I'm Back

Wow - so I didn't think it would be almost three months since I last posted, and my last post was so angry. Sorry to keep all of you waiting. It's nice to know that so many of you actually do read it. I had no idea until I stopped posting! So, here's my last few months sped up!

Thanksgiving - good times with friends. Great turkey. I made TWO types of stuffing - one was traditional w/chestnuts - the other was Jalapeno cornbread stuffing with chorizo sausage and pine nuts - delicious. We ate a lot, drank a lot and played fun games.

Christmas - home to visit the folks for 6 days and Kurt went off to Michigan to see his family. Had a good time, did a LOT of visiting, etc. Ate a lot.

New Years Eve - I flew back here.

January - I had a final interview for and accepted a new job as Director of Student Services at the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine - www.actcm.edu. I'm very excited. It's more responsibility, more variety, and more in line with my interest in holistic health. I finished up at the Academy of Art on the 28th and I start my new job on the 9th.

I had a massage special that meant I had a LOT of business in January, which kept me very busy. The month generally flew by, but I helped celebrate some friends' birthdays, attended a Golden Globes party, and recognized Australia day with my friend Matt who has finally moved here to SF.

Oscar season is upon us. here are movies I've seen in recent months with quick reviews:

Doubt - liked it on stage better but I thought it was a good adaptation. All of the actors were good.

The Reader - depressing but good. A little slow in the end but very impactful.

The Wrestler - I get why Mickey Rourke is getting all the attention. He was great and it was very hard to watch the movie in parts, but the movie overall was just standard. And Marisa Tomei is topless for a large part of it.

Slumdog Millionaire - See it. Made me alternately cry, laugh and cringe.

Milk - See it. I also cried. Sean Penn is great and it was very motivating movie for me.

Curious Case of Benjamin Button - visually, it was great, but I don't get the Oscar hype. I liked, but not loved it....except for Tilda Swinton, who I always love.

Frost/Nixon - surprisingly, I liked this one a lot. Who knew a 2 hour movie about an interview could be so entertaining?

Quantum of Solace - not as good as the first Craig 007, but entertaining nonetheless.

Valkyrie - I hate admitting I saw this given that douchebag Tom Cruise is in it. But it was actually pretty good, except for Tom Cruise.

There are plenty more I want to see and wish I'd seen but top on that list is Revolutionary Road and Gran Torino.

I think that's it for now! Coming up in February:

My long to-do list for the break between jobs - will I get it all done?
Motorcycle Safety School
Wicked: The Musical
Blowoff: A Dance Party
Valentine's day reports
Oscar 2009
Tales from the Muni commute to my new job (there will be many!)

See you soon!

I'm Back!

Hey hey hey everyone! So, what a week! Kurt and I traveled back to the east coast to see my family last Saturday. We flew Virgin America, which I still love despite that they fly into Dulles. But it was cheap and I love that when you want food, you just order it on the screen in front of you and they bring it to you. The seats are comfy too.


So, we arrived Saturday evening and had dinner at Fuddrucker's on the way home. I love the buns there! I think mostly because they are grilled with butter. Yummy. We got home late where my sister, Amy, was waiting to meet us. She had not met Kurt before (my parents did last summer when they visited here) and was anxious to do so. We chatted for a while before heading to bed.



Sunday, Pete, Daisey, Kurt and I went to Fort Delaware. It's a Civil War fort that was used as a POW camp for Confederate soldiers. When you take the tour, all the people you meet act like it's 1864 so it's really quite educational and interesting. It looks like a castle because it has a huge moat around it and it's on this island that you can only get to via ferry. So, you can see why it made a good prison. We ate the worst hot dogs ever at the concession stand there, but Kurt did get singled out to help with a reenactment of firing a cannon. He got to scream out all the orders to the other "participants" and give the command to fire. And he got to wear a fun hat! That night we went to Amy and Cecil's (her boyfriend) house for dinner. A very yummy dinner of smoked bbq pork roast and mac and cheese. Yummy.

Monday, we went fishing on Cecil's boat, but only caught three fish. Stupid fickle fish! You never know when you're going to catch any. It was windier than we had wanted, but it was still a nice day just relaxing on the boat. That night, Daisey made my favorite Chicken Pot Pie for dinner.

Tuesday, we went to Rehoboth Beach to shop a bit at the outlets (I got some new luggage which is going to be my Christmas present), walk around the boardwalk, eat some Thrasher's Fries (yum again) and have dinner. We headed back home that night and my friends XL (Jon) and his wife, Cathy, stopped by to visit. It was great to see them.

Wednesday, it was back to the airport, but we did meet up with Seth for lunch on the way at Macaroni Grill. He met us halfway, we ate, and then he drove us back to the airport. Thanks, Sethie! Daisey only cried a few tears. I think she's getting better :-)

I went back to work briefly before Kurt's friend, Rodrigo came in for the weekend. We had some great meals while he was here at Conduit and then at El Dorado Kitchen when we went to wine country. Sonoma was great even though I was designated driver. We rented a little Mini Convertible through zipcar which was a lot of fun, but I got a farmer's tan! Curses! The rest of the weekend, we shopped, ate, drank, and went to a street fair.





And then Monday, I had to go back to vacuuming and work and teaching math class :-(

But it was a great trip overall. I was reminded of what a wonderful family I have. They are so openminded and accepting - the true definition of unconditional love! And it was wonderful to see friends I hadn't in a while. And it was great traveling with Kurt, as always, and spending time with his friends, who are also incredible. I hope you enjoy the pictures from our adventures! I know I need to figure out how to arrange them better!

Visiting the Swains

Tomorrow morning, Kurt and I travel east to visit Pete, Daisey, Amy and Cecil. I'm excited and sure that good times will ensue. I'm still packing. Nothing like waiting until the last minute.

It will be good to get away, even if it's brief. The summer went by so quickly and I feel like I need some time to breathe. I'll miss all you SF readers and will post again upon my return!

I'm Really Bad at This

So, the whole idea was that I would post regularly to this, but I'm finding it's harder and harder to do. I'm going to try...so here it is....another "WEEK IN REVIEW"!

Last week was pretty standard for the most part. Work and clients and vacuuming, etc. But we did go see Dolly Parton! Kurt and my friends Brian, Travis, and Jay all went. She was amazing! Here's the complete set list:

Two Doors Down / Why’d You Come in Here Lookin’ Like That? / Jolene / Thank God I’m a Country Girl / I’m Little But I’m Loud / Backwoods Barbie / Drives Me Crazy / Shattered Image / Coat of Many Colors / Only Dreamin’ / Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show (into gospel medley) / (Intermission) / Baby I’m Burning / Better Get to Livin’ / Shinola / Do I Ever Cross Your Mind / Little Sparrow / Here You Come Again / Islands in the Stream / 9 to 5 / I Will Always Love You / Jesus and Gravity

She danced and joked and told stories. She actually did make you feel like she was only performing for you. Very impressive and it makes me love her even more!

What else happened last week? Let's see.....work mostly. I was supposed to have a reflexology class over the weekend but it was cancelled due to low enrollment. I managed to squeeze in a couple clients instead though, so that was good.

The opening ceremonies of the Olympics were great if you missed them. Very impressive. But they did spend 300 million dollars on them, so they better be. The big controversy now is that the little 7 year old who "sang" the Chinese National Anthem actually didn't. She was lip-syncing to a recording sung by another little girl who was deemed too "ugly" by the Chinese officials to represent their country. Eeek! Poor little girl. But overall, they were quite a site to see. Saturday night we went to not one, but two drag shows. I got my fill for the year....of that and alcohol. I was quite hung over on Sunday.

I also worked out my legs on Saturday and they still hurt today. I've been hobbling around all week because they are so sore. I don't know what I did, but let me tell you that massaging four clients (two each the last two nights) on these wobbly legs was harder than you might think. Now my lower back is killing me!

I baked yummy scones last week for work. It was such an easy recipe from Alton Brown on Food Network. I would definitely make them again. I made a batch of cranberry ones and chocolate chip ones. And I swear, it was almost as easy as making something from a box mix.

The scones and the drag shows might have clued you in, but my plan to alter my diet by cutting out alcohol, cheese and fried things hasn't really worked. I'm going to try again though - we'll see. Last night, Kurt and I actually got a cheese plate as part of our dinner at a new place on Haight Street called Uva Enoteca. Eating cheese! With a fork! This is hardly eliminating cheese from my diet. But go there...it's good but pricey. It's all very small plate/sharing/charcuterie type stuff. But good.

In other big news, Kurt and I are going to visit my family in September for a long weekend. Virgin America was having a pretty good flight sale, so we jumped on it. Should be fun to visit the family. It was my birthday gift to Daisey (what better gift than to see me!). And speaking of Daisey....you better look out Alan O! You're on her S**T list for suggesting I get a motorcycle! How dare you suggest something so dangerous for her favorite son. Tsk, tsk!

That's all from here...for now! Will try to write more regularly.

I'm Becoming My Mother

Now, not that that's necessarily a bad thing. Daisey is a wonderful person! But I do notice as I get older that the things I made fun of her for (and Lord knows the woman has put up with a lot of abuse), are things I do more and more often.

I can not tell you how many times we'd get in the car or even out the driveway, when suddenly, we'd hear: "I think I might have left the coffeepot on" and of course we'd turn back and check. Now, granted, the coffee pot was always on in our house, so you would THINK it would become the norm to check it before leaving the house...but I digress.

In all seriousness, though, I do find myself becoming much more of a worrier. My grandmother O'Day (Daisey's mom) was a worrier with the best of them. And Daisey's a bit of a worrier. And now I'm becoming one too. I think we worry about different things but I do find that I'm constantly thinking about ways to make sure things go okay and according to plan. And when I entertain, I'm definitely like my mother: too much food, and constantly second guessing decisions I've made about what to serve.

I also always gave my mother a hard time about never sitting still. We'd sit down to watch a movie and she'd be trying to do a million things at once, up and down, up and down from the couch. It was hard for her to not always be "doing something". I have found recently that that's who I am now too. I'm finding it harder and harder to just relax. And when I do have down time, I can't just enjoy the moment. Instead, I think about what I'm going to do next.

It does make my wonder about genetics. How much of our personality is genetic? Or is it just that we observe our parents and take on those traits? It's certainly hard to say. I just hope that I age as beautifully as Daisey :-)