so i get into work this morning tired out of my mind. we're talking jaw-cracking-uber-yawn tired here, not your regular garden variety tired. not only was my truly lovely and wonderful niece, rachel, in town and staying with us since last wednesday, but i came down with a really bad cold the same day. thus, i was dragging my all-i-want-to-do-is-sleep-and-blow-my-nose-ass all around the bay area to go and do cool things. can't let a cold, even a nasty one, get in the way of helping rachel see some of the local wonders.
so i come into work bleary eyed and tired, definitely in a "we really need to hit the lottery because i am so over all this working shit" frame of mind, when i notice it. there's a bag of biscotti on my desk that was definitely not there on wednesday. i'm standing there wondering how it got there, and who did the getting, when i read the tag and see that it's from enrico biscotti, which as all pittsburghers know is some of the best biscotti in the world. now how the heck did that get there? after a moment or two (or three or four - i was tired!) comprehension dawned as i realized my boss, bill, got it for me. he was in pittsburgh for a conference last week, so i did what any self-respecting pittsburgher would do: i gave him a list of things to see and do. he didn't have time to do most of what was on the list but he managed to go to enrico biscotti and bring a bag of it back for me. i know i'm easy to please, but it was such a lovely suprise and totally made my day! bill, you rock! :)
since i started my new job i have often felt that i've stumbled into an alternate universe so pleasant and so humane, especially when compared to another work experience i won't mention in detail, that it must be a dream. i mean, it feels like there can be no other explanation. i've decided, for as long as it lasts, that instead of pinching myself to see if it's real, i'm going to make a cup of tea and munch on some biscotti, and think about what i'm going to do and see next time i'm home.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
crab-asses of the world, unite!
warning!!!! you are about to enter a verified crab-ass zone! beware!
nothing like a little sleep deprivation to improve my mood - ha ha ha....
seriously though, folks, i am one tired little chicky and it's making me so crabby it is unbelievable. i owe it mostly (though not entirely) to my attendance this past weekend at the bioneers conference. it was a great experience but one that didn't allow me to sleep in at all, thus serving as an eye opener about how much i depend on those lazy weekend snoozes with wake up times of 10 a.m. at the extreme earliest. that said, the conference was really cool. it would have been cooler if my little brother had been able to attend as planned, but apparently playing flag football and ping-pong can be pretty hazardous to one's health; he was sidelined with injuries from both (and he was pooped - he works too hard and much.)
so while the conference was good, it was the second day before i realized that my number one reason for going was to get to hang out with him, as i don't get to enough, and maybe that was why i wasn't experiencing a paradigm-shifting event like he and my sister, who also went, have as a result of attendance in years past. in any event, not all was lost as my sister and her husband, not to mention my niece and her tutor, were there. the plenary sessions were great and i was introduced to so many interesting people and their work, like jay harman, founder of pax scientific, specializing in bio mimicry design - very cool stuff; van jones from the ella baker center, which is working with disadvantaged youth in west oakland, california, training them for green collar jobs; eve ensler, playwright of the vagina monologues fame; and the amazing husband and wife team ka hsaw wa and katie redford, founders of earth rights international, the organization that successfully established the ability to sue corporations, in this particular case unocal, in u.s. federal court to hold them responsible for human rights abuses committed as a result of their business dealings. again, in this case, during construction of their oil pipeline in burma. unocal settled once they went all the way to the supreme court trying to get the case thrown out, so it's the same difference, and they established that it could be done, not with standing katie's many law professors telling her it not only couldn't be done, but was unconstitutional. they are now suing shell for the heinous human rights abuses being committed in nigeria, including the murder of activist ken saro wiwa. and so, so many more that i am not going to write about here or it's all i'd do. so many inspiring people and their work... it makes me feel like i really ought to be doing more and that my accomplishments in life are meager indeed. i know that's not the intent of conference, but still... i really need to do more. but first i need to get rid of the two-ish hour commute every day (round trip, i'm not that crazy), which is sucking my will to live right out of my body.
not much else new. got some new yarn and am expecting more to do some felting projects! when i'll have the time to do so, well, that's another matter for another day. at least i have the raw materials. was reading how my dear friend lb's blog about the entire room she is devoting to her knitting projects (and possibly others) and i just about had to wipe the drool off my keyboard. i can only dream of such spacious accommodations at the moment.
anyhoo, that's it for me just now. send all kind of love to the world and all of her inhabitants, people. if ever a planet needed it, she's it.
nothing like a little sleep deprivation to improve my mood - ha ha ha....
seriously though, folks, i am one tired little chicky and it's making me so crabby it is unbelievable. i owe it mostly (though not entirely) to my attendance this past weekend at the bioneers conference. it was a great experience but one that didn't allow me to sleep in at all, thus serving as an eye opener about how much i depend on those lazy weekend snoozes with wake up times of 10 a.m. at the extreme earliest. that said, the conference was really cool. it would have been cooler if my little brother had been able to attend as planned, but apparently playing flag football and ping-pong can be pretty hazardous to one's health; he was sidelined with injuries from both (and he was pooped - he works too hard and much.)
so while the conference was good, it was the second day before i realized that my number one reason for going was to get to hang out with him, as i don't get to enough, and maybe that was why i wasn't experiencing a paradigm-shifting event like he and my sister, who also went, have as a result of attendance in years past. in any event, not all was lost as my sister and her husband, not to mention my niece and her tutor, were there. the plenary sessions were great and i was introduced to so many interesting people and their work, like jay harman, founder of pax scientific, specializing in bio mimicry design - very cool stuff; van jones from the ella baker center, which is working with disadvantaged youth in west oakland, california, training them for green collar jobs; eve ensler, playwright of the vagina monologues fame; and the amazing husband and wife team ka hsaw wa and katie redford, founders of earth rights international, the organization that successfully established the ability to sue corporations, in this particular case unocal, in u.s. federal court to hold them responsible for human rights abuses committed as a result of their business dealings. again, in this case, during construction of their oil pipeline in burma. unocal settled once they went all the way to the supreme court trying to get the case thrown out, so it's the same difference, and they established that it could be done, not with standing katie's many law professors telling her it not only couldn't be done, but was unconstitutional. they are now suing shell for the heinous human rights abuses being committed in nigeria, including the murder of activist ken saro wiwa. and so, so many more that i am not going to write about here or it's all i'd do. so many inspiring people and their work... it makes me feel like i really ought to be doing more and that my accomplishments in life are meager indeed. i know that's not the intent of conference, but still... i really need to do more. but first i need to get rid of the two-ish hour commute every day (round trip, i'm not that crazy), which is sucking my will to live right out of my body.
not much else new. got some new yarn and am expecting more to do some felting projects! when i'll have the time to do so, well, that's another matter for another day. at least i have the raw materials. was reading how my dear friend lb's blog about the entire room she is devoting to her knitting projects (and possibly others) and i just about had to wipe the drool off my keyboard. i can only dream of such spacious accommodations at the moment.
anyhoo, that's it for me just now. send all kind of love to the world and all of her inhabitants, people. if ever a planet needed it, she's it.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
craftiness frustration
sorry to be m.i.a., folks, but i have been busy, and mostly with work, of all things! i still love the job, though, i am happy to report.
so... i have been re-inspired to take up making candles again, after the beautiful story in the november 2007 issue of martha stewart living, Candles Take Shape for the Holidays. however, i do have some frustrations... namely, the buying guide tells you where to buy most of the products needed to make the items in the article, like the turkey molds and the wax, etc. (and boy did i ever do some buying), but not where one can buy the molds for the pumpkins! all of the pumpkin molds i've found so far by googling are lame... nothing so beautiful and charming as those pictured in my idol's publication, especially the larger ones. shame on them, really! i've decided i'll have to write the crafts editor, and a good old-fashioned letter, too, since it's proving impossible to find her email address.
i am still working on the same sweater i've been working on for months. i carry my knitting with me but rarely have the time to do it - frustrating! i also have yet to receive my order for this cute little backpack from patternworks. i've changed the color scheme a bit and replaced black for the brown, and a pretty blue for the orange; i'm not really a brown and orange kind of girl. the missing order is frustrating not because i'll be able to start it any time soon, but they're usually so on it. i don't know, maybe it got lost in the mail, which is one of the disadvantages of them using regular mail: no tracking numbers. they said if i didn't get it by yesterday they'd re-send my order, so i hope they have because it still hasn't arrived. :_(
in other news... well, that will have to wait, but i promise i won't be so long in getting back to you. :)
so... i have been re-inspired to take up making candles again, after the beautiful story in the november 2007 issue of martha stewart living, Candles Take Shape for the Holidays. however, i do have some frustrations... namely, the buying guide tells you where to buy most of the products needed to make the items in the article, like the turkey molds and the wax, etc. (and boy did i ever do some buying), but not where one can buy the molds for the pumpkins! all of the pumpkin molds i've found so far by googling are lame... nothing so beautiful and charming as those pictured in my idol's publication, especially the larger ones. shame on them, really! i've decided i'll have to write the crafts editor, and a good old-fashioned letter, too, since it's proving impossible to find her email address.
i am still working on the same sweater i've been working on for months. i carry my knitting with me but rarely have the time to do it - frustrating! i also have yet to receive my order for this cute little backpack from patternworks. i've changed the color scheme a bit and replaced black for the brown, and a pretty blue for the orange; i'm not really a brown and orange kind of girl. the missing order is frustrating not because i'll be able to start it any time soon, but they're usually so on it. i don't know, maybe it got lost in the mail, which is one of the disadvantages of them using regular mail: no tracking numbers. they said if i didn't get it by yesterday they'd re-send my order, so i hope they have because it still hasn't arrived. :_(
in other news... well, that will have to wait, but i promise i won't be so long in getting back to you. :)
Saturday, October 6, 2007
california dreaming...
i love magazines... martha stewart living (and martha stewart weddings when i was smoking the wedding crack pipe), cook's illustrated, vanity fair, national geographic, sunset, dwell... all full of cool stuff i love, and yes, we have subscriptions to all of these but two - can you guess which ones? i'll give you a freebie: sunset, which brings me to california dreaming. in the latest issue they have their annual sunset idea house, and this year's house, in lake tahoe, is a doozy. wood everywhere, concrete walls that are to die for (really, they are), slate floors, wood floors, outdoor shower in the master suite, rammed earth walls surrounding the most gorgeous patio (complete with sunken fire pit), a mud room, and a beyootiful kitchen with counter space that doesn't quit, although i'd need to see the chandelier in person - it wasn't speaking to my soul in the picture. basically just the most gorgeous, multi-million dollar home i've seen in a while, but it's from sunset magazine - of course it's gorgeous! i'm still in love with and dream of building a sunset breeze house some day, the house that totally changed my preconceptions of what a pre-fab house can be and made me think, yes, i could live in a modern design house.
in a nut shell, this latest issue of sunset has set off a huge pang of wanting to be so rich we could build such a gorgeous house in any gorgeous location of our choosing, when not shopping in paris, and such pangs are just so unproductive. for me, anyway. but then again, maybe not, if our little plan works out. one of the more interesting aspects of my new job at santa clara university is the resident ministry program. the basic idea is that you live for free in one of the residences in a one bedroom apartment and get paid a stipend, and put in 10 - 15 hours a week as the resident minister - helping students with spiritual development and engaging in the tradition of jesuit theology, which is hard core on social justice and human rights, so just up my alley. that appeals to me, and it also made me realize in a much deeper way that while i was living in pittsburgh, for all of its many wonderful traits, it was a very spiritually impoverished time for me. very. i couldn't hack going to mass there because it was so conservative so in terms of spiritual practice it was all on a personal level and i really missed the community participation. back in california i've found a parish i like, have met many progressive people there... i mean, let's face it: it's easy to be catholic in northern california, with it's progressive social norms. the resident ministry program just captured my imagination, though, and has rekindled an interest in ministry that i had pretty much written off. maybe i'll go in a direction of campus ministry, maybe not, but i'm going to try to get hired as a resident minister. there could be some snags for me, not quite sure just yet, but by hook or by crook i will give it my best shot (so i am requesting all positive vibes and prayers, please, for as long as it takes.) it'd be a drag to not be able to unpack our stuff, though we would most likely move it from its present location, or at least pull it all out and dig through it so we can have our kitchen stuff and other things that i, quite frankly, don't feel like doing without for years on end. one year, even eighteen months i can handle, but much more than that and we might as well just sell it all and be done with it. and of course in addition to all of the spiritual and professionally appealing aspects of the work we could so save mad cash if we didn't have to pay those progressive, social norms northern california rental prices. heck, we might be able to buy an exorbitantly overpriced house of our own after a few years!
so maybe the sunset idea house isn't such a bad thing after all, in terms of motivation for longer term goals. it's open to the public weekends thru october 28th, and i'd like to go see it. oh, and that brings me to another great side bennie of the resident ministry program: a five minute walking commute. our living situation here in santa cruz is amazing and we are so lucky, and grateful for it, but the commute is a bummer. i can do it for a year, but even if i don't get into the resident ministry program we have to move to south bay sooner rather than later because two hours of my day driving to work is too much. the worst part about it is that i don't want to go anywhere on the weekends if i have to spend more than twenty minutes in the car. i'd like to go see the house, but shit! a five hour drive up to tahoe is long as it is; after a week of our commute it starts to feel punitive. that's the basic problem with santa cruz, which i've actually come to quite like: it's just that bit too far away so that going anywhere involves way too much schleping oneself way too far. it takes an hour and a half to get to san francisco or the east bay on a good traffic day, so we just don't do it much. i mean, it's 45 minutes w/ good traffic to lucy's in san jose. santa cruz would be perfect if it could just be in los gatos.
ah well... obviously the universe didn't have my needs in mind when forming this beautiful world of ours. selfish s.o.b.. the universe, not having my needs paramount while creating itself! and perverse as all get out, too, but that's a post for another day.
in a nut shell, this latest issue of sunset has set off a huge pang of wanting to be so rich we could build such a gorgeous house in any gorgeous location of our choosing, when not shopping in paris, and such pangs are just so unproductive. for me, anyway. but then again, maybe not, if our little plan works out. one of the more interesting aspects of my new job at santa clara university is the resident ministry program. the basic idea is that you live for free in one of the residences in a one bedroom apartment and get paid a stipend, and put in 10 - 15 hours a week as the resident minister - helping students with spiritual development and engaging in the tradition of jesuit theology, which is hard core on social justice and human rights, so just up my alley. that appeals to me, and it also made me realize in a much deeper way that while i was living in pittsburgh, for all of its many wonderful traits, it was a very spiritually impoverished time for me. very. i couldn't hack going to mass there because it was so conservative so in terms of spiritual practice it was all on a personal level and i really missed the community participation. back in california i've found a parish i like, have met many progressive people there... i mean, let's face it: it's easy to be catholic in northern california, with it's progressive social norms. the resident ministry program just captured my imagination, though, and has rekindled an interest in ministry that i had pretty much written off. maybe i'll go in a direction of campus ministry, maybe not, but i'm going to try to get hired as a resident minister. there could be some snags for me, not quite sure just yet, but by hook or by crook i will give it my best shot (so i am requesting all positive vibes and prayers, please, for as long as it takes.) it'd be a drag to not be able to unpack our stuff, though we would most likely move it from its present location, or at least pull it all out and dig through it so we can have our kitchen stuff and other things that i, quite frankly, don't feel like doing without for years on end. one year, even eighteen months i can handle, but much more than that and we might as well just sell it all and be done with it. and of course in addition to all of the spiritual and professionally appealing aspects of the work we could so save mad cash if we didn't have to pay those progressive, social norms northern california rental prices. heck, we might be able to buy an exorbitantly overpriced house of our own after a few years!
so maybe the sunset idea house isn't such a bad thing after all, in terms of motivation for longer term goals. it's open to the public weekends thru october 28th, and i'd like to go see it. oh, and that brings me to another great side bennie of the resident ministry program: a five minute walking commute. our living situation here in santa cruz is amazing and we are so lucky, and grateful for it, but the commute is a bummer. i can do it for a year, but even if i don't get into the resident ministry program we have to move to south bay sooner rather than later because two hours of my day driving to work is too much. the worst part about it is that i don't want to go anywhere on the weekends if i have to spend more than twenty minutes in the car. i'd like to go see the house, but shit! a five hour drive up to tahoe is long as it is; after a week of our commute it starts to feel punitive. that's the basic problem with santa cruz, which i've actually come to quite like: it's just that bit too far away so that going anywhere involves way too much schleping oneself way too far. it takes an hour and a half to get to san francisco or the east bay on a good traffic day, so we just don't do it much. i mean, it's 45 minutes w/ good traffic to lucy's in san jose. santa cruz would be perfect if it could just be in los gatos.
ah well... obviously the universe didn't have my needs in mind when forming this beautiful world of ours. selfish s.o.b.. the universe, not having my needs paramount while creating itself! and perverse as all get out, too, but that's a post for another day.
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