It's a darn good thing I'm trying to put on a bit of weight to help me with the increase in physical activity, 'cause this week has been a Week Of Food. Food food food food. First it was Francis Coppolla's restaurant, 3 courses including some really good wine and some ice wine to finish off. I could hardly move for being full. Then it was sushi in San Francisco followed by beer at The Thirsty Bear. Mmmm, beeeeer. Their brown ale was tasty. I got the stout, which was good,but the brown ale was better. Tonight, it's Thai food at my favorite Thai restaurant, where I always eat myself silly.
And what's the occasion, you might ask? (Ask! Ask!) I've got friends in town! Yay for east coast visitors!!! So, while the food has been lovely, getting to see folks I haven't encountered in months is even better. There has been oodles of lovely gossip, tech talk, and just plain ol' catching up. I'll miss these folks when they go back home.
This weekend we're going to meet with our kayak instructor from last weekend after we have a day on the water around the Oakland Estuary. Guess what we'll do when we meet up? Eat! Being in the Bay area, catching up over good food is just too darn easy.
So, if you haven't come out to visit, whoever you are, can I interest you in some blackberry cabernet sorbet soon? Or perhaps some red curry prawns with pumpkin and coconut milk? What about some amazingly fresh sea food? You know you want to visit... ;-)
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Monday, May 7, 2007
Starting a new hobby
A few friends of mine tell me I'm rather odd in how I go about picking new hobbies. Rather than just sort of acquiring them, or knowing someone who does whatever it is, I research. I think about what I want to do (get out more, get in more, get more fit, relax, and so on and so forth) and then I start looking at what activities meet my needs. This time, I decided I wanted a hobby my sweetheart and I could learn together, that would get us outside a bit more, and would get us both more physically active. Caveats include bad knees for both of us, and the fact he has more experience doing a variety of things than I do, so finding something he'd be _learning_ was no small criteria.
So, after some study (and mind you this was back in late fall 2006 that I started looking in to it) I decided sea kayaking would be just the thing to try. It met all the criteria and would definitely be different. My sweetie liked the idea too, but then we got side-tracked with the new job offer, the moving, the settling in...
But FINALLY, after dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, my sweetie and I took our first sea kayaking lesson. It was GREAT! We went to Half Moon Bay and ended up being the only people in the class. The instructor, a gent by the name of Matt, was wonderful, and we all had a lovely time. We even had some harbor seal supervision! We learned how to move forward, backward, sideways, and in small and big circles. We learned how to rescue ourselves if and when we flip over, and how to rescue each other.
The kayaking community is a particularly friendly crowd, so I think we've managed to find another thing I was looking for out here - a group of friends not associated with work. I very much like the people I work with, but it's hard not to talk shop with them after hours.
If you have any interest in trying sea kayaking, I definitely recommend it! Get some training in first before you just go out and see what you can do - you'll be more confident and less of a danger to yourself. :-)
Next on the kayaking road to nirvana, a dry suit for my birthday! Yay for me!
So, after some study (and mind you this was back in late fall 2006 that I started looking in to it) I decided sea kayaking would be just the thing to try. It met all the criteria and would definitely be different. My sweetie liked the idea too, but then we got side-tracked with the new job offer, the moving, the settling in...
But FINALLY, after dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, my sweetie and I took our first sea kayaking lesson. It was GREAT! We went to Half Moon Bay and ended up being the only people in the class. The instructor, a gent by the name of Matt, was wonderful, and we all had a lovely time. We even had some harbor seal supervision! We learned how to move forward, backward, sideways, and in small and big circles. We learned how to rescue ourselves if and when we flip over, and how to rescue each other.
The kayaking community is a particularly friendly crowd, so I think we've managed to find another thing I was looking for out here - a group of friends not associated with work. I very much like the people I work with, but it's hard not to talk shop with them after hours.
If you have any interest in trying sea kayaking, I definitely recommend it! Get some training in first before you just go out and see what you can do - you'll be more confident and less of a danger to yourself. :-)
Next on the kayaking road to nirvana, a dry suit for my birthday! Yay for me!
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
What do they put in the water out here?
I wonder if the reason things are so wonderful in California might be nice drugs in the water. It's Tuesday, and so far this week I've been abandoned by an account manager who forgot a meeting with me and a potential new client (I ended up running the meeting with lots of "I'll find out and get back to you" kind of statements), a project manager who didn't show up for his weekly project sponsor meeting (apparently another meeting ran over, and they don't believe in laptops in meetings so that he could have let me know), an aikido instructor who didn't show for class (I ended up teaching) and then the bus broke down before it got to my stop so I had to walk most of the way back from class, which was less than fun since I strained a muscle in my hip during training.
There's more, which I won't go in to. And with all of that, I'm _still_ cheerful and happy with my job, my garden, my new life.
yeah, it's got to be something in the water. :-)
There's more, which I won't go in to. And with all of that, I'm _still_ cheerful and happy with my job, my garden, my new life.
yeah, it's got to be something in the water. :-)
Monday, April 2, 2007
One of the reasons I like cats
Don't get me wrong, I like dogs too! But cats have that special evil something that appeals to me. For example...
My mother just IM'd me to tell me her cat went missing yesterday. This is always a bit of a concern, since she's in Las Vegas, the cat is black, and it gets hot and dry there. Granted, not right now, but I still worry. The cat does like to wander, and she in fact found it as a stray... but I digress.
Anywho, so the cat went missing yesterday morning. It was found again this morning by the neighbors. Turns out he'd jumped in to the neighbors' car - the window had been open about 6 inches. The neighbors found him there as the wife was taking her husband to the hospital.
Think of it. You are about to go to the hospital. You open your car door. A big black cat springs out.
Now _that's_ evil. :-) Hysterically funny, to me, and definitely evil.
My mother just IM'd me to tell me her cat went missing yesterday. This is always a bit of a concern, since she's in Las Vegas, the cat is black, and it gets hot and dry there. Granted, not right now, but I still worry. The cat does like to wander, and she in fact found it as a stray... but I digress.
Anywho, so the cat went missing yesterday morning. It was found again this morning by the neighbors. Turns out he'd jumped in to the neighbors' car - the window had been open about 6 inches. The neighbors found him there as the wife was taking her husband to the hospital.
Think of it. You are about to go to the hospital. You open your car door. A big black cat springs out.
Now _that's_ evil. :-) Hysterically funny, to me, and definitely evil.
Friday, March 30, 2007
A suitable quote
If the world were merely seductive,
that would be easy.
If it were merely challenging,
that would be no problem.
But I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world,
And a desire to enjoy it.
That makes it hard to plan the day.
-- E.B. White
that would be easy.
If it were merely challenging,
that would be no problem.
But I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world,
And a desire to enjoy it.
That makes it hard to plan the day.
-- E.B. White
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
a ramble about communication
One of the most common problems in the workplace is "lack of communication." I don't know how many times I've heard that, how many classes I've gone to, how many articles I've read about that subject. But what I want is the article that says: Communication is an act between two people. If only one person is really participating, it's just verbal masturbation. With witnesses.
Put in that light, I have to wonder if there is a Kama Sutra out there for how to communicate effectively. What a thought...
It seems that in order to communicate more, people are going for quantity versus quality. The number of meetings being had, the amount of email traffic, the presentations, the retreats, the training... My goal is to try for quality instead of quantity. The trick is - and I don't know the answer yet - is _how_. Still, it's a goal we should all strive for. I mean, do you _really_ want to keep witnessing the very embarassing moments between a person and their mouth? :-)
Put in that light, I have to wonder if there is a Kama Sutra out there for how to communicate effectively. What a thought...
It seems that in order to communicate more, people are going for quantity versus quality. The number of meetings being had, the amount of email traffic, the presentations, the retreats, the training... My goal is to try for quality instead of quantity. The trick is - and I don't know the answer yet - is _how_. Still, it's a goal we should all strive for. I mean, do you _really_ want to keep witnessing the very embarassing moments between a person and their mouth? :-)
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Day 1, still tired from the move
Once upon a time, moving across a continent was unheard of. Thanks to the wonders of modern technology (you know, the wheel) it's not so unheard of any more. Which is why I'm out here in California after years in North Carolina.
I am continually asked "So, is it different? how are you settling in?" That's from folks who haven't done the Big Move. From folks who have, it's more like "Yeah, it's pretty different. Don't worry, it'll only take a year or so for you to settle in." A year?! Yowza. A year of feeling like "wow, this place is cool, it's neat, but dang it it's not home"? Oh well. This is what I signed up for, after all.
But let's assume you reading this are one of the people who hasn't moved to a completely different area of the country. Yes, it's different, and yes, it takes bloody forever to feel settled. The trees are different, the terrain is different, the housing style is different... Heck, thanks to the eucalyptus trees out here, even the air smells different! If you have any observational skills whatsoever, you'll know, at all times, that you aren't in Kansas (or North Carolina, in my case) any more. It's interesting, but I sure wouldn't call it restful.
The job itself - the reason I moved out here - is probably the best thing about the whole transition. I recently explained to a friend of mine that you spend at least a third of your day as an adult (assuming no massive wealth or retirement) working. By golly you had better enjoy it! For the last 5 years, I increasingly didn't enjoy that third of my day. And that, of course, affected the other 2/3 of my day. No fun. So, I took a risk at a job somewhere else one more step up the ladder, and what a wonderful thing! I'm 7 weeks in to my new job and I'm still happy every single day about being here. It's sick! It's un-american! I mean, we all read Dilbert! (Well, I don't - it stopped being funny after too many episodes that were horribly accurate.) People are not supposed to _enjoy_ work. Suffering is cool, complaining is better. What a really sick society.
So, maybe I'm not quite comfortable yet. And maybe it will take a year to get used to eucalyptus instead of loblolly pine and big oak trees. But to enjoy every day? To have a chance to explore new things and take on new hobbies? To watch a whole new group of people be amazed by my cats? I wouldn't take back this move for the world. :-)
I am continually asked "So, is it different? how are you settling in?" That's from folks who haven't done the Big Move. From folks who have, it's more like "Yeah, it's pretty different. Don't worry, it'll only take a year or so for you to settle in." A year?! Yowza. A year of feeling like "wow, this place is cool, it's neat, but dang it it's not home"? Oh well. This is what I signed up for, after all.
But let's assume you reading this are one of the people who hasn't moved to a completely different area of the country. Yes, it's different, and yes, it takes bloody forever to feel settled. The trees are different, the terrain is different, the housing style is different... Heck, thanks to the eucalyptus trees out here, even the air smells different! If you have any observational skills whatsoever, you'll know, at all times, that you aren't in Kansas (or North Carolina, in my case) any more. It's interesting, but I sure wouldn't call it restful.
The job itself - the reason I moved out here - is probably the best thing about the whole transition. I recently explained to a friend of mine that you spend at least a third of your day as an adult (assuming no massive wealth or retirement) working. By golly you had better enjoy it! For the last 5 years, I increasingly didn't enjoy that third of my day. And that, of course, affected the other 2/3 of my day. No fun. So, I took a risk at a job somewhere else one more step up the ladder, and what a wonderful thing! I'm 7 weeks in to my new job and I'm still happy every single day about being here. It's sick! It's un-american! I mean, we all read Dilbert! (Well, I don't - it stopped being funny after too many episodes that were horribly accurate.) People are not supposed to _enjoy_ work. Suffering is cool, complaining is better. What a really sick society.
So, maybe I'm not quite comfortable yet. And maybe it will take a year to get used to eucalyptus instead of loblolly pine and big oak trees. But to enjoy every day? To have a chance to explore new things and take on new hobbies? To watch a whole new group of people be amazed by my cats? I wouldn't take back this move for the world. :-)
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