It's Friday. Sarah needs new shoes. So, time for shoe shopping!
We end up at Nordstrom after looking at other options. Poking around for a clog substitute, not having very much success. Finally we ask someone for help - this is the joy of Nordstrom. Amazing customer service. Katie brings out stacks of things, most of which Sarah rejects quickly. She has a vision. Then we see some shoes by Faryl Robin and they are highly excellent, interesting boots and flats. So start trying on some more - since Sarah and I wear basically the same size it's fun to sample her rejects myself.
Suddenly Faryl Robin is there herself helping zip up a boot. She just happened to be in the store for an event and is excited about playing around with everything and anything. She gets Sarah to try on some wedges that are extremely excellent, though something she never would have tried herself. It's great. We talk about wearability, Sarah's restaurant, the joys of walking for miles in a pair of shoes. Finally Sarah settles to treat herself, birthday style, on some Millie calf high boots (which I love) and those Ella wedges which are I suppose ankle boots really, but so much more interesting. I'm excited because I asked what kind of leather the higher ones were, guessing goat, and it turns out I was right! How's that for talent? We discuss how using leather is actually nicer for the environment since not putting chemicals into water (which is what synthetics require) and Faryl promises to come by Sarah's restaurant the next time she's in town. We get Katie's number and talk about going dancing this weekend. Success!
Then it's time for a mani (me) peti (Sarah) as she prepares for a friend's wedding this weekend. What a great afternoon.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
Slide every mountain!
One of the joys about being unemployed is that I can do things like go on a hike early Thursday morning with my lovely friend Victoria. She'd found a route over at the base of Mount Tam (in Marin Headlands) at Stinson Beach. It was a good looking loop and since I can walk for miles with my now almost-healed hip, I figured, why not?
My attempts to get to bed early were only slightly successful - my friend Matthew and I discovered a great wine bar in Glen Park, Red & White, but hadn't gotten too crazy the night before (they only do small production wines, incredible service, truly a treat!). Still, I was ready to go at 8 a.m. (early on my clock) and we set out to cross the Golden Gate Bridge.
There have been some lessons. One is that if the directions to get to the trailhead aren't very clear, chances are the directions for the route itself also won't be very clear. We did find it with a slight detour along Highway 1 (but it's so gorgeous who cares?) and headed into the woods. Amazing trees, canyon with stream, gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous. We were feeling pretty great and going up and up and up. Then get to an unclear fork. Looking at our directions we should have turned at Table Rock - Victoria swears she saw a sign farther down (I missed it) so what do we do? We check our position with the GPS on her phone (ah, the joys of the wilderness... cellphone signal) and it looks like if we head right going downhill we'll get back to where we should be.
So down we go. It's clear quickly that the grade is, ummm, steep. Sheer is another word that comes to mind. Lesson #2: stay on the bigger looking trails. The soil is sandy and prone to shift under our feet. We go very carefully. And then, about 2/3 down, I slip and slide on my problem hip maybe 20 feet. I go a little farther because sliding is easier than walking at this point. Wonderfully I'm not hurt, but now COVERED in dirt. And bruised a little more than I'd like. But I look totally badass. Victoria doesn't slide, but later trips over a rock on a level area of the path. Lesson #3: always watch your step. We are graceful hikers.
Eventually we find the path we'd been on, but below the turnoff point. Good riddance. End up trekking back down to the town of Stinson Beach and then along the beach itself. Snacks on rocks by the ocean are terrific things to have. Thus, we hiked, but not really where or how we had planned to. However, definitely worth getting back there better prepared and giving it another go!
My attempts to get to bed early were only slightly successful - my friend Matthew and I discovered a great wine bar in Glen Park, Red & White, but hadn't gotten too crazy the night before (they only do small production wines, incredible service, truly a treat!). Still, I was ready to go at 8 a.m. (early on my clock) and we set out to cross the Golden Gate Bridge.
There have been some lessons. One is that if the directions to get to the trailhead aren't very clear, chances are the directions for the route itself also won't be very clear. We did find it with a slight detour along Highway 1 (but it's so gorgeous who cares?) and headed into the woods. Amazing trees, canyon with stream, gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous. We were feeling pretty great and going up and up and up. Then get to an unclear fork. Looking at our directions we should have turned at Table Rock - Victoria swears she saw a sign farther down (I missed it) so what do we do? We check our position with the GPS on her phone (ah, the joys of the wilderness... cellphone signal) and it looks like if we head right going downhill we'll get back to where we should be.
So down we go. It's clear quickly that the grade is, ummm, steep. Sheer is another word that comes to mind. Lesson #2: stay on the bigger looking trails. The soil is sandy and prone to shift under our feet. We go very carefully. And then, about 2/3 down, I slip and slide on my problem hip maybe 20 feet. I go a little farther because sliding is easier than walking at this point. Wonderfully I'm not hurt, but now COVERED in dirt. And bruised a little more than I'd like. But I look totally badass. Victoria doesn't slide, but later trips over a rock on a level area of the path. Lesson #3: always watch your step. We are graceful hikers.
Eventually we find the path we'd been on, but below the turnoff point. Good riddance. End up trekking back down to the town of Stinson Beach and then along the beach itself. Snacks on rocks by the ocean are terrific things to have. Thus, we hiked, but not really where or how we had planned to. However, definitely worth getting back there better prepared and giving it another go!
Monday, August 23, 2010
Some writing from before...
So, I wrote this piece for a modern music festival in April and never posted the link here. I liked it, especially the snarky bio at the end. Volià!
It's over 70 today in San Francisco. Summer? Really?
It's over 70 today in San Francisco. Summer? Really?
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Transitions - round 832
July was a busy month. I entertained the fabulous Michael D, cheered on roommate at finish of San Francisco Marathon (she ran 2nd half) and cooked pancake breakfast for 6 afterwards, went to an oceanside cabin on Bodega Bay, swore I would freeze to death in San Francisco's chill... and lost my job.
So now I'm yet another statistic. Luckily I was already one week into teaching European teens English at a language school (run by Canadians!), a course that lasted 2 weeks total. Being back in the classroom was challenging, but using my gray matter to bend teens to my will was entertaining at times, rewarding (yeah, it's hokey) at others. I learned they ride penguins in Spain. And the koala mafia fights with the butterfly mafia in Italy. When a kid said "2 butterflies came to my grandparents house..." then trailed off and looked at the ground in obvious sadness, reliving the painful memory it was amazingly hilarious. They were a creative class, that's for sure. I've also been teaching more French privately and finding that while French grammar trounces English in terms of complexity, I can still make people understand it. Mostly.
Job hunting isn't my favorite activity. But one gig I'm starting on is working with ConferenceHound.com; I have my first blog post with them up now. Their aim is to be something between kayak and yelp for conferences, a pretty cool idea. I'm working on other writing projects, trying to keep the resume factory productive, and learned the basics of driving stick shift so I could commute to another short-term gig last week. Joblessness finds me with so many things to do I wonder how I spent 40 hours a week working in the shop.
I also got my hands on The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. And read it all in less than a day - fabulous ending to a great, thrill-packed trilogy. I love it when the operations kick in and they outline all the clever steps involved so that justice can be served. He was a huge women's rights guy it seems as well from looking at his characters and plots.
Also discovered Porchlight, a local storytelling group here in SF and am looking forward to going to more of their events, maybe trying to tell a story or two of my own. My sister Cassie comes tomorrow morning for fun and fabulous times before she starts college - glad I have time to spend with her!
So now I'm yet another statistic. Luckily I was already one week into teaching European teens English at a language school (run by Canadians!), a course that lasted 2 weeks total. Being back in the classroom was challenging, but using my gray matter to bend teens to my will was entertaining at times, rewarding (yeah, it's hokey) at others. I learned they ride penguins in Spain. And the koala mafia fights with the butterfly mafia in Italy. When a kid said "2 butterflies came to my grandparents house..." then trailed off and looked at the ground in obvious sadness, reliving the painful memory it was amazingly hilarious. They were a creative class, that's for sure. I've also been teaching more French privately and finding that while French grammar trounces English in terms of complexity, I can still make people understand it. Mostly.
Job hunting isn't my favorite activity. But one gig I'm starting on is working with ConferenceHound.com; I have my first blog post with them up now. Their aim is to be something between kayak and yelp for conferences, a pretty cool idea. I'm working on other writing projects, trying to keep the resume factory productive, and learned the basics of driving stick shift so I could commute to another short-term gig last week. Joblessness finds me with so many things to do I wonder how I spent 40 hours a week working in the shop.
I also got my hands on The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. And read it all in less than a day - fabulous ending to a great, thrill-packed trilogy. I love it when the operations kick in and they outline all the clever steps involved so that justice can be served. He was a huge women's rights guy it seems as well from looking at his characters and plots.
Also discovered Porchlight, a local storytelling group here in SF and am looking forward to going to more of their events, maybe trying to tell a story or two of my own. My sister Cassie comes tomorrow morning for fun and fabulous times before she starts college - glad I have time to spend with her!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
