Category: Drew

Categories
Drew Friends Nature Sports

Memorial Day Weekend, Part Deux

I mentioned recently that Drew and I sort of let the weekends go by us, while we spend them relaxing and generally not doing very much. Well, we wanted to make the most of this weekend, so we’ve been doing our best to remain entertained and engaged in this second half of the long weekend.

Yesterday our friends Sam and Shawn came up from Redwood City and we went to Sea Bowl.

Here’s what I learned: I am way worse at bowling than I thought I was. I thought I was like, eh, okay. But really I am like, a 40-point-game type of bowler. Surprising, and slightly embarrassing. If I knew how bad I was, I would have, like, pretended to never have bowled before or something.

At least the shoes were cool…in a hipster sort of way. (Non-matching shoelaces and all.)

I think I probably just needed to get back into the swing of things. But we got through only 1 1/2 games. I guess I could just say I was going to hustle them, and I just didn’t have time to get into the second part of the hustle.

Today it’s semi-nice out, and we went for a walk. Milagra Ridge is a nice place to walk, it’s got great views, it’s not super difficult but it’s also not totally flat. There is also a WW II bunker (or maybe more than one?) and that’s interesting. Today we climbed over the “fence” that separates the walking paths from the wilderness part, and climbed all over the bunker.

Obviously, people have broken in and spent some time hanging out in there. You can stick your head in the part they broke into (although it makes me super nervous to stick my head very close), and check out what they chose to graffiti on the walls. (Things like ’91 and “KKK Sucks!”)

Here’s the makeshift entrance to the bunker:

Here’s the real door to the bunker (well-hidden!).

Then we had to make our way back down to the path.

Now that I got my fresh air and my Vitamin D, I don’t have to feel guilty if all I want to do the rest of the day is sit around reading Kristin Cashore’s Fire, or watching Modern Family, and waiting for the maintenance guy to come out and fix the balcony door.

Categories
Awesome Drew

My crazy Saturday night

Today’s just been one wild party. It started with a visit to the Embarcadero farmer’s market, which is gigantic and awesome. We shopped for fruit, bread, and honey. The fruit is mostly for a salad we’re making for tomorrow night, when we’re having dinner with Drew’s parents, brother and sister-in-law. I expect it will be over the top and full of high jinks.

Then we upped the stakes by going to a matinee of Bridesmaids, using a gift card we got at Christmas. Afterwards we felt really revved up so we came home and washed dishes, and then made dinner: angel hair pasta with garlic, shrimp, asparagus, and mushrooms.

While we ate dinner we channel surfed, because we’re too young and unpredictable to commit to just one channel. Afterwards we broke out the board game Ticket to Ride, which is awesome. We played one game, and then decided for the second time through that we would each take twice as many pieces, so the game would last longer.

Now that we’ve cleaned up the game and are settling down from our wild and crazy Saturday, I just mixed up some chocolate milk and I’m stretching out in my snowman pajamas. Good thing we still have tomorrow to recover from today.

It’s been a really great Saturday. I wouldn’t trade a day like this. And I don’t care what that says about me. =P

Categories
Drew My name Writing

Say My Name

SAY MY NAME

Here’s a fun fact about me: I don’t really like saying my name out loud. Saying it one time is doable, but if I have to keep saying it, things get awkward. I’m sorry to say that when people ask me to repeat my name for clarification, my voice goes up at the end? Like it’s a question? That annoying way of speaking that drives everyone crazy?

I think I am secretly afraid that I’m saying it wrong. Yes, my own first name.

My averseness to saying names sometimes extends to other people’s names. Like Drew. For some reason, I’m always expecting someone to call me on my “totally weird” way of saying his name. Like, am I making the “Dr” sound into too much of a “J” sound? Or am I over-emphasizing the “ooo”? It shouldn’t be a difficult name – that’s one of the reasons his mom picked it for him – but it’s become this occasional mental stumbling block for me.

It’s a similar feeling as when you repeat a single word over and over again (like egg, or hamster) and it starts to lose all meaning. What is a Drew anyway? Although I have always been jealous of people whose names also function as words: like my fifth-grade teacher, whose first name was Star. She could collect all kinds of things with stars on them. What could I collect?

Drew and I rarely call each other by our names, when it’s just the two of us. (Maybe he’s also nervous he’s saying it wrong.) Some embarrassing nicknames may or may not come into play. I figure at some point, as the many years of marriage weigh on us, we’ll transition into using each other’s names. Or maybe we won’t. That’s what makes us us, I suppose.

The other day at a work function I had to introduce myself to the group as a whole, and then to four people individually. By the fifth time I said, “Hi, I’m Syche,” even I was thinking, Well, that is just ridiculous. Then there was the inevitable spelling it out – I think people think it will clarify things, but it just muddles them more. That same night I went out with some friends for dinner, and when they asked for a name, I said Drew. Without skipping a beat the hostess said, “You don’t look like a Drew.” Not the first time I’ve heard that. I guess it is true that you embody your name, and some people just couldn’t be anything but what they’re named. What does that say about me? I’m easily misunderstood, and possibly always trying just a little too hard?

You can change your name but I don’t think I would ever want to. It would be too weird to have to figure out what name I do embody, at this late point in my life. And I guess in a sick, Stockholm Syndrome-type of way, I’m proud of my name, and that I’m not just another Jessica in a sea of Jessicas.

Online here for a short time!

Categories
Drew Sleep talking Work Writing

Sleep Talking IX

Drew: Did you set the alarm?
Me: Yup.
Drew: To the new binder time?
Me: …
Drew: The pick up time. The drop off time.
Me: Whose pick up time?
Drew: Me.
Me: What time should you be dropped off?
Drew: You KNOW what I’m talking about. The program time. The new program.
Me: …
Drew: Do you know what I’m talking about?

Today it was foggy and cold and windy when I got up, but by the time I got down to the South Bay for work, it was sunny and hot and awesome. But still windy. We had a fun and laid-back day – lots of people out of the office on this spring Friday. I’m looking forward to this weekend…although I have to say, the weekdays FLY by lately.

May is apparently “Short Story Month” (according to whom?) so my BFF Liz and I made a pact to write 3 short stories each. I guess I should get on that since May is like 1/5th over.

I feel very unfocused right now. Friday fidgets?

Categories
Awesome Beauty Drew Exercise Nature

Waterfall Loop, San Pedro Point

I had a busy, cool weekend.
 
First, I went and cut off a bunch of my hair. Yeah, I’ve had those “It’s REALLY short” second thoughts, but overall, I think I’m happy with it.
carnage

Last night I made stuffed bell peppers for dinner. Yum.

Today Drew and I went hiking at San Pedro Point. He assured me it wasn’t “hard,” “terrible,” or anything like that. Then halfway through he apparently recanted. The words “I think I might be dying” may or may not have been uttered.

But it was a beautiful day and a great hike. Totally worth it. Maybe next time, if it’s that warm, I won’t wear jeans and a long-sleeved shirt.

At the top of the trail is a bench where you can sit and look at Pacifica and the ocean. There were three young, fit kids sitting on that bench. They noted our arrival, and then ignored us and kept passing around a pair of binoculars, while we panted behind them. Teenagers…psshh.

Then, without even having had a rest, we set off back down the other side of the mountain.

Going downhill is MUCH easier, and I talked most of the time down, about anything and everything that crossed my mind. Sometimes I think that’s why Drew takes me on these hikes – on the way up, I conserve my breath for getting oxygen to my muscles, so I can’t talk. But when the going gets easier…I don’t shut up.

Apparently this is a 2.2 mile loop, with an elevation of 200-840 feet. I think it took us a little less than an hour and a half. A totally fun and joyful way to spend a Sunday afternoon!

Categories
Being a girl Dollars Drew Friends Nonfiction

Cute shoes; good husband

Recently my BFF Megan was visiting California from her now-hometown of Washington, DC. Megan and I have a complicated history (not bad, just detailed): we were dorm roommates our first year at UC Davis, the only two English majors in a building filled with 70 computer science, physics, math, biology, and engineering students.

We lost touch after that, and while I was doing theatre stuff and moving to New York, she was going to law school and spending time in Africa. In the winter of 08/09 she wrote a Facebook note about Prop 8 and I read it, and realized that the Megan I remembered had changed a lot. She talked about being on the “No on 8” side of a protest and looking across at the people on the “Yes on 8” side. It was a very personal, fascinating note. And very long. I emailed her a response regarding the religious implications of Prop 8 – and then didn’t hear anything for a couple months.

When she wrote back, we started talking again, and shortly after that Drew and I got engaged. Then Megan said she’d be coming to New York (from Sacramento) for a visit and we should get together. I was nervous (maybe she was too) but it ended up being the greatest idea ever. We started out at Vynl on 9th Avenue for dinner and drinks, and ended up at Juniors for cosmos and cheesecake.

She moved to New York and we spent the summer of 09 walking around Manhattan, presumably for exercise, but it often included lots of gossip, girltalk, and ended with shopping, either for groceries at a chic store (no ghetto Key Foods here) or for clothes…more often for clothes.

So when Megan came out for a visit this month, we had to shop. And shop we did. The week before she came, I told Drew I didn’t have extra money this month for things like lunches out and buying shoes. He said (and I quote), “Please promise me you’ll use credit cards so you can have a good time with her. Just use them responsibly.”

It turns out we may have different definitions of “responsible” credit card use – this became apparent when I came through the door on Friday loaded down with shopping bags. “They’re not all mine!” I said before he could say anything.

But I needed everything I bought. The work clothes – for work! – I mean, I only had so much stuff I could wear to work without feeling shamed. And with summer coming on I definitely needed some warm weather clothes. And the Bare Escentuals stuff – I mean, come on, I had been saying for weeks that I wanted to buy moisturizer and eye shadow. So that’s all fair. And the shoes? Well, the flat sandals are obvious, I’ll wear them all the time when it’s warm enough. The platform heels? I love them! Where will I wear them? I’ll figure it out.

At some point during the day, when I was throwing down my credit card yet again, I did stop to think that maybe this wasn’t what he had in mind by “use them responsibly.” Maybe he meant to say “sparingly.” Oh well.

That he didn’t even give me a hard time about any of this is a testament to how nice he is. I mean, ultimately I was still medium-responsible. And the weekend was so fun that it was totally worth it. But I am grateful that he didn’t grill me about my purchase choices or the final cost of the weekend…he’s a nice guy. So here’s to Drew! And to his understanding nature, and his strong sense of the importance of friendship.

And seriously, these shoes are so cute.

Categories
Awesome Beginnings Being a girl Drew Nonfiction

Female Driver

New Year’s Resolutions I have accomplished:

     – Get off unemployment
     – Get a real job
     – Submit at least one play to the Samuel French OOB Festival
And now!
     – Submit a “guest commentary” piece to my hometown paper

This isn’t my first appearance in the Record-Bee: In 8th grade I was the school “historian,” and wrote a little weekly piece about what was going on at the school.  Around Christmas I apparently got bored of seeing my name in print, and I started writing under the pen name Ginger Brett.  I had completely forgotten about this until I was going through some old stuff and found the clippings.  But if there was any doubt, the writing is undeniably mine…you can take that however you want.

I was the historian again during my senior year of high school, when my most noticeable column was about the end-of-the-year school trip that a bunch of the seniors were taking to Mexico.  I casually and thoughtlessly said something about how the drinking age in Mexico is 18 and I wondered whether the parents of all those students had thought of that yet. The next day I was accosted in the halls by tearful girls from the soccer team saying I ruined their senior trip.  I spent the whole morning waiting to be called to the principal’s office and reprimanded.

Now I realize that those girls may have overreacted, just slightly.

My latest column will hopefully not offend anyone. It will be printed in tomorrow’s paper (yes, I asked my parents to save me one), and it’s already available online.  But for your viewing convenience, it’s also right here.

===

FEMALE DRIVER

“I don’t think I’ve ridden in the car with you driving in a long time,” my husband Drew remarked casually the other day on a middle-of-the-day trip to Target.  And it was true; usually whenever we go anywhere I make him drive.  I like sitting in the passenger seat and commenting on things out the window, and I also like not feeling judged for my driving.  Not that he would do that to me.

But I have seen his foot touch the imaginary brake pedal on his side of the car, plenty of times.

“You’re right,” I said, “it has been a while.”

“I forgot how fast you drive.”

What?!  I don’t drive fast.  I drive the speed limit – particularly in places where the speed limit is 35, it kills me to watch those cars all cruise along at 30, all in their individual lanes, not giving me a chance to go around them.  Don’t they know the light’s going to the change and we’re all going to get stuck behind a 4-wheeler?

I put on my left blinker and try to move over so I can turn, but the crazy driver behind me seems intent on edging me out.  I speed up a little and manage to squeeze in.

“Just promise me,” he said, as we turned into the Target parking lot and were faced with 4 speed bumps, “that one day when you have a car seat and a baby in the back seat, you’ll take the speed bumps more gently.”

“Like this?” I asked, slowing to a complete stop in front of one and then very, very carefully guiding the front wheels over, and then the back wheels, both pairs in perfect harmony, and landing back on the ground with barely a thump.  The way I’ve watched the cars in our apartment complex do it when I’m sitting behind them, urging them to “Go, please, just go!”

“Yeah, like that,” he said.  “That’s actually the way people do it when they care about their car.”

Well, I care about my car!  I have been through a lot with this car – it was my first car, I got it for my senior year of high school, and it’s waited for me all the times I’ve been away: my first year of college when we weren’t allowed to have cars, and the three years we lived in New York when it made zero sense to have a car.  Always patiently waiting behind…and then allowing me to drive it the way I drive it when I come home.

On second thought, maybe it’s not patiently waiting.  Maybe it just keeps thinking (hoping?) that this might be the time I don’t come back.

I love you, car.  And I promise to treat you better.

I fulfill the first part of my promise when I finally – finally! – get around to asking Chuck, my father-in-law, to help me with putting on the new windshield wipers my brother gave me for Christmas, and to change the rear left turn signal, which I’ve noticed has been out.

(For how long?  Surely that’s the reason I’ve noticed drivers reluctant to let me merge left.  They weren’t the unrelenting jerks – I was the non-signaling lane-changer.  Sheepish, I tried extra hard to leave lots of room when I merged, between the moment I figured out the problem and the moment I got the light bulb changed.)

When Chuck pulled out the bulb he turned it toward me so I could see how black it was.  “Been out for a long time, hasn’t it?” he asked.

“Um…”  I’m divided between what’s a worse answer, “Yes, quite a while” or “I have no idea.”  I settle for “I guess so.”

He’s very nonjudgmental though, and the rest of the bulb changing passes without incident.  And now I have 4 functioning blinkers and windshield wipers that actually clear everything off the glass, instead of leaving two streaks across my vision.  Which is nice.

Actually, now that that’s done, it’ll probably stop raining in the Bay Area.  When this week brings spring and sunny weather, you can thank me!  And Chuck of course.

Categories
Drew Fashion Friends Sleep talking

Sleep Talking, 8

At about 4:30 this morning:

Drew: What? Why did you do that?
Me: ?
Drew: Buy a hot air balloon?
Me: Don’t worry, I didn’t actually.
Drew: Oh okay. *goes back to sleep*
Me: *thinks about how cool it’d be to own a hot air balloon*

In other news, Megan is here and today we’re heading out on the town to shop for party dresses, shoes, and restrictive undergarments to wear with our party dresses and shoes.  Other things I have expressed an interest in: new jeans, summery type shirts, and 3/4-sleeve cardigan sweaters to wear over sleeveless shirts at work.  So it’s gonna be a busy day.

I couldn’t decide between posting the video for “Shoes” or “Friday,” so you get this instead (it’s totally worth watching):

Categories
Awesome Dreams Drew

A grandiose celebration

I’ve been edging up on 10,000 views total over the life of this blog.  Well, actually, when I say I have been edging up on it, I mean I was at like 8500 and starting to think about what I wanted to do to celebrate 10,000.  I figured I should do something, I mean, that’s an accomplishment.

Me: I’m almost to 10,000 total views.
Drew: Wow!
Me: Calm down now. How many of them are you?
Drew: About half.

Nevertheless, I really was planning a party, like when you hit the 100th day of the school year in kindergarten, and all day is counting to 100, 10 sets of 10, and m&ms.  That’s how I remember it, at least.

Then this silly Guess Who? post got Freshly Pressed (yay!) and the count started climbing, and I didn’t even have time to plan anything.  Then I sat here with the page on 9,992, hitting refresh and waiting to see 10,000.  Then I got distracted by Facebook or some such nonsense and when I clicked back I had missed it entirely.

Not that I’m complaining about ANY of this, I’m just explaining why the party will be less anticipated and more hastily thrown together.  Like when your birthday’s on a Wednesday and your party is the Saturday after.  Just not the same.

I can definitely put something together for 25,000 views.  Start planning now.  What do you guys say?

Categories
Awesome Children Drew Endings

The Mystery Face Game

 

Drew has this old Guess Who? game that we used to pull out whenever we were home from New York and killing time at his parents’ house. They finally sent it back to our apartment with us today, in the last box of his old stuff, and so we sat down to play a game.

But it’s too easy.  I mean, the game is for 6-year-olds, and the box suggests questions like, “Does your person wear glasses?” and “Does your person have blue eyes?”  Which…I thought you’re supposed to ask second-person questions?  “Do you have a hat on?” and “Do you look like an escaped convict?”

So in the past, in order to give the game an extra twist, we’ve restricted questions about gender, and anything to do with color.  But the game still lasts all of about 4 turns each, or about 60 seconds.

So today we started a new rule: Only questions about their occupations. 

We played three games this way, and it does take longer. 
1) You have to study all the faces you have left and come up with a good occupation that would help you narrow it down: “Are you in fashion?” 
2) Then you have to interpret the other player’s response: “Um…yeah? Yeah, I guess so” is a very different response from, “OMG yes.” 
3) Then you have to apply that response to all the faces, and use your best judgment whether or not to flip that little person down.

It was actually much harder than regular Guess Who?  In fact, no one won any of the three games we played.  Every game ended something like:

“Are you Sam?”
“No!  I’m Max!”
“What??  Oh, I guess Max might be a waiter.”
This was our Guess Who? swansong, because Drew is going to donate the game to his work.  But I did like the 10 minutes of fun it provided this afternoon!