Month: July 2006

Last weekend Cooper and I moved into our new apartment during the record breaking heat wave. Unfortunately, that weekend was the only time we had available to cart all of our crap so it was “move it or lose it” as they say.  I don’t think I was prepared for the physical exhaustion required during the move.  Cooper was an animal in getting stuff packed, loaded and unloaded, but I turned into a meek little turd who couldn’t even handle lifting a feather.  The tipping point was on Sunday, at 3:00pm.  After having trekked to Home Depot, Ikea, and Target we then went back to the old place to take another load.  It was hot, I hadn’t slept well the night before, I was dehydrated.  I looked at a pile of stuff on the floor and the thought of trying to move it made me nauseous.  So I took a seat on the couch, drank a little water, and attempted to gear up some energy to tackle that pile of stuff.   I got up to try and be of a bit of help, but again the sight of that pile made me nauseous.  I went back to the couch and ended up napping.  Yup, I napped.  My mouth was open, I had a good drool going.  I napped.  Who does that?  Cooper was also in pain and I am sure would have loved to take it easy on the couch, but he is one of those special beings who has the mental power to keep going even when you don’t want to.   My hope is to grow up to be like him (in female form) someday.  It may take a bit of weight lifting and numerous psychiatric sessions, but I will get there. Oh yes, I will get there. 

My parents were visiting for the past week and each night we indulged a bit too much.  How can you go wrong when you have some of the best Thai of you life one night, a homely Moroccan feast the next night, a plate of beer battered fish and chips the following evening, then margaritas and Italian, then plate after plate after plate of Vietnamese, then flat iron steak the next night, then Cheeseboard treats and Gregoire to finish it all off!  Waistline expanding, oh my!  Eating our way through Berkeley and SF really helps me to realize how special it is to live in this area.  What do you want for lunch?  How ’bout Hawaiian bbq?  Or Ethiopian?  Or Brazilian? or Indian? or Thai, or Vietnamese, or Italian, or Mexican, or a fantastic Jewish deli, or some of the best deep dish pizza, or even better…Cafe Gratitude where all the dishes have titles like “I am treasured, or I am elated” and the pizza isn’t “pizza” but cashew cheese on top of a cracker of some sort which is covered in greens.  My mouth is watering thinking about all this, but then I realized how absolutely stuffed I am and how I need to throw some sort of detox party for myself (but not to the extreme of my brother…I don’t think I could survive on water, lemon juice, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper just to try to flush all the toxins/food out of my body).  Perhaps I will just try a salad every now and then.

At Cafe Gratitude the dreadlocked waitress asked before we ordered, “What are you grateful for?”  Today my answers include:

• Spending some great time with my family.  Hopefully this isn’t too much of a copout answer, but I am really truly appreciative of having such a fantastic family.  I absolutely love my parents and am so thankful for them. 
• Being a “square peg” and knowing how great life is with another “square peg.”
• Going to Point Isabell with the parents, bro, and dog.  Who knew my dad would be so eager to trek through murky mud water to try to find the lost $6 ball that sunk to the bottom of the inlet. 
• Finding a mamma stingray with baby stingray caught in the rocks at the dog park…crazy to find life that lives in liquid washed up on dry land.  May they rest in peace.
• Watching big brown dog Finney carry home a doll and purse in his mouth.  Such a worker dog.
• Beautiful weather in beautiful Berkeley with a belly oh so full.

Yes, I am thankful.