# 01 Dec 2003, 03:39PM: This Egg Wasn't Coddled:
A mild curse on Burlingame! Or at least an ukase that they should implement pedestrian friendliness measures, such as adequate street signage.
I will be thankful that the doctor's office receptionist took pity on my late, rain-damp form and rescheduled me for less than an hour later, and that I have now learned how to use the delightful CalTrain and thus taken full advantage of the Millbrae Intermodal Station. I enjoy saying "Intermodal." And I should have trusted TransitInfo TripPlanner instead of panicking at the "information" a BART employee gave me. Just so y'all know, the Millbrae Intermodal Station sits only a few blocks from the Millbrae/Burlingame border.
# 01 Dec 2003, 03:53PM: Giving Thanks for Thanksgiving:
I had two wonderful feasts for Thanksgiving! I had one with Leonard's family on Thursday and then another with Zed's tribe the next day. Thanksgiving gave me contentment, that subtle, long-lasting joy. I am so glad to have such good friends and family.
# 02 Dec 2003, 08:57AM:
Although I usually watch only the first few minutes of Law and Order (where ordinary folks find a body), I wonder what unbelievable twists the writers add to ripped-from-the-headlines storylines. Example: the Laci and Scott Peterson case-workalike L&O plot. My suggestion: the husband is using the wife's murder as an alibi so the police don't suspect him of other murders!
Jennifer and Grace thought this a fine twist.
# 03 Dec 2003, 10:30AM: I've Never Visited All The Stations In One Day...:
Free BART tomorrow morning between 4 and 9! Sure, my FastPass gives me free BART transit, but only between Balboa Park and Embarcadero.
So the schemer in me wants to get up at 3:30am, ride to the San Francisco Airport station to enjoy the people-mover, and then to Pittsburg/Bay Point, and then to work, just to get my "money's" worth.
# 03 Dec 2003, 02:11PM:
A Beetle Bailey that has hung on my cube wall for months:
The general stares, shocked, at a computer screen. The screen says, "INCORRECT PASSWORD. ACCESS DENIED."
The General shouts at the beleagured tech worker, "Does this thing know who it's talking to?!!"
# 03 Dec 2003, 03:43PM: We Come In Peace; Take Us To Your Station Agent:
Speaking of public transit, Andy Holloway (returning from a sojourn as a nonblogger) says,
Did I ever tell my weblog about the science fiction story I've thought of writing about aliens whose entire knowledge of earth culture comes from the B.C. transit system? All I've really got is one line of dialogue: "We come from a planet some two million of your 'zones' away."
And, speaking of returning webloggers, Adam is back! Sumana is happy that her year of faith has ripened.
# 04 Dec 2003, 09:31AM: Exciting Stuff!:
I'm learning that when I only steep my tea for the recommended period, and don't just leave the bag in there till I've finished drinking, it does taste better.
Even though I did not derive any extra financial benefit from free BART this morning, the sight of rows turnstiles with their gates wide open made me unreasonably happy. As Leonard reminded me, "you're a free rider!"
When people call to do administrative work on their Salon Premium subscriptions, I tell them about the free magazines, and sometimes both the caller and I get pretty excited.
And today Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood visited a soup factory.
# 04 Dec 2003, 10:26AM: Still Not As Tricky As Anne Applebaum:
Years ago, I mentioned the show Major Dad to Leonard. He hadn't heard of it. I ended up saying, "he's a major, she's a dad, they're cops."
Last year, Leonard attended a They Might Be Giants show.
Today:
Leonard: wait, that show was on in the 90s?
Leonard: i thought it was from the 60s or something
Sumana: Gerald McRaney doesn't look THAT different now than he did in Major Dad
Leonard: i just never saw it or heard of it really
Leonard: i thought it was like 'my 3 sons'
Sumana: you don't frickin' watch tv!
Sumana: how would you have heard about it?
Sumana: Incidentally, Major Dad was where TMBG announced all their new albums
Leonard: really?
Sumana: no!
Sumana: joke
Leonard: glah!
Leonard: flee!
(title cf. my sister)
# 05 Dec 2003, 11:43AM: Car Still For Sale:
Have I mentioned that I'm selling my car? 1999 Toyota Corolla sedan, just got a bunch of maintenance done, stuff replaced. 71,000 miles on it, never crashed into anything, good mileage, handles well, four years old, never owned by a smoker. Asking $7,000 as per the Kelley Blue Book value, but that is negotiable. I will even drive it to Southern California or Oregon if that is where you are. Craiglists post(s) coming soon.
# 05 Dec 2003, 03:12PM: Moo?:
I got a flu shot this morning to do my bit for herd immunity. After I heard about the unusually bad flu season authorities promise, I made up my mind to make sure people would not catch it from me.
Good thing I got on the ball -- the country is running out of the vaccine. I didn't know, but I should have gotten FluMist. And if you come in contact with high-risk people often, think about it:
Another alternative is the FluMist, the more expensive inhaled version of the vaccine. Its maker, MedImmune Vaccines, made between 4 million and 5 million doses this year. Spokeswoman Jamie Lacey said that as of Nov. 18, the company had sold 400,000 doses, and "there is still a wide supply available."
The nasal spray is recommended only for healthy people ages 5-49, and disease doctors are urging it as an option to save the traditional vaccine for more at-risk people.
"If you're healthy, you have two options: Please take the option that the other folks can't have," said Dr. William Schaffner of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.
# 08 Dec 2003, 11:15AM: Schickele Live:
P.D.Q. Bach, a.k.a. Peter Schickele, will perform in San Francisco this Friday. Tickets are as low as $15.00. I used to listen to Schickele Mix every week! Maybe I can go. Or at least hear him on West Coast Live, possibly even attending the taping at Fort Mason.
# 08 Dec 2003, 11:53AM: Sunday Nuddy Sunday:
Various medical people have been sticking needles in me over the past few weeks for the flu shot and to draw blood for routine medical tests. (I'm doing routine maintenance on my car and on my body. The medical process frustrates me more than the car maintenance process; maybe I'm selling the wrong thing.)
I have learned that showing up right after the lab opens almost ensures speedy and friendly service. Just like in college! Lazy people hate getting up early, so the 8am discussion sessions get you the most personal and dedicated attention.
Also, I used to conjugate Russian verbs or recite trivia to get my mind off the needle. Now I sing Down By the Riverside and Union Maid.
Yesterday I went to the lab, dropped off Leonard at the airport (amusingly, the road to Oakland Airport tries to pretend it is an elegant Parisian boulevard), and went to Berkeley to put in a shift at Cody's. I'm still on call there. I enjoyed seeing coworkers and Berkeley pals again (Alexei! Hal!), and also interacting with customers face-to-face and recommending books. I don't get to do that at Salon.
The medium of email alienates me from my customers. Many of them never write back. In person, at least, every transaction has an ending. Someone walks away.
Cody's sits right next to the Bay King bakery, and every night the aroma of pastry drifts into the kids' room. I'd forgotten that.
# 08 Dec 2003, 01:04PM: Tempest in a Coffee Mug:
I've complained before about dippy and faux inspirational messages on my tea. Today:You must be still in the midst of activity, and be vibrantly alive in repose.--Indira Gandhi
(1917-1984)
Indira Gandhi?! The heck? Indira Gandhi was a dictator who declared martial law to avoid being removed for corruption. The regime included censorship, arrest of dissenters, and forced sterilisation drives. And no, she was not related by blood to Mohandas (the Mahatma) Gandhi.
My sister, who wrote her senior thesis on the Emergency in India and the Philippines under Marcos, could tell you more. I'm just saying, Indira Gandhi doesn't belong on my Good Earth Original Sweet & Spicy Tea & Herb Blend. How about a nice Daniel Berrigan or Mirabai or Emma Goldman instead?
# 08 Dec 2003, 07:29PM: Early Terminator Fee May Apply:
Saturday: Leonard and I watched several Good Eatses, visited the SF Zoo, and did an errand at a Cingular Wireless store. The cheery notes at Cingular: a blue fish in a bowl, the competent help of Jean Yves. In inconvenience news, people at Cingular outposts have to phone in to "Customer Care" to make changes to accounts. Um, guys, the network is the computer.
# 09 Dec 2003, 10:56AM GMT+5:30: Beyond Microserfs, Beyond Nostradamus:
Reading Douglas Coupland's All Families Are Psychotic. It so engrossed me this morning that I missed my Muni stop.
Once I watched Tartuffe at San Joaquin Delta College and the program praised Molière's economy of characters. He used only as many characters as were necessary, no more. Coupland feels like that to me, and helps jar the plaque loose from my brain.
# 09 Dec 2003, 08:03PM: Plays:
I'm going to see both of the Continental Divide plays on Saturday, Dec. 13th. Will probably buy tickets to Lobby Hero tomorrow, as Katharine recommended it and I enjoyed Lonergan's You Can Count On Me.
# 10 Dec 2003, 03:23PM: The Last Chance Boudoir:
Atticus is such an entertainer! At bedtime, he strikes again.
# 15 Dec 2003, 03:19PM:
Of course, I am glad that Saddam Hussein has been captured, if in fact he has been captured. I doubt that it is really him and I will probably always doubt it. But Salam Pax, whom I evidently trust more than I trust the Bush administration, doesn't say "this smells wrong," so it is probably legit. Right?
I saw the pictures of Hussein with a beard, submitting to a medical examination, and I remembered my dad after a heart bypass operation several years ago. I visited him in the hospital afterwards, his face stubbled, his body prone and stuck all over with tubes, and I thought, that's not him. My dad's not there.
I'm glad Hussein has been shaven, so that I can put away the disturbing resemblance to my father. Now he just looks like Uncle V.
# 15 Dec 2003, 07:28PM:
Recently discovered that Aleksandr Solzenitsyn is alive and well in Russia. Can't find an address to write him a fan letter. In that quest, came across an Epinions review, "I learn to better appreciate Solzhenitsyn's Gulag Archipelago through using Sprint PCS". "Sprint PCS, therefore, is comprised of many teeny islands of pain, just like Solzhenitsyn's Gulag."
# 18 Dec 2003, 03:08PM: Sudden Reminiscences:
On New Year's Eve, my sister and I used to rent movies. We sometimes snuck a video or two when my parents were gone to a Hindu get-together for a Saturday, but New Year's Eve was a ritual.
That day we would go to the video rental portion of the supermarket within walking distance of our house, and choose movies equitably, perhaps two each. A good movie raised the chooser's Video Point Average, and film that proved unwatchable lowered it, causing mockery from the other sister, yea, even unto video-choosing sessions years later. Oh, the comments I got years after choosing Glengarry Glen Ross! And I still believe she picked Article 99.
At home, we would make lasagna. I seem to recall that I did a lot of the prep work and my sister did more of the heat application.
And then we would settle in with the dinner and some Pepsi, and we'd watch Maverick, Dave, Bye Bye Love, Clueless, second-rate stuff from a third-rate video store.
I don't much care for cola now, and though I enjoy lasagna I prefer tom yum. But I wish my last meal could be lasagna that my sister and I made, in front of that TV in our old house, watching some forgettable movie with her, swigging Pepsi and not caring whether it's the old year or the new.
# 18 Dec 2003, 04:21PM: Worthwhile:
Good Earth Teas called me back and told me that the quote is undergoing review. Evidently no one had called it to their attention before.
Work is nuts because of Salon's gift subscription promotions, so in case you're hoping I'll post, please sate yourself with a travelogue and a nativity story.
# 23 Dec 2003, 12:05PM: Jennifer Government's Sister:
Yesterday I came across Cynthia Ngo.
# 30 Dec 2003, 11:39AM GMT+5:30: Long-Overdue Update:
I had a contented Christmas with the Whitney/Richardson clan down in Bakersfield, CA. We exchanged pleasant gifts and put up with Gretel, a German Shepherd dog who is enthusiastic. I read Philip Pullman's The Broken Bridge and two Terry Pratchett Discworld books. I like The Truth, but Small Gods is my favorite so far.
I've been mildly ill since midway through the trip back, but I feel much better today.
As much as WebTV vexes me when its users have trouble with Salon Premium, I still hugely respect the urge that brought it to life. The founder of WebTV has died, having empowered and connected many, many people.
# 30 Dec 2003, 06:23PM: Sweet:
Leonard: "Hey, guess what Star Trek got recorded [by TiVo]?"
Sumana: "What?"
"'Spock's Brain'."
"Do you want to watch it?"
"I kind of do."
"Do you want to watch it with me?"
"Oh, I wouldn't want to waste your time."
"I'm touched that you have such a high opinion of the worth of my time."
# 31 Dec 2003, 11:29AM: I Had No Idea:
The crew over at Ambiguous points out that most of Patriot Act II got put into effect as the announcement of Saddam Hussein's capture captured the airwaves.
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