Friday, December 21, 2007

Commerce crazy

Last night a friend of mine mentioned that she wanted to get a Wii for her nephew, but had trouble finding one - they're in short supply. "But wait!" you say. "Didn't the Wii come out ages ago? How can there still be supply problems?!"

Yeah, I know - weird, huh? In any case, technology to the rescue! Someone's built an entire website whose sole purpose is to monitor a bunch of online stores & send you a text message when the object of your tech-crush becomes available.

I'm sure I should be able to make some pithy comment about the consumer lifestyle and the spirit of Christmas here, but somehow, words fail me.

Behind the office park ...

... is a stream. With ducks. And yes, this is winter in California!

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Bookcase II

I actually finished making my bookcase a couple of weeks ago, but for those who are curious, here's a photo of the finished product:



It's made of cherry plywood, sanded with 220 grade sandpaper, and finished with two applications of Danish oil. I didn't face the edges; I like the raw look of the plywood. The whole thing barely fits in this photo because it's almost 8' tall - which is what gives it room to hold 8 shelves of books (the bookcase that this replaces held only 5 shelves).

As a result, for the first time since college I have no stacks of books on the floor. In fact, on a bookcase in another room I have about a foot of empty space.

Even so, I'm not going to make another one of these right away - or at least till spring. Here's what it took to get here:

Wood, ready for sanding:


Much much later, stained wood drying under the awning so as not to get rained on:


Assembly, with screws & glue:


Before it had books on it - near the top you can see the brackets where I've attached it to the wall (this is earthquake country after all!):


And with books:


Corner detail (look, you can see some of what's on the shelves!):


And this doesn't even show the hours and hours of sanding, the measuring to drill the holes in the right place, the cleaning off the glue that dripped - not to mention designing the thing in the first place.

I can complain all I want but really, making this thing was so satisfying I hardly know how to describe it.

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Babies at Christmas

I never expected to get here: in surveying the Christmas cards on my mantelpiece, I find that over 50% of them include photos of various people's babies.

Good grief. Really? Am I really at this point?

One photo-card shows two little boys gleefully grabbing bottles of Jack Daniels & Bacardi (their parents are my models for how not to take things too seriously).

Surely this helps balance things out? I'm just going to keep telling myself that it does.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

This is your name. This is your name on drugs!

A good friend recently pointed me to Sloganizer, wherein you can input random words (eg your name, a food, what have you) and it will generate a slogan.

Hours of fun, I tell you. Hours!

My personal favorite so far: I want heather newt and I want it now.

Something about newts is fundamentally funny.

Sunday, December 09, 2007

All kinds of Christmas

"What are you doing over the holidays?" asks my officemate. J & I are beginning to be friends: my guy & I hang out with J & her husband over dinner, occasionally foray into Guitar Hero 3, and last weekend took a coffee tasting class together (!).

"We usually get a tree," I say. I'm half-distracted by my email: the feature I was expecting to launch today will launch... next Monday? Aargh.

"Really?" J sounds...something. Eager? Hopeful? I am never very confident in my ability to interpret other people's emotions.

I say, "Yeah. We usually drive up into the Santa Cruz mountains and cut one down." I look over at J, and the expression on her face is so enthusiastic that I say, "You guys want to come? We were thinking Saturday or Sunday morning." I offer this invitation somewhat dubiously, since J & her husband B are Jewish - did I misread that look on her face?

"Yes!" says J. "Is it cold? What do I wear? Do you just hike around until you find one?"

I grin, and we make a plan.

Three days later, we drive up to the tree farm. I'm worried all the time that the drive will be too long, that J & B won't have a good time, that this won't make sense if it's not your family tradition - but when we get there and see the families and dogs and little kids and people running around with bright red saws, B says, "I get it - this is the best Christmas tree farm." B loves the idea of chopping down a tree in a forest, and makes frequent references to Paul Bunyan. We find a tree; we take turns with the sawing; we load it into my car and head home. On the way we stop at a winery because this is after all California, then for lunch at 4pm because we're hungry. We eventually make it home; J & B help us decorate. The tree looks beautiful.

"You'll probably redo it all after we leave," says J nervously, and I reassure her that no, we won't, it looks great. My guy, child of a tradition that he assures me took six hours to decorate a tree, adds that it's pretty great how fast it goes with four people.

What I don't quite have a way to say that this has been a long-term daydream of mine: holidays spent with friends, celebrated any day that happens to work, focused not on arbitrary religious ideals (come on, it's chopping down a tree for crying out loud! Although please do keep in mind that chopping down a pine tree doesn't kill it; the stump grows into a new tree more quickly than you'd think) but on good company, indoor warmth, & the smell of pine in the cold.

I am awkwardly trying to be balanced & culturally sensitive, so at some point during the day I mentioned that hey, if they had some particularly Jewish event they wanted to invite us to, we'd be happy to show up. After the tree is all decorated, B says, "So - you want to come over for a dry run of our annual Latkes & Vodkas party?"

"Latkes & vodka don't really go, but it rhymes," adds J. And an hour later, my hands are covered in potato dough as J explains that you have to squeeze out all the water before slipping the latkes into hot oil to fry. My guy helps flip the latkes & replaces the paper towel they drain on.

I wouldn't call any of this religious, but it is tradition: I've got my great-grandmother's ornaments, and B called his mom for latke instructions (garlic powder, not chopped garlic!). All together, it's beginning to feel a lot like holidays.

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Unintentional Poem

In my email today:

Reminder: send feedback by EOD
If we're all agreed, I'll start ASAP.
I tweaked only three words to make the meter scan....

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Yoga with Guys

No, the photo to the right is NOT me. But the pose really does look this silly.

"It's easier to maintain balance if you use a viewing spot," says this evening's leader, while the rest of us focus on not falling over. I've got all my weight on my left foot, right arm & leg extended behind me, right hand wrapped around ankle, head tilted back.

"You stole my viewing spot!" says the guy two mats away from me. Like everybody else I immediately lose my own viewing spot and go staggering off my mat.

Right before sivasana, an objection: "We haven't done Crazy Yoga Pose of the Day."

Our leader thinks for a moment. "Ok, what about Roaring Lion?"

"Roaring Lion? You are totally making that shit up." General appeal to the rest of the room: "Is he making it up?" The guy next to me rolls his eyes. We all get down on our knees to do Roaring Lion. Roaring Lion consists of crouching on all fours, then suddenly surging forward while rolling your eyes back in your head and growling. I suspect most of the benefit comes from laughing at everyone else's growls.

As usual on Monday nights, I'm the only woman in a yoga class full of guys. I love it. It's all-volunteer: our teacher isn't charging, we're not paying, and the classes are shaped by whatever mood everyone seems to be in.