tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55890592011-07-31T01:06:58.676-07:00HFnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1731100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-30777392700595015632011-03-19T20:30:00.000-07:002011-03-19T20:30:30.498-07:00

After long, long bouts of thinking things through, I decided that I wanted a not-so-anonymous blog. That is, one with my name on it. Rather than put my name on this one, which would mean going through all previous posts and figuring out if I was OK with them not being anonymous, I started over at a new address. I prefer not to create an actual link, but if you're interested, you can find the

Heathernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-15554384575992895402009-11-10T19:47:00.000-08:002009-11-10T20:09:18.916-08:00

6:15am: Wake abruptly, having realized what was bugging me about that request-for-proposal I got yesterday. 6:18am: Lie in bed, figuring out what to do about it and designing the presentation slides to explain it to others. 7:15am: Get up and draw the slides on some scrap paper. 8:50am: Breakfast 9:45am: Get lost on way to doctor appointment. 10:05am: Doctor appointment. 10:50am: Stop

Heathernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-86708191238646507512009-10-30T10:01:00.000-07:002009-11-10T20:09:18.917-08:00

The pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting is calling. Also the donut, the caramel apple, the frosted cookie, the cream of chestnut soup, the jamon-manchego sandwiches, the green beans with blue cheese cream sauce, the deep-fried artichoke hearts.... The air has gotten colder, the trees are changing color, I turned the heater on for the first time last night, and my body desperately,

Heathernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-29775853523655074362009-10-29T20:33:00.000-07:002009-11-10T20:09:18.917-08:00

(The person who inspired this post doesn’t read this blog. And I’m at least as bad at this as her, anyway!) I had plans tonight. I really did. But when my husband asked me this morning what I was doing tonight, I told him, then added, “... but she’ll probably cancel. I did, last time,” and he nodded, understanding. So off I went to work. I sent an email: “we still on?” and got back, no surprise

Heathernoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-82272145458477749742009-10-13T00:10:00.000-07:002009-10-13T00:10:00.683-07:00

Everyone tells you you should have a baby. And then... ...if you think maybe you do want one, you wonder if you're just succumbing to peer pressure. But... ...if you think maybe you don't want one, you wonder if you're just reacting to peer pressure. Sigh.

Heathernoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-22860956389061973052009-10-07T19:29:00.000-07:002009-10-07T19:57:50.671-07:00

"Hey!" said a voice to my right. Late afternoon or early evening in Palo Alto: quiet streets, the sun still high enough to cast patches of brightness and shadow on the sidewalk. I stopped and looked around. Sitting at a small table outside a newish Mexican place were two guys I used to work with. "How's it going?" said B. "Sit down, have some food!" So I did. "How are things?" I asked. B's at a

Heathernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-73615250978450378652009-07-23T17:58:00.000-07:002009-07-23T17:59:12.100-07:00

Back in the day, a good friend of mine used to say she was making all her old theater t-shirts into a quilt. Into the Woods, Fiddler on the Roof, You Can’t Take It With You: all there, in warm and snuggly knit, ready for winter nights.  A few days ago, inspired by purchase of a new skateboard, I dug through my parents’ garage in search of the wristguards I got during a rollerblading phase. Among

Heathernoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-49180499956090387812009-04-07T21:32:00.000-07:002009-04-07T21:32:37.620-07:00

Today my French press broke and I started crying. So here's this post to record the fact. I'm writing about this mostly because I can't remember the last time I cried from sadness rather than anger or frustration. It must have been years ago. And yet this French press.... I brought it back with me from England just a little over ten years ago. I carried it across large portions of the British

Heathernoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-70416401840461978372009-03-26T23:09:00.000-07:002009-11-10T20:11:44.005-08:00

Or heck, I could just post it all on that cooking blog I started a while back. You tired of this topic yet, dear reader? I appear to have bored even myself.

Heathernoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-80383196967646890052009-03-26T22:20:00.000-07:002009-11-10T20:11:44.006-08:00

... no, what I originally intended to write about was the tricky, slippery nature of online identity. In my quest for a blog I can share on various profiles that have my name on them, I went looking for a URL I could love. So far, the ones I’ve tried are all taken: http://thisfar.blogspot.com/, http://highway1.blogspot.com/, and http://101books.blogspot.com/. I wish the 101books person had kept

Heathernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-76272024601284552312009-03-26T22:11:00.000-07:002009-11-10T20:11:44.006-08:00

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about social networks: not the online kind, the which-of-my-friends-have-ever-met kind. A blog is a way of putting communication out in public for others to see, and this blog in particular is pretty anonymous. If you read it, you’re either a very close friend and know who I am or you’re the opposite: a total stranger with no way to track me down. So what do I do

Heathernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-52148585226817294102009-03-25T22:40:00.000-07:002009-11-10T20:11:44.007-08:00

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about peace. I don’t mean peace like the opposite of war; I mean peace like inner calm (if there is such a thing), peace as contentment, like the opposite of a noisy brain. My conclusion is that it’s weird that there’s no peace-oriented Western tradition to follow. There’s yoga; there’s meditation; but where’s the European tradition I can pick up on? I don’t want

Heathernoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-55367752037666647952009-03-10T11:43:00.000-07:002009-11-10T20:12:03.076-08:00

This is one of those "because I think this is cool" posts. Somebody has digitally modelled exactly how big $10 trillion dollars is, physically: http://www.pagetutor.com/trillion/index.htmlInterestingly, $10 thousand was a lot smaller than I thought, but $10 trillion was a lot bigger. I thought that familiarity would build accuracy (ok, no, I'm not familiar with a stack of $10 thousand in cash,

Heathernoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-44485611818215396602009-03-05T19:42:00.000-08:002009-11-10T20:11:44.007-08:00

At Christmas, my husband received a book called The Green Guide. As you might imagine, it’s intended to be a resource for how to live one’s life and buy one’s stuff in a more environmentally friendly way. It’s published by National Geographic, so it ought to be reasonably reputable.I made the mistake of reading it.Specifically, I ran across this section: The Dirty Dozen, which calls out various

Heathernoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-35336438900132180762009-02-23T10:41:00.001-08:002009-02-23T10:51:40.671-08:00

I know, I know, I spin myself as the anti-consumerist. But what I really am is discriminating. Every now and then I try something and find myself unexpectedly amazed. So here's the current list of stuff & services I love: Ultimate Ears Super.Fi 4 headphones. Seriously. They fit perfectly, and the minute I put them on the outside world just faded away, leaving me with only the Scissor Sisters for

Heathernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-77071648628477078232009-02-19T19:26:00.000-08:002009-02-19T19:34:04.609-08:00

They switched back to their previous terms of service: http://blog.facebook.com/blog.php?post=54746167130So I suppose I'll re-enable my account. Facebook is a convenient way to make myself findable. But ... will I ever upload very much info? Photos? Status updates? Comments on other people's messages? Probably not. And I'm starting to create backup methods to achieve the "make myself findable"

Heathernoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-52595528412957932812009-02-17T16:08:00.000-08:002009-02-17T16:26:09.234-08:00

To anyone who's used to seeing me on Facebook, you may notice that I've suddenly disappeared. I'm one of the people who figures Facebook's new Terms of Service is unacceptable. Here's the guilty paragraph: You hereby grant Facebook an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license (with the right to sublicense) to (a) use, copy, publish, stream, store, retain,

Heathernoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-43187057688177010842009-02-11T23:31:00.000-08:002009-02-11T23:48:02.735-08:00

“It’s ... pleasant,” said S. We sat, half-turned toward each other, on a deep couch in the back of the wine bar. The wine bar is like something out of a movie, although a movie I haven’t seen, something about the tech industry and hedonism and the valley and the magnetic attraction everybody around here feels for things that are “cute.” The wine bar is in an old adobe building, and the ceilings

Heathernoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-72430826545310413092009-02-09T21:01:00.000-08:002009-02-09T21:04:06.648-08:00

To: dan@sprint.comHi. I'm writing to object to the way Sprint handles billing for closed accounts which are out of the contract period. I was a satisfied Sprint customer several times over the past few years, but when I cancelled my account, Sprint charged me for an entire month's service even though I only used three days. I am now *very* unlikely to ever use Sprint again. I certainly wouldn't

Heathernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-42239700828877601972009-01-24T14:40:00.000-08:002009-01-24T14:52:27.952-08:00

In honor of Joshua Ferris’ Then We Came To The End, I’ve written a short piece of office-set fiction: Here’s how it began: We were all - four from my team and four from our partner team, plus our Sponsor, and the Legend, and the Dragon, and the Grownup, and someone’s Admin, sitting around the table in the Room for Important Meetings. My hands were shaking. I’d never presented to the Legend

Heathernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-25033902234778067402009-01-19T16:28:00.000-08:002009-01-22T19:39:17.439-08:00

I bought this a few years back because it was edited by my favorite author. Surely it must therefore be a trove of wonderful writing, poetry and stories I would enjoy for years to come! Sadly, no. Last night I reread it, skimming over poems that didn’t grab me, sinking into the one short story that did, always with the standard question in the back of my mind: do I give it shelf space? Shelf

Heathernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-48094468069896373612009-01-18T21:16:00.000-08:002009-11-10T20:13:05.210-08:00

For about a year I have been searching out books about writing: Stephen King’s On Writing, one by Annie Dillard, a couple of workbook-y things that appear to be part of a series, and most recently, Reading, Writing, and Leaving Home by Lynn Freed. I have no idea who Lynn Freed is. I bought the book because of the picture on the cover: a young woman with neat 1950s hair, wearing a green dress and

Heathernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-70884277048174096802009-01-18T18:38:00.000-08:002009-01-19T15:45:25.043-08:00

Brussels Sprout & Mushroom Ragout from Vegetarian Suppers ~~ Walnut Crostini with Cambozola & Pears from Small Plates ~~Buckwheat Crepes with Fried Eggs from Vegetarian Suppers ~~ Guacamole & Chips n/a~~Leap year cocktail from what’s-its-name cocktail book The media tells me that during a recession, people nest (tangential: and so big-screen TVs may do OK after all). During a recession, we all

Heathernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-80529578143286650062009-01-13T18:00:00.000-08:002009-01-18T21:38:13.045-08:00

In Peets this afternoon: Me (taking out computer powerplug out of bag and looking down at electrical outlet, which is full): Um....Guy at next table: Oh, do you need one of those?Me: Yeah, I’m about out of power.Guy: Ok, can you wait like five minutes? I’m almost done. Me (thinking: WTF? You’re one guy using two plugs! And you ask me to wait?!): Oh, are those both yours? Guy, tone very annoyed:

Heathernoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-74114645305787027342009-01-01T21:57:00.000-08:002009-01-01T21:59:13.556-08:00

Yesterday evening, at about 11:30pm, I finished reading War and Peace.This evening, at about 9:30pm, I finished reading Stephanie Meyer’s New Moon. I’m sure that says something about ... something, but I don’t really want to think too hard about it.

Heathernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-48671007532361169182008-12-23T14:26:00.001-08:002008-12-23T14:32:44.372-08:00

I have this nice afternoon to myself and I just want to go drill holes in pieces of plywood as planned - but I figure I shouldn't do that if it would mean letting the powercord for the drill go straggling through a puddle. But I can't glue and nail until I drill! And I can't assemble until I glue and nail! And I can't start using until I assemble! Grumble, grumble, grumble. Please? I don't think

Heathernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-22171852106689210862008-11-10T15:59:00.000-08:002008-11-10T16:01:17.869-08:00

This is too cool not to share: cake in a mug (from Wired). I may have to request that the break-room staff start stocking eggs & flour.....

Heathernoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-52724435250933153252008-11-07T10:47:00.000-08:002008-11-07T16:04:24.210-08:00

When I switched into my new job role, I also took over a couple of projects from other people. And one of those projects recently launched! There's even an offical product blog post about it: search for my name with the name of my company and it should come up. It's pretty cool to see my name online in a non-social-networking kind of way, I have to say. In this case, I came late to the project,

Heathernoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-46665966776159259122008-11-05T09:39:00.000-08:002008-11-05T09:47:46.062-08:00

I've never gotten chills listening to a politician's speech  before - but last night I did. I've never said I'd be OK with it if my taxes go up because maybe, just maybe, this time I'll get value for money - but this time I voted in line with that hope.I know that no new president, even an inspirational president, can make all the kinds of difference our nation needs right now. No single person

Heathernoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-78983957204986336882008-11-04T17:31:00.000-08:002008-11-04T17:43:14.606-08:00

I thought politics was a heated subject in California, but wow, in New York it's even crazier. Waiters remind you to vote when they hand you your bill. Airline attendants say "did you vote?" when you check in for a flight. And everywhere on the streets are guys selling buttons, and stickers, and flags. I talked for a few minutes with one guy - an artist selling canvasses on a SoHo street - who

Heathernoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-57442243751034233762008-10-08T10:25:00.000-07:002008-10-08T10:35:34.536-07:00

... if the economy continues to tank, I swear I am going to try at least half the projects listed in Geeks Getting By: Zero-Cost Gadget Upgrades for the Next Great Depression.Combined with the fabulousness of Ponoko and the Sketchup-Inkscape pipeline plugin from FlightsOfIdeas.com, this could keep me busy for a long, long time. Once I get some projects up on Ponoko I'll post links here. I've got

Heathernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-16077449180638635062008-10-01T14:44:00.000-07:002008-10-01T15:01:05.067-07:00

Last week, on a whim, I signed up for a class on Tolstoy's War & Peace. Last night I showed up at Stanford, 10 minutes late, having missed the first class, and behind on the reading. Sounds like college, right? But the feeling's totally different: there's no negative or positive externality that can result from anything about my involvement in this class. If I never show up again, the only impact

Heathernoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-64628669416748799372008-08-24T17:15:00.000-07:002009-11-10T20:11:44.007-08:00

[ Warning: this is way sentimental] Once upon a time I desired specifics: a twenty-one-speed mountain bike sized to fit, a doll’s house for plastic ponies, a silk-textured sleeping bag okay down to freezing. Once upon a time I gave friends specifics: a much-wanted movie, the latest CD, a particular book, a favorite wine. But this year it’s different. The people I love now don’t really need

Heathernoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-15225435880815716062008-08-16T23:55:00.000-07:002008-08-16T23:55:00.878-07:00

On Friday I turned 31. “You ready to go?” my guy asked when he walked in the door after work. He tossed groceries in the fridge and started changing from work clothes into something that looked more like weekend-wear: jeans, a t-shirt. “Yeah,” I said. “Do I need a sweatshirt?” “Yeah.”We headed out the door. He drove me out to Half Moon Bay - the nearest beach. We watched the sun set behind the

Heathernoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-8689565113492806492008-08-12T14:52:00.000-07:002008-08-12T14:55:11.866-07:00

So I haven't posted in a while - but yesterday I gave in and finally signed up for Twitter. So far it seems strangely addictive. Right now I'm in a meeting, so in a few minutes, I'll probably add some sort of Twitter gadget to this page.

Heathernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-87441576223449427262008-08-06T23:20:00.000-07:002008-08-16T22:52:20.354-07:00

11pm: I decided I didn't have the energy to work on my trashy novel tonight. Before that I had a good evening: made carrot cake, investigated the tax consequences of buying a house (wow, it's enough to actually offset the property taxes!), read part of a book about emigrating from the United States (Canada? No, not seriously considering it, but the idea does every so often come up). My next plan

Heathernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-10589761432710056752008-08-03T20:45:00.001-07:002008-08-03T20:45:39.718-07:00

View from Tiburon - it would be hard to leave California.

Heathernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-5511020284490403912008-08-03T10:56:00.000-07:002008-08-03T10:57:39.099-07:00

Heathernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-24299761858067704242008-07-15T14:02:00.001-07:002008-07-15T14:02:30.011-07:00

... I'm super happy with my first official project. Woo-hoo!

Heathernoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-85209146098875376762008-07-15T13:01:00.000-07:002008-07-15T13:07:46.064-07:00

On vacation last week I got a cryptic email with the subject "All set!!!" Yesterday I got a phone call to say, "We're just finishing up the paperwork!"Today I got the paperwork. And I signed it and sent it back and ... As of next Monday I'll officially have transferred to a role of Business Product Manager!I'm so excited I can hardly type. And every time I get a chat that says something like, "

Heathernoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-38686902747180642232008-07-13T16:11:00.000-07:002008-07-13T16:16:19.576-07:00

The great thing about returning home in the afternoon is that I still have most of a day to laze around - and since I've been up since 2am California time, no pretention to doing anything productive.And the weather's perfect (if a little smoky - California is still burning).All that, and the backyard plums are still ripe, and tastiest when they've just had the dust (ashes?) washed off them with

Heathernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-58884432791751429172008-06-29T02:17:00.000-07:002009-11-10T20:13:05.210-08:00

I ran across this article on Friday and saved it as a draft post to write about when the clutter of the week had cleared from my mind at least a little. It’s Saturday night, we’ve got Dartanian playing on the stereo, and I’m holding a truly great cup of decaf coffee, so here goes: My summary: we* now have more access to more information than ever before. That sounds great, but what no one

Heathernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-88400662652657684312008-06-29T00:34:00.000-07:002008-06-29T00:34:00.558-07:00

I was tempted, I admit, but I eventually decided that since I’d end up editing most of the recipes pretty heavily, it was easier to just write down the best titles and use them as an idea list. There’s only so much bookshelf space I’m willing to give to period pieces, and Betty Crocker’s Picture Cookbook has dibs.

Heathernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-25930622195125200642008-06-28T22:37:00.000-07:002009-11-10T20:10:40.112-08:00

The list of housework items below leads me to believe that no, I do not. Things are a bit skewed at the moment, though, because my guy is in the middle of going through a bunch of his stuff (5k books - I am not exaggerating) and since they are in stacks all over the floor, I’m suppressing what would otherwise be a powerful urge to mop. As it is, I’m wearing slippers indoors because the floors are

Heathernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-47819354050413007792008-06-21T21:40:00.000-07:002008-06-21T22:07:04.614-07:00

I recently looked at my cookbook shelf and realized it needed pruning: not all the cookbooks fit on the shelf, so they're in a bunch of miscellaneous piles. I hate miscellaneous piles. Something had to go. The question was, what? Clearly I must keep the Gourmet cookbook and the Santa Monica Farmers Market cookbook; I use those all the time. Clearly I must also keep the Betty Crocker cookbook from

HFnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-9070146219709984982008-06-21T21:22:00.001-07:002008-06-21T21:35:20.792-07:00

I know, huge jump. Here's how it breaks down: 1 hour: general kitchen-cleaning-up + breakfast-making (tea, toast, fruit). Yeah, that's a long time, but there were a bunch of piled-up dishes kind of everywhere. 2 hours: more kitchen-cleaning-up + dinner-making (curried cauliflower & sweet pea soup, with a side of sauteed beets with lime; very yummy, but the first time I'd made either one so it

Heathernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-39302352607960579802008-06-21T21:18:00.000-07:002008-06-21T21:33:44.360-07:00

... which I don't actually remember so I'm estimating. I think I put away some laundry. I had breakfast at work since it was Donut Friday (mmm, donuts) and then dinner out in Half Moon Bay since it was The First Day of Summer. The First Day of Summer meant that my guy was ridiculously miserable in town - he hates heat - and I get cold easily, so I figured the hot weather would be right in the

Heathernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-18924262530276233602008-06-21T21:09:00.000-07:002008-06-21T21:18:44.271-07:00

... which consists of pouring myself a bowl of cereal for breakfast & offloading the dishwasher. Not bad. Again, though, I had dinner out: an alumni thing for the University of York. This leads me to wonder why I find it sweet that York includes me in events, and annoying that Columbia asks me for money. Maybe I just answered my own question. York is so eager to get an alumni group going over

Heathernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-51679811784365801042008-06-19T21:48:00.001-07:002008-06-21T21:08:00.246-07:00

I wish I didn't have this nagging feeling that the value of X depends on how the first interview went. I mean, it seemed OK, but who can really tell from the interviewee's chair?

Heathernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-37183010238144309202008-06-19T09:38:00.000-07:002008-06-19T09:56:52.626-07:00

I had a rotten day at work yesterday (no, not bad news, just another stall), so I insisted on going out for Mexican food and margaritas for dinner, hence no cooking time. And curiously, the idea of tracking housework made the idea of emptying the dishwasher before I went to bed pretty damn unattractive, so I skipped it.I also noticed another interesting stat in the same article: lesbian couples 

Heathernoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-39428210088135947422008-06-18T14:48:00.001-07:002008-06-18T14:59:16.824-07:00

This weekend I read a New York Times Magazine article about couples who attempt to achieve 'equally shared parenting.' Ok, fine, that's nice - but what really stood out was this statistic: "the average wife does 31 hours of housework a week while the average husband does 14"That's appalling from a gender-relations standpoint, it really is - but right now I'm not thinking about that. No, right now

Heathernoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-39403651218336027012008-06-16T14:11:00.000-07:002008-06-16T14:16:14.992-07:00

... because I just got approval to do interviews. This is the next to the last step on the transfer process (the last step being all the relevant people agreeing that the interviews plus resume etc look good enough for it all to go through). Keep your fingers crossed for me. And no, of course I don't know the timeframe! Why would I know a wacky thing like that? For all those who are wondering if

Heathernoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-42294677276241627292008-06-03T17:05:00.000-07:002008-06-03T17:05:36.987-07:00

... and says I might know something by the end of next week. Gasp. Dare I believe it?No, not really, no I don't. I'll believe it when I see it. But it was pretty funny that the recruiter actually referred to himself as a black hole, without my doing it for him!

HFnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-57110827016851525522008-06-02T16:19:00.000-07:002008-06-02T16:20:03.439-07:00

My guy and I did some financial planning this weekend (reallocating a 401k: such an exciting way to spend a Saturday morning!).This morning, my brain still wrapped in numbers, I plugged some data into the crazy rent vs buy modeling spreadsheet one of the guys at work created and helpfully shared.And for the very first time, the model shows that it might make sense to buy.Wait, what?I have no idea

HFnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-62501048011217523802008-05-27T12:39:00.000-07:002008-05-27T12:39:51.308-07:00

Saturday night, as my guy and I were making a pizza:Him: I'm done with the tomato sauce; it's ready to put away.Me: ok, hand me the spoon.Him: the spoon?Me: so I can take a big scoop of the sauce and eat it before I put the rest in the fridge.Him: EWWWWW!!!!Me [pondering whether I will still be able to eat pizza if I first eat the entire contents of the jar of marinara sauce]: what? What? Doesn't

HFnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-82435530762564320702008-05-22T10:48:00.000-07:002008-05-22T10:48:11.583-07:00

This is the year of transitions. My friendships shift in response to major life changes, both mine and others': one friend's 3 months in Japan, another's 6 months' leave, new babies everywhere, job changes, house changes, finishing up or preparing for grad school.And for all of these transitions, I have the same conversations: "is it OK if I..." and "is it normal to..." None of us know what's

HFnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-86374314149872570852008-05-20T10:02:00.000-07:002008-05-20T10:02:20.100-07:00

No, there's no update yet on the job front. Sigh. I love recruiting. I just love 'em.

HFnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-49294138968911433642008-05-15T10:37:00.000-07:002008-05-15T10:37:32.979-07:00

Yeah, yeah, it doesn't affect me personally, but ever since the anti-gay-marriage folks insulted my love life by claiming that gay marriage threatened straight marriage (excuse me?! my marriage is at risk because someone else got married?! are you kidding?!), I've taken it personally anyway.So I was very very happy when a friend pinged me this link this morning:State Supreme Court says same-sex

HFnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-46503709320002971322008-04-28T10:30:00.001-07:002008-04-28T10:39:31.231-07:00

I drove north on 101 yesterday, three hours on the gorgeous stretch from San Luis Obispo through Salinas. The temperature was in the 90s and the road was mostly empty. I played Astaire and Metric on the radio and my husband and I alternated the a/c on, off, on, off according to whim. My husband read me real estate ads from the Central Coast Homes and Land magazine: 280 acres of rolling hill

HFnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-8903009069352849752008-04-23T11:54:00.000-07:002008-04-23T11:54:08.325-07:00

People who have noticed that I lopped off my hair:Women: 7 (including one woman who I haven't otherwise interacted with in maybe 4 months)Men: 1And due to the way my Wednesday meetings are set up, I've seen a bunch more men than women today.Hmmmm......

HFnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-57486356199620721552008-04-22T19:28:00.001-07:002008-04-22T19:28:58.087-07:00

I don't know if you can read the receipt in the photo, but it says $51 and change. This is the first time I've broken the $50 barrier, so I'm commemorating the event (in horror) here.

HFnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-77058595769717429912008-04-18T17:43:00.000-07:002008-04-18T17:44:08.351-07:00

For the past week or so the whole "new job" (albeit at the same company) prospect has been sneaking up on me: a conversation here, an email there, a "how's it going?" or a "good luck!" spoken with particular intent.But it didn't really seem real until I started putting together my resume. I've got mixed feelings about this: creating a resume is a lot less emotionally scary than it used to be. If

HFnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-31222330667002714272008-04-15T18:37:00.001-07:002008-04-15T18:45:53.058-07:00

This morning I met again with the head of the team I want to join. "Is there any news on my transferring in?" I asked. "Sorry to push; it keeps coming up.""I know I know!" he said. "There's some good news, and some things I still don't know. I got my boss to write a recommendation for you, which may help but I don't know how much. It has worked at least once in the past. I should let you know you

HFnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-14791406662412735052008-04-14T10:55:00.000-07:002008-04-14T10:55:22.056-07:00

Why, why, WHY does the AMT require an entirely separate set of calculations than normal taxes?! WHY?! Isn't it bad enough that we live in one of the very few places in the US where real estate is still so expensive that my "I could support a four-person family on this anywhere else in the country" salary here requires two incomes to cover renting? And on top of this I have to CALCULATE MY TAXES

HFnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-54204962046932477022008-04-09T10:00:00.000-07:002008-04-09T10:00:24.921-07:00

The greatest quote ever for a human rights event: We already have a quorum for a nude torch run to happen after the official run. We are inviting you and your nude friends to join us. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make an indelible statement for human rights. I translate this as, "Hey! A chance to get naked! And oh yeah, human rights are important! C'mon NAKED, baby, NAKED!!!"The

HFnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-25855137424708452362008-04-03T18:57:00.001-07:002008-04-03T19:18:36.781-07:00

Last year, the termites in the garage conducted a heavy attack on a couple of C's books that were boxed up in the garage. The termites went straight through the covers and on into the pages. They were embedded (like reporters in Iraq? They certainly faced instant death once we found them.).Ewwww.I previously thought that termites were small and hard to notice. I was wrong. They're maybe 3/4" long

HFnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-9501427544089800692008-04-02T11:50:00.000-07:002008-04-02T11:50:52.148-07:00

Facebook is getting a lot of buzz around Silicon Valley lately: it's in the news, it's on people's blogs, I keep getting invites, blah blah blah.And yet so far I haven't even attempted to get a job there. It comes up every so often as a "would you ever" kind of thing, and my stock line is, "well, it's walking distance to my house, which would be nice, and they give you an extra $600 a month if

HFnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-65246466645430174262008-03-25T00:45:00.001-07:002008-03-25T11:56:40.297-07:00

Why is it that, my guy being not home for the evening due to a fantasy baseball draft, it suddenly seems normal to eat only an enormous bowl of edamame for dinner, with chocolates for dessert?

HFnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-49912388974280779472008-03-22T15:58:00.000-07:002008-03-22T16:56:37.026-07:00

happiness is reading elizabeth hardwick while eating truffles in the backyard on a hot spring day

HFnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-13789707662852571952008-03-21T12:02:00.001-07:002008-03-21T12:02:55.346-07:00

Distance to bike from home to work: 6 milesDistance to bike from work to home: 6 milesDistance to bike from work to home if you take the oh-so-attractive, unpaved, windy path through the wetlands that actually comes up over by the airport: 8 miles Level of leg-soreness the next day: AAAARRGGGHLevel of incredulity that you did this kind of thing in high school all the damn time: !!!!!!!!!

HFnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-49237308080156533922008-03-20T19:09:00.000-07:002008-03-20T19:20:59.904-07:00

HFnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-16993231386088044852008-03-14T13:51:00.001-07:002008-03-14T13:52:00.911-07:00

Some days (like, oh, today) I look at my bank account and think, "Huh. Where did all the money go?" Then I realize that I have $678 dollars of expense reports still to submit, after which point my bank account balance will go up rather noticeably.  Maybe it's not all about the shopping after all....

HFnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-57497878028878594572008-03-04T20:08:00.001-08:002008-03-04T20:14:22.528-08:00

On my mantelpiece right now are two new-baby announcements. Both babies look, um, like babies: they're cute (but then, would anyone send out a new-baby announcement that wasn't?).But the real point of this post is that both babies have the middle name Elizabeth! Just like me!Clearly these babies' excellent middle name makes them way cuter than they would be otherwise.

HFnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-71831784073072212762008-02-20T14:21:00.000-08:002008-02-20T14:37:40.906-08:00

"I'm going for a walk," I said to C. It was Sunday afternoon, nice weather; our original plans to termite-prep the house had stalled out when the property rental place failed to tell us when the termite-tenting would actually occur."Where to?" he asked. Sunday afternoon: there's doubtless some kind of sports on TV, but then, it's a nice day...."Maybe the Apple store," I said. This of the danger

HFnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-18837927948394693022008-02-11T10:17:00.000-08:002008-02-11T10:18:42.020-08:00

This was the first weekend I'd been home in a while, and it was about as perfect as a weekend can get.Things that contributed to my happiness: a new Italian place that turned out to be great; warm weather (Saturday was my first hammock day of the year); buying an empty barrel from a winery to use as an herb garden planter, which my guy sawed in half for me and which cost less than a quarter as

HFnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-5657087848637205862008-02-08T15:09:00.001-08:002008-02-08T15:18:57.124-08:00

Since joining Facebook, I have noticed:- A search for "literary" or "books" in network "Silicon Valley" gets zero hits- A search for "literary" or "books" in network "Columbia" gets 3 pages of hits- My friends' photos are niftily color-saturated. How do they do that?Grrrr.

HFnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-13223837779300481902008-01-23T16:36:00.000-08:002008-01-23T16:36:27.139-08:00

Presidential Paintball - Miniclip Games - Play Free Games

HFnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-72717790030262388932008-01-15T18:57:00.000-08:002008-01-15T19:00:17.969-08:00

"What's on the agenda?" asked our tech lead. I paused, waiting for someone else to speak. It wasn't my meeting, and I'd only attended three times. They must have agenda items already.Our tech lead looked at me. "I'd like to look at our list of projects and assign owners," I said. "Great," said our tech lead. So we did. One person even volunteered. The meeting ran overtime because we started

HFnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-51684494400638864692008-01-08T16:28:00.000-08:002008-01-09T09:47:05.648-08:00

There was a very active discussion about this at work, so I'm noting down the best-sounding options before I forget 'em:La Fiesta, in Mountain ViewEstrellitaLos Charros Los Portales La BambaThough of course, nothing will ever replace my favorite Palo Alto Sol.

HFnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-28460404401823986242008-01-04T17:22:00.000-08:002008-01-04T17:28:05.290-08:00

Out here in California we don't get what you Easterners call real winter weather - at least most of the time.So I'm just here to tell you that today, it's raining. It's raining so much that the creek depth near my house, which was 0.0 feet yesterday, is 7.0 feet as I write this.And how do I know that? I know that because Silicon Valley likes its toys, and so the City of Palo Alto has installed an

HFnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-11536183675111962532008-01-02T10:55:00.000-08:002008-01-02T11:08:57.429-08:00

If you have a credit card, you probably got a claim form for a class-action lawsuit wherein MasterCard & Visa owe lots of people money for fees charged for international purchases.I like money as much as the next gal, so a couple of days ago, I started filling out the claim form. To fill out the claim form, I needed to estimate the number of days I'd spent abroad from 1996 - 2006.And I wound up

HFnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-55621293309480185792007-12-21T14:12:00.001-08:002007-12-21T14:12:41.237-08:00

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 &

HFnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-23135567658284316072007-12-21T13:48:00.000-08:002007-12-21T13:49:07.538-08:00

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

HFnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-86880394893484668772007-12-19T19:23:00.000-08:002007-12-19T19:50:47.723-08:00

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

HFnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-58082283057574381112007-12-18T18:23:00.001-08:002007-12-18T18:39:18.463-08:00

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?

HFnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-4542198862095789522007-12-13T09:31:00.000-08:002007-12-13T09:35:11.879-08:00

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.

HFnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-60820417581617070012007-12-09T11:10:00.001-08:002007-12-09T11:50:54.212-08:00

"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?"

HFnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-4196349037361527352007-12-05T14:33:00.000-08:002007-12-05T14:38:58.781-08:00

In my email today:Reminder: send feedback by EODIf we're all agreed, I'll start ASAP.I tweaked only three words to make the meter scan....

HFnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-61148086914880932442007-12-04T10:10:00.000-08:002007-12-04T13:30:14.440-08:00

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

HFnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-56871318798274919372007-11-30T10:04:00.000-08:002007-11-30T10:39:30.570-08:00

"Want my job?" My friend B sent me an IM the other evening. He's a Product Manager on my team, but about to move to a new project - he's been trying to figure out who should take his place. Problem is, all the other PMs are slammed."I don't want my projects to just get lost," he said.Pause. Pause. Pause."I could pitch a project plan," I pinged back."You could totally do it!" he typed. "

HFnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-18133180675743753992007-11-15T08:00:00.000-08:002007-11-15T08:26:45.105-08:00

... why it took me so long to finish Microserfs, it's because I am currently also reading:Snow, by Orhan Pamuk--> artistic & cool, but it's taking me forever - something about its being a translation, I think. Sigh.Temples, Tombs, & Hieroglyphs, by Barbara Mertz--> Egypt is fun. This book is like gossip about Egypt.Tim Gunn: A Guide to Quality, Taste, and Style, by Tim Gunn--> lent to me by a

HFnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-70937233424413270772007-11-14T10:57:00.001-08:002007-11-14T11:08:03.929-08:00

My bookcase project begins! This morning on my way to work I stopped by Ace Hardware for wood-finishing supplies. I love Ace. It's full of tools & paint & bags of ready-mix concrete & bins of screws & a whole lot of other things that make me happy just by existing. The Ace in Palo Alto is also staffed by middle-aged men who look as if they spend their weekends doing complicated things with

HFnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-64789416893458948742007-11-13T21:44:00.000-08:002009-11-10T20:11:44.008-08:00

For the past year or two my guy & I have dedicatedly watched CSI (for him) and, more recently, Grey's Anatomy (for me), but CSI is increasing its percentage of gore & serial killers and as a result I showered as quickly as possible this morning, leaping out with the shampoo only half-rinsed from my hair, trying hard not to imagine the bloody palm of a Bad Guy coming to Get Me wrapping menacingly

HFnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-47783212586364894772007-11-13T21:05:00.000-08:002007-11-13T21:44:52.877-08:00

I have eatenthe organic applethat B & T brought us on Sundayas a giftand whichwas next to the persimmonswe gatheredon our bike rideand carriedhome in our pockets.No need to forgive me -I am sure you don't mind.:)

HFnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-6722671146160425182007-11-13T20:50:00.000-08:002007-11-13T20:57:05.516-08:00

... because it includes lines like this:"What's truly freaky is realizing I'm vulnerable to identity changes because I'm so desperate to find a niche. I feel like Crystal Pepsi."and"People without lives like to hang out with other people who don't have lives. Thus they form lives."and"Letting go of randomness is one of the hardest decisions a person can make.... If you concoct a convincing

HFnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-32509509960174024342007-10-24T21:05:00.000-07:002007-10-24T21:19:18.731-07:00

I am reading Microserfs, by Douglas Coupland, and it has occurred to me that there may be absolutely no difference between Microsoft in the '90s and my own Big Tech Company today.I am not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but it does give me a comforting feeling of being part of a tradition. Lately I have been thinking a lot about things lacking in the current version of my life, these

HFnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-45711965268027493372007-10-10T15:52:00.001-07:002007-10-10T15:59:35.124-07:00

This afternoon, I left work and went to the toy store. I bought 4 Transformers die-cast action figures (two of Optimus Prime, in order to reduce the likelihood of arguments).Later today, I will hand out said action figures as prizes (along with cash, admittedly) to team members who have successfully launched certain types of projects. There's some chance that in future I will also hand out

HFnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-41727725006527626932007-09-21T13:00:00.000-07:002007-09-21T13:15:53.257-07:00

[Warning: rant ahead]I just ran across this article on the BBC News: Army chief warns of social 'gulf'. Key quote: Gen Dannatt also called for a radical rethink on the equipment used in the British Army.... But the most important thing was to acknowledge the value of the armed forces, he added. This sounds pretty fuzzy for a military guy: can't you just imagine a bunch of British folks in a pub,

HFnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-35831604973352089942007-08-29T21:50:00.000-07:002007-08-29T21:58:08.535-07:00

Courtesy of the prof from my Economics of Decision Making class:"If Alice can buy Bob's package, will she?"--> "If she does, she's leaving with a smile!"I'm pretty sure I would have found this at least as funny in high school as I do now, if not more so. Whether or not you think it's funny, o my three loyal readers, I suspect depends on how dirty-minded your high school classmates were.Of course,

HFnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589059.post-21449536864885376532007-08-29T21:48:00.000-07:002007-10-24T21:21:04.331-07:00

Chaos in focus.Days and evenings both filled up:nostalgia, content.Tomatoes are ripeCheese & bread become dinnerNo cooking needed.Cats live down the streetDark graceful forms yowl at nightAll else is silent.Fans blowing all nightRecord highs through next SundayHeat wave here at last!

HFnoreply@blogger.com0