I just looked at the clock in my office and realized once again that I still haven’t changed it back one hour from daylight saving to standard time. I don’t actually rely on that clock much, since the ones on my computers’ toolbars are more handy, and well, at the moment the desk clock is partially obscured by a rising tide of assorted papers to be filed … eventually. It’s like there’s a time zone boundary running the length of the office. (Sort of like how Thom and I each have an alarm clock on our nightstands, but for some reason they’re a few minutes apart; apparently our bed is some kind of time gulf.)
Maybe I haven’t changed my office clock because I get some satisfaction in looking at it, being surprised at how much time has gone by, and then realizing, whew, I have an extra hour. Hmm. The fake-out isn’t much comfort when you’re waiting for lunchtime. Or quitting time. OK, I’m changing it now.
As I mentioned briefly a while ago, we have a couple of additions to our family: two new cats!
Just to backtrack: Our cat Alex ran away from home in May, as you may know. We miss him, but he is such a social cat that my hope is someone found him and just decided to take him in. It’s funny how your emotions can go into auto-pilot in times like this; shortly after he ran away, I found myself resigned to thinking that we’d never see him again and making peace with that. And then I felt guilty that I was “giving up” too early. (Could it be defense mechanisms from losing my dad last year? Anyway.)
In the weeks after Alex’s disappearance, Thom and I went to the Peninsula Humane Society every few days to see if Alex might’ve been brought in, and during our visits we would take a peek at the cats available for adoption. We stopped going for a few months, and then we felt like it was time to have a cat (or two) again. Last month we looked at the Humane Society website, and saw a cute pair of young cats named Poof and Fuzz. That weekend we went to see them in person. Potential adopters and adoptees get to spend some time in the “get acquainted” room; here’s Thom and the kitties:
They were kind of skittish but so cute, and we decided to adopt them. It’s been great seeing them get used to us and their new home (and their new names!). Introductions: Tiki is a female tortie and just turned two years old; we don’t have her exact birthday, but we narrowed it down to the month, and decided to celebrate it on Halloween. She’s the more energetic of the two and also likes being a lap cat. (In fact she’s on my lap as we speak.)
Mojito (also known as Mojo) is a male, three-and-a-half-year-old Maine Coon mix. Thom named Tiki, so I was to name the other one. It took me the longest time. I was looking for a similarly island-themed name, and the inspiration came when we were recently at a restaurant ordering cocktails! Mojo’s easy going and has a beautiful, long coat.
I’ve started a photo set for them, and Julie has some really great photos from earlier this week. By the way, I came across this xkcd comic recently. It’s so true. Who’s a good kitty? Yes, you are!
And lastly, there’s this cartoon by Simon Tofield:
I said to Thom, “Thank goodness our cats aren’t that aggressive.” He replied, “Yet.”
A few weekends ago, Jennifer, Thom, and I went to the Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival, which was pretty fun. Lots of arts and crafts and most importantly, all kinds of food with pumpkin! We had pumpkin chicken sausage, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin ice cream, etc. Afterwards we went to Half Moon Bay Brewing Company for dinner, and had even more pumpkin stuff! (Though they were out of pumpkin beer.) Here’s Thom at dinner (more photos from the day):
Last year I offered you a Halloween flashback, and here’s another one but from the not-so-distant past. It’s me on Subarna’s and my visit to a pumpkin patch back in October 1998, which would’ve been during our senior year of college:
Happy Halloween, everyone!
Addendum (2:43 p.m.): I was at Safeway today buying candy (I ended up getting Kit Kat, Smarties, and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups), and I noticed this tag: “BUY 4 GET 0 FREE.” Gee, sign me up! I assume it’s a typo. Actually, using the new per-ounce price, it seems like if you buy four, you get six free. But even that seems kind of crazy!
We just had an earthquake! When it started, I was in my office at the computer, and Thom was in the kitchen. It was kind of long, maybe about ten seconds of shaking and swaying. Some dishes rattled, and the cats are still a little spooked, but everything else seems OK here at the house. I called my mom, who also lives in Daly City, and she’s all right. According to the USGS, the quake was magnitude 5.6, centered northeast of San Jose.
Whew, nothing like an earthquake to get your heart pumping!
Last month we tagged along on an architectural tour of Westlake, the midcentury neighborhood of Daly City where we live. It was sponsored by the Northern California chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians, and the guest star was our friend and Westlake author Rob Keil. (His book is the excellent Little Boxes: The Architecture of a Classic Midcentury Suburb, and a related documentary is in the works.)
The talk and tour happened to take place on a gorgeous, sunny Saturday, and it was neat to see our neighborhood in yet a new light. Here were people from all over the Bay Area to see and appreciate our little slice of the coast. We even stopped at my elementary school, Marjorie H. Tobias (originally called Vista Mar). Designed by Mario Ciampi and built in the late 1950s, it’s known locally for its signature round shape, with classrooms surrounding a central courtyard (Google Maps). Here’s one of Thom’s photos from the tour, of me standing by the plaques at the entrance:
Though I drive past the school pretty frequently now on the way to the local shopping center, the last time I’d actually been on the grounds could very well have been when I was in the sixth grade! (I need to find some old class pictures and scan them.) Another neat thing about the tour is that Ed Hageman and his wife Betty were there. They’re such a delightful couple. Ed — who is now in his early nineties, but still as sharp as a tack — was instrumental in the development of Westlake, as he designed most of the houses here. It was great to meet them and think, fifty years ago he worked on the house we live in!
I think the last time I had a physical exam was before I went to high school or college, but either way, it had been way too long ago. I waffled around trying to find a doctor, especially a gay-friendly one, and when I recently found one here in Daly City and in the same building as my dentist, I thought, why not. (And I might as well put my otherwise wasted insurance premiums to use.) He’s really cool, and the practice is pretty small — just him and a couple of assistants — so he spent a fair amount of time with me. Everything checks out, thank goodness, but I do still want to work on lowering my blood pressure and cholesterol.
(I do remember seeing a dermatologist a few years ago for a skin problem. When I made the appointment, the receptionist told me I’d be seeing “Dr. Gayer, like Bayer, but with a B.” And I wanted to say, “Or like more gay.”)
I also saw my dentist recently. I at least kept up with seeing a dentist when I lived in D.C., but I finally got around to making an appointment here at the dental office that my parents and I have been going to since my childhood. It’s funny coming back; everyone knows and remembers me, and my mom had been keeping them updated when I was away.
My teeth are OK for the most part, but I’m going to take care of a long-standing problem: I’m getting a tooth implant to replace a molar that had to be extracted several years ago. So in two weeks, the first stage begins, where they drill a titanium screw into my jaw! (I’ve been considering the whole procedure for years, so really I’m pretty blasé about it now. I’m like, OK, I’ve heard the spiel. Let’s do this thing.) You may soon call me Bionic Mouth.
Maybe I should make an appointment with the optometrist and complete my health care trifecta.