unless you're (veriz)IN you're out!

sadly i'm nearly the end of my minutes and i have 8 days to go. it's such a funny thing in america that your minutes are used up when people call YOU. i always thought it was crazy that americans would have thousands of minutes in their plans (in england, i usually had 100/month), but now i understand. i've become much more of a phone person ... which i never thought i'd be, but when you have FREE minutes (evenings and weekends), you just use them for the heck of it. just to say 'hi'... and now i've discovered skype (skyping?) ... which is FREE until the end of the year for national calls (and 2 cents/minute to landline UK numbers or free to other skypers) so i might just not stop talking! check it out if you haven't!

in other news ... well, no other real news. i'm off to boston on friday night for a week to work in our east coast office. i'm training the new person we are hiring for SF and i thought he'd appreciate the training in our offices (to see that we are a legitimate company!) rather than my living room! i'm also presenting at a conference in rhode island ... so needed to be back anyway. and it'll be a nice week to see alex. we're going to go to vermont on the second saturday and splurge on a b&b so we can do some leaf-peeping! i hope it doesn't rain too much so there are leaves left!

i've just come back from a spin class and i'm exhausted and could eat a horse but i'm too tired to cook.

a week in music

it's been a brilliant week for music in san francisco.

starting with the be good tanyas on monday night who were (as to be espected) fantastic. they played a lot of stuff from their new album, so i was glad i'd gotten that and listened to it nonstop since ... otherwise, it may have been a slightly more subdued gig. i found this site where you can see some pictures from the gig - i don't know who's site it is, and if you play the photos as a slideshow, you can also see some of their (funny) personal pictures. slightly voyeuristic, i know, but at least you can see the be good tanyas!

and then last night i went out with cat, brent, andy, melissa and their friend terri to see this new york band called ESG. there's a great article about them here. i guess they were a family band from the late seventies, who are still going strong now, though with a new and younger following. but same sound. it was SO cool. it was as if my aunts were up on the stage rockin' out. please soemone who was older than i was in the 70s tell me you recognize the name!? (they're playing at dingwalls on nov 15th for you londoners ... go see them!)

and they opened with a band from la, friends of andy's, and then a girl-band with more energy than i think i've ever seen in a live show. they were great - really silly and raw and youthful sounding. i think i've just found their myspace page so you can see them - a brilliant show. i was really amped after leaving. i sometimes think i am so out of touch with what's going on these days, so this was a really nice connection on a friday night. (i'm NOT that old yet!) (and these guys are playing at the kentish town forum on dec 8)

an amazing week of music ... in an amazing city.
hooray for san francisco!

new friends, new clothes

i was invited to a 'clothes swap' party last night with my new friend amy.
it's basically a party where 7 of us brought clothes we didn't want, didn't fit, or didn't wear anymore ... laid them out on a bed, had about 30 minutes to 'shop' and try on clothes, and then took turns 'picking' the clothes we did want to take back. i ended up with a new orange suede jacket, a couple work tops, a few joseph tops (don't think anyone else knew what joseph was!) and a scarf. not bad for only bringing a skirt, some ann taylor white pants and 2 bathingsuits. most of the stuff got taken to goodwill because it was really not that stylish anymore, and some of it was just downright hideous. kind of a strange introduction to people you've never met before -'so nice to meet you, take a look at some terrible clothes i own, but don't worry, i never wear them, maybe you would like them?'

anyway, we got pizza and wine and made a night of it. and the girls were so friendly. amy is really sweet, i really like her. we spent most of dinner talking about one of their friends (who was there) who was dating a guy who didn't want to have kids, and what a difficult situation that was for her. to have to choose between him or kids. i didn't envy her - even if kids seem like a long way off!

i also went to a 'graduate schools for public good' fair at the masonic last night. i suppose i was thinking i would walk around a room filled with people who do 'good things' in life and that it would rub off on me and i'd find that inspiration. alas. i should have known. it was filled with universities and their brochures on their public policy degrees. yawn.

on to work ... have a good one wherever you are!
p.s. did you know you could click on the pictures below and they'll enlarge? i just found that out yesterday!

back in the game!

sorry about my lack of blogs this last week!
working from home makes me feel somewhat guilty for doing anything other than work when i'm in front of this computer - i need to get the routine down. had a great weekend. alex came to down briefly for a wedding of a childhood friend of his and we drove down to santa barbara together. we had a lovely time together, even if it was very short. here's a few pics from the day:




it was a gorgeous wedding on a hilltop just outside of santa barbara. the weather was perfect, they had an outside garden dinner and a band that played until 11ish. free flowing champagne and wine as well, which was great that night, not so good on sunday. but we recovered with a brunch of eggs benedict and then alex stopped at an in and out burger on the drive home. we had the chance to stop in santa cruz for a few hours so he got to see market street and visit with my mom and sister and cousins. dad was out of town, unfortunately.

i'm off to see the be good tanyas tonight. i hope you're checking them out wherever you may be ... i'm sure they're passing through soon!

another glorious day in the city!

just back from a morning swim at the gym.
i'm actually not going to count that as time away from work because i had time to really think through some things that i needed to think about without the distraction of new emails every few minutes. it's actually quite relaxing to swim. i was at the gym already this morning but very early (7am!!) for a training session. i'm not entirely sure of the worth of these training sessions, but i suppose it's given me some new exercises to practice on my own that i might not otherwise. we shall see if it makes a difference. so i'm feeling good about myself today! (though lunch is around the corner!)

the weekend was great here. saturday i volunteered at Glidewhich is this amazing non-denominational church that feeds the homeless 3 meals/day every day. so with a group of other bay area people, we made about 800 sandwiches and cut up about 100 watermelons, then got chicken washed and ready for monday's lunch. it was a really cool experience on several levels.

* there was a group of college students doing this as well, not part of 'hands on bay area' that i'd volunteered with. they were doing this for course credit which i thought was very cool of the professors

* they didn't use the 'buts' of the bread which i thought was interesting. i thought that was a really neat testiment to the dignity and respect that they paid the homeless people they fed. (beggers CAN be choosers here!)

* a father and son were volunteering together as well - was i doing this when i was 15?

* the amount of food was just incredible, and the appreciation was even more incredible. although i heard stories of a fight breaking out in the dining hall, everyone i saw was full of smiles

anyway, it was a really cool thing to have done ... AND i met a group of really cool people as well. i ended up going to lunch in the mission with one of the girls, and then met up with the rest of the group at a bar for a drink in the afternoon. they were so nice they even invited me to hang out with them that evening, which i did. so all in all, a really nice day for making new friends.

and yesterday (sunday) i went back to glide for the service and was totally and utterly inspired. there are no crosses on the wall, and everyone of any faith is welcome to join. it is really the true meaning of the word 'church' and i'm sure that this is more along the lines of what jesus had in mind. the choir was about 30 people, singing in glorious harmonies to old spirituals, blues and jazz-like songs, clapping and dancing and smiling and laughing. i was in tears for much of it because it was so powerful. i'm definitely going back!

so now begins another week of getting EUSA entrenched in san francisco. must get back to it!

a day of dance!

so today has been a hysterical and bizarre day of dance, from beginning to end.

i started out in a 'cardio salsa' class at my new gym. actually, it was the branch on california (at the fairmount hotel) 3 blocks away because the one across the street doesn't offer quite as many classes. and i SWEAR TO GOD it was like being in dirty dancing. the class consisted of me and four women in their fifties, maybe early sixties, attempting to salsa with a gorgeous black south american instructor. i am quite sure that the women were LOVING the attention and that sharon, one particularly bulbous (but lovely!) woman was faking her how-do-you-move-your-ribcage? questions so that ramon would give her a little extra attention. it was brilliant. i wanted to burst out laughing several times in the class. wouldn't really consider it a workout, but i think i'll try it again, the ladies were very welcoming!

and the night ended with dance about 30 minutes ago on the corner of 24th and mission, this time, on the side of a building ('chinese food and donuts'). quite literally these women were performing modern dance down the side of a restaurant across from the bart station. and for $230, i can take a class myself! which first seemed ridiculous but now seems like quite an interesting idea! scaling off a 60 foot building in an attempt to dance?? why not!

and inbetween my two dances, i spent several hours working at home, then went to a networking event sponsored jointly by the gay and lesbian chamber of commerce and the hispanic chamber of commerce (love san francisco!) where i won the raffle and got $50 to spend at macy's (the gay men were so annoyed!) and out for a lovely dinner with a friend of my friend molly's in the mission district where we had amazing north african and mediteranean tapas. so all in all, another brilliant day in SF.

AND what's more, the world affairs council is just around the corner from my apartment and if i wanted to, i could hear sidney blumenthal and bob woodward speak next week. everything is literally on my doorstep! i have to pinch myself sometimes!

SF highlights!

yesterday was a great day for me!
FINALLY i feel like i'm getting into the SF part of my job here and getting EUSA linked in with the city. i went to the public library in the morning and WOW - what a resource! i usually think of libraries as run-down, dirty old buildings with locked up toilet paper rolls and dog-earred worn out books ... but the SF public library is amazing. with quite possibly the best career reference library i've ever come across. i went to a training session on how to use their on-line community service resource database. there were only two of us in attendance, in a room ready for at least 20, and with two trainers who were so proud of the database and the opportunities available on their website. (wow!) and then i went to the gallery on the lower level and walked through an exhibition on migrant farm workers in california - which was fascinating and disheartening at the same time. dad - you really need to see this because a lot of these workers picked berries! it made me want to shop organic just for the workers, nevermind the chemicals. upon leaving the library i stumbled onto an amazing farmers market in the united nations plaza (on wednesdays and sundays) and promptly bought a basket of strawberries and a basket of raspberries from two mexican stallholders, hoping that the money didn't line the pockets of the farm owners but went directly to the workers themselves! unlikely, when they only get about 90 cents for an entire flat of picked strawberries.

then went to virgin records and bought the new be good tanyas album!! so far so good, a grower, but i'm sure i'm going to love it like i LOVE the others!

and then spent yesterday afternoon at a chamber of commerce event for new members. the membership coordinator is a woman my age, so we're going to have coffee on friday. and i met so many nice people who were so helpful and welcoming to the city!

and had dinner with a friend visiting from boston on a small little street ('the french quarter') off bush. it's so cool to see how everything fits together. all these places i'd known growing up (galleria park hotel (!), hotel triton, powell-mason cable car line, union squre, market street, city hall, macys, china town, etc etc) they are all so close to each other! i'm beginning to see why people say SF is actually quite small. but still so much to explore!

new digits!

hey friends - a quick post to let you know that my digits are changing and i have a new address! i'm not going to post them here because i don't want any old internet surfer calling me here - but if you don't get an email from me with them, drop me a note and i'll let you know!

i spent this morning shopping for phone deals and joining a gym. i went for a slightly more expensive gym, but i can see it if i look out the window, it has a small lap pool, and i KNOW the extra cost will get me out of bed in the morning and down the hill to work out! i also get 5 sessions with a personal trainer (or alternatively, 2 sessions with a trainer and 3 hour-long massages ... hmmmm) choices choices!

it's another glorious day in SF. hope it's lovely where you are!

wow, check this out!

if this works correctly, you should see my new flat in SF for yourself!
who knew i would be such a geek!

go to youtube.com and see if you can see this!

sunny sunday in san francisco!

it's a beautiful day here in san francisco and i've just had a lovely morning in my new apartment. i'm going to see if i can figure out how to take a video of this place on my camera and get it onto youtube ... so watch this space for info if i can figure that out. it's SO beautiful here. and so peaceful! exactly as i imagined it. i woke up at 7:30 this morning and couldn't sleep a minute more, so got up to organize the place and unpack and make myself at home. it's amazing how quickly i can make something feel like home again, just by unpacking. fortunately my landlords style is very minimalist, so it feels very calm already. the walls are a very light shade of blue, and the carpet is white and fluffy, and the couch is a maroon velvet/velour, and the wood is dark ... perfect! i can see why she was so picky about getting the right person in this place to mind her stuff. lucky for me i was the right person!

yesterday and the day before i was at golden gate park with my folks for the hardly strictly bluegrass festival. we saw elvis costello on friday afternoon (joined by special guests gillian welch and emmylou harris at the end!), and yesterday saw todd snider, steve earle, gillian welch and a few other blue grassy folks on the stage). i'm reminded at a festival like that that i am back in california again. everyone is SO laid back, so chilled out, so i-don't-really-care-about-style-so-that's-a-style! it's great! it's going on again today, but i'm going to just enjoy the neighborhood here. i'm going to join a gym too - tomorrow is the official start day, but my parents took me to the store and stocked me up with LOADS of vegetables and fresh food (since there aren't really any big stores in my area) - so my new regime may even start today!

thank you for anyone who sent good vibes for kevin - he's doing very well and recovering nicely. the first few days are the worst and his positive attitude will see him home soon! much appreciated!

off to enjoy the sunshine and cool san francisco air!

the power of ...

i hardly ever think to pray. terrible, i know, having spent my formative years praying morning noon and night. (not that i prayed round the clock, mind you, but at a catholic school, there are prayers for everything!) i feel slightly arrogant now, saying i don't think to pray - as if everything is fine, i have everything i need, and don't need to bless myself or anyone else with the time it takes to whisper a few words to the big guy above. and it's not that i've stopped believing either. something bigger than me exists. i'm pretty sure of that.

anyway, i've prayed a lot this week because my uncle has gone in for a double bypass heart surgery. he's still in intensive care right now in a boston hospital. and even if you never pray, don't believe in the big guy above, haven't thought about prayer in years ... go on ... do me a favor, just say a little one. his name is kevin. (my uncle, not the big guy, although my uncle's a pretty big guy too!)

i think most people know my mom is one of eleven. kevin is exactly in the middle, right after my mom. it's crazy how the pattern went boy girl boy girl. lynne, rick, susan, steve, beth, kevin, lisa, david, judy, tim and tom. imagine having eleven kids?! imagine the stories!

my mom and kevin being so close in age used to play together when they were little. when kevin had a diaper rash, my mom thought she'd play doctor and massage a handful of vix vapo rub all over the rash -OUCH! - which sent him screaming out the door and down the street as fast as his little naked legs would take him. let's hope the doctors in boston are more adept than my mother. (of course they are!)


i'm posting sara (his wife's) latest email here in case any family are reading this blog and didn't get the update:

I am to tired to think to worried to cry. Please please keep Kev in your prayers. Things not as good this afternoon and evening. They have put a pacemaker on him. Experiencing arterial fibullation (sorry for typing erroes and spelling) Also haveing as I left(order out) though in my defense I just sit and wipe his forheas as he asks and pray in my heart and only speak when spoken to by him and that is far and few words they are now trying more and different drugs as his heart rate is up to about 190 and climbing. Please all off you pray. I can not tell you how afraid I am of losing him. I can not begin to imagine my life without him. I don't want one without him. Ok sorry i am venting. please pray for perfect healing and peace for both of us. I am trying to let the kids do all the communicating. Please call them if you feel you need updates. Please do not call the hospital they really frown on that. I am not liking that place. Though the care seems excellent and tha t is what counts, They have yet to sit with me and explain anything or what they did exactly or doing or crap I have a hard time getting straight answers . Do I look that stupid. And I don't stand around and cry atleast not in that building. I just really felt the need to ask for more prayer please. Kev sends his love and so do I. I will continue to covet your prayers until he is completely healed. I donot have everyones emails so please forward this to everyone. One thing DRs say this is total genetics. boys you had better get some tests done,


so let's see about the power of prayer ... thanks all!

off to SF i go!

so i leave tomorrow for SF ... this will very likely be my last email from the east coast. this has all come so fast it's hard to believe it's actually here. i won't actually get up to SF until friday because i've got some routine stuff to take care of in santa cruz (dentist, etc) but then i'll be in SF and living the foggy high life.

it's been an exhausting week, packing up, saying goodbyes, etc etc. no room here for details, but it will all work itself out as it should, as it's meant to be, i'm sure. i'm looking forward to the space and quiet in SF to think about all the questions running through my head as of late.

i got an email from anna reminding me that 11 months ago, we were in new york, sitting outside eating paninis and wondering aloud where we would be one year from now...and already, look how much has changed. engagements, pregnancies, house purchases, new jobs, new states, new loves, new directions. i think i can sit tight a bit longer. see what time brings!

thanks for all the support from everyone! more from the west coast.

crossingponds crosses ponds again!