Still Looking at Proofs

It was pouring rain when I left on my bike this morning. For my morning commute, I wore converse, blue-green shorts, a thinly stripped black and white v-neck t-shirt, and a large, cream-colored rain coat. It was one of my least stylish bicycle outfits to-date. At the end of my morning commute, the hook thing that secures my bike bag to the rack of my bike broke. The office was not open when I first arrived, so I locked my bike up and sat at a picnic table under the trees a bit and wrote. I saw the small bunny that frequents that particular picnic table and ate the toaster waffles I'd packed as my breakfast (which were no longer crisp, but tasted fine).

The rain stopped and then started again. Someone came and opened up the office. I went in and taught my class. The sun came out, sort of. At the start of my afternoon commute, I attempted to tie my bag to my bike with the lace from one of my shoes--there was no rope or string or even strong rubber bands anywhere at the office. So, I tied the bag to the rack with my lace. Then I started to ride, but my shoe kept falling off. So I went back to the office and taped my shoe together with clear packing tape and started off again. The bag fell off the rack, so I walked my bike to the nearest bus stop and waited for the bus. While waiting, I wrote in my notebook and there was thunder and lightning--both rather unusual for this area. The bus came, and I had an unusual amount of difficulty getting my bike onto the bus bike rack. It also took me a while to undo all the knots in the shoelace that I'd used to tie the back to the bike rack.

The bus driver was not especially patient or sympathetic and told me to hurry up. I said, "I'm having a really shitty day" and he didn't respond. I don't usually swear, but I was tired and frustrated. I road the 302 bus back to the coast without incident, and got off. I used my raincoat and a scarf to attach my bag to the bike. This worked for about 7 minutes, which means I was not quite home before it fell off again.

After I got home, I ate some watermelon. Then I put on my backpack and got on my bike to go to the farmer's market. About 75 seconds after I left the house, it began to pour. I continued on to the market anyway. It only rained for about three minutes, but I was soaked. At the market I bought bread, arugula, asparagus, artichokes, corn and strawberries.

It's cold enough for chili

So I am having chili.

It's hot enough for a pastis

So I am drinking a pastis.

Sonic Booms at the Beach

Someone was making early Valentines:


It's warm here, even for San Diego. Mark and I went to the beach. This is the (gasp!) fourth January we've lived here, and the first time we've ever been to the beach in January. Other than hearing several sonic booms, all was peaceful. Was it the military? Probably. Fireworks or other random exploding things? Possibly--the San Diego Chargers are playing now.

Anyway, the tide was super low, and all that packed sand makes a great natural dance floor

Rain is good for San Diego

But not so good for hooping. The last time I tried to hoop inside, I nearly broke the lamp.

marriedtothesea.com

3 More Days Until I am 30

Not counting today. I am making a medium-sized deal out of this.

I did a medium-length asana practice on the beach yesterday. I like practicing handstand on the beach, because the sand is soft and nice to fall on.

My left hamstring/femoris is sore, but I learned a few ways to make it less sore.

I want the Celtics to win, but I don't think they will.

No one can drink alcohol legally on Mission Beach anymore. There were 400,000 less people there this past Memorial Day weekend than the one before.

I made fish stew. Yes. In San Diego in June it is still cold enough to eat stew. It is 98 in DC.

I went to a women's teachers club meeting. Yes, I did.

I'm going to attend a 2 hour training seminar on critical thinking on the evening of my birthday.

There is new construction in Carlsbad. It will be a mixed-use building. There aren't any high rises here, although there are a few in Oceanside.

Still reading Anna Karinina. She did not die in childbirth. The wedding scene between Levin and Kitty is crazy and long and ritualized and both characters are very beautiful and very dazed; neither of them has eaten very much because they are so elated and overwhelmed and in love and clueless.

T-1 day until the end of my half/medium vacation.

There were many tourists on the beach today. I overheard a few conversations like this:

A: The air temperature is so cold. There's no way I'm getting in the water.
B: But please, we are on vacation.

Dear friends, don't come to San Diego in June for the warmth. Unless you live in the Pacific Northwest, it is probably warmer where you live than here in coastal North County.

The wind

blows. So we went for a goodly hike in the Daley Ranch. One day we'll make it to the desert, but not when there are 40 mph winds. The weather here is stupid. I don't understand it.

One of the days I spent in the Ramlat al Wahaybah was very, very windy. I understand why desert mythologies are about the wind and wind-demons. There's no rain, snow, etc, just the wind. And it can be a problem. A headscarf can help. And a low riding vehicle.

Riding in the Rain

I should get rain pants. It turns out that they would actually be very useful, even here in southern California. Also, riding in the rain would be easier if I wore contacts. I've tried, but I don't like them. I should also go to a real eye doctor who can fit me with contacts that aren't irritating. I like the fact that my glasses cover up the circles under my eyes.

I have a new ESL class this week, and so I no longer have the very vexing and scary student I had last month. Apparently, he complained about having a new teacher and told the director that I was the best teacher he'd ever had. He's like a guy who beats you and then says how much he loves you afterwards.

Edwin Torres arrives tomorrow to read at Cal State San Marcos. Leslie Scalapino is also reading down in San Diego. If only there were two of me!

Off to yoga. My open-floor handstand is much stronger now. My quadriceps feel like they're shrinking, though--one downside of cycling, so I need to work more thigh stretches into my sequences.

Today it was 41 Degrees

And there was hail.

And yet many people are still in T shirts.

Tomorrow Mark and I are going to drink cava, but that has nothing to do with the weather.

Rain (Shel Silverstein)

I opened my eyes
And looked up at the rain,
And it dripped in my head
And flowed into my brain,
And all that I hear as I lie in my bed
Is the slishity-slosh of the rain in my head.

I sleep very softly,
I walk very slow,
I can’t do a handstand,
I might overflow,
So pardon the wild crazy thing I just said—
I’m just not the same since there’s rain in my head.

I am downloading a PDF version of Fun With Grammar.

It's raining about as hard as I've ever seen it rain here.

I am writing an exam for my ESL students.

My voice is still 70% gone.

But...there is hope! The "Parrots in the Land of Oz" Nature special is on tonight--I've been waiting for this for quite some time. My little sisters in Adelaide sent an email about how they feed the parrots in the park near their house...

and

I have a good recipe for a grown-up version or Rice Crispies treats, one that involves almonds and dulce de leche.

It's Raining

It also rained this morning, but it was secret rain. I am awake and can clearly see it is raining, so the evening rain is not like the secret morning rain.

Today I struggled to define the word "ilk." It was a tired ESL teacher moment. I attempted to rattle off a list of "synonyms" that included eel and elk. Good job, Lorraine!

I drove to work today because of the rain and for other reasons. It was strange to drive to work. I enjoy listening to music in the car, and it was nice not to get wet, but everything else about it was weird.

My friend and I were talking about the things we like about being here (we've had plenty of conversations already about the things that we don't like). Here is my list:

• I like the winter weather.
• I like the birds.
• I like the ocean and the natural living and nonliving things in the ocean.
• I like the lagoons.
• I like the weather in July-September.
• I like the yoga studio.
• I like the fact that a mountain lion has been seen recently in the parking lot at Cal State San Marcos (I also worry about the fate of the mountain lion, but this is supposed to be a positive list).
• I like Carlsbad. It is a nice little town.
• Even though I feel like I socialize less than I did in DC, this is not statistically true.
• Lester has a good vet.
• I enjoy having people over more than I used to (true, this is in part because people cannot drop by casually the way they did in DC, but still.)
• We are close to Mexico.
• My work life is pretty good.
• I have become a better cook.

There are other things, too.

I am either high spirited or fried

But I'm ready. For. The. Semester. To. Be. Over.

I know that we need rain here in San Diego, but I hope that it doesn't rain on Friday. I want to go hear/see Nathaniel Mackey read at UCSD. I've never actually heard him before, and it's not as if San Diego is so bursting with readings that I wish to miss one.

Lester Has Distinct Musical Preferences

Like many parrots, he always enjoys well-crafted, melancholy pop like the Jayhawks and Wilco. Lester, who is named for Lester Young, listens to a lot of jazz. While I was gone, Mark realized that Lester prefers the tenor sax to the alto sax. The higher registers of Benny Carter, for example, made him nervous--they sound too much like alert calls perhaps.

San Diego Weather Mythology

Several people on the plane with me from DC to San Diego were reporters or red cross workers. Still others were their for conferences--some of which had been canceled by the time we landed. One guy, whose conference had not been canceled, was very chatty and wished to brag about the dinner reservations he had for this evening. He said, "the weather here is always better than everywhere else" and I said, "well, today it's not." We'd flown over several firelines coming into the airport--the pilot had pointed them out--and the entire plane smelled like smoke. He insisted that it was a beautiful day. Most people immediately began coughing when they excited the airport. The weather was not nice, and yet they insisted it was.

Snow Beer Day vs. Fire Beer Day

In Washington, DC we'd sometimes have "Snow Beer Day" if classes and/or work were canceled due to inclement weather. Blizzards and snow storms don't scare me. They come, they drop a lot of snow. Depending on where you live, you lose your power, but then you just make a fire. If you live in DC, the whole city shuts down, but it is OK. A snow day is a good time to hang out at a friend's house and drink tasty beers.

The concept of Snow Beer Day doesn't translate well to San Diego. We don't really have much snow. We have fires! Unlike snowstorms, fires directly kill people and animals and plants and destroy structures. Fighting them (you don't "fight" a snowstorm) requires helicopters and "firebombing" airplanes. Finally, fires mean that huge numbers of people can't just hang out at home, and those that can hang out at home can't just get on the road to see a friend, because roads are blocked.

It's difficult to translate the relaxed, friendly feelings of Snow Beer Day to Fire Beer Day. Yesterday, Mark and I went to Las Olas for our regular happy hour. The bar was abnormally crowded with people drinking and having their own Fire Beer Day. Fire Beer Day has a kind of reckless desperation--it's not warm and friendly at all. We enjoyed our Tecates and fish tacos in spite of the smoke and ash and helicopters flying overhead, and everyone else did, too. But no one was relaxed.

I suspect that Fire Beer Day is really Fire Tequila Day, but that doesn't have the same ring to it.

Half of my brain is out of my eye

Tomorrow, Mark and I are going to head town to the San Diego City Book Fair. I'm curious about Oakley Hall, and I'm also interested in Rebecca Solnit--I liked Wanderlust: A History of Walking. And Amiri Baraka will be there, with music. 1913, Les Figues, and i.e. Press will all be there to represent. There aren't really any San Diego lit events that I feel like I both want to go to and am obligated to go to. This is one.


The streets in La Jolla are collapsing. This happens around here. Really, people, one shouldn't build homes on the side of hills in SoCal. The hill will either be blown away or washed away, and it will happen in your lifetime. "This time, officials said, the city will use much tougher grading and filling standards than those in effect in 1961 when building was allowed to continue after a similar slide destroyed seven homes under construction." I don't believe it. Builders, developers, and contractors can build anything anywhere in SD county, out of whatever material they want. The cheaper and more shortsighted the better!

These are the titles of the presentations my students gave today:

History of Kim chi from Ancient Times to Now
The Culture of Tipping and the California Gold Rush
I Love Cologne
Carnival Around the World
Brazilian Immigrants in Tokyo Suburbs

And I am going to make risotto. I don't know what kind. But some kind. Something different than just basic risotto w/mushrooms.

It rained this morning, so I drove to work. It was weird. But I got to wear a dress. That was nice.

While it was raining I listened to a report on public radio about how it's going to be another la nina dry winter.

Grading. All weekend.

But after Monday, I won't be, because the weekend will be over.

Benny on the bus was very upset about the rain this morning, and he yelled at everyone: "Is it raining?! It's raining! It's raining!"

Lester was fussy today. He tried to nest in my hair. He needs his wings clipped, and I think he's feeling amorous. He was born in late November, so his father must have been feeling amorous this time of year.

There is a new kitty in the apartment complex. A small, old, grey kitty that sits in the sun and has a big voice. I made contact this afternoon after a run.

It is late August

Some of you are going back to your jobs after spending the summer working on your own work. And some of us are just experiencing the end of summer.

The water temperature here is 75. I am going to go to the beach well into September. Last year I didn't because I was too out of it and didn't understand the beach.

This is a good time of year to enjoy the beauty of the fleeting nature of existence. "Time passes, listen, time passes." Etc.

Had dinner at the Rothenberg's. Yum. Always fun.

It's 77 degrees

Which means it feels like summer, sort of. We're going to grill! Maybe I will go swimming this weekend!

It's Friday, so my students hit on me (and each other) more than usual. One of them told me that they can predict my mood by the color of the markers I use in the morning. Today I used green and light blue. Apparently, when I use black and red I am more strict.