A week in the Bay and Valley

Ah, what an excellent week. The Bal des Vampyrs was a kick, with lots of fabulous costumes. For being vampires, there were no less than 3 "Jokers" care of Heath, some dirty fairies and naughty undertakers. And sailors! Was there a Sailor Moon ball once, I wonder? Faboo. Got to dance the Time Warp for the first time in a decade or more.

A nice hot tubbing with Mark the next day made my poor abused feet much happier. Comfy and restful.

Working on vacation - ick. I shouldn't bother, but I'm saving my vacation days until Christmas when I can take off and slack for 2 weeks around Christmas and New Years.

James and Laura hosted a wonderful sushi dinner (Woo! Thanks SOOO much!) at a place where the owner was giving out free house sake if you'd toast Obama in a loud voice. That night, in that place, everyone was an Obama fan. But a fun mix of folks. Who knew Kurt and Travis worked together? Small world!

Gaming at Deena's, watched the boys play Wii tennis and chatted about work. Then we played "Kill the Hippy", which is really a kick.

Cruised up to Napa with John to meet with Stacia, Gordon, Pam and Glen. We toured a few wineries, had a lovely dinner at the CIA place at Graystone. Played music at night in the suite. I wish more hotels had a mix of feather and artificial pillows. In fact, I should write and request it. But I had the best gumbo over noodles ever at this little brewpub in the valley, and truth be told I loved it even more than my CIA dinner. (Though the cheese soufflee covered onion soup was still divine.) It reminded me very much that there's a line where making things pretty and fun needs to take a back seat to really tasty. But then, that's kind of parallel to the wine tasting in general. When the $15/bottle tastes as good or better as the $40/bottle, just buy the one you like.

John headed north to go wild on a dirt bike, so Mark picked me up from SFO where I caught the bus with Gordon and Stacia. Brought me mouse ears, took me to dim sum, then dropped me off at SJC! Yes, had the fun of spending the day wearing mouse ears all the way home to Portland where Mom picked me up.

First ever - spent time with Stacia and DID NOT GAIN WEIGHT! And the possibilities of life and the future have me smiling if I don't catch myself. Yes, the present is stormy, but it's just a front.

Must write letters and thank yous.

Veteran's Day

I hope all that know a US Veteran of any branch or length of service will stop on November 11 and thank them for their work on behalf of our country. We may not always agree with how troops are spent, or which wars are fought and how. But whatever issues our ideologies have with the ruling establishment of any regime, I hope everyone remembers that our armed forces from Army to Reserves and Coast Guard are made up of human beings that stood up to be involved and make a difference in their own lives as well as the lives of others.

I admire the solemn pride that must be theirs when they hear the national anthem or see the colors displayed. I am grateful that so many find their way in the world through this path to become better citizens, more mindful than most about what it is to defend our cherished way of life. And I wish peace and new joy for the ones that have lost their way, caught up in the wars inside that now continue to replay.

Thank you, Vets.