Rocked the Vote

Rewarded with my very own badge, just for voting!

Tuesday was of course election day and I adjusted my schedule a bit to allow myself the time to go place my ballot.  After years of absentee ballots because of travel for work, I really enjoy being able to show up in person to vote.

We have been voting at the same polling place for the last 20 years - Holly actually went to elementary school there for 3 years - so I knew exactly where to go and was in line shortly after the polls opened - I think that I was voter #16 in that location.

We had a good laugh at home prior to my departure, as David and I were sharing information - I helped him with all of the propositions since I did my homework on them, he helped me with the right local offices since he is practically the Mayor in T.O. and then...we cancelled out each others vote for President.

Oh well, I think that our politics at home closely mirror the divide that our whole country is experiencing.  Whether you agree with the selection or not, getting out and exercising your right is always the right thing to do!

Ped Xing

I recognize that the car is king, especially in So Cal, but it is really appalling sometimes to see how little consideration is given to the pedestrians, at least in the land of all that glitters - Beverly Hills.

I took a jaunt out to the bank yesterday at lunch time.  The trip is .75 miles in each direction, certainly easier to navigate on foot than in a car and I am of course happy for the exercise offset to my daily caloric intake!

In the eight crossings that I had to make (four intersections, twice), I encountered THREE different drivers who would have most certainly hit me had I not stopped and let them through.

I am not a risky crosser in Los Angeles (New York, that is a different story, but I am just fitting in with the locals when I jaywalk there), so it kind of aggravates me to have cars zipping in front of or behind me to dodge me in the crosswalk when I am walking WITH the light. In the most offensive of near-misses, I had to stop mid-street AND do the soccer mom arm for a pedestrian who was coming up behind me.

I would like to say that in my griping I have a solution to this, but I don't.  Consider this fair warning when walking the streets of Beverly Hills and cross the street at your own risk!

Local Living

I had a rare opportunity to live like a local. Tomorrow is the Surf City 1/2 Marathon, which will take me to Huntington Beach and points south for the day, but in a fine bit of scheduling magic, I was able to pick my packet up on Friday (while on my way to Mission Viejo), leaving today free to putter around and not have to trek all the way to Huntington just to get my race bib, shirt and timing chip. I will also get to have dinner tonight with David and Holly and sleep in my own bed, all in exchange for waking up tomorrow at 4 am to be on my way.

The early wake-up isn't such a big deal and I must confess that I have rather enjoyed my day thus far just doing errands. A tough trail run with the MIMs this morning, social time at home with David and Holly before they left for work, a visit to Future Track to get some new insoles for my shoes (an awkward bit of rubbing is occurring with the new shoes on the bottom of my left foot, a nightmare for any thought of running distance), then over to Sharkey's for lunch and a nice spell of time outside by the fountain.

I even walked across the street to the bank and the fancy yogurt place for a little treat and I STILL have plenty of time to to the other errands today, like food shop and other exciting things.

It is amazing how much free time I have when I am not driving all across the greater part of Southern California!

It's Official!

Multitasking is bad for you.

I heard this debated at great length this afternoon on NPR. The gist of the study says that while multi-taskers like to believe that they are getting lots done and doing it all well, they actually are more susceptible to random and insignificant pieces of data distracting them and interfering with their ability to process information effectively.

At least that is what I think was said. I was on the phone, leading a conference call while eating my lunch and driving. I wasn't texting, though!!

Summer Solstice

Back on the blog!  It feels as if I have been underwater for the past week or so, and to some degree (figuratively speaking, of course), it is true!  We had a big giveaway event at work last week, which took a full 2 weeks of planning to execute..suffice it to say, I am glad that it is over, and it was a big success.

Life has gone on and I've got my usual observations and activities to report on!

June 20th was the Summer Solstice Parade in Santa Barbara, an event that draws out all of the local color!  I had the good fortune of being stationed at the front door of our store at the corner of State and De La Guerra, so I had a front row seat for all of the floats, music, dancers and cute kids parading by.  

We got seriously busy as soon as the parade ended, so I was glad for the brief bit of time that I was able to peer out the door and snap a few photos.  

Who knew that the celebration of summer could be so garishly loud?

Live in the Along

I saw some poetry in an unlikely place - the 920 Express to Santa Monica - and it was compelling enough for me to write it down and look it up.  

It is by Gwendolyn Brooks and is called Speech to the Young:

Say to them,
say to the down-keepers,
the sun-slappers,
the self-soilers,
the harmony-hushers,
"even if you are not ready for day
it cannot always be night."
You will be right.
For that is the hard home-run.

Live not for battles won.
Live not for the-end-of-the-song.
Live in the along. 

This is a good philosophy...live in the along.

Taxing

I am not sure that I know anyone who enjoys doing their taxes. We are no exception and add into that the fact that David is self-employed, and not among the top10% business owners when it comes to organized record-keeping.

We should know by now that there is going to be some flurry of panicking and looking for a statement by early April, but every year in January when I mention the "T" word, I am summarily dismissed and we don't start the scramble until late March.

Fortunately, we have a very good friend who does our taxes for us and in that doesn't really have the time or inclination to look at them too early in the season. She doesn't seem too phased when I call up on April 13th and ask if I can send the stuff over...we just file an extension anyway, but we do have to calculate how much we owe and send it off to avoid any fines.


We are also one of those families that waits until the last mail drop to take our tax check to the post office. It used to make me crazy that we were so late, but over the 21+ years of marriage to Mr. "I can't find my July bank statement," I have learned to just let go and enjoy the ride.


Who doesn't love the post office at 11:59 at night??

Poketless Pants

This may a bit Jerry Seinfeld-esque in style, but what's the deal with women's pants not having any pockets? We carry stuff, or at the very least have a need to occasionally strike a "casual" pose by leaning back and putting our hands in our front pockets...but nothing!!

When I used to wear jeans to work all of the time, not an issue. Now that I am wearing the self-described "fancy pants", I find that I am batting 50% at best to get a pair of pants with any pockets, and of that group only about 1/2 again have a functional or real pocket, rather than a 1" strip of fabric tucked inside.

I have pocket needs, too! I can't believe that I am the only female in the world who shares this frustration. We need to stage some kind of revolt or uprising!

Maybe it will just be easier to petition for jeans in the office...

The Meaning of @#$%

The time change, though a bit tough to maneuver in the morning hours early on, is a good thing for my running habits. During standard time, I have good intentions to run at work before getting on the road, but the thought of being out there amongst the traffic in the dark always kills the mood and I end up running really late on some green belt near the house, or having to skip the workout altogether...none are optimal in my book!

The new schedule seems to allow for me to come in early, do the work thing until 5, then change into some fancy running clothes and hit the local streets for a bit, typically logging 4 or 5 miles. By the time I return (looking a bit less glamorous than when I first started the day), most people have gone home and I can settle in for another hour of wrap-up and follow-up, allowing the traffic to ease up before I head out.

With all of that context, imagine if you will, me trotting along at about mile #2, jamming to the iPod and enjoying the cool air. I suddenly see a brown greyhound making a beeline straight for me and I am not exactly sure what to do...is it friendly, hungry or territorial? Is it glad to see me or would it just as soon rip a chunk out of my arm? These are the questions that are flying through my head as I am simultaneously trying to figure out what to do. The dog was up and on me before I really had a grasp of things and then suddenly, a woman I presume to be his owner shouted out a word that couldn't POSSIBLY be his name, and then yelled at me, "GET HIM!"

The dog with the questionable and offensive name shot off like a bullet, which left me standing in front of the not-too-happy owner. She again spat out that word and took off after him. Basically unfazed, I sped back up to my slow trot and continued down the sidewalk, wondering about the meaning of @#$%.

It is always an adventure, running on the streets in LA!

Thank you

This might be a blinding flash of the obvious, but saying "thank you" is a pretty powerful thing. I had this renewed awareness today in a fairly unlikely place...the orange line bus.

The MTA drivers get a lot of grief in my book. People rushing to make the bus, yelling if they missed their stop, angry if traffic is throwing off the schedule, bickering over the fare; I've seen a lot in the 3 months or so that I have been commuting, so I can only imagine what it looks like over the span of a typical day.

The orange line stops at North Hollywood, where everyone exits and then rush across the street to catch the red line train. As he announced the end of the line, the driver said, "and have a wonderful day," which I found to be very nice. I shouted out "thank you" and gave a little wave as I walked past the driver's door, you might of thought that I just gave him a $100 tip, he lit up and enthusiastically thanked me back.

Our parents taught us well, as please and thank you go a long way, even in our ever-advancing, fast-paced, technology-savvy society.

Think about that the next time you are out on the street and say thank you to someone who is doing something for you, even if they do get paid to do it. You just might make their day.

Juror #8

My stint as juror #8 was cut mercifully short by a last minute ditch of the case by the District Attorney. Perhaps we as jurors just looked too sharp, perhaps not sharp enough; at any rate there was a closed door negotiation that went on after jury selection wrapped up and then just like that, the 14 of us who remained were summarily dismissed for the next 12 months with a thank you and a smile.

It's not such a bad deal, really, as the justice system was played out and all parties were satisfied with the outcome. I heard a few people grumbling about "wasting their time", but in the grand scheme of the judicial system, we each played our roles perfectly. I don't hope to be back any time in the near future (I am OK with the jury duty once a year, but any other showing between now and next February means that I or someone I care about is mixed up in something unsavory), but when I do appear again, I can take confidence in the fact that every citizen in this country is entitled to a fair trial with a jury of their peers AND they are assumed innocent until proven guilty...not a claim that can be made in too many other places in this world.

While we have plenty of opportunities in this country around rights and equality, I am still pretty happy and proud to be a part of it. Should I unfurl my flag now?

Civic Responsibility

I finally made good on my jury summons that came back in December; my original date was planned during our France trip, so I requested a deferral, then I requested a specific day and then I had to move it because of a work conflict. Fortunately, the good people of the Ventura County courts were accommodating and I do not have to live in fear of being arrested!

The morning started out easily enough; orientation and 2 jury panels...I wasn't called for either. It's a whole lot of sitting around and waiting, so I am grateful to benefit from my tax dollars hard at work with free wireless Internet! The hour and a half lunch certainly wasn't an issue in my book; it made for a nice 2-mile walk to lunch at Daphne's (I do enjoy the falafel every now and again!), the bank to deposit a check and then back again. I called David at lunchtime to brag about my long break to which he tersely replied, "It must be nice."...it was!

As soon as we returned from lunch, another panel was called, and I along with it! We trotted up to the 4th floor, were sworn in, received some directions from the judge (who is a character by the way!) and then the excuses began. When it was over, almost 1/2 of the panelists had managed to be excused. Once the case was announced, another 3 declared themselves unfit to serve, so off they went.

And then we were 30. I was in the first group of 12 called to the box, where I have so far answered about 15 questions about my personal life and beliefs. They haven't bounced me for any offensive behavior yet, and the judge had an appointment to go to at 3:30, so we were dismissed for the day and cordially invited (that would be mandated) to return at 9 am tomorrow.

Let's see how civic minded I am as this process extends from 1-day and turns into 1-trial requirement!

Six Words

I recently read an article about a book that had been written with contributions of various authors using just six words to describe love or any other emotion. The article intrigued me because of the challenge to be so succinct in a society where we super-size most anything, and rarely operate under the rule of "less is more."

Even more compelling was that report that Ernest Hemingway declared this contribution his best work ever: For Sale: Baby Shoes. Never Worn.

I must admit, that's pretty powerful when one stops to really consider the message.

There were other examples in the article, the only other one that stuck with me was: Our prison visits were surprisingly romantic.

Certainly lots to mull over for that one!

The whole concept of six words has been marinating in my head for a couple of weeks, but I haven't really sat down to consider what my six words are or what I want to convey. This may be an exercise that I'll need to try once a week just to get in the habit of culling the crazy population of words and thoughts floating around in my brain to one coherent point.

For now, let's go with: Living the dream, loving my life.

It's Beginning to Feel a Lot Like Christmas

I love Christmas. The decorations, time with friends and family, cooler (and sometimes even cold, but not usually in So Cal) weather with the general upbeat mood and spirits all make me happy as we move along, building with anticipation the celebration of Christ's birth in a joyous and loving fashion...until it is time to go the mall.

I have very little to worry about in terms of Christmas shopping this year - we got lucky and booked a deal of the century trip to France for our Christmas celebration, so have decided as a family that gifts need not be exchanged - the experiences (and subsequent photos) will serve as our gifts this year. With that said, there were a couple of items that I did need to pick up for those not lucky enough to be going to Paris with us, so I finally ventured out to the mall for 3 things on Saturday - 3 things that I thought should take me about 30 minutes total time to get.

How very naive I was! The parking situation alone was enough to kill 30 minutes (which it did) and I declared something resembling a victory in a parking place when I squeezed into the last spot at the farthest point away from the mall (the owner of the Jaguar in the accompanying space must not have realized that they were hanging a good third of the way into the next space), walked through the construction area across the parking lot and finally made it to the outer perimeter of the newest portion of the mall.

I will spare the sordid details of what I will call bad Christmas behavior, but suffice it to say that while I consider myself a pretty upbeat person, I was about ready to gauge my eyes out by the time 90 minutes had elapsed and I left the mall with my 3 items in hand. It was feeling a lot like the commercialized side of Christmas that we hear many people complaining about, yet it continues.

And I admittedly fed right into it!

Going Green

In addition to the big news of starting a new job yesterday, I also ventured out on a new commute pattern - one that keeps my car (and me!) off the road for 28 of my 42 miles to the office. It wasn't the fastest route that I might have hoped for, but it was certainly effective and I managed to read about 3/4 of last week's Newsweek (I am a bit behind on my periodicals!).

It is about a 2-hour venture door to door, which naturally adds 4 hours to my day, but I must admit that it is not as difficult as sitting in the car for that long would be. It is a short car-bus-train- another bus-walk ride to get to work (and then reverse it for home) each day. As I said, really not too bad in terms of the trip and everything moves pretty smoothly.

Surprising to me was the sheer volume of people out there doing the same thing. It was standing room only each time and the stations were all super busy. Who knew that there was such a culture of public transportation users in Los Angeles? It certainly surprised me. The volume of people also makes this a pretty good people watching venue...there will likely be some interesting stories in the coming months.

Until then, here's to avoiding seeing red while sitting in traffic by going green (and being chauffeured) with the MTA

It's Beginning to Sound a Lot Like Christmas

I am a big fan of Christmas - big. I am not that wild about the commercialization that goes along with it and the way that the incessant signs of obligatory gift-giving show up earlier and earlier every year. I am not unique in this stance and will spare you a soapbox diatribe on how we as a society are losing sight of the things that matter most. I will instead focus on the things that make me happy about the season, and certainly Christmas Carols sit high on that list.

I was driving out to visit my parents in Hemet yesterday, listening to the radio as one does when on the road for 2-3 hours. I had been listening to NPR but then lost the station as I got further out into the desert on the 215 freeway. I started trolling around for an interesting station when I chanced upon...Christmas Carols. It was the first time that I have heard any Christmas music this season and it made me very happy to have my old friend Bing crooning to me about his white Christmas dream. Never mind that the weather has been unseasonably warm, the leaves are STILL on the trees and we just had some raging fires a little over a week ago here in Southern California...the Christmas music has begun, so the holiday season must officially be here!

I think that I am going to have to tune to some Christmas music stations until I have had my fill...for this year anyway!

Do the Math

My friend Kathie (better known as GFKS for Girlfriend Kathie Shaw, which makes little sense but still makes me laugh after something near 15 years of that joke/nickname) sent me a listing of crazy items from newspaper clippings that demonstrate the intelligence (or at times lack of it) in our society. For some reason, this really struck me as simultaneously funny and sad. Funny for the obvious, but sad because for some people, I don't think that they realize just how goofy or ridiculous these blurbs are. And we wonder why we are positioned so low in world rankings on education and knowledge!

Here are a couple more that make me smile...

Caught in the Craze

The Twilight series of books by Stephanie Meyer is not unfamiliar to the Newton household given the fact that Holly fits perfectly into the teen girl demographic AND she has read all 4 books - in fact I might have even blogged about driving her down to the bookstore at midnight on the Friday night/Saturday morning that the book (Breaking Dawn, in case you really needed to know) was released.

I have been hearing a lot of different reviews and commentary on TV, the radio and even in the newspaper about how this series has the 13-21 year old females under some spell, but also has quite a following with the "Twilight Moms". Not having read the books, I would not consider myself a part of that group, nor am I taken with the love-tortured and angst-filled character of forever-17 year old Edward Cullen. That would be kind of cougar-like and for a variety of reasons, I am going to clearly state how not right that would be.

I provide all of this context because I must now admit that yes, I too was caught in the craze and actually went to see the movie last night. Even odder still, it was kind of fun. Here is the long and the short of it - Holly called me up at about 2:30 pm to tell me that the friend she planned to go see a late showing of Twilight with bailed on her. Holly then called Rachel - with whom she has been sharing the books back and forth - and they decided that they wanted to go. Rachel's mom was going and did I want to come too? At first I thought that it was so sweet that my little angel wanted me to share in this exciting time with her, but then I realized that she and Rachel are under a lot of restrictions with their provisional licenses and since we were going to be out until after 1 am, they both needed rides. Holly never admitted to this being the case, but a mom has got to wonder.

The reasons for the invite become unimportant however, as we did go to the movie and lived the hype. It was social central down at the local movie theater as friends from school kept calling out to Holly asking her if she had seen the movie yet. There was then some amount of squealing (not too much from my kid, whew!) and we pressed on to get our seats.

I will say that all in all, the movie was certainly entertaining so long as you are prepared to deal with a lot of angst, tortured love, pining for what one can't have and dramatic staring. Not the cinematic stunner or literary genius that true epics are considered, but a captivating story acted out by a large collection of 'pretty people' most likely chosen for how they physically depict the characters versus deep acting abilities. Nonetheless, it moved along pretty well considering it's 2-hour run time and seemed to make the many fans in the theater very happy with it's adaptation.

I may actually have to read the books now!

Social Justice

Sometimes we get an opportunity to really make a difference. It may not seem like a lot on its own, but when combined with the efforts of many other talented people with the right and good intentions, great stuff can be achieved.

I might have mentioned a couple of months ago that I have been invited to work with a group called Maverick Photographers (the name was in existence before the 'Maverick' term was popularized). The basic mission of this group is to make a difference in the world through photography. While I certainly fancy myself handy with the camera, I know that I don't hold a candle to the real professionals, but I can write (humor me here, this IS my blog after all), and although a picture is worth 1000 words, a few well-phrased captions or context to tell the photo journalistic story are a great enhancement.

Enter yours truly on the first official project...creating the legacy for Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy in San Francisco. I flew into San Jose today to spend the day with my friend Maureen, who then served as my chauffeur and entertainment coordinator. Maureen is a pivotal character in this adventure, as it is her husband - Brian - who founded and heads up Maverick Photography, and it was through a conversation Mo and I were having about me following my passion for writing that connected us.

There will be more info on this project as well as its evolution in future blogs, but for now ponder the pledge that the school has created for themselves as you see pictured above. This is a different school (it is a public elementary school in the city of San Francisco)n led by different administrators who have different views and approaches when it comes to education. It is my opinion that different is good and you will quickly learn how the most important thing at HMCRA is creating a safe and exciting learning environment for kids.

Talk about making a difference!

Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

The Democratic Process

The 2008 election was certainly unlike no other. No matter your political views or opinions, it is pretty evident that things are shifting and to some extent, really do need to change. There are a few words, such as 'change', 'hope', and of course 'maverick' that we will always regard a bit differently, especially after the last 3 months or so (longer, if you immersed yourself starting with the primaries), but let's just go with the general election for now.

At any rate, a friend recently sent me a link to a series of 35 or so pictures that in my opinion capture the essence of what we as a society have witnessed through our democratic process. People were inspired, motivated and many worked to learn as much as they could - to be informed voters. Not everything may have turned out the way that everyone would have liked, but as the dust settles and we do move forward, I have to acknowledge the fact that for all of my frustration and at times cynicism around how we behave as a society...I am proud.

We can be an inspiring bunch.