Author: Bekki

Monday Roundup

On By BekkiIn The Weekly ReviewLeave a comment

1. It was nice working in an office for a week… Golden Gate BridgeWorking from home is a sweet gig.  I can take conference calls in my PJ’s, and when I have an early morning, all I need to do is roll out of bed and walk five feet down the hall.  Even so, I sometimes miss being in an office environment, miss sticking my head in somebody’s office rather than having to email or call to get their attention.  Working alone, at home, is isolating.  I think the week helped us all feel a little bit closer.

2 … And even nicer coming home.  It’s been almost a week, and Z is still talking about her mama going away on a ferry boat. She’s also been a Velcro baby since I got back. Which is fine, because I think I missed her almost as much as she missed me. Not to mention that although A and I can handle long distance, we don’t much like it.

3. It snows in Salt Lake City.  Who knew?  Salt Lake City AirportAs both my husband and sister pointed out, apparently the 2010 Winter Olympics Committee.  I chose SLC as my stopover point figuring there was less chance of having weather-related delays than if I went through Minneapolis.  My first inkling that this may not have been the wisest choice was the captain of my DCA to SLC flight saying, “Folks, if you noticed we’ve been zig-zagging over Wyoming, it’s because it’s snowing in Salt Lake and they’re alternating runways to keep them ploughed.”  I’ve got to give it to the folks at that airport, though.  They’ve got their act together.  Ultimately, I was only delayed about an hour.

 

4. My solution to stress-free gift giving. A and I have very different ideas about gift giving and the holidays. He likes surprises; I’d rather make a list. This has led to no end of frustration on my part, as I find it impossible to get him to tell me what he wants. This year, I tried something different: I bought him “A flavored” stuff that I liked and wanted. Stress-free, it was rather enjoyable.  Here’s hoping he likes what he gets as much as I do.

5. Happy birthday to me!  I turned 33 this week. It was a pretty low-key day. Normally A and I divide and conquer on the weekends – I get Z and he gets the to do list. It’s efficient, but we don’t get to spend as much time together as I would like. For my birthday, I asked if we could have a day with the three of us. We took Z up to Scandia and chased her around the gerbil tunnels. It was terrifically fun.  When A asked her at the end of the night if she had a good day, she said “tunnels.”  So I think that counts as a success.

Closing Tabs

I thought planes were one of those things that are too large to misplace, but someone has left three at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia. Airport management posted the lost and found notice in a local newspaper, proving that not all weird stuff ends up on Craigslist.

One of the best things about working from home is not having to wear a bra every day.

I’m intrigued by this pen and paper subscription service. Judging by the number of sold out items on the page, a bunch of other people are too.  I’m looking forward to the not-so-distant day when handwriting is an art form and paper is a luxury good.

Working at a British shop has turned me into an unapologetic tea drinker.  I’ve been using Tea Gschwendner for a bit, but T2 is now delivering to the US and the internet is pretty excited about it. Fellow tea drinkers: what’s your go to?

I’ve not yet managed to bring my camera on any of the business trips I’ve taken over the past year, largely due to luggage/space issues.  This tote looks like the perfect solution: there’s room for a laptop and an SLR.

Happy holidays everyone.  May your Christmases be full of good food (Chinese food, in the case of all my Jewish friends) and the people you love.

On Tourists and Donuts

On By BekkiIn Musings & Ramblings2 Comments

On my way home from the office yesterday evening, someone stops me and asks if I know where the Metro stop is. I say I don’t, but point to the Metro signs across the street and tell him I’m pretty sure it’s there. A moment later, a couple comes up behind me, and the man proceeds to confirm for the tourist that Metro entrance is, in fact, in the same place as the Metro signs.

The light changes; I cross the street. Behind me, I hear the man say to the woman, “What?! You’re always telling me to be nicer to tourists. I was nice.”

“I’m from New York,” I say, turning around. “We eat tourists for breakfast.”

They laugh; I continued walking, quickly, as you do in New York.

At the next light, a young woman wearing a Macy’s name tag stops me and asks if I know where the McDonald’s is. I tell her I’m sorry but I don’t. Then, noticing the couple is still behind me, I say, “You know, he might know.”

The guy plays along. “Might know what?”

“She’s looking for a McDonald’s,” I say.

“Or a Dunkin’ Donuts,” she adds.

“You want a donut?” he asks. “Astro Donuts is right down the street, and they’re still open. You ever been to Astro…” his eyes flick down to her name tag “Diamond?”

She shakes her head.

“Nevermind. You can’t handle Astro, Diamond. It’s fried chicken on top of fried donuts with more fried donuts on top. It’s intense.”

Diamond nods.

“Let’s find you a Dunkin’ Donuts,” he says, whipping out his phone. “We’re at 12 and G, hey, there’s one right here, oh nevermind it closed at nine.”

At this point, I’m about in stitches, as is the woman with him. In fact, I’m enjoying this so much that when the light changes, I stay on this side of the street.

Diamond just looks sad that the Dunkies is closed.

“Hey, don’t worry,” he says. “We’ll find you another. Look, there’s one on 7 and F that closes at 10.”

Diamond looks doubtful. “I dunno if I can get there in time.”

“Of course you can,” he says. “That’s like, five blocks. Look, we’re on 12. You go 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, that’s five blocks, and turn right. You can make that in 45 minutes. I could crawl that far in 45 minutes.”

Diamond still isn’t sure about this.

“Look,” he says. “The subway’s right there. You could get on, ride one stop, get off at Gallery Place, and you’re there.  Six minutes. But then you have to spend two dollars. You don’t really want to have to spend two dollars, do you?”

Diamond shakes her head no, she doesn’t really want to spend two dollars, and sets off across the street. The couple turns left, I cross the street and turn left as well, and Diamond continues down H Street in search of her donuts.

This, apparently, is not the end of my odd encounters for the evening.

A young woman and her mother get into the elevator at the hotel behind me, each carrying a number of shopping bags. As the elevator ascends, I ask the young woman where the Lush was.

“Georgetown,” she says.

I make a face of disappointment, because I know there’s no way I’m getting from the office to Georgetown anytime this week.

“You should go,” she says as I exit the elevator. “It was amazing. I met my soulmate.” The doors close on her with a soft ding, and I’m left to ponder the strange inevitability of meeting your soulmate in a cosmetics store.

Monday Roundup

On By BekkiIn The Weekly ReviewLeave a comment

1. I’m back on the East Coast next week. I didn’t realize until a few days ago that I’m going to be gone during the week of Hannukah. A and I normally don’t make it much past the first night of menorah lighting, as evidenced by the nearly full box of candles I got him eight years ago when we first started dating. This year, though, I’d been looking forward to lighting candles with Z.

2. Cooking with a toddler is a whole different ball game. Z has gotten to the age where she very much wants to help with everything, and her enthusiasm is far greater than her skill. And I’ve been trying to cook a bit more, especially when A goes into work earlier, to make his life a bit easier. This means that I’m often trying to keep her out of the raw meat with one hand, off the knife with the other, and away from the eggs with the third. At which point I realize I don’t have a third hand and catch her just before she stuffs a piece of raw chicken in her mouth. It’s all worth it when she eats everything on her plate and asks for more. (Days she doesn’t eat anything, I just want to scream.)

3. The closest I ever came to seeing a STP concert was watching Scott Weiland’s ass disappear into the back of a tour bus.. They played a free concert at USF my freshman year of college. I didn’t have a car at that point, so I spent a good chunk of time trying to find someone who did. By the time we got over the bridge and through traffic, it was over.

** Edit:  My brother has reminded me that this isn’t true, and we saw STP together back in 2000 at the WBCN River Rave, and that it was a pretty incredible show.  He’s right, on both counts.**

4. We had our first adult dinner party since Z was born this weekend. A set of matching dinnerware is still very much on our to get list, DSC_0574so I rolled with it, using vintage Coca-Cola glasses instead of pints to keep the “rustic” feel going. Z didn’t want to get out of her PJ’s, so I rolled with that too. It was good to have company that’s not family (although I love having family too!), and proof that there is life beyond the black hole of poop and temper tantrums.

5. I am most definitely stressed out this month. Part of it is the fact that my big report for work, which was supposed to be done before Thanksgiving, has been pushed back again. This means that instead of having the holidays and our vacation in January clear, there’s a chance I might have to work through some or all of it. Then there’s the holiday season itself, and all of that craziness (including the fact that I’m rapidly running out of time to get any kind of holiday cards out the door). Add in a two year old, the daily battles around bedtime, and the complete inability to get anything done with any sort of efficiency while she’s around, and the result is that I’m needing about 5 more hours in each day than I’ve got right now.

Closing Tabs

Z and I made the gingerbread cake from All Cakes Considered this week, and it was fantastic. I’m pretty sure I ate most of it. In my defense, I was following the recipe.

My mom has always said people are inherently good…
The Worldbuilders Stardust ARC is one of those things that restores my faith in humanity. Every year, Pat Rothfuss puts a signed ARC of Stardust into the lottery or auction for his yearly charity. Every year, without fail, the winner donates it back.

…and inherently dumb.
Red mercury is the holy grail of terrorist bomb plots, strong enough to flatten a city the way a nuclear blast would. It is also scientifically impossible. The result? Cons, conspiracies, and long read piece in the Times Sunday magazine.

This guy spent 4,200 of his 10,000 hours working on capturing a single photograph of a diving kingfisher. Anyone can buy a digital camera and Photoshop and pass themselves off as a photographer, but this kind of patience and dedication is what makes you a pro.

Serialbox is attempting to bring back serial novels, doing it TV-style: each “episode” is written by a team and takes about forty minutes to read. I was initially excited about this, then downloaded the sample chapter for Bookburners and decided the writing was crap about two pages in. And that would have been that, except that I’m seeing all kinds of excitement for Tremontaine, a prequel to Ellen Kushner’s Swordspoint. (If you’re into fantasy and you haven’t read Swordspoint, you should). So I’m giving Serialbox another try.

How do you handle the holidays and the end of year craziness?  Comment here, because I’m still banning myself from Facebook!

Monday Roundup

On By BekkiIn The Weekly Review2 Comments

1. I’m in love with my vacuum. There’s something inherently satisfying in watching the canister fill with dust and dirt. I’ll admit that we got off to a rocky start, largely due to operator difficulty. (Also, who puts a button on the vacuum that you have to push to make the brushes spin? Isn’t that an integral part of the vacuuming experience?) Now that I’ve got it figured out… Bliss.

2. Printlandia is up and running in the new house. This is a good thing, as it is an easy and low-cost way to satisfy Zanna’s boat obsession. Next up: a printer big enough to make her a castle.

DSC_0516

3. Toward a unified theory of holiday. I’m thinking this is the last year we get a hall pass on not having to explain why we celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas. Especially because we’re otherwise not at all religious. I’d like the holidays to mean more than shopping and presents, without making it no fun at all. Maybe the way to do this is to go back, to before Judaism or Christianity were religions, to when we lit fires to mark the longest and darkest night. Maybe we make it a celebration of the year, of everything we’ve seen and done and experienced. If anyone has thoughts on how they’ve done this, I’m all ears.

4. It’s easier than you’d think to fall into helicopter parenting. I had a moment over Thanksgiving where Z was struggling with a toy and I stepped in to help. My quasi-father-in-law gave me a very gentle reminder (thanks Papa!) that she could and should figure it out herself. Truth is, I find it immensely frustrating to wait for her to do things on her own – especially now that she wants to help with everything.

5. I’m going dark on Facebook for the next month or so. I’m spending too much time reading click bait stories and not enough time paying attention to my family. Being with a two year old is hard and often boring; scrolling through posts is generally more interesting than dealing with the incessant chorus of “baby baby BABY!” But every time I do that I’m telling my daughter she’s not worth my attention – and that’s not the message I want to send. (NB: You’ll still see blog posts, because those are automated.)

Closing Tabs

“[J]ust because the question can be answered doesn’t mean that I ought to answer it, or that it ought to be asked.” The way we ask questions is full of assumptions about what we think the listener should be doing or saying, and it’s especially prevalent when we talk about topics that hit on stereotypes and ingrained assumptions.

Are you watching Jessica Jones? If not, you should be. Yes, it’s another superhero series, but this hero has been abused, victimized, traumatized – and she refuses to let it define or dictate her. And while her abuser has superpowers, too, what he does is really only a step away from behaviors and tactics used by many non-superhero abusers. Also, it has David Tenant as the bad guy. I would watch it just for that, because David Tenant is *my* Doctor.

I like the idea of selling a house for a realistic price, in exchange for a cultural contribution, but I’m not sure this gets there. Looks to me like the seller is getting the bulk of the value here. Still, it let a few native SF artists stay in the city, so it can’t be all bad.

Turns out most pop songs are written by a couple of bald Norwegians. I’m just saying, I’m a little butt hurt that Taylor Swift doesn’t actually write her own songs.

That’s it from me. How was your Thanksgiving week? Are you drowning in leftovers? Are you one of those people who doesn’t ever eat leftovers?

Monday Roundup

On By BekkiIn The Weekly Review2 Comments

1. If you see something, say something. Last week, A came home from work and told me he thought he heard someone locked in the trunk in the car next to him, maybe like some teenagers were fooling around, and should he call 911? I hesitated a moment, then told him if it was my kid, I’d want him to call. This week, as I was driving home from dropping Z at school, I saw a brush fire off the highway. Again, I hesitated, figuring someone else would make the call, but did it. In both cases, we were the first report.

2. Sometimes, when my toddler is making me absolutely crazy, I sing the soft kitty song to myself. Don’t judge, it helps.

3. Zanna’s current obsession is boats. I took her down to the marina this week to see the boats go to bed. She had a blast running around.Harbor Sunset

4. Bar exam results came out this Friday, at 6 pm. As an afternoon distraction, Z and I went on a sunset toddler hike with Hike It Baby. The kids walked almost the whole way up, stopping frequently, of course, to pick up sticks and rocks, run backwards, and look at the poop on the trail. They were really, really into the poop. (I passed, and am thrilled to have that done and over with.)Sunset on Mount Diablo

5. I’ve become an unexpected Six Flags convert. My parents didn’t take us to amusement parks much, probably because they’re so flipping expensive. So even though there’s a Six Flags in the town we live in, I didn’t contemplate going. Until the 2016 tickets went on crazy sale. I am now a full-on believer in amusement parks for the toddler set. They’ve got a ton of kid rides, lines so far have been completely reasonable, and I’ve never had problems bringing in toddler snacks. If you’re in the area, you should do it.

Closing Tabs

I’ve been trying to come up with a better name for these than Monday Roundup, but “Monday Funday” is a lie and “Monday Blues” is to depressing. Feel free to put suggestions in the comments.

Vegetables are totally underrated, kids. You can do really fantastic things with them. Like this pineapple bourbon sweet potato casserole or this savory roasted vegetable crumble.  We’re in charge of vegetables for Thanksgiving this year, so you might see one or both of these. On a side note, I’m on the lookout for good recipe blogs.  If you have one you follow, let me know.

Mental illness has a tendency to be invisible, especially when someone appears put together externally. Esme Weijung Wang talks about Fashioning Normal.

While I won’t deny that there’s a small part of me hoping Z will be a prodigy kid, like this 14 year old rock climber, mostly I just want her to be happy and have a real childhood.

My views on tipping servers changed after I started dating a chef and learned how little they make. I think Danny Meyer is making the right move by abolishing tipping, and would love to see this spread.

I’m pretty sure the family that got the shout out from Patrick Rothfuss here is ours. Presents have definitely gotten less important to me as I’ve gotten older.  8, 16, and 24 year old me would all be shocked by that statement, but it’s true.  Spending time with my family and friends is pretty much all I need to keep me happy these days.

That’s it from me. What interesting bits of the internet have you come across this week? What are you looking forward to making for Thanksgiving?