In the midwest...

we meet the neighbors via tornado alarms. In California, apparently, fire alarms fulfill the same function.
The building alarm went off about 9 pm tonight...at first I didn't take much note of it but when I went into the hallway I could smell something burning. (It smelled like someone left the stove on, or possibly a grease fire.) So I decided to get dressed and join my neighbors outside. I got to talking to several people I haven't met before, plus a few people I have, while we were waiting for the building manager or some sort of authority to give the all clear. We ended up waiting for over a half hour, at least, but it was worth it. Four full-fledged fire trucks showed up, plus one or two of the smaller vehicles. It's nice to live in an affluent neighborhood. In the end, of course, it turned out to be a false alarm...but at least we got our fill of eye-candy tonight. There were a lot of fireman there...many were calendar-worthy. I've also realized the vast majority of the building residents are women.

All in all...not a bad night.

Reminder!

Don't forget to enter the HGTV dreamhome sweepstakes once a day, every day:
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv-dream-home-2009-giveaway-enter/package/index.html

Its a beautiful house in Sonoma...would make a great bed and breakfast. Just sayin' ....

Inauguration Day

Sorry about the quality of these pictures, I didn't have the foresight to charge my camera batteries so had to take them with my cell phone.

This used to be Bush st...a local artist put a festive touch on it. Sadly, they've removed the stickers and its back to Bush st.



I watched the inauguration from Yerba Buena gardens. I think there were about 200 people there, but I haven't read an official count. The bright light to the upper right of the church is the sun reflecting off a shiny modern high rise.


Part of the crowd. I got there around 8:30 so managed to get a decent spot. It was startling when I started looking around.
Joe Biden taking the oath.

things you miss when you have internet access at home, part II

Today I'm sitting a coffee shop a block from my apartment, it took a while but I finally scored the coffee sit in the corner by the window. A large group of 5-7 year old boys just walked by, obviously on a field trip. Each one carried a hand made sign, most said "Martin Luther King Jr", peace signs, or quotes from MLK. There were at least 50 kids, and seemed like they were from one of the local private schools. Most were white, but there were a smattering of black and Latino boys. Mostly, everyone seemed to be having fun--hugging, laughing. Of course there were also plenty of chaperones and a few police officers to manage traffic.

things you miss when you have internet access at home

Right now I'm sitting in a newly opened Peets near the office, I figured I'd stop in here and check my email after stopping in at Stacey's (oh Stacey's...I will miss you) after work. This Peets is pretty nice, it has a little outdoor patio where you can sit and watch the foot traffic and the streetcars lumber by. Anyway, a large protest march just passed. Its too dark to see their signs, but I think it was in response to the situtation in Gaza--I heard the words "Peace" and "Justice" several times. Plus there was a large group of surly-looking police officers marching ahead, beside, but mostly behind them. Seems like there was one officer for every 3 protesters.

Edit: although I suppose it could also be in response to the 22 year that got shot by a police officer in Oakland. I'll check it out after I finish my chai.

2nd Edit: it was in response the Grant shooting. Story is here:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/12/BA5H159265.DTL

I didn't see a "raucous crowd" or police in riot gear though...it all seemed pretty orderly to me.

NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

Received some very bad news this week. Stacey's books, a San Francisco institution founded in 1923, is shutting its doors in March. I'll write a full eulogy later, but clearly this is a major blow. The full story is here:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/07/BAFN154UV2.DTL


Oh yeah, and I'm also getting rolled off current project early to do budget shortfalls. Guess I'll have to change the name of this blog.

Don't Forget!

to enter to win the HGTV Dream home and win me a house in Sonoma!

http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv-dream-home-2009-giveaway-enter/package/index.html

It has a fireplace.

I know what I want for my birthday

A fireplace.

It's chilly and rainy in good ole san francisco. Last night I curled up with a mystery novel (Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express) with my space heater but its not quite the same. After 20 minutes or so I had to turn the space heater off or it would overheat and cut itself off, taking the lamp with it. Nothing like reading a mystery novel and being plunged suddenly into darkness.