow of me to enjoy opera so much in the middle of a meteoric economic crash, in a period when our presidency is undergoing seismic change (thank goodness), and when my work just laid off some longtime colleagues on Friday? Fiscally, these opera tickets are something Dad and I invested in at the start of the year. From a human standpoint, it's nice to have something to enjoy - especially my Dad's company as we approach celebrating his 70th birthday this December. I prefer to think that human experience is a collection of large and small events, positive and negative, and it's best to take it all in with equanimity, an open mind, and gratitude. I am grateful for my friends, my family, and opportunities to support and value them, whether that's by spending an evening together at the opera, or writing them a recommendation on LinkedIn.
Went to see "Boris Gudonov" at the SF Opera last night, starring Sam Ramey (no, not the horror film director) in the title role. I must be genetically conditioned to like bass voices because he had me when he started to sing. Amazingly, Sam is 66 years old. He's had an incredible career. The article in the program discussed the affects of aging on his voice, and how this might be the last time he sings the role of "Boris". I'm grateful I got to see him, and that I've seen him in a few roles over the years at SFOp. Some of his YouTube performances (including one as a toreador who loves the letter "L" on Sesame Street) are thrilling, if not priceless. I'm officially a fan.
So, is it shallow of me to enjoy opera so much in the middle of a meteoric economic crash, in a period when our presidency is undergoing seismic change (thank goodness), and when my work just laid off some longtime colleagues on Friday? Fiscally, these opera tickets are something Dad and I invested in at the start of the year. From a human standpoint, it's nice to have something to enjoy - especially my Dad's company as we approach celebrating his 70th birthday this December. I prefer to think that human experience is a collection of large and small events, positive and negative, and it's best to take it all in with equanimity, an open mind, and gratitude. I am grateful for my friends, my family, and opportunities to support and value them, whether that's by spending an evening together at the opera, or writing them a recommendation on LinkedIn.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Another Sunday night
...another weekend chock full of stuff!
Let's start with last weekend:
Friday
-Dinner with R & R at Zachary's. Yum.
Saturday
-Bay-Friendly Gardening seminar on low-water plants. Lotsa good learning.
-Voluntered at the Alameda Country Community Food Bank
-Dinner with S and C at Soi4. Dessert care of TJ's - molten choco cake. More yum.
Sunday
-Raider tailgate (as described in the previous post)
-Party planning and dinner with Dad at Camino. Super yum.
-Experimental clearing of slow drains using vinegar. Sadly, did not work.
Now, on to this weekend:
Friday
-Dinner with Mom to belatedly celebrate her birthday, at Cortez. Amazing small plates. Really delicious.
Saturday
-Composting with Worms class. Dirt! Worms! Fungus!
-Chinese Lesson
-Dinner at Paul K in SF (nice Mediterranean food...delicious beets)
-San Francisco Symphony featuring Joshua Bell on violin. That boy can play.
Sunday
-All day sewing in preparation for Halloween. (check later for photo)
-KB rocks the chores with grocery shopping, garden shopping, laundry en masse, cooking, and mopping. That's my sweetie!
Oh, KB also attend an industry charity dinner, black tie optional. He borrowed a plaid cummerbund & tie set from Dads, and then proceeded to terrorize folks who knew him before he shaved and cut his hair. Totally awesome. I picked up my tipsy sweetie from the St. Francis around 11:30pm, whereupon he presented me with the lovely flower centerpiece (red roses...odd for a charity event but great for a spouse consolation prize) and told me how much he appreciates me. The latter is something he tends to do when tipsy. My friend J rightly pointed out that this is a rather cute trait.
Let's start with last weekend:
Friday
-Dinner with R & R at Zachary's. Yum.
Saturday
-Bay-Friendly Gardening seminar on low-water plants. Lotsa good learning.
-Voluntered at the Alameda Country Community Food Bank
-Dinner with S and C at Soi4. Dessert care of TJ's - molten choco cake. More yum.
Sunday
-Raider tailgate (as described in the previous post)
-Party planning and dinner with Dad at Camino. Super yum.
-Experimental clearing of slow drains using vinegar. Sadly, did not work.
Now, on to this weekend:
Friday
-Dinner with Mom to belatedly celebrate her birthday, at Cortez. Amazing small plates. Really delicious.
Saturday
-Composting with Worms class. Dirt! Worms! Fungus!
-Chinese Lesson
-Dinner at Paul K in SF (nice Mediterranean food...delicious beets)
-San Francisco Symphony featuring Joshua Bell on violin. That boy can play.
Sunday
-All day sewing in preparation for Halloween. (check later for photo)
-KB rocks the chores with grocery shopping, garden shopping, laundry en masse, cooking, and mopping. That's my sweetie!
Oh, KB also attend an industry charity dinner, black tie optional. He borrowed a plaid cummerbund & tie set from Dads, and then proceeded to terrorize folks who knew him before he shaved and cut his hair. Totally awesome. I picked up my tipsy sweetie from the St. Francis around 11:30pm, whereupon he presented me with the lovely flower centerpiece (red roses...odd for a charity event but great for a spouse consolation prize) and told me how much he appreciates me. The latter is something he tends to do when tipsy. My friend J rightly pointed out that this is a rather cute trait.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Fall Sunday
It's freezy out. (For me, that means 55 degrees.) Yesterday it was sunny and warmish, but after the sun set, all bets were off. Today in the sunshine it was freezy! Phooey! Now I have to go find my turtlenecks and scarves and warm things...
We joined our Raider mostly faithful friends today at the tailgate (but not the game, we don't have tix anymore) and enjoyed a carb fest. Or as K dubbed it, a CARB WRECK followed by a CARB CRASH. (Yes, he was killing himself laughing at this joke.) There was a token slab of meat, but until that was ready we had pumpkin bread rolls, pumpkin bread loaf, bagel chips, bolani, garlic bread, and grapes. Uuuuurrrrgh! It was nice to catch up with the peeps - this is only our second home game of the year, and the weather was good.
Even better was walking through the parking lot to take BART home; we passed a mind-bending variety of people and displays. Parents and kids selling candy for their schools next to the party boys shotgunning beers. Variously "decorated" Al Davis posters. Men in silver masks with wigs smiling in posed pictures with kids. (In some odd inversional rule, the most insanely dressed Raider fans are invariably the nicest). Skeleton Halloween bodies dressed in Raider gear, and sitting in chairs at tailgates. Raider grills. Raider steam cookers 8 feet tall. I didn't see any portable living rooms (sofa, rug, TV set, satellite receiver, power generator) but we have in the past. It was a sunny day in Raider Nation...made even sunnier by the eventual astonishing win against Brett Favre and The Jets, thanks to Janokowski's record-setting field goal.
Fall is really here. Now, how come we haven't played the World Series yet?
We joined our Raider mostly faithful friends today at the tailgate (but not the game, we don't have tix anymore) and enjoyed a carb fest. Or as K dubbed it, a CARB WRECK followed by a CARB CRASH. (Yes, he was killing himself laughing at this joke.) There was a token slab of meat, but until that was ready we had pumpkin bread rolls, pumpkin bread loaf, bagel chips, bolani, garlic bread, and grapes. Uuuuurrrrgh! It was nice to catch up with the peeps - this is only our second home game of the year, and the weather was good.
Even better was walking through the parking lot to take BART home; we passed a mind-bending variety of people and displays. Parents and kids selling candy for their schools next to the party boys shotgunning beers. Variously "decorated" Al Davis posters. Men in silver masks with wigs smiling in posed pictures with kids. (In some odd inversional rule, the most insanely dressed Raider fans are invariably the nicest). Skeleton Halloween bodies dressed in Raider gear, and sitting in chairs at tailgates. Raider grills. Raider steam cookers 8 feet tall. I didn't see any portable living rooms (sofa, rug, TV set, satellite receiver, power generator) but we have in the past. It was a sunny day in Raider Nation...made even sunnier by the eventual astonishing win against Brett Favre and The Jets, thanks to Janokowski's record-setting field goal.
Fall is really here. Now, how come we haven't played the World Series yet?
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Red-Letter Day!
Went to see the Giants game. Got the sweeeeeeet company seats. w00t!
Yes, that's my view 3 rows back from the field. Close enough to say things the players and umpires could hear! I sat up in the front row for a few innings too.
And then we came home and made cheese from scratch! Like, for real! We bought some cream-top 2% organic milk from TJ's and followed the directions in our Cheesemaking Kit, and less than an hour later, fresh mozarella cheese! How cool is that?
Om nom nom.
Monday, September 8, 2008
It's that time of year
Driving home tonight from work, the freeway traffic warning sign on the Dublin grade read:
Oakland Coliseum
E V E N T
Expect Delays
First game of the season, Oakland vs the hated Broncos. Monday Night Football. Yes, we love our HD TV.
Goooooooo Raiders!
Oakland Coliseum
E V E N T
Expect Delays
First game of the season, Oakland vs the hated Broncos. Monday Night Football. Yes, we love our HD TV.
Goooooooo Raiders!
Saturday, September 6, 2008
La Frida Bonita y otras cosas
Went to see the Frida Kahlo exhibit at the SF MOMA this weekend. I was surprised by how many paintings were included in the exhibit, and frustrated by how many people were also moving through the rooms. It was hard to read the information displays, and hard to get in close - even sometimes see from a distance - the paintings. But what paintings! I know Kahlo mostly for her self-focused imagery, her struggles with pain, her representations of inner anguish. The exhibit showed her earlier portraits (straight-up, 30s modern), her later still lifes (vibrant, beautiful, static) and many candid photographs from her years in SF and Mexico...in addition to the amazing images you already know. There was good biographical information about her marital to-and-fro-ing with Diego Rivera, as well as her sojourns in America. Altogether she painted some very beautiful, symbolic, thoughful pieces. I was surprised by my enthusiasm. And while she herself was beautiful and charismatic, and she was tragically in love with Diego Rivera, a doughy dumpling of a man - what was she thinking???
Afterwards we got the super-bonus of an exhibit of modern Chinese artists - including Yueh MinJun whose works shows hordes of painfully grinning Chinese men (on ostriches, as fields of near-identical statues, sitting around, etc.). They are somehow perfect - identical, falsely friendly/happy, artificial, vaguely off-putting. Ai WeiWei had taken Neolithic clay pots (5000-3000 BCE) and painted over them with garishly-colored paints. Sacrilege! What a waste! Or...an interesting point about history, conservation, consumerism. Sui Jianguo created "The Sleep of Reason" - my new favorite, a statue of sleeping Mao (very unusual, as the link explains), and filled the room around him with waves of colored toy plastic dinosaurs, radiating outwards in dreamlike technicolor trip-out patterns. Way cool.
Afterwards we had dinner on Fillmore street at SPQR, a mixed-up Italian joint. It was good, but I can't tell you why. The desserts were confused (the "panna cotta" was a delicious chocolate mousse with chocolate cake on the bottom), and I think we paid too much. I was fascinated by the clientele; Mom had commented recently that people eating out in the East Bay are somehow different than the people eating out in San Francisco - more casual. Sitting there in SPQR, all I could see were white people, all the women were blond (almost none naturally), all from a very high socio-economic stratum, healthy, wearing very nice clothing, and not necessarily enjoying themselves. I felt pretty ghetto in my shorts and stringy yoga top. The couple to the right of us complained the whole time about the food, and the woman to the left of us spent almost the entire meal nattering away to her absently listening partner. Dad and I barely needed to talk for all the entertainment we had. Yes Mom, diners in San Francisco are different. I'll stick to the East Bay.
Afterwards we got the super-bonus of an exhibit of modern Chinese artists - including Yueh MinJun whose works shows hordes of painfully grinning Chinese men (on ostriches, as fields of near-identical statues, sitting around, etc.). They are somehow perfect - identical, falsely friendly/happy, artificial, vaguely off-putting. Ai WeiWei had taken Neolithic clay pots (5000-3000 BCE) and painted over them with garishly-colored paints. Sacrilege! What a waste! Or...an interesting point about history, conservation, consumerism. Sui Jianguo created "The Sleep of Reason" - my new favorite, a statue of sleeping Mao (very unusual, as the link explains), and filled the room around him with waves of colored toy plastic dinosaurs, radiating outwards in dreamlike technicolor trip-out patterns. Way cool.
Afterwards we had dinner on Fillmore street at SPQR, a mixed-up Italian joint. It was good, but I can't tell you why. The desserts were confused (the "panna cotta" was a delicious chocolate mousse with chocolate cake on the bottom), and I think we paid too much. I was fascinated by the clientele; Mom had commented recently that people eating out in the East Bay are somehow different than the people eating out in San Francisco - more casual. Sitting there in SPQR, all I could see were white people, all the women were blond (almost none naturally), all from a very high socio-economic stratum, healthy, wearing very nice clothing, and not necessarily enjoying themselves. I felt pretty ghetto in my shorts and stringy yoga top. The couple to the right of us complained the whole time about the food, and the woman to the left of us spent almost the entire meal nattering away to her absently listening partner. Dad and I barely needed to talk for all the entertainment we had. Yes Mom, diners in San Francisco are different. I'll stick to the East Bay.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Change is good, mostly
I've just concluded a rather interesting month. The short(ish) version: I realized that my workplace had changed strategic direction in a way that really didn't need my skill set very much. So I went to S, the guy who runs the place, and said, "I'm not asking you to fire me, but honestly, you don't need me. Is it okay if I make a few calls?"
My thinking is pretty straightforward. I'd rather work where I'm needed, not just where I'm liked.
So he gave me permission, and I put the word out that I was available. Something must be in the proverbial water, because it seems like I got calls from damn near every major player in my industry within a few days.
Also within a few days, S called me into a meeting to tell me, with a hangdog expression on his face, that he had done all he could, but my position had to be eliminated. My last day was to be in two weeks, at which time I would be handed a very generous severance check.
Weirdly, he was the one who needed to be comforted. "S, man, why the long face? You just got done telling me I get a fat check for leaving, which you know damn well I was doing anyway. Corporate HQ got a camera in here or something?"
I continued interviewing. Either they were all desperate, or I still got mad interview skillz, because each interview resulted in either a followup interview or an offer. Perhaps I shouldn't have done so many interviews...pretty soon I had a lot of deciding to do.
I've chosen one now, and for those who have heard me talk about the options, I chose the one that I can take the train to rather than the one I need a Chinese visa for, or the one I could bicycle to, or the one that might involve exotic foods.
I've learned a lot through this process. Turns out I can make hard decisions after all. Apparently I also have senior-management-level strategic thinking. I definitely have the Best. Wife. Evar.
I haven't ruled out going overseas for work one of these days. Probably will, in fact, before the next summer Olympics. Learning Chinese and French in the meantime might be a good investment of my time....
My thinking is pretty straightforward. I'd rather work where I'm needed, not just where I'm liked.
So he gave me permission, and I put the word out that I was available. Something must be in the proverbial water, because it seems like I got calls from damn near every major player in my industry within a few days.
Also within a few days, S called me into a meeting to tell me, with a hangdog expression on his face, that he had done all he could, but my position had to be eliminated. My last day was to be in two weeks, at which time I would be handed a very generous severance check.
Weirdly, he was the one who needed to be comforted. "S, man, why the long face? You just got done telling me I get a fat check for leaving, which you know damn well I was doing anyway. Corporate HQ got a camera in here or something?"
I continued interviewing. Either they were all desperate, or I still got mad interview skillz, because each interview resulted in either a followup interview or an offer. Perhaps I shouldn't have done so many interviews...pretty soon I had a lot of deciding to do.
I've chosen one now, and for those who have heard me talk about the options, I chose the one that I can take the train to rather than the one I need a Chinese visa for, or the one I could bicycle to, or the one that might involve exotic foods.
I've learned a lot through this process. Turns out I can make hard decisions after all. Apparently I also have senior-management-level strategic thinking. I definitely have the Best. Wife. Evar.
I haven't ruled out going overseas for work one of these days. Probably will, in fact, before the next summer Olympics. Learning Chinese and French in the meantime might be a good investment of my time....
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Twenty Year Time Machine
Had a really good weekend (which is good, because this week so far has been uphill both ways).
Friday night: Gaming. D&D 4th edition with some of K's tribe members. I manage to convince KF to join us at the last minute, thereby preventing him from mouldering in his office until the wee hours. J brought Fred's Burgers and old-fashioned fat-tacular ice cream. (First two ingredients: butterfat and buttermilk.) I conked out at midnight.
Saturday: Haircut, violin lesson, volunteering at the Alameda County Community Food Bank, and dinner with the Dads. I was exhausted after shelving food for 3 hours, but cheerful. My co-volunteer spoke mainly Spanish, so I was kept mentally entertained by struggling to remember vocabulary.
Sunday: loafing about, including some minor house chores, reading in the sun, and a vegetable-tacular trip to the local farmer's market. K made a giant egg bake full of broccoli and cauliflower.
The highlight of the weekend was really the violin lesson. I played violin semi-seriously when I was a kid: started when I was 9, stopped when I was 13. I like to think I was a decent violinist, and the main reason I stopped was because we had moved to San Francisco and it seemed clear to me that it was time to decide if I was going to be really serious about violin or let it go. I decided I didn't want to be yet another Asian Girl Who Plays Violin.
I've always harbored a desire to play again, Sherlock Holmes-style, and so have kept the violin with me, as well as my sheet music and stand. I even had the poor thing repaired at a local violin store a few years back. But mostly it hid in its dark case.
Earlier this year I looked for violin teachers on Craigslist and found one who just happened to grow up in the same region of LA as I did, and even played with my Junior High orchestra conductor. He's a Berkeley grad, lives not far away, and was very kind and encouraging. He seemed pleased that I still remembered a few things (including a general sense for when notes are out of tune), and had lots of good advice about my bad thumb posture (BOTH hands, drat the luck). I was really encouraged and heartened.
So, now I'm back to practicing. K says it isn't too bad, and I find it very enjoyable. Some of the stuff even seems to be coming back, which is great. Many thanks to Mom and Dad and C for tolerating the whining and screeching of my practicing all those years ago, and paying for the lessons!
Friday night: Gaming. D&D 4th edition with some of K's tribe members. I manage to convince KF to join us at the last minute, thereby preventing him from mouldering in his office until the wee hours. J brought Fred's Burgers and old-fashioned fat-tacular ice cream. (First two ingredients: butterfat and buttermilk.) I conked out at midnight.
Saturday: Haircut, violin lesson, volunteering at the Alameda County Community Food Bank, and dinner with the Dads. I was exhausted after shelving food for 3 hours, but cheerful. My co-volunteer spoke mainly Spanish, so I was kept mentally entertained by struggling to remember vocabulary.
Sunday: loafing about, including some minor house chores, reading in the sun, and a vegetable-tacular trip to the local farmer's market. K made a giant egg bake full of broccoli and cauliflower.
The highlight of the weekend was really the violin lesson. I played violin semi-seriously when I was a kid: started when I was 9, stopped when I was 13. I like to think I was a decent violinist, and the main reason I stopped was because we had moved to San Francisco and it seemed clear to me that it was time to decide if I was going to be really serious about violin or let it go. I decided I didn't want to be yet another Asian Girl Who Plays Violin.
I've always harbored a desire to play again, Sherlock Holmes-style, and so have kept the violin with me, as well as my sheet music and stand. I even had the poor thing repaired at a local violin store a few years back. But mostly it hid in its dark case.
Earlier this year I looked for violin teachers on Craigslist and found one who just happened to grow up in the same region of LA as I did, and even played with my Junior High orchestra conductor. He's a Berkeley grad, lives not far away, and was very kind and encouraging. He seemed pleased that I still remembered a few things (including a general sense for when notes are out of tune), and had lots of good advice about my bad thumb posture (BOTH hands, drat the luck). I was really encouraged and heartened.
So, now I'm back to practicing. K says it isn't too bad, and I find it very enjoyable. Some of the stuff even seems to be coming back, which is great. Many thanks to Mom and Dad and C for tolerating the whining and screeching of my practicing all those years ago, and paying for the lessons!
Mistaken Identity
K just told me that he had to undelete some items from my gmail. Apparently I had left it logged in. He went to send an email and saw all these messages from people and companies he didn't know! delete, delete, dele-- oh crap! This is C's email!!!
Note to self: remember to log out from K's machine.
Note to self: remember to log out from K's machine.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Point Reyes - On Hard Difficulty
Meaning (for those of you non-gamers), not on "Easy" or "Medium".
Been looking forward to this hiking weekend for some time. Though none of our usual camping buddies was able to join us, K and I decided to go it alone (and miss E's birthday shindig, sorry E!). I needed the mental rest.
It started off badly, as I ended up needing to do about 3 hours of work on Friday. (Boo! Vacation delayed!) That took me until 10:30, whereupon I started gathering my stuff for packing. K had already given us a good head start (with my verbal commentary) during my work phase. We headed out around 12:30, stopped by TJ's for jerky and fruit, and got to Point Reyes around 2:30. After some initial administrivia at the Visitor Center to get our camping pass, we went to the Five Brooks staging area, parked, and hit the trail. First leg: 4.4 miles up, up, up! It was a nicely graded drivable road (Stewart trail) that went up to Firtop Mountain at 1,324 feet. Oof. Oh, and it was 82 degrees out. Double Oof. And there were yellowjacket warnings. Yikes! A few groups of horses passed us, and at one point K spotted a mountain lion. Double Yikes! We considered turning around, but another group of horses gave us courage (and cover) to proceed.
At Firtop, we met a group of cyclists celebrating their ascent of the mountain. As we proceeded down the steep trail, I marvelled, "They _cycled_ up this?" We took a hiking path down the aptly named Greenpicker trail, and made it into camp in plenty of time to pitch our tent and feel exhausted before having dinner. We couldn't find our tent pegs and it was so warm out, we happily slept under a fir tree with no rain fly. We also started a steady diet of ibuprofen. Total Hike Day 1: 6.4 miles.
Some uncomfortable tossing and turning during the night. We agreed we need new sleeping pads.
Since we were both prety wiped (we both had had migraines late in the week for one thing), Saturday we decided not to go for a longer trek down the coast but to look for ocean views from the Coast Trail. We don't normally stay at this end of the park, so were looking forward to different terrain. We hiked out via Glen Trail to the Coast Trail, and saw...lots of fog. Fog, fog, fog. We were very glad not to be hiking in heat like the day before, but the vista points were sadly obscured. Finally we turned a corner on the trail and saw...a mound of white rock jutting out of the ocean. K promptly gave his best voice-over: "And now on our left, Bird Poop Rock..." as that was what clearly gave it its color. Moments after that, the fog cleared and we were able to see the coastline down to Wildcat Camp and the faint coloring of Alamere Falls in the distance. Beautiful! We had lunch at Arch Rock and ambled tiredly back to camp. K found a nice stout walking stick and cleaned it up. Napping, dinner, and some bedtime reading. The sun never really broke through, and it was spitting fog when we went to bed. Total Hiked Day 2: 5.7 miles.
During the night: incredibly loud chatty neighbors, more painful tossing and turning, the slow increase of drips in our uncovered tent.
Morning dawned gray and drippy. The fog continued to condense into spitting near-rain, so once it was light enough (and we could no longer stand the water splups in the eye) we got up, took stock of our soaked items, and decided to head out as soon as we could. K made stand-up breakfast, while I slowly assembled our things and kept them as dry as I could. Mostly, our approach was to "put everything into a white plastic bag and walk." We'd already agreed the night before that we were going to take the shortest route back to the car. Not long after leaving camp, Kyle saw another mountain lion - much smaller this time, but unmistakably a mountain cat. This plus the very damp Greenpicker brook - er, trail - convinced us to change our route out from the shorter hiking paths back to the main Stewart Trail. We would have a clear view of the road and the horse traffic, leaving much less chance of cat encounters or slipping on the wet terrain. Slog, slog, slog, 6.4 miles and we were back at the car.
This was a tough trip for some reason. Our other stays have been at campsites that are far more accessible (Sky and Coast are 1.3 and 1.8 miles from parking, respectively, with not much elevation change); this trip we started by climbing 4.4 miles in 82 degree heat. We'd both had migraines recently. We were both uncomfortable sleeping on our pads. We got soaked. (Oh, it turns out the tent pegs had landed under the tent and we just hadn't noticed. "No wonder the ground was so uncomfortable!" K said half-jokingly, half-painfully.) And we didn't see much wildlife, except for K's mountain lion sightings - not exactly encouraging. I did get to greet a few big black offrushing beetles and a banana slug, but there were none of the usual deer.
Maybe we'll try again in October, or let it rest until next spring.
Been looking forward to this hiking weekend for some time. Though none of our usual camping buddies was able to join us, K and I decided to go it alone (and miss E's birthday shindig, sorry E!). I needed the mental rest.
It started off badly, as I ended up needing to do about 3 hours of work on Friday. (Boo! Vacation delayed!) That took me until 10:30, whereupon I started gathering my stuff for packing. K had already given us a good head start (with my verbal commentary) during my work phase. We headed out around 12:30, stopped by TJ's for jerky and fruit, and got to Point Reyes around 2:30. After some initial administrivia at the Visitor Center to get our camping pass, we went to the Five Brooks staging area, parked, and hit the trail. First leg: 4.4 miles up, up, up! It was a nicely graded drivable road (Stewart trail) that went up to Firtop Mountain at 1,324 feet. Oof. Oh, and it was 82 degrees out. Double Oof. And there were yellowjacket warnings. Yikes! A few groups of horses passed us, and at one point K spotted a mountain lion. Double Yikes! We considered turning around, but another group of horses gave us courage (and cover) to proceed.
At Firtop, we met a group of cyclists celebrating their ascent of the mountain. As we proceeded down the steep trail, I marvelled, "They _cycled_ up this?" We took a hiking path down the aptly named Greenpicker trail, and made it into camp in plenty of time to pitch our tent and feel exhausted before having dinner. We couldn't find our tent pegs and it was so warm out, we happily slept under a fir tree with no rain fly. We also started a steady diet of ibuprofen. Total Hike Day 1: 6.4 miles.
Some uncomfortable tossing and turning during the night. We agreed we need new sleeping pads.
Since we were both prety wiped (we both had had migraines late in the week for one thing), Saturday we decided not to go for a longer trek down the coast but to look for ocean views from the Coast Trail. We don't normally stay at this end of the park, so were looking forward to different terrain. We hiked out via Glen Trail to the Coast Trail, and saw...lots of fog. Fog, fog, fog. We were very glad not to be hiking in heat like the day before, but the vista points were sadly obscured. Finally we turned a corner on the trail and saw...a mound of white rock jutting out of the ocean. K promptly gave his best voice-over: "And now on our left, Bird Poop Rock..." as that was what clearly gave it its color. Moments after that, the fog cleared and we were able to see the coastline down to Wildcat Camp and the faint coloring of Alamere Falls in the distance. Beautiful! We had lunch at Arch Rock and ambled tiredly back to camp. K found a nice stout walking stick and cleaned it up. Napping, dinner, and some bedtime reading. The sun never really broke through, and it was spitting fog when we went to bed. Total Hiked Day 2: 5.7 miles.
During the night: incredibly loud chatty neighbors, more painful tossing and turning, the slow increase of drips in our uncovered tent.
Morning dawned gray and drippy. The fog continued to condense into spitting near-rain, so once it was light enough (and we could no longer stand the water splups in the eye) we got up, took stock of our soaked items, and decided to head out as soon as we could. K made stand-up breakfast, while I slowly assembled our things and kept them as dry as I could. Mostly, our approach was to "put everything into a white plastic bag and walk." We'd already agreed the night before that we were going to take the shortest route back to the car. Not long after leaving camp, Kyle saw another mountain lion - much smaller this time, but unmistakably a mountain cat. This plus the very damp Greenpicker brook - er, trail - convinced us to change our route out from the shorter hiking paths back to the main Stewart Trail. We would have a clear view of the road and the horse traffic, leaving much less chance of cat encounters or slipping on the wet terrain. Slog, slog, slog, 6.4 miles and we were back at the car.
This was a tough trip for some reason. Our other stays have been at campsites that are far more accessible (Sky and Coast are 1.3 and 1.8 miles from parking, respectively, with not much elevation change); this trip we started by climbing 4.4 miles in 82 degree heat. We'd both had migraines recently. We were both uncomfortable sleeping on our pads. We got soaked. (Oh, it turns out the tent pegs had landed under the tent and we just hadn't noticed. "No wonder the ground was so uncomfortable!" K said half-jokingly, half-painfully.) And we didn't see much wildlife, except for K's mountain lion sightings - not exactly encouraging. I did get to greet a few big black offrushing beetles and a banana slug, but there were none of the usual deer.
Maybe we'll try again in October, or let it rest until next spring.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Rabbits on the Runways?
At a birthday dinner in honor of my cousin K last weekend, we were discussing my Aunt P's pet rabbit. It's quite taciturn and fuzzy. I mentioned that there was one time when (my) K and I were driving through SFO's Long Term Parking Lot, and I was scanning the aisles: no space - no space - no spaces - brown hare - no spac--what?! There was a big brown hare sitting there, chilling out. In Long Term Parking. Cousin A chimed in that she had seen them at Chicago (O'Hare?!), and someone else mentioned they'd seen them at yet another airport. What is it with bunnies and planes?
K hypothesized that rabbit/hare populations are usually kept in check by predators like raptors...who probably wouldn't do so great in the airport environs. Could there be a raptor shadow around airports that allows for bunny proliferation?
K hypothesized that rabbit/hare populations are usually kept in check by predators like raptors...who probably wouldn't do so great in the airport environs. Could there be a raptor shadow around airports that allows for bunny proliferation?
Saturday, August 2, 2008
CalTrain!
Took my first ride on Caltrain yesterday. Yep, first. It was civilized, clean, quiet on the inside, and efficient. I felt quite smug about the entire experience. I was on the express train, so I felt smug when I passed the local stops and slow local trains. I felt smug when I could see all the slow traffic on the freeways. And I felt smug walking from the train station past street traffic to my friend's house.
Go public transit! Now if only Muni weren't quite such a harrowing experience...
Go public transit! Now if only Muni weren't quite such a harrowing experience...
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