Our 15 minutes of fame

Part 1

Part 2

Thank you Rae for the interim cell phone recording!  I WILL be ordering a copy from the news station

More pics from yesterday

Check out all the pics on Flickr!

The dawning of a new (yester)day

Sorry this post is a day late and a dollar short cashing in on the Inaugural hoopla, but like I said, I was only firing on two cylinders maybe.

We arrived at Civic Center Plaza before 7a to watch the simulcast.  I thought it was important to be part of “something” for the occasion since Haley was involved in the campaign.  Even if she didn’t have fun there when her children were reading about January 20th, 2009, she could say she was there, she was part of it all.

There weren’t many people when we got there but Haley immediately noticed the news crew to our left.  Within no time the news lady from KRON Channel 4 approached us and asked if she could ask us some questions.  Of course, once she found out Haley had made Get Out The Vote calls she asked if she could ask us the same questions on a live segment.  Ten minutes later we were on the news!  I thought Haley was going to explode she was so excited!  As soon as it was over my cell started ringing – Rae Rae saw us!  There she was – all innocent, getting ready for work – when BLAM!  there we are on TV!  Apparently they replayed the clip on the 5 o’clock news because Haley’s friend, Mary, called all screaming and freaking out

 

Someone made this really cool origami image of Obama and handed out Sharpie markers for people to leave their thoughts.  Of course Haley had to jump right in and leave her mark!

The crowd soon swelled to the thousands and we all cheered together.  Haley was swamped by all the tall people surrounding her but the spirit of Hope and Change prevailed:  some kindly strangers pushed her up to the front so she could see.  We were separated for the swearings-in of Biden and Obama but my super-sweet baby girl immediately squirmed her way back to me to listen to Obama’s speech.  We stood there in a crowd of people who were truly “all the colors of the rainbow”, embracing, cheering together, and many sharing a tear together – full of pride, hope and enthusiasm for the hard work this country has yet to do.

So after listening to Obama’s speech tell me what is it that you plan to do for your country?

(I promise to get some snippet of the newscast!! Please hold!)

Dain Bread

Yes!  We were right in the middle of Inaugural festivities bright and early this morning!  Yes!  We have great pictures!  Yes!  Something awesome happened (hint:  HALEY WAS ON TV!!)

But…

My sleep has been non-existent and my brain is like swiss cheese.  So bear with me until tomorrow and I promise to have something worthwhile to waste your time reading

On thin ice

 Today I got all the other kids in our office “family” to come in to work.  It turned in to an unofficial holiday outing – we had a blast!  Between me and two guys in my office we have 5 kids aged 8 to 11 and they all get along famously.

After skating my boss gave me a nice little gift…  “working from home” for the rest of the year (Of course there’s nothing I can do from home!)

Christmas in Overdrive

Well, we’ve certainly had a few days of CHRISTMAS!! festivities around these parts.  They have largely sucked the life force from me worn me out so I’m going to rely on pictures rather than my usual witty narrative

Thursday – Haley’s Christmas program…  Her class did a “news story” where she played her 2nd Grade teacher, and the Easter Bunny who lamented how Santa got all the good publicity…

Saturday – yesterday – we went up to Willits to see Sandi and Sal.  They had snow on Tuesday and some still stuck around.  Haley had fun being a country girl, playing in the last bits left in the yard.

Today Tim & Robin and Rachel came to see Miss Haley in the Christmas pageant at church. 

We were all a bit surprised her halo didn’t burst in to flames

Tomorrow will be another big advenure day – all the kids in my office are going ice skating.  Pray for me.  I’ll take pictures!

Holiday photo expedition

Tonight The Child and I bundled up and headed downtown with cameras in-hand.  The lights this year are over the top and it was a fun cheap date on a Friday night. 

Whipper Snapper

Red lights

Skaters

Union Square

Please come here so I can slap the crap out of you

Oh my god.  I am not sure how to spew my poisonous vitriol on this subject without it taking racial overtones BUT…  If I see one more guy carrying the stupid purse of his wife/girlfriend I am going to have to deal some death.

Nothing says “I’M A GIGANTIC WANKER THAT WILL STOOP TO ANY REPUGNANT LEVEL JUST SO I CAN HAVE AN ASIAN GIRLFRIEND!!!!!”like carrying her purse for her.  Honest, more often than not it’s a wee clutch or even a wristlet; almost never is it a big tote bag.  (Oops – race still slipped right in there, didn’t it?  Rae, are you offended?)

This is not coming from one iota of jealousy, either.  I was raised that NO ONE touches a lady’s bag other than the owner.  Their husbands or children risk losing their hands if they dare touch.  I am SO over this pansy-ass metrosexuality.  I’d dare wager that these wieners also refer to their women as Goddesses. 

GAH – the hackles on my neck are standing up and I feel like I need to either vomit or punch something.  I need to get the hell out of Dodge.

(Sorry – despite this gorgeous weather I’m having an I Hate San Francisco kind of day. I need to see me some mens driving trucks with gun-racks!)

The view from my weekend office

Oh.

My.

God.

Today the weather was just…. UN-F*ING-BELIEVABLE.  Seriously.  I just spent 4 hours outside and it feels like how July must feel in places that have sunny summers I’m wearing a tanktop, jeans and Blundstones and feel like I’m going to keel over from the heat.

I taught two superfun lessons and had this lovely view to gawk at whilst standing in the arena.  I thought I’d be nice and rub it in share.  Yes, that is the Pacific Ocean. 

Before you resent me too much it’s usually fog to the ground with gale force winds while I’m trying to shriek at my students… but not today.  Today was divine.

Victory Garden

A girl can dream, right?

 

So I’m thinking that Sunday I’d like to take advantage of this outrageous weather we’re having (high 70’s!) and work in the garden.  I saw this article on HuffPo and it renewed my interest in my relationship with my food. 

In summers past we have grown grape tomatoes in the back yard and I found it immensely satisfying to be able to add something to my table by stepping out my back door.  I can’t wait until I have a large amount of land to work with and truly eat seasonally, and largely cultivated with my own dirty hands.  Summer in my neighborhood is mostly socked in with fog (duh) and now I’m on the brink of winter – which is not the time to be growing things.

My mom keeps an insane garden, but that’s one of the benefits of living in the desert – the ability to grow almost year-round.  I do plan on putting in mostly grasses, ground cover and maybe something bushy that flowers – but is there any food stuff I can put in the ground at this late date?

Crazy for campaigning

Today we spent more than 3 hours working on the Obama campaign.  Haley completed two call lists ALL ON HER OWN(!!) – calling voters in Florida and Colorado reminding them to vote on Tuesday, telling them where their polling places were, and giving them info on getting a ride to the polls if they needed one.  I sat next to her and did data entry, entering the results of all these calls. 

The goal was for Californians to place 1.5 million calls a day over the weekend and on up to Election Day.  Based on what we saw in SF, they had to have neared that mark!  It was another slammin’ day, packed to the rafters with volunteers.

 

(Video can also be seen here.)

Haley was really popular with the campaign staffers… everyone thought she did a great job!

Obama rally in Arizona!

Thank you Field Reporter Mommy!

OMG! Action! In my neighborhood!!

I can assure you the venue was purely coincidental, and is certainly not indicative of some hidden Sunset seedy underbelly.  The crime blotter for our district is full of rice rockets with stolen rims and stereos.  Most drama is confined to the subject of tourists and Bridge-n-Tunnel people getting acquainted with the undertow at Ocean Beach.

Man shot to death in car in S.F.’s Sunset District

Steve Rubenstein, Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writers

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

(10-14) 10:09 PDT SAN FRANCISCO — A man was shot and killed in a car in San Francisco’s Sunset District, police said today.

The victim, whose name was not immediately released, was found with numerous gunshot wounds in a car at the southeast corner of 17th Avenue and Noriega Street at about 11 p.m. Monday, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

No arrests have been reported in the killing, the 88th homicide in San Francisco this year. The circumstances that led to the shooting are under investigation.

The block where the killing happened is a typical Sunset District neighborhood – mainly two-story, single-family homes that are attached. None of the residents interviewed today said they knew who the shooting victim was.

The woman who lives in the house by where the victim’s car was found said she had heard several “pops” that she first thought was the sound of “a car sputtering up the hill.”

“This neighborhood is a very safe neighborhood. I never worry about walking late at night, but maybe I should,” said the woman, who asked not to be identified by name.

Devin Chisholm, who lives down the street from where the man was slain, said he had heard four shots but hadn’t immediately looked outside because “I thought it was a neighbor setting off fireworks.”When he looked out the window, he saw eight police cars on the street and officers picking through garbage cans and shrubs, apparently looking for a gun.

New Category: “Only in San Francisco”

This is a view you might find riding MUNI on a Sunday afternoon… if that Sunday happens to be the Folsom Street Fair. 

Hold me accountable: My BIG weekend To-Do list

Tonight 

• get some laundry done
• sloth
• gluttony

Tomorrow

• Home Depot:  spray paint (for dresser, door hardware), stool for vanity?, side table?, stain for cabinets
• Fabric store:  fabric for vanity stool and a “throw” for my bed (a place for Kenai to sleep instead of in the middle, near my pillows – brat cat), vinyl to recover my table

Paint duties:  finish vanity, dresser, picture frame and baseboards

Rearrange room (finish??)

     Rachel’s Birthday Bonanza!  Woo hoo – party down!

Sunday

• sleep in
• WAK Shack party with Suzanne

 

Now… That will be one satisfying weekend if I can get all that done!  Hold me accountable!

Someone may be doing a progress inspection next week!  Yay for me!

A Saturday not spent on my ass

I got up bright and early and picked up my Zipcar friend, Travolta. 

I loaded up all the bad juju from my bedroom and headed to one of my new favorite places, The Dump.

I made record time and was back much sooner than I expected, so I celebrated with some spanking new pink toes.

And now, the monumental task of painting my bedroom is well underway – YAY!

 

I know I bitch about the fog a lot

… but you have seen the description under the title of this blog, no?

Whilst the fog here is creeping in all stealthy scary-like, like The Fog, what I was thinking when I took this picture was “DAYUM it’d be sooo cool to live there!”

This is the building I see when I look out the window from my cube.  It’s proximity totally negates that blase 70’s architecture.

For every upside, there’s a downside

The upside to this office move is new and pretty things that catch you off guard – like this view that I caught when I accidentally went out the wrong door.

It really is some small help when you return to your desk and your cube is still the Fortress of (Boxed) Solitude.

Lunch Launch

I made my usual Tuesday pilgrimage to the Farmers Market on the Embarcadero.  I really want to buy local, in season, organic and all that jazz but I find it disheartening… there is nary a bargain to be found.  It’s really more of a specialty market than locals peddling their crops to support the family farm.

It’s a typically crappy summer day in San Francisco.  It’s a little windy, overcast, chilly and *bleh*.  The bright spot, though, was on the way back I saw this art piece that seemed to say a lot…

Reprieve

Same place, same time of day.  It’s either fog or wind.  At least wind clears out the fog. 

 

The hills beyond are in Marin, all the way across the Golden Gate.

(And the gas has gone up $0.06 in 3 days. Crap)