Post Christmas Reflections

The BOB girls at Operation Christmas Child Warehouse.

The past few weeks have been such a whirlwind - from Thanksgiving to Christmas always feels that way - and now that all the hype is over, I'm looking forward to working off the five pounds I've gained and having a bit of time to breathe.

Rachel, Christina, Bethany and me at a Christmas Party.

Some of the BOB girls at our leader, Kathy's, X-Mas party.

 A couple weeks before Christmas, my life group girls and I all went to Operation Christmas Child Warehouse to sort shoe boxes which are delivered around the world to impoverished children. It is one of our favorite "serves" each year.




A couple days before Christmas I went up to Lake Norman to visit with Tiffany, her fiance Mitch and her whole family.  The house was a little crazy with 11 people and 8 dogs running around, but it was a lot of fun.  We spent the day running various errands and looking at a potential house for Tiffany and Mitch.  I'm so happy they are considering moving closer to Charlotte so I don't have to go all the way to Asheville to visit. On Saturday morning, before driving back to Charlotte, we all went to breakfast and met Tiffany's brother and sister-in-law and their three babies.  The two newest are twins and so sweet.  I enjoyed getting to hold them and look forward to the day when Tiff and Mitch will have their own.

With Erika in front of our neighbor's lights.

Saturday evening, my family had Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Bob and his girlfriend Cheryl over for Christmas Eve Dinner.  It was really yummy and we all played cards after the meal.

I also talked to Lieselotte on Saturday and was absolutely delighted to hear that she has gotten interviews for grad school so far at Duke, UNC and Berkeley!  I'm so thrilled for her.  It also means that she'll be back in the US for said interviews from early February to mid-March. Yay!!  I still have my fingers crossed that we may both end up together at Washington Univ., or that I will get into Stanford and she will get into SF or Berkeley, or that she'll go to Duke or UNC and I'll be close like Greensboro or Wilmington. I'm tired of being thousands of miles away from my best friend!

From my silk show.

It has also been on my mind lately to return to Europe.  If I can swing it, I'd like to go for the month of May - arriving in London and visiting London, Oxford, Amsterdam (where Lieselotte is) and then traveling with her down to southern Spain (where my friend Enrique and Carmen are). The only caveat is how much the flights are then, and the price of a Eurorail pass. At current prices, it is looking like the trip would cost about $1,475 for the flight and ground transportation between countries and cities.  However, I'd also have to tack on food money, subway transport within each city, and cost of museums or activities.  Thanks to Couchsurfing and friends abroad, I shouldn't have to pay to sleep.  But the point is, we're looking at a minimum of $2,000, after having just spent $1,000 on grad school applications and having just had to pay my taxes on Feb. 14.  I need to figure out how much I'll probably owe, and then I can determine if I have the savings for it.  Also, I'd need to book the trip before I know about where I'm going to grad school, and that's another consideration because some places will be more expensive than others.  Urrg.  However, one of my Christmas presents was a new suitcase of the exact right size for this sort of trip....

On Christmas day (yesterday), I got up and made breakfast for Mom and Dad, then we all went to church while Brett was still sleeping.  When we got back, I woke up Brett and we opened presents and then started watching "It's a Wonderful Life" before going over to Uncle Bob's for Christmas dinner with the crowd from the night before plus Kelly, Bob, and the two girls.  The girls were so precious playing with their new gifts and it was nice to be with everyone.

The Wednesday before Christmas I held a party at our house for all the BOB girls (Bevy of Beauties) - my life group from church.  It was such a nice party because almost everyone came and I made chili and everyone brought something - it was just delightful.  One of our old members, Jennifer, came with her baby Caroline.  It was so good to see them, but poor Caroline (5 mo. old) was a little overwhelmed by the 15 loud, talking girls. Also, Erika from LA came and stayed with me Wed and Thurs nights.  It was so good to see her again so soon!  We all had such a delightful night!  Vanessa and Christina and Erika all spent the night, and the next morning Erika and I went for about a three mile run around the park next door.  Then Erika had to run errands and meet up with other friends, Christina had to babysit, but Vanessa and I went with Mom to see Girl With the Dragon Tattoo which was really good - even though it was rather scary!  When Erika got back to my house that evening, Vanessa and I joined her and her former Charlotte roommate Rene for dinner at Sushi 101.  (I had fried rice).  Overall, it was a really great two days!

Also, on Dec. 18, I performed in my first silk aerial show.  It was a student performance, but there were many people there.  Mom wanted to come, but she had a migraine, so Bethany and Christina came to watch me, which made me so happy.  I was really flattered because after the show a few different people came up to me and said what a good job I did and that they couldn't believe it was my first performance.

Christmas Eve Dinner at our house.

I'm going up to Tiffany's parents' mountain house for a few days before New Years, and I am looking forward to that.  It's so nice that we've had a chance to spend more time together lately.

Giving Poetry a Second Shake

Tonight I went to my first meeting of the Charlotte Writers Club, and while I admit the age balance was upwardly skewed, I really enjoyed myself!  Upon arrival, another woman was in the lobby of the church where the club meets asking for directions, and I followed along.  On the elevator ride, we found out we were both former students of guest speaker, Ruth Moose, had both grown up in Charlotte and went to Chapel Hill and were both working writers.  When Ruth saw us at the club, she was thrilled that we were there and formally introduced Laura and Lauren.  Before beginning her reading, she gave us a shout out: "Two former students who survived my class are here!" 

As she read excerpts from her book of poetry "The Librarian and Other Stories," I thought "Huh, modern poetry can be 1) understandable and 2) funny.  I may actually go out and buy a book of poems!"  I know, I know, this sounds like absolute blasphemy coming from a self-professed writer, but I have not written poems in so long, and many of the contemporary poetry I've read is obtuse and leaves me wondering on the point.  Don't get me wrong, give me Shakespeare or Chaucer or Tennyson any day, but contemporary poetry...well, I just hadn't "gotten" it yet.  Well, I got it tonight.  And it absolutely delighted me.  One of her stories about this fictional librarian character was a flashback to her college years when she attends a reunion. She remembers a tryst with a professor, women she attended school with who were there to get their Mrs. degree and so forth, and I not only felt like I knew this character in the span of a one-page poem, but the librarian also made me miss Kayla.

Who is Kayla?  She is my fictional character from the novel I started in college and have yet to finish.  Ruth talked about how the character of the librarian felt so real and but that since writing over 50 poems about her, she seems to have left and has been hard to get back.  I feel the same way about Kayla.  Part of my inhibition about finishing the book is that I won't be able to find Kayla again when I go looking for her.  A big part of her was me at that time, and another part of her was the me I only dared to be on the page.  But the me I am now is so different, that finding Kayla - that old mix of who I was and who I wanted to be - seems much more difficult than when I was living it.

Another admission - the semester I spent writing Kayla's story, I didn't act entirely like myself.  My imagination and my character started having such an influence on me, I found myself doing things for Kayla's sake - for the sake of her story.  Getting sucked up in that world was okay when that's all I really had to worry about, but with a real job and many real life activities, part of me has shied away from working on my book because I don't want to be possessed by Kayla .  Which is why I need to go back to school - so being possessed by your character, or just believing in them so much you think of them as real people, is perfectly acceptable. ;)

At the end of the club I met another Chapel Hill grad, Chris Wampler, who is writes a blog (though I must say, it is much more accomplished and far-reaching than mine) and who has written a book which one can purchase on Amazon.  I'm fairly impressed. lol  His blog interviews writers about their books and such. Link here: http://kriswampler.wordpress.com/.  Anyway, we had a very nice discussion about writing, life, traveling and Ron Paul.  Don't ask.  But nonetheless, I'm happy to have made two new friends who are writers and to have tried out the Charlotte Writers Club.  I look forward to going back. 

On a different note, I did officially finished applying to all 13 grad schools: Stanford, Brown, UVA, Penn State, Johns Hopkins, Univ. of Colorado, Univ. of Michigan, Univ. of TX, Vanderbilt, Washington University in St. Louis, UNC-W, UNC-G, and UF.  From here on out, it's up to God as to where I should end up.  Each program has significant draws - Stanford, is well, Stanford and the most prestigious of the lot.  Brown has a terrific arts program and would let me take drama and fine art alongside writing courses. The UNC's are close to home and family.  Boulder is a beautiful city and would be a very unique experience.  Austin has a lot of fascinating culture and is has a large tango and silk aerial scene.  Johns Hopkins would be close to my MD family.  Lieselotte is also applying to Wash U, and if we both got in there, that would be very hard to turn down.  And so on.  So, please God, make this choice a clear one when the time comes!  (Which won't be until March or April).

And then to celebrate, I think I'll go to Europe in May.  I miss England something terrible, and Lieselotte studying abroad in Amsterdam, and my friends in Spain.  It is time.  We'll just have to see if I can afford it and if so, for how long.

with some of my friends at Second String

with my friend Drew at Second String

As a side note, I've been attending some fabulous Christmas parties lately and went to a milonga (Argentine tango dance) the other night which was so delightful, as I've been out of the tango scene for such a long time lately.  I'll attach a couple photos from Second String Santa - a charity party I go to each year.

How is it Nearly Christmas?

The nuclear family on Thanksgiving.

This time of year, the days seem to go by in such a blur, all of a sudden you wake up and think "Where did October and November go??"  For the last month or so, I've been so preoccupied with my graduate school applications and busy with work for the Observer, I feel like the season hasn't really sunk in yet. 

All 17 of us on Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving was great - there were 17 of us at Uncle Bob's house - but it was a bit of a bummer not traveling like we normally do for the holiday.  I'm sure we won't be going anywhere for Christmas either, but perhaps we can go see my family in MD or FL after Christmas.  I miss them a lot, and the sudden reality of not being here next year is hitting me quite forcefully. 

It's a strange and exciting prospect - leaving here for the great unknown.  For the moment, I'm trying not to think about it.  God has it under control and wherever I should go, that is where I will get in - I have no doubt.  But if it is one of the schools very far away from all my family and friends, it will prove an adjustment.  Not that I couldn't handle it - I've never really gotten homesick per say, but it will be more a sadness of missing out on things.  Things like my little cousins' birthday parties, my grandparents' stories, watching So You Think You Can Dance with Mom, and Christmas tea parties with my life group gals.  That is the problem with someone who loves so many people, places and things - you want to be split into multiple persons in order to fully enjoy everything. 

Until now, leaving didn't really seem like a reality - more like a far off dream.  But, now that all my applications are submitted, for better or for worse, the prospect is quite real. I should find out in March and April, which, at the rate time is going, will be here before I know it.  However, I may not get into any of the schools - they are all so prestigious - so who knows, maybe all this anticipation is for nothing. 

On a different note, I'm going to do my first silk aerial performance Dec. 18.  It will only be 4 1/2 minutes long, but I'm quite excited.  My family and friends are all coming to watch.  Oh, and I also went indoor rock climbing recently and did pretty well for my first time in about 8 years!  I thank the silks for all my new-found upper body strength. :)

Vanessa, me, Heather, Amanda, Whitney at Christmas Tea.

Last night, I went with four of my life group girls to the Historic Reid House of downtown Matthews for a Christmas Tea Party.  We dressed all up and wore old hats and gloves given to my friend Whitney by her grandmother.  All the people there made such a fuss over us and asked to take our picture.  The tea was put on by the Matthew's Women's Club and all the treats were homemade.  I bought a recipe book with all those recipes and more afterward because they were so delicious!  It made me miss England something terrible though!  Whitney and I spoke in British accents half the time and there were carolers and a harpist and pianist.  It was a lovely start to the season, and I'm doing a story on the group who puts on the tea every year - I'll return on Sunday for their first ever Children's Tea.  I can't wait to see all the little girls dressed up for tea time!

I'm attending so many Christmas parties this season.  Luckily, the one I'm going to tomorrow night is a bonfire at a friend's house and is therefore free.  The Christmas Tea was $25 and Second String Santa which I always attend is $20 plus a toy, so when I get free entertainment, I'm thrilled.  lol 

Showing off my outfit.

Unfortunately, with the Christmas season upon us, I just spent $350 on my car.  Ugg.  It started making a horrible squealing sound that we thought was the rear differential fluid, so I had that replaced, but then the sound came back and they discovered that it was my rear breaks.  However, it is now humming quite perfectly so at least I know I'm safe on the road.

Fall Colors Make for Sunny Days

A farm right by my house.

Since coming home, I have been so busy it's been hard to go through the normal period of post-vacation blues.  Berkeley inspired me and I have been working diligently on my MFA applications. I've also been writing up a storm for the Observer, though I have to say, that has not been with quite the same enthusiasm.  The cold weather has made me think it's holiday time and that makes me think "vacation - no work!"  Alas, I never get a week off from my many columns, which are really the tiresome part because I quite enjoy the stories. 

The fields of gold in Ballantyne.

I've also been spending a lot of time with some new friends - Rachel and Tim.  Rachel recently moved down to Charlotte from Ohio and found me through CouchSurfing.  She is a nurse on the same floor with my friend Bethany and lives in the same building on the same floor as my friend Amanda!  Such a small world.  Anyway, she also reached out to a couple other CouchSurfers including Tim who is an engineer and lives in Belmont.  She thought we'd get along well, so we all cooked dinner and played games one night at her house and she was right.  They are both such fun and interesting people and their presence in my life since returning from Ca. has been so bright and cheerful.  Rachel actually took a silk aerial class with me and really enjoyed it so she has signed up to start taking classes too.  That made me super happy! ;)  A week or so ago, Tim and I went to go see "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" at Theater Charlotte (a live performance) which was quite impressive.  The actors really imitated all the weird quirks of the mad-house patients and it was just very well done. 

Nicole and Matthew having a leaf fight.

Also since I've been back, I helped lead a dance club at Quail Hollow Middle School through my church.  Each month, we go to the school (which is a high-poverty school) and feed any students and families that come dinner, then offer clubs for the kids, day care for younger siblings and classes for the parents (on things like finances or computers etc.).  The dance club is being co-lead by a former Bobcat girl and me.  The kids really enjoyed it and said they wished we had it every week.  Next semester, we'll move to twice a month instead of once.  I shared my love for salsa with 35 sixth through eight graders and they were all very receptive to the lesson.

Matthew is trying to climb a tree...in socks.

The fall colors have really been amazing in Charlotte the past couple weeks.  I have literally pulled over on the side of the road to photograph some of the scenes around me.  A couple days ago, as I drove through Ballantyne, I noticed all these trees with bright yellow leaves.  The trees were still yellow, but the ground also had a good dose of gold and I thought "what a fabulous place to take pictures!" Of course at the time I was on my way to somewhere else and couldn't stop.  I thought "next year."  But this weekend I'm babysitting for a family who lives in the Ballantyne area (I've been watching them since the girl was 1 and the boy was not yet born and now they are 12 and 14!!!).  So anyway, the kids and I are driving through Ballantyne and about to get lunch and I decide we are going to have an alfresco lunch under the gold trees!  (I should mention, they were not exactly thrilled about this prospect, as it was a high of 50 today).  However, once we got there, their minds were changed.  We took our Panera food and perched under a tree and Matthew was like "I've never eaten under a tree before."  I told him, "Then this should be the most memorable lunch you've ever had!"  It was sort of like a treasure trove in the middle of the city - truly feeling like a magical world. 

After eating, the kids and I took many photos playing in the leaves and had a right good time.  I should do spontaneous things like such more often. 

Thanksgiving is in a few days, and I'm very happy - it is my favorite holiday I think.  You have all the decorations of Christmas (well, many people do), you have Christmas music on the radio, amazing food and the whole family gets together.  It is the one holiday where big family dinners are a must-have.  Christmas always ends up being just the nuclear family, and maybe a somewhat larger gathering later.  But Thanksgiving, there is no choice.  All relatives in a nearby vicinity (and sometimes not) must gather.  This year, the show "Brothers and Sisters" was canceled.  But I think my family should try out for a real-life version.  Family dinners with my family are loud, laughing, raucous events where everyone is eating delicious food, kids are running and playing, jokes are being relayed; and after dinner, we bust out the board games.  It just doesn't get better than that!  The only sad part about this Thanksgiving is that I won't get to see any of my Bailey side of the family.  Uncle David and Aunt Margie will be up in Williamsburg with their youngest sons, and the older two are staying in Florida, as is Grandma Bailey, Uncle John, Uncle Ben and Uncle Andy. We used to always go down to Tallahassee for Thanksgiving, so I miss that. 

I guess I should get back to work on applications since the kids are playing with friends. I have five more to submit and then I have to send in paper components for some of them, but I'm close to done!

Goodbye San Francisco

Dusk from Berkeley over SF from train station.

When Erin got home on Friday, we went straight to the Golden Gate to walk across it.  It was such a gorgeous day - perfect for walking the bridge (briskly, as it was slightly chilly with the wind).  I got some cool pictures of a sailboat below us.  It looked like so much fun - minus the fact that if I'd been on board I would've been puking my guts up as the water tossed and turned it like a bath toy.  On the walk back, the sun was setting off the opposite side of the bridge, but we weren't allowed to walk on that side because it was bikes only.  I was bummed because the rail impeded our sunset view.  It was still nice though.  When we got back in the car we called Kerri and arranged to meet her at this little alley with these authentic European restaurants along it.  The alley was draped in white twinkle lights and had outdoor tables with umbrellas and waiters trying to get you to choose their restaurant (in their French, Spanish or Italian accents).  We ended up going with a French restaurant because they had Beef Bourguignon which I had not had since making it from Julia Child's recipe with Uncle Tom a couple winters ago.  It was divine!!

On Saturday Kerri's mother arrived at the house and the three of them left for Sanoma. Mike couldn't pick me up from the train in Berkeley until about 1 p.m., so I just left a bit later and took the bus to the train station.

At the top of my run with the city of SF behind me.

Mike picked me up but soon thereafter had to go back to a day-long technology conference on campus.  I ended up working on applications and then was supposed to go to a park with Mike's friends Julie and Ashi, but Julie's car battery died and she had to call AAA.  Mike's other roommate Fred had a friend visiting - Joanna - who was supposed to come with us to the park, so while we waited and both Mike and Fred were doing school-related stuff, we walked to the grocery store and a Halloween store so I could get something for the party that night.  I had a black dress, so I got a fun looking witch's hat, some red nail polish and lipstick, gray and maroon eyeshadow and fake eyelashes with some red shiny stuff on the tips.  I was excited to try it all on that night as I've never been anything "scary" for Halloween in my life. Meanwhile, I really enjoyed spending time with Joanna as she was original from Barcelona and reminded me of my friends Carmen and Enrique from Spain.  She was a really sweet girl and I much enjoyed her company.

Erin at the beginning of our bridge walk.

As soon as we got back to Mike's, Julie called and said she'd gotten the car working and came to pick us up. We got a little lost in the park - which is really big and up in the mountains above Berkeley - so we ended up just finding a big field and laying down a blanket.  Julie and Ashi were studying accounting while I read and Joanna tried to help them (as she had gotten her MBA a couple years prior).  We didn't have much time before the sun started going down, but it was nice to be outside for a little while as the weather was lovely.

When we got back, Mike was already back and dressed for the party - even though it was only about 5:30.  lol  Mike and I worked on applications until it was time to actually get ready for the party, at which point I tried to put on my fake eyelashes.  They said they were self-adhesive...but they lied.  They did not stick.  So, scratched that, but did up my makeup and nails very dramatically and it was almost shocking looking in the mirror with so much makeup on.  I didn't feel like me!  Joanna also had a necklace that worked perfectly with the outfit that she let me borrow.

Walking on the Golden gate.

All the house residents and Joanna dressed up as rugby players.  One of their neighbor's offered to do Mike's black eye for him, but when we were ready to go to the party after the light had faded, it was hard to see.  As I finished my makeup Mike came over and said, "Umm...can you make this darker?"  Luckily, my dark gray/maroon eyeshadow was perfect when blended together to create a very convincing black eye (with just a hint of shimmer lol).  He actually had several people ask him if it was real.  I was quite proud of my artwork. ;)

We left the house about 7:50 and walked to the campus where all the MBA students were supposed to meet before walking to the club where their private party was being held.  There were quite a few good costumes including a whole group of people dressed as The Simpsons who even painted their arms/faces yellow.

Oldest building in California - used to be an inn.

At the club, there was a band who played/sang a lot of Halloween songs and were amazingly good - especially after hearing from Mike that they were all students in the program!  How they had time to practice and prepare was beyond both of us.  By 11:30 it was hot and crowded and we were both pretty much done.  We left and tried to get a taxi back, but it only took us about three blocks because it said it was already reserved for someone else.  Thankfully, I brought a pair of flipflops along with my heels, so walking the rest of the way back wasn't bad at all.  The night didn't feel as cold as it had earlier and it's always nice to walk outside after being in a crowded, hot place with loud music for a while.  Mike and I felt kinda lame leaving so early, but whatever.  We got plenty of sleep and still made it to breakfast and church in the morning! lol  (And no earthquakes! haha).

After church on Sunday we went to Trader Joes to get food for lunch and dinner.  We decided for dinner we'd make spaghetti squash, which I'd assisted my friend Angela in making once over a year ago, and was really good.

The boat in the water.

For the rest of the day, we worked on applications (and watched Step Up 3 which had some great dancing but terrible acting).  I found out when sunset was and found a place 10 minutes away that had this big rock you could climb up and watch the sunset over SF from.  We stopped our working to drive over there and the view was definitely worth it.  While it was somewhat more foggy than it had been on previous evenings, it was still beautiful and I got some great shots of sunset over the Golden Gate.  It really was the perfect end to my trip.  When we got back we cooked the spaghetti squash, which (unbeknownst to me when we bought it), Mike had never made before.  It took longer than expected, but he did a good job!  (I can't really say "we" because I wasn't much help.  I did insist on washing the tomatoes we added though. lol).  After dinner I packed quickly and Mike brought me to the train which went all the way to the airport.  My plane left at 10:45 p.m.

Sunset from bridge over the Pacific.

Riding on trains makes one think of many things.  It reminded me of all the times I took the tube in London (which also went to the airport) and the way I feel different when I travel.  It also brings up feelings of loneliness because inevitably, when you're on a long train ride, you're leaving someone or something behind.  I remember riding on the tube to the airport when I left London after my semester there.  I was all alone and headed to Greece, not knowing when I would see my beloved London again.  The day was cold and wet, and with my forehead pressed against the glass, my tears mingled with the condensation on the window.  I felt like the world around me was crying to see me go, just as I was crying to leave.  Not that I wasn't excited about going to Greece - but I was already longing for a return to England.  Part of me worried that it would somehow cease to exist as my England by the time I returned - like it would have forgotten me entirely.  I know that sounds funny - a place doesn't remember you - but for me, it sometimes feels that way. 

Our costumes.

Being ridiculous.

As I sat on the train from Berkeley to SFO, about an hour ride, I couldn't help feeling a bit of that same feeling.  The strangeness of being somewhere for 10 days and having a marvelous time and an entirely different experience from your everyday life, and knowing it is all about to end.  There was also the leaving behind of warm weather and people I care about.  This trip made me realize just how much I have in common with Erin and Mike.  Erika, who I spent significant time with before she moved to CA, I already knew was like a soul sister.  But, with Erin for example, there were so many little things that we did where it was like "How are we not blood related??"  Even Kerri would laugh at the number of things Erin and I would say or do alike.  And Mike - well who knew he was as much of a neat freak as I am (maybe more??).  lol  We also found out we are the same Myers-Brigg letters (INFJ) - which apparently, is only 1-3% of the population!  Crazyness!  It was really nice hanging out with him because even when we were working, it felt nice just to have a friend sitting next to me who was also driven to succeed but knows how to balance work and play.  Finally, it was great getting to know Kerri better.  She is pretty shy, but I got to know her much better this trip and I really enjoyed her company (she is also an excellent cook). 

With new friends at the party.

Back home, I find myself missing CA, but also being very busy with work and applications.  I'm now applying to 13 schools because I went to Chapel Hill this past Friday and talked with two of my old professors and one of them convinced me I needed to add Stanford to my repertoire.  Apparently, the reason I didn't know about it was because it is so prestigious it doesn't even offer a degree - it's just 2 years of intense writing and classes with some of the best writers in the country - and if you have that fellowship on your resume, you're golden.  And guess what?  Stanford is right below San Francisco!  Haha.  Not that I have a chance of getting in (well, about a 190 to 1 chance), but as my old professor said, "If you shoot for the moon, you'll at least land in the stars." 

That's it for now.  I'm so exhausted my fingers are falling asleep.

Sunset from Berkeley to Golden Gate.

Using my automatic timer.

Watching the sunset.

 

If You're Going to San Francisco....go in October!!

View from window of the plane - sunset over Rockies.

Today makes a week I've been in San Francisco - and what a difference a couple months make!  Last time I was here it was August and was cold, foggy, and damp.  This time, every day has seen a cloudless blue sky, brilliant sun, and mid-day temps in the 70s (or, like last weekend, low 80s!). 

When I arrived last Friday night, my friend Erika from L.A. flew in about the same time as I did.  She planned to stay the weekend with us in San Fran before flying home.  My cousin Erin and her wife Kerri picked us up from the airport and drove us to a quaint Italian restaurant near their house in the Castro district.  We had yummy dinner and caught up on each others' lives.  I was pretty tired since my body thought it was 3 hours later than it was here, but I had gotten a couple hours sleep on the plane, so that helped. 

Erin, Erika, Lauren at Twin Peaks overlook.

The next morning, Erika and I got up before 8 and went running.  Erika is a much more accomplished runner than I am, but let me just say, running in San Fran is hard!  We were both heaving about 50% of the time.  Hills + runners = God laughing.  Anyway, we ran to this little park that had big rocks on top of a hill and from the top, you could see almost all of SF and beyond the bay to Berkeley, Oakland and other areas.  After we finished our run, we returned to Erin's and took showers before going on a driving tour of SF w/Erin and Kerri. 

Lauren and Erika at the Palace of Fine Arts.

They drove us through different areas of SF and pointed out houses they loved (all of which would cost millions of dollars despite being smaller than the average house in Charlotte) and then took us to a beach very near the Golden Gate Bridge.  We were so lucky to find parking right off the bat along the shoreline, and though we didn't stay long, it was fun to watch all the people and see the bridge without a shroud of fog.  From there we drove to another beach on the opposite side of the bridge which was prettier in my opinion and less touristy. On the drive there, we saw a whole group of roller-bladers and all of them were wearing butt-less costumes.  Some had the butt cut out of their pants, some had cut off the back of their skirts - it was so bizarre.  Welcome to San Francisco!  Everyone seemed to be out and about as it was in the low 80s - unusual for SF and on the second beach, Erika and I took off our shoes and ran around the sand and waded a little bit in the frigid water.  There were a couple people actually in the water, but they were clearly insane. ;) 

Erin, Lauren, Erika with bridge.

After that, we drove through the Presidio (an old military base that is now a huge park) and went to Nob Hill to see Grace Cathedral.  The Cathedral is a decedent of Grace Church which was built there in 1849.  The present church renovation was completed in 1964 with Ghiberti doors made in Italy that are replicas of the doors on the Florence Baptistery (part of the Duomo).  As soon as I saw them I was like "Whoa, those look like the same doors" and after looking it up on Wikipedia, found out they were replicas made when the doors were removed during WWII and kept in underground storage for fear of bombing.  During that time, several replicas were made - this being one of them. 

Bridge!

After seeing the church, which was very reminiscent of European cathedrals, we went to Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39 where all the sea-lions sun bathe on the docks.  We bought a few little things and looked around in several of the shops on the pier.  From there we walked toward a pier that proffered a wonderful view of the Bay Bridge directly to our right with the sun setting on it, and the Golden Gate far to the left, with some fog rolling in under it.  I got some great photos of both. 

We tried to go to a Spanish restaurant for dinner after that, but it was a 2 hour wait and we were starving.  Instead, we went to a sushi place and I got fried shrimp since I don't do raw fish. 

The next morning we left a little after 9 and drove to Muir Woods, a National Monument (like a National park but smaller) that was across the Golden Gate.  It has redwoods there, so we went to do some tree-hugging.  I was excited because I got us all in for free with my National Park pass! :)  The woods were incredibly mystical and full of magic.  We kept expecting to see nymphs, gnomes and fairies pop out at any moment.  The trees were definitely big and tall, though not as large as the ones I saw in the far northern part of CA during my road trip.

The best beach!

After a good hike through the woods, we drove to Saulsalito for lunch.  Saulsalito is a little town right on the bay that overlooks San Francisco with tons of unique little shops and seafood restaurants.  We ate at one right on the water and then shopped around.  In one of the shops I bought a perfume bottle made in Italy with beautiful blown-glass for only $20.  Erika got one too.  We also watched as some random guy built rock formations on the wave breakers, finding small rocks and medium sized rocks and making them balance on each other in ways that looked impossible. 

Grace Cathedral.

The Florence doors.

From there, we drove back to SF and went to Alamo Square where the beginning of Full House was filmed.  While on the hill overlooking the Painted Ladies (the colorful row houses), some guy started playing the Full House theme song on a boom box and some random girls started crying she was so happy.  I guess I can't say anything though...I was practically in tears when I went to all the Dawson's Creek places in Wilmington last summer.   After that we were totally pooped and came back to the house to watch an episode of Grey's Anatomy before taking Erika to the airport to fly home. 

On Monday while Erin and Kerri were at work, I worked from their apartment until Erin got home.  When she did, we changed clothes and went to the House of Air.  This place was so cool!  It was a giant warehouse full of trampolines where you could jump yourself out!  We purchased an hour of jumping and after 15 minutes were already exhausted.  It was so much fun to play on trampolines again, since Mom sold ours a few years ago.  I practiced my front handspring and flip, and the next day, boy was I sore!  I wish we had something like that in Charlotte - what fun we had!

View of Golden Gate from Bay Bridge area.

Pier 39 - Fisherman's Wharf.

On Tuesday I did some work and then walked down to the downtown Castro district to buy a pair of sunglasses and some earphones (I left mine at home and the ones from the airplane were not very good).  I was then listening to Mocking Jay on this little recorded device I borrowed from the library and I just kept walking down Market Street.  Next thing I know, I'm in downtown SF - three miles from Erin's place.  Apparently, the president was in a hotel right near where I was giving a speech and I didn't even know it! It would've been cool to see him.  I watched some street tap dancer perform and had lunch at a burger place that was new and gave me free fries with the burger.  I was too tired to walk all the way back (uphill), so I took the subway to downtown Castro and then walked the last half mile or so back to Erin's.  A little later I walked to the Circus Center, about a mile and half from Erin's, and took a silk aerial class.  I learned a couple new moves, which was fun, and inside the gym where the class was held, other people were practicing trapeze, rope aerial, trampoline and other such circus acts.  It was slightly overwhelming to the senses, but interesting.  However, I like the classes I take in Charlotte better.  We have more silks to work with, more people, and we move a bit faster I think.  The teacher here was very nice though.  When she asked me about the moves I knew, I started telling her and realized that we spoke a different language - the moves I know are called by different names in NC than in CA, so I had to describe/show her many of them and she was like "ohhh, interesting, I can see why it's called that!" 

Bay Bridge by sunset.

Erin picked me up from the class and we came home where Kerri was making shrimp scampi for dinner and it was delicious!  I then packed a bag and Erin dove me to the train station (called BART) so I could take a train (actually more like a subway) to Berkeley where Mike was going to pick me up.  I've known Mike for about five or so years now, having been his first salsa teacher when I was teaching with Rodrigo in college.  I'd come home every other weekend to teach with Rodrigo and Mike had come in to take a class with his girlfriend at the time.  We kept running into each other thereafter, and have established a friendship over the years.  He recently started his MBA at Berkeley so I went to stay with him for a couple nights to give Erin and Kerri a break and catch up with Mike. 

Kerri, Lauren and Erin hugging redwoods.

After he picked me up, he drove me back to the humongous house he shares with five other MBA students.  It was built in 1901 and is gigantic and kind of spooky with many hidden doors and secret closets.  Mike definitely got the best spot in the house - the entire attic is his and is so large with so much storage it actually fit his entire 3 bedroom apartment from Charlotte.  He has a great view off his balcony and the angles of the roof and the redwood walls/ceilings are so lovely.  The house has so much character - I want to live in a house like that one day.  Much more interesting than the cookie-cutter houses new developers make. 

pretty

The next morning Mike had class at 9 so I worked from his place for a little while, then walked the 20 minutes to the Berkeley campus.  It is really a beautiful campus and I LOVED the library - it was so great with old sofas and chair and oriental rugs and chandeliers.  I spent some time there reading and then met Mike when he finished his class at 12:50.  We walked back to his place and ordered pizzas for pickup from a local joint. Before his 4 o'clock class, Mike tried to get some homework done and I worked on some grad school apps.  While he was in class until 6, I ordered my GRE scores to be sent to the schools I'm applying to and edited my writing samples.  When he got home, we made pasta for dinner and relaxed some until it was time to go salsa dancing. 

Hanging out with a tree.

The place we went to dance reminded me so much of Morehead Street Tavern in Charlotte where we used to salsa dance on Wednesday nights in Charlotte. I met some of Mike's grad school friends there and we had a fabulous time dancing.  Though when I wasn't dancing with Mike or his friend Will, I was not entirely happy with the creepy guys there.  As soon as a dance ended, I'd step one toe off the floor and another guy would be like "Bailar??" (dance??).  Finally, by 12:30 when my feet were killing me, I was like "sorry, I'm done." haha  The atmosphere of meeting his friends and hanging out with everyone there made me really miss school so much.  I'm getting more excited about the prospect of grad school.  I almost wish there were any top MFA programs out here.  It really is a different world and kind of magical in its own way.  Unfortunately, the only top programs not on the East coast are in Boulder, CO (Univ of Colorado); Austin, TX (UT) and St. Louis, MO (Washington Univ), and I'm applying to all of them as it were.  I'm also applying to Univ of FL, UNC-G, UNC-W, Brown, Johns Hopkins, Hollins University, and UVA. 

At the top of our hike.

That night, I woke up a few minutes past 5:30 a.m. thinking that Mike was shaking me awake.  I woke up scared because I thought maybe there was a fire or something, but when I opened my eyes, there was no one there.  Mike was on the couch and I was in his bed, which was rocking forward and back, forward and back.  It was then that I realized - I was experiencing my first earthquake and it was completely surreal.

The next day I told Mike about it - he hadn't woken up - though he's a much sounder sleeper than I am.  I told him to look it up online because Erin said all earthquakes are recorded in a list online.  Well, as soon as he typed in Berkeley earthquake, it came up as an actual news article.  "3.9 Earthquake Shakes Berkeley."  hahaha  He was bummed that he missed it.  I'm sure being the attic also helped with feeling it, though 3.9 is fairly strong and Kerri even felt it in SF, despite the epicenter being in Berkeley. 

Erika and me in Saulsalito.

Rock statues with SF in background.

After we got up on Thursday, we went to a nearby coffee shop for breakfast and worked on our applications - his for fellowships and mine for grad school.  At 1:30 we left and went to lunch at this kosher place called Holy Land where we each had pitas stuffed with meat, tomatoes and lettuce.  As we walked back to Mike's house, we passed the most famous ice cream place in Berkeley and since Mike doesn't eat ice cream, I of course had to get one and try it.  It was, admittedly, amazing.  I even got Mike to try a bite.  Back at the house, we watched Revenge which he'd kindly recorded for me.  It made me really happy how closely he listened to my whole recap of the show this far and really paid attention and when watching the show, would pause it and ask me questions.  So many people would've been like "whatever." 

With the Painted Ladies.

After the show, we walked to the park that is directly across the street and played some Frisbee then just lay on a picnic blanket enjoying the warm sun.  It was a gorgeous day, warmer than the day before, and it was just the perfect ending to the day.  That evening, Mike drove me to the train station and Erin & Kerri picked me up on the other side and took me with them to the oldest bar in San Francisco where one of their friends was playing live music.  We had a yummy dinner and their friend was very good - though the world series postponed his set quite a bit and as it was, he had to start before it was over since they went into so much overtime.  I must say though, it was getting fairly exciting when they went into their 10th and then 11th inning.  I can't believe St. Louis ended up winning after being down most of the game. 

Kerri and Erin looking at the Painted Ladies.

Today I went running and went to the top of Buena Vista park from which you can see the Golden Gate, then I went to the same spot with the rocks on the hill where Erika and I had run.  I sat there for a while looking out over the city and listening to a podcast on my iPod. 

Now I'm back at Erin's working and waiting for her to get home so we can either walk or bike across the bridge.  Tomorrow she and Kerri are driving Kerri's mom to Sanoma for her birthday, so in the morning I'm going back to Mike's until my flight leaves on Sunday night.  We're also going to a Halloween Party on Saturday night which I'm looking forward to!