Nyack Hike

Here are some pictures from a hike I took with my friend Lisa in Nyack around February or March. These photos don't do justice to the beauty of Nyack or show how exciting it was to walk through the bare trees and spot a patch of fresh white snow on the ground!

I'm Baaack!

I made it back to beautiful San Anselmo in one piece! My flight arrived at noon yesterday and I spent the rest of the afternoon helping my mom teach her first graders about tidepools. We made all kinds of seaweed from construction paper, balloons and toilet paper rolls. After an hour with the kids I realized I do NOT have the energy to be a first grade teacher. I don't know how mom does it! Just the prep time alone is enough to wipe me out. Then again, I had just come off a 5.5 hour flight from NY with zero sleep...
I was so exhausted last night that I went to bed at 8:30pm. Kind of sad. But I woke up at 5:30 this morning to go running and this afternoon mom and I are heading out to west marin to go hiking for the weekend. Then I have five days until Laura's wedding. The next day is a family party and a couple days later I head to Europe! It’s so great to be back!

Books on Record

The Road- Cormac McCarthy 2/08
A Moveable Feast- Ernest Hemingway 2/08 Loved it!
Love Over Scotland- Alexander McCall Smith 2/08
In Defense of Food- Michael Pollan 2/08
The Last Season- Eric Blehm
Looking for Alaska- Peter Jenkins
A Walk Across America- Peter Jenkins
I'm A Stranger Here Myslef- Bill Bryson
In A Sunburned Country- Bill Bryson
Delaying the Real World: A Twenty-Somethings Guide to Seeking Adventure

Poems! Songs!

The best part about having a blog is that I can post whatever I want on it, no matter how random. It's also a good place to store little tidbits I don't want to forget about. So in the spirit of randomness and tidbitiness here we go:

When Irish eyes are smiling

When Irish eyes are smiling
Sure it's like a morning spring.
In the lilt of Irish laughter,
You can hear the angels sing.
When Irish hearts are happy,
All the world seems bright and gay.
And when Irish eyes are smiling,
Sure, they steal your heart away.


Phenomenal Woman

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It's the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say,
It's in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman

Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed.
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It's in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

-Maya Angelou

Possibly the best Maya Angelou poem ever. As for the Irish Eyes song, I just think it's cute. Especially when someone like Harry Connick Jr is singing it.

The End of the World

This is the funniest flash movie I've ever seen! It came out a few years ago and I just found it again thanks to Max. Still just as funny. Take a look-see.

http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/end

"Fire ze missiles!"

The Crazy World of Mana

I had another odd customer experience at Mana today so I decided to catalogue as many of these encounters as I can remember. I'll start with today.

A couple came in around three and after talking at me for a good chunk of time about low blood sugar the woman asked me if I was from Wisconsin. Alone I don't think this would qualify as an odd experience but this was not an isolated incident. Usually customers ask if I'm from Minnesota not Wisconsin but it's the same general idea. When I asked a man why he thought I was from Minnesota he said it's because I'm pale and have red hair. While I don't find that a very convincing argument it's better than some other reasons I've heard.
Another man said it was because I smile a lot. One man said too much. And an older woman said it was because I'm friendly. The consensus is I'm definitely not from New York. When I tell people I'm from California that opens a whole other can of worms.

On Halloween I had several customers ask me if Californians celebrate Halloween. Multiple people have launched into war stories about surviving earthquakes. And one typical New Yorker woman, she snaps her fingers at me and says things like "give me the beans" when ordering, ranted at length about the Southern California wildfires and how all those people deserved to have their homes destroyed. She never did say why exactly.

Then there's my favorite: Laura, the pink lady. She is about a million years old, dresses head to toe in bright pink, carries around a pink granny cart, eats one meal a day and is shocked that I wear earrings. One evening I was explaining to her that my friend Samantha is called Sam. She started to get very flustered and upset and finally burst out with, "Well, that's the problem with California!" I'm still not sure how to take that.

A few other memorable customers include the woman who once told me in hushed, reverent tones that she could smell dairy. Like it's her superpower. Then there is a man who goes by the name William Shakespeare and always calls me Dr Kate. That was kind of neat at first but now it's just creepy. There's also Philip who begins almost every conversation by asking if I'm still 22.
And last but not least, Penny. Penny calls in for food when she's about two blocks away from the restaurant because she's so pressed for time she can't wait the extra twenty seconds. She is also the most indecisive woman I've ever met. It often takes her ten to fifteen minutes to make up her mind about what to order. She always asks if what she ordered is low fat. It's a health food restaurant for crying out loud! Anyhow, I just order whatever I think she might like so she doesn't have to make the decision anymore.

I'm sure there's many more weird experiences but I've just blocked them out.

Kelsang Goes to India

One of my favorite people at work is leaving us to go to India for a few months and I don't want him to go! He was the one who trained me when I first started waitressing and could barely manage to carry two bowls of soup at the same time. I'm going to miss his singing along to our instrumental music, the way he just blankly stares at rude customers and how he describes all dishes as being "you know, vegetables and some tofu."

We always work together Sunday mornings when Lee cooks vegan pancakes and waffles which are surprisingly good. Especially when topped with soy margerine and tofu cream.

Wedding Photos!

I'm finally posting evidence that I went to Jeanine and Pete's wedding in Santa Fe. I forgot to re-charge the batteries in my camera and therefore didn't take any of my own photos. Thanks to Sean for sending me these!

The Bride and Groom celebrating their wedding on New Year's Eve...by dancing in silly hats.

Michaela and I ringing in the New Year with her old step-brother Colin and her new step-brother Sean.

Here is a link to the official wedding photo site, but be warned...you'll have to sort through hundreds of only slightly differentiated pictures of people sitting in a church or sitting at a table before you get to the pictures of people crazy dancing.

www.pictage.com/304928.

Urge for Going

I heard about the song Urge for Going by Joni Mitchell from one of my customers at work and I'm completely addicted! I love this song. Check it out if you get a chance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3EofN3Flag

My favorite line is "See the geese in chevron flight flapping and racing on before the snow/They've got the urge for going, they've got the wings to go"

First Snow

I woke up on Sunday morning to find snow falling outside my window! Before work I wandered around the Upper West Side and took pictures.

Then on Monday morning I woke to find that all the snow had melted, but I got my snow and I'm very happy about it. Here's to much more snow in the future and to the hope that I won't regret saying that!

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