A Bad Case of Insomnia

it's 3 am (thank god it's friday) and i am still up... i suppose the nap that i took after work didnt help...

it's been a little over a week since i wrote last...

kauai was absolutely amazing. i will post one or two pics which look as though someone photo shopped me into some unreal photos of nature... the highlights of the trip included:
1- hiking the napali coast
2- hiking waimea canyon (the grand canyon of the pacific)
3- taking a helicopter tour
4- dining at hannalei cafe
5- picking mangos and guava
6- going to the farmer's market in hannalei
7- snorkeling at one of the beaches along the napali coast
8- sitting at poipu beach!
9- taking naps on the beach at night
10- the ahi tuna!
11- the ahi tuna!
12- the ahi tuna!

it was hard coming back to sf for many reasons but mainly due to the weather right now- it is freezing...

my mother left today which was really sad for me and her. she enjoyed her time here in sf, especially being visited by her sister from las vegas for three days. my cat, ginger, is missing her as well as grandma gave her all the food she could eat, including boiled chicken, salmon, and other things. apparently, when she was about to leave today, ginger threw up three times! i did notice she was a little down when i returned from work...

my first and second days back (yesterday and today) weren't so bad... in fact, my day yesterday was extremely rewarding as i attended an all day training (for my clinical work) on transgender and gender queer identity. i went to a lecture on the overarching clinical issues as well as a panel discussion by trans and gender queer folks- which was so amazing- and attended two additional lectures, one on the medical issues and another on the legal issues. i learned so much and feel as though the information i acquired will put me at a greater advantage in terms of my work with trans- and cisgender individuals.

today i did some work on CA elected officials, many of whom are on the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, endorsing our national legislation... and i also began to think about ways to turn my research with families whose children are without health coverage into a report of some sorts...

and this weekend i will focus on primarily studying for my first of two LCSW exams which i am scheduled to take on 6/22... keep your fingers crossed.

next friday, i will be in LA for work and then will take a train down to San Diego to spend some time with a good friend, Yvonne. looking forward to it...

i think that's all for now...

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!