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One of those weekends

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Where I started with a huge amount of ambition and ended with nowhere near as much accomplished as I had planned.

I am sure that you have had one of those – and if not, my hat is off to you. On those rare times when I put a hat on my head. Baseball or well below freezing, that is just about it. Digressions are a fact of life and don’t always mean avoidance; sometimes they are just an indication of total disorganization.

I have mentioned this before, but when the area surrounding be gets totally disorganized, I grind to a stop. Doesn’t matter whatever else I have to do, I just don’t appreciate the mess. Cleaning up/organizing has its own challenges (including the ability to spell, but that is a completely separate discussion). George is kind and pays a lovely woman and her niece to come through every 2-3 weeks and do the heavy lifting. So primarily kitchen and bathrooms are never on my list of messes. But drawers, closets, and my upstairs studio/sewing & craft room feature in my nightmares.

It could be simply because I have too much “stuff” in too small a place. The walls slant which limits shelves and cabinets. Sounds like a good excuse? Rationalization strikes all the time. What is that song? “That’s my story and I am sticking to it?” Anyway, I can’t let Martha in there or I would lose her for the full number of hours that she normally spends at our house. I am limited in what I can do because there is another space which I need to access–that of my storage area in the garage. Said area is blocked currently.

Therefore I am using the excuse that if I can’t do the whole organization and cleanup, I shouldn’t start and get frustrated. Means I don’t do any of it, right? Well, when I write it out like that, it seems totally and completely stupid. Rather than work on clean-up, perhaps I should just complete my reading for tomorrow’s classes or the paper that is due by 0930?

City streets and sidewalks

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Several years ago as I was driving Daughter #2 and her dog from the D.C. area to Chicago we stopped in Indiana. At least I think it was there, although it could have been Ohio for all the difference it might have made. Our La Quinta was across a major road from a shopping center and I elected myself as hunter of dinner. Asking at the front desk, I was given driving direction to a location which I could see from my office.

“Can’t I just walk?”

“Oh, why would you do that?”

and it was obvious that, to this young woman, no one ever walked anywhere.  There were no sidewalks in evidence. There were no pedestrian signals at the traffic lights. There were no cross walks.

This morning, on our way to the North Berkeley BART station I noted that we were “in the city” as evidenced by sidewalks and crosswalks. Pedestrian signals abounded including along Shattuck Ave. at a couple of locations where cars could not turn but pedestrians commonly crossed the street mid-block . Then I started to think of the various locations where I have lived. In childhood, suburbs did not have sidewalks where city blocks–even residential areas did. In rural areas, there was absolutely no point to having sidewalks. After all, who is going to be walking 8-20 km along a state highway in order to go to work or visit a friend. Wheeled transportation is assumed when the distance is more than a few blocks.

Another characteristic of some cities (as apposed to suburbs or rural areas in the US) is the presence of public transportation. It is something that I took for granted while living in Germany and the U.K. Admittedly, it wasn’t always convenient, but it was by far more cost effective than driving, paying tolls, burning time and coughing up money for parking.  Especially when looking at meetings in London which not only were difficult to reach via car but then there were outrageous parking costs + congestion tax.

(for those who are following the debate about congestion tax in NYC – this article pretty much makes it clear. Congestion tax doesn’t harm the poor. If you are poor in NYC, you don’t have a car. If it cost (in 2017) an average of $430/month for a parking space and the subway cost $2.50 …. it doesn’t take a genius to realize that public transportation is the way to go. For the cost mentioned above, you can take a lot of taxis, or Lyfts or Ubers when shopping.)

Which takes me back to living in a city. Berkeley is not a large city; population around 123,000. The estimates vary depending on whether or not you count students. We have buses, we have sidewalks, and are connected to San Francisco, two airports, and a chunk of the East Bay by BART. Compared to childhood, it is lovely to walk sidewalks rather than dirt along roads, to have cross-walks where it is more safe than not to navigate to the other side of the street, and to have shops within walking distance.

Not to mention a husband willing to get up in the morning to drop me off at BART. Of course, that means he has access to “the” car for the day (single car family here) but still…..city living can be pretty good.

 

please, stand on the right

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It should be simple. This is North America. We do not follow English custom on roads, sidewalks or stairs. We stay to the right when moving slower than those around us. Passing is on the left.

Well, most of the time anyway. There are those who simply can’t take their eyes off of their phone screen. Not to look around, not to avoid others, not to be polite, and most certainly not to let anyone pass since it might  interfere with that all important kitty video.

Really? These are people who might never read a book, journal, or newspaper, but they put themselves and everyone around them at risk. You see the same thing all the time in crosswalks, on sidewalks, and occasionally even in bicycle riders. I have seen drivers looking at their phone rather than the road in front of them. Perhaps the only group that I have not seen paying more attention to reading their phones are motorcyclists. That might be just that the number of motorcyclists is minuscule compared to drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists (I almost wrote bivalves which might, in an absurd way, make a modicum of sense.

Back to situational awareness. I am not sure whether or not I am reacting to years of spending time in foreign locations that were not always safe, being concerned because of my age, or just irritated by the rudeness exhibited by those who don’t seem to care a whit about those around them. It wouldn’t hurt any of these individuals to tuck phones away, look at their surroundings, perhaps even see people as something other than objects interfering with their right to take up however much space might be needed in order to look at their phone screens.

On the tracks

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As my BART this morning entered Powell station, we heard an announcement. It was a simple, there are no trains going north on the Richmond line beyond El Cerrito Plaza. Sorry for the inconvenience. Right, like t hat is going to make any difference, the “sorry” that is, to those who can’t get to work on time or for those headed home after a long night shift. I suppose there are alternative buses, but that isn’t a portion of BART that I normally ride.

The “sorry for the inconvenience” bit–it could have been worse. Maybe. Kind of like having a mobility challenge and getting on BART only to find that both the escalators and the elevators are out at your destination station. Sorry doesn’t help you get to street level with a wheelchair or walker nor does it help a parent with a buggy and small children.

Today’s shut down was even uglier. For some reason there was a person on the tracks just short of the El Cerrito Plaza. Hit by a Warm Springs bound train, from what I can gather the person was killed instantly.

For those of you not familiar with BART – there are no street level stations. All the stations are either underground or on elevated platforms. It takes an effort to get on the tracks. One would have to jump down from boarding platform, or be pushed from the boarding platform. Did I mention these trains run via an electric third rail? There is absolutely no reason ever to be on the tracks. Admittedly, those who live in the Bay Area do not queue as well as traditional English but there is nowhere near the density of people on the platform as occurs in NYC or much pushing or shoving. Someone on the tracks falls into one of three categories; stupid behavior (the pushing, shoving, dares); “oh shit I dropped something” – which might also fall under stupid but doesn’t involve other people; and finally–deliberate action. I suspect the later in this case as the person was not in front of one of the platforms.

There was nothing further in the news after the tracks reopened for the second time (police and coroner activity shut even the one track open). It has made be cautious enough, at least for a while, to make sure that I am standing behind the yellow line….

And it was another lovely

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day, most of which I missed. Something about migraines, medication and attempting once more to clean up my studio.

I think we are done with the rainy season and will confirm it if we don’t have more rain in the next week. I am still struggling though sorting and storing audiobooks (and the occasional tract that simply doesn’t read). And then there are files and floors.

Did I mention headaches?

Guess you can tell that I am not all here…

Brains?

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or was that kidneys?

I mean really.

Yes, I know that I am getting older and that my mind occasionally wanders. But I hadn’t thought it had progressed this far. How far? Well, I had displaced my debit card for one bank account. I knew that it hadn’t gone missing outside of the house, since I almost never take it out of the house. When I do, it is in my phone wallet. But I haven’t been able to locate it for a month. In fact, it is just about time to do the “lost it in the house” or “ran it through the washing machine” number with my bank to get a replacement so that I would be able to avoid the pain of changing bill paying numbers in more locations than I want to admit.

This also, as an aside, probably tells you how little I actually use cash on a day-to-day basis. When I stop and think – there are only two locations where I have to use cash. The first is to pay for parking on those rare days where I drive to North Berkeley BART. If I would want to use a BART card to pay for parking, I would have to be paying full price for the ride. If I want to use my Clipper Card, I need to pay the $3/cash. No cards, just cash.

Think about it – for most of us, parking for $3/day? Amazing.

Back to the rant. The only other time I use cash is contributions to various musicians along my commuter or ballpark route. They make my day better–I can spare a dollar for their day. But the debit card? Zipped into my rain jacket pocket.

Hey, I live in the East Bay. Most of the year it does not rain. Even when it does, an umbrella taken from where it otherwise lives tucked into a backpack pocket does the trick. Berkeley is not Portland or Seattle where people stare up on that rare day to discuss that unfamiliar burning thing hanging in the sky. I actually don’t remember the last time I wore this particular jacket. This is a win the whole way around. I have my debit card, some cash with which to hit the Wednesday Farmer’s Market at UN Plaza, Civic Center and a rain jacket just in case for tonight’s game.

(Weather App says no precipitation predicted. Not now, not for the rest of the day – so what is that wet stuff hitting me in the face?)

One nothing

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and a bit of this and that.

Perhaps not the most important to you, but for this As fan – a solo home run by Chapman in the first inning turned out to be the only score in the game. WIN! The Red Sox don’t quite have it together this year, but I don’t think that is going to last. They certainly out hit the As, but defense and amazing fielding prevented any of those hits from turning into a scoring run. Even more amazing – Laureano once again threw out Bogaerts at third base to rob the Sox of their potential game tying run in the 9th.  (FYI – at the wall in center field directly to third without a relay).  If Bogaerts had been happy with his double….

In other ramblings – my friend Carmen is touring in Australia and New Zealand. (Did I mention that we were roommates in college?) Even though cruising is great and you can extend networks of friendship around the the world, it doesn’t mean that you get to see as much as if you were on land in some areas of the world.  From what I can tell, she is having a great time and has taken some really amazing photos – which you really should look at here.

Yesterday was Monday according to UCHastings. Yes, I know it is Tuesday, but since all Federal/California holidays are celebrated on Monday it would place undue burden on those classes which meet on Mondays. This semester, with the just past holiday (Monday off) we are celebrating by holding Monday classes on Tues. And the normal classes held on Tuesday are just skipped. The good thing? No incredibly long afternoon. The more difficult? Disruption…

Off to sleep….

 

 

 

Not fools

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For the last several years I haven’t noticed anywhere near as many April Fool’s jokes as I saw in decades past. There could be several reasons. For example, I might just be the one out of the loop. Or totally oblivious, or no longer knowing anyone who would play those type of pranks.

In any case, I can admire a well crafted spoof – as long as no one gets hurt by it. And that is not something that always applies to what various and assorted people think is funny. It is much more fun to think about baseball (yes, sorry but we are only seven games into the ~160 of the season. This particular topic is not going to go away for a while.)

So let me leave it at: it rained, the Red Sox showed up on the field anyway, they lost. Yes, 7:0. Not bad for the first of a four game series.

Clowns on Muni

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There is a Clown School in San Francisco – link here. They are located near the N-Judah Muni Line. The website really, really needs work, but it gives you the basics.

A couple of stops after George and I boarded near UCSF, a clown alley (yes, that is what a group of clowns is called. Trust me – well, ok, but I did look it up!) boarded the Muni and started working their way up and down the car. Young women they were. I don’t think that any of them were over 23. Each one of them was unique in her clothing, appearance and make-up. Hats and noses varied as well. Not everyone (thank goodness) was wearing the classic red bulb nose.

A few of the passengers reacted quite negatively; a number of the rest just pretended that the clowns weren’t there. I thought I counted seven but wasn’t completely sure since there was a lot of moving around involved. A spritely woman likely somewhere in her 40s was moving through the car as well making suggestions, keeping an eye on the group. I asked her if she was their keeper. She laughed and said this was one of their first outings. I would have pictures, but when someone else took out her phone for a picture, she was politely but firmly asked to refrain.

I exited the Muni at Civic Center, heading back to class. George stayed on, headed across the Bay. He was able to watch the chaos accompanying the clowns as they searched for the correct stop (Powell St Station).

After class, I met George in Berkeley. Dropping my backpack off in the car, we headed to Haas Pavilion and the Cal Women’s Basketball Game. It was hard fought, neither team ever leading by more than 6 points. Cal won 81-80 on a buzzer beating score by Asha Thomas.

Visitors

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They wander into our yard on a regular basis. The boys, that is. Often we see them in the morning as they drift back up the hill from their night escapades. Other times, like when there is a light rain, apparently our recovering grass is viewed as mighty tasty.

the younger buck

bored

and blatant

Two Quakes in a Row

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For the second day in a row, the small branch of the Hayward Fault that travels fairly near our house decided to shake a bit. The epicenter was just south of the campus (11.6 km deep), fairly near the tunnel on Hwy 24. The map link covers the whole world, but you can pull up regional maps. Since this is an area through which BART travels, obviously there needed to be a rail inspection. In my mind, this is a good reason for BART to be delayed.

[there are plenty of other reasons why BART becomes delayed. For the moment I will stay off that particular soap-box].

It lead to much discussion around school. And on BART. Mostly people were just glad that nothing serious happened and that they could blithely leave consideration of the potential for disaster sometime in the future.

Rainy Day Market

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Just the title should let you know that once again it was raining. This time in both Berkeley and San Francisco.

Wednesdays are either great or terrible depending on the week and my attitude. Today, I am on the positive side. Only one class which doesn’t start until 0940 giving me both enough time to get to Hastings and an early change to get home. That will change next week when classes kick in at Cal. But I will still have enough time between morning and afternoon to stop at my favorite Burmese Street Food Restaurant in Berkeley for lunch.

Today’s schedule was a bit different. Because of the holiday next Monday, there are classes that will not happen. Since this is essentially a Law School (writ LARGE) there are certain rules and regulations that must be followed. Part of those rules seem to be the number of hours sufficient in a class of a certain number of credits in order to be able to grant that class status. What does all of that mean? Make-up classes. Yep, can’t completely skip, especially if there are two hours of the same class involved which is the case for my International Human Rights Course. So today, after spending a painful hour going through several treaties (UN on various aspects of human rights) we had a break till  noon. There was a presentation scheduled with an invited speaker which was going to count as one of the two hours which will be missed next Monday.

[Of note to me, Cat and maybe a couple of others. Having a network of people around the world is wonderful. When a question came up on one of the treaties as to why Australia was not electing to play, Cat knew where to find the answer. Even more fun, the answer made total and complete sense.)

After all was said and done in the morning (skipping delayed flights leading to a delayed guest speaker) I wandered through the Wednesday Market set up at UN Plaza on my way to BART. I found orange beets, multi-color carrots, fresh spinach, onions and a very interesting version of a citrus fruit which I can’t pronounce.

I skipped running errands with the guys and elected to attempt a reorganization in my studio. By the time I was part way through, it looked worse than when I started, so pictures are being held until I can share the end results.

And it was still raining at the end of the day.

Oh, back in that line?

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There were errands planned for early afternoon. They were only supposed to take a couple of hours. College Guy is back from CT and hanging out till school restarts, so he was willing to be the haul and tote person.

We went to Costco. Along with a bijilion and one other people on a Saturday afternoon. Unlike your average grocery store – there are no signs anywhere describing what is down any particular isle. Plus, they keep moving things around. End result? You have to push your cart through the whole store (getting into extra trouble) in order to find the things on your list. Often there isn’t a whole lot of choice, but that choice comes in a supersized container.

Example – go to your local Duane Reader or CVS or Walgreen’s drug store. There are 50 different sizes, brands and styles of tooth brushes, each in its own little package. Not so at Costco. Today there are two brands, each available in soft, medium or hard. That means six choices. Not 50. Since each package has 6-8 toothbrushes you simply won’t have to worry about buying toothbrushes for a few months.

Or laundry detergent for six months. Or tissues (package of eight large boxes) or garbage bags (box of 70) or dog treats for… forget that one – dog treats get scarfed up promptly.

I had a list from the eldest, from daughter #2 (see dog treats mentioned above) plus a two part list I had started. There were those items for the house and the items for UCHastings food pantry. It should not be surprising that there are students with little money once they have paid tuition and found a place to live. This fall, the student support office started a food pantry shelf. A number of us contributed to it regularly. The holidays pretty much had the shelves wiped clean. Costco turns out to be a good source of goodies in bulk (protein bars, jerky packages, rice bowls, ramen, cup-of-soup). I suppose I could use their purchase and ship option, but it is a bit cheaper to buy in the store and schlep myself.

We managed to pack everything in the car, then I went back to ask about buying an additional “Fast-Trak.” Oh – any register.  Argh. There are no express lanes. I looked around, not a check-out lane under 10 long and all with piled high carts.

We stopped at Pet Express instead for kitty litter then dropped off things for the Eldest before heading home and doling out the purchases. The dogs were pleased, beef treats were obviously for them.

I would have stayed home. I could have stayed home. But I couldn’t find my beads. The ones which I had just purchased for the Wild Swan. Out again, this time with Dani riding shotgun. JoAnn’s for the beads. CVS for the floss threaders, Daiso for seaweed snacks. And Costco, again. 15 minutes in line to purchase the Fast-Trak. But this way when Dani makes an airport run tomorrow, we won’t have to turn out everyone’s pockets in order to find enough money for the toll.

Rolling in

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after midnight, I was more than ready to get some sleep (oh, let’s say…~200).

So why did I wake up at 0430 in the morning?

At least I didn’t have any trouble going back to sleep and staying out cold till close to 1000.

I will not claim that I did anything useful for the rest of the day, other than taking the family out for dinner in late celebration of Dani’s birthday follow by cake at home. The theme was unicorns, candle, hooded blanket and general smiles even after the kettle gave up the ghost for good. Now something else on the list to be replaced. (grouch).

And it was back to bed early.

Seeing a pattern here?

They won

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Up front, I am not much of a football fan. US football just so there is not any confusion. I don’t detest it the way I do boxing (no excuses, a sport where you win by inflicting brain damage on your opponent? – I DO NOT think so). While in the military I was continually confronted with that particular bit of stupidity. They needed a doctor for their boxing matches. I left it open to my crew – no penalties if they wanted to support – complete back up if they didn’t want to participate.

The catch was – no doctor – no match, so you understand the pressure.

Really, there we are in a combat zone continually screening people for TBI (traumatic brain injury) secondary to just about everything. And they want to box in their spare time? Really? Let’s support our enemy by damaging our own troops ….

Oops – I think I was starting to discuss today’s Cal football game. I was there because? George has season tickets. Since he attends somethings with me (As baseball) and lets me off the hook for others (formal receptions, cocktail parties), the least I can do is go with him. When it is not raining, or snowing or there isn’t someone else begging to go along.

So there we are, in our usual seats. Maus & Friend are sitting over in Q for the first half. They join us for the second since the season ticket holders next to us don’t appear. The marching band is great. The football team? Meh. Unlike those around me, I don’t have any objection to the quarterback. Hello? He is a freshman. Let me repeat that – this is a college game and he is new this season. I don’t care how good you were in high school – this is NOT high school. He has a great and a good running back. He has a couple of really good pass receivers. What he doesn’t have is decent blockers from the line to protect him.

Enough said.

Cal won by points. Colorado won on everything else. They had more yards passing, rushing, 1st downs made, fewer penalties. What destroyed them was the first few minutes of the game. You can’t receive the kickoff and on the second play throw a pass that is intercepted by Cal and returned for a touchdown. That means you just tossed (literally, sorry) away your chance. Seriously, what you don’t do is repeat the process on your next return and have another interception mean that you are down 14-0 in the first five minutes of the game. Then there was a fumble…

Colorado came back and almost managed a win. By the time we hiked up the hill (which seems like a mountain about then) it was dark and cold. At least the Cal-Stanford Game (rescheduled to next Sat because of the air quality secondary to the wildfires) will start at noon. Whole game in daylight. Much better deal.

And now back to studying for my first exam (on Wednesday).

A full house

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It was fun, an almost full house between having family members in town, some friends from the public health class and a number of my fellow students from UCHastings (the Exchange and LLM programs).

Needless to say, there was more than enough food, a lot of laughter and a number of them taking me up on the hot tub invitation.

And occasional areas of smoke

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or more than occasional as is the reality.

You have heard weather reports in the past – cloudy, raining, partly sunny? Or some variation of the above?

Unless, of course you live in Hawaii and get a report that says – today will be just like yesterday with temperatures in the low 80s with mild showers between 0200 and 0400.

Here in the Bay area the reports range from the lowest temperatures in San Francisco to the highest in the Central Valley. Often those reports include a description of the marine layer or areas of patchy fog to burn off by noon.

Burning off is something we are NOT discussing right now. The fires continue to rage in both Northern and Southern California. Although the Camp Fire is more than 150 miles (240+ km) from here, a pall is layered over the city. It has been days since we have seen the sun, except through a layer of smoke. White in the morning, glowing red like embers in the afternoon, it has been days since we have seen any blue sky.

This is nothing like the horror of Northern California where fire swept through a number of small towns.  These are wildfires, not forest fires, Idiot Washington DC based politicians aside. These fires have nothing to do with forestry management and everything to do with people living in areas ripe for burning. California has been dry, the temperatures high, the humidity at close to an all time low. It isn’t trees, it is bush, scrub, tall grass that easily catches fire that the winds whip along at speeds faster than can be controlled or people can be evacuated.

So we have weather reports that warn of particle levels so that those with respiratory disease can take care. People wearing respirators are commonly seen on the street or riding public transportation. The number of joggers has decreased sharply. And smoke, like fog, settling around us.

Norcal Benefit

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Or maybe it was NoCal? (5 Nov update – it was actually NorCal – title above edited to reflect correction provided by George)

Anyway, it was a benefit for the Cal Marching Band held last night at the University Club at the top level of the new  stadium.

There is a great view of the field –

good view of the field but not exactly a close up

from the outside seating area on the visitors end

From opposite of the stadium (University Club is on the West Side in case you hadn’t guessed

we had a great view of the sunset and San Francisco.

and the view toward the Golden Gate

and me without my decent camera. George thought I left it at home deliberately. All I can say is that I forgot it.. iPhone will have to do.

Anyway, the evening was to benefit the Marching Band. Yes, I know I said that before. Many of those present fell into the category of parent or band alumni along with partners. I think that George and I were the rare folks who, other than enjoying the band, have no real relationship to anyone in the band.

I had lovely conversations with former band members, parents of current band members and several band members as well. We didn’t buy raffle tickets and skipped the silent auction on some limited edition Grateful Dead Stuff. Sorry, but I am just not a Deadhead. Let someone else who really wants it, get it. I don’t have a qualm about just donating the money to them straight up.

What I didn’t mention was the need for ear plugs. We had two sessions from the Marching Band. As much as I enjoy them, the space is not conducive to large numbers of brass instruments. But the kids looked like they were having a great time and their reward was a most excellent flourless chocolate cake.

Today was a quiet day. I finished up a paper due on Tuesday and uploaded it before I changed my mind. Played a number of computer games, read a book, studied some more, did research on the National Guard (YES! I was right about Title 32 for operations out of home state) and otherwise tried to be sensible.

Yes, I know. Me sensible? It might just apply.

November rolled into the Bay Area

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with blue skies and balmy temperatures. It was shirtsleeves in normally cool San Francisco with t-shirts and shorts in the East Bay.

The weather in much of the rest of the world hasn’t been as kind. But then, it would take a flaming sword, a burning bush and forty days of rain to make certain people believe that humans have an impact on their world beyond that of other creatures. Certainly science has not been successful, no matter how solid in convincing someone with fingers in their ears singing la-la-la-la that the world is not how they perceive it. That just because they believe does not make it so.

This is not Star Trek. The Captain can’t just say “make it so” and all the action then proceeds along the path best ordained to finish the story in the 60 minutes (minus commercials) that have been set aside for our entertainment.

My long sleeves and fuzzy vest which had been a comfort in the morning was now much more than I needed to be wearing. Those around me gave me those sideways looks which clearly could be interpreted as “you are an idiot and over dressed.” It was uncomfortable in San Francisco, it was well beyond insanity once I exited the BART in Berkeley and faced the several block dash to catch the 65 Bus up the hill.

Did I mention the earlier conversation with my well loved husband? The one where he said he was at an appointment in Oakland followed by a meeting in Berkeley? The one with the implication that he was going from one to the other. So there I am, hot, tired and whining as I stump up the driveway to find that he is home.

What!?!!!

I came home.

Why didn’t you tell me you could have picked me up.

Ummmmm.

Don’t you just love married communications? I am glad it was a beautiful day with a great sunset. It meant it wasn’t worth really getting upset.