Site visit!

There have been a few times thus far at my job when I've had the chance to go and do site visits. The most glamorous (debatable adjective) was to Las Vegas. Usually it's just been to local convention centers.

Well, I'm involved in a global conference this summer that does a "Hu b and Sp0ke" model. It means that the main speeches are filmed at company headquarters and broadcast around the world to other employees in remote cities. The remote locations then have their own speakers and activities to help with the annual Rah-rah mood. Well, the Dallas Sp0ke is happening in Texas Rang3rs Stad1um in late August. I'll be going as an Assistant Pr0ducer (basically as a go-fer for the local event production company). It'll be a good chance to see how the event works on a local level.

I'm doing a site visit tomorrow. It'll involve walking through the space and taking lots of photographs to send to my team in California. It's essentially outside my real job scope, but it'll be a fun change of pace. For the August event, I thought we'd be in a VIP suite overlooking the field during a game, but it sounds like we'll be in their Ha11 of Fam3 room instead. Essentially the stadium has nothing to do with the event, they just have a space the right size for our group. Ah well, good thing I'm indifferent to baseball, huh? Otherwise I'd be disappointed. 

What's strange is that I have to leave my house for work! And do my hair. And makeup. For clothes, I think I'll wear a company branded polo with dressy capri pants and my fun Earthies heels. Aside from not being Texas style, it's too hot for a suit! I think I've forgotten how to be a professional.

Just the FAQs, Ma’am

Since many people I’ve chatted with have similar questions, I thought it would be good to gather my answers in one place.

Where have you been!?
The cable has been out since Thursday and JUST got fixed, so I haven’t had much blog time. Techs came yesterday and figured out there was a power outage at the pole next to the house. Apparently, we’re the only ones on that pole!

Is it hard to be there without Jrex?
Short answer: yes, very.

Longer answer: having various houseguests has helped (three visits so far). I’m looking forward to Mama Nabi and her crew coming by next week on their move from Florida to California.

Here’s the real irony, after giving pep talks to my single friends about how hard marriage is and the things to be grateful for as a single person, I’m having to call them and tell them I was an idiot. It’s hard to be alone. It’s especially hard to be alone in a big house where things keep breaking! (Did I mention that the AC is out AGAIN. Sigh)

Are you lonely?
Oddly, this is different than feeling Jrex’s absence. I’ve had lots of interactions with neighbors and local friends, so I’m not feeling particularly lonely. It feels like our lives here will begin to fill up very quickly once Jrex gets back into town. Our realtor wants to have us over for dinner, I met a family a block away who want to do a potluck Asian dinner, there are neighborhood b-b-ques starting in September, and I got a link to a local elementary schools’ PTA. They set up Mommy play groups and seem very active. On a day to day level, due to the house falling apart around me, I seem to have daily visits from technicians or our contractor.

Plus, I’m frequently on the phone with people from work. So, no, overall I don’t feel lonely.

How’s the heat?
I’ve been cheerfully reporting that dry heat at 110 degrees Fahrenheit feels better than 90’s with humidity, and there’s some truth to that, but it’s still hot. Being in the sun in the middle of the day is definitely oppressive, though walking the dog once the sun is going down is doable. This neighborhood has lots of big, old trees and usually has a breeze, so it’s not terrible. In terms of heat plus third trimester, I don’t feel like I have an extra oven with the baby. I guess I thought I’d be super aware of an extra heat source, but I haven’t felt any differently pregnant than if I wasn’t. All that being said, when the AC isn’t working, my cheerful speech goes up in smoke!

I’m hot, the house is hot, the animals are hot, and I don’t like it! Whine...

How’s the pregnancy/baby/bump?

Seems to be going well. I found an OB that I like and have a follow-up appointment next week. The baby is moving around a lot and while it freaks me out (cause it feels SO weird), it’s also comforting every time I feel him moving. I have mild heartburn, but it goes away with a TUMS. In terms of sleep, I discovered on our cross-country drive that my camping pillow works great for a between-the-legs pillow. Makes turning over much less arduous than with a big pillow, but it gives me the knee separation that I need. All good.

With all the house drama, I’m waiting until Jrex is back in town to really focus on the baby. I’m getting every other room set up, except the nursery. I want to share that experience with him, plus it’s all very overwhelming and I want someone else in on the decision making process.

I’m definitely showing, which is leading to all sorts of interesting conversations. Met a woman who told me about a day care center at a local church. Visited the church this past Sunday. It was a fine church though not a ‘fit’ for me/us in terms of a spiritual home, but it was full of nice people. Happened to sit in the same pew as the woman who runs the daycare. She asked when I was due, I mentioned that I’d heard about the daycare, she told me she runs it and asked when I was hoping to start. I said January, she said, “Whew! We’re really full, but come on by and check it out. We’ll see what we can do for you.”

I’m sure it helped that I looked like a single mom all alone in church!

Do you have a name for the baby yet?
We have a first and middle that we both like, but it’s turned out that the first name is one of the most popular baby boy names of late. Once Jrex gets back, we’ll get a book of names from the library and see if we can find an alternative. If not, we’ll just be trendy...

What do you think of Dallas so far?
I’m actually pleasantly surprised. People told me it would be easy to make friends here, and that feels very true. Culturally our quirky corner of Dallas seems full of interesting people, so I’m enjoying that. The downtown farmer’s market (easy to get to from our house!) has great fruits, veggies, local honey, and grass-fed beef/pork/chickens--so I don’t feel like our foodie streak will be thwarted. Added to that, there’s a crazy, huge grocery store called Central Market that has organic foods, a huge cheese selection, basically all the pretentious foods we’ve discovered in California and many more that I had no idea existed.

I’m looking forward to exploring the cultural life in Dallas, but at the moment, have been overwhelmed with trying to get the house in shape while staying on top of my super-intense work deadlines. I did get a membership to The Modern art museum in Ft. Worth.

While not being a huge museum, it has fun architecture and a great collection; plus it’s an easy 40-minute drive from our house.

Junior will be indoctrinated in art appreciation from a young age.

Best quote so far about Dallas. My friend Art Instructor came down for my birthday (that’s a whole ‘nother story. GREAT weekend.). We went shopping at Central Market and were both completely blown away and overwhelmed.

In the checkout line, she mentioned that she’s visiting from upstate NY and the cashier asked what she thought of Dallas.

“I’ve got to admit that all my stereotypes of Texas have been blown. This is a neat city full of interesting people. Haven’t seen a single cowboy hat so far.”

The cashier laughed, “Just head over to Ft. Worth and you can get all your expectations fulfilled.”

The guy bagging the groceries nodded agreement, “Truer words I have not yet heard today.”

Blame it on my brother

The interview is confirmed for Thursday. It's just a half an hour. If I take PTO, it has to be for half a day, so I'll leave here at 1 pm or so. What do I do for three hours?

Afterwards, I actually am going to meet my brother for dinner. I just told my boss that my brother gave me no notice and is only available Thursday afternoon (lies told thus far in this process: 5) OTRbro lived in SF for a few months, so he can be my guide to the city, which will be fun! I'm looking forward to that part of the evening. Maybe I'll see if Jrex can take the train up so he can join us. Hmm...

Anyway, I need advice. It looks like the two original people will be in this interview with the addition of one new person. I was planning on tightening up my presentation (DWP is an impatient, pull no punches woman). Otherwise, it's the same as what the first two saw before. Is that ok? Do I need to have anything new? I'm guessing this round is more to test the personality fit?

I just want this OVER with either way. (well, that's kind of a lie. I want it over in my favor). I am praying for clarity -- that we would just know if this is the right fit for all of us. In the meantime, I've been trying to avoid becoming the point person for an upcoming project so that if I do leave, I'm not going to leave this company out to dry. My current boss is getting confused. This morning the Lord convicted me that I need to continue to serve him until the end and not doing what he asks is just adding to his stress. Sigh. I don't like limbo.

I'm hoping they decide quickly one way or the other after Thursday.

A study in contrasts

"Come play in my campground. You need to find a sleeping bag." She points to a towel on the floor, "There's one!" I grab it and a pillow from the couch and together we huddle under the sheet that drapes from the piano over the bench.

Nights in the hospital, days of coming back to 'rest' and play with Jrex's niece. As hard as it must have been on Asian niece to be around all the chaos and swirling emotions. It was wonderful for the rest of us to have a tangible reminder that life goes on no matter what.

Below are photos to sum up the contrasting experiences.

We had to ask the nurses to turn the bottle so Mom's pastor wouldn't see the label.

I felt a bit selfish leaving Jrex and his Mom with Dad in the hospital as I jaunted over to Manhattan. No regrets though! It was wonderful to wander the city and check out a fashion show. I was wrong, it wasn't part of the official fashion week in Bryant Park. Just a posh show in a photo studio. But, hey, the editor of French Vogue was there!



I sat on the floor with Asian niece in my lap as all the ridiculously tall/skinny girls teetered past on their six-inch heels. Her rapt eyes followed every outfit as I said, "Aren't the outfits beautiful?" To which she replied, "Yeah. My brother made them ALL."

I definitely had shoe lust...

Though Asian niece's tulle skirt stole the show...

Moonlighting

My coworker, Dancer is off to London. She started a blog. In order to leave comments without leading people to this blog, I started an 'official' non-anyonymous blog. The intent for that one is to write about art and design. Have something I can link to from my website. Ya know, be professional like. Or something. (The address is my name+71.blogspot.com)

This is what I posted there today:

This past weekend we put our membership to good use and wandered the museum with a couple friends. I think they enjoyed the café and the view from the tower more than the exhibits, but it was still fun to go.

Maya Lin is in the midst of an installation for an upcoming exhibit. Each time I've visited the Vietnam Memorial, I've been in awe of her genius. Her trust for simple, powerful forms and materials is amazing, especially considering she was in grad school when she designed it. For her installation, she's using 2x4's of different heights to create a hill with surrounding undulations. The repetition remains organic since the differences in height vary as board jumps to next board. I can't wait to go back and see a bunch of her stuff.



One of my favorite pieces at the museum is this one, Cornelia Parker's Anti-Mass.
You walk into a new gallery and turn left, looming at the end of the room is this shadow. Pieces of burnt wood dangle from the ceiling creating a new shape, their ragged edges somehow shaped into the clean lines of a cube. The tension of air, charcoal, wire, contrast of shapes all create a powerful silence. You walk closer, examine the remnants, then wander to the wall to read the label.

Cornelia Parker, Anti-Mass. The wood is from a Black Southern Baptist church that was torched by arsonists. From that devastation, Parker has given shape to the redemption of suffering. I think of that old black phrase, "and still we rise". Knocked down, battered, held under, "And Still We Rise."

Makes me want a house so I can find objects to reclaim and hang from the ceiling. I miss having a house...but that's a whole 'nother post.

Whiplash

Yesterday we continued our adventure birthday tradition with Lovey and Dovey. Thus far we’ve done horseback riding/Monterray Bay cruise; bike ride/picnic in the Presidio; and rock climbing. Yesterday was Lovey’s call. Her latest dream adventure? Flying Trapeze Lessons.

They picked us up in the morning and we headed north to the city to Circus School. Once we all were changed, warmed up and supplied with safety belts, the instructor asked for a volunteer. Everyone shuffled their feet; I didn’t feel like wasting time, so I raised my hand. I had NO idea that meant I’d be first The Rest of The Lesson. First up the 25 foot ladder. First to step around the support truss and stand on the narrow board with my heart pounding in fear. First to get strapped into my harness. First to lean out hips first and grab the bar. First to crouch on “Ready” and drop on “Hup”. First to follow the directions:
“Legs up!”
“Hands off!”
“Look at the far wall!”
“Hands up!”
“Legs down!” and finally
“Hup” to drop into the net.

I loved it. I had a sugar crash after two rounds and wasn’t able to complete the catch with the pro at the end of the lesson. Lovey did it though! Happy Birthday to her.

For lunch we took them to the ‘best Chinese food in San Francisco’: San Tung at 11th and Irvine. After two servings of the incredibly addictive ‘dry fried Chicken Wings’, we exploited our membership at the de Young museum and all went in for free. After touring the galleries, we grabbed drinks at the café and sat out in the sculpture garden. While sipping our hot drinks and flavored waters, we heard a roar of jet engines and saw the Blue Angels swoop through as part of Fleet Week.

Overall if we’d stopped there, it would have been a beautiful, wonderful day. But, we didn’t.

They dropped us off at home and an hour later, Jrex and I went to the movies.

I’d heard about a movie and then actually got free tickets from someone at work. We knew it would be disturbing, but we had NO idea. The movie? Call + Response: “The first feature rockumentary to expose the world’s 27 million most terrifying secrets”. A local Oakland-based musician started to find out about the modern slave industry. The more he investigated, the more he wanted to do something about it. As he spoke with other musicians, they wanted to join him. In the end, the movie segues from black and white segments with songs responding to slavery back into color interviews with survivors and advocates. Julia Ormand, Ashley Judd, Madeline Albright, Moby, Switchfoot, Emmanual Jal. Other musicians I’ve never heard of and stories I can never forget.

The amazing thing was that the movie managed to convey the enormity of the issue without leaving one paralyzed in despair. By the end of the movie all I could do was pray, “Lord, show me what to do and I’ll do it.” Jrex was furious at the injustice, I was crying and heartbroken.

They took hidden cameras into brothels. To hear a white man saying, “You give ‘yum yum’?” (oral sex) “What about ‘bom bom’?” (intercourse) and to see a seven-year old girl smile and nod eagerly is one of the most horrifying echoes I carry from the movie. One of the musicians rapped a piece called “War Child” about his experience being abducted into an African child soldier war. Apparently right now there are more slaves worldwide than were exported from Africa in 400 years of the slave trade. Back then, a group of 12 abolitionists met in England and determined to end the British slave trade in their lifetime. They succeeded. “Lord, show me what to do and I’ll do it.”

I’m sure my prayer for action will have far reaching consequences, but in the short term we have the following action list:

1. Give up chocolate (unless it’s guaranteed free-trade). 80 percent of world chocolate is a result of slave labor. No more chocolate chip ice cream or brownies or hot chocolate. Trade As One does carry free trade versions of much of that, so it won’t be total withdrawal, just nothing in a café or restaurant.
2. For Jrex, he’ll be emailing Sweet Marias (his coffee bean supplier) to find out which of their beans they know are slave free.
3. We’re going to sponsor additional Compassion girls. With education and options, the need to sell one’s daughter is diminished. I want to find out if they have any kids who have been rescued and specifically sponsor them.
4. Look for volunteer options here in the Bay area. There are numerous sex and labour slaves in this area.
5. Renewed commitment to buy clothes from resale stores. Cheap new clothes are often supplied by labor slaves.

If you want more ideas, click here.

My overall sense from the Lord was to love his broken children. That’s been my hearts cry for much of my life. I just don’t know how or when. It’s not something I can inflict on my husband in terms of what we do with our house. But it’s something I may be able to do as a volunteer. At the moment, I’m ready for him to get a job so I can be Lady Bountiful and volunteer time to make a difference in the world. Who knows what life has in store, but at the moment, we have to do what we can do here and now.

The movie was made with no financial backing and right now is only on a limited release. Check out the locations. If it’s near you, I highly recommend it. Disturbing? Undoubtedly. Worth seeing? Definitely.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Last year, my friend Lovey and I started an adventure birthday tradition. In terms of love languages, we both value quality activities. Both of our spouses enjoy quality time, but for Jrex, that can look like making a nice dinner and talking at home. For Lovey and me, it involves leaving the house.

Last year she arranged a day that included a horseback ride (the first one ever for Jrex and Lovey’s husband Dovey), lunch in Saratoga and a cruise around Monterey Bay. Then for her birthday, I packed a gourmet picnic (three cheeses, heirloom tomatoes, crackers, pancetta, wine). We drove up to San Francisco, rented bikes and rode over to the beach near the Presidio. With the setting sun lighting up the Golden Gate bridge, we feasted, laughed and then booked it back to the bike rental shop before nightfall.

This year, I took it to a whole different level. As I mentioned before, after our Yosemite trip, I realized I miss climbing. I’ve been scrounging up partners from Craigs List and from church, but I really wanted the option of my husband as a climbing companion. He doesn’t like climbing in the gym and we’ve speculated it might be better for him outside. For my birthday, I told him I wanted to climb with him. We considered which of our friends might join us and I thought we might be able to persuade Lovey and Dovey (they made up the names themselves!).

I asked if she thought they’d be up for it. She gave me a maybe, so I researched hiring a guide; it turned out to be expensive. I emailed and told her the price and said we could go kayaking in the Bay instead, if that sounded better. After careful consideration and conversations about Dovey’s fear of death by climbing, they said yes.

We went out this morning.

Our guide seemed very stern and impatient at the beginning. As we picked out shoes, he kept glancing at his watch. Once up at Cathedral Rock, he took us through belay basics and safety checks to make sure we were all up to speed. He’d hung up one rope and said he’d do another, depending how we did on the first one.


As we started climbing, cheering and harassing each other, the guide warmed up and began to laugh with us. Turns out he has a masters in counseling and was a dean at a local community college, but took a year off to go for it as a climber and now as a guide.

Without going into great detail, let’s just say that the day involved the following quotes:

“Hmm…my pants just split! Well, I’m wearing black underwear, enjoy.”
(Lovey let me borrow her spare pants)

“Nice butt mantle!”
(Dovey established a new signature move)

“Um…there are a lot of spidery things here! I don’t think I like going first . . . Hey, there’s a rock over my head, what do I do now?”
(Lovey managed to scramble up the chimney like a pro)

“Where’s the triumph?!”
“I have to compose myself first.”
[three second pause. Arm fling. Click!]
(Lovey and Dovey showed us a whole different level of adventure photography)

“I like outdoor climbing ten times better than the gym. It’s great to have more than one way to get to the top.”
(OTRgirl gains a potential climbing husband!)

“We’re going to lunch at a biker bar? I was not properly informed of the details of this trip!” (we all enjoyed Alice’s restaurant, where, in addition to many bikers, there were also horseback riders and a Tesla driver)



All in all, especially if Jrex and I start going outside, one of my best birthdays yet! (And I still have a week to go before my real birthday. I love spreading out the fun!)

Emerging

I had a great weekend.

I did stay home on Friday. Jrex ended up trapped in lab until 11 pm or so, which was perfect for my need to have a day of nothingness. I stayed in bed reading most of the morning then migrated a great distance and lay around on the couch for a while. 

After so many changes of scenery, I was ready for errands on Saturday. Then, after dinner, we went to see Ironman. We are acknowledged geeks (sci-fi, fantasy, comics--all good), and we loved it. By Sunday, I was emerging from the cocoon and ready for outside people.

Church in the morning was really good. For the first time, Mother's Day wasn't painful at all. Not only is that because I'm at peace with my lack of a live Mom or of being a Mom, but it was cause of how Highway handled it. Rather than passing out flowers, they announced that the money they would have spent on flowers for all the moms in church was being donated to New Creation Home. It's a residential home for teen Moms where they are taught financial planning, job skills, anger management, parenting, etc. I loved that they were honoring Moms, but doing it in a practical, non-exclusionary way.

After church, Smart Girl picked me up and we took a picnic to the beach. Thirty minutes up and over the mountains, ten minutes in traffic, and we were at a free beach near Half-Moon Bay. Apparently it's a beach that is used for horse tours. Watch your step and pretend you like the smell! After lunch, we tried in vain to launch a kite. The photo of Smart Girl shows the highest we ever got the kite. As we walked down the beach trying to coax it aloft, I felt like I was walking a little neon dog. Jump! Jump! Alas, no go.

Saturday night, Jrex and I had a conversation about the island of plastic floating in the Pacific. When Smart Girl proposed a picnic at the beach, I knew I'd end up having to clean up plastic. Sure enough, someone had partied two-hundred feet behind where we sat. They'd even been thoughtful enough to leave the industrial strength garbage bag in which they'd toted drinks. Smart Girl was a little bewildered at my need to clean the beach, "Aren't there people who are paid to do that?" I shrugged, "Probably, but I see it and I need to respond."

Saturday evening was Supper Club. The interactions at Supper Club have gone up a notch. Not because of anything the women have changed, but our husbands are in a book club together. Let's just say, they call it a book club. They even read books to prep for it. However, those books are just a jumping off point for talking and sampling food and brew. Depending which of them you ask, I've also heard it called Drink Club or the Man Club. Last night, Hedonistic Outdoorsman mentioned how much he wants to grow rhodedendrons, Civil Engineer snorted, "I think you might be out of the man club now..." I laughed, "But, you can get back in if you go boar hunting!" The other wives exclaimed, "What?!" Inside my head, I winced, oops, maybe only the boys were supposed to know about that. Jrex tells me about the club discussions, but I don't think the other husbands discuss it much with their wives. . . Turns out Civil Engineer sent out an email asking the Man Club if anyone had an interest in boar hunting. Jrex doesn't, but was amused by the entire concept.

Later in the conversation, Only Child mentioned how happy she was that her husband, Hedonistic Outdoorsman, was learning sound board. She does some singer/songwriter stuff and has always been attracted to drummers or sound men. I nodded and mentioned, "I've always had a thing for bass players. Jazz, rock, folk, I like the bass." Only Child wrinkled her nose in confusion, "But the bass players are usually the geeks in the band." Jrex and I had just had a conversation the night before about how geeks are the overlooked dating treasure: under-appreciated and full of love to give. I smiled at Only Child and silently swung my hand in Jrex's direction--case in point. Everyone else at the table burst into laughter. Only Child looked confused, "Does Jrex play the bass?" I laughed and said, "No, but clearly, I like geeks!"

Misconceptions

On Saturday we took Mom and Dad K up to San Francisco. We wandered Golden Gate park (Japanese tea garden, coffee at the De Young museum and then the Conservatory of Flowers). Then Mom wanted to see San Francisco, so we drove downtown and swung over to Chinatown. Being from New York city, they were underwhelmed by San Fran. It's a cool town, but it doesn't really have a big city feel. Compared to New York or Chicago, San Francisco is squat and fairly small. The per capita eclectic ratio is probably higher than in the other cities, but I didn't want to try to explain the Folsom street fest through the language barrier (it's a celebration of leather/S&M culture).

For dinner we went back to Jrex's cousin's restaurant at 19th and Balboa. Once again there was a tour bus parked in front. Last time, Jrex told me his cousin had been a bus driver when he first arrived in the USA. In my mind, that conjured an image of a city bus. I felt bad for the long, hard climb his cousin must have had. During dinner Saturday, I asked about the tour bus.

"Do you get tours often?"

"Every night." I assumed I'd misunderstood him, then he continued, "In the summer, we have 600 a week."

"What?! How do you do it?"

"Same menu every time. They tour, they don't want to take long, so in out 30 minutes. Four lunch and six night on busy day."

I was incredulous, "Do other Korean restaurants have tour buses?"

He shook his head, "Only me. I guide tours fourteen years. How you say? Many 'brothers' at tour companies now?"

The image of the poor, toiling, bus-driving immigrant was blown away.

Silence can feel like a warm cozy blanket

On Saturday, I joined 18 other people from my church for a silent retreat. It was great to have some time alone with the Lord to reflect on where I've been and where he wants me to be. I'm not ready to talk about the details since I find that if I talk about stuff I'm supposed to act on, I end up just talking and not doing. So, I'm going to try to do first and talk later.

If a picture is worth a thousand words though, maybe you can figure out my weekend from the following pictures (some of them were just cause things were pretty, some are significant.)

Where I've been of late

It’s been a perfect storm for non-blogging. My new job is high-intensity with very low privacy. My project manager can watch what I’m doing from her desk. The train only stops at the San Carlos station once an hour, so I have no wiggle room to linger and read a little bit o blog before riding off to catch my train. In the mornings I’m trying to crank out some work before that same project manager arrives with her questions, whines and rants. Obviously, on the good side, it keeps me honest, but sheesh, I miss the occasional break to read about ya’lls lives.

The other factor has been that we’ve had a LOT of socializing this summer. No time to read blogs while driving two hours north to a wedding reception on the beach in Marin County.

Last night we grabbed dinner with a buddy of mine from grad school. He’s Indian and used to REALLY late hours. We met him at 8:45 pm, drove 20 minutes south into Seoul/Dehli and wound up at a hole-in-the-wall Pakistani restaurant. Great food, the best tandoori chicken I’ve ever had, but as my friend said, “It’s a very third-world atmosphere”. It was. We had to ask for tea at least six times before they brought us two cups (for the three of us), he had to ask for what he ordered twice. There was a crying baby, lots of loud chatter and not a single white person in the room. I loved it.

It turns out he’s really lonely. Most of his co-workers are older or married and none of them drink. He’s really excited to reconnect and has offered to have us join him and a manager from his job for flights around the Bay area. Apparently it’s only $25/person since the guy is part of a flying club. Hmm…fly down to Monteray for lunch? OK! Lake Tahoe for an afternoon boat ride? I’ll fit it in. The down side is, of course, it definitely won’t help my blogging.

Thanks for the memories!

Saturday was my birthday. Actually, my birthday started a week early with the Harry Potter book (which I did enjoy. It's nice to finally have a happy ending to one of those books!). Then on Saturday one of my close friends here planned a whole day full of fun events in my honor. She was one of my close friends in Baltimore who moved out here a couple months after we did in order to get married to a California guy. I did their wedding invitations, we go walking every other weekend and now she gave me a fantastic day.

We met them at 10 am and drove to a local stable for a horseriding expedition. It was the first time Jrex ever rode a horse and the first time I had since girl scout camp as a little girl. The good news was that Jrex came away considering riding lessons and a potential back-country horseback tour. I would LOVE to do something like that.

After that we had lunch in Saratoga at a cute little restaurant. The wallpaper, the decor and the bathrooms all felt like visiting your old-fashioned grandmother's house, but the food was great. Then we blitzed down to Santa Cruz for a boat tour of the bay.






--------------

To finish off the lovely day, my amazing husband cooked us all a gourmet feast with pancetta pasta in a homemade sauce, organic greens for a salad and two little berry pies for dessert (he bought those, don't worry).

I've had wonderful birthdays before; this was the first time I had a complete birthday week!

La Photographs

Since they don't directly correspond to the narrative of the previous post, here are some gratuitous photos:

La Bridge. Mom K and I trotted out with the dog so she could stand on the bridge. We didn't make it to stand over the water, but it was still impressive. As was the fact that La Mutt was relatively well-behaved. Who knew she could heel?

La Mutt. Of course we brought her along! She stayed in the car for the winery and for dinner, but mostly had a great day.

In the morning as Jrex and I packed the car, Mom K left the apartment door open. As I steped onto the stair to get another load, a collarless Muttolah ran down the stairs toward me. Instead of turning right to make her escape, she bolted to the left and jumped into the car. Normally she sits in the back seat so that's where she jumped. Since we had two passengers, I'd put her bed in the Outback's rear. I went to lift her out to put her in back and she lept into the front seat. As I went toward the front door, she scrambled into the back seat. What was Jrex doing this whole time? Laughing.

I've never seen such a look of doggie relief as when I finally grabbed her and put her in the back instead of banishing her.

La Photographer. When we arrived at the top of Mt. Tam, a European biker was trying to photograph a butterfly. Dad K instantly began a competition, snapping pictures then turning to check if the Euro biker noticed him snapping pictures... I don't think either of them succeeded and I swear that butterfly was teasing them both.

La View. A Mom and her boy. A man and his dog. A wife with a good view.

Because I'm sick, that's why...

…I’m in the bedroom blogging while my in-laws are here. No really, I have a cold and have been napping most of the afternoon.

I have some Kansas photos I’ve meant to post all week, but haven’t had time (plus they’re on my work computer…). We’ve had something every night and then the in-laws arrived Friday night.

Yesterday we took them to Sonoma for Mom K’s “birthday day”. We didn’t buy her a gift, so we gave her a day instead. We crossed Golden Gate (something she’s always wanted to do), climbed Mt. Tam to get a view of the bay, then drove to Sonoma for wine tastings and dinner.

One of my MIL’s most endearing characteristics is that she’s a lush. She never drinks on her own, but if there’s alcohol to be had, she never says no. We went to the Chateau St. Jean north of town and checked out their reserve tasting (special wines, higher tasting fee). On the way out I said,

“Well, do you want to try their ordinary wines as well?”

No polite Korean protest, no ‘whatever you want’, instead she chirped, “OK! Why not?”

Dad K and I left it up to Jrex and Mom to continue the drinking as we’d had enough. After sampling five reserve wines, Mom tried all ten ordinary wines as well. She’s only five feet tall and was weaving just slightly on the way to the car. Did that stop us from getting a bottle of wine for dinner? Did you read the previous paragraph?

Not an ordinary offer

The one request made by our visiting friend, Ms. P was to see the redwoods while she was here. Like a fool, the morning we were going to go, I sampled the early morning swim team practice.

Not only was I tired on the hike, but due to an excessive amount of pool water in my stomach (how DO you do backstroke without swallowing water?), I was also carsick most of the drive there. The problem is the lack of a direct, straight, smooth road into Big Basin Redwoods Park. When we took the In-laws down there, Mom K was praying and moaning the whole way down as she glimpsed her impending doom at each oncoming curve. This time, I was just whining and moaning. I kept asking Jrex to drive like an old man.

This grove of redwoods is 45 minutes south of where we live. When we were with the in-laws, we only saw the tourist loop. This time we did a nice four-mile loop to a waterfall and back.


Along the way there were times when the trail became hard to see. As we glanced around and speculated about getting lost, Ms. P made one of the kindest, most generous offers ever made by a friend,

“If we get lost, you can eat me first.”