Yikes! I can't believe how long it's been since my last post. The pregnant life has knocked me off a bit. Six months into it, though, and I'm taking baby steps to regain some sense of routine.
What have I been doing lately? A lot of domestic nesting, or as Grandpa John calls it, "woman's stuff." I hate to be so cliché, but it’s true. I’ve been crocheting a baby blanket, which I have a mighty good chance of finishing; hemming maternity pants (yeah! I’m learning to use my sewing machine); and getting the apartment in order, cleaned and organized.
I’ve never ever been a model housekeeper, but I’m slowly working my way into it with the help of Fly Lady. This is a touchy-feely housekeeping site mostly geared to housewives and soccer moms. But hey, who better to follow when you need help keeping the place clean with so little time. I’m proud to say that for the past few weeks, we’ve managed to wash the dishes and clean the sink and stove after every dinner--except on weekends. Baby steps.
Last night, we were thrilled to see the Celtics win the NBA finals (since it couldn't be the Pistons). I was disappointed, however, that the Lakers didn’t put up much game. With the Celtics leading 20-30 points most of the game, it wasn’t very entertaining. Nonetheless, I got my bills and filing done in time to enjoy the Gatorade dump on Doc Rivers (brilliant in HD) and the uber-emotional wailings of Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. And thus marks the end of another basketball season, to Mike's great sorrow.
This has been the first sunny weekend in weeks. I managed to pull myself away from my to-do list and rode my bicycle to the beach. Rather, my to-do list included: Ride to the Pacific. It's a little more than a half hour through the Castro, Lower Haight, and Golden Gate Park. At the beach, I sat up on the ledge, watched the huge winter waves crash and foam, and gave Mom a call.
Now I’m really, really back.
I know I’m not alone in my relief that the holidays are over. The nostalgic regret of yet another year passed is mitigated by the first day of a revived, refined routine and the get-on-with-’08-already-ness.
While I’ve been a bit lax on the writing, I have been clickin’ away.
The Saturday after Cali died, Mike and I hiked up Sweeney Ridge. It was a gorgeous, cold day, and we spent a lot of time watching the planes land and take off from SFO. Photos are here >>>>
On the following Saturday, we walked around Golden Gate Bridge >>>>
The Saturday following that, Christmas shopping and afternoon drinks at the Hyatt’s Grandviews Lounge >>>>
We had wonderful a holiday up in Trinidad, Humboldt—up near where Mike and I used to live. He rented a cabin near Patrick’s Point State Park; it had a fireplace and a deep Victorian clawfoot bathtup >>>>
-–the same place we went to for Valentine’s day >>>>
Our New Year’s celebration, we kept low key at the apartment. We watched the midnight fireworks over the bay from our rooftop. On New Year’s Day, we hiked up Muir Beach.
Looking through my flickr sets, 2007 was an amazing year for me. I visited so many beautiful and faraway places. 2008 may not be as extravagant, but I will still explore. I’ve spent most of my time in California exploring the coast; the rest of the state, particular Gold Country and Central Valley, beckons.
Happy, Happy New Year, Everybody!
I’ve been out of my blog groove ever since Tenerife, but I’m gonna get back into it. It’s been quite busy for me on the job these past couple weeks. We had our annual All Staff retreat in Oakland last Monday, followed by our holiday party at the Gordon Biersch Brewery. I took it upon myself to be the event photographer, and if you’re curious to see the folks I work with, take a gander here >>
Saturday, Mike and I drove up to visit Grandpa John, Myrtle, and Tanner. Tanner had a wrestling match in Chico. Kids wrestling, what a trip! Their little bodies struggling to pin each other down, or wriggle out of a lock—I have never seen anything like it before. Tanner won both of his matches. Grandpa got some good photos, which I’m sure he’ll post soon. Right, Grandpa?
Here’s one final post for Tenerife. With all that been going on the past couple weeks—Cali, visit to Grandpa’s, and Thanksgiving—I haven’t been able to get to it until now.
I finally posted my Tenerife photos to Flickr >> here. I recommend that you watch it as a slideshow. When the show begins, there should be “Options” in the bottom right of your screen. Click it, and check “Always show title and description.” Feel free to add comments.
On my last day in Tenerife, Sunday, I took a speedboat tour out into the ocean to see dolphins. Bounding across the waves was exhilarating, and a little scary. It took a while for us to find the dolphins, but once we did, it was unreal. They were showboating everywhere; we saw at least 8 of them at one time. Taking photos was too difficult for me, but I managed to capture some shaky video footage, watch here >>.
She died in my arms just before 5 o’clock.
Sweet, sweet “Mama,” we called her. I don’t remember how that came to be, but every morning as I was leaving for work, or when I’d leave on a trip, I’d yell to her “Bye, Mama!” with the small resentment that Mom was the one who saddled me with the nutty, high-maintenance feline.
Now, all her quirks and habits that drove me nuts are what I miss most. I miss her sleeping by my side, pinning me down in our bed; fighting over the desk chair; the prissy shake of her fluffy white hind-quarters as she led me to the kitchen, nagging me with her high bossy meow to feed her, “Neow!” I miss giving her insulin shots. With it all was a pink-nosed, bunny soft sweetness. Cali could cuddle.
Over the years, we connected more than any other pet I’ve ever had. She gave me no choice; she demanded attention (and in doing so, she gave me attention). I’m glad she was like that; she wouldn’t let me off the hook. I regret all the times I pushed her away. She’s taught me about love and the regret of taking it for granted.
Cali helped me through Oliver’s passing. It was comforting to see her there with him, keeping him warm. When he died, she was there for me to hold. I looked forward to just the two of us, building a relationship with Cali beyond Oliver. It’s only been a year and a half; I wasn’t nearly ready for her to go. She was my sister.
It’s the last day of the festival, and the Tenerife Film Commission sponsored a tour of Teide National Park. I took this tour last year, but it was foggy and most of the volcanic peaks were hidden in the clouds. Today the sky was bright and sunny, and I saw more of the park and the island.
Mount Teide, an extinct volcano, is the largest mountain in Spain. Like the Hawaiian Islands, the Canary Islands are a volcanic archipelago. The volcanic scenery is stark, and if you’ve seen Star Wars, Planet of the Apes or Ten Commandments, you’ve seen landscapes filmed in Tenerife.
In an old pumice mine in a national volcanic park in Tenerife. Sent from my phone.
I’m sitting on my balcony with a bottle of red wine, a Crianza from the Catalunya region of Spain. It’s a mild 70° evening, crickets are chirping, and a dog is barking. I can hear a referee’s whistle for what I imagine a soccer game in the distance, and the low rhythmic rumble of the Atlantic waves a block away. This is my first chance to really unwind, and although I could go to bed early, I want to stay up relaxing to the crickets and the waves.
Today was heavy. I had a dozen meetings with filmmakers about their documentary projects. I saw a film by a Palestinian documentary, Women in Struggle, about female Palestinian resistant fighters from the Intifada, who spent years in jail, enduring extreme torture, and are now traumatized middle-aged women trying to find their place in society. I attended a round table discussion with Palestinian women filmmakers, which was very intense. Afterwards, I continued the conversation with Buthina Canaan Khoury, the director of Women in Struggle, and she has given me a lot, a lot to think about. These type of events are so important because they bring people together for conversations that we could never pursue in email or on the telephone. So here I sit, on the balcony processing.
At last, I got my luggage this afternoon—nearly a miracle. At first, I was told that the police had it; “Don’t worry; it’s not serious,” said the customer service agent. But, I would have to go the police station an hour away to retrieve it. As I’m booked in meetings, I didn’t have two hours to spare. My hosts—of whom I’m in complete awe—must have raised hell all over Tenerife. Not only was my bag released from the police, it was delivered straight to my hotel. It’s been a stressful situation, but it could have been much worse if not for Valerie and Oscar. Now, I’m all fresh and clean and so elated and present.
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Mom said:
[c’est top]Have I told you lately how proud I am of you? Have I told you lately how lucky and blessed... read more
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Mom said:
Joy, This is really awesome, and so informative with the links! It truly is a great way to keep your... read more
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Dorcas said:
[this is good]I miss y'all so much ! Cant wait to see you in Febuary! Joy, give my brother a hug for... read more
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Your moms comment almost made me cry - she is so sweet ! I am proud of you too -... read more
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