BJ Tells All

Secret Adventure Day #4

2009-06-30T05:49:59Z

We'd chosen June 13th for our fourth Secret Adventure and my second to plan (we alternate). Due to some difficulties, I had to change plans at the last minute, but I think we both really enjoyed our day. (If you're all about the visuals, skip to Dan's photos now.)

My inspiration for this adventure was the fact that Dan had never seen a movie at a drive-in theater. It's a quintessentially American activity and drive-in theaters have dropped like flies in the last few decades, so I thought it'd be better to do it sooner than later. There was even a movie I knew we both wanted to see that I thought might work well in that venue: The Hangover. The closest drive-in theaters are East of us, in the California Delta, which also reminded me of a recent article I'd read in by the SF Chronicle's outdoor writer, Tom Stienstra, about a fun drive through the Delta. With those activities as a framework, I added some other odds and ends and had a plan for us!

On Saturday we woke up and set out on our grand adventure, first stopping to have breakfast at a spot Dan's been wanting to try: Jimmy Bean's. Breakfast was very good and a great start to our day. Next we headed North and East towards the Delta. We drove past and through a charming town "stuck in time" named Isleton. We think it might be fun to come back sometime and enjoy some Delta crawdads there too. Then we continued on to Locke, an unusual town that's seen better days. Locke was settled in the 1910's by Chinese who'd come to the Delta to build the levees and pack fruit. One hundred years later, almost all of the Chinese are gone, but the buildings, which seem like a mix of old-fashioned and Chinese fashion, are still there. The place still exists mostly for historical reasons (the only rural Chinese town in America) and tourist traffic. I think it's well worth seeing if you're in the region, a somewhat surreal experience.

After Locke, I had wanted us to take a nature walk in the Consumnes River Preserve, but the road to get there was closed, so we skipped it and forged on.

From here I wanted to do the recommended Delta drive in reverse, so next we headed towards the ferry, "The J-Mack", which takes folks across Steamboat Slough to Ryer Island (for free). This is a cable ferry which runs back and forth across the slough. Once we drove on to the ferry, we got out and enjoyed the ride and started a conversation with the ferry guy. He told us the ferry was built in 1969 and has been running great ever since, in fact the Mitsubishi engines that provide the power have never broken down or had to be cracked for maintenance! We were enjoying our conversation so much when we got to the other side, he said, "Let's go back" and we went right back to the original side of the slough to pick up some bicyclists who had appeared and wanted a ride. We let them on and took our third trip back across Steamboat Slough, at which point we finally got off. Ahh, chance meetings.

Then we drove SW along Ryer Island Road to get to the twin propeller ferry at Cache Slough named "The Real McCoy". This ferry was nice but not as much fun as the cable ferry as there were other cars and not an opportunity to make friends with the ferry guys. We continued SW towards the "city" of the Delta, Rio Vista. There we ate lunch at an entertaining place named Foster's Bighorn. The original proprietor was a big game hunter and the walls are lined with his conquests. Antelopes, gnus, bears, even a giraffe, an elephant and a walrus are mounted on the walls! It's almost too much to take in and could make you semi-depressed. I found the black and white pictures hung in rows below the taxidermied animals to be more disturbing, as they featured the freshly shot animal usually being held up by its horns by the proud and smiling hunter.

From Rio Vista we headed towards Sacramento, though I'm not sure whether Dan yet knew it yet, he figured it out when we started seeing the big buildings! I gave him the option of whether to see "Old Sacramento" which I had read mixed reviews of and he chose to do it. Old Sacramento was a mixed bag, with a part Disneyland / part Old West feeling. We did enjoy walking over to see the Tower Bridge which was painted gold (seemed an unusual choice).

Next we visited a couple galleries that were open for Sacramento's Second Saturday art gallery walk. The first gallery (fine-art photography) was kind of a bust, but the second gallery featuring skateboard art was super fun. There we saw a kitty being walked on a leash, radically painted skateboards and watched folks skate on a half pipe there. (I wished I'd asked Dan to bring his skateboard so he could too! :)

It was time for dinner, and I'd found a restaurant with good potential (via Sunset Magazine back issues) nearby named Tuli Bistro. We were seated at a counter overlooking one of the chefs cooking in a wood burning oven which was great fun! Our dinner was fantastic: Dan ordered a pan-roasted Duroc pork chop with crispy Yukon Gold potatoes, broccoli rabe and cherry-Pinot Noir glaze and I had fire-roasted day-boat scallops with sautéed spinach, garlic mashed potatoes and Balsamic-port reduction, with a couple of changes-- I heard the chef call out my order: "Scallops, no potatoes, extra spin!" :)

After dinner it was time for our next and last part of our adventure day: the drive-in movie theater. As we approached the theater Dan guessed our destination and seemed excited. We waited in the huge line of cars to buy tickets to the Hangover and then meandered over to find a spot. It's hard to believe that drive-in theaters are going out of business considering how many folks were there that night! On the way back from the snack bar we saw a vintage limo w/ a bunch of 20-something kids grilling beside it. It looked like a lot of fun and they told us they'd bought the limo for a mere $300. :)

The Hangover was almost better than I'd expected and although the picture wasn't sharp and the sound wasn't perfect I really enjoyed the drive-in experience and I think Dan did too. I hope we do it again sometime! All in all, a very good day.

I would highly recommend going to look at all of the fab photos Dan took.

Here's a Google map of where we went.

Tids & Bits

2009-06-05T00:32:23Z

In reverse order:

Today was an awesome solo bicycle hidden pathway adventure from Albany to the Berkeley Hills & back! Since I didn't bring my camera, my encounter with momma and baby deer is limited to an out of focus iPhone pic (to the left). They were hanging out in an unknown tributary of Blackberry Creek. You can see my travels on this Google map I made. I rode five miles or so & hiked four pathways, including Yosemite Steps, Upton Lane, Easter Way and Berryman Path. You can click on any of those links to go to the Berkeley Path Wanderers Association for pictures and descriptions. One of my favorite things was finding Grotto Rock Park. It felt quite serendipitious and I was happy that I had the rock all to myself. I was reminded of the Oakland Geology blog and his mentions of the boulders, crags and outcrops that can be found in the Berkeley & Oakland hills. I also checked out the Codornices Park & Berkeley Rose Garden, either one of which would be worth another trek up the hill!

Recently I was overjoyed to make a near ideal purchase (at least for me). I managed to buy affordable, durable (I believe), wrought iron patio furniture made in America (albeit in Alabama, not too close to California). Yay! And now we get to eat outdoors and throw awesome parties! If you want your own, look for Plantation Patterns, seems to be sold in lots of places.

In April & May we had a wondrous and overwhelming month of parent visits and the Up wrap party. Didn't get many photos of two of the visits, but we did get some of Fred & Ellen's. See all four photos here if you'd like!

Morning Transit Travails

2009-05-12T04:28:49Z

Walk out to the bus stop this morning and took a seat beside the kid with the 48" x 36" science fair poster (poor kid!). We wait a bit, the bus arrives about 10 minutes late. Not awful but I know it'll be enough to make me miss my BART connection. After the kid struggles up with his awkward poster I walk on and hold my Translink up to pay. Instead of the reassuring beep, I hear a double beep and see "Card Blocked". Oh shit, I forgot that the credit card associated with Translink had been cancelled. I'm juggling my coffee cup and frantically searching my pockets for $1.75, while the bus pulls out and roars down the road to make up for lost time. I've found and deposited $1.10 before he pulls over to pick up more passengers. Rather than delay us further I give up and retreat towards the back-- the driver lets me go without comment. Thank goodness for small mercies.

At the BART station, the lateness is a mixed blessing; I'm too late for the train that will get me there on time, but the train I get on is more direct and less populated. I get a seat!

We arrive at Civic Center, where I transfer to MUNI. Usually I use Translink for MUNI too, so I need to find another $1.50, _in coins_. I have two twenties and a five. I scout around the station for a way to break my moolah and see a BART machine that says "Change for $10s & $20s". I stick my twenty in there and it gives me four fives. Great. I wave one of my fives at the station lady and she says "You have to go up to the street and get change for a five, there's no way down here". Really??? So I walk up to the street, look around and see nothing convenient that might give me change unless I want to go stand in line for BK breakfast. Ew.

So now I'm 10 minutes late for my appointment and very frustrated. I walk back down to the MUNI gate with every intention of breaking the law and jumping the gate. Instead I notice the newspaperman and see a legal way out of my predicament. I buy a newspaper (i.e. I pay $1.50 to get change for a five) and take the dingy dollar bills he gives me.

The last indignity is that the $1 change machine gives me change all in nickels! It's like I've won the slot machine of Civic Center. After an audible groan of despair, I gathered up my winnings and dutifully deposited them in to the fare gate so I could continue my journey.

--------------------
Transit system triumphs over mere human once again. The punishment for not having one dollar bills in a room full of machines that appear to be there to help you pay your fare completely flummoxes me. How does this encourage use of transit?

(composed on an iphone, please excuse the errors.)

Girl(Scout)s Go Tech!

2009-02-10T04:31:36Z

This weekend I was lucky enough to volunteer a few hours of my time at Girl Scouts' Girls Go Tech Career Exploration. I discovered the event an email to one of Pixar's recreational mail aliases, calling for technical women to volunteer. Though I didn't want to commit myself to making an "Activity Table" (where I would communicate with the girls in a hands-on manner about how and what I do), I did volunteer to provide general support.

After a foggy drive up into the redwoods of the Oakland Hills, I arrived at the Chabot Space & Science Center at 8am on Sunday to help set up. Most of my fellow setup volunteers were Girl Scout parents-- though everyone was super nice I felt like an outlier as a single woman with no kids. Around 9am the presenters started to arrive to set up their activity tables. There were so many technical & scientific women who came to share what they do! I enjoyed checking out what the different women brought to share! Each activity table represented one profession and was "manned" by one or more women (and some men in support roles). I saw tradeswomen who were showing the girls how to hammer & drill, forensic scientists from the ATF dusting for fingerprints, lady surveyors getting the lay of the land and even a system administrator from ILM! The system administrator used an idea that I'd been thinking about of showing the insides of computers and having the girls take parts in and out, while explaining what the components do.

Surprisingly, I bumped into the director of my department and his little girl. Later on we lunched together and chatted. To my surprise he mentioned that only 5% of college graduates are getting science degrees now. If that's true (I haven't had a chance to research it) I found that stat disheartening. When he emphasized the importance of a science degree to his eight-year old she replied "Don't worry! I'm either going to be a scientist or a policeman!" I suggested that if she went into forensic science she could combine the two. ;)

During our chat I asked him if many of the activity tables (for the different professions) were emphasizing fun. It had occurred to me that if you're trying to provide more options to girls, it might be smart to emphasize the fun parts of science. Unfortunately, he said that few of the presenters they'd seen were stressing fun. :( He did mention a couple who talked about enjoying their jobs: the tradeswomen and the surveyors. (By the way, did you know you didn't need a college degree to be a surveyor? One women was raised into the profession by her father! :)

All in all, I was thrilled to be there with so many technical & scientific women and would happily volunteer at this event again. I got the email address for the system administrator from ILM, maybe next year we can even collaborate on an activity table together!

Nigerian Printer Scam?

2008-12-12T18:20:27Z

Wow! Check out this reply to my Craigslist ad for my printer... I don't know exactly what the deal is here, but I'm highly skeptical of it:

Thanks for your reply.. am highly interested in your item.. I want it for my son for this upcoming Christmas... But i just want you to do me a favour by getting me the total cost of the item including with international shipping cost via USPS (EMS) First Class mail to him in Nigeria.. cus am presently out of the country right now to attend to my clients... so am waiting for your reply...Don't forget to send your paypal address to make the payment cus the item is needed urgently.. Thanks alot

Edward.....

First sighting of the Nigerian printer scam? Weird!

I miss you George

2008-12-10T18:37:48Z

New neighbors have replaced George and though they don't thunder down the stairs like a herd of elephants, they seem to be young and hip and up at all hours of the day and night! I hate to be a crotchety oldster, but jeez, isn't 10:30 a little late to be going out? ;) I think I preferred hermitic George and his herd of elephants-- he didn't seem to go out more than twice a week.

Awhile back, I went on a surprise adventure with Dan! He planned the whole thing and only told me how to dress and how long we'd be gone. It was great fun! He picked me up at 8am and journeyed to Alameda where we saw an antique car show and enjoyed fancy coffee from the new Clover coffee machines at Starbucks. From there we headed South to the Peninsula and visited a pumpkin patch! We pulled into a farm and explored their pumpkin patch and their hay maze! It was super fun and everytime we hid a dead-end we did some canoodling to celebrate. If I can I will share pictures later.

Then it was time for lunch, which we enjoyed at the historic Duarte's in Pescadero, CA. Good food and great atmosphere: mix of very old (turn of the century?) and somewhat old (mid-century). I don't think the cocktail napkins have been redesigned since the 60's! Nearby was Butano State Park where did a little hike up a hill and through some forest. We took a mystery drive through La Honda and Woodside (which I'd never seen!, lots of McCain/Palin signs) and then ended up at the best pastrami shop on the West coast, "The Refuge"! We each had a Belgian beer and a pastrami sandwich. Muy Bueno! We had planned on attending various readings at the San Francisco LitCrawl afterward, but that sort of bombed. The crowds were too heavy and the vibe wasn't right for us to enjoy it, so we went home instead.

All in all, a super fun surprise adventure day! We've done another surprise adventure day since then but it'll have to be a different entry.

Over the Moon

2008-11-27T01:49:34Z

I am over the moon about my performance with the Nekyia. While by no means did I perform perfectly, my biggest fears of inadequacy and paralyzing anxiety failed to appear.

I attribute this to a few things-- practicing fanatically the week and a half before the performance, Dan's support, a lot of self-examination (you wouldn't have wanted to be in my head last week) and lastly, Dan's rhetorical question: "Isn't this supposed to be fun?"

Yes! It is supposed to be fun. I dance because I love it, I love moving my body to the music, I love stretching myself (literally and figuratively), I love the way it hurts after practicing hard.

I also love it when other people enjoy my dancing. Maybe it was because of the friendly crowd or perhaps because of the brotherly love of San Francisco, but two different folks came up to me after the performance, gave me a hug and said "Thank you." What a good feeling that generates! In addition, several friends attended whom I did not expect. As I wrote in an email thank you to them afterwards, I felt lucky and loved.

Dan took lots of fantastic pictures (as usual) but does not have them all up yet. Click on either photo to see what he has up so far.

(^^ It's not me! It's Rachel!)

Performing!

2008-11-19T16:04:10Z

I have been quite remiss in not writing about my upcoming performance.

This Thursday I am thrilled to be dancing with the Nekyia as part of "Scorpio Showgrrrl Sublime". I will be performing in a couple of numbers, one at the beginning and one at the end. I'm nervous as hell but channeling my days as a Kiltie (on the dance team) when I exuded confidence.

No matter what it'll be a great show and if you're in the area and looking for something to do Thursday night, come watch! Here are all the gritty details:

Fierce, Fabulous, Fearless Showgrrrls Performing Dance, Circus, and Fire Body-Rocking Global Dance Grooves for your Booty-Shaking Pleasure: A Taste of the Sublime
The Nekyia's Scorpio Showgrrrl Sublime
Fat City
314 11th Street, San Francisco, CA
Thursday, November 20 at 8:30pm (dancing starts sometime between 9 & 10)

A cosmopolitan cabaret featuring the city's finest showgrrrls in a divine spectacle of grace, artistry, and unrepentant sensuality.

Come celebrate the Scorpion with an evening of performance and body-rocking dance beats from The Nekyia's own DJ Drumspyder spinning a global mix of Middle Eastern, Afro-Latin, and Tribal beats with live percussion.

Witness the soft, pliable limbs of contortionist belly dancer Kristina - trapeze tigress Leah Christiana - assassin of the heart, sword dancing Rebecca - the haunting seduction of Gemini Rachel - and the raw daredevil athleticism of untamed Shannon. Be the first to see a wealth of new belly dance jazz burlesque fusion from this constantly innovating bevy of beauties.

Special guests include Sky Siren Kerri on tissue, pole contortion from Babette, the belly dance stylings of Summer "Hitachi Hips" Sahar, and the fiery and breathtaking Simon Chaban.

Join us for this special night celebrating Kristina's birthday and Leah's last performance with The Nekyia before leaving for a year as a Ringling Brother's Circus trapeze star!

Ticket Price: $10

Up to Date

2008-09-29T04:22:01Z

Current status: Feeling blessed to sit on my porch, read the Sunday paper, drink a barleywine handmade by a friend and given to me for Xmas last year while listening to the best band of the day on the stage just outside my door. The band is named Dynamic, and they're notable for having a full lineup (keys, bass, drums, horns and two singers) and being fronted by an extremely pregnant woman stylishly attired in a sarong arrayed over jeans.

It's been entirely too long since a substantive blog (gawd i hate that word) entry and I will make the lame excuse that I've been spending too much time "microblogging" to do any "macroblogging". If you want, check out my Twitters I've doing in the meantime. Also, this thing known as "real life" has certainly taken my time too, happily.

To catch up:
* July 31st - August 3rd we went on a backpacking trip to Young Lakes.
* Saturday, August 9th, I thoroughly enjoyed volunteering to remove weeds for Save the Bay and hope to contribute more in the future.
* We spent Labor Day at Howard Creek Ranch north of Mendocino celebrating Dan's birthday. Very fun and relaxing "beercation" peppered with sheep and other fun things.
* I took the Beginning/Intermediate Pole Dancing class and loved it. Angling to take the Intermediate/Advanced but stymied by the cost and time involved.
* The weekend of September 12th-14th the other grooms-folks and I threw a debaucherous bachelor party for Gabe that I think all appreciated. :)
* Last weekend I auditioned for Hot Pink Feathers, though with full-disclosure that I can't practice as often as they're looking for, so joining seems unlikely. Nonetheless I had a good time.
* This weekend we went on a awesome bicycle ride to Cesar Chavez park in Berkeley where Dan coached me on how to throw a frisbee. Later we attended Jason & Frederique's engagement party. (Congrats you two! :)
* Sprinkled amongst August and September has been time spent with family, including a weekend in Morro Bay, yummy dinners and a sailing trip in San Francisco Bay where we went under the Golden Gate Bridge!

October promises to be exciting and busy with Gabe & Adi's wedding. Cheers!

Backpacking Trip to Young Lakes!

2008-09-29T03:46:18Z

At the end of July I survived my first ever backpacking trip to Young Lakes in Yosemite National Park. We followed the same trek as these folks. Though there were a few rough spots, I enjoyed the trip immensely and hope to go on similar adventures in the future.

After preparations which included buying (and breaking in) hiking boots, renting a backpack from REI and (from my perspective) much stress about whether I was "ready", we left on Thursday, July 31st not knowing whether our trip would be feasible or if the fires near Yosemite would obscure the views and impair our health. We had a half-formed backup plan but mostly crossed our fingers.

On the way we did encounter many fire trucks and smoke. Thankfully the air was pretty clear after we entered Yosemite proper. We paid our entrance fee and noted the sad "Speeding Kills Bears" signs with a red bear on them (sited anywhere a bear has been hit by a car). We drove into the park a ways to reach Tuolumne Meadows, our stopover point for the night. Thus enters glitch one: we did not realize that we would have to pack in all of our camp gear to the Backpackers' Campground; we had prepared to "car camp" that first night. Thus we spent much time and even more energy carrying things like the cooler, our packs and firewood on the quarter mile trek between where we could park and where we were camping. Whoops!

After we finally got everything situated we made our dinner and enjoyed sitting around the last campfire of the trip (our future campsites would disallow wood fires due to elevation). Unfortunately, we slept little that night due to cold temperatures (I would guess in the 40s). This caused some worry as the next day we would be hiking to an elevation 1000 feet higher: would there be no sleep at all this trip? Nonetheless, we decided to forge ahead and make the best of it.

"Forge ahead" is actually a lie. After making and eating breakfast, we then started the long haul to lug all our junk back to the car and then the very difficult process of fitting everything we needed for the next two days into our backpacks and putting the smelly stuff into the bear canister. It did not go smoothly. There was cursing. It turns out my sleeping bag is _not_made for backpacking. After much struggle, we got it all worked out, the bags on our backs and started on our way.

My biggest concern about this trip, and one I had consulted with the ladies of Pixar about for advice, was how to go to the bathroom in the wild. One wouldn't think that this was difficult, us being essentially animals, but I worried about it. Happily the ladies of Pixar directed me towards the P-Mate, which "enables women to pee while standing upright". Hoorah! This little device made the whole trip way more pleasant.

The pack on my back felt different and weird, but I'm in fairly good shape, thankfully, so the hike didn't seem too difficult. We were traveling about 6.75 miles and ascending from just above 8500' to just below 10000'. Something perverse about me enjoys going uphill more than downhill so I would often find myself digging in, leaning forward and letting the momentum of the 25 pound pack spur me forward and up.

Yosemite, as always, was gorgeous, especially since I'd never been in the high country before. I saw a variety of countryside, boulders and granite being a constant, but with variety provided by fir trees or charming meadows filled with wildflowers. We saw many birds (but didn't identify any but quail), lots of adorable chipmunks and squirrels and I think I got to see a marmot scamper away from me too!

Though the hike up didn't wear us out completely, we were super happy to arrive at Young Lakes. Dan did an awesome job of picking a good spot and we set up camp. Our destination rewarded us with a gorgeous sunset view from lower Young Lake. We reheated our freeze dried dinner and took ourselves to bed. Thankfully, the temperature seemed to be warmer than the previous night and we got more sleep than before.

The next morning we decided to take it easy since we're old :) and somewhat worn out from our hike the day before. We circumnavigated the lake, having to forge many marshy areas and outright streams where snowmelt from the peaks (who still had snow on some of them!) was still trickling down into the lake. Later we spent time chilling by the lakeside and even took a dip in the glacier-melt waters. (Brrrr!) I felt so happy to be there and would do it again in an instant.

Later, we made ourselves some dinner, watched some people flyfishing at sunset and went to bed early to try to make up for the fairly poor sleep the nights prior. This night's sleep was the best of all, but still imperfect. Strangely, one of the problems is that Young Lakes is in the Bay Area's flight path. Though I'm sure the planes were at 20k or 30k feet, since we were at 10k feet, the planes seemed loud and disturbing. If I could change one thing about that setting, that would be it.

The next morning we set my alarm for before the crack of dawn and went out to watch the sun rise over lower Young Lake. It was chilly but completely worth it to watch the the skies lighten and the sun finally peek out to greet us. When the sunlight washed over me I felt so fortunate to be there.

We skedaddled back to camp and packed up all our belongings. This was a loop trip so the hike out would be unfamiliar to us, though also about seven miles. The guidebook praised this leg of the hike as more beautiful than the way in (!!) but also harder. They didn't lie. This pass out of the Young Lakes valley was higher than the one in, so right off the bat it felt like we were headed straight up. After we surmounted the pass we were greeted by panoramic views of the Cathedral Peaks range and more beautiful alpine meadows filled with blooming wildflowers. I felt really lucky.

Several hours later, I was not feeling lucky as we'd been headed downhill (my least favorite cline) through the middle of the day, on a trail that seemed to have little shade, for what seemed like forever. I got hot, sore and super cranky. Sweat poured from both of our bodies. At the one mile to go mark I told Dan I was done and wanted the magic flying carpet to deliver me to the car. He offered me some less tough alternatives (closer to civilization there are more trails) but being stubborn I demanded to slog through the last bit with him. So we did, past the deer who couldn't care less about us and into the surprisingly inviting ripe smell of the stables at Tuolumne Meadows to where we'd left Dan's car one and a half days before. His Subaru had never looked so good to me.

After we collapsed into his car we made our way to the Tuolumne Meadows grill for cheeseburgers, fries and lifesaving Coca-Cola. It's amazing what a little rest, food and liquid will do for you. After being revived we jauntily drove back to the bay area (with a little stop at Cold Stone Creamery for a peanut butter milkshake.) In the end, I was super happy to have made the trip and would love to do more backpacking in the future. If you've enjoyed the pics, you can see all 27 here. When Dan posts his, I'll add them them too.

dreams

2008-09-21T00:09:48Z

Last night I had one dream that I was the wife of Senator McCain and busy shopping at fancy stores in a mall or malls in Washington D.C. with a bunch of other Washington women. Weird.

Also I had another dream where I seemed to be roaming around the West and the North with a kinda crazy cowboy. We strided through alpine meadows and watched condors soaring. I think there was a toddler with us and we were traveling by school bus.

Now you have a view into my head at night.

yes i want it all

2008-08-21T04:04:13Z

yes, i want to be able to keep myself mentally healthy, sustain my awesome relationship, stay in touch with friends and family, dance beautifully, love my cat, do well at my job, make most of my meals, bicycle to work, maintain a reasonably clean house and find time to relax and recharge.

and no, i can't have it all. :)

hopefully soon i'll have a chance to put up photos and a description of our epic backpacking trip to young's lake(s).

we also had a fun family trip to san luis obispo! click on the pic below to see the whole set. (thanks dan!)

Vomination

2008-07-21T00:38:00Z

My head doesn't feel quite right currently and I'm trying to figure out what it wants so I can feel better. What I want to do is vomit up the current contents of my head here, but no one wants to read that (besides maybe me). Instead here is some stuff you may find interesting...

I just heard my dad broke his collarbone while bicycle riding. I'm pretty bummed to hear that and wish him an easy and full recovery. It was likely sustained while training for the RSVP: Ride from Seattle to Vancouver (B.C.) and Party bicycle ride, which I'm guessing he won't be participating in now. :(

I live in a house creatively carved into five separate apartments; each apartment has one person living in it: four women and one man. The man, George, lives above me, or at least he used to. He's moving away now. I would always know when George was leaving because he would exit his door and then bang down the steps like a herd of elephants. I didn't mind because he never did it late at night or early in the morning. I hope that George is happy in his new home, wherever that is.

Today I had a grand time at my pole dancing class. I enjoy the physicality of climbing onto the pole and hurling yourself around; quite a few of the women sported large bruises on their inner thighs today from yesterday's class. If only it wasn't ~$300 to buy a pole to practice on!

I recently resigned from the bellydancing group I had been practicing with, a decision that was scary and right, I think. I'm doing other types of dance now and enjoying it more so far, though I have missed visiting with the bellydancing group.

The cold, cloudy weather dampens my mood, happily I believe sun and warmth are returning in the next few days.

This month has been relatively quiet and I've very much appreciated that. February & March were Southeast Asia, April & May were dance performance intensive and June was family month. July is quiet but August is full of adventures many of which are out of town (East, South & North) and hopefully all of which will be fun.

Books and their Imminent Demise

2008-07-12T06:11:20Z

Awhile ago I thought I had a really smart and compelling trail of thought: "Music and movies are pirated but books are not! (as far as I know) This must mean that book consumers are genuinely willing to pay money for their media unlike the cheap music & movie consumers."

When I shared that "brilliant" conclusion with Dan, he informed me of the obvious: music & movies are pirated because they're available in digital form. If books were in bits (i.e. available in digital form) they'd likely be pirated too. He commented that the music companies really shot themselves in the foot when they published music on CDs. Amazingly (or not), I'd never made the connection between media, digital formats and piracy. Obviously, once something can easily be read into a computer (or "ripped" as it's often called), it's game over. Bits are bits and can be copied over the net for practically no cost.

After he made the connection for me I almost wanted to cry out-- "Wait, Amazon! What are you doing?? Don't publish books in digital form! Don't you know what will happen?!" But alas, it seems too late, especially after reading the editorial in this month's newsletter from Borderlands Books. (Click on the link and search for "From the Office" to read the pertinent section.)

Essentially Alan, Borderlands owner, lays out a compelling argument for electronic books (aka eBooks) growing to 10% (or more) of book sales by 2015 and a commensurate (or greater) increase in bookstore closures. It's depressing but likely realistic and I would recommend his essay to any book lovers. (Really! Go read it! Then go buy a book from Borderlands!)

I'm not sure what I think yet about this future of books. I have such attachment to holding books, feeling them, smelling them, admiring the publisher's font choices and the all-too-often tacky cover art. I can't imagine my life without them.

And these changes made me think of piracy. Will it be as big of a problem for literature as it is for music & movies? Will Amazon, et al., struggle to come up with encryption to thwart the crackers? Will J.K. Rowling's net worth stabilize? It seems likely that it would be awhile yet before piracy became an issue. eBooks are just getting started and for piracy to take off I think they'd have to become more commonplace. (I'm waiting for Apple to come out with their own eBook reader: the iTunes-style "iBooks"! Oh wait, those were laptop computers. Maybe they'll have to call it the "iRead"!)

No matter what, it seems that we're in for interesting times. Maybe I should be more worried about the general decline in reading rather than the advent of eBooks, anyways. See "Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America" and "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" from this month's Atlantic for more depressing news. :)

Miscellany #22

2008-07-06T19:59:51Z

Maybe my mythical hardware store could be called something about "Do It Yourself" since that's the common theme of the stuff I want to carry-- cook for yourself, do your own home repairs, etc. How about "DIDS" for "Do It your Damn Self"? Self Reliance Inc.? "Jane of All Trades" (play on "Jack of All Trades" + my middle name is Jane), though I worry that a store with "Jane" in its name will scare away the guys. No matter what, my tagline can be this great Heinlein quote:

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

-Robert A. Heinlein

In other news I want to share this delightful "impromptu" dance number in Union Square. I love bay area folks and their playfulness.

Also fun is this Russian "synchronized swimming" video:

And this super cool video of a crumbling but spectacular walkway used to get to a climbing area in Spain:

Plus check out the picture I took of Victor in front of our huge blow up WALL•E:

Recommendations

2008-07-06T04:09:59Z

People in my life that I cannot recommend highly enough. Please go see them if you need their services.

Skin Care
My esthetician, Joyce, treats me in ways that always make me feel like a million bucks when I leave, no matter how I felt going in. As a wellness consultant and general outstanding person, she manages to give me whatever I need, whether it be waxing my eyebrows or telling me stories about her new kittens or gently asking how I'm doing. My skin and my spirit thank me every time I go see her at Skin for Life. (Pacific Heights, SF)

Haircutter
Today I showed up to my hair cut, only to find my appointment had been erased and someone else scheduled! I was super sad but Dale, my haircutter, managed to fit me in! This is completely typical of his behavior. I don't know why everyone in town isn't using him since he gives great haircuts, charges reasonably, and acts in a very professional manner. Plus he has a mystical ability to guide me towards what I really want to do with my hair. Either that or he's brainwashing me but at least I'm happy! Call La Tour Salon and get an appointment with him. (Elmwood, Berkeley)

Doctor
I love my doctor to death but I think she works too hard, so I will not recommend you see her. I want her to take a break! Another one of the strong, wise older women in my life (along with Joyce the esthetician above) who take the time to talk with me and share of themselves. Someday I hope that I can learn to give of myself in the same unjudgemental and caring way. (Sunset, SF)

I like my Montclair dentist, Laurie Shepherd, and Union Square dermatologist, Vail Reese, but can't recommend them as strongly as the above folks.

Including a picture of my kitty cuz I can:

Status Check

2008-07-06T03:42:06Z

Yesterday was good. Woke up, made a nectarine/blueberry/raspberry crisp (all organic except for the tapioca starch, pecans, nutmeg & cinnamon) and traveled with Dan to Aptos (6 mi. S of Santa Cruz) to attend a party. Way fun. Great food, good conversation and a fire pit. The fireworks on the beach of Aptos were out of control and fun to watch. Wish I had pictures, at least of the crisp!! Next time.

Today was my beauty day: I saw Joyce, my awesome esthetician and Dale, my kickass haircutter. Dale cuts hair in Elmwood so I took a nice leisurely walk there and back and once again fell in love with my neighborhood(s). Will it ever stop? I patronized a few small businesses, including the wonderful "Videots", the cute video shop in Elmwood. It appears that video rentals are down (Netflix, anyone?) and I feel bad for them. I think I have a wayward nostalgia gene that makes me get unreasonably attached to things of the past. I hope they can survive, I enjoyed wandering around and picking out a movie. Maybe if I don't open a kitchenware/hardware shop I could open up an "Obsoleted" store where you could rent movies and buy music on cd.

Last weekend Dan and I went on a sedate camping trip on the Sonoma Coast. It wasn't as isolated as we would have liked but we still had a nice time. The weekend before that my mom came to visit. We watched WALL•E, visited gardens, saw a ball game (Go A's!) and spent time cooking and chatting. Speaking of mom I'm proud to announce she's been published in "Compliance Today", the national magazine of the Health Care Compliance Association! She co-wrote an article about patient requests to amend their medical record, the hot topic on everyone's minds, I know. :)

More adventures to come!

Shopkeeping

2008-07-06T02:39:55Z

Strangely, in the last week I've been semi-obsessing about the idea of opening my own store, of being a small-business woman. This, despite the fact that I already have a fabulous job at a wonderful company with great people. What the hay?? Plus, it's not in my blood... the only entrepeneur I can think of in my family was my Grandfather Fred and I wasn't that close to him. We have a tradition of being good employees-- I think we have purposefully avoided the headache and high likelihood of failure that owning your businesses would entail. My friend started his own business (the incredible SonicLiving) and before he did I can remember having ridiculous conversations with him in which I argued that he was an immoral person for wanting to make money. Oh, how I seem to have changed.

So my idea is to open a kitchenware/hardware shop in the Rockridge, Temescal or Piedmont neighborhoods. I want to open that type of shop because I often feel like I want to buy that type of stuff and would have to get in my car to do it (or walk to Elmwood Hardware once it reopens). I think there really might be an untapped market here. I mean you have all these yuppies who're reading Michael Pollan's books and hopefully wanting to cook at home, but realize they need a bundt pan at the last minute! Or they're working on their garden and their shovel breaks and they need another w/o much fuss. It'd be just like printing money! ;)

It's interesting to think about how to distinguish my store from Long's Drugs (51st & Broadway), OSH/Home Depot, Williams Sonoma, Sur La Table, and the billions of "housewares" stores along College Ave. etc. I think investigating Cliff's Variety in the Castro & Cole-Fox Hardware in SOMA might be instructive. Like them I want put up attractive and entertaining window displays. For the most part I want to stock useful things-- most of the housewares stores I see on College Ave. sell pretty plates and cups + funky birdhouses, etc. I think I might have a tendency towards semi-fancy stuff (it IS North Oakland), but I don't want to sell many "decorative" things. You will not walk into my store and smell scented candles. You won't walk into my store and hear subtle electronic music guiding you along. You'll walk into my store and think, wow, I could buy all sorts of useful stuff! Yay!

One of the problems with running a kitchenware/hardware store is that in order to give people good selection/assortment the store would need to be huge! Many of the stores I've seen in Rockridge are not big enough, I don't know yet about Piedmont & Temescal. Recently a kid's store moved out of a spot on College about a block from Claremont-- that might be good for a start (just kitchenware to begin?). Though I'd rather be in the blocks of College Ave. (Rockridge) between BART & the Library as I believe it receives the most amount of foot traffic. Considering that I think sacrificing one of the furniture stores across from Crepevine is the right move. They offer the right amount of space for the store I want to have. And why are there two furniture stores right next to each other anyway? I'll talk to them. :)

Another problem is my lack of knowledge. Maybe I can hire someone who knows their stuff to manage the store, or at least walk the floor and be a resident expert (and teach me.) Additionally I wonder why I'm so compelled to sell kitchenware/hardware! Up til now I don't feel like it's been my passion to buy such things, in fact, I drag my feet when buying anything that will sit in my house. Why in the world would I choose to sell things to other people that will sit in their house??

The possibility of failure is high and the whole thing doesn't make much sense. It's probably just a mood or a phase I'm in, I'll snap out of it any day now. But in the meantime I'll keep thinking about the best way to open my little store. What should I call it? Hardware? BJ's Variety? The Purpose-Driven Store?

Daydream out.

p.s. i hope _someone_ opens up a convenient kitchenware and/or hardware store.

Cat Melodrama

2008-06-17T02:15:14Z

I put some anti-hairball gel on the cat's paw so he'll lick it off and (hopefully) quit puking up little packages of joy for me. Now he looks at me with reproach and acts as if I just broke his leg, like he's not sure what to do now that he's been "tainted".

I'm watching him stalk around the house, scheming for a way to get the gel off his leg without licking it. Just eat it Jules! It'll make you and I much happier.

AT&T makes me smile

2008-06-12T17:09:38Z

I love it when I email the companies asking them to stop sending me advertising mail & they respond in a positive, helpful manner!!! I thought AT&T might blow me off, especially since I have a pre-existing relationship with them (use them for cell & local toll phone service).

Greetings Bethany,

Thank you for your email request to remove your account from the AT&T direct mailing list. My name is Wanda and I will be happy to assist you with this. I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you, but we hope you will remain a satisfied AT&T customer for years to come.

I am currently processing your request. At this time, we are unable to prevent certain general messages about our products and services from appearing as part of your bill. Your ticket number for this request is xxxxxxxxxx-xxxx.

Also, when ordered to do so by a state or federal government agency, we may send you direct mail that refers to our services.

Bethany, if I can be of any further assistance, please reply directly to this email.

Thank you for using AT&T. I appreciate your business and continued loyalty.

Regards,

Wanda
Your AT&T Customer Service Representative

Thanks AT&T!!!

Routine vs. Excitement

2008-06-11T05:18:26Z

A selection of events in my life from late March 'til now: Return from Southeast Asia. Apocalypse. Sickness. Move. Visit dad. Banana Shenanigans. Perform. Move. Learn to cook. Visit dad. Perform. Perform. Flight of the Conchords. Car keyed. Beirut. Wrap party. Apocalypse. Visit mom. WWDC.

I don't know whether I'm doing more or less than the average bear, but what I crave right now is routine. A number of days and weekends that are mine to do with as I please, where my commitments are few & far between. Lest I seem too negative, a bunch of the events I list above were fun! But right now I might give up some fun to gain some predictability.

That aside, I had a blast at our wrap party for our movie WALL·E, I think it was my favorite party yet! I really enjoyed our new movie WALL·E too and look forward to seeing what movie-goers think. Click on the photo below to see a whole bunch of photos from the party.

Go see WALL·E on June 27th & remember that everything you could ever want to buy is available from Buy n Large!

Carnaval & More

2008-05-27T05:07:28Z

Dancing in the Carnaval parade this weekend was incredibly fun and super rewarding. We started the morning early (6:30am!) at M & T's house in the Mission. They graciously hosted us while we readied ourselves & also provided an afterparty spot! A more perfect location and ambiance could not have been asked for. They also set out a cereal bar plus freshly made coffee which I happily availed myself of. Nom.

After the requisite primping (makeup, hair, costumes) we set out to the parade. As we waited for the parade to start we attracted much attention because of our costumes. So many photographs were taken and unfortunately, most we'll never see. I enjoyed the waiting much more this year because it was way warmer than last year & I knew what to expect! When the parade started & we started dancing I had enjoyed myself hugely and wore a big smile the whole time.

Both of the above photos are courtesy of the same M & T who let us use their apartment to ready ourselves. See a smaller selection of their photos (30) or the bigger selection (99). And if you find more photos of us, I'd love to see them!

Another fascinating and inspirational article in Harper's Magazine! In the March 2008 issue I very much enjoyed the essay "Fear of Fallowing: The specter of a no-growth world" by Steven Stoll. I highly recommend reading the article if you have a chance, it explores our dependence on economic growth and whether a more stationary economic state is possible and perhaps healthier. A better abstract:

Reading more like an expose than a book review, Stoll's thought-provoking piece examines three authors' views on earth's biophysical capacities and the future of the global economy. Brink Lindsay, in The Age of Abundance, examines affluence and its impact on politics, housing, religion, and culture. Benjamin Friedman offers a "weightier" deliberation in The Moral Consequences of Economic Growth, acknowledging not only the realities of poor air quality, melting polar caps, and burning rivers, but poignant connections between affluence, crime, and hostility. Meanwhile, Bill McKibben's Deep Economy ponders the viability of "no-growth" economies.

This abstract was written by JL Roberts & edited/hosted by the website brijit. I came across brijit a few months ago & was intrigued by its premise to take the best of what's available in the long-form world (magazine essays, etc.) and reference it in short-form (small abstracts) for busy people. Unfortunately, it seems brijit has ran out of money & may not continue operations. Bummer. I'm a fan of anything that helps people choose to read well-written articles.

Carnaval Update

2008-05-23T16:05:52Z

See nineteen other women and I dance as part of the Hot Pink Feathers parade contingent accompanied by the Hot Pink Feathers All-Star Marching band this Sunday in the Carnaval parade! I was wrong about our placement in the parade, we are #31 of 85 groups. If you want to hang out with us as we line up in anticipation of parading, you can join us at our staging spot of 2464 Bryant St (at 21st). We'll be there from 8:30 to 10am, shivering, I'm sure.

We had a great time at our "dress rehearsal" performance last weekend at the Mission Bazaar! Click on the photo to see more pictures of it. Thank you to the fabulous photographer for the awesome pics!

Neat References

2008-05-18T15:54:05Z

There's a number of links I've been meaning to post recently. Check these out:

I loved reading "The Gospel of Consumption" article from Orion magazine. It's quite illuminating to learn more about the underpinnings of our consumer-centric society. I think it dovetails nicely with "The Story of Stuff", if you saw that too. Thanks for recommending, D! (Photo of Fred Meyer shelves by Lyza Danger Gardner.)

And from Aardman Animation (the makers of Wallace & Gromit) come a series of adorable public service announcements, "The Animals Save the Planet", that you can watch.

And last, but not least, I must recommend "Faustian Economics: Hell hath no limits" an essay by Wendell Berry in the May 2008 issue of Harper's Magazine. Starting from the obvious fact that we're running out of oil (at least cheap oil) he explores our culture's presumption of limitless-ness. The link I provided above will not let you read it unless you're a Harper's customer, but you could pick this issue up at the news stand, reference it at your library or ask to borrow it from me if you're interested.

Some teaser paragraphs to entice you:

Our national faith so far has been: "There's always more." Our true religion is a sort of autistic industrialism. People of intelligence and ability seem now to be genuinely embarrassed by any solution to any problem that does not involve high technology, a great expenditure of energy, or a big machine. Thus an X marked on a paper ballot no longer fulfills our idea of voting. One problem with this state of affairs is that the work now most needing to be done-- that of neighborliness and caretaking-- cannot be done by remote control with the greatest power on the largest scale. A second problem is that the economic fantasy of limitlessness in a limited world calls fearfully into question the value of our monetary wealth, which does not reliably stand for the real wealth of land, resources and workmanship but instead wastes and depletes it.
...

We are, in short, coming under pressure to understand ourselves as limited creatures in a limited world.
This constraint, however, is not the condemnation it may seem. On the contrary, it returns us to our real condition and to our human heritage, from which our self-definition as limitless animals has for too long cut us off. Every cultural and religious tradition I know about, while fully acknowledging our animal nature, defines us specifically as humans-- that is, as animals (if the word still applies) capable of living not only within natural limits but also within cultural limits, self-imposed. As earthly creatures, we live, because we must, within natural limits, which we may describe by such names as "earth" or "ecosystem" or "watershed" or "place". But as humans we may elect to respond to this necessary placement by the self-restraints implied in neighborliness, stewardship, thrift, temperance, generosity, care, kindness, friendship, loyalty and love.

I would describe my past self as someone who's often thought of myself and our world as limitless... more recently I'm trying the idea of a limited self and limited world and I think I might like it.

As an aside, this week I participated in my first bike to work day (fun!) and I believe I bicycled or used public transit to work all five days! For bike to work day I received another Oakland bicycle map (cool), a great book of coupons (that I'll actually use), a small tote bag, a pastry, chocolate & an energy bar. They really made it worth my while! I haven't driven this weekend and I expect I'll be able to let the car sit until Tuesday, when my schedule makes taking transit or bicycling nigh impossible.

Pretty Darn Good

2008-05-18T06:22:52Z

Life is pretty darn good. A couple of weekends ago I danced with Azure for Kimo's Grand Reopening. Here's a set of some great pictures of the performance. Thank you Mr. Photographer!

The next weekend we participated in a super fun cooking class + meal put on by one of our friends. The theme was "Spring Indian" and everything we made was good, but the halibut was out of this world! See pictures here.

As promised tomorrow I will be dancing with Hot Pink Feathers around 1:30 pm at Mission Bazaar. If you're in the area come by & see us! Mission Bazaar is a "shopping spectacle" at the Armory (14th & Mission) in San Francisco. Admission is free I believe.

Reminder that next weekend we dance in the Carnaval parade in San Francisco's Mission District on Sunday May 25th around 9:30 am.

In other news I've had a fabulous 1.5 days. In that time I've watched two episodes of BSG (omg, it's so exciting!), enjoyed a yummy Vietnamese dinner at Xyclo (the green bean salad was the best), visited the Friedlander exhibit at SF MoMA and ate a great Caesar salad at Cafe Museo's patio in the sun.

We BARTed into the city for this, my first ever visit to SF MoMA (shame on me). Lee Friedlander is a prolific street photographer who's been shooting for the past 50 years. The reflections, shadows and "frames" in his photos can require some concentration to see but were fun and almost felt like a game sometimes! I definitely enjoyed myself.

After we returned I tackled the mess that my house had become. Between SE Asia, getting sick (x2), visiting relatives, performances and other assorted oddities, my house had suffered. I just hadn't yet found the gumption to deal with it until today. Happily I can now say that there's nothing in my front room that doesn't (basically) belong there. I have yet to "fix" the bathroom & kitchen, but I'll get there. This was the most intimidating, so I hope & expect the other rooms will go more smoothly. It's not the cleaning that's hard for me, it's the putting away! :)