I've been emailing this HR guy about a job the past few days, and I really really want it now. It seems perfect, both corporate and production work. I'm pulling out all the stops when I email him, trying to make myself look like the best candidate without actually lying. This job seems like it might be a little bit over my head, but that's GOOD. I would like a job that I can grow INTO for once, instead of OUT of within a few months. Is it any wonder I keep job-hopping?
Plus, I can't keep doing this. It's not just the running out of money, it's the fact that applying for jobs constantly (and being roundly rejected and ignored by them) is draining on your brain. I can't focus. I make mistakes. I apply for dog-grooming jobs (better than people-grooming, I guess. Ick.). I LIKE working. I want to be doing something. Even semi-boring jobs usually have something to teach me.
Please let this be the one!
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Big Libraries Make Me Giddy
I am absolultely TEARING through books. I normally read fast, and often read three books at a time, but this is unprecedented. I would say that I haven't read this much since I was a teenager, except when I was a teenager I didn't have access to such a large public library.
Maybe that summer I spent in Duluth. I only worked part-time, had exactly one friend, and their public library was ENORMOUS, and only a bike ride away. Here it is only a few blocks away.
When I was between the ages of about 7-17, my parents and teachers had difficulty keeping up with me. I had already toasted the school library (the "Public Library" consisted of a few shelves within the school library) and we didn't have a ton of money to keep buying books.
Still, remember those book clubs in grade school? The teacher would hand out a little two page catalog, and you'd come back the next week and put in your order, then the next month the books would arrive at school and the teacher would hand it out. My class would always get two small boxes: one for me, and one for the rest of the kids. Seriously. I have a very distinct memory of a teacher passing out books to everyone else, then looking at the second box and just putting it on my desk without opening it because I was the only one left who hadn't gotten her books. I'm sure there was some eye-rolling among the other kids. I'm also pretty sure my mom always bought at least a few of the back page clearance books, no matter how tight money was, just to put words in my hands. I've always been grateful for that.
I'll always be grateful, too, to my maternal grandmother for handing me "Carrie" when I was just nine years old. She helped alleviate this dearth of books, plus helped to develop my twisted imagination early on.
Maybe that summer I spent in Duluth. I only worked part-time, had exactly one friend, and their public library was ENORMOUS, and only a bike ride away. Here it is only a few blocks away.
When I was between the ages of about 7-17, my parents and teachers had difficulty keeping up with me. I had already toasted the school library (the "Public Library" consisted of a few shelves within the school library) and we didn't have a ton of money to keep buying books.
Still, remember those book clubs in grade school? The teacher would hand out a little two page catalog, and you'd come back the next week and put in your order, then the next month the books would arrive at school and the teacher would hand it out. My class would always get two small boxes: one for me, and one for the rest of the kids. Seriously. I have a very distinct memory of a teacher passing out books to everyone else, then looking at the second box and just putting it on my desk without opening it because I was the only one left who hadn't gotten her books. I'm sure there was some eye-rolling among the other kids. I'm also pretty sure my mom always bought at least a few of the back page clearance books, no matter how tight money was, just to put words in my hands. I've always been grateful for that.
I'll always be grateful, too, to my maternal grandmother for handing me "Carrie" when I was just nine years old. She helped alleviate this dearth of books, plus helped to develop my twisted imagination early on.
Monday, October 16, 2006
A Weekend Alone
Weekends alone can be nice, though I usually appreciate them more when I don't spend all my DAYS alone as well. Still, I did lots of cool things, most notably attending the LitQuake LitCrawl Saturday night. They set it up like a pub crawl, by making a whole bunch of readings take place within a few blocks of each other in the Mission over the course of a night.
Next year I hope they add more readings and more time slots, since every reading was WAY crowded. I magically got a good seat at every one, though.
The best was Pat Murphy's essay she read at the Borderlands scifi reading. It was all about becoming the Marketing Director for The Crucible. The best part was that I had been looking over the fall class schedule for The Crucible, mooning over a jewelery making class in December that I can't afford to take. If I don't get a job soon, maybe I'll just ask someone to buy me an early Christmas present! (such as people who go to Las Vegas to lose money...)
Joe is in Vegas, and last time I spoke with him, he was desparately trying to drag Alex away from the tables to go eat sushi. He said they can't afford to lose any more money! (As though they can afford to lose any? As long as they're having fun...)
Friday night Megan (who just moved here from Wisconsin!) and I saw the "live billboard performance" in the Mission. Basically interpretive dancers strung from ropes and harnesses, dancing on a billboard thirty feet in the air, expressing how horribly women are still portrayed in the media.
Then Sunday I went to the Japanese Tea Garden with Christy and her friends from out of town. It's just what I expected, tea near a waterfall and gardens. Ahh...
Next year I hope they add more readings and more time slots, since every reading was WAY crowded. I magically got a good seat at every one, though.
The best was Pat Murphy's essay she read at the Borderlands scifi reading. It was all about becoming the Marketing Director for The Crucible. The best part was that I had been looking over the fall class schedule for The Crucible, mooning over a jewelery making class in December that I can't afford to take. If I don't get a job soon, maybe I'll just ask someone to buy me an early Christmas present! (such as people who go to Las Vegas to lose money...)
Joe is in Vegas, and last time I spoke with him, he was desparately trying to drag Alex away from the tables to go eat sushi. He said they can't afford to lose any more money! (As though they can afford to lose any? As long as they're having fun...)
Friday night Megan (who just moved here from Wisconsin!) and I saw the "live billboard performance" in the Mission. Basically interpretive dancers strung from ropes and harnesses, dancing on a billboard thirty feet in the air, expressing how horribly women are still portrayed in the media.
Then Sunday I went to the Japanese Tea Garden with Christy and her friends from out of town. It's just what I expected, tea near a waterfall and gardens. Ahh...
Friday, October 13, 2006
Happy Anniversary Part 2
After packing up our new coffeetable, we headed to our next vineyard, called "Ridge". It is literally at the top of a mountain. We made our way slowly up the winding road, feeling a bit hungry (I actually felt a bit whoopsy from the sharp corners) but excited by the views. In places, the road was only wide enough for one car.
The Ridge tasting room was more formal than the other one, but they had a couple of good wines. In fact, Joe and I bought our very first "age-able" wine there. It is a 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon blend. It will be "ripe" for drinking in 2011. It would taste good now, but will taste amazing then. Since we don't have anything resembling a wine cellar, this is somewhat of an experiment. We're hoping that San Francisco weather is cool and humid enough on its own to keep the wine from going bad. Guess we'll see in 5 years!
Ridge is a great place to have a picnic, except for the hornets swarming everywhere. I'm not usually afraid of bugs, but there is something about big hornets that make me jump up and run for the hills.
We headed back down the mountain to our hotel in Los Gatos. Los Gatos is an adorable little town, and our hotel room was really nice, with our own little balcony (facing the parking lot, but still). We had some snacks in the bar, then went out to explore the area a little bit. It is full of cute shops and restaurants. The window of an art gallery caught our eye as well. They had a display of Markus Pierson originals, and I swear if I had an extra $5000, I would buy this one.
We went back to the hotel to read on the balcony and then get ready for dinner. Joe had tried to get reservations at Manressa, the fanciest, only-two-Michelin-starred restaurant in town, but it proved to be difficult. Instead we went to Cafe Marcella, supposedly the best Italian food in Los Gatos.
It turned out to be some of the tastiest food I've ever had. Honestly, at least for the price. I got crab risotto and Joe had asparagus soup for an appetizer. Then, when our entrees were taking a long time to come out of the very busy kitchen, the waiter felt bad and turned our "glasses of wine" into "bottomless glasses of wine." Even at the end of our meal, after dessert, he came by and filled them up. Our entrees were delicious, fish in an amazing tomato-basil-butter sauce and duck confit. For dessert I got a raspberry tart and Joe got warm bread pudding, both of which were really above and beyond. Our waiter, though he got sweatier and more crazed as the night went on, was really cool.
The next morning we had a tasty but small and simple breakfast at the popular local breakfast joint. At 9 am on a Sunday, Los Gatos is FILLED with people. It's insane. Everyone gets up to go jogging, and then goes to breakfast or to the farmer's market, all of which we did. Well, except the jogging, of course.
Then we had some tough decisions to make. Go to more vineyards, or head back into San Fran to see the Blue Angels air show? We decided on the show, and boy was it worth it. We sat on a hillside in Fort Mason, facing the water right about where the Blue Angels do their death-defying, 100-mile-an-hour near-misses of each other. It was very cool and they're so LOUD! Very exciting.
To finish off our weekend, we HAULED BUTT down to Golden Gate Park to catch the very last performance of the Bluegrass Festival (which we originally didn't know about, or we might have stayed in town for it. Oh well, next year...) which was EmmyLou Harris. We were way at the back, but the whole place was so relaxed and happy, and we both love her music. It was a wonderful end to a wonderful weekend, for a wonderful two years.
The Ridge tasting room was more formal than the other one, but they had a couple of good wines. In fact, Joe and I bought our very first "age-able" wine there. It is a 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon blend. It will be "ripe" for drinking in 2011. It would taste good now, but will taste amazing then. Since we don't have anything resembling a wine cellar, this is somewhat of an experiment. We're hoping that San Francisco weather is cool and humid enough on its own to keep the wine from going bad. Guess we'll see in 5 years!
Ridge is a great place to have a picnic, except for the hornets swarming everywhere. I'm not usually afraid of bugs, but there is something about big hornets that make me jump up and run for the hills.
We headed back down the mountain to our hotel in Los Gatos. Los Gatos is an adorable little town, and our hotel room was really nice, with our own little balcony (facing the parking lot, but still). We had some snacks in the bar, then went out to explore the area a little bit. It is full of cute shops and restaurants. The window of an art gallery caught our eye as well. They had a display of Markus Pierson originals, and I swear if I had an extra $5000, I would buy this one.
We went back to the hotel to read on the balcony and then get ready for dinner. Joe had tried to get reservations at Manressa, the fanciest, only-two-Michelin-starred restaurant in town, but it proved to be difficult. Instead we went to Cafe Marcella, supposedly the best Italian food in Los Gatos.
It turned out to be some of the tastiest food I've ever had. Honestly, at least for the price. I got crab risotto and Joe had asparagus soup for an appetizer. Then, when our entrees were taking a long time to come out of the very busy kitchen, the waiter felt bad and turned our "glasses of wine" into "bottomless glasses of wine." Even at the end of our meal, after dessert, he came by and filled them up. Our entrees were delicious, fish in an amazing tomato-basil-butter sauce and duck confit. For dessert I got a raspberry tart and Joe got warm bread pudding, both of which were really above and beyond. Our waiter, though he got sweatier and more crazed as the night went on, was really cool.
The next morning we had a tasty but small and simple breakfast at the popular local breakfast joint. At 9 am on a Sunday, Los Gatos is FILLED with people. It's insane. Everyone gets up to go jogging, and then goes to breakfast or to the farmer's market, all of which we did. Well, except the jogging, of course.
Then we had some tough decisions to make. Go to more vineyards, or head back into San Fran to see the Blue Angels air show? We decided on the show, and boy was it worth it. We sat on a hillside in Fort Mason, facing the water right about where the Blue Angels do their death-defying, 100-mile-an-hour near-misses of each other. It was very cool and they're so LOUD! Very exciting.
To finish off our weekend, we HAULED BUTT down to Golden Gate Park to catch the very last performance of the Bluegrass Festival (which we originally didn't know about, or we might have stayed in town for it. Oh well, next year...) which was EmmyLou Harris. We were way at the back, but the whole place was so relaxed and happy, and we both love her music. It was a wonderful end to a wonderful weekend, for a wonderful two years.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Happy Anniversary to Us
Last week was my and Joe's 2nd Anniversary and we celebrated by getting the heck out of the city! Joe planned it all, only revealing hints about what we were going to do. I suspected we would leave SF, and I also suspected we would go to wine country, but that's all.
Friday night we stayed in SF. We went to dinner at Ana Mandara's, a beautiful Vietnemese restaurant right on the water near Fisherman's Wharf. The inside looks like a lush movie set, and the food was delicious. Joe gave me my present, which was the first season of Battlestar Galactica (score!) on DVD.
We tasted some wine at a little shop in Ghiradelli Square to kill some time, then sat on the stone steps leading out to the water, waiting for Fleet Week fireworks. It was a beautiful night out, and Joe gave me a second present, which was a box of chocolate truffles. My favorite, I wonder how he knew?
Unfortunately the fireworks were on the east bay, not the north where we were, and because of the cloud cover we couldn't see them at all. We started to walk towards them, but on the way found a cool bar where an Irish band was playing, so we decided to abandon fireworks for that.
The next morning we got up bright and early, packed overnight bags, and went to breakfast at Sears Fine Foods in Union Square. They're famous for their 18 tiny Swedish pancakes dish, which I got, along with lots of coffee.
The next suprise was...our Avis rental car! We picked it up, Joe handed me directions, and off we went! Turns out we were headed for the Santa Cruz Mountain wine region (Napa being swamped at this time of year). It's about 45 minutes away, not counting the time we spent lost among the steep and twisting back country roads.
The first vineyard/winery we went to was Cooper-Garrod Vineyards in Saratoga. The owner himself gave us an hour long tour that was very good. He taught us things about the area, and the history of that particular vineyard. We got a free tasting of their wines, though I didn't love most of them. We did buy an interesting 2000 Claret, though. They also run a horse stable and we watched some of the students practice doing tricks on horseback, which was pretty neat (though scary, since most of them appeared to be eight-year-old girls on the brink of falling off and being crushed).
On the way to the next vineyard, we passed an estate sale. Since we actually had a car and we saw some furniture for sale, we decided to stop. It was more of a rummage sale coop, really, but we found a neat old coal bucket and a coffee table. The coffee table is extra long, and a little beat up, but it was only $15 and we managed to fit it in the car by laying the seats down. The wood inlay along the sides is beautiful. The center of it is what I at first took to be plastic. I thought it was like those plastic countertops that are made to look like marble. Nope. It's marble. Unless they make fake marble so heavy even Joe can't lift it on his own. Luckily the center piece comes out so we could carry it together.
To be continued...
Friday night we stayed in SF. We went to dinner at Ana Mandara's, a beautiful Vietnemese restaurant right on the water near Fisherman's Wharf. The inside looks like a lush movie set, and the food was delicious. Joe gave me my present, which was the first season of Battlestar Galactica (score!) on DVD.
We tasted some wine at a little shop in Ghiradelli Square to kill some time, then sat on the stone steps leading out to the water, waiting for Fleet Week fireworks. It was a beautiful night out, and Joe gave me a second present, which was a box of chocolate truffles. My favorite, I wonder how he knew?
Unfortunately the fireworks were on the east bay, not the north where we were, and because of the cloud cover we couldn't see them at all. We started to walk towards them, but on the way found a cool bar where an Irish band was playing, so we decided to abandon fireworks for that.
The next morning we got up bright and early, packed overnight bags, and went to breakfast at Sears Fine Foods in Union Square. They're famous for their 18 tiny Swedish pancakes dish, which I got, along with lots of coffee.
The next suprise was...our Avis rental car! We picked it up, Joe handed me directions, and off we went! Turns out we were headed for the Santa Cruz Mountain wine region (Napa being swamped at this time of year). It's about 45 minutes away, not counting the time we spent lost among the steep and twisting back country roads.
The first vineyard/winery we went to was Cooper-Garrod Vineyards in Saratoga. The owner himself gave us an hour long tour that was very good. He taught us things about the area, and the history of that particular vineyard. We got a free tasting of their wines, though I didn't love most of them. We did buy an interesting 2000 Claret, though. They also run a horse stable and we watched some of the students practice doing tricks on horseback, which was pretty neat (though scary, since most of them appeared to be eight-year-old girls on the brink of falling off and being crushed).
On the way to the next vineyard, we passed an estate sale. Since we actually had a car and we saw some furniture for sale, we decided to stop. It was more of a rummage sale coop, really, but we found a neat old coal bucket and a coffee table. The coffee table is extra long, and a little beat up, but it was only $15 and we managed to fit it in the car by laying the seats down. The wood inlay along the sides is beautiful. The center of it is what I at first took to be plastic. I thought it was like those plastic countertops that are made to look like marble. Nope. It's marble. Unless they make fake marble so heavy even Joe can't lift it on his own. Luckily the center piece comes out so we could carry it together.
To be continued...
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Fleet Week is Here!
Fighter Jets have started roaring over our house constantly, so low that sometimes I can read the lettering on their sides from my bedroom window.
Fisherman's Wharf is in chaos. It will take my brother two hours to get to work in that mess, but he'll probably make buckets of money because of it!
Fisherman's Wharf is in chaos. It will take my brother two hours to get to work in that mess, but he'll probably make buckets of money because of it!
An Evening with Mr. Gaiman
Last night I hopped the BART on up to Berkley to see Neil Gaiman read. He was absolutely delightful, not to mention hilarious.
As I stood in line outside the theater, I tried to remember why I like Neil Gaiman so much. Partly, yes, it's because everyone else likes him. He's become a sci-fi cultural icon. He got famous for Sandman, which I haven't read enough of to be able to call myself a fan, and then solidified it with American Gods, which I honestly didn't even like all that much. Of course, his writing for TV is brilliant. But what I remember the most is when I finished Wolves in the Walls. I was gasping. I've never read a children's book (at least, not as an adult) that delighted me so much. I loved Coraline too.
The reading was held in a theater, and you had to buy a ticket to get in, though it got you 20% off an already-signed book. Neil explained later that last time he read in Berkley, he was still there at 2 a.m., signing, so they decided to try it this way.
His stories were amazing, and his voice rolls through them in such a way that you have to pay attention. Afterwards, I heard groups of people standing around gushing about his voice. The owner of Comic Relief, who held an after party, said that every time he reads a Gaiman story, he hears Neil's voice inside his head. I think it's also because his stories lend themselves to being read outloud. They are bedtime stories, even the scary ones.
The funniest part of the night, though, was the Q & A. Audience members wrote questions on index cards ahead of time, and then he had intended to go through and pick out the ones he wanted to answer. Unfortunately, he didn't have time to do this, so he just chose from the top and read outloud, answering each question seriously.
My favorite:
"Dear Mr. Gaiman, Number one, you are swell." Neil looks up, smiles and says, "Gee thanks. Number two, if you could chose how you die, what would it be?"
I believe his answer was, "the heat of the universe." Don't quote me on that though. The accent throws me off sometimes.
I went to Comic Relief afterwards for wine and cheese and of course ended up buying a comic book (as though I have money to burn.) But there is a dog, a cat and a bunny on the cover. IN SPACESUITS!!!
As I stood in line outside the theater, I tried to remember why I like Neil Gaiman so much. Partly, yes, it's because everyone else likes him. He's become a sci-fi cultural icon. He got famous for Sandman, which I haven't read enough of to be able to call myself a fan, and then solidified it with American Gods, which I honestly didn't even like all that much. Of course, his writing for TV is brilliant. But what I remember the most is when I finished Wolves in the Walls. I was gasping. I've never read a children's book (at least, not as an adult) that delighted me so much. I loved Coraline too.
The reading was held in a theater, and you had to buy a ticket to get in, though it got you 20% off an already-signed book. Neil explained later that last time he read in Berkley, he was still there at 2 a.m., signing, so they decided to try it this way.
His stories were amazing, and his voice rolls through them in such a way that you have to pay attention. Afterwards, I heard groups of people standing around gushing about his voice. The owner of Comic Relief, who held an after party, said that every time he reads a Gaiman story, he hears Neil's voice inside his head. I think it's also because his stories lend themselves to being read outloud. They are bedtime stories, even the scary ones.
The funniest part of the night, though, was the Q & A. Audience members wrote questions on index cards ahead of time, and then he had intended to go through and pick out the ones he wanted to answer. Unfortunately, he didn't have time to do this, so he just chose from the top and read outloud, answering each question seriously.
My favorite:
"Dear Mr. Gaiman, Number one, you are swell." Neil looks up, smiles and says, "Gee thanks. Number two, if you could chose how you die, what would it be?"
I believe his answer was, "the heat of the universe." Don't quote me on that though. The accent throws me off sometimes.
I went to Comic Relief afterwards for wine and cheese and of course ended up buying a comic book (as though I have money to burn.) But there is a dog, a cat and a bunny on the cover. IN SPACESUITS!!!
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