nyc - part one

Although I was supposed to land at 9:30, I did not arrive until well after midnight, due to weather delays. So many little things have already happened that feel significant.

I met so many nice people on the way here, even though it was a long freakin trip it really wasn't that bad. The shuttle ride from the airport to the hotel was probably the most heinous part of it all. I was so scared, the guy was tilting around corners like you can't believe!

This whole trip has brought up a lot of thougts, all the business travel I used to do, the places I have been, the places I still want to go. I am not scared anymore to travel by myself, although its certainly always nicer when you are sharing the experience in real time.

I decided to go down to the hotel bar once I got settled in at the hotel, upon arriving last night, because I was all weirdly hyper from travelling and it seemed a shame to be in NYC and just go straight to bed - a nightcap seemed pretty appropriate.

Of course, I started talking to the bartender, "Bay" and she introduced me to the other people in there, who happened to be her friends. I met like 10 people including some fellow Californians that stopped in while I was there. Everyone was just so nice, and the people watching has been FAB-U-LOUS!

Basically what it has brought up is that I need to travel, I love going new places, seeing new things, meeting new people, soaking up native culture - I forgot just how important it is to me, how much it inspires and excites me.

At one time, it was the life I was building, both before and during my previous engagement, but I lost my way when we split up and it has taken over 10 years to rediscover this part of my path. I am not lamenting it, because I wouldn't be who and where I am now. I wouldn't have the knowledge, the career and expereinces it brought, nor the 6 years I spent with the man I fell in love with later, and even though none of those things has turned out the way I thought, and I had to let go of that love as well, I can see that each thing leads to another, and it is all important. And that in many ways, we are all rebuilding our life, all the time.

Interestingly, I had an experience tonight that illustrated what my life would have been like if I would have married and stayed that course, and it was very reassuring to realize it may have quite a bit less than stellar after all.

Part two - coming soon!

sailing

I went sailing on a 42 foot sailboat last sunday, a last minute invite. It was really quite something, and the detailed work that goes into the whole thing is a little daunting. I enjoyed it because I do love to be on the water, but somehow it left me with the feeling that it is not only not much "fun" to own a sailboat but also quite a bit of work and a very significant expense.

Part of this is that I go into what I call a "water coma" whenever I get on or near large bodies of water - I just get really quiet (yes, there are times I am quiet) and super relaxed, so the idea that I need to stay super vigilant and complete multiple tasks just doesn't jibe (excuse the pun). Another part is that the owner of the boat was a pretty serious fellow and I tend to think of being on the water as a recreatinal activity. It is cool that you could pretty much go anywhere, and that fuel is rarely necessary and it is its own little community. The jury is still out until I have more experiences, I think.

I learned a fair amount about how to sail, got to steer the boat for a while and met some really nice people. It was a really lovely sunny day, and I am grateful I got to spend it bobbing around.

that really chaps my hide

i just found out today that am going to new york city on the 4th of july weekend for work, but i get a whole day to explore and I will be back home in time for the fireworks and rowdiest festivities. even though i have done lots of business travel, and a little bit of vacation travel (not as much as i would like!) i have never been to new york before and i am pretty excited. i will be staying at what looks like online, to be a very nice hotel in manhattan. wow, it probably shouldn't be a big deal but writing that i will be in manhattan just seems a little surreal.

i don't know how much time things will take but i am hoping to cram in a lot in a day, ideally i would like to see ellis island, the statue of liberty, the empire state building, central park and walk as much of the city as i can.

i am thinking this could justify my purchase of a new (replacement) camera so that i can take a boatload of photos while there, man, i am already taking them in my minds eye. sweet!

time and transition

I have lived in my little beach town for just over a year now and in the general area for just over two. I love my little house, my little community and my little town. Change is challenging, even when you bring about the changes yourself. Building a whole new life, from scratch, has certainly been full of experiences and I am hardly "done." I am grateful for so much and there is much more to create.

Much of it has turned out very differently than I planned, something I should be quite used to by now. Overall though, as I reflect, I think that I am happier and healthier in this environment than I was before. I miss people and places of my life before very much, I am more restricted than I thought I would be and I wish I was not still struggling with some of the things I find myself battling, but I have always felt a deep connection to this area, even att he worst moments, it brings me peace just to look around and as the anniversary has just passed I just had to say: it sure is good to be home.

half a work week in one day

I had to meet with two seperate clients down south on tuesday. i was travelling with 3 other co-workers and we left at 5:30am in hopes of reaching desination 1 by 10am, which required that i arise at 4am to get to the office in time since i live about 40 minutes away.

Some friends talked me into going out for ONE drink on Monday night after work, which of course turned into me dragging my ass home at around 10:30, smacking myself upside the head 'cause I was only going to get about 4 hours of sleep, but almost worth it because it was a good time.

The road trip down south was fairly decent and uneventful, except for the brief stop at mickey d's for breakfast which led to the discovery of the turbo leaf blower cleverly disguised as a hand dryer in the restrooms and the mysterious coffee gnome that kept projectile spitting one co-workers coffee right out of his cup at random intervals for no findable reason, which happened just after the epic cream fight with the cashier who just could not understand my response to her question of how many creams I would like, which was "many", requiring me to actually have to say "ok, like 3 each?" Apparently I violated some major mickey d's cream quota!

Generally the client meetings went well, and we wrapped up just in time to jump into full blown LA traffic - ok, I am sorry, but seriously how and why does anyone live there, its just awful. I would hurt someone if I had to face that every day. It took 2 and a half, long painful hours to go about 70 miles at which point we decided to pull over and get some dinner. Dinner was really nice, and very pleasant.

On the road back home after dinner, I am driving and at about 9pm as we are on 101 near Rincon, with the pacific ocean stretched out on the left, we get a phone call from one co-workers wife, we in the car hear this: (his side of the conversation only)

"what!?"
"oh ya, right."
"the whole west coast, sure."
"really?"
"down to mexico?"
"shit, ok, i'll call you back."

At which point he explains to us what the rest of the world home in front of the TV already knew, that there was a big quake off the norcal coast and a tsunami was possible, folks had been evacuated and the entire california and oregon coast was on alert. This is not good news when you have a mountain on one side, the ocean on the other and no place to go to get away from it. We try not to panic, and find a local news station on the radio. Very shortly thereafter, we find out that the quake happened about 2 hours previously and there are no signs of a tsunami and that the whole thing will likely be called off, quite a relief, but what a bizarre 15 minutes or so!

I finally arrived home about a quarter to midnight, sleep is sooooo good!

"U" all day

I treated a friend to a lovely sunday brunch in honor of his birthday yesterday out in the cam, the breakfast was seriously yummy, as were the accompanying fresh fruit, morning pastries, coffee and mimosa's, all enjoyed in a lushly forrested creekside sunstreaked outdoor patio.

We then decided to drive up the coast a bit to check out the swells, and the sweet sets that were rolling in. We stopped at several local surf spots and ended up at "the cove" a few miles north.

While walking along the beach at the cove we ran into some other friends, fellow U's, and as we chatted about this and that 3 dolphins leaped out of the water right in front of me, they were only maybe 30 feet away, in surprisingly shallow water and so unbelievably beautiful, sleek and graceful. I have never seen dolphins so close to shore here, I was so amazed and excited! It is unbelievably difficult to describe something like that and the feelings that go with it.

Just. Awesome.

We topped the day off by calling a bunch of friends to gather for a good old fashioned beach bonfire complete with guitars, drums, beverages and lots of snacks. We sat around the fire, toasted marshmellows, sang some songs and made some up, laughed and laughed and laughed.

Simply a beautiful day.

Happy Birthday Tissa

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Tissa, happy birthday to yououououououououuouou! Let's go have some Royal Tea to celebrate!! :O)

Happy Birthday Mama!

I love you Mama and I hope its a wonderful day!! xoxo :O)

update to: deep thoughts/journey's end

I was telling a friend over the weekend about my reaction to the Journey's End sign. I thought her comments were noteworthy. This post will likely make little sense if you have not read the previous one.

She said that she has seen the sign also and they she actually had a different perspective, that to her it meant that they were travellers, and that the house is where they come to rest in between. Basically that at the end of each journey they return there.

I thought it was a cool take on the whole deal and I thought it was good to hear another view and it made me feel more positive about it, like I can walk by the house again without feeling so heavy. It also made me realize that although a bit morose, my reaction and subsequent thoughts had value for me, and relate to where I am in my life and the things on my mind, and my plans and goals. Reaffirming for me my belief that things happen for a reason, in the time and way they are meant to.

Thanks D for a fresh perspective, for a lovely chat, a great glass of wine, a little too much sun, for making me feel welcome, and for a really nice day.

that's amore

Italian Cuisine and Italian Heritage have been frequent topics of discussion lately. I miss the monthly Italian club dinners my *Nonu used to take us to, and I sure miss my Nonu even more.

I think one of the things I miss most is his gentle simplicity and how that represented Italy and being Italian to me. He was endlessly patient, kind, funny, so loving, thoughtful and generous. He loved to garden, grew much of his own food, loved light but tasty dishes and loved having the family over for a traditional Italian meal.

The thing is, like any place, the food and the culture may have similarities but differ region to region, and change once Americanized. My family comes from Northern Italy, the dishes my family made were so much lighter than most of what is served in restaurants here today, and were full of love, cherished for hours and often eaten outdoors with music playing in the background. Our tradition most closely resembles what a precious few places call "family style"

I miss those happy simple meals and all the family that has since passed. I look forward to passing on some of those traditions and telling the stories I was told, and the details I remember.

Salute!




*(Nonu is Piedmontese for Grandfather, in my case, my great grandfather)

Is my face red...

Approximately four hours of gardening and girl talk in the bright sun yesterday leaves me a fully baked crispy critter complete with contrasting thin white half circle lines from the rims of my sunglasses just above my cheekbones. Somehow it seems evenly distributed on my face but is more prominent on my left side when looking at my arms and legs. Oddly and very luckily, I don't feel much discomfort, heat yes, pain low.

I would love to show you a picture, but I would have to go back in time and not watch (to my utter horror) my camera falling out of my pocket and right into the ocean last week while taking new sunset pictures, in order to do that. Yes, I am deeply saddened by the sudden demise of my very cherished digital camera, amplified by my inability to easily replace it any time soon...oh camera, I hardly knew ye...

Wear sunscreen! :)

3 whole days

I almost feel guilty that I didn't go more places, do more things, drink more cocktails...mostly I puttered - one of my most favorite things in the world. I am an excellent putterer, seriously world class and I could have won a gold medal this weekend.

There were only two major diversions: The Blues Festival & The Neighbors BBQ

The Blues Fest was rockin'! An entire day of great music, beautiful weather, good company & cold beer. Yup - fabulous!

The neighbors BBQ was sunny, smiley and oh so yummy! New favorite bread for BBQ's is sourdough covered with butter, bleu cheese and garlic - heaven! New favorite blender drink - mangoes with rum - tasteEE!

It was like being on vacation without having to really go anywhere!

best quote of the day

AJB to MM: Wow! You look pretty good for a Vegas weekend! When I come back from Vegas, I come back all older and thrashed. I mean, all you have to do is just sit there and play cards and they just keep brining you drinks, it's awesome!

kayaking

things I learned from kayaking on the ocean this weekend:

Tie your kayak to something before you leave it somewhere, this ensures you will not come back from dinner to find it floating away.

Also tie your paddle to something, like maybe your kayak - its odd how fast those two items can get separated from each other and how fast those little paddles can sink and/or float away.

Do not attempt to do very much other than paddle while in choppy water, your devoted concentration will keep you dry....well um dry-er and nearer to your group but most importantly - away from large moving watercraft.

The pier posts are actually much narrower than they appear from above.

Be sure to borrow a Kayak you can actually carry and that you can afford to replace in case it does float not into the retrievable back bay when you don't tie it down - but actually out to sea.

Apparently there actually is a graceful way to get onto shore through the waves without flipping you and your kayak over, if you are wearing a white shirt, a woman and plan to go anywhere in public immediately following, you may want to have someone show you how to do this before you go out...or bring cash to buy a new shirt once you get there.

If you must bring anything with you, put it into a waterproof container, especially your towel which becomes rather unusable once wet.

There is little else so peaceful and beautiful than floating on a wave in the hot summer sun! :)

characters

js: the parade is classic also

jc: what kind of parade is it?

js: umm well, its kinda like a "normal" small town parade, but then also full of characters and sometimes town drunks, and well, its just sort of a spectacle

jc: haha, i'm trying to figure out if you are one of the characters or one of the town drunks...

Now THATS funny!