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July 25, 2005
Women on Top
Yesterday the Curmudgeon suggested that people who blog might not get as many "hi, how are you?" phone calls as non-bloggers, because the blog-reading friends have already read about the latest adventures and don't need to call to hear the news. Then there's the "yeah, I read that on your blog" comment that makes me feel like a boring person who tells the same stories over and over again.
Whether or not any of the above is true, the whole idea intrigued me enough that I was going to go on a Blog Fast to see what might happen. Unfortunately I've already botched the experiment, because I seem to be addicted.
***
So. Women on Top. Last week's Economist addressed this, in an article entitled "the Conundrum of the Glass Ceiling." with inane bits like:
Why is it proving so difficult for women to reach the top of corporations? Are they simply less ambitious, less excited by the idea of limitless (albeit first-class) travel, late nights and the onerous responsibilities imposed by mounting regulation? A 2002 survey of top executives in American multinationals around the world did find them to be less ambitious, at least for the very top job: 19% of the men interviewed aspired to be CEO, whereas only 9% of the women did.
In fact, the study shows that only 19% of men interviewed aspired to be CEO, whereas only 9% of women did. There was no "how ambitious are you, and toward what goal?" question cited in the article. Where's the study about aspiring toward a balanced lifestyle? Where's the article asking "how much is enough?" Oh wait, I'm reading the Economist, right.
On the more palatable side, this same issue includes an article on Shakira. While the Glass Ceiling is premium content (oh, the irony), everyone can read about the Crossover Queen.
Posted by Elizabeth at 06:54 PM | Comments (2)
July 22, 2005
Comedy of Errors, and a Bike List
Fun with Phone Lines! My advice when dealing with SBC, or any other organization with rooms and rooms full of customer service agents: keep calling back until you get the answer you want. Quick Quiz: what's the difference between binding posts and a tagged phone line? Answer: lots of money, even though they both serve the same purpose!
I'm hoping that since someone had no trouble cutting the phone lines (twice) the week we moved in, the SBC technician will be able to get into wherever the lines live to tag them on Saturday. I'm tempted to ask why they didn't tag them when they installed them in their unidentifiable-binding-post states on Tuesday, or even when they came to tag the OTHER line yesterday, but I know that would merely expose me as an overly rational, practical person.
***
Today's Bike List tells a story:
- 1 tiny piece of glass embedded in a tire
- 1 block of wondering why the hell the bike was making such odd noises all of a sudden (um, that would be the rim on pavement)
- 2 hands somewhat greasy from removing the rear wheel
- 1 unexpected train ride home with the wheel in hand
- 1 sad (but still gorgeous) bike keeping me company in the office while I wait on hold.
Posted by Elizabeth at 12:20 PM | Comments (0)
July 21, 2005
Google Redemption
Even though he claims that "debaucherous" is not a word (the sentence would be instead, "some parties were more debauched than others," and Yes, you can text message a word to Google from your cell phone to get a definition, or supposed proof that aforementioned word does not exist), Jacob wins points for showing me that Google aime la France after all, assuaging my fears to the contrary. Just not every year.
AND there's a Google solution in the event that it's foggy (as it often is this time of year in SF) and you pine for the moon. Those guys, I tell ya...
Posted by Elizabeth at 05:55 PM | Comments (0)
July 20, 2005
The Gift of Gab
(Warning: in lieu of photos, this post contains Shameless Self Promotion.)
I love my job, as it involves interviews with really inspiring people at companies I love, who are happy to talk because we've helped hook them up with money. Yesterday I was back at the Niman Ranch office. Sadly, unlike last time, there was no meat served...
I'd brought along to the interview someone from the capital finance firm that didn't hire me last year. Since he actually does speak the Language of Money (as opposed to merely pretending to, which is my tactic), I was a little nervous about looking like an idiot in comparison. Apparently, what I lack in actual knowledge of capital finance, I more than make up with my ability to get folks to spill details. The guy was so impressed that he said to me as we were leaving, "Wow, it was amazing to watch you work! I learned more in that interview than I have in the last three combined... are you SURE you can't come on Thursday when I'm talking to Oak Hill Farms?"
Um, flattery gets you far with me, let me check my calendar again? They're in Glen Ellen? Fun boondoggle, anyone? I'm trying to come up with a way to justify it to myself, but I just don't think it's going to happen. I am, however, trying to console myself with a trip to San Luis Obispo to spend some time with the folks at Guayaki.
***
Because I'm such a generous gal, I thought I'd share one of the resources revealed to me yesterday during the interview, which went on for so long I missed my Salsa lesson: the North Carolina Poop Counter. Just in case you need to know, in real time, how much poop people and pigs are producing in that state.
Posted by Elizabeth at 02:22 PM | Comments (0)
July 19, 2005
We Are Family
One of the things that always fascinates and surprises me about getting together with lots of relatives is realizing that I'm not uniquely strange; I'm just a gene-carrying member of my family. I may even geek out LESS than many of my cousins, though it depends on what geeky topics we're talking about...
The weekend involved swimming, laughing, impromptu rock bands, poking fun at each other (this included mentioning Ming's "fake wedding" whenever possible), at least 1,374 photos taken on four digital cameras, moose headgear, more mp3 files burned onto DVDs than I know what to do with, and 15 pages of notes that I typed up while my uncle told us wild stories about the family.
We learned that back in the late 1800s, one of our relatives lived in Port Townsend, Washington, before moving back to Hong Kong. Not entirely sure what his business involved, but one of the unearthed documents mentioned something about 50 pounds of opium?
And of course, at any Ü gathering, it immediately becomes apparent where my obsession with food comes from. Saturday's dinner involved all of grandpa's favorite foods: prime rib, corn-on-the-cob, mashed potatoes, and iceburg lettuce wedges with thousand island dressing, followed by apple pie, sponge cake, cherries (bing AND Ranier), and ice cream.
The 11+ pound roast took almost three hours in the oven; I haven't eaten so much prime rib in one sitting since the Friends of the NRA Banquet back in 2000 in Roseburg, OR...
Chino's farmers market report still to come!
Posted by Elizabeth at 09:16 AM | Comments (0)
July 15, 2005
Family Matters
Late last night I received an offer to join a last-minute surf trip to Big Sur. This would have meant Leave the city at noon, join my 1pm conference call from Highway 280, hike down a clif through poison oak somewhere South of Nepenthe to knit and journal and watch surfers from the rocky beach-with-no-sand, hike back out (and up) through the poison oak, sleep in the car on the side of the road, repeat the hike/knit/journal/watch/hike part, and drive back in time for Saturday night fun in the City.
Except for the poison oak part, it sounded perfect! There are few things better than spontaneous adventures. Since my boss is out of town, nobody would even have known I'd skipped out early. And I was kind of excited about calling in to the conference call while in the middle of a fun road trip...
I reveled in the fact that such offers present themselves, and ultimately said no due to a Friday night scheduling conflict.
Now the weekend plans involve neither Option 1 nor Option 2, but an unforeseen Option 3. After years and years of not being with us mentally and a mercifully brief bout with pneumonia, my paternal grandfather passed away this morning. And so I'm off to San Diego, where my cousins Ming, Wei, Ghean, and Ling (AKA #1, #3, #4, and "The Girl," though they say it in Chinese) are already gathered. Hung, #2, won't be joining us since it's a long haul from China to San Diego; Adam is in the middle of the hours it takes to plan the float plane/jet combo journey, and with any luck we'll see him tonight, too.
Since they're on the mind, here's a photo of #3, one of my great aunts, #2, lots of red meat that dad barely warmed on the grill, and The Girl, taken last summer when Ming almost got married. Folks flew in from all over the world; it was fascinating to see the event get instantly reframed as a reunion when the wedding itself got called off the week before... gotta love family!
Posted by Elizabeth at 10:30 AM | Comments (0)
July 14, 2005
Google n'aime pas la France?
I can't believe there isn't some cutesy Vive La France-esque Google home page art today, in honor of Bastille Day! I am willing to extend the benefit of the doubt and not just assume the Google folk are Francophobic like some people in this country (Jacob, can you confirm?), but I won't pretend I'm not seriously disappointed.
Maybe this is old news, and since I rarely go to the Google home page it's likely: I just noticed there is now an official Google toolbar for Firefox. As cool as the translation features appear to be (but will it translate French?!), I don't think I'm willing to give up the "Back to Search Results" and "Next Result" buttons on the unofficial, open-source Google toolbar...
To the kids kickin' it in France (thanks Jen for the postcard that told me stop working, stop Googling, and come on over- you know me too well), rest assured that we will be properly observing la Revolution ce soir en San Francisco! Bisous, je vous aime.
Posted by Elizabeth at 09:27 AM | Comments (0)
July 13, 2005
Hats Off
I'm suffering from knitting class withdrawal, but the upcoming vacation coincides exactly with the Hats Workshop I wanted to take, so I'll have to wait until they offer it again. Like I have the attention span for a whole sweater? No thanks, hats are more my style. (In the meantime, I'm hoping Salsa lessons will fill the I-must-be-constantly-taking-up-new-hobbies-only-to-soon-abandon-them void.)
I knit both the white one and the orange and blue one that Vanessa is modeling (ya ya ya, teacher's pet) in this photo of my classmates and our creations. Flattery gets you far with me: Terry already got the white one after admiring it. The other one was created specifically for Mahea. A very happy Un-Birthday to you!
Posted by Elizabeth at 07:55 AM | Comments (0)
July 12, 2005
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
One of the things that you've got to love about traveling to islands in the Pacific Northwest is the number of hours it takes just to figure out how to get there... and that's long before you spend the hours actually getting there. [For those of you planning trips to more exotic overseas locations, remember it's all relative.]
The Friday Harbor live cam:
On this end, there are the usual fun questions to ponder:
--Get a parking ticket, or sweet-talk someone into moving the car on street cleaning day? Better yet, does anyone want to borrow the car while I'm gone?
--What would I have to do to get someone to drive me to the airport, and is it worth it?
--Since the answer to part B of the above question is usually No, should I buy a more expensive ticket from the BART-friendly SFO, or schlepp all the way to OAK?
As often happens, I just opted for OAK so I can fly Southwest, just because I think they're fab. How to get there has yet to be resolved.
In Washington:
--Should I take the float plane, which is spendy and fun and potentially a show-stopper (they won't fly in fog) and involves a complicated word problem (if the first flight arrives at x o'clock, and the shuttle to Lake Union leaves Sea-Tac on the hour and takes 35 minutes, which flight will I be able to catch)?
--should I take the other "shuttle," which involves countless hours on a bus from Sea-Tac that drives onto the ferry to San Juan, and never seems to operate at hours that make sense for anyone's schedule?
In previous chapters of life, when time was plentiful and money less so, I would always opt for the cheapest, most circuitous, adventurous and scenic route. To get to Salt Spring Island, this involved not only the plane ride but a combination of busses, ferries, hitchhiking, fishing boats, and frequently missing a return flight due to screwing up somewhere along the line.
Now that The Job fills most of my time and vacation days must be rationed carefully, I need to trim the journey:destination ratio. And since there is theoretically a paycheck (I say "theoretical" because I have yet to receive one after more than a month as an official employee), priorities have shifted somewhat. Float Plane it is, and praying for clear weather.
Once I have arrived in the land of Boats, Bald Eagles, and Brother, the dilemmas are even more exciting:
--For dinner, do we eat salmon from Adam's fisherman friend (Exhibit A, below), or oysters and clams collected from the beach (Exhibit B)?
Exhibit A
Exhibit B
--Do we attempt go totally overboard on modes of transportation (adding two more ferries, a bus or hitchhiking leg, and a customs and immigration station in each direction) to visit mom and dad on Salt Spring?
Aaaaaahhhhh, when questions like this are on the table, life must be good.
Posted by Elizabeth at 07:56 AM | Comments (0)
July 11, 2005
Bike List #2
Zipping past cars stuck in traffic on Market Street whilst on the bike induces much glee. A word not to be confused with Twee. Yes, I'm still annoyed about that...
Anyway, these are my favorite time-saving, non-SFBC-sanctioned [er, illegal] moves for shaving an extra few seconds off the bike commute:
--running red lights
--running stop signs
--making right turns against red lights when the sign clearly says No Right Turn On Red [Gratuitous Obscure Fact That Illustrates My Worldliness: it's never legal to make a right turn on a red on Montreal Island.]
--riding on the sidewalk (to go left where the sign clearly says Right Turn Only)
--riding the against traffic in the wrong bike lane (during the half a block right before the office only, and only if there's a convenient break in traffic for me to get across the street... and yes I realize it's annoying that I complained about this in the first Bike List since I do it myself. Oh well. If there were ever other people in that bike lane, they could blog about how hazardous it is to avoid me...)))))
I do try to ride outside the door zone whenever possible. This has nothing to do with my being a rule-abider, which I am, other than this list (and maybe a few others); it's because I'm convinced it's only a matter of time before I get doored. If you do want to follow the rules, check out this handy guide from SFBC. I love them. Especially when they do free valet bike parking at events.
Posted by Elizabeth at 08:56 AM | Comments (0)
July 10, 2005
Me and Ü and Everyone We Know Loves/Hates This Film
I was all set to rave about Me and You and Everyone We Know, a film that made me feel about as warm and fuzzy as L'Auberge Espagnole [on the To Do List: see the sequel]. Then I read Matthew's review at Fluxblog, which got my panties in a bunch. And then there are all the comments posted in response to aforementioned review, many of which renewed my faith that there are still people out there who value sweetness and aren't just ironically removed from everything.
The new word of the day, which I believe is inappropriately used to describe Miranda July's lovely film, is Twee:
It means excessively or affectedly quaint, sentimental or mawkish, sometimes coupled with words like nauseatingly. It’s a strongly negative word, and a very useful one, that is in common British use. It appeared at the beginning of the twentieth century to mean something dainty or sweet, a girly and gushing word. It appears to have developed from tweet, not the noise a bird makes, but a childish attempt at saying sweet. It might have been helped along by a feeling that it could be a blend of tiny and wee (Scots for small), though it isn’t.
My recommendation is to Go See The Film (trailer here), and then you too can add your two bits to the blogosphere. Twee? It's in the eye of the beholder.
Posted by Elizabeth at 09:14 AM | Comments (0)
July 09, 2005
Obstructions
A couple of weeks ago TKOB hosted a screening of The Five Obstructions, a fascinating film in which Lars von Trier challenges fellow director/friend/hero Jørgen Leth to shoot five different remakes of his film The Perfect Human, each under a different set of somewhat punishing conditions.
The message I took away from the film is that constraints can motivate unexpected brilliance, and bring about experiences that you'd never come to without being pushed beyond your usual comfort zone. Which is a long introduction to my having ended up at Swig on a school night this last week, a bar that I almost refused to go to after reading this description:
The mood designed is of unpretentious casual sophistication and the drinks are modern and adventurous. Laid back cool simply oozes all around. It's a magnet for the hip and happening.
Despite my concerns about parking, clearly-too-cool attitudes, and having to appear at least partially together for a meeting at work the next morning, I went. And immediately found a spot right outside, and plenty of fun folks inside, including some other folks who could care less if nobody else in the bar is dancing. I now have a group to take Salsa lessons with (anyone else in?).
Just to prove that interesting things happen when you force yourself to do things behold this conversation with a friend of a friend as we were being introduced to each other:
Me: I love your shirt
She: Thanks
Me: I don't have the boobs for that kind of top
She: Oh, I paid for them
Me: Really? Were they expensive?
She: Yeah, six grand
Me: I see. I've always been curious... can I feel them?
She: Sure
...at which point our mutual friend wanders off shaking his head, and she and I head over to the back hall where I cop a rather scientific feel. She seemed to believe I was interested in procuring falsies of my own (I like mine just the way they are, thanks), and so over the next several minutes I learned:
--they're not permanent (gotta change them every 10 years),
--you can still breastfeed,
--the nipple sensation does change somewhat, but it's not that bad,
--you're only out for about three days after the operation,
--when you have (bigger) boobs, people stop asking you if you ever eat.
And there you have it. Perhaps I will have to leave my house this evening, too, just to see what might happen, though my bed is looking awfully nice right now...
Posted by Elizabeth at 09:02 PM | Comments (0)
July 08, 2005
Photo Evidence of High Water in Yosemite
This is one of Dean's favorite boulders, as it sits in the Merced in the Fall. Since this is the best time to be in the Valley (awesome weather, no mosquitos), this is what I'm used to seeing. OK so maybe I've never seen a girl on the rock, but that's not the point I'm trying to make here:
And this is what it looked like in May? June? I don't know when the photo was taken exactly... needless to say, there are quite a few cubic feet per second going downstream.
Posted by Elizabeth at 12:14 PM | Comments (0)
July 07, 2005
Yes, I Live in San Francisco
Restaurant Recommendation: Osha on Valencia is yummy. While I'm usually a fan of all things fried, the fresh spring rolls (and the sauce under them) were impressive.
The Engineer, who was all pissy because his boyfriend was out with friends, brought along scale diagrams of the new Burning Man commission. Colossus is an apt name, and it's slightly concerning to me that he's not convinced the massive steel-and-boulder-and-antennae sculpture will stay upright. Let that be a warning to all ye Burning Man goers.
My favorite quote of the evening was "Yeah, the new haircut is kind of boring [Call me boring, but mohawks, even short ones, aren't], but at least I got to make out with my hairdresser in the changing room."
And so I learn that the hairdressers that aren't interested will pretend they don't hear you ask, and the ones that are, well, follow you into the changing room I suppose. Ah, the differing views of what it means to be in a committed relationship.
"I'm just not allowed to fall in love with anyone else," he says. OK then.
Posted by Elizabeth at 06:08 PM | Comments (0)
July 05, 2005
All Roads Lead to... Bolinas
I love living in contradictions: in four days, I filled the gas tank three times to drive from SF to Yosemite Valley to Mono Lake to Mammoth to June Lake to Yosemite Valley to Bolinas and back home again... and then this morning I rode my Xtracycle to the worker-owned co-operative Rainbow Grocery to purchase organic products from companies that do things like give their profits to charities (mmm, I'm addicted to Newman's O's). Thank goodness I'm only fractionally sactimonious or I think I'd still have some petroleum-use guilt to work off.
***
Life in the Valley is almost exactly the same as it was when I lived there six (and four) years ago. Even Chongo is back again after a brief fugitive absence, though there is an upcoming court case during which he'll have to explain how he's managed to be in the Valley for eons without ever having legally occupied a campsite or other accommodation...
The notable differences are:
Antigone, by far the cutest thing to frequent the dirt-bag climber table in the Caf (I tried to talk Ben Wah and Danielle out of that name, to no avail):
All the water (never seen the falls still going off like this in July!):
...and insane traffic, now that the Park Circus has eliminated so much of the day-use parking. On Sunday it was so choked with tourons that as much as I love Yosemite, I had to get out of there.
That, and I couldn't resist the pull of July 4th Celebrations, Bolinas style! If this guy had known how much gas I used prior to arriving in Bolinas, he probably would have strangled me with the tug-of-war rope:
Ran into Ole, who was pissed because this was the first year in ages that he couldn't ride in the parade. Alas, the bike was grounded due to mechanical difficulties.
After the parade there was surfing (I'm more partial to knitting on the beach, myself),
...and apple pie with ice cream, a (relatively short, all weekend considered) drive to Stinson, corn-on-the-cob, bbq chicken, blue potato salad (apparently if you use vinegar they keep their color, good trick), a very serious and close badminton match (Lewis finally beat me, but we had to play to 24 so he could win by 2), caviar, small children wielding fireworks, a chocolate cake decorated with a berry flag, salmon, sunset, more food than would have been consumed by three comparable parties (I did my best), and finally, a multi-county fireworks viewing from Four Corners.
The body is saying there will be no more driving for me for some time. Lest you fear I'm not a true American, despite having consumed a week's worth of food yesterday, I still ate plenty today. God Bless.
Posted by Elizabeth at 04:52 PM | Comments (0)