10 posts tagged “friends”
Just received Dr. B's new book in the mail yesterday. What a great first piece of real mail to get in the new home! This has been a long time coming and I'm really looking forward to reading it. I'm always very impressed by people's abilities to see these sorts of mult-year projects through to the end. Topically, this book couldn't be more timely and I hope it gets the attention it deserves.
Yesterday I made my last trip to the old pad to return the keys and clean out some remaining junk on the deck. Boo-boo was there. Last time I went by I succeeded in getting her into a cardboard pet carrier, but she managed to claw her way out of that, fortunately before I had her in the car. This time I had a proper pet carrier borrowed from Middle Sis. Got her in again (she was obviously hungry). Cried a lot on the way to ER. Little One was excited to see her. Let her out of carrier, she wandered around to explore new yard and then promptly scuttled up over a fence and into a neighbors yard with a dog. She fled up a tree. Haven't seen her since. Put out food this morning, so I'm hoping she'll find her way back and get used to the new surroundings.
We have a dishwasher! After nearly three years of spending way too much time hand washing, we finally have a dishwasher. Yay! What we don't have, unfortunately, is a stove. We ordered this on 8/22 to be delivered 9/12, but now Sears says it won't be available until 9/30. They claim the one they were going to deliver turned out to be damaged. I'm truly pissed off, but don't have the energy to go deal with them at the moment. Little One and I looked at some restored vintage stoves that would actually fit our non-standard 40" space. That is apparently what used to be in there. They are nice and they even had one at a reasonable price, but I don't know yet how BH feels about them, as it is quite a different look. Supposedly they last forever. Looks basically like this:
And then there are the things that really matter. As we whine about our petty problems with closing the deal on our house, last night I learned that a friend from Leipzig died last week at the age of 38. She was married to one of the first guys I ever met in Leipzig, an American musician/painter who happened to be living there at the time. Apparently she has been fighting cancer for about 18 months.
For us the news came entirely unexpected. I had not been in touch with the couple for several years. Then another mutual friend wrote me last week and told me she was sick. But I didn't realize just how sick. I found G on Facebook and wrote him a couple of messages. I didn't get a response, but then last night I checked FB after watching a terrible movie and he had written me on Friday to tell me his wife had died on Sunday. Better Half and I were both devastated by the news. Although we only knew her for a few years many years ago, I have very fond memories of her and the loss feels very real. And I feel so sorry for G. Now he is on his own in a foreign country raising two teenage kids and he's lost his soul mate of 18 years.
Today is the day we were supposed to close escrow. Instead, we are in the process of signing an extension addendum b/c the seller's agent did not file the application for the 9a report until yesterday. City says it takes 10-15 days to issue the report, though it should be quicker. New close of escrow date is set for Aug. 18, but will hopefully occur sooner.
The Seller's agent was very smug about the application, claiming in his email to our agents that when he submitted the app he was told anyone could submit it. No shit Sherlock. That wasn't the point. The point was we needed the property owner's signature on the application. What a complete dickhead. Meanwhile, this morning I get a smug email from one-half of the Dynamic Duo. I quote: " When this is over you can write a book on 'How our realtor was right..we should not buy a bank foreclosure..or what I did on my summer vacation.'" Um, that's helpful. Or maybe I should title it, "How my realtors neglected to work for their commission b/c we did not buy a house as expensive as they had wanted us to" Or how about: "Your realtor gets the commission and you get to do the work." This is the same bozo who wanted me to sign two days ago that all contingencies had been removed and took me to remind her that in fact we still did not have the effing report.
Unfortunately, this also means that new loan docs have to be drawn and we have to re-sign everything. We paid a lot of money to do this just before Better Half went to Germany -- all for naught. I think this time we'll drive down to the escrow office in Irvine and do it there when the time comes. Better yet would be to get Seller to pay for the expense of having the notary drive out to us.
Meanwhile, when I picked up Little One yesterday from day camp she was complaining of chest pains. She had been in the pool at camp, so got a lot of sun and swallowed a lot of water. I figured a little R&R and she'd be ok. But she complained all evening long. I called the doc, who basically said give her children's tylenol and if she's still complaining in the morning bring her in. Well, she's still complaining. So BH has taken her to the doc. Maybe asthma? We'll see.
Spoke last night with Dr. B, who is back stateside. It was good catching up and we're excited about being able to see them more regularly. Welcome back, dude.
More going on or has happened than I can possibly write about. I just don't seem to find the time these days to keep the blog updated, much as I would like to. But, I'll keep trying.
Let's see, Dr. B's visit was a lot of fun. We went out to SaMo and what had started as a rainy day turned into glorious sunshine by the time we hit the beach and pier. Little One had a blast on the rides. We later went over to T&K place for a fabulous fondue feast that lasted well into the night. Was nice to be able to crash at their place and not have to worry about getting back to get LO in bed as well as to enjoy some adult beverages (tried a BeTon for the first time -- Becherovia [a Czech schnaps] and Tonic; for the non-German speaking crowd, it's a play on words, as Beton in German means concrete). On Sunday we then drove Dr. B. to the airport and said good-bye. What can I say about that? Being able to see each other regularly over the past two years has been really great and I will miss that opportunity to arrange such visits. Even talking on the phone is much easier when you don't have to be concerned with a 9 hr. time difference. I always feel like my closest friends lives so far away. Anyway, while I will miss Dr. B and his family, I know that we will also still stay in touch and hopefully will at least be able to get together once a year.
I've started my summer class -- it's all about learning HTML and CSS , the code for writing websites. Most people use software like Dreamweaver to write websites, but we're learning to hand code. Basically, the idea is that if you learn to hand code, you're in a better position to edit code that has been written using software. Anyway, it's reasonably interesting to me, and I hope to use what i learn in helping to redesign our library website (which needs a serious overhaul) as well as to write a personal homepage.
Little One is in her final week at school. Next Wednesday will be her last day. Technically, Thurs. should be the last day, but we've already been told in no uncertain terms, they don't really want the kids to come on Thurs. These kinds of skipping out of their responsibilities pisses me off sometimes, but not enough that I'm going to complain about it. Anyway, for the summer, we've signed her up for a day camp MWF at a local park. That should be fun. On Tuesdays, Better Half will be home to look after her, and on Thursdays, the Schmaz will be the resident babysitter. So, we're basically covered for the summer. Yippeee.
Now that it's summer, I'm working a regular M-F day shift, no Sundays. Like that a lot. Hoping that I can get in shape enough to begin riding to work again. Just haven't found the time to do any exercise, and you don't just start riding up that hill cold --- you've got to train or you're gonna be hurting.
On the job front, since being reinstated at f/t, I've also learned that the tech services librarian is leaving. Most likely beginning of August. So, now I'm thinking I'll apply for that job when it becomes available. It requires cataloging and ordering in addition to reference and instruction. There's a lot I could learn and do in the position -- we need a new online catalog and I'd be interested in working on that. The other attraction, of course, is better pay/benes and better hours. Meanwhile, i'm also on the search committee for a new Library Director. Interesting experience to see what that is like, and worth a posting on its own.
Went to the Police/Elvis Costello gig at the Hollywood Bowl a few weeks ago. T&K had an extra tix, so impulsively nabbed it. I wasn't really thinking -- it's not the kind of show I usually go for these days, being in a large stadium and quite pricey. In the event it was fun and okay, but definitely not stellar. Frankly, I would have rather seen EC as the headliner and the Police as the opener. I mean EC is actually still vital, still recording new material. The Police set is all greatest hits, like a revue set. Makes me feel old. The LAT review was telling -- it was written by a mom who talked about what a family-friendly show it was. "Family-friendly" is not how I like my rock and roll concerts.
Ok -- nuff for now. Gotta go eat.
Just turned in my final paper for the semester, so I am now officially half way through getting the MLIS. Feels like I've been doing this forever. Anyway, good to get something done. Hopefully will have some time to have a little R&R and work on some projects before the summer term gets rolling on June 2. Gives me all of about a week and half. Sheesh. Most looking forward to hanging out with Dr. B -- a last hurrah before his imminent departure for Deutschland. I cannot get myself to accept that.
My buddy Ulli was in Korea and Cambodia during the winter where he investigated what makes Korean missionaries tick. Check out his report on the Beeb:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/radio4_aod.shtml?radio4/crossingcontinents
It's late and I'm going to be a wreck tomorrow, no doubt. Trying to get some coursework done so that I'll be free for the weekend when Big Sis comes to town and all the Sibs get together.
Past week and half has seen Little One battling some infections and missing a fair amount of school. First, about 10 days ago her school doctor noticed that she can barely hear. When the Schmaz picked her up, she was running a fever. Went to the doc, and he said he couldn't see behind all the gunk in her ear, but he reckoned she had an ear infection. So, antibiotics and ear drops with a follow up appointment to flush out her ear in 2 weeks. What he did not bother to notice was that there was something going on with her eye, even though Schmaz asked him at our request to look. So, last Mon when she woke up with a super puffy eyelid, it was my turn to take her in. Oddly enough I had to point out to him how terrible her eye looked. He rather gruffly flipped over her eyelid to reveal some big white dot, which he said was an infection. So, now an antibiotic eye drop. His rough handling made LO cry and then he preceded to tell her she could stop crying now b/c it did not hurt. Huh? I'd been warned by a co-worker that this guy was lacking in social graces, and now I know what she was talking about. In the future, we'll be requesting the other docs in the office, only accepting him in an emergency. Things are looking better now, though her eye is still not 100% and she hasn't had her ears flushed yet. But, she went back to school on Weds and has being doing well and is good spirits.
We also took her to school on Tues. to an all-school assembly where she got the academic achievement award for Feb. for her class. It was very cool to watch how excited she was.
Meantime, I can't hear worth a darn. Been taking ear drops too. Tried to get an appointment with my doc b4 my scheduled physical this coming Fri. No such luck. Um, hello, this is worse than Germany.
More meet-ups with old friends these past two weekends. Last weekend it was with the Kanuck, a guy I hung out with a lot when I lived in Munich, and his wife and kid along with some other friends of theirs who live in LA. They are visiting from Jasper, which sounds like a really beautiful place and now we're thinking of going to visit them there b4 they leave for city living. Anyway, it was nice to reconnect. Last time we saw them, LO was just a few weeks old! Might go out with them again tomorrow night after work, but it means driving to Fairfax.
Yesterday, we were in that very area visiting with MaGoy and his wife and daughter. I know MaGoy from HS and we last saw each other at the 20th reunion. Then I found him on LinkedIn and we started emailing. His daughter is about a year older than LO, and they seemed to get along very well. Met Mrs. MaGoy for the first time, and she is very amusing. They live in a heavily Orthodox area, and she related how she has more than once been called over by neighbors to turn on lights and other appliances on Shabbat and even to drive home a woman from the hospital with her newborn baby. Lots of crazy stories about growing up in Topanga Canyon, too.
Finally finished reading
Also been reading
Have also just picked up
And now to sleep, perchance to dream...
What a great weekend! Just got back from the Bay Area for a short visit that was fantastic. I got to see lots of old friends and hear great music. On top of that, the weather was perfect.
Flew out Saturday morning. It's been a long time since I've traveled solo and it was really amazing to me just how easy it was to get around. I felt like I could just zip from place to place at lighting speed. From the plane I could see both the snow-capped Sierras to the east and the ocean to the west almost the whole way up. Sweet. Hoped on BART to get to a friend's house in Oakland. I love BART. I miss sensible public transport.
My first stop was to see Ms. Emo, whom I hadn't seen in almost four years. She's one of the people I biked across country with back in 1990, and we kept in touch afterwards cuz she had stayed in DC and later was living in Berkeley when I was also living in the Bay Area around '96-'97.Anyway, we had a nice time catching up and sitting out in the backyard of their new house in the Oakland hills soaking up the sun. She is very domestic now, and loving it. She'd had a rather uncharacteristic upbringing, complete with lots of moving about and she feels like she missed having a rooted, nuclear family existence, so she's more than happy to be providing that now for her family (5yr old daughter, second bun in the oven).
Then Dr. B came and picked me up and he and I headed across the bay to the city. We first had dinner at Walzwerk, an East German restaurant. It was quite the experience. They had lots of East German objects that they used to decorate the place, served typical German food and East German beers. I loved the sign in the bathroom: Das Flaschenpfand ist das Kapital des kleinen Mannes (Bottle deposits are the capital of the common man). It was pretty authentic. Oh, and I saw someone there I recognized. Took me awhile to figure out who it was, but then I realized it was a student from the College who I had seen in the library pretty regularly. So I asked as she was leaving if she had gone there, and she said yes and that she had transferred to Cal.
We then made our way down to the gig at Slim's. Searched in vain for a brew-pub first, and settled for a quick beer at a funky bar across the street. I'd asked Dr. B if he could remember when the show was that we had last seen the Gourds at in Utrecht, Holland. Turns out it must have been spring of 2003, so five years ago. Well, it was worth the wait. It was a fantastic show. Kevin Russell, the lead singer, came on first and did a solo set under his pseudonym of Shinyribs. He had some great songs and they were all new to me. Shortly after that, the whole band come on and tore the roof off the house. Here's the setlist:
The Gourds
2008-02-09
Slim's
San Francisco, CA
USA
01. Crowd and Stage Chatter
02. My Name is Jorge
03. Hellhounds
04. Lower 48
05. Take Me Back to Tulsa
06. All in the Pack
07. New Roommate
08. Jesus Christ with Signs Following
09. Burn the Honeysuckle*
10. Steeple Full of Swallows
11. Dooley
12. Rugged Roses
13. Mister Betty
14. Pill Bug Blues
15. Shake the Chandelier
16. Nitty Gritty
17. Red Letter Day
18. Ants on the Melon
19. El Paso
20. Chatter
21. Plaid Coat
22. Maria
23. Chawin' Chewin' Gum
24. Merch Talk
25. Gin and Juice^
26. Feelin' on Yo Booty
27. Ride Captain Ride
28. Fine Leather Truck
29. Teacher
* with Fire on the Bayou intro and outro
^ including Dock of the Bay, Cupid, Surrender, Looking Out My Back
Door, The End, If You Want Blood You've Got It
I sure hope the show gets posted on the Internet Archive, cuz I'd love to relive it.
After the show we went for one more drink at the Albatross back in B-town and basically closed out the place at 2 am. By then I was pretty hammered.
It was rough getting up the next morning, but we had made plans to meet an old college friend for brunch at 11 am. So, after a much abbreviated visit with Dr. B's parents and kids, we were off. Seeing Udo von DuYu was wild. I had not seen him since I left Santa Cruz. He looked exactly the same. Lots of tales were told of what we'd all been doing in the intervening years and who we still kept in touch with. Among other things, we learned all about his parody band, Pink Steel, a gay heavy-metal band. Sounds like he's been having a lot of fun with that.
From there we headed over to Marin to hang with the Bikeman. Heard all about his travels to Pyongyang. Bikeman works at a foundation that funds projects related to disarmament and he had been invited to go there by one of his grantees. It sounded pretty unreal. Again, it was really nice to catch up with an old friend.
And that was it. Dr. B was kind enough to drive back to the airport and I was on my way. Missed getting to see Little One before she went to bed and only briefly got to talk with Better Half. But we chatted on the phone after I landed at LAX and it sounded like they both had nice weekends, too.
Rough night last night. Little One was moaning at between 1 and 2 in the morning. We tried to comfort her and I tried to convince her to take some paracetemol. But she resisted. Finally, I decided to sit her up and just give it to her, but as I started to move her, she started to vomit, big time. Rushed to the bathroom and cleaned her up after she was done. She asked us, "What was that stuff coming out of my mouth." By then it was close to 2 and Better Half had intended to get up at 4 to head off to her new job. In the end, she woke at 6 and was at work by 7:30. LO and I slept in. The rest seems to have done her well, but BH is a wreck now.
Today I was recording some recent acquisitions we had made for the library. One of the books was something I had flagged last week called Women for President: Media Bias in Eight Campaigns. At the time I read the review, I hadn't really paid attention to the author's name. But today I looked at the name, and thought, "Hey, could that be the same person I went to UCSC with?" Checked the back cover on Amazon, and, indeed, it was her. Dr. B and I had a study group together with her for our politics finals. Turns out she's now a professor of communications at Johns Hopkins. Way to go. Looking forward to reading the book.
The big news is that Better Half got the job! Call came yesterday while she was at work, and she accepted. She's going to start in two weeks. She's more than paid her dues at this last place and this sounds like it's going to be a real step up. Looks like I'd better start looking for something in the area, too. The experience I'm getting at the College is good, but I think at this stage I should be able to land something at least as good if not better in or around G'dale.
In other news, I've decided to go to the Gourds show in San Francisco instead of here in LA. Will be another opportunity to hang with Dr. B before the move, and I'm also hoping to connect up with some other folks in the Bay Area I haven't seen in a long time. Found two old friends through Facebook, one from college (Dr. B's old roomie) and one from Bike-Aid. Eager to be in the City again, and I have a feeling that Slim's will be a better crowd than Safari Sam's.
Went out to a famous Greek restaurant last nite to celebrate the new job. At the end of our meal, the waiter and maitre d' did a little Greek dance. It was cliched -- the usual Zorba the Greek tune. But the funny thing was at the beginning, the maitre d' comes to Little One and asks her to come up with him. She goes up. He takes a small plate and, naturally, proceeds to smash it on the ground. LO is shocked by this behavior. Then he hands her a plate and tells her to do the same. Shakes her head, hands back the plate and runs back to her seat. She later told me she was too shy. I think she was afraid she might get in trouble.
Boss is going to pay for me to attend two upcoming conferences: the Calif. Academic and Research Libraries conference in April in Irvine and the ALA conference in June in Anaheim. Given the need to find a new gig, the timing for networking is spot on.
Got a letter yesterday from an old friend in Leipzig, one of the guys I shared a flat with. Was great to hear from Beatboy. Sounds like things are going really well for him and his family. He sent along a copy of a CD he cut with his band. Very cool. Sounds a bit like Rio Reiser (which doesn't mean squat to most of you reading this, so here's a link to a youtube vid with Rio singing in the band he led in the 70's). Anyway, I'm deeply impressed by anyone who can be the head doctor of a hospital station, a father of two, and still play in a rock and roll band.
