alert: ridiculous generalization

a friend of mine who is around 7 months pregnant (i say "around" because every time she says what week she's at, i say, "what's that in non-pregnant time?") and i were chatting at the water cooler today about women who admit to loving pregnancy. she's of the camp who is counting the days until this time of her life ceases, so we took the opportunity to make wild conjectures, and distill women-who-love into two categories:

1. women whose job requires they maintain a dangerous and under-nourished weight. 

models, actresses, and other non-essential workers use pregnancy as a time to catch up on eating, and luxuriate in the feeding frenzy. 

2. women who seek attention. 

according to some of my pregnant and recently-pregnant friends, the attention bestowed on the growing belly is an often tedious and unappealing byproduct of procreation. some women, however, relish this newfound attention and accept bus seats and personal questions.

i'm sure there are more ridiculous generalizations, but this is all we had time to craft during our brief work break...

addendum: number 6

6. i bought a mac (!)
'been thinking about it for a while, and was ready to make the plunge when i read lee's post about making the switch.

don't get me wrong: i was ready. really ready. and after reading lee's exploits, i feel as though i have more reasons to get in touch with him than just to scheme (although i feel a sesh in the making...). now we can chat about how his trailblazer ways will help me get over the little annoyances with more clarity and elegance (read: alleviating the, "holy crap, how do i do this???" moments).

thanks in advance, lee :)

top five new experiences

1. dance dance
i'm not a gamer, but when a buddy who works at cnet gave me a tour that ended at one of the employee lounges equipped with arcade games, and he invited me to play "dance dance revolution," i figured if librarians at the last few conferences i've attended can join in, so can i. after a few misunderstandings about the dance cues, past gym classes in the 80's where we learned the hustle really paid off!

2. civic duty
for the first time in my life, i was summoned to jury duty. i was very excited, and like most experiences in my life, i was well-prepared. i dressed nicely, i read the pamphlets, i emptied my mind of biases (ha!), and readied myself for days, maybe weeks, of deliberation. you can imagine my disappointment when i was the 2nd juror asked to leave. my bias? i work for a non-profit. in the minds of the plaintiff's lawyers, i'm a classic do-gooder.

3. mt. tam
david and i spent a magical afternoon at a mountaintop birthday party this weekend. our perch overlooked both bolinas and the city. it was glorious.

4. goat farm visit
took a trip to a sweet goat farm, where we watched the cheesemakers frolic and had an opportunity to benefit from their good eats and luxurious lifestyle. mmmm cheese!

5. highway one delight
enjoyed a roadtrip to big sur with a good friend visiting from seattle. as midwesterners often do, we took a weekend drive that led us to sights both remarkable and memorable.

college roomie, political superstar

well, maybe just "superstar," for juggling a crazy mom and work schedule to get out yesterday and learn from a democratic candidate in a super-red state. rock on, pattie!

check out the full story.

thought i'd join the animoto craze...



thanks, mom, for introducing it to me :)

fresh and lively

my world is small.

first, my co-worker on the daily show.
then, my buddy on check please, bay area.

here he is, dissing a dude's fave steakhouse. his ammmo? the salads weren't fresh and lively, and steaks were pricier and less tasty than his hometown midwestern masterpieces.

and his restaurant? a taco truck, in my 'hood, el tonayense. i've walked by so many times... now i'll stop.

disgraceful display of democracy.

today david and i joined the denizens preparing to voice their opinions and witness the torch travel past. what we didn't realize is that we were a part of a ruse, a hoodwink, a deception. looking back, i can piece together the moments that didn't quite add up: the movements of cops, almost in parade fashion; or the snacks that were distributed--some sort of junkfood in individual packages--to cops in front of us; or the apparent disorganization as helmets were passed amongst the troops at the last minute; or the gang of moto cops that influenced the crowd to step forward, and the cops to push us back.

it wasn't until a man from above, hanging out his office window, yelled, "they went to van ness! it's over! the torch in on van ness!" that we realized the jig was up and we'd missed out.

later i learned that folks from our crowd had raced to the new location--tipped by text messages and phone calls--and teams of people were able to join up and follow through with their plans and be heard.

for me, the experience was a new one. i had never participated in a protest where the issues were more complex than clear to me. opinions were voiced--even those with which i didn't agree--and the reality that we were all in this country via different modes, for different reasons, and with our own perspectives was, well, it was okay. not perfect, but not a bad deal.