I miss the Red Sox

I am determined that no matter where I live in this country, there is no fever like Red Sox fever. In Atlanta, as much as I liked the Braves (Greg Olson, Otis Nixon, and David Justice in particular) the fan presence ebbed and flowed. In the 80's the seats at Turner Field were practically free; video of the games showed entire sections were empty. As the Braves improved in the early 90's interest and tickets picked up, but come on now, these are fair weather fans. When I moved to Boston I quickly witnessed the deep sense of passion, loyalty and pain that accompanies every baseball season. And it seems to run in families, passed down like a treasured heirloom. I couldn't help but be attracted to it and wonder what makes Boston so different.

Tonight I discovered the Red Sox had won the AL East championship but I wished I had heard the buildup, on radio and t.v., at work, from my friends, at rehearsal. It's just not the same reading about the wins or even looking at pictures of them celebrating it. (Why on earth is Papelbon wearing what look to be bike shorts after the win?? Can anyone help me out here?)

I miss being in it, enveloped in it. One thing that unifies a city.
Really, it's brilliant.

Weather Woes

This morning, as my eyes fluttered open, I heard a strange noise coming from outside and peered out the window upon something for the first time since I have arrived: rain. In some ways it felt a little like when I went to college in Maine and saw snow falling outside. Although I knew it happened, I was surprised to see it just the same.

Prior to this, there has been no precipitation of any kind since I arrived in California. At first I didn't notice, just enjoying the sunny days. But eventually some of the ramifications of this lack of rain began to become clear. For one, my car gathered a layer of dust and dirt that was quite visible. I'm not much of a carwash-er, figuring that the '98 Sentra isn't really impressing anyone anyways, but the dirt began to bother me nonetheless. Second, the constant dry air gave me a bit of a sore throat for a while. I began closing my windows at night to try to preserve any moisture from cooking in my apartment and pondered buying a humidifier. Alison, who has been here since early June tells me this was her first rain shower too and someone from work told me there hasn't been real rain since April. How strange!

This rain business is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to my weather woes here. I tell you I just can't figure it out. The first shocker came as I was unpacking my clothes and got to the two distinct parts of my wardrobe: Winter clothes and Summer clothes. Prior to now this clothing never coexisted, passing briefly in October and April. But when I arrived here in August and realized on my first trip into San Francisco that I needed a sweater and closed toed shoes I knew that those days were over. The old rituals of swapping wardrobes twice a year, hauling out the new season's clothes, rejoicing at the pieces I had forgotten but love, are over. And now, somehow, everything has to fit in my closet.

Alison, my fellow east coast refugee and I have spent hours upon hours discussing the weather and our inability to dress for it. I fear that my lack of understanding has been quite stressful at times, especially when I show up somewhere in grossly inappropriate clothing. The real challenge for me is not only the unpredictability but the extreme variation in temperature on any given day. There have been times when I arrive somewhere all bundled up only to sheepishly strip down to my tee shirt or I show up in sandals and a skirt and find myself shivering most of the day. I am learning that I need to be able to wear anything from a short sleeves to a sweater and jacket. It's sort of like being in a foreign country. I'll figure this all out, but until I do I may just look a little like an outsider.

Another start...and thanks giving

School has started! No waiting till after Labor Day round these parts, we're in full swing! Not only was last week my first week of school with kids, it was the first week of the school's existence. The Thursday before we had parent/student orientation and had almost 100% attendance. It was incredible looking out over all those faces and noticing that it was standing room only in our big hall. I was only missing two students out of 19 in my advisory group and everybody was nervous and excited. I chalk up a lot of the success of that first night to the priniciple's work developing the school because she so thoroughly involved parents and students in its creation. I think everyone there was proud of getting this thing off the ground.

Then our first day, which was remarkably smooth as we helped students get used to high school and adjust to a small school of 125 ninth graders. It's a pretty different kind of school experience. We even got a little press in the local paper.


Then on Thursday we went on an overnight trip to Stanford to kick off their high school career at a school dedicated to getting them ready for college. Thursday also happened to be my birthday and it was guaranteed to be busy all day long. It might not have been my first choice as far as birthday activities but there were some highlights. The kids in my advisory sang me happy birthday at the top of their lungs after lunch, one kid gave me chocolates and the staff had a cake and sang to me in whispers after the kids had been put in their rooms. Certainly an unusual and very memorable day.

My birthday was also filled with many phone messages, cards, gifts and expressions of love from people I love. It felt so good to have 11 messages at the end of that long day and to know that they were from all the amazing people I know from all over the country. I know this is sappy, (what do you expect?) but I just felt so lucky to have so many incredible friends and even though it's my first birthday on this coast I felt so loved and supported.

This weekend my friend Sharon, who has been living in San Diego for a few years and is moving to L.A. came up to visit. Sharon is a friend from high school, as is Alison, who lives here in Oakland so we all got to spend some time together. Sharon, by the way, is becoming famous. There was a lengthy article in the L.A. Times yesterday about her art work that will appear in a show in Santa Monica next weekend. The article is extremely complimentary and showcases her extroardinary talents. Check it out at: http://www.calendarlive.com/galleriesandmuseums/cl-ca-levy2sep02,0,3217256.story?coll=cl-art-features

In her spare time, Sharon also collaborated with Alison to make me a yellow cake with chocolate frosting. This was a favorite from when we were young and didn't let any occasion go by without this faithful dessert. (A shout out to Noelle, who we wish could have been here too!)


Then Saturday, Alison, Sharon, and my Dad and Louise and I all went out to dinner and ate fabulous food at A Cote in Rockridge. The waitress commented on our stunning off-white/green color combination.







And so, now I embark on week two of school and work on settling in some more. I am still tired from last week and hope I can continue to muster the strength for getting everything done. But I also feel lucky. To know wonderful souls and enjoy time with them, whether by phone, email or in person. This move has been ok because of my community that is still present even though I am far away. Maybe I am still high on yellow cake with chocolate frosting but I just feel pretty grateful. Love to all.