Prostokvasha

OH and also! Forgot to mention that my practicum i...

2010-03-18T12:32:22.850-07:00

OH and also! Forgot to mention that my practicum is actually in the East Bay. The agency itself is 3 mi from my house, so I can ride my bike there. But the school where I work is about a 30 min drive (whereas it'd more like 1hr 30 min from the city). And J's practicum is in Marin. So I think living in the city would've been less convenient for us this year... it's just that this area is so large and dense, with things everywhere, and you're expected to be able to travel from one corner to another on a regular basis (that's what people do around here). But next year, hopefully my practicum will be in the city (i.e., hopefully I'll get the one I want), so in that sense, it'll be a drag to keep going back and forth daily. But then, you'd be surprised how many people really do it...

Haha, well, ok. We'll call her "protector (without...

2010-03-17T17:28:37.416-07:00

Haha, well, ok. We'll call her "protector (without words) of man". Unless you have a son. :p

I _wish_ we could live in the city. But logistically, this is still better... I just have to suffer. heh. I mean, it's cheaper here, way cheaper (which is a biggie, when we're living on loans), and otherwise, Jeremy would have to commute the same amount anyway. And plus we're only here for another 1-2 more years, until my internship which could be anywhere in the country. And if we ever come back to the area for jobs and whatnot, I think we'll live in the city.
This particular craziness is just until the end of May/early June, then I'll have no more classes and no more teaching, just practicum. And next year, hopefully I'll have less classes, and maybe less teaching as well. So it's only up from here..

Aw, I miss St. Patrick's festivities! :) In fact, I'm wearing the green (striped) sweater that I bought especially for the occasion the year that we went to the parade. :) It's just not the same here -- Berkeley is not nearly as Irish as Boston and not nearly as college-town-drinking as Ann Arbor. So people are hardly festive today. But you better believe I am! Erin Go Bragh!

PS: Happy St. Patrick's Day! : ) I was just thinki...

2010-03-17T06:34:33.388-07:00

PS: Happy St. Patrick's Day! : ) I was just thinking of the year we went to the parade...

I know you've had reasons against it, but now that...

2010-03-17T06:34:05.807-07:00

I know you've had reasons against it, but now that you've done the math, could moving to the city be a legitimate consideration - saving 10 hours a week or so?

Re: Alexandra (since I don't want my future daughter to be without the words of man :P )

Alexandra (Greek: Αλεξάνδρᾱ) is the feminine form of the given name Alexander, which is a romanization of the Greek name Αλέξανδρος (Alexandros). Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb ἀλέξειν (alexein) "to defend" and the noun ἀνδρός (andros), genitive of ἀνήρ (anēr) "man". Thus it may be roughly translated as "protector of man".

Not that Wikipedia is the most reliable source in the world, but it IS possible to have different roots that look similar...

It's really fine. I'm glad you were able to find s...

2009-12-30T21:21:48.948-08:00

It's really fine. I'm glad you were able to find something, for presents. Yeah, I've really been thinking about the whole apartment thing and the grandparents thing. Очень хочу помочь им сделать ремонт в квартире... но не знаю, как на ето папа посмотрит, хех. But um, thanks for the sugar cookies offer. I can, of course, make them here, too. Just after all the christmas and new year's and whatever other cooking is out of the way and I'm allowed to take over the kitchen. :) We'll be back in Berk Jan 5th.

i'm sorry i wasn't really a good listener on thurs...

2009-12-27T08:06:09.259-08:00

i'm sorry i wasn't really a good listener on thursday. i was sleep-deprived and frantic about the stupid presents, which, in retrospect, as always, weren't nearly as big a deal as you think they'll be. i can't help you much (and by the way, the thing about fixing up the grandparents' apartment - i feel that too), but the sugar cookies i can do. : ) when will you be back in berkeley?

Huh, interesting. Thanks!

2009-11-14T22:11:56.149-08:00

Huh, interesting. Thanks!

You don't have to give up reubens. portlandveganr...

2009-11-13T17:08:58.451-08:00

You don't have to give up reubens.

portlandveganreubens.blogspot.com

I'm sorry to hear about your divorce. But I guess ...

2009-10-20T19:10:28.435-07:00

I'm sorry to hear about your divorce. But I guess it's important to remember that not all situations yield horrible results, so I wish you to be one of those exceptions where parents really figure out a way to meet the needs to their children and each other. The best advice I could give you is to really take the time to help your children in this transition while being both kind (and not displacing your emotional baggage on them) and honest (do not try to shelter them). It _is_ such a reality-shattering experience, that it's important to work with them to provide them with the necessary coping skills. In any case, good luck and I wish all the best for your family.

I am just about to move out of my house after divo...

2009-10-18T09:01:01.305-07:00

I am just about to move out of my house after divorcing my wife; your words here are meant for me/us. I hope we will be better people in the way we treat each other and our children. I am sorry I didn't hear your advice 12 years ago.

Best luck to you.

(hey, the posting is working again! weird.) intere...

2009-10-15T13:43:01.708-07:00

(hey, the posting is working again! weird.) interesting observation - i love the last sentence.

hug.

2009-10-15T13:42:01.764-07:00

hug.

Isn't it strange, that by helping others we someti...

2009-10-15T08:31:51.496-07:00

Isn't it strange, that by helping others we sometimes help ourselves?

Those are good points. And oh, Hemingway. Always t...

2009-09-21T18:56:14.131-07:00

Those are good points. And oh, Hemingway. Always the pessimist. I'm not sure if I was ever his or anyone's hero, heh, but I certainly had my hero-filled idealistic moments for which I sometimes still feel nostalgic. It's hard growing up and becoming increasingly aloof and skeptical of everything and everyone around us. In our youth, I think we seek out a certain acceptance, a belonging with fellow people. Whereas now, people are pulling away, becoming more individualized, starting their own more secluded lives, settling. Sigh. I miss my old friends, basically.

Also, you guys have TVs on buses??

And the book was Salman Rushdie's "The Satanic Verses". It's a very interesting read, and it goes along with the next post that I've been work on (and by working on, I mean, typing up sentence-by-sentence in between running around from here to there. Oy.)

It seems the bonds from youth might be the stronge...

2009-09-20T00:33:21.634-07:00

It seems the bonds from youth might be the strongest in life. With all our rough sides, we just don't seem to fit into other people that easily any more. It is hard to establish meaningful connections with others, because as we age we all head our own direction, become less permeable.
The quote I read on the TV on a bus today: "As you get older it is harder to have heroes" (Hemingway) It is a precious experience to have ever had a hero and to have been one for someone as well...

BTW What was the book?

I know! It's weird referring to major events in li...

2009-09-16T14:06:23.125-07:00

I know! It's weird referring to major events in life as having happened almost 10 years ago!

Time sure does have a way of slipping past us, doe...

2009-09-16T05:40:57.639-07:00

Time sure does have a way of slipping past us, doesn't it.

Thanks for stopping by. I'll have to check out som...

2009-09-14T21:21:57.910-07:00

Thanks for stopping by. I'll have to check out some of your veggie recipes.

I agree yummy vegetarian options are hard to find....

2009-09-14T13:23:21.430-07:00

I agree yummy vegetarian options are hard to find...but that's for the informative post.

Thanks for the link; it might be fun. Yeah, clearl...

2009-09-11T15:11:09.036-07:00

Thanks for the link; it might be fun. Yeah, clearly this area is full of things like this, in general, so it's not too hard to find yummy veggie options.
J's doing this with me, too. He only ate chicken and bacon, so yeah, it's not too much for him to give up. We're currently in the process of finishing all the chicken and meat in the house, so we haven't started being full-fledged quite yet. I'm keeping some frozen fish in the freezer for now though. So we'll see what happens to that.

I'll be staying tuned and may send a postcard or t...

2009-09-11T14:38:38.646-07:00

I'll be staying tuned and may send a postcard or two (and how about that birthday present??) :) In the meantime, here's a blog that I follow that you might find inspiration in: http://www.101cookbooks.com/ She's a vegetarian cook and photographer and lives in the SF area (you can read the "about" section).
Is J doing the vegetarian thing with you? I know he already doesn't eat much meat..

Yeah, even up here there is a lot of what I call "...

2009-09-10T20:57:19.808-07:00

Yeah, even up here there is a lot of what I call "pseudo-environmentalism". Like the aforementioned composting. Sure, it's nice that it even exists, but in order to do it "properly", you have to call the city, get some kind of a container (which, I believe, is plastic), then go buy some kind of compostable bags (which are also plastic, but theoretically compostable plastic). Anyway, it seems that you have to spend more and use more materials. In our house, we just use milk or juice cartons, which have to be composted anyway, with their tops cut off.
There are many such examples. Like the transportation system (that the Bay Areans pride themselves on) which is fairly inconvenient to use (as opposed to the European systems), and doesn't even span the whole spread of this area. Anyway, I could go on...

I go to a small business school in Los Angeles. LA...

2009-09-08T14:17:54.112-07:00

I go to a small business school in Los Angeles. LA is really behind in recycling. At the restaurant where I work we recklessly throw away glass and plastic together with trash. Very few people compost. There are "eco-villages", closed communities that practice sustainable living, but there so few of them. Overall affluent white west Los Angeles is more sustainable, here in East LA we are environmentally barbaric.

Aw, cute! I'll have to set out something wool for ...

2009-09-02T16:32:17.167-07:00

Aw, cute! I'll have to set out something wool for her to lie on. :) Though not any time soon... it's way too hot and miserable here right now.

I remember a cat I used to have smelling like the ...

2009-09-01T06:17:14.141-07:00

I remember a cat I used to have smelling like the wool rug we had in front of our fireplace. It was comforting.