July

Let me once again apologize for the long pause in my updates. The month of July has come and (almost) gone, and I have not yet written about all the goings-on of the past 30 days. Why? Partially to blame is some ongoing work chaos due to frequent build plan changes. More to blame is that my weekends have been fairly packed, not leaving much time for blogging. Anyhow, rather than break the month's events into individual posts, let me summarize the goings-on:

- 4th of July: McKenzie and I were one with our apartment. It was the day of cleaning and sorting. We did manage to make a quick trip down to her parents' house for burgers and firecrackers.

- 4th of July weekend: the Saturday of the long weekend, I headed up into San Francisco with my friend Victor. Fortunately he knows BART like the back of his hand, so I didn't even have to think about the stops. We started the afternoon at the San Francisco SPCA, the Ritz Carlton for animals needing homes. As I had just adopted Conor, I was not in the market for further adoptions, but I was tempted. What a great shelter. They even have TVs for the cats to watch. After that, we grabbed lunch at Cafe de la Presse, a French cafe by the gates to Chinatown. My benchmark for any French restaurant is the Nicoise salad; the one at this place was average. Nonetheless, I was filled up for the rest of the afternoon, which commenced at the Museum of Modern Art. The highlighted exhibit was Frida Kahlo, but we also saw the fixed exhibit and a special exhibit with the photography of Lee Miller. After all this art, we caught a movie, "Hancock." Yes, I think we packed enough into this day, just my style.

- Churrascaria: in mid-July I had my first Brazilian dining experience at Pampas in Palo Alto (http://www.pampaspaloalto.com/). The food was absolutely amazing - perfectly cooked meat, and lots of it - but my advice to any newcomers is to go hungry. Very hungry.

- 20s/30s Service: on July 20, the 20s/30s group at church led the worship service. Each of us participated in a different section, including 3 "sermonettes," readings, music, and prayers. We were warmly received by the congregation and it is wonderful to see this group gel so well.

- Vancouver: last week, July 22-24, I was up in Vancouver for work, visiting a key supplier. I traveled with my co-workers Steven and Dave. As the meetings didn't start until Wednesday, we had Tuesday night to explore downtown Vancouver a bit, including dinner on Robson Street. The majority of the trip centered on our sessions with the supplier (non-stop for two days, including intense contract negotiation for me), but we also had dinner with the supplier at Arriva, a fantastic Italian restaurant in a great neighborhood. I definitely want to go back to that area off Commercial Street to try more restaurants. The meetings went very well - this was a long overdue trip and I left on a bit of a high because of what we accomplished. I got home around 10:30 Thursday night and by that time all the adrenaline had dissipated. And then I worked a 13-hour day on Friday to catch up from being gone. I need to start hiring assistants to help me out while I'm gone on trips.

- Rachel: my sister arrived today for a 5-day visit. More to follow here soon!

Napa: Take Two

On June 27-28, I made my second trip up to wine country with the 20s/30s group at church. One of the church members has a cabin in Napa that she generously offered to us for the weekend. I drove up solo Friday night due to my work schedule, arriving around 10pm. It was a bit of a terrifying drive as the cabin is literally on top of a mountain and the driveway is all dirt and rocks and hairpin turns. Did I mention it was 10pm and pitch black and the whole time I was driving I was hoping the Yahoo Map directions were correct? I have no idea how little Versa made it up in one piece! But the drive was worth it: what a beautiful hideaway.

I missed most of the activities Friday night - no homemade lasagna, no spiritual formation, no nature walk (although I was happy to have avoided the bees). Fortunately I did arrive in time to enjoy the slumber party, complete with sleeping bags and boy talk. There were six of us total on the trip but only one guy (the newest minister at church), and he stayed in the other room. Poor Steve.

We woke up surprisingly early on Saturday. Even with all the fires in Napa, which made for poor air quality, it was still a lovely view from the cabin. I was so happy to be surrounded by nature; almost like being home in Maine again! One of the neighbors called and said a mountain lion was in the area but we only heard it, no visual made. After we all ate breakfast and got ready for the day, we did some group reflection outside and then headed out for wine tasting.

We visited two wineries where we had connections, Cuvaison and Twomey, and they graciously provided free tastings. I, of course, purchased some not-so-free bottles. After the tastings, three of us grabbed a quick lunch at a deli, then I was on my way.

Well, I stopped at the Napa outlets first. How could I pass up a trip to the Ann Taylor Factory Store since I was in the neighborhood?

Oakland

Prior to the last weekend in June, I had only been to Oakland for baseball games or use of the airport. People don't normally speak favorably of Oakland and I just never made an effort to explore the area. I am still no expert on Oakland and I'm pretty sure I never want to get too lost in that city, but I now know that there are some great spots there.

The purpose of the excursion was what my new friend Victor termed a "LinkedIn" evening - just a gathering of random people for dinner and a show. I naturally got lost en route to dinner (not too lost), but still managed to arrive on time. Actually, most people showed up well past the slated start time. I'm still adjusting to perpetual lateness out here. Anyhow, dinner was at Everett & Jones, which claims to be the Bay Area's finest barbeque, and it was very good indeed. After dinner, we headed to Yoshi's, a jazz club, for a blues show. Even though I was wiped out from my trip to Napa earlier that day, I rebounded with an Irish Coffee and thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

Fluffy and Fido

When I was in the process of adopting Conor, the Humane Society provided me with a brochure entitled something like, "Introducing Fluffy and Fido." Translated, what steps McKenzie and I should take to ensure that Conor and Levi would be happy roommates. The brochure advised keeping the dog on a leash for the first introduction and not allowing Levi to corner or chase Conor. The adoption advisor also suggested a washcloth method: rub one washcloth on the cat's face and one on the dog's feet (apparently these are the areas where the animals have the strongest scent), and then put each one's washcloth under the other's food bowl. The thought being, I presume, that each would equate eating, a happy activity, with the scent of his new roommate.

Well, we never tried the washcloth method, but we did have the first introduction with Levi on a leash and we tried to prevent him from chasing Conor. At first Levi definitely dominated the relationship: Conor would hiss and growl, but Levi pretty much chased him under the bed most of the time. Conor did not appreciate Levi's barking or attempts to be Conor's new best friend.

Over the past couple of weeks, however, the tide has turned and Conor has become the boss. Conor has progressed from reactive maneuvers to chasing Levi for no reason. If he spots Levi or is annoyed with the barking, he'll jump out with a left or right hook. Fortunately, there is never any actual physical contact and Levi bears no scratch marks. While Levi still barks like crazy upon sight of Conor, Levi has demonstrated that he really is a bit of a wimp, albeit a sweet one. I am trying now to contain Conor from acting like too much of a punk - not sure how that will go.

The two things that prevent any aggression from either party: food (human or animal) and heat. Most of the time they engage in staring matches, waiting for the other to make a move. Case in point:

Bottom line: they have come a long way in three weeks and McKenzie and I have hope that these two quadrupeds may one day indeed be friends.

Geoff's Wedding

I am severely delinquent in updating this little website. The past two weekends have been pretty busy, leaving not much time to recap what occurred. Bear with me; I'll get caught up eventually!

Anyhow, we'll start in the middle of the two weeks' worth of activities with the wedding of my co-worker Geoff. He and his now wife, Jenn, got married this past Thursday, the eve of 4th of July, at a beautiful vineyard in Pleasanton (http://www.palmeventcenter.com/). Not only was this the first wedding I attended in California, it was the first Bhuddist ceremony I have ever been to. It was fascinating, capped off by very moving participation from their parents. They had absolutely perfect weather for an evening summer wedding, the venue was fantastic, and the food was top-notch. Really. I'm still thinking about the pork entree and I loved the cake. I may not have caught the bouquet (us single girls fixed it), but I had a lovely time.

First Dance

Other BSC attendees (L-R): Marvin; Dave and his wife; Steven and his wife; Tiffany