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My plate spilleth over! Last week, I happily completed my penultimate semester in the Technical Writing program at SF State. Meanwhile, my sister went and got herself doctored. No, there was no visit to “Dr. 90210”—the brilliant Yael Prizant now has “PhD” tacked on to the end of her name and I could not be more proud. The beautiful dedication she wrote to me in her dissertation is something I will cherish for years, along with the awesome feeling that I lucked out big-time in the family lottery to have her as a sister.
Of course, becoming a doctor heralds the need for much celebration, so we’re all headed to our former cit-ay in a couple of weeks to watch her strut her stuff at UCLA’s graduation (actually, for PhDs it’s called a “hooding ceremony,” but that odd choice of terminology calls to mind images of KKK members running around burning shit, so I’m loath to use it).
After spending the initial part of Memorial Day weekend emptying my backpack and filing away another semester’s worth of papers, I made a whirlwind trip to San Diego to say goodbye (sniff, sniff) to my friends Aviva and Craig, who, along with their daughter Mia, are off to Japan for 3 years. Seems the U.S. Marines are just itching to have Craig on their base in Okinawa and thus, off they go! Hey, it’s better and safer than Iraq—if it keeps him from another tour over there, I wouldn’t care if they sent him to the moon (though I imagine the sushi wouldn’t be nearly as good).
We had a great time and I managed to hoard a handful of books to add to my summer reading list (thanks again, guys!) and to enjoy a wonderful visit with my former sister-in-law, whom I have missed very much.
On the work front, summer is an extremely busy time at Job A and on top of that, I’ve taken on a steady freelance gig (Job B) from my longtime colleagues at Premiere Radio. I write stuff on a weekly basis, they send me money—lovely how that works out!
In two weeks, I’ll be perched in the semi-nosebleed section of the Oakland Coliseum, excitement bursting from every pore of my body, watching The Police and waiting for them to play “Every Breath You Take” so I can excuse myself for a bathroom break.
Come late July, I’m off to Israel for my first visit to the country from whence much of my family hails. I’m excited to spend 10 days visiting family I haven’t seen since I was in pigtails, meeting family I’ve never met and attempting to use my limited Hebrew in conversation (ha ha!) and for reading signs, newspapers, etc. Rest assured, I am able to read the essentials: falafel, hummus, tehina and, on the other end of the spectrum, halva, which my father loves but which I avoid like wet grass in high heels.
So, I am excited about a fabulous summer, during which I plan to:
a. Keep up my fluency in Spanish in the weekly class I enjoy so much;
b. Improve my Hebrew (speaking and reading) in preparation for my trip to Israel;
c. Spend some quality time with people I love, both near and far;
d. Read, read, read!
e. Catch up on the crapload of movies I’ve missed since last summer;
f. Read, read, read!
g. Spend as much time as possible at the SPCA shelter and doing other things that make me feel good;
h. Explore more of my wondrous adopted city; and
i. Try not to become too disgusted with the way-premature campaigning of our sad sack of presidential candidates.
Kindly check back with me in September to find out if I’ve fulfilled my objectives!
Melody, in one of her favorite nap spots (that is, when little Phoebe isn't pouncing on it). Really, why spend money on pet toys when a rumpled brown paper bag is their all-in-one, playtime/naptime nirvana?
For the past decade or so, I have quietly mourned the demise of letter-writing as something of the past--something I've always loved, particularly on the writing end. In my early teenage years, I wrote back and forth with a pen-pal in France; I always relished her letters and postcards, enjoying the rare opportunity to learn about another culture from someone my own age. I remember us both being surprised at just how similar we were and how connected we felt, though thousands of miles apart.
I always had a feeling there must be like-minded letter-lovers out there--it just took a fellow cyber-dweller to help me find them.
I signed on for the Modern Letter Project back in February and have since sent two and received four glorious, handwritten letters. Two were responses from the fabulous people I had written to since joining the project. The other, which I received Friday, came from Nicole in Queens:
She cleverly wrote on each of three sides of these colorful pyramids, then folded them and stacked them one inside the other. I felt like a kid (first thought: Neato!) when I opened the envelope and excitedly set my pyramids up beside each other on my desk before reading them.
In spite of the fact that my schedule is so demanding these days (work, school, more work, repeat), I love carving out time to write without the use of a mouse and keyboard--it truly is a lost art, particularly when writing to people you don't know. I find it a wonderful way to wind down, strengthen my writing and learn something new about myself with each letter I send.
Check out more photos here or by searching "Modern Letter Project" on Flickr.
Much joy and jubilation around the Bay area last night and today... something about a basketball game?
And, running out for a cup of coffee a few minutes ago, I spotted a minivan with its dashboard and console completely covered in frogs. By that, I mean totally blanketed with every shape, size and variety of plastic amphibian you can imagine, matching the nauseating sea-green shade of the minivan's exterior. I only wish I had my camera on me. And that I could be there to witness the green plastic carnage that would ensue if the frog-lover were to have a crash.
It seems to me that many, many people out there owe Speaker Pelosi an apology. Conservatives all over the country were calling for Pelosi's head on a platter when she dared pay a diplomatic visit to Syria last month and yet those same loudmouths are conspicuously silent now that their princess Condi is doing the same. Not only that, but what the media haven't been so quick to report is that Pelosi's visit was preceded by not one, but THREE Republican congressman, all of whom also met with Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad last month.
So, if Pelosi's trip "undermine[d] the Bush administration's foreign policy," perhaps the White House wants to tell us about all the damage done by the Republicans' visits?
It's not so much the vile, predictable hypocrisy that bothers me as it is the blatant disrespect hurtled shamelessly at Pelosi for daring to think like a thinker instead of a politician.