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!
pic
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Monday, April 25, 2011
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.
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.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
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!
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!
Friday, April 15, 2011
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.
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.
Friday, April 8, 2011
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!
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!
Sunday, March 27, 2011
pictures from the trip
The trip that resulted in the missing persons report was nice. I didn't do any exploring or beach walking because rained and hailed the majority of the time I was there. The short bursts of sunshine between the downpours were indeed very short but that's when I took pictures.
I really recommend the place I went, River's End in Jenner. They have adorable little one-room cabins with lovely views and lots of quiet. They have a restaurant which has a pretty nice menu but I couldn't eat there because they were closed due to the power outage. This meant, of course, that I had to improvise dinner. I am happy to always be prepared!
Here are some pictures.
The cabin
My view: The Russian River meets the Pacific Ocean
As I said, I improvised dinner. I had stopped on the way up the coast to get some snacks just in case... I bought cheese and crackers and a spinach & feta calzone. These things came in handy when the restaurant near the cabin and everything else in the near vicinity was closed due to the power outage. So, cheese and crackers became my mid-afternoon snack and the calzone spent a few hours on top of the only heating source I had. It took some time but eventually it was warmed all the way through, crunchy on the outside, and as delicious as a $3 calzone from a gas station can be. YUM! :)
At one point, the wind and the rain seemed to stop but then it HAILED!!!
While my calzone was heating up, it did stop raining and hailing and I saw what almost looked like a sunset.
I really recommend the place I went, River's End in Jenner. They have adorable little one-room cabins with lovely views and lots of quiet. They have a restaurant which has a pretty nice menu but I couldn't eat there because they were closed due to the power outage. This meant, of course, that I had to improvise dinner. I am happy to always be prepared!
Here are some pictures.
The cabin
My view: The Russian River meets the Pacific Ocean
As I said, I improvised dinner. I had stopped on the way up the coast to get some snacks just in case... I bought cheese and crackers and a spinach & feta calzone. These things came in handy when the restaurant near the cabin and everything else in the near vicinity was closed due to the power outage. So, cheese and crackers became my mid-afternoon snack and the calzone spent a few hours on top of the only heating source I had. It took some time but eventually it was warmed all the way through, crunchy on the outside, and as delicious as a $3 calzone from a gas station can be. YUM! :)
At one point, the wind and the rain seemed to stop but then it HAILED!!!
While my calzone was heating up, it did stop raining and hailing and I saw what almost looked like a sunset.
Friday, March 25, 2011
2 adventures in 1 a.k.a the accidental "missing person"
Today I was going to write about my seaside getaway. Well, river/ocean getaway really. I was going to write about how lovely it was to leave technology behind for a couple of days, how I found a cute little cabin directly on the water right where the Russian River dumps into the Pacific Ocean just outside of a tiny little speck of a town called Jenner.
I was going to write about how relaxing it was to be in a cabin by a fire watching the waves crash on the sandbar between the ocean and the river. I was going to write about how beautiful the rain, the storm, the wind, the choppy water, even the hail and the power outage made everything. I was going to write about how I improvised dinner using the gas-fed stove in my room to heat it up when there was nowhere to get food. I even took a bunch of pictures!
Instead, I will tell you of the other adventure that unfolded while I was blissfully away. When I left town on Wednesday to drive north along the coast, my thoughts were simply that I would take a few days to relax before I start working again next Friday. I had mentioned to a few friends (mainly those outside of California apparently) that I had been thinking about doing this. I told my mother I was going up the coast for a few days.
I didn't tell my friends in Oakland. That, as it turns out, was a mistake.
You see, when I finally made it back to civilization late this morning, my phone started beeping at me like it was possessed. I had 13 voice-mails and at least twice as many text messages. Here's what happened:
When my dear friend Sarah returned from her own trip to wine country on Wednesday, she thought it was a little curious that I wasn't responding to a text she sent that afternoon. Of course, I was on my way up the coast at this time so I had no reception.
She didn't hear from me at all on Wednesday so she tried calling me on Thursday morning. She called both my phones, which were off thanks to the lack of reception (actually one of them was completely dead but I couldn't charge it since the power was out where I was). She emailed me, texted me, and called me. When she got no response to any of these forms of communication, she called a couple of our other friends and asked them if they had heard from me in the past few days.
None of them had. So, as these things go, they discussed the possible scenarios: I could have gone on an impromptu trip. For example I could have flown to the east coast or Ohio or even Germany. If I was on a plane, that would explain the fact that my phones were off. But then they decided that even a long plane trip would have ended by then.
They went to my apartment and, though it was a bit messy, they decided there were no signs of any struggle. My car wasn't there and Sarah was able to determine that my rain boots and rain jacket were gone, as well as my purse and my laptop. (All perfectly normal really, as it was raining and I tend to take my purse and my laptop with me when I go places.) But my suitcase and all of my clothes (from what they could tell - I have a lot of clothes) were there, which made them think I hadn't gone on a trip. They went over every possible scenario and the thing started to take on a life of its own.
When noone had heard from me by Thursday evening and none of the hospitals or jails in the greater Bay Area had any record of me (I'm still curious what they thought I might have been arrested for!), they decided to call the police.
They filed a missing persons report!
When the police officer asked them when they last spoke to me, they said they had heard from me on Tuesday via facebook. But then the officer asked them when they had last actually talked to me, heard my voice. They realized they hadn't talked to me since Sunday and now it was already Thursday! Terror began setting in.
They described me, my tattoos. They had to do math to determine what year I was born (thanks for that!). They knew what type of car I drove and told the officer that I had camping gear in the back of the car. When, in response to a question about what I did for a living, the police officer said "oh, so she's unemployed" Sarah got defensive. She told him I was between jobs, I would be starting work next week. When he still said, "but she's not working right now?" she yelled "SHE'S A LAWYER! She's barred in California" to Naseem, another friend, added "and in Ohio!" as if my profession and my licensure made some kind of difference here. Apparently, they worried that he might think I was down and out, out of work and depressed, and off on a bender of some sort.
They went through my rolodex on the desk in my apartment and started calling everyone they'd ever heard me mention. They called my friends in Ohio, emailed my sister in Germany, called friends all over the place to see if anyone had heard from me or knew where I was. Someone even volunteered to go to the airport to walk the parking lots to see if my car was there. No one had talked to me since Wednesday.
My friends in Ohio were unconcerned as they are used to me taking off to go camping for a few days when the mood strikes but still they decided that if they hadn't heard from me by the end of the weekend, they would join in the worrying.
Of course, the one person they didn't contact was the one person who knew where I was! They had my mom's email address and were ready to write her but decided they didn't want to alarm her just yet.
Late last night (Thursday), Sarah was convinced she needed to prepare herself for the worst and when the police officer called her at 1am she was sure he was calling to tell her they had found my body. Instead he was just calling to say he had gone by my apartment and there didn't appear to be any mail, which I assume he took as a good sign. Poor Sarah's heart was racing and she was completely distraught. (I have since learned that she spent most of the night crying from worry and I am deeply sorry for this.)
I felt awful when I listened to all the voice-mails and read all the text messages and emails. I certainly didn't mean to worry anyone!
I'm alive and fine of course, and although I think they may have overreacted a bit, it's nice to know I am so loved.
Now that the ordeal is over, I'm off to meet the worry-girls for a drink to celebrate my aliveness. Then, tomorrow, I'll post some pictures from the trip like I intended to in the first place.
What an adventure!
I was going to write about how relaxing it was to be in a cabin by a fire watching the waves crash on the sandbar between the ocean and the river. I was going to write about how beautiful the rain, the storm, the wind, the choppy water, even the hail and the power outage made everything. I was going to write about how I improvised dinner using the gas-fed stove in my room to heat it up when there was nowhere to get food. I even took a bunch of pictures!
Instead, I will tell you of the other adventure that unfolded while I was blissfully away. When I left town on Wednesday to drive north along the coast, my thoughts were simply that I would take a few days to relax before I start working again next Friday. I had mentioned to a few friends (mainly those outside of California apparently) that I had been thinking about doing this. I told my mother I was going up the coast for a few days.
I didn't tell my friends in Oakland. That, as it turns out, was a mistake.
You see, when I finally made it back to civilization late this morning, my phone started beeping at me like it was possessed. I had 13 voice-mails and at least twice as many text messages. Here's what happened:
When my dear friend Sarah returned from her own trip to wine country on Wednesday, she thought it was a little curious that I wasn't responding to a text she sent that afternoon. Of course, I was on my way up the coast at this time so I had no reception.
She didn't hear from me at all on Wednesday so she tried calling me on Thursday morning. She called both my phones, which were off thanks to the lack of reception (actually one of them was completely dead but I couldn't charge it since the power was out where I was). She emailed me, texted me, and called me. When she got no response to any of these forms of communication, she called a couple of our other friends and asked them if they had heard from me in the past few days.
None of them had. So, as these things go, they discussed the possible scenarios: I could have gone on an impromptu trip. For example I could have flown to the east coast or Ohio or even Germany. If I was on a plane, that would explain the fact that my phones were off. But then they decided that even a long plane trip would have ended by then.
They went to my apartment and, though it was a bit messy, they decided there were no signs of any struggle. My car wasn't there and Sarah was able to determine that my rain boots and rain jacket were gone, as well as my purse and my laptop. (All perfectly normal really, as it was raining and I tend to take my purse and my laptop with me when I go places.) But my suitcase and all of my clothes (from what they could tell - I have a lot of clothes) were there, which made them think I hadn't gone on a trip. They went over every possible scenario and the thing started to take on a life of its own.
When noone had heard from me by Thursday evening and none of the hospitals or jails in the greater Bay Area had any record of me (I'm still curious what they thought I might have been arrested for!), they decided to call the police.
They filed a missing persons report!
When the police officer asked them when they last spoke to me, they said they had heard from me on Tuesday via facebook. But then the officer asked them when they had last actually talked to me, heard my voice. They realized they hadn't talked to me since Sunday and now it was already Thursday! Terror began setting in.
They described me, my tattoos. They had to do math to determine what year I was born (thanks for that!). They knew what type of car I drove and told the officer that I had camping gear in the back of the car. When, in response to a question about what I did for a living, the police officer said "oh, so she's unemployed" Sarah got defensive. She told him I was between jobs, I would be starting work next week. When he still said, "but she's not working right now?" she yelled "SHE'S A LAWYER! She's barred in California" to Naseem, another friend, added "and in Ohio!" as if my profession and my licensure made some kind of difference here. Apparently, they worried that he might think I was down and out, out of work and depressed, and off on a bender of some sort.
They went through my rolodex on the desk in my apartment and started calling everyone they'd ever heard me mention. They called my friends in Ohio, emailed my sister in Germany, called friends all over the place to see if anyone had heard from me or knew where I was. Someone even volunteered to go to the airport to walk the parking lots to see if my car was there. No one had talked to me since Wednesday.
My friends in Ohio were unconcerned as they are used to me taking off to go camping for a few days when the mood strikes but still they decided that if they hadn't heard from me by the end of the weekend, they would join in the worrying.
Of course, the one person they didn't contact was the one person who knew where I was! They had my mom's email address and were ready to write her but decided they didn't want to alarm her just yet.
Late last night (Thursday), Sarah was convinced she needed to prepare herself for the worst and when the police officer called her at 1am she was sure he was calling to tell her they had found my body. Instead he was just calling to say he had gone by my apartment and there didn't appear to be any mail, which I assume he took as a good sign. Poor Sarah's heart was racing and she was completely distraught. (I have since learned that she spent most of the night crying from worry and I am deeply sorry for this.)
I felt awful when I listened to all the voice-mails and read all the text messages and emails. I certainly didn't mean to worry anyone!
I'm alive and fine of course, and although I think they may have overreacted a bit, it's nice to know I am so loved.
Now that the ordeal is over, I'm off to meet the worry-girls for a drink to celebrate my aliveness. Then, tomorrow, I'll post some pictures from the trip like I intended to in the first place.
What an adventure!
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