Up Late

My mother arrived and is currently watching "The Departed". And I am sort of watching it with her although I know I must go to bed asap so that I make it through tomorrow...

Today's highlights;
woke up;

participated in a strategic planning meeting on our (100% Campaign's) statewide work for the next 2 years;

fixed my left and right turn signal; yup! I did it myself!; and

spent one hour with a good friend from St. Louis (who was in town for work).

Half Way Through

Past four days have been rather hectic.

Saturday and Sunday, I was away at a work retreat at Mayacamas Ranch which was absolutely spectacular. It was so much fun hanging out at the hot tub and pool, eating good (organic) food, and participating in a talent show. Of course, I participated in an improv skit about that 1001 strategic planning meetings that take place at my part time job... The highlight of Sunday was a three-mile run that I went on which was along a hilly road with spectacular views of the valleys and mountains surrounding Mayacamas Ranch. Oh yeah- the other highlight was taking a nap during the late afternoon on Sunday. Have I mentioned how I love to take naps on the weekends?

Monday, I was back in Sacramento participating in the Senate and Assembly Budget Committee Hearings on CalWORKS- California's version of the Welfare to Work Program. In between both hearings, I conducted several legislative visits on the issue. I was beat by the time I returned to San Francisco.

Today was a busy but low key day. I caught up on making revisions to our statewide web site- www.cdfca.org- as well as made progress on conducting research with families whose children lack health insurance.

My mother arrives tomorrow evening for ten days and I am off to...um...er...Kaua'i, Hawaii on Friday for 5 days; I am so excited! I can not wait to snorkel, kayak, hike, and so much more!

Yesterday, I learned that my aunt has breast cancer... I was very sad to hear this; she goes to Sloan Kettering for a second opinion on Friday. I hope she makes it.

On a brighter note, I also learned since I last posted that my nieces and nephew will visit me for 8 days in August. Talk about excitement!

I can't believe half of the year is almost up!

A Socially Productive Friday Evening

During the late afternoon, the Director of Policy called me and asked if I could testify at a Budget Committee Hearing and conduct legislative visits as they pertain to the Governor's proposed CalWORKS cuts in his Budget Revision which he released on Monday, 5/14. I agreed and spent the rest of the afternoon preping for Monday. Then, I thought about my friend Carol who lives and works near my office.

I called Carol at 4:45 pm to ask her if she wanted to meet up for a "drive-by" (i.e., a quick) drink, and she agreed. We met at Luka's, my favorite bar in Oakland and chatted for over 1.5 hours. It was so great to see her and hear all about her new niece and law school applications...

Then, I came home and whipped dinner together and my trainee, Nikita, from my part-time, clinical work came over, and we had dinner together. She is vegan so I made chana masala, broccoli stir-fry, and rice. For someone who is vegan, that girl can drink (alcohol)! Anyhow, we talked about people's insensitivity to vegans as well as our experiences with clients who lack health insurance. It was really good conversation.

Tomorrow, I will be in Calistoga for an overnight, staff retreat which I am really looking forward to. It is at a place called Mayacamas Ranch; I googled it and was memorized by its beauty. Check it out: http://www.mayacamasranch.com/home.html.

Anyhow, I must go to bed now as I am really tired and had too many drinks tonight- 4! I am meeting my friend for dance class in the early am.

Good night!

Back in SF

Yes- I am back. I suppose I've had several thoughts in the last several hours. One is that I am reading an amazing book by one of my favorite authors, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, called "The News of a Kidnapping". It is about the Colombian Cartel and reminds me so much of what is going on in Guantanamo Bay at the present moment. More on this later... Another thought is that one thing I do not miss about New York is its overcrowdedness... A third is that I've come to realize that Karl Rove really is a genius- I've been waffling on this for quite some time now, and he is 75% of the reason why we are where we are at in this country (and the world) at the moment (not to mention the mass's complacency)... There's so much more but I must go to bed; I have to be in Sacramento (for work) by 10 am which is a 2 hour drive from SF. Goodnight!

New Yauk

Here i am in NYC, my beloved NYC... And boy is it humid! This morning, I went out for a run and did not think I was going to make it through but I persevered and made it... I spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon with family and then trekked out to spend time with friends. I had a lovely visit with my best friend, Jorge, and the highlight of our visit was viewing tons of photos from his recent vacation to Medellin, Colombia. They were absolutely breathtaking, especially the pictures of the Andres Mountains! They reminded me of the mountains n Argentina. And now, I am with my other best friend, Pankti, and we just watched an episode of ER, and we just moved onto Sex and The City, her favorite show. It IS a pretty great show! She's seen and owns every single episode. We've been talking in between. It's been nice.

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Today I had the rare opportunity to take my entire lunch break... I met with a dear friend, June, and we caught up which had not been done in a couple of months... It is always so great seeing her; she always makes me think about an aspect of my life in a new way...

I also bought my plane ticket to go to LA for work purposes the first Friday of June. My plan is to jump on an Amtrak train to San Diego that evening and spend two nights with a dear friend whom I have known for over 15 years...

This evening, I found out that my friend Laurie's father passed away this morning. I was very sad to hear this; and I was even more annoyed because I only had two minutes to talk to Laurie because I was in between seeing clients... I wound up writing her a note and leaving it in her mailbox...

Three highlights of my evening: learning that a very cool, Latin sister, Michele, has returned to do psychotherapy with me at my part-time work; being greeted by my cat Ginger at the door when I arrived home; and the new Ne-Yo music cd... I love the duet ("Leaving Tonight") with Jennifer Hudson. It is great!

Hot Like a Mother

ok- so the weather here has been unusually hot... I'm talking so hot that my cat is panting, I'm in a nasty mood, and there is nothing one is able to do to cool down the apartment. I'm wondering if tonight, I will need to do what I used to do during my days in the Boogie Down during the heart of the summer: take a shower and get right into bed wet...

Mets Schmets

ok- so perhaps I've said in the past that i would never be caught dead at a Mets baseball game but tonight, I went to support those I care about. We all met at Tres Agaves, a Mexican restaurant in my neighborhood, eat some good grub and drank some dangerous Margaritas, and headed over to the AT&T Ball Park. One of the things I love about AT&T is that, unlike a Yankees Games at Yankees Stadium in the S. Bronx, attending a game is quite relaxing! And tonight's game was pretty relaxing despite the Mets having lost...

Tonight I learned that Citibank is financing the development of a new ball park for the Mets adjacent to Shea Stadium in Queens... Apparently, the park will be called Citi Park. Or is more like Shitty Park!? Speaking of shitty... Not only did Shawn Green do absolutely nothing at the plate but he also made one or two errors which lead to the SF Giants scoring 9 runs in one inning... Oh well, so much for the Mets... Mets Schmets!

pain in my back

this am, i went out for a quick run and just as i was finishing my workout, i think i pulled a muscle somewhere between my waist and shoulders in my back. i wasn't pushing myself in any way- i was running at a medium pace. i recall that it happened as i was running and attempted to take a deep breath. it is a little painful, especially when i try to breath deeply or when i stand up from my desk and try to stretch. has this ever happened to anyone? what to do?

my weekend

it's been a low key weekend, the kind that i typically associate with san francisco. friday evening, my friend oppilal came over and we cooked and ate a delicious indian meal, watched Six Feet Under, and fell asleep.

yesterday, my friend judy and i went to an 8:30 am dance class- i know, early but very much worth it. then, we went to one of my favorite breakfast places here in the city, Squat and Gobble. they have the best lattes and californian crepes! we sat and talked for hours, and she helped me with a work-related project.

then, i went home, watched some more Six Feet Under, took a nap, and went to one of my favorite places in SF, Ocean Beach, and went on a nice long run. then, i walked some, did a little yoga, and rested on the sand. then, i went to Java Beach, a cafe right off of the beach for tea. Judy met me there and we talked for a little while. then i went out for Sushi which I had been craving for almost one week but didn't get to it until last night because of, mostly, work. anyhow, it was scrumptious!

today, i woke up at 8 am, cleaned the house a little, went to Trader Joe's, made breakfast, and was visited by my colleague, Laurie, and her precious son, Feila. I will post a picture of him shortly. I played with Feila and even went swimming with him. He is such an amazing being! my life has truly been blessed with his presence!

one of the things i have come into learning is that one of the things i love about the weekend is napping... speaking of napping, it's time for one right now! oh how i love thee my sweet siesta!

It's been a while...

since i've posted... i suppose life's hecticness got the best of me; however, i miss writing so i'm back...

so much has happened since last july 2006...

here are some highlights:

july 2006- completed the triathlon at the Gay Games!
august 2006- went on a cruise with my family
september 2006- my one year hiatus from working on my PhD ended
november 2006- proposition 86 did not pass; i worked extremely hard on the
yestoprop86 campaign; however, we lost by 2%; prop 86 was a statewide tobacco
tax that, if had passed, would have provided health insurance to the remaining
7% of children who are uninsured
february 2007- got a promotion (and raise!)
march 2007- went to an awesome work-related conference hosted by the applied
research center held in my beloved NYC
april 2007- met with my PhD Dissertation Committee for the first time; they approved
my research proposal pending minor revisions. also went to the yucatan
peninsula in mexico
may 2007- will be going to my niece's first communion in NYC!