When We Were Savages

Lauryn in the kitchen - CSA craziness

2012-01-23T20:52:00.000-08:00

In December, I went to a fundraiser for the SF bike coalition. There was a silent auction and I bid on a 4 box, trial membership for a local organic CSA. And I won! After reading up on the farm and the CSA, I decided to do a bi-weekly subscription for our trial membership. I picked up our first box on January 5 and it was huge!

CSA box that I carried down Potrero Hill to our apartment

Veggies and fruits unloaded from the box - turnips and greens, leeks, red cabbage, broccoli, romanesco, spinach, collards, bok choy, pink lady apples, and mandarin oranges

My goal was to use everything in it before we got our second box. I was almost successful. We made the collards the night we got the second box and we still haven't used the broccoli. We ended up with 9 dinners and numerous lunch leftovers. Here are the snapshots of what we ended up doing with all of these amazing veggies. Feel free to comment if you would like a recipe.

Sauteed turnip greens on the first night, with white rice and teriyaki tofu

Roasted turnips, carrots and onion, with curried lentils and mixed grains

Potato and leek soup, need I say more :)

Sauteed spinach, with acorn squash and roasted seeds

Udon noodle soup with bok choy and leeks (required us to buy the most items not stocked in our kitchen)

Roasted romanesco just out of the oven

Roasted romanesco covered in olive dressing, with mac&cheese and spicy veggie protein nuggets

Indian spiced red cabbage and peas, with fancy white rice and naan (most surprisingly good dish from an internet found recipe)

Sauteed collard greens with nutritional yeast, with curried lentils and mixed grains and veggie dog

Veggie I would most recommend picking up from the grocery store - romanesco. Neither Martin nor I had eaten romanesco before and we were impressed. Just roasting it in the oven with a little olive oil, salt and pepper made a delicious dish.

Moments from January 2011

2011-02-02T20:51:00.000-08:00

Mushrooms peaking out of the ground in the Interior Park Belt

Looking up at the eucalyptus trees in the Interior Park Belt

Another perspective on the eucalyptus trees

On top of Twin Peaks at sunset

On top of Potrero Hill looking back at the Mission & Twin Peaks

He's going to eat my brainz

He's either smiling or sneezing; I'm not sure which

See Dick and Jane?

Close up of some winter berries on the south side of Potrero Hill

We had some beautiful, warm, sunny days

Study #1 of Martin and abandoned chair

Did you say dragon?

What happens when you use the fireworks setting to take pictures of the christmas tree

2011-01-07T23:00:00.000-08:00

Kind of fun, huh?

2010-08-09T16:18:00.000-07:00

Martin in black & white, Ansel Adams style, except that we were at Castle Rock State Park, not Yosemite.

Yosemite is still on the to-do list.

2010-08-02T11:45:00.000-07:00

A bountiful harvest from the farm.

Yesterday, Martin and I bicycled to Alamany Farm, an urban, working, organic farm that is run and maintained by volunteers here in San Francisco. We planted parsley, weeded, wheel-barrowed compost, weeded, played darwin with beets, picked blackberries, pulled beans, weeded, hoed for potatoes and watered freshly planted brocoli plants. Did I mention that we weeded? Actually, I found weeding quite enjoyable as I have long believed that I am much better at killing plants than growing them. In my life, I have managed to over water cacti and under-water just about every other type of house plant.

After almost 5 hours of work, we gathered with the rest of the volunteers and coordinators to share in the harvest for the day. With dirt under our nails, we ate blackberries and chatted about the food and farm as people loaded up bags of fresh veggies and fruit. We took home a lot of lettuce, some spicy greens for salad, a few potatoes, a cucumber, beans, strawberries, a huge squash and some plum-like fruits. Such a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Such a nice way for Martin and me to spend the 4th anniversary of the day we met.

Sunday Sunday Someday!

2010-06-21T22:37:00.000-07:00

the SF skyline from Buena Vista park after some serious playing around in iphoto.

Some things that had me smiling on Sunday:

Making pancakes from a box and grilled soysage for breakfast
Getting a call from my dad thanking me for his father's day gift
An afternoon walk to a coffee shop turning into a ferris wheel ride at the county fair (sadly sans camera)
Finding out about volunteering at the Alamany Farm from someone who happens to take class at the ODC Dance Commons, which is where I work
Going to my first Sci-Fi book club meeting and not making a fool of myself as we discussed Bruce Sterling's The Caryatids
Having the person ahead of me in the check-out line at Rainbow compliment me on my wine selection, which to be honest was completely random
Breaking out the much neglected board games of Carcassonne and Pandemic after dinner

Spring Cleaning Thoughts

2010-06-07T17:28:00.000-07:00

Channeling my inner Taurus at the Maker Faire

I've been thinking ... when does a blog become obsolete? Can or should I come back? Or is it time to let go?

RAWdance and Prop 8

2009-07-15T12:00:00.000-07:00

Sunday afternoon, I went to a free modern dance performance in Union Square. It was part of their Jewels in the Square summer series. A number of the dancers who were in the performance are teachers at ODC, the dance school/organisation where I work. The piece was a reaction to Prop 8 being passed in November 2008. I love seeing modern dance performed in public places and I thought it was great that this piece brought a pertinent issue into such a space.

The piece ended with the dancers standing in two rows facing each other and they all, very gently and sweetly, kissed the person opposite them. It reminded me how a kiss is such a loving gesture and how we kiss so many people in our lives - parents, siblings, friends, lovers, family. And it's only when people sexualize the act of kissing that it becomes taboo in our culture. I remember when I was living in Italy how pretty much every where you went you could see young couples making out. And how kissing was a natural form of greeting between everyone. Not that I could see gay marriage being legal in Italy any time soon.

Still for me, two people expressing their love for one another and wanting to share that with their family and loved ones should be embraced not feared and repressed.

Happy Birthday Krista!

2009-07-14T12:00:00.000-07:00

Krista, our cousin Nathan and me when we were much younger.

My one and only sister came to visit me here in San Francisco a few months ago and today is her 25th birthday! Here's a few pics of this crazy chick (she's currently jumping out of a plane for her birthday) who was the perfect minion for her older sister when we were growing up.

Krista posing on top of Tank Hill with San Francisco in the background.

Krista cart-wheeling on a fallen tree in Muir Woods.

Krista ... being Krista.

Let's do the Time Warp!

2009-07-13T17:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I randomly saw a friend from long-ago high school. I can't believe it's been 9 years since I graduated high school and 5 years since I graduated from college. I was complaining the other day about my university contacting me about donating money and I said, "Can't they at least wait 5 ... holy shit, it's been 5 years since I graduated college!" In my defence, they started calling 6 months after I graduated.

Me performing at Miss Aphrodite my junior year of high school.

In my opinion, they should take liberal arts majors who had financial aid off of those lists for at least a decade. By then, maybe we'll have some monetary stability to show for that education and the memories of campus construction and organizational bureaucracy will have faded into nostalgia. Until then, I'm going to be putting my hard earned money to my academically earned debt, thank you very much.

My senior year roomates - Arielle, Tanya and Gwyn - and I the morning or our graduation from Emory.

I find I am much more sanguine about reminiscing about high school since it has little bearing on my life and finances these days. I'm so bad about keeping up with people that I enjoyed hearing what people were up to. The news for many people was about getting married or engaged, which amuses me because it's so far off my radar and life expectations. But I know that for most people getting married means they are happy and growing in their lives and relationships. As for me, I'm just so happy that I have such a creative, adventurous and understanding friend and partner living and sharing life with me right now.

Me and Martin

Meet Totoro...

2009-07-11T12:00:00.000-07:00

The newest member of our household.He is most widely known for his performance in "My Neighbor Totoro." Prone to roaring and taking the Catbus to get around town, Totoro earns his living by serving as the mascot for Studio Ghibli. We're currently working on a circus act to take around the world.

July (to date)

2009-07-10T12:00:00.000-07:00

Movie night 2 (7/2/09) - I can't believe it took me so long to see "Rushmore." It was as good as everyone has claimed it to be. And the music made me slightly nostalgic for college since my roomie, Arielle, had most (if not all) of the soundtrack on her computer's playlist.

The 4th (7/4/09) - We had planned to go hiking on Angel Island, but it was not to be because we missed the ferry. Instead we walked from Pier 39 to the Presidio stopping to eat lunch in the garden by the Exploratorium. Then, we headed to Japantown for a quick purchase and dinner.

Now, we're all up to date... let's hope I can keep it that way :)

June: An eclectic month

2009-07-09T12:00:00.000-07:00

Tanya (6/5/09) - Tanya came from Atlanta to visit her brother and have her semi-annual fete with her friend Maylee. I was able to steal a few hours with her to have some dinner and show off my place of work while providing some much needed de-stressing time for her. Luckily, I get to hang out with her more soon!

Martin's 26th birthday (6/6/09) - Vegan brunch, 3 parks (Interior Park Belt, Buena Vista, Alamo Square), coffee, Up!, Vegetarian Chinese food and chocolate-cherry cupcakes! Overall an awesome day.

Trigun (6/8/09 to 6/21/09) - This is an anime series that Martin got for us to watch. He had seen it before and thought I would like it prompted by the number of anime movies I had been getting from Netflix. It was the perfect blend of silliness, seriousness and science fiction for me.

Appcelerator Release Party (6/9/09) - Martin's company had a big release party downtown. I went and finally met most of his current co-workers. I don't see them a lot since their office is down in Mountain View.

Ben and Blues dancing (6/15/09) - Ben Nathan, a friend from high school, lives out here in SF. We rarely see each other because we're usually both busy working, but he gets a summer vacation. We got to hang out, grab dinner, see his students perform (he works at a performing arts high school in Oakland) and go to a Blues dance house party.

Plants Vs Zombies (6/21/09) - Martin should know better than to show me silly games on the computer. He knows how addicted I can get. Can't wait to show my mom when I come home to visit!

Movie night (6/25/09) - We found out a local coffee shop a block from our house does a free movie night on Thursdays. They were showing "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," which is such a great film/musical. Click here to see a clip of one of my favorite songs.

Katie Faulkner (6/27/09) - Another local, SF choreographer. She played with text and movement in one piece, light and projections in another and finished with a duet that was both nostalgic and light-hearted at the same time.

Grand View Park (6/28/09) - A new park! Well, we had climbed up to the park back in May, but it was totally encased in fog. We literally couldn't see beyond the hill top. This time it was hazy, but clear. Unfortunately, no camera again. :(

May: Work, Play and Friends!

2009-07-08T12:00:00.000-07:00

Stern Grove & Anna Halprin (5/3/09) - A site specific dance performance that was part of the San Francisco National Dance week festivities. It was cold and foggy, but worth it. The audience sat facing the amphitheatre as the dancers ran, flew, and fell through out the space. A little boy, who was the son of one of the dancers, was in the audience and kept getting up to dance with them. There was also a dog who had an engaging duet with one of the dancers at one point as well.

My 27th birthday! (5/4/09) - Truffles, comfy chairs for the apartment, yoga class and dinner waiting for me when I got home. Add a homemade carrot cake and you've got a pretty amazing birthday.
Day at the Races (5/17/09) - This was the end of the year youth program performance at my job and the bain of my existance for most of April and May. I ended up being the Box Office Manager, Production Manager, Stage Manager and House Manager for the event. Those of you who have worked in the performing arts industry can imagine how stressed and overwhelmed I was. In the end, it ended up being a great show with only a few incidents that were totally out of my control.

Move a Teen to Dance campaign (5/12/09 to 6/12/09) - And as if I didn't have enough on my plate at work, we started a fundraising campaign during the month of May for the Teen Program. In the end, it was a great success and we raised over $11,000 and $8,000 of that was matched by a foundation grant that we have!

Alex (5/26/09 to 5/31/09) - And after everything calmed down, Martin's good friend and former roomie Alex came to visit us! The two of them went to a Google conference during the week and then to Alex's cousin's Bar Miztvah.

Scott Wells (5/28/09) - Another local, SF choreographer. Probably one of the funniest, most atheletic and well-choreographed performances I've been to since I've moved here. There was even a juggling piece!

April: Trail blazing & dancing

2009-07-07T12:00:00.000-07:00

Mount San Bruno (4/5/09) - As I was bicycling up the side highway on a mountain, I was reminded of how I should remember to make sure that Martin has done his homework on how we're going to get there BEFORE we leave. In the end, it was worth the amazing views and the knowledge that I made it up there (even if I had to stop and walk because a bug flew into my eye).

John Jasperse (4/4/09) - A New York choreographer who's work I was curious to see. The stage was covered with an elaborate set made up of wire hangers. Both lovely and surreal.

Fort Funston & Lake Merced (4/11/09) - Another long bicycle, but this time it was flat and by the ocean. In the end, Lake Merced was very disappointing, but Fort Funston was worth the views and the experience of hangliders swooping over our heads. No pics, sorry.

Liz Lerman (4/14/09) - A dancer, teacher and choreographer who developed a critical response method that many of the organizations that I worked with in Atlanta used. Many of my mentors know and/or have worked with her, so I couldn't pass up the opportunity to hear her talk.

Toe to Toe (4/16/09) - ODC/Dance dancers verses Cal Berkeley athletes. A fundraiser for my organization that I dragged Martin to. Nothing like wacky obsticle courses, giant boxing gloves, and an Alligator dancing with a Bear.

Janice Garrett (4/19/09) - A local, SF choreographer. I saw one of her pieces performed in Union Square when Danny came to visit and really appreciated it. I was excited to see her work in a traditional venue. Plus, I finally knew some of the dancers in the performance!

Where's the reset button?

2009-07-06T11:10:00.000-07:00

It's always interesting to me how difficult it is for me to return to journal writing after a long break. I always have had this desire to recap and explain what's been going on during the break between entries. But if I start doing that, then I get bored, annoyed and bogged down very quickly. I have about half a dozen journals from my youth that suffered this awkward fate - a weeks worth of daily entries, a couple days go by and I write an entry covering those days, a week goes by, I try to write an entry covering that week, get tired, say I'll finish it later and never write again. ending after only a few entries.

It wasn't until I had the idea to stop putting dates on my entries that I found journaling worked for me. If there was no visible marker letting me know how long it had been since I'd written, then I had no reason to recap. I guess it's one of my odd quirks. And three years ago, I actually managed to fill an entire journal. It took about 5 years.

Unfortunately, the medium of blogging makes it very obvious when there is a gap in posts. After the first month, it was hard to think about making a post. After 3 months .... oh dear! I'm going to do my best to deal with my need to fill in the huge gaping 3-month break as briefly as possible by hitting the highlights over the next few posts. :)

I promise to emerge soon

2009-04-21T22:21:00.000-07:00

But on this oddly balmy evening in SF, my mind wanders and cannot focus on creating a coherent post. That, in addition to our currently wonky internet connection, leaves me with nothing to do but leave you with this absolutely goofy "Menard" moment from Krista's visit.

Atlanta in the HOUSE!!!

2009-04-06T12:28:00.000-07:00

San Francisco here I come! I'm writing as a guest here on the Martin and Lauryn show, it's kid sister Krista, and boy do I have a lot to say about my recent visit to see these two weirdos out in California. I stayed 4 days and walked a thousand miles while visiting the Bay area and also brought some good ole southern sunshine out there with me. I first got off the plane and made my way on BART (San Francisco's version of MARTA for you atlantians) to meet Lauryn, and I have never been so excited to see her in my life. Eight months is a long time to go without seeing your favorite sister (yes I know she is my only sister...). Her workplace is AMAZING, a beautiful dance studio where we got to take a class to show how out of shape we both were. Everyone there was really nice, although I found it weird that they were all asking me where I was from because I was where Lauryn was from... Atlanta duh. That day she toured me around the Mission. We stopped and took pictures in this graffiti alley. Lauryn is telling me to look down in the photo.

This next photo is my favorite.

We ate crepes, got ice cream, sat in the park to people and dog watch, as well as catch her up on all the family drama. It's so different to see the life of a city girl, no getting in your car and driving, but strolling down the sidewalk block to block. We had dinner at one of their favorite burrito places and chilled out at the apartment.

Saturday's theme: Up! So while Lauryn was at work on Saturday, Martin took me around to all the great parks they love. I loved them too but there sure was a lot of, me- "So Martin which way now?" Martin- "Up!" We hiked up to two beautiful spots that overlook the city. Stunning sights amongst all the concrete. We went through the upper Haight (pronounced like hate) which is similar to Little 5 points (again for those who are reading this from Atlanta). We walked through Golden Gate Park, saw the rose garden. Caught the train down to the pier to see the Farmer's Market which had fresh fruit stands, as well as coffee, desserts, peanut brittle, you name it you could buy it. I got a hot cross bun and a rasberry croissant to tie me over. We met Lauryn for lunch at a local sandwich shop and ate at a park. Martin left us for his improv class, so the two of us set off to do my two touristy things. Lumbard Street and Coit Tower. Lumbard is neat to see, Lauryn described it well, it was like watching a ballet of cars coming down the street. We then hiked UP! to Coit Tower which really just ended up being a tourist trap with two funny stories. First, after waiting 15 minutes to get on the elevator to go UP! the tower, we get on and the operator closes the door, everyone is silent and all you can hear is typical elevator music. And then the operator guy goes... "So welcome everyone, this is the elevator", we all just started laughing at the simplicity of the statement. Second, after looking around at the top we had to wait even longer to get back down the elevator (we couldn't figure out how there were three times as more people waiting in line to go down than there were up seeing as how the same amount of people can fit going up as well as down). The couple behind us irritated Lauryn by saying that they had now done Coit Tower and the Golden Gate Bridge... the only two things to see in San Francisco! Lauryn almost turned around to scold them, there is certainly a lot more to the city than that! That night we went to a show to see the ODC dance company from her work. Great show, still can't believe she has such an amazing place to work.

Sunday we traveled to Mier Woods to see the red woods.But before we left, for breakfast we ate at this place that makes the most amazing breakfast burritos! Best meal of the whole trip. On the walk home they took me to see the shoe garden and the "Painted Ladies".To get to Mier Woods we had to drive over the Golden Gate Bridge. We stopped on a little side trail,

Lauryn and Martin may plan a trip back to go hiking further on it. When we got to Mier (pronounced mirror) Woods... more walking, I think I'm up to 20 miles by now. Never felt so small standing next to those giant trees.

We brought lunch and ate under the shade of trees at the top. A friend at her work told us about a bar in the middle of one of the trails and by golly we were going to find it! It's a private club called the Tourist Point that's open to all visitors so we stopped and had a pitcher of beer and chatted til it was time to make our way back down.

At the bottom there was a fallen redwood that had been converted into a bridge. Lauryn made us do an on site dance performance, I'm sure she will post it in all it's embarrassing glory. We then drove on the coastal highway to the beach and then back home.

I passed out first, still adjusting from being on east coast time and walking all day.

Monday (which is also Lauryn's day off) was girl time. We relaxed and went shopping! I love that San Francisco is all about local artists. Bought stuff from a store called Upper Playground and P.KOK both local neighborhood shops with really great clothing. We had planned to eat at a BBQ joint that day (didn't want to make Martin suffer) but of course it was closed so we had to settle for some delicious cheese steaks instead. Tough luck, but just one more excuse to go back and visit. They dropped me back off at BART and it sucked, pardon my french. I took the red-eye flight back to Atlanta which everyone and their mother was taking too! Got in at 6:30am, got picked up from MARTA at 8am, and went straight to work at 9! I'm young and can do that! Needless to say I was asleep by 8 that night, thanks dad for turning off all the lights! So to summarize my trip: I love my sister more than anything, she and Martin make the cheapest and most entertaining tour guides, San Francisco is soooo different than anywhere else in so many great ways, I will always remain a southern girl who vacations a lot in San Francisco!!!! Love you Martin and Lauryn! Can't wait to see you again!

Look!

2009-03-14T12:00:00.000-07:00

What's that out there in the distance?
A bird? A sandwich? A star bellied Sneetch?
No, it's just a Martin.

I don't think he realized getting me a camera meant that I would be behind the lens and that he would be in front of it.

What happens...

2009-03-13T12:00:00.000-07:00

when you leave Martin, Lauryn and a camera in a car for hours?

You get two

Goofy

Wind-blown
Dazed
Squinty
Sleepy
Grumpy (I don't know how he survived that look)
Hungry and Happy

People :)

The Apache Trail

2009-03-12T12:00:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, we set out for the Apache Trail. It was another day of massive amounts of driving interspersed with completely breath-taking views and vistas. The trail ends up at the Roosevelt Dam. Somehow I managed to get Martin to pose for pictures on this day, which is very odd for him. I like the one where he's jumping off the fence towards the camera.

Water, rocks, and feet

2009-03-11T12:00:00.000-07:00

Here are some little videos I took while we were hanging out in Sedona.

Martin, Valerie and Sarah discuss his Tuesday socks.

This was a really tall cairn with a top that looks like a little man wearing a hat.

A field of cairns.

Sedona, take two

2009-03-10T12:00:00.000-07:00

Monday afternoon, we made it to Sedona. We stopped at one of the trails and stretched our legs by a creek. There were a lot of cairns made by people who come because of the spiritual energy that is supposed to surround the area. There was one very comic cairn that was made to look like a cartoon face. It was really nice to get out of the car and to walk around in such a beautiful place. The last 5 shots were taken with my camera on the sunset setting.

Jerome, AZ

2009-03-09T12:00:00.000-07:00

On our way to Sedona on Monday, we stopped for lunch in a former mining town, now tourist town and artist haven - Jerome. It was a really fun town sitting on the edge of a hill/mountain. We had a lovely lunch at the Flat Iron Cafe, and I picked up a whole bunch of cards from the artist co-op. I took a lot of "artsy" shots here because the crumbling, abandoned nature of some of the buildings.

The Desert Botanical Gardens

2009-03-08T12:00:00.000-07:00

On Sunday morning, we headed over to the Desert Botanical Garden. There was an exhibit up by Dale Chihuly, a glass artist who actually had an exhibit at the Atlanta Botanical Garden a few years ago. I missed the one in Atlanta, but got to see his work here. It was interesting. I found it most intriguing when I could see the inspiration and connection to the desert plants and flowers.

Settling back in

2009-03-07T00:58:00.000-08:00

It's been a busy couple of weeks. Last Saturday, Martin and I took a trip to Phoenix to visit with his sister Sarah and his mom, Valerie. It was Sarah's birthday on Tuesday, so we took some days off of work to hang out and enjoy the desert. I took tons of pictures and a few video clips. I have them set so that they'll post themselves over the next week.

I, unfortunately, got a cold/sinus thing on the plane and have been barely functional this week beyond working and sleeping. I'm starting to feel better, but that may be purely a result of the Sudafed I took earlier. In any case, I hope you enjoy the pictures. Post a comment and let me know what you think. I love reading your reactions and thoughts. It makes it less lonely out here in SF and inspires me to post more often :)

Here we go.

I hope you enjoy.

Our trip to Arizona.

Didn't I

2009-02-25T12:00:00.000-08:00

Even though I work at this great dance studio here in the city, I seriously miss the dance class that I used to go to in Atlanta. My teacher, Susan, had converted her attic into a dance studio. It was blistering hot in the summers and freezing cold in the winters. It didn't matter. It was such a beautiful space and class.

I used to bicycle there a little bit early so that I could sit chatting on her porch before going into class. It was sitting there one evening in early June that I told her about the possibility of moving to San Francisco.

I loved that everyone felt welcomed and able in her class. There were beginning dancers next to professional dancers. Susan has an amazing ability to see people moving and communicate what they are doing. And she always picked great music for her combinations. I fell in love with this song by Darondo while dancing to it in her class. Since I'm being nostalgic, I thought it fitting that the first video I found of it was a guy free style dancing on his street in San Francisco. I hope you enjoy as much as I did.

SF Botanical Gardens

2009-02-24T12:00:00.000-08:00

Pre-historic plants and vibrant colored flowers, oh my!

Japanese Pagoda in GG Park

2009-02-22T12:00:00.000-08:00

Here's another intriguing spot that Martin and I found in Golden Gate Park.

My Body is a Cage

2009-02-21T12:00:00.000-08:00

There are some songs that, when played in our apartment, Martin and I have to stop what we're doing and simply enjoy by dancing, singing and improvising. Here is a video of one of these songs. And the video is a great combination in of itself - an amazing song by Arcade Fire with a great spaghetti western, Once Upon a Time in the West, where Peter Fonda plays a truly amazingly evil character. I felt the need to share.

I'm getting better at this picture taking thing

2009-02-20T12:00:00.000-08:00

Some shots I took from that same Sunday in the park.

Swing Dancing in GG Park

2009-02-19T12:00:00.000-08:00

Every Sunday, when it isn't pouring down rain, a group of swing dancers goes to Golden Gate Park and sets up an informal dance & lesson near the DeYoung Museum. An old friend of mine from high school is a swing dancer (and science teacher) out here in San Francisco. The other weekend, Martin and I were walking through the park, and we stumbled upon the swing dance. And there was Ben. We talked about how strange it is that we're a year away from our 10 year high school reunion. We talked about bad TV shows where I keep unexpectedly seeing another person from high school. And, of course, we danced.

Rockin' the bob!

2009-02-18T12:00:00.002-08:00

By which I mean, I got my first San Francisco haircut! These were taken on the day it was cut. I haven't quite figured out how to keep it as "in control" especially now that it's raining and therefore humid. Oh the trials and tribulations of having thick, wavy hair but liking short, cute haircuts.

Been feeling a bit reclusive

2009-02-16T22:28:00.000-08:00

Maybe it was moving from a Monday through Friday work schedule to a Tuesday through Saturday work schedule. Maybe it was the sudden shift in weather from sunny and warm to cold and rainy. Maybe it was the increased amount of work Martin's been doing because his company will be releasing an update on their product soon.

Then again, maybe it wasn't anything in particular. In any case, I'm back for a while. I've set some posts to go off over the next few days with some videos, thoughts, and pictures that I've collected over the past few weeks.

For starters, here are some pictures of the delicious dinner of red curry with eggplant and tofu that I made for us tonight and of the egg-less chocolate cookies I made yesterday afternoon. I guess I've also been feeling domestic :). Please note our fabulous dishes that my friends made me two years ago for my birthday. I still love them and use them everyday!

The memory card came!!!

2009-01-28T21:28:00.000-08:00

Last Friday, the memory card came for my camera. I now can take 7 hours of video or 9,000 photos. I'm pretty sure that will be enough :)

Sunday late afternoon, Martin and I went up to Buena Vista park, and we played with taking videos. Unfortunately, it was set on the compressed mode, and we didn't realize how to fix it until we got home. It was pretty windy and cold, so taking the gloves off to fiddle with the camera buttons wasn't going to happen.

Here's some of the ones we did take.
I promise we'll make some better ones in the near future.

Twirling, running and jumping will keep you warm on those cold days.

Showing you one of the cool paths in the park.

Martin and I decided to improvise a site specific dance ... okay, okay I decided we should improvise a site specific dance and Martin went along with it.

An art experience

2009-01-25T22:18:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday, I went to SFMOMA to see a showing of the documentary film, 1000 Journals, about the 1000 Journals Project. This is a participatory art project that I had been interested in for a while. It started in 2000 when Someguy decided to send 1000 blank journals out into the world. Some were given to friends, some were left in coffee shops or on park benches. It eventually garnered a lot attention online and by word of mouth.

The SFMOMA has an exhibit up of the project with photos from the journals and actual journals. That's why they were doing the screening. Amusingly, during the film, there was a scene where the curator at SFMOMA explained to Someguy why the nature of the project was contradictory to putting together an exhibition.

The original 1000 journals are all out there and have lists of people signed up to get them eventually. So, 1001 Journals was started. Through 1001 Journals, you can start your own journal. You can either share your personal journal(s), start a location based journal, or start a traveling journal. A traveling journal can either be open for anyone to sign up for or you can close it and invite certain people (friends, family, etc.) sign up for it. The person who starts the journal is ultimately responsible for it and it would be understood that the entries would eventually be sent to the project to be scanned and shared with the world.

Should I start a traveling journal?

It would be a closed journal limited to people I know. The theme would be connecting to people, and in honor of that, in addition to your own personal entries, each person would be required to invite a friend, stranger, acquaintance, someone to make an entry with them. Make it an excuse to get together with someone you haven't seen in forever.

If you would be interested in doing this journal with me, post a comment here letting me know.

Laurynzilla vs. Sumo Martin

2009-01-20T12:00:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, we met up with Tyrus, Martin's co-worker & friend, at Raymond Kimbell Playground. We walked up to Japantown, wandered around the shops, and had lunch. I bought some Japanese cards. Tyrus bought a rubber stamp that was a picture of his face. It turned out really well and was named the best purchase of the day. Tyrus also took the award winning photo above.On the way home, we walked through the Fillmore District, which has a strong jazz culture and music. We passed by the Church of St. John Coltrane, and couldn't resist taking a picture of the sign. They invited us to come by on Sunday for their 3 hour service based on the music of John Coltrane, but they assured us that we wouldn't be obligated to stay for the whole time.
Then, we stopped by Alamo Square to give Martin another chance to do a panorama. I took Tyrus up to the tiny, shoe garden that surrounds the tool shed in the park. It looks like they take shoes that have been left on the street or in the park and convert them into tiny planters. Every time I go, I feel like little elves should be walking around tending the shoes.

On my way to work

2009-01-19T19:45:00.000-08:00

Photography Excursion

2009-01-18T11:47:00.000-08:00

Martin has been interested in taking some pictures to make panoramas recently. We tried to make one of our apartment/room, but since it's so small, it didn't really work well. Yesterday, we decided to go back to some of the spots that we knew had great views of the city so that Martin could take pictures and make them into panoramas. We went to Corona Heights and to Tank Hill, aka number 17.5 Unexpected View Park. While he was taking the panorama pictures, I wandered around and took a few shots of my own (unfortunately, we're still waiting for the new memory card).

Martin setting up for his first panorama shots on Corona Heights.

Martin taking his panorama shots. Taken behind some rocks on Corona Heights.

Flowers in Corona Heights.

The weird circle of concrete on Tank Hill that was previously the base of a water tank. I think it would be fun for a dance party though the concrete is a little uneven.

My shadow on Tank Hill.

Graffiti on the rocks on Tank Hill. I liked how the only word I could make out was "in."

After Martin was done, we walked down to Golden Gate Park again. We were thinking that we would go to the new California Academy of Sciences, but the lines were out the doors and they were restricting the number of people who could enter the building. We decided to go get lunch instead and ended up at Pasquale's Pizzeria. When we were in the park, we found the National AIDS Memorial Grove, and walked through it. It was really beautiful.
While we were walking around to all of our random destinations, we saw some street stencils. I asked Martin if he would take some pictures of them, since I was all out of room. Hopefully, I'll have some time to work on that project some more.

An "official" street stencil about not dumping in the drains. You also see plastic signs on drains that are similar.

Firebirds near the corner of Hugo Street and 3rd Avenue.

Martin's blog

2009-01-16T12:00:00.000-08:00

Martin has a new blog.! You should go visit.

http://abandonedwig.info/blog

I have to admit that I don't understand a word of the first post, but the second makes me smile. Here's my favorite clip of Buffy Saint-Maire on Sesame Street that we found when we were looking for the video that he posted on his blog.

More presents!!!

2009-01-15T12:00:00.000-08:00

I just got one of my Christmas presents this evening. Every year my mom's family does a Secret Santa gift exchange, and mine just arrived from Atlanta. And it's awesome! Look at my sweet new Fair Trade hat handmade in Nepal.
Martin said he could tell I liked it since I put it on right away and then didn't take it off for the whole night. Here it is as seen from above.I also got a cookbook - The Joy of Cooking: All About Vegetarian Cooking. Martin had also gotten a veggie cookbook for x-mas - The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook. I love looking at the pictures in these books. They look so amazing even though I know photographers do really weird things to get the pictures to turn out that way. Looks like we're going to have to start incorporating some new recipes into our meals!

17. Mount Sutro (aka the Interior Park Belt)

2009-01-14T12:00:00.000-08:00

I must say I didn't have very high expectations for this park outing, but it turned out to be my favorite so far. Mount Sutro is an area of undeveloped land owned by UCSF. For those Emory/Atlanta folks reading, it's kind of like Lullwater, but less tame and more woodsy. It was so nice to hear the wind in the trees. I didn't realize how long it had been. Even though we could still here sirens in the distance, it felt as though we were suddenly transported away from the city.

Here are the pictures I took. There are only a few because we haven't gotten a bigger memory card for the camera yet.

That last shot was actually taken on our way home. We came out of the park near the road that goes up to Twin Peaks. As we were walking down the road, I saw some stairs that didn't belong to a house. We went up and discovered this wonderful lookout spot. There was a big, circle of concrete that looked like it might have been the remains of some cistern or something. It was such a goregeous day, and we could see both the bay and out to the ocean. It's not marked as anything on the google maps, so I don't have an official name to give it. Let's call it the Unexpected View Park (no. 17 and a half).

I'm a working woman again!

2009-01-13T12:00:00.000-08:00

So, the day after our adventures with Chris and Ben, I got a call. The week before I had interviewed for a job at a local dance organization. The call was them offering me the position!

As of last week, I am the new School Administrator for the ODC/Dance School. ODC/Dance is a local dance organization here in the city. They have a professional, performing company, a theater space that is currently undergoing renovations, and a dance school. My job focuses on the school, which serves dancers from beginning to professional and all ages.

It's been a whirlwind of a first week, but I really like the people and the space. I'm looking forward to learning more about my job and what I'll be doing. I have some nice perks like free dance classes and paid vacation. Best of all it fits all the criteria of what I was looking for when I moved out here - a job in a non-profit, arts organization dealing with arts education, and preferably, dance. Yay for me!

1. Golden Gate Park revisited & 16. Lands End Coastal Trail

2009-01-12T12:00:00.000-08:00

The weekend after New Years, Martin and I got to hang out with Chris and Ben, two old friends from college. Chris lives out here, and Ben was visiting from Atlanta. The two of them can be trouble, but they were very well behaved for the afternoon we spent together.

We met up with them at Memphis Minnie's, a barbecue joint in our neighborhood. Martin and I kept them company while they ate (we had a huge lasagna at home from New Years day that we were working on). Then, we headed to Golden Gate park to hang out and throw the frisbee around. While we were there, we walked over to Lloyd Lake and I took a few photos before my camera ran out of batteries.

Then, we drove out to Lands End and hiked the Coastal Trail to Mile Rock Beach. I'm going to count the Coastal Trail as a park since I don't think the area has a particular name. It's part of the Golden Gate National Recreation area, but that covers too much ground for me to count it as one place.

Mile Rock Beach was a beautiful spot. You could either walk down to the beach or out to a rocky overhang. We went out to the overhang for the view. Unfortunately, no one had a working camera, so I have no pictures. You'll just have to believe me when I say that it was absolutely gorgeous. The name Mile Rock refers to Mile Rocks Lighthouse that you can see from this spot. It was a nice way to spend time with a visiting friend.

Guess what Martin got me for x-mas?!?!?!

2008-12-30T17:14:00.000-08:00

A digital camera of my very own!!!! It's tiny so I can carry it around with me with ease and grace (aka in my bag). I think the real reason he got me a camera was because of this - every single time we would go somewhere (a park, Seattle, down the street) I would be all, "Oh, take a picture of that," or "Take a picture of this," or "TAKE A PICTURE!!!" And he would smile, and look at me funny, silently saying, "But I don't want to take a picture of this or that." Sometimes I would wear him down and he would do it. Now, I can take the pictures myself and I don't have to be such a nag!!! Here are some of the pictures I took last night when I got it.

My very 1st shot with my new camera of my cute, but at the time sick Martin.

This is the Threadless shirt that was my x-mas gift to Martin.

Me trying to take a picture of myself but not knowing how to turn off the flash so I just blocked it with my finger creating a creepy blood red tint to the light.

Us - Martin was on the computer and I was still smitten with my new camera. You can kind of see that he's laughing at me. It's in his eyes.

Dude! We laughed so hard after seeing this picture. It totally looks like he's gone crazy and decapitated my smiling head.

Also, the camera can record little videos!!! Martin was excited about me being able to post them to the blog. You'll definitely be seeing more of the parks and San Francisco as I start to wander around with it. Now I just need to get a memory card that holds more than 10 pictures at a time. :)

15. Twin Peaks Park

2008-12-27T17:08:00.000-08:00

We did it! We walked (!!!) all the way from our apartment to Twin Peaks and back. The map above (right click and open in a new tab/window to see a larger version) shows our route and the graph at the bottom shows the elevation change. It was only 2.8 miles to get there, but it was an uphill journey.

Here are some pictures ...

You can barely see downtown behind me b/c it was a little rainy when we first got there.

I love that it looks like he was sneezing, but really it's just a weird smile moment.

Martin belly laughing with the Sutro Tower behind him.

A close up on my eye.

Merry Merry

2008-12-25T14:00:00.001-08:00

We decided to get a house plant instead of a tiny x-mas tree. This way we'll have greenery all year long, if all goes well. I have a notorious brown thumb. We've named the plant Princess Lucienna III. Or Lucy for short.I hope everyone is having a lovely x-mas day. We're off to enjoy a beautiful day by checking out the view from Buena Vista and then walking downtown to see Benjamin Button. Then, we're making a vegetarian dinner with some Quorn turk'y roast, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and ginger beer.
We're missing all of you friends and family out there in the world. Love you all lots!

Tour of SF Parks initial tally

2008-12-21T13:46:00.001-08:00

It's been a quiet weekend. We didn't make it to another park because of x-mas shopping and general housekeeping chores, but I thought I would make a list of the parks that we have been to just so that we have a running tally.

Golden Gate Park & the Panhandle - we went the first day we were in the city and wandered a bit in the Botanical Gardens.
Mission Dolores Park - it was so close to our sublet. One night we bought sandwiches and sodas and ate dinner sitting in the park as the sun set.
Duboce Park - my favorite dog watching spot. Tons of people bring there dogs to play in the leash free area here and it's near the trolley stop.
Alamo Square - also right around the corner and made famous by Full House, I mean, the Painted Ladies.
Buena Vista Park - I posted about that trip already but visitors beware Martin has decided this is a must see if you come to visit and it's a definite up hill journey.
Corona Heights Park - a perfect light rock climbing spot with amazing views.
Union Square Park - I went with Danny when he came to visit a while ago and we saw a free modern dance performance that was really cool. Oddly though there's a lot of concrete here for this to be called a park in my opinion.
Washington Square Park - we ate sandwiches here when Martin's sister Sara came to visit for T-day.
San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park - we cycled through here on our first ill-fated journey to see the sea lions.
The Presidio of San Francisco - BUT only the shoreline part w/Chrissy Field. We haven't made it to the inside part yet b/c it's rather hilly and I'm a wimp.
Precita Park - a small neighborhood park that we stopped at on our way up to Bernal Heights.
Bernal Heights Park - so windy. If you zoom into the picture of me on the top, you will see me making a really weird face. That's me in the process of whimpering about how cold it was up there.
Coyote Point County Recreation Area - we went here with Chris, a friend from college, back in September one afternoon. It was a ten+ mile bike ride on which I was often lagging behind. We did cycle right by the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge on our way there.
Ocean Beach - not technically listed as a park, but I think it should be. We walked on the sand and flew our pocket kite.

The next ones on our list are:

Twin Peaks Park - though I think I should see the tv series before we go.
McLaren Park - it even has a pond.
San Bruno Mountain State and County Park - this may be an all day journey/expidition.
Muir Woods National Monument - this may be put off until camping season since we'll have to rent a car to get out there.
Candlestick Point State Recreation Area - I love the name which comes from the old baseball field I believe.

Here's a really neat video of the sunrise from Twin Peaks. I don't think we'll make it up there early enough to see that though. It's quite a hike from where we are.
Twin Peaks San Francisco Sunrise (HDR time-lapse) from Chad Richard on Vimeo.

Sappyness for the Season

2008-12-18T12:00:00.000-08:00

Martin found this wonderful band called Little Joy. We've been listening to them a lot lately. This one always makes me smile and puts me, oddly, in a holiday mood. I hope that it makes those of you with someone special in you life think of them and grin like it does for me.

Never Blend In

2008-12-16T12:00:00.000-08:00

We went to see Milk at the Castro Theatre! It's an amazing film that shares such an important, moving story about human rights, making a difference, and the engaging Harvey Milk. Not only was I overwhelmed by the film, I was overwhelmed to be seeing it in the Castro Theatre. To walk out and see the street where so much happened was a unique expereince.

It's interesting to be in a city that has such a rich history and focus on local politics. There were over 20 city ballot measures when we voted this year ranging from the funding for the children's hospital and the 911 service to the re-naming of the sewage plant to the George Bush Sewage Plant (unfortunately, that one didn't pass).

On election night, Martin and I wandered over to the Castro after we heard that Barack won and Prop 8 was still pending. Here's a picture of the party that was going on in front of the theatre. It's fun to live in such a progressive, open place where people still believe and work to make the city, nation and world a more accepting and safe place.

The SF Tour of Parks begins!

2008-12-15T12:00:00.001-08:00

The Saturday before last, Martin and I took a walk up to Buena Vista Park. We'd gone up once before when we first moved here, but hadn't been back even though it's right around the corner from our house. When we first went up sunbeams were streaming through the trees creating a beautiful, surreal atmosphere. Martin and I grabbed a muffin and hot chocolate from Coffee to the People and enjoyed the many views of the city through the trees.

While up there, we spotted the nearby Corona Heights Park and decided to venture over since it wasn't too far of a walk. Unlike Buena Vista, Corona Heights has no trees, really it's just a big hill with some rocks on top. The view from the top is pretty amazing though. You can see all around. Martin thinks it would be a great place to watch the sunrise or set.

While on this little hike, Martin and I hatched the idea that it would be fun to visit a new San Francisco Park every sunny Saturday. Thus our Tour of SF Parks was born.

This past Saturday, we were headed to Bernal Heights when it started to rain. We detoured to the local food co-op to get some yummy granola for breakfast this week, and when we came out, the storm had passed. So we trekked up to the top of the hill. It was windy! We saw a number of dogs with their owners in the park area. There were also some hawks hovering in the breeze keeping an eye out for lunch I imagine.That's me on top of Bernal Heights Summit. I'm not sure what our next park is but I'll be sure to let you know after we get there!

2 Trips to the Golden Gate Bridge

2008-12-05T12:00:00.000-08:00

After 3 months, we finally made it to the Golden Gate Bridge, twice! The weekend before T-day Martin and I decided to take a bike ride. It had been weeks since I'd actually ridden. We decided to cycle through Pacific Heights - the rich people neighborhood - to the Marina, Crissy Field, the Presidio and the Golden Gate Bridge. We also stopped by the Exploratorium, but we didn't go in. Here's our route...
All in all it was a rather long day on bike and on foot, but it was a lot of fun.

Then, when Martin's sister came in town for Thanksgiving, we offered all of the neat things we've seen and haven't seen as options for her Friday tour of the city.
We ended up deciding to ...

Take the F Market Trolley down to the Embarkadero to see the sea lions.
Walk up to Little Italy and Chinatown.
Take the bus to the Marina and walk through Chrissy Field and the Presidio up to the Golden Gate Bridge.

Here were the (random) highlights that emerged ...

Our trolly driver was totally crazy. He had a northeastern accent, cursed a patron for not pulling the cord, and offered important advice about pick pockets on the trolley.
Stopping by Molinari Delicatessen in Little Italy for sandwiches for lunch and eating them in Washington Square Park.
A live frog in a bucket of dead ones in a Chinatown meat shop.
Walking along the bay (when we cycled we were on the street and not on the walking path).
A hipster guitar player in the historic earthen works along the path to the Golden Gate Bridge.
Watching a family try to stuff a giant Christmas tree in the door of their multi-million dollar house.

Most of all - getting to spend time with Sara, Martin's oldest sister. She headed back to Phoenix the next day along highway 1 with some beautiful blue skies. It was nice to spend time with her, and hopefully, I'll be able to post some of the pictures she took.

News from Italia

2008-12-02T12:00:00.000-08:00

A few years ago, when I graduated from Emory, I ran away to Italy. While I was there worked as an au pair for a family. I lived with Flavia and her three girls - Alice, Irene and Viriginia.

Flavia

Alice was the oldest, in her first teenage rebellion against her mother. She was very attached to her scooter/moped and wanted to become a mechanic. I remember Alice being very sweet and welcoming to me. I could tell that beyond her tough, teenage facade she was a kind and gentle person.

Me and Alice

Irene was the middle child. She was very distant from me for most of my time there. I can't blame her since she'd seen au pairs come and go all of her life. She also had a closer attachment to the au pair just before me, Camia. She was very interested in fashion and wanted to have very little to do with speaking English. We did bond over the OC and I was glad that I got to celebrate her birthday before I came back home.

Camia and Irene

Virginia was the youngest and she was amazing. I spent the majority of my time taking care of and playing with Viriginia since the two older girls were pretty much self-sufficient. I noticed from the start that Virginia had a theatrical flare. We would sing and act out made-up operas together all of the time. She had a nack for being a clown. I remember her showing off by doing the Charlie Chaplan trick of trying to pick up a hat and kicking it at the same time. I did my best to encourage her in her natural talents in singing and clowning. She was a natural star and totally stole my heart.

Virginia

A few months ago, I heard from a friend in Italy that Viriginia had been selected to be part of an annual international singing competition held in Italy called Zecchino d'Oro. I can't tell you how excited and proud I was. The competition was held at the end of November. At the bottom are two videos of her singing her song for the competition - "Giochi di parole." One she sings solo with the choir and the other she sings as a duet with an Italian singer named Francesca Alotta.

The children's RaiUno website (in Italian) has a section on the competition. It looks like Virginia got 2nd place! If you click on Personaggi on the side there are profiles for all the singers with photos. Virginia's the the 8th one. My Italian is pretty rough, but I know it says she likes Hilary Duff's singing and Ashley Tisdale's acting in High School Musical. She plays tennis and something about her parents. She likes pasta with tomato sauce and her favorite animal is the tiger. She dreams of singing when she grows up. Her favorite part of being in Bologna was sining with the other children.

28 months

2008-12-01T12:00:00.000-08:00

And we're still

as crazy
as ever!
Maybe San Francisco is a good fit for us!
:)

Lauryn's new art project

2008-11-30T17:00:00.000-08:00

One of the things I do really like about this city are the street stencils. Everywhere you go here and there are little spray-painted, tags on the sidewalks. I guess I like to look down when I walk. Anyway, I've decided to take Martin's camera with me on walks in order take a picture of every single stencil that I see. I think we're then going to plot them on an interactive map online or something. I did one walk a few weeks ago as a test. Here are some of my favorites (I took over 50 pictures!).

Thanksgiving

2008-11-29T15:23:00.000-08:00

Yum! This was the only shot of the amazing meal that we cooked up for T-day. Between the three of us (me Martin, and his sister Sara), we made enough food to feed 2 or 3 times as many people. It was fun though, and I'm proud to say that everything was veggie friendly. We all had Tofurkey for the first time and it was remarkably good (and saved us from having to make stuffing). I made my green bean casserole with all of my dad's special tricks to make it better. Here's the recipe ...

T Menard's Extra Special GB Casserole

french fried onions - French's is a great stand by and has the basic recipe on the package
cream of mushroom soup - 1 can
milk - 3/4 a cup (and real milk works better than soy)
fresh green beans - as much as you like, but pre-cook them a bit if you don't like crunchy beans
fresh mushrooms - as much as you like, but try to get small ones
fresh garlic - one large clove or two smaller ones, minced

Wash fresh ingredients. Break longer beans into easier to eat pieces. Keep mushrooms whole. Combine all ingredients (except for 1/4 the can of french fried onions) in a casserole dish and mix well (you want the garlic spread out). Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Top with extra onions and bake for 5 more minutes until the top is golden brown. Let cool for a 5-10 minutes before eating so that everything sets.

I know it's exactly the recipe on the box, but the addition of fresh beans, mushrooms and garlic make a huge difference. The mushrooms get all juicy and wonderful - like stuffed mushrooms without the stuffing. And if you like crunchy green beans like me, then using fresh ones is perfect.

It was so nice to talk to everyone in Mississippi and sounds like you all had a great time there. We missed you all a bunch! I hope that everyone I didn't talk to in Atlanta and elsewhere had a lovely day. I am thankful for all of you and that you're here reading about our expereinces out here in SF.

As promised

2008-11-26T17:00:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of our place in the Lower Haight. We're still in the process of decorating. Currently, we're trying to figure out how to hang our paper lamps without attaching them to the walls or ceilings. I think we have it figured out and it should be a fun project that I'll be sure to share later. Until then, enjoy these meager offerings...

Our house number lit up at night.

The view of the fire escape out the right side of our bay window.
The view out the left side of our bay window.

Our photos from the Musee Mechanique on the fridge.

The kitchen, which now has a microwave as well.
The top of our dresser.

Our bathroom window and toiletries.

Me, taking a picture of me, in the bathroom mirror.
The birds Tanya got for me in India that are hanging by the closet.

Our enormous light fixture.

The light fixture in context of our bed and desk.

Our fridge and dining area.

Detail of what's kept on the island/table/counter area.

It's small, but it's home. I'll try to have Martin take some better pictures at some point.

Friendly faces cont.

2008-11-25T17:00:00.000-08:00

The weened after Krista's visit, we packed our backpacks and hopped on a plane to Seattle. We went to see Erin (Martin's sister), Jacob (Maritn's brother-in-law), Avah (Martin's niece) and Cole (Martin's nephew), who were in town for a conference.
We got in on Saturday around noon and took the bus from the airport to downtown Seattle. After grabbing some Thai food for lunch, we walked down to the Olympic Sculpture Garden. My favorites were a piece by Richard Serra entitled Wake and a piece by Roy McMakin entitled Love and Loss.
We headed back into town to check into our hostel - the Green Tortoise. When we got there, a street swing band and dancers were performing right outside. The hostel was right outside of the Pike Place Market, which was a neat place to wander in and through. We saw Erin, Jacob and the kids that night, but they were in a totally different time zone having flown in from Ohio that afternoon, so we let them get some sleep.

The next morning we had breakfast at the hostel. We got to meet a lot of people from all over the country and world - DC, Portland, China, New Zealand. It definitely was a much more friendly and open breakfast than those I have experienced at hotels.

That day, Martin and I walked to Lake Union and then to the touristy area - you know the place with the Space Needle (no, we didn't pay to go up). We found some good coffee (I know, hard to do in Seattle) while we waited for Cole and Avah to have a nap at the hotel. We met up with everyone at the Children's Museum where Avah and Cole had fun running, crawling, jumping, painting, etc.

We took the monorail back into the downtown area and put Cole to bed. Avah got to go with the adults to dinner. She and I had some fun trading incomplete, but hilarious knock knock jokes. I had a lot of fun playing with her and realized a little bit how much I really do miss teaching creative movement.

Martin and I caught a late showing of Burn After Reading once dinner was over. Those Cohen Brothers really are darker than I expect them to be. Amusingly, at a few points in the movie, they poke fun at Seattle.

The next morning, Martin and I took the kids for a walk with their grandparents (Jacob's parents) while Erin attended Jcaob's award ceremony.

That afternoon, Martin and I wandered over to Seattle's Chinatown. On the way, we stopped at the public library. And by the way, Seattle has the most kick ass library ever. I would love to go there to study, read, journal, sit and stare. It's really fun to wander around.
In Chinatown, we stumbled upon a community garden built into a hillside. It was nice to sit down outside and just chill. The weather in Seattle was really nice. I think it was because I went to the trouble of bringing an umbrella. Overall, I think both Martin and I fell a little bit in love with the city and hope to be able to head back there in the future. But we won't be losing any sleep over it.

PS - So, we flew Virgin Airways and apparently before each flight they have some sort of game to give away stuff (head phones, a free drink ticket, etc.). Before the flight home, the crew was playing music and having people come up if they knew the title and artist. Half way through they said anyone who also sang along with the song got an extra prize. Everyone who knows me knows where this is going. The next song they played was this one and I'm proud to say that I knew the title, artist, and sang my heart out so that my sweetie and I could have a free drinks on the way home. I love random karoke.

Friendly faces

2008-11-24T16:18:00.000-08:00

November has turned out to be the month for friends and family.
A few weekends ago, Martin's friend Krista came up from Goleta, CA. We had a great time while she was here. She got in on Saturday evening. We treated ourselves to dinner at the Indian Oven. And then, we went to get tea from Sam ovar Tea Lounge, which I really enjoyed. I think Martin thought it was a little bourgeois for his tastes. I only wish they were closer and, as usual, a little cheaper. I'd be there with a book or journal everyday.The next morning, we headed out for some soul food and then to see those mythical beasts of the SF Bay, the sea lions of Pier 39. After that, we walked down to the Musee Mechanique. I had a roll of quarters at the ready and we walked around exploring the machines. Martin had fun in the vibrating chair, as you can see below. We all had fun in the photobooth, though we had trouble fitting everyone into the frame.
We headed through Chinatown for some bubble tea. We jumped on BART to head to the mission for some graffitti and pirate action. I'm thinking of getting all my friends pirate paraphanaila for birthdays this year. I mean doesn't everyone need a moustache comb and peg oil?
After such a long, walking filled day, we headed home to crash and watch a movie. All in all, it was a great visit and we can't wait for Krista to come back, though I'm thinking it might be nice to visit her next since she's in the warm, sunny part of California.

Ooops, it's been a while

2008-11-06T12:54:00.000-08:00

We've been in our new place for 42 days. Here's a map of our neighborhood, the Lower Haight. I like the area.

There are lots of restaurants and markets near by. So far our favorites are the Little Chihuahua, which is a Mexican food place that uses local foods, and Love'n Haight, which is a sandwich place with tons of veggie options. There's also a total hole in the wall place, Cu Co's Restaurant, that has amazing plantain burittos.

We've found a fun co-op bulk foods store called Rainbow Grocery. It's not really close, but has some good deals. We've been getting some great granola from there. And Martin has been getting lots of flour for his bread making efforts.

Martin also got a new phone. He's been taking lots of pictures on it and uploading them directly from the phone to his Flickr account. Here's a link to the photos - http://flickr.com/photos/martin_robinson. You'll see some shots from our walk to Japantown, Martin's bread, and that famous SF fog.

I'm still on the job hunt. I had three interviews last week and one next week. I'm getting really good at the "getting an interview" part. It's the "getting the job offer" part that I'm currently struggling with. Martin's been commuting with a co-worker who has a car so he hasn't been taking the train lately.

That's all for now. I'll try to get some pictures of our apartment posted soon!

First phase complete

2008-09-25T18:49:00.000-07:00

Tonight, Martin and I hit a milestone in our San Francisco experience. We're moving from our sublet in the Castro to our own apartment in the Lower Haight. I know that I've been bad about posting, but for now (as I need to return to packing our stuff) I offer you some pictures of our first home in San Francisco ...

The house number, notice the Chanel flower.

Inside the gate, more Chanel.

The light at the top of the stairs, still not inside yet.

The mural and fish tank in the living room.

Another living room shot, you can see a blurry me in the mirror.

Our first bedroom, we were bumped into the master bedroom a week ago because a new subletter was coming.

The fountain in the backyard outside our bedroom window.

Our second room, which was a tighter fit since Michael's stuff was still in the closet and bureau.

He has little lizards for window knobs.

And this is the clock in the office. The skirt is blurry because it moves.

Looking up in the niche between the houses on my way to the backyard.

A tomato from the backyard.

We'll be internet-less for a little bit in our new place. As soon as we get it all together, I'll post some pictures from there as well.

A few firsts from our 1st week here...

2008-08-29T18:15:00.000-07:00

First apartment viewed - Last Sunday. It was in Nob Hill. It was a no. I'm not too keen on living in a neighborhood with "hill" in the name anyway.

First major fall on my bike - I'm fine, just a bruise on the hip and a scrape on the arm, right where I tend to lean on it :/ I would suggest, if you ever cycle over trolley tracks, try to keep it as close to a right angle as you can. I'm kind of proud that it took me so long to wipe out on my bike since I've been cycling for five months now. Oh yeah, we were on the way to view the apartment

First siting of the elusive, almost-mythical sea lions - We cycled right by them. Twice. It took having our roommate, Michael, take us there during our whirlwind driving tour of San Francisco, which also included Danielle Steele's estate and Danny Glover's place.

First commute - On Monday, Martin started heading to his office in Mountain View. It's a 15 minute cycle to the train station. An hour long train ride. And a 2 minute cycle to the office. He's getting a lot of reading done.

First crepes - My friend from high school, Ben, took us to a crepe restaurant for dinner one night. I had the Ratatouille and mushrooms crepe. It was really good! It was the first time I had Ratatouille too.

First milonga - Wednesday night, I cycled to my first milonga here. My first milonga in a long time actually. Maybe first of the year. It was fun. They did a great job, in my opinion, of mixing traiditional music sets with un-traditional music sets. I only danced with a few people. I'm really bad about asking people to dance myself. I usually leave that up to the guys. I had a great time people watching though.

First yoga class - I think I may have found my yoga studio, though if we don't end up living near by that may change. I went to my first class this morning. And yes, Floyd was there, and he was taking class with us. To understand that you'll have to click on the link to the yoga studio website.

That's all for now, we have a long weekend ahead of us full of apartment showings and exploring. I'll try to bring the camera with us on some of our journeys.

We made it!

2008-08-22T22:53:00.001-07:00

In the early afternoon on Tuesday, we reached a milestone in our journey west - California - the state that held our final destination. We stopped for lunch at an In 'n Out Burger, which is a fast-food place that has good veggie options apparently. After lunch, we drove through the Mojave Desert and skirted LA, but we noticed the smog in the distance. We settled in with Krista, Gamelan, Rob and Paul - Martin's friends from Sault Sainte Marie - for the evening and the next day.

It was nice to have a day of rest and relaxation. We watched internet videos, walked on the beach, got our feet covered in tar, and played Munchkin. We were also treated to many wonderful meals out (it's our treat, Krista when you visit us in the Bay!).

Thursday morning, we were on the road again headed for San Francisco. We made one pit stop at the Hearst Castle. We took the basic 1-hr 45-min tour of the main floor of the house. During the tour, Martin realized that he was not a fan of excessive displays of wealth. I found it odd and some what disturbing to see so many artifacts from Europe - particularly ones form Italy - mismatched together.

After our detour, we hightailed it up the coast on California Highway 1. Well, not hightailed it exactly since it's pretty tricky driving. We made it to our sublet and home for the next 3 weeks around 7pm Thursday evening. And running on empty, we managed to get everything out of the car, and to eat a quick dinner. Then, Martin returned the car to the rental place at the airport. Where was I, you ask? Where do you think - passed out in bed, of course.

Today was our first day in the city. Because our internal clocks are still set somewhere east of the Rocky Mountains, we got up around 8am and headed out in search of a grocery store. Eventually, we stumbled up on a Safeway, the San Francisco equivalent of Kroger, and got ourselves breakfast and food for future meals. Then, we ambitiously decided to go home and cycle to Golden Gate Park. To my amazement, I was able to cycle there without any trouble at all. We walked around the Botanical Gardens a bit, before heading to a bike shop and lunch - that cycle was a bit more troublesome. Needless to say, when we got home this afternoon, I took a nap, while Martin somehow continued to function.

Our last adventure this evening was heading to a dance performance at the Yerba Buena Cente for the Arts. We braved the city's light rail system - Muni - and found ourselves in downtown SF. The show was great. There was an interesting combination of modern dance and cultural dance in the show. I walked out and wanted to head to dance class. I guess that adventure is still in my future.

Filling in the blanks

2008-08-19T08:24:00.000-07:00

Martin forgot to mention some important points about our journey so far...

1st - We had some amazing eggplant enchiladas at my aunt Joni's house. And apparently it was my uncle Curtis's birthday and no one told us. So happy belated birthday uncle Curt!!! They also took us to another amazing coffee shop that had gelato!

2nd - We did not camp out in Santa Rosa. Apparently it's the rainy season out here. On the way to Santa Rosa, we got caught in an awful rain storm on the highway. By the time we got there, it was still rainy so we got a hotel room for the night.

3rd - The next morning, we met my uncle Jimmy in Albuquerque, where he satisfied our cravings for breakfast burritos. I had mine covered in green chili. Martin had salsa over his because all of the chili's had meat in them.

Yesterday, Martin and I woke up in Sedona. We got up early and took a short hike on one of the trails out there. Then, we drove into Flagstaff to grab brunch and meet up with Martin's sister, Sara. We then drove out to the Grand Canyon for the afternoon. It was big. Huge even. While we were there a rain storm came across the canyon. It was fun to watch it approach, but once lightning started striking near us, we high tailed it back to the car.

We'll post pictures later today when we make it to sunny California.

Southwest

2008-08-17T22:15:00.000-07:00

I have to admit, it was hard to blow by Pickles Gap Village and Toad Suck Park in Arkansas, but Lauryn and I made it to Santa Rosa, New Mexico last night in record time. Today we continued on through the rest of New Mexico and into the interior of Arizona.

Arizona and New Mexico are both excellent and beautiful places and stand in stark contrast to the flatter and more desolate regions of Texas and Oklahoma. Arizona is so varied: it transitions from khaki-colored shrub desert to coniferous mountains to flat, rusty, saguaro vistas within a few hundred miles.

Behold the painted desert:

It begins

2008-08-16T04:36:00.000-07:00

We did it! We fit everything we wanted to take in the Honda Accord the rental place gave us. I don't know how Martin did it, because I ran away (to get a new phone and plan, don't worry the number is the same). When I came back, all that were left were odds and ends that I easily found places to stuff them. True, we can't see out of the rear view mirror, but that's what side mirrors are for, right?

Amazingly, we left only an hour behind schedule and that was because we had to stop to load up on snacks, get a car adapter for the mp3 player, and to get a road map. We also gave ourselves a treat before leaving and had brunch at the Highland Bakery, one of Martin's favorite places. And we got into Little Rock only a half hour behind schedule, which was only due to the time change.

Our route - Atlanta to Birmingham, up to Memphis and over to Little Rock.

Highlight - finally figuring out a good use of the poorly designed gps system outside of
Memphis by using it to find a really cool local coffee shop (with wireless).

Low point - Throwing away the manual to the mp3 plug-in/radio thingy and not being able to listen to our tunes in populated areas (too much radio interference).

Miles driven - the trip tick says 519, but I didn't start it until OTP (outside the Atlanta perimeter) so you should add at lease 10 to 15 miles.

Next on the menu - Heading to Oklahoma City for lunch with Aunt Joni and her boys. Then onto Santa Rosa, NM where we have a campsite for the night.

A newsworthy event

2008-08-13T19:07:00.000-07:00

Here's the scoop, for those whom we have yet to tell,
Martin and I are moving to San Francisco!

For my friends and family
who have yet to meet him,
this is Martin.

For Martin's friends and
family who have yet to meet
me, this is me, Lauryn.

Martin's company is moving their headquarters from Atlanta to the Bay Area (Mountain View to be exact). They offered everyone the opportunity to move there. And it seemed, to us, that this was a great opportunity. Martin's been wanting to explore other parts of the world since I met him (he was supposed to join the Peace Corps, but stayed because of me). And since all of my jobs are tied to the academic calendar, summer was a good time for me to let my employers (Moving in the Spirit, APAL and Emory Schwartz Center) know that I was leaving.

So here we are. Our last day in Atlanta is tomorrow. Our room is a mess with boxes and half packed bags. I'm still trying to get rid of some of my furniture from my old apartment (Anyone in Atlanta need a HUGE bulletin board, a fake marble bedside table, or a blue rocking armchair?). We're both exhausted, and at the same time, we can't wait for Friday when we load up the car, head west on I-20, and start this crazy, exciting, new adventure!