Ack... I got BLOGGED!
This is cute. Today, I received an email from someone who linked me to their blog. Apparently, today is National Blog Day (or so, someone claims) and so I got blogged:
Today is Blog Day 2005 and in accordance with the rules, I’m posting links or recommendation to 5 new and interesting blogs, that I’ve either recently discovered or not shared in the past. Two Important Links
http://technorati.com/tag/BlogDay2005http://www.blogday.org/
Okay ... here we go ...
Audra Kirsten
http://www.audrakirsten.com/blogThis was recommended to me by a friend because of the tag, "*heart* in San Francisco, *body* in Philadelphia."
Blinq
http://blogs.philly.com/blinq/The 'official blogger of the Philadelphia Inquirer.Geeky Mom
http://geekymom.blogspot.comRaising Children on Nothing but Brains and GadgetsLibrarygrrrl
http://www.librarygrrrl.net/index.phpOne of my neighborsand finally ...The Red State
http://theredstate.typepad.com/Living Liberal and Progressive in a Red State
an honorable mention...Eschaton
http://atrios.blogspot.comPhilly's most famous blogger ...
LiveFeed at BM 2005
WARNING: you might pity me. and you won't be the first.
I'm sitting here in Mclean, Virginia. I've been watching the video feed from the playa since the sun was just going down. I watched the man turn on, the art cars come out and the sky get black.
I've got serious playalust! It looks like so much fun and I wish I were there to run around.
http://www.burningman.com/blackrockcity_yearround/special_events/web_window.html
Somebody made me SMILE, today!
Today, I received a big box in the mail with a few things I had forgotten in San Francisco. Along with my things inside the box were a big, red candle and also a tiny little music box with a miniature hand-crank. When I turn the hand-crank the music box plays a lullaby! Somebody special was thinking of me and I know who he is. :) Thank you, John!! I hope you and everyone else is having a blast at Burning Man. I wish I were there. (though I'm glad to be anywhere besides New Orleans, right now... those poor people) I miss everyone so much!!!!!
Welcome to Ole Virginy!
She made it! Dependable Auto Shippers even bathed her and now we're off to get cheap gas for $2.49 a gallon. That's almost a dollar cheaper than in San Francisco!
After all the horror stories I heard about cars arriving late or in horrible condition (smashed windows, body panels) while being shipped across country, my luck has been great! With a little faith, it all turned out. Hurray!
Moving to Fairmount in Philly
I have a new place to live! You can call or write me for my new address. It is in a section of town called Art Museum, because in fact it is nearby a huge art museum and a Rodin Museum that I look forward to seeing. I will be living with three other people. None of them are students, but they are all very active, interesting, creative people. Score! My roommate Jen has created a bunch of School House Rock-esque raps for learning how to in-line skate. They're really cute!
http://www.skate101.com/ She has had big offers to produce videos to go along with them and I predict will eventually end up on Oprah Winfrey Show, teaching Oprah how to skate. Go, Jen!
I'll post pictures of the house and my room when I get back up to Philadelphia. My mom and I drove back Sunday afternoon after pre-shopping for a new bed. Holy $$! *sigh* The expenses of moving are insane, but at least I'm not living alone in a new apartment. That would be worse. Over the next few days I have to go pick-up my car, have it serviced, fill out medical school applications, sell my furniture in San Francisco that has not sold yet and visit with my grandmother, aunts, mom, dad, brother and sister-in-law. Busy times! Then comes the drive back to Philly on Wednesday to meet the movers who arrive on Thursday. Whew!
While I'm on the topic of selling things on craigslist...
Perhaps it's been awhile since I've been burned by strangers. I tend to be a fairly trusting person as well as curteous to strangers. Of course I haven't always been the most dependable person at times and I can't say that I've never flaked on someone. But as a rule I make an effort to hold up my end of a deal. Selling my things on craigslist during has been a frustrating experience. I will not take it to heart when deals fall through, but it does make me start to wonder if there are different kinds of people out there. Maybe I should stick to E-bay!
Toto, we're not in Duboce Triangle anymore!
Yes! You could be my neighbor in this fantastic, model home only one block away from me! I believe it is vacant. All except for one unruly houseplant that is getting a little bit out of hand. We could probably pump the place full of lights, bring a soundsystem and hold a rave. Wouldn't that be fun!
Everyone here sits on the front porch! It's hilarious. I love it! There are kids all over the place but not many cafes in this neighborhood. Actually, I haven't found a single one in this area. But I'm not sure where I will end up yet! I'm hoping to make my decision at the end of the day. I'll be sure to take pictures and tell you how it goes.
My first view of Philadelphia
Here is my new city! This is from the perspective of University of Penn, where I'll be going to school. My mom and I are staying at a hotel on campus. The weather has been pretty nice. We've had warm evenings! Man, I've missed these East Coast nights. I don't miss the fridged nights in SF, but I miss SF every single day. We're due from some thunderstorms! :) yay!!!! I've missed thunderstorms! You don't get those in San Francisco.
People here are very friendly. Everyone wants to help. My mom and I got free treatment at a bar, yesterday. She talked with us and gave us the welcome wagon treatment. It was so great! JD has hooked me up with Philly burners so I got a couple emails from people out here who have welcomed me and given me suggestions of places to check out.
Everything is working out. But I still have to figure out exactly where I'm going to live!
Flying back to the East Coast
It was a difficult morning, trying to get to the airport. My alarm clock went off four hours after I went to bed and only confused me when it went off. Shortly after, came my wake-up call from my mother to make sure I didn't sleep through my alarm. Really, what would I do without her?!
I tried to stuff everything as full as I could and still had to leave things behind. Luckily, JD as sweet as he is, offered to send me the things I could not bring. There were eleven bottles of wine I tried to carry onto the plane. I didn't want to check them, in fear they might explode from the unpressurized cargo area. Security stopped me and said I must check my items. Completely flustered, I went to the desk and reluctantly checked it all. Off it went! I crossed my fingers. I was too tired and scatterbrained from the whole experience to realize this was my last hour in San Francisco. Earlier, pulling out of the garage my eyes filled with tears, as I waived good-bye to Justine and watched my favorite neighborhood
-- MY NEIGHBORHOOD, disappear behind me.
I was nearly the last person on the flight and spilled my coffee down my arm as I tried to free up my boarding pass to get on the plane. Slow down, girl! I took a quick picture and sent it up to Flickr without a moment to spare before we started to leave the gate. The city was fogged in, so the photos I took from the air were mostly of low hanging clouds... affectionately known as FOG!
Four and a half hours later, I arrived in Dulles, Virginia where I was greeted by my dad. It was so great to see him! The wine survived! At home my mom and grandmother were waiting, along with their two little siamese cats- Yoda and Blue. For dinner we had Maryland crabcakes with brocolli, green beans and salad. When was the last time I ate such a nutritous meal? Thanks, Mom! The wine was great. The champagne was great. All in all, it has been a very special homecoming. Tomorrow morning if my mom can get me out of bed, we're off to Philly in search of an apartment. Yahoo!
Leah and Rocky are wed!
It was such a lovely ceremony! This is the best possible way I could have spent my last weekend in California. Not only was it a wonderful and happy event for two of my friends, but it was also a great time had by all, camping under the stars, hula hooping, and visiting with a ton of my other friends. Leah and Rocky left directly from Camp and Sons for Costa Rica and then onwards to Burning Man, next week. They decided to fly first class both ways. Brilliant! I wish them loads of happiness, knowing that good luck follows these two whether it is wished upon them or not. Congrats, my friends!
Hiroko's little going away gathering
After the movers left, Hiroko fixed food while I tried to clean-up. I was exhausted from packing until 3:30am and then non-stop until the movers arrived. We went off to the store to pick up some other necessary items: booze, beer, bread, cheese, pizza makings, etc. I asked everyone to bring something that meant San Francisco to them. Brad and Courtney brought sangria and I shared a bottle of Cabernet Franc that Brad had given me months ago. It was delish! Todd brought some marinated tofu that we ended up throwing on the George Foreman grill. Excellent! We were having that very San Francisco, summer weather that makes you want to stay inside and build a fire in the fireplace. So we decided to grill indoors instead of out! Eddie brought a couple of burritos from his favorite taqueria. Peyton brought a fantastic 2001 Cabernet Sauvagnon that we opened and enjoyed. He also brought me a little jade heart, for me to bring with me, while I leave my own heart in San Francisco! Karen drove around forever trying to find orange blossoms, jasmine or bottle brush to tie a ribbon around and give to me. She had the ribbon to prove it, though no luck finding what she wanted! I hadn't seen her in years, so that was a special reunion. Spot brought a ton of various Bay Area beers. (my fridge is fully stocked with really great beer, so come over and drink it before I leave!) Amy brought Thai food. Good one, Amy! yum. And Hiroko brought lots of sake, candies, and other Japanese treats. There was so much love! I'm glad they were able to make it. Everyone I didn't get to see were up in Mendocino helping prepare for Rocky and Leah's wedding, so I got to see them at the wedding on Saturday and Sunday. It worked out perfectly!
Packed up and ready for the movers!
It took me nearly three days of packing. A big thank you goes to Alicia Pollak, who sat with me at my apartment and knitted while keeping me company, not allowing me to pause too long or start going through old photographs, letters from friends, books I thought I had lost, etc. It would have been a very lonesome few days if it weren't for her! Plus, I probably would have started going mad.
So, I had originally estimated 150 cubic feet of stuff, which would run close to $1,000. Somehow I underestimated how much *stuff* I own and it cost an additional $300. What is all of this stuff? Why am I taking my snowboard to Philly with me? Won't I just end up coming back to California and using it up in Tahoe? :) Ahh... I'd like to think so. Now it's time to clean up the disaster I've made of the apartment!
My car goes East ahead of me!
Today, I drove my car to the DAS car shippers. I had the back packed with some framed artwork, towels and featherbed. They made me take it all out! The sales guy told me I could pack up to 100lbs of stuff, so long as it was out of view. Huh uh! nope. They made me take it all back home. Oh well. The movers are coming next week. It shouldn't make a bit of difference. All I want is my car to make it without any tramatic incidents!
Climbing at Mickey's Beach with John David
Wow! Another fabulous outdoors excursion. Though John left his Bay Area climbing guide when we had lunch in Santa Roas, we seem to hit the jack-pot from the moment we pulled up on the roadside to scope out the climbs. We walked down a rather moderate switchback down to the ocean. The beach just a few hundred yards north of us is a nude beach. It is sort of funny to search online for information on the climbs we were attempting, because there are pictures of naked, old men climbing the rocks. Hilarious! Anyway, we didn't see any. And we decided to keep our clothes on. Personal preference, you know how it goes!
There were atleast 6 routes in the immediate area with bolts sunk into the rock. None of them was within my lead climbing skill range. John got partially up the first climb on lead. We decided to top-rope it and it was still challenging, but very do-able for us both. Alas, I have no idea what the route is called or what it was rated because we didn't have the guide with us. The second climb we did was also a good challenge, but neither of us made it over the final crux. Bummer! I nearly took the prints off my fingers, trying to hold on with any friction I could generate. At least the view from there was spectacular! I decided it couldn't get much better than climbing right on the Pacific Ocean. Every so often sea gulls or pelicans flew right overhead. It was beautiful! The weather was warm but not too hot, by the ocean. The sunset turned everything a goldeny hue as we packed up and head back up to Route 1.
All in all it was a blissfull end to a great 24 hours of camping, star gazing, shooting star watching, tearing up to wine country and back, driving through cow country and finishing with great climbing on the ocean just before sunset. If you ever have the chance to camp with John, do it. I nearly forgot to mention his crazy quesadilla making skills! Bravo!
Photomicroscopy Artwork for sale
Because I am moving to Philadelphia in a little under three weeks, some of my artwork is for sale. There is a series of six prints in my Photomicroscopy Crystal collection. Each is available in two different sizes. All photographs are matted, numbered and framed. Now's your chance to add me to your collection of art!
http://audrakirsten.com/forsale/art.htm
Friends and Family at Camp and Sons
Ahh! What a simply gorgeous, relaxing, fun, and therapeutic weekend. Is there any way to express just how much I love these camp-outs? It is sort of like all of the best parts of Burning Man, except in a lush, beautiful garden setting... with swimming! I would fly out to the Bay Area from Philadelphia to spend a weekend like the one I just had up in Willits. There's no question!
