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I have made major locational changes in my life. Germany to Boston for college, Boston to Ohio for law school, Ohio to Northern California a couple of years ago for work. These big moves are always exciting, always challenging, and never easy.

The first couple of moves were such that I had immediate, built-in friends (college and law school will do that for you) but the last one was a little different. Granted I had built-in, immediate connections with people at work since that's why I moved out here in the first place, but I'm the kind of person who likes to have my work life and my personal life be a little separate. (I have to add here that some of my closest friends in California are from work - were from work since I no longer work with them. So I guess now they're friends, not work-friends. Yay!)

It also always takes me a little while to settle into feeling like I actually live in a new place. I always forget how long it takes to feel that way. Typically, I feel like a stranger in a place until I can confidently give directions when asked, run into people I know on the street, and feel like a regular fixture in my neighborhood.

After 2 years of living in California, I realized just the other day that I have achieved this settled feeling. I feel like I actually live here now, not like I'm pretending to live here.

You see, recently, as I was walking the 5 or 6 blocks home from what I am calling my local "Biergarten" (outdoor patio, beer, casual, fun atmosphere, lots of regulars and locals), I was stopped 3 times by different people along the way who all either live or work in my neighborhood, know me, wanted to say hi and chat for a moment. (One called to me from across the street, ran over and hugged me. Another came out of the restaurant when I walked by to say hi.)

It made me really really happy. It also made for a very pleasant walk home, stopping to chat, feeling like I really do live here in this neighborhood. Realizing that people here know me and are genuinely happy to see me when I happen to pass by. I feel like I'm home now.

things happen...

I returned from my trip to Ohio, which was wonderful by the way (pictures below), on Monday. When the plane landed in Oakland, I called my friend to come pick me up. You see, it is very convenient to have a friend drive you to the airport in your car and pick you up in your car. That way you don't have to pay for parking while you're out of town and you have immediate access to your own vehicle upon your return. It's quite perfect.

This time, however, not so much. As I waited at the passenger pick-up area, I began to wonder what was taking my friend so long to get to the airport. Typically by the time I get outside, he's pulling up. So, I waited figuring there was probably traffic. A few minutes later, my friend finally pulled up to the curb... very slowly.

As he got closer I saw that the front passenger side window was gone but for a bunch of clusters of broken glass hanging on to the edges of the frame of the window. A silent "what happened?" didn't even make it out of my mouth before he stopped, turned the car off, and got out. He was covered in glass, visibly shaken. He came to my side of the car and kind of fell into a shaky but relieved hug.

Ok, here's what happened: He was driving on the freeway to come pick me up at the airport. The freeway is pretty rough with lots of uneven pavement and many, many trucks. He was passing a truck when something either fell off the truck or the truck spit a rock at the car. Whatever it was, it happened very quickly and the window shattered, scaring my friend and covering him in glass.

We reported it to the police officers milling about at the airport who told us we needed to report it to the highway patrol. So, as we drove away from the airport, me in the back seat to avoid sitting on a pile of glass, being blown away by the lack of a window, I called the highway patrol. A stop at a gas station to vacuum up the glass and a visit to the highway patrol to file a report later, I now have a brand new front passenger window, which cost less than my deductible on my insurance so it was all out-of-pocket (boo!).

The truck by the way didn't stop. The driver likely didn't even know what happened. It was an out-of-state semi and, although my friend got the license plate number of the truck and we included it on the report, I doubt anything will come of it. I'm just glad my friend didn't get hurt and that it was just the window that was damaged. It could have been much worse.

Ok, now for the fun stuff! Pictures from Ohio:


Shawn and his mom, Karen, right after he received his "Graduate Of the Last Decade" Award.


My boys!! Celebrating Shawn after the award ceremony.

Shawn, the honoree, and me in the garden at Karen & Tony's house.



Gretchen and Mikey came by!






Rashaun and me at the soiree in Shawn's honor and to celebrate my visit. Also at Karen & Tony's.

Ohio!!!

I am spending the weekend in Ohio, which is like coming home in a very odd way. I lived in Ohio for a full decade and there are so many people here that I absolutely adore so it will be nice to catch up even if it's just a few days.

The occasion for the visit is that my dearest of dear friends, the fantastic Shawn Beem, is being honored at our law school as the "Alum of the Last Decade." This is a tremendous honor, which he very much deserves, and I could not fathom missing this momentous occasion to celebrate and honor him.

I am very proud of him!

Cheers my dear Shawn!

just a little nutty

I woke up at 4am today from a disturbing dream, in which I felt the whole world around me vibrating slightly. The problem was that I was the only one who felt it and it was causing disorientation, wooziness, and I felt like I was going crazy.

I woke up still slightly dreamy and realized I still felt it. I couldn't decide if it was just the lingering effects of the dream or if I really felt something. There was definitely some kind of low frequency rumbling happening so I got up and went to my living room window.

There it was. A big garbage truck sitting across the street (on the other side of the little park mind you), idling. The low rumble of the big truck's engine is what I was feeling/hearing.

I've already discussed my hyper-sensitivity to sound on this blog but COME ON!!!!! Really? That woke me up??? Well since it woke me up and it was a terrifying dream and it was 4am, I was very annoyed. I sat on my couch looking out the window, willing the truck to drive away, until the damn thing finally left. The sound slowly subsided as the truck drove farther away and I went back to bed.

I was almost back to sleep, could still hear a faint rumbling, when it got a little louder because the garbage truck was on the next block. This means it was on the other side of my apartment, the side where my bedroom window is, separated not by a park but one other building.

The good news is that the truck was actually moving, emptying garbage bins, not just sitting and idling, so the sound subsided fairly quickly.

Once the truck was out of the neighborhood, I fell into blissfully silent sleep.

The problem now is that the dream has stuck with me. It was really disturbing to feel and hear something very real that nobody else felt or heard.

In real life, I'm glad I found the source of the sound. The fact that I heard it and it woke me up is still a bit disturbing.

So, today I'm a little tired and I fully accept I'm a little nutty. These things happen.

new book out this week!

My friend Djaffar is an author and his book just came out this week. It is a quick read, it is very interesting, and it's apropos to some of what's going on in Northern Africa right now.

I encourage you to buy a copy and read it. It's a great way to support a new author and be educated on some interesting world history from a very personal perspective.

You can purchase it from his website (where you can also read the first chapter for free): www.donkeyheart-monkeymind.com. If you'd prefer an e-reader version, it's available in multiple e-reader versions as well.

The title is "Donkey Heart Monkey Mind"

Happy reading!

The other Katy(ie) - part II

For those of you who read the first post regarding the other Katy(ie), you'll understand this weirdness. (For those who haven't, take a look at my December post titled "My life as a storyline")

OK, here you go: last night I went for dinner and drinks to my favorite neighborhood restaurant/bar. Katie was there. It was good to see her. I asked her how she was doing and if she did indeed quit her job like she said she was going to.

She did.

Her last day was March 4th (same as me).
Then she took a few weeks off (same as me).
And then she started her new job on April 1st (same as me).

What's she doing? She's a consultant for the same company I am consulting for.

It's a bit ridiculous really.

1st week down

So, I've worked for a whole week now as a Consultant. I spent most of this week at a conference in D.C., which I believe was a success.

My home office is set up.

I have an appointment with the accountant after April 15th (go figure, he's busy until then).

I set up a business bank account.

Business cards came in the mail.

I'm on my way!