Tag: bicoastal

The Monday Review – Live from New York Edition

On By BekkiIn The Weekly ReviewLeave a comment

1. A and I are now the proud owners of a bedroom set. In the almost nine years we’ve been together, we’ve had night boxes, night speakers, night crates, and, once, a night fishtank, but never night stands. All that changed last Monday, and let me tell you, it is a life altering experience.Z explores the new furniture2. WTF X-Files? On a scale of 1-Dexter, the last episode in the mini series was about a 7, but that’s only because I refuse to believe it was unintentionally that bad. Memorable quote “He’s too sick for the vaccine! He needs STEM CELLS.” Will Sculley save Mulder? Will Fox commission more episodes? Did Einstein survive? By the time the closing credits rolled, I was laughing too hard to care.

3. Do you have a toddler? Are you watching Masha and the Bear? No? You’re welcome.

4. Bronwyn is kicking my ass. Revisions are always much slower for me than the zero draft, but this is bordering on the ridiculous. It’s why you don’t see much in the way of novel updates from me… Chapter 6, days 7-15: still struggling through the squirrel killing scene.

5. Things I miss about New York: the subway, good pizza, and hole-in-the-wall restaurants.  The wine bar I’m writing this in hits two of the three: it’s a blink-and-you-miss-it set of stairs that I’ve walked by dozens of times, and they serve a proper thin-crust, crushed tomato sauce pizza. There’s also a Christmas story leg lamp behind the bar and a random stained glass mural of an owl and a raven in a tree.  You just can’t get this in Vallejo.

Closing Tabs

I’ve always wanted to live in a house with a conservatory.  As that’s not likely to happen any time soon, I’ll settle for an indoor fruit tree or four.

I totally got tripped up by this guy when I was working restaurants, and it amazes me that, despite the fact that she’s writing about the STEM fields and I was a cocktail waitress, the MO was almost identical – down to the inappropriate use of “shiny.”

On a much lighter note, I came across this list of places to hike with a toddler in the East Bay and I can’t wait to go out with A and Z.

Unfortunately, said hikes are probably going to have to wait a month or so, as it appears that the reprieve from the rain is over with a vengeance.

 

The Monday Review – Dog Ate My Miata Edition

On By BekkiIn The Weekly Review2 Comments

1. The Mabacle is no more. A got rear-ended coming home from work Thursday night. He’s fine; the car is not. In fact, it’s no longer car shaped. The insurance adjuster hasn’t come out yet, but I can’t see any possible scenario in which they don’t total the car. The only question left is whether the universe was telling us not to drive a Miata or not to drive *that* Miata.

2. Stillness, Patience, Compassion. This was the theme of the yoga class I went to on Friday.  While I generally find the “teachy” bits of yoga class a bit too new age for me, this one resonated. I am a very goals and action oriented person; stillness and patience are definitely not my strong points.  When I’m with Z, I have to remind myself – often – that it’s not about getting to the end of the trail or making our way through a list of activities, it’s about spending time together. Stillness. Patience. Compassion. I expect I will be thinking, and possibly writing, about these ideas for the next bit.

captains-mansion3. I’ve fallen in love with a house again. A series of them, actually.  Z and I biked over to the Mare Island Preserve this way, doing a bit of exploring as we went, and we came across the old officer’s quarters on Walnut Ave. These seem like they’d be perfect for shared housing – I’d love to see them filled with writers and artists and makers.  Anyone want to buy a house with me?

4. Have you read Maggie Stiefvater’s The Raven Boys? It’s been sitting on my bookshelf since I came back from  WorldCon 2014, and I can’t believe it took me almost a year and a half to read it.  It’s a bit like Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising Series, but with teenagers, incredibly beautiful, literary writing, and a house full of women seers.

5. Up in the air. I’m heading out to NYC the week of the 7th, will be back for the weekend, then am heading to Dallas either the week of the 14th out the 21st. At which point we head into wedding season and, with any luck, D will let me pick up a bartending gig or two!

Closing tabs

The title of this NY Post article says it all:  “People in India are literally killing themselves to take great selfies.”

I found these absolutely stunning photos of modern dancers via an interview at My Modern Met that came through my Feedly. It’s called the NYC Dance Project, and I love that they were inspired to do this because their daughter wanted photos of current ballet dancers to decorate her room.

I’m all for wiping out mosquitoes, but this reads like it’s straight out of 1950’s pulp sci-fi. If there’s bunch of tetracycline dependent kids born in 9 months, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

The best part of this article is the graphic in the middle telling you how many days a year your commute adds up to.

This one’s a bit grisly.  Turns out, sneakers are made so well these days that they will keep your feet from rotting after you die.

Question of the Week

[yop_poll id=”10″]

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!