This week, I resigned my full-time job at Adobe, and am returning to freelance work. My big idea is to take it easy for awhile, and earn just enough money to get by. The rest of the time, I'll dedicate to taking care of myself, doing yoga, cooking and baking, practicing Zen, going on adventures with friends, and working in my garden.
It reminds me of a line from a two-part TV show 'Crown Prince Rudolph': a doctor told the syphilitic young prince of Austria that he didn't have much longer to live. "If you took up gardening in Corfu, you might live another two years." Sadly, he opted instead for a double suicide with his mistress. But the idea's still a good one: choosing the most restful course of action for a little while, and see what some quiet time can do.
Love and peace to all in these festive holiday times.
Sunday, December 05, 2010
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Women at work
I took these notes a year ago, and every time I come across them I think, wow, was that guy ever right. Check it out.
Advice for leadership
1. Extrapolate: have an aspirational vision. What's the larger journey? (Instead of the next 20 steps)
2. Have a range to your style
3. Overcome Imposter Syndrome: do you believe you derserve success? WOmen tend to undersell themselves, lack confidence
4. Build relationships. Women tend to not find sponsors for thei rideas. They build small, deep networks vs. broad ones. Also tend to be "worker bees" and fail to network at all.
Emotional Inconsistency
Women are more likely to:
- Fail to manage up. They want to let their work speak for itself.
- Bring too much energy to their jobs
- Get pigeon-holed based on their expertise
- Not manage perceptions. People are harder on women and therefore you need to have a greater range
Attributes that will help you
1. Conviction/confidence - overcome Imposter Syndrome. Ask for what you want. Sell yourself.
2. Miltitasking - maintain a work-life balance
3. High EQ - maintain emotional consistency
4. Be hard-workign and resilient
5. Naturally Socratic - Women tend to learn things through questioning. This can be an advantage.
Advice for leadership
1. Extrapolate: have an aspirational vision. What's the larger journey? (Instead of the next 20 steps)
2. Have a range to your style
3. Overcome Imposter Syndrome: do you believe you derserve success? WOmen tend to undersell themselves, lack confidence
4. Build relationships. Women tend to not find sponsors for thei rideas. They build small, deep networks vs. broad ones. Also tend to be "worker bees" and fail to network at all.
Emotional Inconsistency
Women are more likely to:
- Fail to manage up. They want to let their work speak for itself.
- Bring too much energy to their jobs
- Get pigeon-holed based on their expertise
- Not manage perceptions. People are harder on women and therefore you need to have a greater range
Attributes that will help you
1. Conviction/confidence - overcome Imposter Syndrome. Ask for what you want. Sell yourself.
2. Miltitasking - maintain a work-life balance
3. High EQ - maintain emotional consistency
4. Be hard-workign and resilient
5. Naturally Socratic - Women tend to learn things through questioning. This can be an advantage.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
winter vegetables
Took a class at Garden for the Environment here in SF and learned all about growing veggies in my neighborhood. Here's what they had to say.
You can grow tomatoes here through the end of November; tomatillos do better in our climate. It's time to start now with kale, swiss chard, lettuces, beets, carrots and broccoli. November is good for artichokes, rhubarb, tree collards (need clipping) and strawberries.
Also in Nov, plant garlic (from bulb, pointy side up) onions, leeks, peas. With garlic and onions, plants should "brown" in June, meaning a bulb is forming. Stop watering when this happens. If you plan them too early they will bolt before they brown. Alternate root veggies with lettuce or other surface leafy plants. Yarrow is great insect attractor (to eat aphids)
Supplies:
Free mulch at Bay View Green Waste
Free compost at Sonoma Composting and Sunset Scavenger, on certain days
American Soil for bagged soil, stone, and grapesee mulch, which evidently rocks
Tips:
Handpick snails from teh garden at night, and throw them in the city compost bin (put lid down). Check under ledges or in any dark, quiet place. Squish the eggs when you find them in the soil.
Fava beans are great for winter cover. When planting seeds, general rule of thumb is plant the seed 3x as wide as the seed is. Go for short number of days to maturity in this climate.
You can grow tomatoes here through the end of November; tomatillos do better in our climate. It's time to start now with kale, swiss chard, lettuces, beets, carrots and broccoli. November is good for artichokes, rhubarb, tree collards (need clipping) and strawberries.
Also in Nov, plant garlic (from bulb, pointy side up) onions, leeks, peas. With garlic and onions, plants should "brown" in June, meaning a bulb is forming. Stop watering when this happens. If you plan them too early they will bolt before they brown. Alternate root veggies with lettuce or other surface leafy plants. Yarrow is great insect attractor (to eat aphids)
Supplies:
Free mulch at Bay View Green Waste
Free compost at Sonoma Composting and Sunset Scavenger, on certain days
American Soil for bagged soil, stone, and grapesee mulch, which evidently rocks
Tips:
Handpick snails from teh garden at night, and throw them in the city compost bin (put lid down). Check under ledges or in any dark, quiet place. Squish the eggs when you find them in the soil.
Fava beans are great for winter cover. When planting seeds, general rule of thumb is plant the seed 3x as wide as the seed is. Go for short number of days to maturity in this climate.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
looking at cars
It's hard to find a car that's any better than my 1992 Honda Civic VX hatchback. It gets 40mpg, is fun to drive, and even has an airbag. It's also short, so it fits into San Francisco parking spaces. And it's practically free to drive, with low insurance premiums (you can drop comprehensive when the value of the car drops below $2500) and the current federal writeoff of 50 cents per mile.
Here's what it does not have:
4 doors
air conditioning
windshield wiper delay
cruise control
passenger, side airbags
So, what's the market got to offer?
- Toyota Prius
- Honda Fit - ok to drive
- Nissan Leaf - $25k with rebates, 100 mile range, no maintenance for the first 5 years
- Audi A3 diesel wagon
What I really want is a plug-in hybrid that's cute and fun to drive. Too bad teh Cevy Volt isn't zippier!
Here's what it does not have:
4 doors
air conditioning
windshield wiper delay
cruise control
passenger, side airbags
So, what's the market got to offer?
- Toyota Prius
- Honda Fit - ok to drive
- Nissan Leaf - $25k with rebates, 100 mile range, no maintenance for the first 5 years
- Audi A3 diesel wagon
What I really want is a plug-in hybrid that's cute and fun to drive. Too bad teh Cevy Volt isn't zippier!
Sunday, July 18, 2010
12 days and counting
I have given up looking for my cat. It's up to her, now. to make it back home.
The phone calls have slowed as well. It's lovely that people are concerned, and want to help, so they call the number on the fliers I posted. What's difficult is that the information they have has not helped me find my cat.
I've gotten a wide range of calls. Yesterday, a woman named Victoria told me she had a cat that looked just like Lindy, and did I want her because her landlady found out about her cat and is forcing her to get rid of it. No, I don't want your cat. I want my cat back. "A perfect little set of bookends" she called them. Really?
Lots of people have seen Lindy, but it turns out there's a lookalike cat on Hugo Street, and a set of four strays, two of which are gray. Hugo is a good street for cats - dimly lit, quiet, and full of dark corners to hide in. The calls served to raise and dash my hopes, so I'm glad they've stopped. The last one made me cry. The woman said, I'm looking at your cat right now. She's sitting and cleaning herself.
The happy news is my friends adopted a cat this weekend. So we're all becoming kitty parents. I'll give Lindy a few months. After that, if she returns, she may have a roommate.
Be well and happy, laugh and love, and don't forget to tuck your kitty in at night.
The phone calls have slowed as well. It's lovely that people are concerned, and want to help, so they call the number on the fliers I posted. What's difficult is that the information they have has not helped me find my cat.
I've gotten a wide range of calls. Yesterday, a woman named Victoria told me she had a cat that looked just like Lindy, and did I want her because her landlady found out about her cat and is forcing her to get rid of it. No, I don't want your cat. I want my cat back. "A perfect little set of bookends" she called them. Really?
Lots of people have seen Lindy, but it turns out there's a lookalike cat on Hugo Street, and a set of four strays, two of which are gray. Hugo is a good street for cats - dimly lit, quiet, and full of dark corners to hide in. The calls served to raise and dash my hopes, so I'm glad they've stopped. The last one made me cry. The woman said, I'm looking at your cat right now. She's sitting and cleaning herself.
The happy news is my friends adopted a cat this weekend. So we're all becoming kitty parents. I'll give Lindy a few months. After that, if she returns, she may have a roommate.
Be well and happy, laugh and love, and don't forget to tuck your kitty in at night.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Lost my cat
It's been a bad week. And I was on vacation.
It started out well enough. I spent the 4th in Santa Cruz with dear friends and their dear friends, singing the Star-Spangled Banner from the garage rooftop, watching amateur fireworks lit on the beach. Then it was down for a restful visit to the Tassajara Zen monastery in Carmel Valley. The weather was hot -- just like real summer - and there were cold plunges in the river, hiking to the windcaves, and hot tubs in the evening. Bliss.
Then I got home, and my world got complicated.
My cat Lindy is 4 years old and has lived with me the past two. She's cute, gray, fluffy, a medium-haired American cat with an attitude and heaps of charm. She's got four white paws -- "her go-go boots" my old neighbor used to call them -- and a "tuxedo", a goatee and bib in white. She likes to survey her domain from atop the steps. She likes to sleep on top of the armoire where the TV is stored. Or curled up in a little ball on the square of blanket on my bed. Or in her Scratch Lounge bed, with a good view of the stairs to eye any interlopers. Lindy ruled the roost, the 4th roommate who could get us all to do her bidding without saying a word.
There's still some hope she'll return. My neighbors -- who I'm talking to for the first time -- are all optimistic. I've put up fliers, and taped them to the sidewalk. I've followed up on leads, biking through Golden Gate Park at 5am, calling the cat. Lee called in response to the flier, told me about Lurline street, choc full of cats. I get 2-3 calls a day of people trying to help.
It's like that song, the cat came back, the very next day... I hope Lindy can return to us. The house isn't the same without her here.
It started out well enough. I spent the 4th in Santa Cruz with dear friends and their dear friends, singing the Star-Spangled Banner from the garage rooftop, watching amateur fireworks lit on the beach. Then it was down for a restful visit to the Tassajara Zen monastery in Carmel Valley. The weather was hot -- just like real summer - and there were cold plunges in the river, hiking to the windcaves, and hot tubs in the evening. Bliss.
Then I got home, and my world got complicated.
My cat Lindy is 4 years old and has lived with me the past two. She's cute, gray, fluffy, a medium-haired American cat with an attitude and heaps of charm. She's got four white paws -- "her go-go boots" my old neighbor used to call them -- and a "tuxedo", a goatee and bib in white. She likes to survey her domain from atop the steps. She likes to sleep on top of the armoire where the TV is stored. Or curled up in a little ball on the square of blanket on my bed. Or in her Scratch Lounge bed, with a good view of the stairs to eye any interlopers. Lindy ruled the roost, the 4th roommate who could get us all to do her bidding without saying a word.
There's still some hope she'll return. My neighbors -- who I'm talking to for the first time -- are all optimistic. I've put up fliers, and taped them to the sidewalk. I've followed up on leads, biking through Golden Gate Park at 5am, calling the cat. Lee called in response to the flier, told me about Lurline street, choc full of cats. I get 2-3 calls a day of people trying to help.
It's like that song, the cat came back, the very next day... I hope Lindy can return to us. The house isn't the same without her here.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Judy buys slab
There are all sorts of hazards to home ownership. Just this week, the insurance company notified me that they have no insurance on record for us. Note to self: fax proof today, or they'll buy insurance for us. Not-so-great thing about HOA insurance (since we're a condo now, thank you very much) is that it's technically commercial insurance and you can't cancel it.
One that I didn't count on is impulse purchasing, especially when it comes to building materials. But there you have it: a warehouse sale by Vertrazzo, and just one slab left of Millifiore. (A guy bought the other one at 7:50am - 10 minutes before the warehouse was technically open.) I bit. For a shocking amount of money, I got a 1000-pound slab of recycled glass countertop and a stone frabricator to take it away to his warehouse until I can afford the install it.
Check it out: The green glass is from bottles, the red from car tail lights - or possibly from recycled Tiffany lamps.
http://www.vetrazzo.com/palette_mille.html
I am happy.
One that I didn't count on is impulse purchasing, especially when it comes to building materials. But there you have it: a warehouse sale by Vertrazzo, and just one slab left of Millifiore. (A guy bought the other one at 7:50am - 10 minutes before the warehouse was technically open.) I bit. For a shocking amount of money, I got a 1000-pound slab of recycled glass countertop and a stone frabricator to take it away to his warehouse until I can afford the install it.
Check it out: The green glass is from bottles, the red from car tail lights - or possibly from recycled Tiffany lamps.
http://www.vetrazzo.com/palette_mille.html
I am happy.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
house reshuffle
Who you live with is a big deal. It's whether they balk at your eating their ice cream (or yogurt), if they lock the cat out in the rain, and if they put down the toilet seat. It's hard to put your finger on exactly how we lump along - or don't. But you feel it in every conversation.
One of my housemates is moving out. It's a months sooner than I expected -- I had asked him to start looking a few weeks ago. But he took our chat to heart and has found a new place with great folks in a part of town that's tony, and close to downtown.
So there's some sadness in the house. He's been here a year and has good relationships with the other housemates. I feel a mix of sadness, relief, and financial anxiety. I will trust that I will be able to swing home ownership without the extra income. And I will move out of the dining room and into the master bedroom, with a closet, with shelves, and a window that lets enough light in I can do my makeup in the morning and not turn on lamps during the day.
It's all good, and it's all happening at once, and it's the best thing for everyone. Although the cat will miss rubbing herself on his sweaty clothes. She's a freak for man dirt.
One of my housemates is moving out. It's a months sooner than I expected -- I had asked him to start looking a few weeks ago. But he took our chat to heart and has found a new place with great folks in a part of town that's tony, and close to downtown.
So there's some sadness in the house. He's been here a year and has good relationships with the other housemates. I feel a mix of sadness, relief, and financial anxiety. I will trust that I will be able to swing home ownership without the extra income. And I will move out of the dining room and into the master bedroom, with a closet, with shelves, and a window that lets enough light in I can do my makeup in the morning and not turn on lamps during the day.
It's all good, and it's all happening at once, and it's the best thing for everyone. Although the cat will miss rubbing herself on his sweaty clothes. She's a freak for man dirt.
Condo converted
It's been a wild and wacky spring. Got online this morning to discover that my condo conversion process is, in one huge way, at an end. There are still things to do, but as of Friday April 16, 2010, the city of San Francisco has completed the process of recording a new parcel map and dividing our one building into two units.
Ever wondered what goes into condo conversion? Well, I can tell you.
First you hire a lawyer. They tell you who else to hire, and what to do when. Except when they don't, and you have to tell them things. It's good to know when those times are, but you won't. Too bad!
Then you hire a surveyor, and they come and measure everything, from the depth of the sidewalk to the square footage of your closets. That's your parcel and condo map.
The hair-raising bit is you invite the building inspectors of San Francisco to come and walk through the property, noting everything that's "wrong", which means not up to California Building code, or just things they don't like. For instance, the plumbing inspector didn't like my bathroom sink, because it has chipping around the drain. It's a lovely porcelain pedestal sink, probably original with the house in 1925. Fortunately, we got a different plumbing inspector the second time around. Yay!
So by now you've spent roughly $25,000 and 3 months pulling out your hair. But there's more.
Here's a little glitch that got us. When the city inspectors come back through to complete the "Physical Inspection" and sign off on your repairs, they give you this tissue-paper-thin piece of paper that's your Certificate of Final Completion. You don't talk to them (ever!) so you have no idea what this is for. Actually it's extremely important. You have to give it to the surveyor, who submits it with the parcel map and condo plan; otherwise the city won't start to review the plans. It's your ticket into the bureaucracy of SF building department. We sat on ours for 3 weeks before the lawyer straightened us out. Phooey!
We went to see the lawyer to get our CC&Rs -- Convenants, Rights, and Restrictions -- drafted. This is required by California law, and it's a set contract that determines the rules for Home Owner's Associations (HOAs). So whether you have two units, like we do, or hundreds, these rules govern how you operate as a legal entity. We got to weigh in on things like pet policy, restrictions on numbers of inhabitants, and like 2 other things. We also got a budget spreadsheet for the association, with things like repairs to fences, paint, and water bills. Good stuff!
Tip #1: Memorize your block and lot number right off the bat. Don't wait. You'll need it when you go to prepay your property taxes. I did this twice. I prepaid a year's worth of taxes in Oct. 2009, and then had to go back in April 2010 because the city changed the rules: you have to prepay for a year and a half. So I prepaid for another year. Sadly, the assessor's office wouldn't give me a new Tax Certificate (I tried!), because they'd already given me one. But since the first one wasn't dated in 2010 the Bureau of Street Use and Mapping (BSM) wouldn't accept it, according to the surveyor. So I made another trip to city hall, went though the metal detector, pushed the weird homemade box to get a number and sat for a half an hour waiting for someone to get me a new tax certificate. Saved me $40, though. :-/
What else? Well, we "binded" our new HOA insurance policy on Thursday, and got individual condo insurance plans. We signed the final CC&Rs, which go to the title company -- the surveyor is sending the title officer the final recorded parcel map and condo plan. All that's missing is the Lender Consent.
When you convert a building to condos, and you have a group mortgage with a bank, you are essentially breaking the terms of the loan. So the bank can recall your mortgage, if they want. To protect against this, you request Lender Consent. I did this. And yes, there was an oversight.
Tip #2: Make friends with your title officer. He (or she) can screw you and stop the whole process in its tracks if they won't deal with your bank, or if they won't offer Title Guaranty on the property before it's appraised. Be nice. To everyone. But especially to the title officer.
Back to Lender Consent. Finding the right person at the bank is the hardest part. Happily, our bank is known for being mellow and helpful, which they were. They sent us a list of documents to submit -- a recent tile report, the parcel map and condo plan, a final copy of the CC&Rs, and a letter stating that the conversion will not affect the value of the property. You also have to pay them $500. If you handle Lender Consent yourself rather than having the lawyer do it, you need to make sure you get the form from the lawyer that the bankers actually sign (and notarize). The form is called Consent to Condominium Plan. I got 5 gray hairs on Thursday trying to reach the lawyer to get the form so the bank VP, who's out on Fridays, could sign it. I failed. So at some point on Friday we possibly technically have breached our contract with the bank. Oh well! Should be fixed by Monday. Fingers crossed.
So, the Lender Consent will come, I'll send it to the title officer, who will submit it to the CC&Rs.
Then, we refinance.
Once we refi the final steps of condo conversion will happen. The refi triggers the assessor's office to assign us unique lot numbers, and generate separate tax bills. With that, we will be separate, legal, saleable entities -- hopefully with a modest rise in the value of the property. They say about 8%. Wish us luck. Only a few more weeks to go.
To top it all off, we're also doing work on the garden. Yesterday the Guatemalans shoveled maybe 2 tons of sand out of the back yard. Today we're getting a new fence. On Monday the garbage company comes to haul the dumpster away.
The garden is our greatest opportunity to increase the value of the house, and an appraiser should be coming in the next few weeks to tell us what each unit is now worth. Exciting! Terrifying! A friend at work got an appraiser from out of town who assessed it at roughly $100,000 below market value. So they couldn't refi. Bad times. Don't want that.
Gotta go now -- forgot to tell the lawyer that BSM recorded the parcel map. And Marciale wants to be paid in cash. Happy spring!
Ever wondered what goes into condo conversion? Well, I can tell you.
First you hire a lawyer. They tell you who else to hire, and what to do when. Except when they don't, and you have to tell them things. It's good to know when those times are, but you won't. Too bad!
Then you hire a surveyor, and they come and measure everything, from the depth of the sidewalk to the square footage of your closets. That's your parcel and condo map.
The hair-raising bit is you invite the building inspectors of San Francisco to come and walk through the property, noting everything that's "wrong", which means not up to California Building code, or just things they don't like. For instance, the plumbing inspector didn't like my bathroom sink, because it has chipping around the drain. It's a lovely porcelain pedestal sink, probably original with the house in 1925. Fortunately, we got a different plumbing inspector the second time around. Yay!
So by now you've spent roughly $25,000 and 3 months pulling out your hair. But there's more.
Here's a little glitch that got us. When the city inspectors come back through to complete the "Physical Inspection" and sign off on your repairs, they give you this tissue-paper-thin piece of paper that's your Certificate of Final Completion. You don't talk to them (ever!) so you have no idea what this is for. Actually it's extremely important. You have to give it to the surveyor, who submits it with the parcel map and condo plan; otherwise the city won't start to review the plans. It's your ticket into the bureaucracy of SF building department. We sat on ours for 3 weeks before the lawyer straightened us out. Phooey!
We went to see the lawyer to get our CC&Rs -- Convenants, Rights, and Restrictions -- drafted. This is required by California law, and it's a set contract that determines the rules for Home Owner's Associations (HOAs). So whether you have two units, like we do, or hundreds, these rules govern how you operate as a legal entity. We got to weigh in on things like pet policy, restrictions on numbers of inhabitants, and like 2 other things. We also got a budget spreadsheet for the association, with things like repairs to fences, paint, and water bills. Good stuff!
Tip #1: Memorize your block and lot number right off the bat. Don't wait. You'll need it when you go to prepay your property taxes. I did this twice. I prepaid a year's worth of taxes in Oct. 2009, and then had to go back in April 2010 because the city changed the rules: you have to prepay for a year and a half. So I prepaid for another year. Sadly, the assessor's office wouldn't give me a new Tax Certificate (I tried!), because they'd already given me one. But since the first one wasn't dated in 2010 the Bureau of Street Use and Mapping (BSM) wouldn't accept it, according to the surveyor. So I made another trip to city hall, went though the metal detector, pushed the weird homemade box to get a number and sat for a half an hour waiting for someone to get me a new tax certificate. Saved me $40, though. :-/
What else? Well, we "binded" our new HOA insurance policy on Thursday, and got individual condo insurance plans. We signed the final CC&Rs, which go to the title company -- the surveyor is sending the title officer the final recorded parcel map and condo plan. All that's missing is the Lender Consent.
When you convert a building to condos, and you have a group mortgage with a bank, you are essentially breaking the terms of the loan. So the bank can recall your mortgage, if they want. To protect against this, you request Lender Consent. I did this. And yes, there was an oversight.
Tip #2: Make friends with your title officer. He (or she) can screw you and stop the whole process in its tracks if they won't deal with your bank, or if they won't offer Title Guaranty on the property before it's appraised. Be nice. To everyone. But especially to the title officer.
Back to Lender Consent. Finding the right person at the bank is the hardest part. Happily, our bank is known for being mellow and helpful, which they were. They sent us a list of documents to submit -- a recent tile report, the parcel map and condo plan, a final copy of the CC&Rs, and a letter stating that the conversion will not affect the value of the property. You also have to pay them $500. If you handle Lender Consent yourself rather than having the lawyer do it, you need to make sure you get the form from the lawyer that the bankers actually sign (and notarize). The form is called Consent to Condominium Plan. I got 5 gray hairs on Thursday trying to reach the lawyer to get the form so the bank VP, who's out on Fridays, could sign it. I failed. So at some point on Friday we possibly technically have breached our contract with the bank. Oh well! Should be fixed by Monday. Fingers crossed.
So, the Lender Consent will come, I'll send it to the title officer, who will submit it to the CC&Rs.
Then, we refinance.
Once we refi the final steps of condo conversion will happen. The refi triggers the assessor's office to assign us unique lot numbers, and generate separate tax bills. With that, we will be separate, legal, saleable entities -- hopefully with a modest rise in the value of the property. They say about 8%. Wish us luck. Only a few more weeks to go.
To top it all off, we're also doing work on the garden. Yesterday the Guatemalans shoveled maybe 2 tons of sand out of the back yard. Today we're getting a new fence. On Monday the garbage company comes to haul the dumpster away.
The garden is our greatest opportunity to increase the value of the house, and an appraiser should be coming in the next few weeks to tell us what each unit is now worth. Exciting! Terrifying! A friend at work got an appraiser from out of town who assessed it at roughly $100,000 below market value. So they couldn't refi. Bad times. Don't want that.
Gotta go now -- forgot to tell the lawyer that BSM recorded the parcel map. And Marciale wants to be paid in cash. Happy spring!
Monday, January 25, 2010
getting crabs
I did it. After years of plotting crustacean-a-cide, last night I picked up 7 squirmy buggers and steamed them in a big pot with a pouch of Zaratains crab bios, some beer, water, and vinegar. So easy! So delicious!
We pounded them with newly-washed 2x4s and my two hammers. The cat did the rounds, begging her little heart out, and was very well fed.
It's another gray and rainy day in San Francisco. The electricians are replacing my ungrounded 3-prong power outlets with ungrounded two-prong power outlets. Thanks, city of San Francisco Building Inspectors!
Great weekend. Thanks Loretta for such a fun house party, and a Big Happy Birthday to my friend Cynthia. Long may you improvise. And a soon-to-be farewell to Geli as she packs up for her return to Munich. See you in April?
Love to all,
Aunt Judy
We pounded them with newly-washed 2x4s and my two hammers. The cat did the rounds, begging her little heart out, and was very well fed.
It's another gray and rainy day in San Francisco. The electricians are replacing my ungrounded 3-prong power outlets with ungrounded two-prong power outlets. Thanks, city of San Francisco Building Inspectors!
Great weekend. Thanks Loretta for such a fun house party, and a Big Happy Birthday to my friend Cynthia. Long may you improvise. And a soon-to-be farewell to Geli as she packs up for her return to Munich. See you in April?
Love to all,
Aunt Judy
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Places to go
Over the past 10 years, I've had many, many ideas of where to go on vacation. Well, this is it. 2010 is officially, for me, the Year of Recommitting to Fun.
I started the year with a weekend trip to Yosemite. It was fun. Now, I'm gearing up for the first trip on the list, hopefully in April. How is all this possible, being a new (and broke) homeowner? Easy! I got mo money. That, and the City of San Francisco, although it really wasn't looking good, gave us a building inspection that is not so horrendous as to bankrupt us, as we move through the condo conversion process. Hurray!
Here's the bucket list:
1. Austria/Salzberg/Budapest/Prague/Munich
2. Raft the Colorado river
3. Uruguay and Patagonia
4. Costa Rica bike trip
5. Southwest car trip: Bryce Canyon, Monument Valley, etc.
6. Spain
7. Alaska
8. South Africa and Namibia
9. Peru
10. Outer Mongolia
What's yours?
I started the year with a weekend trip to Yosemite. It was fun. Now, I'm gearing up for the first trip on the list, hopefully in April. How is all this possible, being a new (and broke) homeowner? Easy! I got mo money. That, and the City of San Francisco, although it really wasn't looking good, gave us a building inspection that is not so horrendous as to bankrupt us, as we move through the condo conversion process. Hurray!
Here's the bucket list:
1. Austria/Salzberg/Budapest/Prague/Munich
2. Raft the Colorado river
3. Uruguay and Patagonia
4. Costa Rica bike trip
5. Southwest car trip: Bryce Canyon, Monument Valley, etc.
6. Spain
7. Alaska
8. South Africa and Namibia
9. Peru
10. Outer Mongolia
What's yours?
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