teresa

One of our best recent experiences was a trip to HangarOne in Alameda, a vodka producer and distributor that has a tasting room at the front of their old army base warehouse.  It was a SWE (Society of Women Engineers) event although we let the men in our lives who so enjoy joking about SME attend.

They have a flight of small shots similar to wine tasting although the menu instead includes mostly vodka with some brandy and whiskey to mix it up.  I didn’t know what to expect other than to bring food because they don’t serve any and it works out to be a few shots so it is not an insignificant amount of alcohol for a Wednesday night, at least for us married types.

We had a tasting tour guide who shared facts about the distilling process and tasting tips.  Our favorite factoids included that the making of the pear vodka, for one bottle, required 15 pounds of pears, and also that breathing out after your sip helps with the experience – boy is that true.  There is something that happens when the alcohol mixes with oxygen which is why we were informed not to swirl the glasses like you would wine tasting.  He also said the reason why your throat burns when you shoot vodka is because the oxygen mixing, so he said sip and exhale…  For me what happened on the flavored vodkas is with the exhale the flavors filled my mouth with a fresh exhilaration.  There was a floral flavored vodka that made you feel like you were exhaling a garden for the short moment of breathing out.  We had a lot of fun, we will definitely take other people back there when we have visitors.

We then went to Reno for the annual shareholders meeting for work and I had a board meeting the next day.  It was a quick trip as I had to be back Saturday morning so it felt a bit rushed, just Thursday and Friday, and unfortunately that we had little to no time for family and friends.

Saturday, yesterday, I spent all day with ULI and Rebuilding Together helping to repair a school, a wonderful little and unfortunately dilapidated school, in San Francisco.  I had a wonderful day.  I haven’t spent enough time lately giving back.  Two of the contractors we work with helped with the project as well so I felt like I was really able to contribute.  I worked mostly on a new storage area in the back for the teacher to store her materials and new guardrail and handrail at an entrance with a stair that was built out of now rotting wood.  The rest of the group made a variety of other wonderful improvements including cleaning up the second entrance with new pavers and a new door.  New lighting.  All new paint.  ULI secured a huge group of volunteers and it was a mad house, just go go go all day.  Then we went to happy hour to celebrate our good deed.  I enjoyed a couple of ambers and mostly had some laughs with one of the contractors we work a lot with.    One of those guys reminds me of John so much its silly.  He has such a similar personality to John with the same sense of humor of himself and also of others.  And he has the same laugh as John, the one that is higher pitched with a pinch of sarcasm and mischief.

So a great week overall.  Then today Elliott and I went out to breakfast and then sat around all day, did laundry, and watch tv.  It was glorious, and we needed it.  Although don’t feel too envious because we did get back on our schedule after a missing a few running dates last week and ran 6 miles.  So we got our sweat equity in.  Now we are relaxing before bed.  Elliott is reading a sci-fi novel in an effort to seed his creative side and I am going to read a better homes and gardens magazine, that I can’t seem to get them to stop sending (my effort to be more green), in search of recipes.  So, the Goodwin’s are good.

Elliott and I went to dinner tonight.  Although rather than a $40 minimum ticket we picked up <$10 sandwiches from Safeway (which turned out to be pretty good) and drove out to Livermore to Del Valle Lake.  We hiked the less than 1 mile to the top with a great view of the lake and Livermore Valley and we ate dinner on the bench.  Its a little funny to think of it as a money saving idea, although that was partly it, we are certainly working to cut our expenses although it turned out to be much more enjoyable than any dinner we have had a restaurant in a long time.  The views, the quiet, the lone mountain biker, all added to the ambiance far surpassing any east bay hot spot.  So I am thinking that is my new request for a date night.  Didn’t hurt that it was 80 degrees today either so the weather was beautiful as well.

Other random thoughts, kids on bikes scare me.  Elliott and I are training for a marathon so we have been running rather regularly.  Often we will pass by other runners and walkers, and many times families.  The kids we pass on bikes look like at any moment they might lose control and barrel into you.  You can tell their blood pressure rises as you approach and they move over toward the edge of the walkway to avoid you nearly wrecking in the process.  These newly found bike riders scare me and after I safely pass certainly make me laugh.

Over the weekend we helped out both Friday and Saturday nights at the Rotary conference.  Elliott’s club helped wtih their Area’s hospitality suite and they needed help serving the food.  So both nights we assisted with preparing little pieces of baguette with a squirt of horseradish, skirt of mustard, and a slice of corned beef.  We made hundreds if not almost one thousand between both nights!  It was fun.  It was very interesting to see the handful of people that wanted something special.  There were times when we felt like we couldn’t cut and squirt fast enough and someone would come up and ask for one without the mustard, or no carbs…  oh man when food is free I think you got to take it as it comes.  Obviously I would have been less annoyed if I had spent more time in the other room serving (and drinking) Irish libations, atlhough instead of a hangover I got heartburn from eating too much corned beef.  Bob, the president of Elliott’s club, the chef, is also hilarious.  He reminds me a bit of my father although with more spunk.  At one point when one woman who wanted extra corned beef was trying to scoop it up to eat it with a chip and she couldn’t quite get it, Bob reached over and pushed it onto her chip for her with his finger.  He is the type of guy who does stuff that makes you laugh although you know you really shouldn’t laugh because most of it is borderline inappropriate.  Fortunately I found most of his stuff funny the two nights so that at least added to the experience.

This week we are going to Reno for the shareholders meeting Thursday and the BOD meeting Friday.  Should be fun, although we have no time to see friends so I am a little bummed.  Then its back to the Bay area Friday night, I volunteered to help with a construction project for Rebuilding Together Saturday.  Elliott I think may be staying in Reno for WordCamp!  That’s right a Word Press conference, the software he programs our blogs and now our new BJG website in.  I think it is really funny he is going to go to WordCamp. And then I believe he is taking the train home… oh wait update, Elliott has decided not to go to WordCamp… bummer I know he was excited about it.  Good for me though, that means I have my driving partner to come back with me.  Which ultimately means I will fall asleep and Elliott will get me home safe, just the way its supposed to happen.

I have set a personal goal to blog once a week as I feel I need an outlet although I feel as if I have lost that love in feeling for bloggin.  Not sure what is up with that.  I used to walk the streets seeing things I couldn’t wait to report on my blog, so much to write about I had to come up with run on titles to capture my discombobulated posts.  Now all I have to write about is what I used to write about and my wish to want to write like that again.  Strange.  I think things are often up and down in life, in fact I have always felt like I have had these low times at, not an often, although definite frequency.  So I am in it.  I know I will get out.  I don’t know when although I know it will happen.

In the meantime unfortunately Elliott and I have had a big fight.  I can’t even say over what because I don’t think it was over anything except of pure exhaustion and frustration.  We have talked about if tensions are increased because we work together and would things be better if we didn’t work together.  Although I think its really just that these are tough times.  And we both feel like we are in the middle of it, perhaps very fragile – mostly our jobs feel fragile at least they do to me and all the while I feel as if we are expected to make rain, and yet we can’t find our dance, can’t even find a beat.

And so I work to be compelled.  I think often of the saying, be the change you wish to see in the world, although I seem to find that thought exhausting.  I wonder if this time if the world can be the change I wish to see and I can just join along.

I think the weight of feeling like I should spend extra time working and looking for opportunities makes me feel guilty when I spend time seeking mental rest.  Like now.  I could certainly be doing any number of things right now that would benefit my job.  In fact there is at least one thing I have promised to do that needs to be done tonight.  Although instead I chose to watch tv, pretty funny for someone who doesn’t own a television although hulu solved that problem.  I did however watch Kicking It, which is a documentary on the homeless world cup, so it was at least thought and heart provoking rather than just raw entertainment like South Park which Elliott is now watching next me, head phones and all (ok he has now given that up for tech crunch surfing).

We are fine now by the way.  Not totally mended, although more focused on our love for each other than our frustration at each other.  So things go on.  I do plan to write more.  It may continue to be some what reflective and personal although I hope to renew my spark of the odd daily humor that used to cross my path, and also take the time to share my stories with my family and friends.  With outlets like Facebook, Linked In and now I am even on Twitter it seems as if in these small settings I have shared a lot although really its just pieces, almost meaningless pieces looking to add meaning.  So I will come here for what feels like more meaning.  Deep in thought, sharing my feelings, stories, reflective, humorous, happy and sad.  Why because its my blog and I can reflect if I want to!  See you next week.