Saturday, March 07, 2009
Friday, March 06, 2009
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Valencia Vogue
We could probably fill this entire blog with Valencia Vogue if we stood on a corner and waited with our cameras. Sadly, we have other obligations that, say, support our habits of sleeping indoors and eating food that hasn't already been enjoyed by other people. So, we are only lucky enough to be on Valencia with our cameras every now and then.
I loved this woman's look, all bundled up on one of our non-rainy days (of which there have been a few lately... but I don't remember when). She wore a classy plaid coat with dress shoes, socks and "pedal pushers". I also liked the new cruiser with wicker basket. My goal is to look that good at least until the air warms up and it becomes easier (think sundresses, etc., when goals are no longer necessary).
I loved this woman's look, all bundled up on one of our non-rainy days (of which there have been a few lately... but I don't remember when). She wore a classy plaid coat with dress shoes, socks and "pedal pushers". I also liked the new cruiser with wicker basket. My goal is to look that good at least until the air warms up and it becomes easier (think sundresses, etc., when goals are no longer necessary).
Monday, March 02, 2009
I'm not old; I have a job! ...or Crazy Hair
OK, maybe I'm middle aged. But that's not the point....
One of our magnificent Planner 1s went to Vegas for her birthday last weekend. She returned to work this morning exhausted and with no voice. She's had a cold recently, but she says she lost her voice from partying.
I carpooled home with another coworker. I told him "I was partying like a rock star until about a year ago, and then I just got old. Eleven rolls around, and I have to go to bed. My friends have had trouble adjusting. I think they feel betrayed." He said, "it might be the job." Ta Da! It might be the job.
(I recommend to all people: lose your job, regain your youth!)
The other thing I've noticed lately about myself is crazy hair. A girl I went to college with used to say "crazy hair = crazy person." Here's the difference: I've stopped caring if I have crazy hair. I feel better with crazy hair. I think this is my subconscious effort to drive people away from me because my heart is broken.
That said, my heart is almost always broken. As KT says, I am a perfect "4" in the Enneagram (4=the tragic romantic or the artist). I just don't always do things to drive people away... or maybe I do. The point is, our psyche has a range of ways of ensuring that we get what we need emotionally, and sometimes that's a personal desire for crazy hair for example.
One of our magnificent Planner 1s went to Vegas for her birthday last weekend. She returned to work this morning exhausted and with no voice. She's had a cold recently, but she says she lost her voice from partying.
I carpooled home with another coworker. I told him "I was partying like a rock star until about a year ago, and then I just got old. Eleven rolls around, and I have to go to bed. My friends have had trouble adjusting. I think they feel betrayed." He said, "it might be the job." Ta Da! It might be the job.
(I recommend to all people: lose your job, regain your youth!)
The other thing I've noticed lately about myself is crazy hair. A girl I went to college with used to say "crazy hair = crazy person." Here's the difference: I've stopped caring if I have crazy hair. I feel better with crazy hair. I think this is my subconscious effort to drive people away from me because my heart is broken.
That said, my heart is almost always broken. As KT says, I am a perfect "4" in the Enneagram (4=the tragic romantic or the artist). I just don't always do things to drive people away... or maybe I do. The point is, our psyche has a range of ways of ensuring that we get what we need emotionally, and sometimes that's a personal desire for crazy hair for example.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Green Careers: Order your copy now
My story is included in a book on Green Careers which will be released April 1, 2009. Order your copy now.
MAPP/Carl Pisaturo
A few weeks back, Kathy, Lindsey and I went to the Mission Arts and Performance Project (MAPP) which puts arts on the street level in alternative spaces like garages, basements and studios in block party form. We went to a series of venues, many crowded and closed by the time we got there, but we hit the jackpot at Area 2881 where Carl Pisaturo's robotic performance and kinetic sculptures blew our minds.
Stop advising me! Please.
Recently, people have been giving me a lot of advice. I don't know if I seem lost, but seriously people, I'm not. Your advice is annoying at best. In my experience, other people's opinions on what I should do can even be harmful. Listening to you instead of listening to my heart will absolutely put me on the wrong path. If I want to know what you think I should do (because my heart is silent on the matter, for example), I'll ask.
I realize that sounds ungrateful. My father tells me people give me advice because they love me, and I want people to love me. I just wonder if there's some way that we can work together to get people to stop expressing their love by telling me what I should do. I'm open to gifts, verbal appreciation, quality time, poetry, songs, little things you found on the sidewalk that made you think of me.... Let's brainstorm a solution.
Thanks.
I realize that sounds ungrateful. My father tells me people give me advice because they love me, and I want people to love me. I just wonder if there's some way that we can work together to get people to stop expressing their love by telling me what I should do. I'm open to gifts, verbal appreciation, quality time, poetry, songs, little things you found on the sidewalk that made you think of me.... Let's brainstorm a solution.
Thanks.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Towards a Boyfriend-free computer
I'm self sufficient in most ways. However, certain things are a man's job: sharpening knives, changing batteries, and fixing my computer come to mind. That battery died on my computer about a year ago. About a month ago, I took a deep breath and tried to navigate that mysterious world myself. It went pretty well, and now I can work on the train (which is good because I am on a train for like 3 hours a day).
This magnificent new technology has given me time to sort and process my photos. The goal is to have a completely Boyfriend-free computer. In many cases, these photos have not been properly honored yet, either because they are painful for me to look at and/or there are just too many of them.
Towards that goal, I believe I have finished processing all the photos from my trip around the world with Grayson in 1994-95. I left out the ones that have neither of us in them (I might add those later) and the ones that have us both in them (for obvious reasons).
This magnificent new technology has given me time to sort and process my photos. The goal is to have a completely Boyfriend-free computer. In many cases, these photos have not been properly honored yet, either because they are painful for me to look at and/or there are just too many of them.
Towards that goal, I believe I have finished processing all the photos from my trip around the world with Grayson in 1994-95. I left out the ones that have neither of us in them (I might add those later) and the ones that have us both in them (for obvious reasons).
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| Grayson and Lilia around the world |
from Another Planet
When I took this photo in the Trader Joe's parking lot, another guy with a bike said "I'm glad I only have to take my groceries home a few blocks away and not to another planet."
Is that another wheel-chair wheel?
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Dating tip
Some of you used to read this blog for dating tips. I haven't been consistently single in a while. Maybe this is the first of a new series:
When a person tells you they aren't going to sleep with you, arguing with them will never be an effective way to change their mind.
When a person tells you they aren't going to sleep with you, arguing with them will never be an effective way to change their mind.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
SFO Bike Swap messenger bags
I thought this quirky messenger bag couple was adorable at the SFO Bike Swap last fall.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Why have the gods brought me this gift?
Someone called me "Sparky" recently. I liked that. Do you think I should start calling myself "Sparky"?
My boss gave a talk last week. I didn't plan to attend bc 1) it cost $25 and expense reports are a lot of trouble. 2) I knew everything he was going to say already. 3) The venue did not overwhelm me. But he was worried no one would come and asked me especially to come support him. So, I did.
They offered a drawing prize for people who registered ontime as a small thank you: a Starbucks card. I generally don't go to Starbucks because they put the local coffee shops out of business, but when they began the drawing I knew I would win. The organizer asked my boss to draw a name.
He drew a name that he could not pronounce. He tried, but no one came forward. He tried to pronounce it again with help. This time, the organizer decided the person wasn't present.
He drew another name. This one was even harder to pronounce. He tried, got help, tried again.... The person did not come forward.
He drew a third name. It was mine.
Notwithstanding the fact that names are a very strange thing, I couldn't help but think that the drawing was fixed. Plus, what do I want with a Starbucks card? I love winning; doesn't everyone? But of all the things worth winning in the world, I couldn't help but think that this one would mean more to someone else. Why did the gods bring me this gift?
Along the same lines, I felt an overwhelming attraction to a certain man some time back. He liked me to, and we started down that road. I can only speak for myself: he was unbelievably irritating. I'm sure I'm irritating too. But why did the gods give me this attraction to someone who in no way has what it takes to be my partner?
Life is so full of lessons that I don't want to lose any of them. I want to make the most of this one precious life. Why make me feel good only to make me wonder? I want to be grateful for every gift, but some gifts turn out to be curses.
I'm doing fine with my Starbucks card and single. You can even call me Sparky tho it feels like a lie. I keep my weekend nights for my friends (we don't drink coffee at night) and date on other nights and day times. I'm waiting for the gods to give me a sign.
My boss gave a talk last week. I didn't plan to attend bc 1) it cost $25 and expense reports are a lot of trouble. 2) I knew everything he was going to say already. 3) The venue did not overwhelm me. But he was worried no one would come and asked me especially to come support him. So, I did.
They offered a drawing prize for people who registered ontime as a small thank you: a Starbucks card. I generally don't go to Starbucks because they put the local coffee shops out of business, but when they began the drawing I knew I would win. The organizer asked my boss to draw a name.
He drew a name that he could not pronounce. He tried, but no one came forward. He tried to pronounce it again with help. This time, the organizer decided the person wasn't present.
He drew another name. This one was even harder to pronounce. He tried, got help, tried again.... The person did not come forward.
He drew a third name. It was mine.
Notwithstanding the fact that names are a very strange thing, I couldn't help but think that the drawing was fixed. Plus, what do I want with a Starbucks card? I love winning; doesn't everyone? But of all the things worth winning in the world, I couldn't help but think that this one would mean more to someone else. Why did the gods bring me this gift?
Along the same lines, I felt an overwhelming attraction to a certain man some time back. He liked me to, and we started down that road. I can only speak for myself: he was unbelievably irritating. I'm sure I'm irritating too. But why did the gods give me this attraction to someone who in no way has what it takes to be my partner?
Life is so full of lessons that I don't want to lose any of them. I want to make the most of this one precious life. Why make me feel good only to make me wonder? I want to be grateful for every gift, but some gifts turn out to be curses.
I'm doing fine with my Starbucks card and single. You can even call me Sparky tho it feels like a lie. I keep my weekend nights for my friends (we don't drink coffee at night) and date on other nights and day times. I'm waiting for the gods to give me a sign.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Grayson and Lilia around the world
As you have surmised, I am processing old photos (slide scans actually). You can view the album here:
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| Grayson and Lilia around the world |
A Bicycle Superhero?
Tim Marvin sends us news of a bicycle superhero in Portland who rides around fixing flats and helping those in need.
Does a 'phantom' bike hero ride Portland at night? Cyclists want to believe
by Joseph Rose, The Oregonian
Years ago, we had a plan to drive a yellow VW bug around the Oakland hills fixing flats and yelling at people in Italian to ride faster.
And then there's Monty Python's version which is, like most humor, perhaps the closest to reality:
Does a 'phantom' bike hero ride Portland at night? Cyclists want to believe
by Joseph Rose, The Oregonian
Years ago, we had a plan to drive a yellow VW bug around the Oakland hills fixing flats and yelling at people in Italian to ride faster.
And then there's Monty Python's version which is, like most humor, perhaps the closest to reality:
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Low Carbon Dating etc.
The Chronicle published an article earlier this week on low-carbon dating with a bunch of suggestions on how to meet your match on two wheels. We hope it's worked for you, but if it hasn't yet, they'll tell you how to help it along.We attended the SFBC's Love on Wheels event again last Friday night. We should shortly be able to share photo booth photos by one of our favorite contributors, Dustin.
The main attraction at the event is a '70s-style dating game where one person chooses between 3 people of the gender they're attracted to. The Chronicle article talks about renting a tandem which I found to be an excellent way to ride together when you naturally tend towards different speeds, but one of the Love on Wheels contestants called it a cliche. Sigh. I guess we can't all run around with sappy romantic hearts -- nothing would ever get done.
Yours truly is #1 in this photo from 2006.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Friday, February 13, 2009
Caltrain bike shoes...
I used to be afraid to bike in good shoes. I thought they would get scuffed up. Now I realize that it's like Peter Pan and flying, you just have to believe... and occasionally shine your shoes.
Look! Everyone sitting in the bike car this day has cool shoes. Go figure.
Look! Everyone sitting in the bike car this day has cool shoes. Go figure.
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