welcome, 2008.

this is what i wrote one year ago regarding the new year. unfortunately, i still managed to start lots and lots of books without finishing them. i sure didn't pay off 1/6 of my school loans. and i didn't volunteer consistently. but! i did find a church. so that's good.

all the things i was looking forward to (being an aunt, my mom's 50th, carter and courtney's wedding, and the vegas trip in august) turned out to be great. great, great, great.

this is what happened in 2007: i wrote in my journal everyday of the year. spring07: 10 students. christmas tree boy. jenn yerkey became jenn kliewer. spent a lot of time with emma. got promoted at work. new amsterdams concert. kevin. darker hair. jersey boys. marked off quite a bit on my 99 things to do list. becky and jeff came to visit. sf ballet. dan turned 24. damien rice. my mom turned 50. anna and brett and sarah t. graduated (among many others). jenn's baby shower. riley arrived. carter turned 30. courtney's wedding shower. sudoku. frank. chelsea visited. hpv shots. she moved out of their house. personal trainer. modesto to visit the phillips/armours. shonna came. samuel arrived. decided to go to usf. visalia for the 4th. elvis entered my life. elvis had fleas. dodgers game with adam. car drama. carter and courtney tied the knot. family trip in vegas. daniel, autumn and samuel visited. evan moved to the city. started grad school. new students arrived. gave elvis away. okkervil river show. lori visited. elvis perkins show. coffees with rusty. i turned twentythree. tried being a vegetarian. lecture on iraqi refugees. students i enjoyed a lot: renee, heather, diana, jordan. allison, lesley and mama sebek visited. carter and courtney came up. my mom rode a century (well, kind of). apple pie guy. boston. deciding to invest in san francisco. the winery. creating informedin08 with friends. barack in sf. balcony invaders. walking to stop executions. thanksgiving in thousand oaks. lots of presidential debate watching. she moved back into their house. finished my first semester (five more to go). the nutcracker. trent's 25th. the ultimate christmas party. selling in the rail. santa cruz adventure.

sundance, luxury, and juno.

sundance cinemas recently opened in san francisco and it is quite the experience. a beautiful theater that mostly shows independent films and a few mainstream flicks that managed to create a wonderful environment. it's a bit like walking into a fancy spa. cool things: you choose your seat when you buy your ticket, on a touch screen. peet's coffee inside. a bar. a bistro. balcony seating. bring it all in with you. it's luxurious. one of the cool parts is that there is an amenity fee. how is that cool, emily? well you pay a few extra bucks (depending on what time you go) for the following reasons: no annoying tv ads in the beginning, all reserved seats, they recycle and compost, the best independent films and documentaries, etc. etc. it's just damn good.

speaking of luxurious. here is one of rc's* tidbits of advice: don't drive a luxury car if you don't have a luxurious paycheck. why did my grandpa say that to me today? well, because i need a new catalytic converter and that costs a pretty penny. i tried to tell him that the volvs isn't luxurious and it's mostly a piece of crap but he thinks everything is luxurious unless it's a hyundai.

oh yeah! so i went to the new cinema to see a movie: juno. it made it onto my top ten favorite movie list. my kind of humor. love the soundtrack.

*rc is my grandpa. his real name is robert charles and he is fabulous. a wise man with a big personality. he is the kind of grandpa that calls you by your first and middle name (all the time) and also calls the waiter by his name. quite a friendly guy.

who taught you to move those hips?

my five year old cousin, sofia, on christmas. love it.

oh, tatiana.

i'm referring to the dead tiger who attacked three zoo patrons on christmas evening. yikes. my sister-in-law works at the sf zoo and is doing relatively well, under the circumstances. tatiana, a siberian tiger, has proved that she can jump at least 20 feet from the bottom of the mote (that wasn't holding water) to where zoo-goers stare at the big cats. why she jumped, nobody knows. let this be a lesson to us all- they really are wild.

BARF.

we all know there are interesting things on the internet... but this takes it to a new level. God bless the "religious right".

perhaps we have something to learn from the Amish?

i fully support forgiveness, at all levels. qualification: i've never been the victim or the family/friend of a victim of a physical crime. however: jesus was a pretty big proponent of forgiveness and i try to align myself with that guy.

christmas party: photos.

wine. fancy cheese. funfetti cupcakes. chocolate fountain. extraordinary gingerbread houses. murder in the dark. what more could one ask for in a christmas party?

in the beginning:


keith, leslie, dillon, erin, julie, and trent created this winery gingerbread house. they had pretty impressive details, including grapes on the vines:


dan, evan, james, lis, jihae and i created this san francisco scene- the painted ladies with the bay bridge in the background, complete with an oil spill:


here we all are:

making progress.

i guess it depends which way you look at it... but through my lens, the state of california is making progress for expanding health care. this will be a big deal when it comes to us californians voting on the actual measure, but i have high hopes for progression. i'm not just for this measure because i think health care should be cheap(er) and/or free(er), i'm for this measure because of my family members who work within the health care system (hospice director, surgery center director, nurses, psychologists, physical therapists, etc.) who say it's necessary. though i am working toward becoming a therapist, i often forget that, i too, will eventually be in the (mental) health profession where my payment will (most likely) come from insurance companies. this is one of the things which separates MFTs and LCSWs from other counselors (career, school, etc.). i will continue to read and put more thought into the california health care system and i am definitely interested to see what happens on a national level, especially with 2008 being an election year. go health care, go.

ah, civic duties.

i recognize that i am strange, especially regarding the joy i get from fulfilling my civic duties. for example, i love to vote. love love love it. today i learned that i also love jury duty. well, i think i love it because when they dismissed us and didn't need us, i was totally bummed. seriously. i really wanted to sit in the court room and have them ask me the questions, waiting and hoping they'd pick me. too bad i didn't even get to enter the court room. i guess i'll just stick to watching law and order.

trent is 25.

it's been two years in a row that i've participated in the celebration of trent's birthday... out to dinner at frjtz with micah, his girlfriend becky, dan, trent, dawn and laura (from santa cruz) then off to an improv show that got interrupted with a fire alarm. back to 301 lyon where we played the most ridiculous game of slitting throats and lies, ie: murder in the dark. had a huge sleepover. so fun.

the party is tonight: chocolate fountain, good cheese and fine wine.

starbucked is on my list of books to read... good review in the nytimes here.
funny that this one made the postsecret blog today:

nutcracker.

the nutcracker
+ 3/4 the mcallister house
+ 2/3 the sycamore house
+ leslie potts
+ me
____________

so fun.

the ultimate bad day.

tonight dan and i compared bad days... only because it made us feel better. then evan and i went to sushi to help me feel better. here's the thing- my day could have been worse. and dan totally had me beat. but let me just say this: evaluations that attack the person without any constructive criticism totally suck and students who cuss you out suck too. i wish semesters didn't end like this.

not just for alcoholics & addicts.

the serenity prayer has proved itself to be extremely helpful for me and some of my students. the first four lines are important to me because i love to be in control.

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

--Reinhold Niebuhr

violence breeds violence.

i AM thinking of the victims and their families. but i'm also curious about a few things: why was there a gun at new life church? and for that matter, why were there security guards? something to think about. you could respond that the security guards and the gun came in handy in this situation. but i think that's a bullshit argument and i think we need to look at a bigger picture.

prego, gasoline, and facials.

my first westmont friend is prego. not the first friend i made at westmont, it's the first of my westmont friends. make sense? i am thrilled. more baby clothes. love that.

guess where the most expensive place to buy gas in the US is? that's right, san francisco. i love public transportation.

going to pamper myself today to celebrate semester one being done. i love facials.

for them, the fall of 2007.

sometimes i say it like it's no big deal. sometimes i say it with joy. sometimes i say it with frustration and angst. what is it that i say? i say, "i'm an ra, or an rd, or somewhere in between."

this group has been different. not better, not worse. just different. what i've faced in the last week has made me realize how close i am to these students. they share with me and let me in.

i am so grateful...
for sarah m., who taught me to throw out my first impressions.
for teri, who let lose and sat with me as we gave each other second chances.
for alec, who has loved every person in the house equally.
for trevor, who reminded me not to assume so much.
for jordan, who has helped me live out my convictions.
for sarah c., who always made me laugh.
for caitlin, who allowed me to be blunt in response to her passiveness.
for heather, who reminded me about gentleness, everyday.
for diana, who proved to me that passion is everything.
for lauren, who is consistently authentic.
for morgan, who showed me what it looks like to live spontaneously.
for ryan, who encouraged me to think more about sex and marriage.
for kathy, who showed me how to be nicer.
for brittany, who reminded me to leave my door open.
for graham, who reminded me to care for the least of these.
for travis, who taught me about brighter colors and stronger smells.
for niki, who helped me relax.
for dana, who played 'mom' well.
for chelsea, who cares deeply for others, always.
for jess, who is there for her friends.
for jenelle, who can't go to bed without resolution.
for ashley, who showed appropriate anger with friends.
for cora, who taught me so much about this one small town in oregon.
for amanda, whose beauty is present in all she does.

go well.

random thursday.

today is my last class of the semester. now i have a six week break.

i do not want to die working in retail for the holidays. so sad.

the house is sick. as in, multiple people have strep throat. blah.

i made joy bars today, minus the almonds. thanks lesley.

tonight is the final community dinner with the fall07 students.

greenwashed.

conscious lifestyle and npr have both reported the findings of TerraChoice:
we are being greenwashed. well, at least i am. are you?

sleepover with lp! so excited.

political compass.

everyone should take the political compass test, just for kicks, of course. beware: some of the questions might hurt your brain.

here is the scale:


here are my results:


here are the results for famous leaders:

vacuums and violence.

i don't love vacuuming but i love when my floor is vacuumed.
it makes me so happy.

"let us not tire of preaching love;
it is the force that will overcome the world.
let us not tire of preaching love.
though we see that waves of violence
succeed in drowning the fire of christian love,
love must win out; it is the only thing that can.
-oscar romero, september 25, 1977