I just finished reading a book. In the last two years, I've started about 17, but I shamefully admit I only finished one in Santa Monica. Yesterday, I drove my dad to Columbus, Georgia where my oldest sister lives, and where her husband, an Army Ranger, is stationed at Ft. Benning (where dad himself was trained in 1957). After the combined stress of helping my parents pack up and sell our childhood home and then take my dad through minor surgery, and then have my mom leave town and be left to care for him post-op, and then driving 13 hours to Georgia... I arrived at my sister's where I just chilled. It just so happens that this sister of mine maintains my library [it should be noted that in my former life, I did in fact complete books more often]. So I sat and read Raise High the Roofbeams, Carpenters. One of my favorites.

Wanted: Comfortable digs on Mars.

Craigslist, the imminently useful classifieds collective, is beaming 138,179 ads to outer space.

This is not a hoax. It is for real.

Bye House!

Mom and Dad on the last day at the house we grew up in... eating Krispy Kreme donuts!

To Do.

6:30 a.m. go to bed.
11:30 wake up.

• Call utilities to close accounts
• Take dad to Physical Therapy
• Take dad to Radiology center to pick up barium for CT Scan
• Pick up boxes for mom for moving
• Buy digital camera for aunt's chauffeur in Vietnam
• Buy phone charger for mom
• Set up Dad's pharmacy in FL
• Arrange transfer of mom and dad's health care through FELRA to FL
• Take dad to PT Wednesday 4/27
• Take dad to CT Scan 4/28
• Take dad to urologist 4/28
• Take dad to pre-op appt 4/28 (Movers come 4/28!)
• Take dad to PT Monday 5/2
• Take dad to surgery 5/3
• Take mom to airport 5/3
• Fill dad's pill box daily.
• Go to Closing for sale of house 4/29 to read documents
• Pack and move (my) boxes to Eileen & Mike's basement
• Pack and move plants
• Set up utilities in FL
• Set up DSL in FL
• Shred Kaly's files
• Ship Kaly's box to UPS
• Pack Kiki's boxes (five)
• See Eva Zeisel exhibit at Hillwood
• Go to Crew Alumni event for Tom Chisnell
• 2 Chefs with Pat and Caroline

A new era.

On April 28, 1975, my mom took the five of us -- aged 8 weeks, 18 months, 32 months, 3.5 years, and 5 years old -- onto one of these. A C130 cargo plane that took us to Guam, in hopes of one day soon reuniting with my father. They then started a new life in America.


On April 28, 2005, Town & Country movers is going to load up a truck with three decades of our American life to Florida.

I'll drive my parents down there, a journey that 30 years later, is likely to be much easier. They're starting a new life in Disney World.

Who said life isn't fair?

Traveling to Mars

As if traveling the entire earth was not enough (it's not), I've recently fallen into discussions with friends about traveling to the other planets. Most notably, we wondered about Mars, and if you check, it looks like you can make the trip in just nine months! Yeah!

Update

For anyone who's been looking, I'll try to start up again, but moving around makes blogging a bit harder. Though I'm not in 10014 any longer, I'll keep my posts in one place, since I can't seem to keep myself in one place. Less confusion all around.

No Contest

Since we can all use a laugh on something unrelated to the elections. From Harper's.

Vote!

Mailed my absentee vote from Saigon.
Thanks to Mike D and Lori N for the push!

Bush by Numbers

For years I've quoted the fact that one in ten American high school students can't find the United States on a map of the world. Where the hell are we heading?

News from the UK.

SHOOT!

Paintballing with the Climans on Sunday was loads of fun... What a better way to meet a bunch of folks, by teaming up to shoot down "the other team"? Thank Buddha for Lori N.'s arnica gel which erased the bruises I would have suffered from getting shot so often!

The Art of Speed

Just got home from this RES Screening and party RES did with Nike Lab for Nike's "Art of Speed" project. I gave up my food gift box to a homeless lady asking for money. Hung out with Kozy and Dan most of the evening after working the tickets and food assembly... we made plans to climb Mt. Fuji!!!! Yay! Slated for next August.

We Rattle for No One

My brother once said to my sister: "We're Us. We Rattle for No One." It's weird. My siblings and I have an ego-manaical nature when we think of ourselves as a family unit.

But damn, when I meet someone who shakes me up, I don't think I know quite what to do. Speechless, and what words that come out, tumble awkwardly forth. I'm hyper-aware of my words, yet lack control over them. I met someone recently who does this to me. I don't understand it. This doesn't happen to me. Jonathan in New York would be shocked. In his words, "you have an impermeable confidence." I guess he's wrong.

Qualities that rattle us? Fame? Fortune? No way. We know plenty of those. It's Family. It's intelligence, creativity and personal success. Human kindness. People who have their shit together and their priorities straight. People who put Family first. Food second. And yeah, I'm kidding about the food part. Kind of.

and three

OK, three handshake comments today. This tracking of comments is getting boring so I think I'll stop counting.
Why all the blog about it? It started with Governor Cuomo a while back. In June when I came out to Santa Monica, I started to notice... What's the big deal? Maybe I'm doing it wrong.

eight

Eight handshake comments in eight weeks.

cool tech trick

a cool tech trick to convert a CSV file to vCards. Where was it when I needed it the other day? (I found another way to cheat, and it worked.)

who taught you that?

Another handshake comment today, from Frank, one of Mike's oldest friends. Then he asked me "who taught you how to shake hands like that?"

I think to myself, Why would any one have had to teach me?

Not Enough Yellow

The WearYELLOW LiveSTRONG has exceeded expectations. Nike donated the first $1 million and there are now more in the making. You can buy it on Ebay (running around $4 a pop now) but I wouldn't recommend it as the proceeds may not benefit the Lance Armstrong Foundation for cancer. The other way to get it is to find a good friend named Les who will buy you one when he's at the beach.

Previous posts re: Yellow:
May 22, 2004 : Live Strong
May 23, 2004 : More Yellow

University Red

Interestingly, Pantone 201 is the official color for Stanford University (web #990000), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (web #993333), Washington State University (web #990033), Indiana University, Wharton School at UPenn, University of Baltimore, University of Oklahoma (web #990000), and Hastings College... those are the ones I found in only a few minutes.

It's the Pantone red for my corporate identity. Because everyone in my family has compulsive behaviors, I Googled it to see if I could find other companies that use it and to see how I might put the color into context.

Unusual though, that one color can be used by so many in the same "industry". Maybe all these university folk will associate their alma mater colors with my company... and sign up!

Doggy Rubs

Okay, while previously denouncing $95 cashmere sweaters for pups, I'm promoting Doggy Rubs... Lori's new canine massage therapy service in Park City, Utah. Here's the Park Record article, and Lori's Cloud 10 (she does people massage too!) site.

Is My Little Baby Going to Go Gay?

The Landover Baptist Church web site is a pretty ridiculous site. Their tagline is "Guaranteeing Salvation Since 1612. Where the worthwhile worship. Unsaved Unwelcome. As Jesus Commanded." They have a permanent injunction against all unsaved persons making it unlawful for unsaved persons to be allowed within a 10-mile radius of the church.

And from the home page, you can click on where you can find such delightful articles as Tampons: "Satan's Little Cotton Fingers".

I am not making this up. Somebody else did. (Yes, it's a joke, but it's almost hard to tell, isn't it?)

Postcards from the hedge

Do you think this is funny? Because Mica made me laugh. Either I'm blinded by love, or just a dork. If you're wondering, here's what a Highland Cow looks like. It was on the front of the postcard.

Another

...handshake comment at Chris & Allison's reception party.

Bending the Function and Beauty Rule

Photo by Miles Ladin

I splurge in the form of my rather large collection of KleinReids, even though they abide by the rule (how can a sinuous sugar and creamer set designed with Eva Zeisel not be useful?). The exception is my most recent acquisition from their Still Life series -- but only because it was a gift from James and David themselves, the artists and two of my favorite people. It's beautiful. And it has an intangible usefulness. You've just got to see the raised pinstripes up close.

The Rules

Well, speaking of the "thing rule" while I'm at it... I suppose it is a lot like my "function and beauty rule." For a self-proclaimed laid back type, I'm discovering I have too many rules (don't you think two rules is one too many?). But if you're living in a New York City studio apartment (this is the 150 square foot kind [this is including the hallway, bathroom and closet space]) where your kitchen is your bedroom is your living room is your dining room (I eat at a table, not in front of a television, which I don't own anyway), then you tend to require a "function and beauty rule." That is to say that everything I owned in my apartment had to be both functional and beautiful. I replaced my can opener with one by OXO. I took a two-hour round-trip bus ride to and from IKEA for a $6 stainless steel knife rack that I knew would be perfect for my stainless steel Bodum knives that matched my stainless steel pots and pans. And, I own a toilet brush designed by Philippe Stark (I know this borders ridiculous) but if I have to look at it every day, it was worth the $20.

This is a very logical rule that means that everything I own has to be beautiful and everything beautiful must be useful. When you live in 150 square feet, you have no escape from your space, unless you like to stand inside your closet for fun (I can not say I have tried this). You have to look at your espresso pot, your bed, your spices, and tchotckes (of which I have none) all day. They better be beautiful. And they damn well better be in your space for a reason.

In case you've noticed, I have taken to abusing parentheses and brackets in addition to the italics.
Admittedly, I have two exceptions. The orchid -- because plants, to me, are absolutely necessary, and my KleinReid apple (from the "Still Life" series), a gift to me from the artists when I left the Big Apple.

Sans Adresse and "the thing"

Kiki gave Kaly a subscription to Cook's Illustrated for Christmas last year (or something like that). If I only had an address for just twelve months in a row, I might get myself the same. One day, I say.

Mike and Eileen wondered what to give me as a gift from Ireland when I housesat for them this summer (which is an incredible treat, as the 96-year-old house is full of character with a beautifully landscaped garden, fabulous cook's kitchen, the most perfect grey cat you ever knew, and dreamy air conditioning). Eileen suggested an Aran sweater from, well, Aran. Mike countered that I wouldn't see winter for a couple of years. The bottle of Sapphire they bought me broke in their bag in the Customs line. Nice thought, I said, 'cause you can't buy an address-less kid anything. I told Mike: I have to be able to consume it whether contact lens solution, Kiehl's, food or frequent flyer miles. That about covers it. Nothing to store, no clothes, no things. I have an aversion to things that do not disappear with regular use. Mostly because I feel like I have a lot of things. I, however, apparently have no aversion whatsoever to abusing italics.

Besides, it's hard filling out paperwork and online forms without an actual address. Have you ever thought of that?

Update: An exception to the "thing rule" as I will call it. The ipod. This is only because it shrinks 600 of my things called compact discs (which apparently are not so compact anymore) into a 5.6 ounce package. It also backs up my entire laptop. Does this mean I get to write it off?

Some People Have a Lot of Free Time

And I'm not talking about me.
How-To Tuesday: Make your own Pirate Radio Station with an iPod

Productive ADHD

My sister Kaly the other day suggested I might be ADD, which I wouldn't totally dispute. Mostly because I rarely finish novels (I have started about twelve in the last one year and have finished none. In fact, I haven't gotten past page 40 for about ten of them.). This is why I love reading dictionaries, encyclopedias, how-to's, the way things work, travelogues, atlases, cookbooks, collections of letters (that's as close to the novelist as I can get), and picture books. I absorb bits at a time, though the absorption is constant.

But also because I can't warm to one job for more than a month (six is when I reach my threshold, and two years seems to be just about the time I end up quitting). I think the 18 months beyond the six-month threshold demonstrates quite a bit of determination! When I'm in my vacationing periods, I come up with about a zillion ideas. Design invitations? Go back to working public schools? Tutor? Take people on tours to Vietnam? Train old people on computers?

Maybe my friends' ideas might work. Mike Doheny thinks I should be a lawyer. Actually, he really thinks I should be a CIA agent but we decided I could never get Top Secret clearance because of my twelve previous addresses, six jobs, three names, and "shady" months abroad. Dad's doctor asked me if I was pre-med and Lori is convinced I'm going to make a lot of money really quick and retire. Since Intelligence and Espionage are no longer options, I would probably be a poor non-profit lawyer, a volunteer doctor for MSF, or well... I won't make a lot of money (seriously, who cares when you get to live like I do?). I make what I need and then I run like hell. But I'm getting really good at the retirement part.

The fact is, this supposed ADD has allowed me visits to plenty of places, explore an amazing range of jobs, meet thousands of incredible people and live in too many apartments to count. This is why I write a blog and not a book, why I studied seven languages and barely speak three, volunteer (short term work!), and relocate every 24 months. My Uncle Mike says I have commitment issues... I can't commit to a continent. In fact, I can't commit to a frequent flyer account. In all my years of traveling around the world, I've only ever cashed in on a 25k ticket from NYC to San Fran. I think I have a lot of thinking to do. I think I have to commit to United Airlines. I just hope they don't go by way of PanAm.

Now Serving

I had an amusing experience at the Social Security office the other day. After unsuccessful attempts in the offices in New York City due to long unbearable waits, I got Mike to take me to the office in Arlington on condition that I register to vote in VA for him.

I walked in the office, and there are about 100 vinyl chairs lined up in rows. In front of the chairs is a teacher's desk with a take-a-number dispenser attached and a security guard sitting behind it, leaning back in his chair. There are two service windows open. To the left, a man and to the right, a Chinese couple being helped. Sitting in only one of the 100 chairs is one man.

I asked the security guard "Do I have to take a number?" as I looked at the 99 empty chairs.
"Do you have an appointment?" The sign on the desk says Do not ask the security guard any questions. He does not know anything.
"No."
"Well then you have to take a number."

I tore my number off the dispenser. Number 02. I look up at the display: "Now Serving" and in bright red lights "01". When the Now Serving number changed to 02 (and I believe it dinged), I went up to the available window. The guy behind it yelled at me. "ARE YOU NEXT?" he asked. I looked at the empty room behind me. The man sitting in the one chair had disappeared. The guy at the other window was gone too. The chinese couple had just left this window (they were probably number 01). I wondered, who would he think was next? Mike was the only person left, and he was sitting next to me before I got up to the window.

"Yes" I answered, all cheery.
"Are you number TWO?" he asked, like he didn't believe me.
"Yes," I said, holding up my dispensed ticket.
Five minutes later, after lots of grunting at me, and me being all "yes" "thank you" and "please"-like, he cheered up and told me to have a great day. And after 30 years, I can finally tell someone what my name is without a long speech attached.

Garden State

The greatest thing about doing all the AIDS rides was the people I was lucky enough to have met. They make up the largest part of my list of most interesting dynamic friends in my address book. Here's a new movie, Garden State, edited by Myron Kerstein whom I met while training in New York for my Alaska ride. Zach Braff who wrote, directed, and stars in the movie even keeps his own blog.