I'm a Genuine Tourist

So, I have officially become a tourist after 2 days in San Francisco. And even though she grew up here, Corissa has joined me. Thursday we went over the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito and Marin County. We went to the Palace of the Arts, which was built for the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exhibition; it is a beautiful structure designed to look like a Roman ruin. There is also a theatre and a science museum there, but we didn't go into either. We also drove Lombard street, which is the 2nd crookedest street in the city (the most famous one, though, and absolutely beautiful with gardens lining the brick-paved street), and we drove up Telegraph Hill to Coit Tower. We walked Muir Woods and saw Redwoods. I probably took way too many pictures of trees and will bore those who are sweet enough to look at my pictures when I get back; sorry in advance.

Friday we did Fisherman's Wharf, which is a total tourist trap. There are street performers everywhere and people dressed in drag who will gladly let you take pictures with them (Corissa was a little too freaked out to pose with the giant transvestite dressed in lime green spandex and carrying a hot pink parasol. Go figure). We walked to Ghirardelli Square where I gave myself a stomachache eating chocolate squares, drinking a chocolate malted and staring at all of the melted chocolate. Then we rode a cable car to Union Square. I am in love with trolleys and think that every city should have them. The open air, the dinging of the bell, hanging out of the car pretending to be Judy Garland in "Meet Me in St. Louis" - thrilling!

Today we have tix to the Giants (not at 3Com like I thought, that is the old Candlestick Park and where the 49ers play) at SBC Field. I am looking forward to watching Barry Bonds hit a homer to us in the bleachers. I was saddened to hear that the Sox lost to Seattle last night - it is hard to get news of Boston 3000 miles away.

Napa Valley tomorrow, Santa Cruz on Monday and then home to share those tree pics. Funny how people say they leave their heart in San Francisco. I came all the way to this city and know that my heart is in Boston.

Stay tuned...

So, I start a blog, then I go away on vacation. Pretty considerate, eh? I will try to post when I am in San Fran, but who knows??

I did find The Devil in Music to read while there, so that's packed, along with my camera, too many clothes, CDs & headphones, 3 additional pairs of shoes, Cheese-Its, and more than one nip (did I mention I'm not a flyer?). So, I'll be sauced at 32,000 feet, but I'll have good tunes, something to eat should I get desperate and plenty of shoes to throw up in should I need to.

Happy Memorial Day weekend!

California on my Mind

Tomorrow, Wednesday, I am heading to San Francisco, California to visit my friend Corissa. I am looking forward to exploring a new city and to seeing Corissa - it's been almost 2 years - and to drinking wine and going to a baseball game at 3Com Field. I am not particularly looking forward to traveling. It will be the first time since I was a junior in high school that I have flown somewhere alone, and that time was just to DC. I will be solely responsible for getting myself to the airport, onto the plane, onto the next plan (gotta love layovers) and then home again. I am probably the biggest dork on the planet, but this trip is making me feel both like a 12 year old and a grown-up at the same time. I don't wanna go alone, but I feel empowered that I am completely able to do so. Anyway, it will be grand to be away from work for a week and to see big trees and a hillier city than Boston.

I am nursing a few books along right now, but will probably go to the public library tonight to get one or two for my trip. I have read good reviews of Kate Ross's latest book The Devil in Music which is her fourth book with her main character Julian Kestrel investigating. Ross's books are usually set in London, but this book is set in Milan in the early 19th century within the world of opera, one of my favorite indulgences. More to come about that.

Bush gave a speech last night at the US Army War College in PA - the first of six speeches. Basically he said that the US will hand over power of governance to the Iraqi people, but that troops will stay there as long as they are needed. In fact, when asked what he would do if commanders need more troops, Bush said, "I will send them." Great. He explained that it was going to get tough both before and after we hand off power. What has it been for the past 14 months and could he be any vaguer?? I am a good American and proud to be a part of a country that really does strive to celebrate freedom and difference, but our leader is a grade-A, first class moron. Maybe he can pray the trouble away. Moron.

Blogs, Love, and Fossil Fuel as Crack

So, I've been thinking a lot about blogs, having just started this one. It is a strange thing, writing all about yourself, hoping that people 'out there', some you might know, others you will never meet, read what you put down. I think it is a great way to stay connected to people I don't see regularly and who are wondering, "What is going through Jill's head these days?" And, being a person who values her own opinions more than a little, it is excellent to have a forum to write about them, even if no one ever does read them. Kind of a purge philosophy - outta me, onto you.

I read Toni Morrison's latest book Love, which has won award after award and garnered many accolades, and I have to add my praise. The writing is powerful; Morrison is an amazing communicator of human emotions, in this case as they relate to love. She explores different types of love: friendship between men, and between women; love between a husband and wife; lust; infidelity; adoration; and the flip of side of love, hatred so hot it burns up more than one life. The story is told through present tense narration and flashbacks. It is the story of an enclave of people who react to one man--Bill Cosey, entrepreneur, patriarch, revered owner of the Cosey Hotel and Resort, and notorious ladies' man--and to each other as they tell the story of Up Beach. The end of the book left me with a few unanswered questions, but it also left me secure in the knowledge that Morrison is an amazing writer, who taps into the full spectrum of humanity.

There is a great article by Kurt Vonnegut on the state of the world. He says it as well as I ever could. Fossil fuels=crack. I love it.

I'm On the Web

Well, here it is. My first blog entry. I have been envying everyone else his/her blog, so I decided to do something about it.

I guess the purpose of my blog will be to let people know what's in my head (scary!), recommend some good reads, and to comment on the general fucked up state of the world.

So, in my head: the theme from M*A*S*H and the urge to quit my job almost daily. I am also happy because I just ate a really good tuna salad sandwich from Whole Foods. And the sound of the ventilation system at work (a small corporate library in Boston). Right now, there is a coolish breeze blowing down from the ceiling which I can not only feel, but I can hear because it is so deathly quiet at work. It is a nice-ish Sunday in Boston and apparently no one wants to visit a library and read books about women in leadership, spirituality and 19-century history. Big surprise. I don't even want to read books in those areas and I freakin' love books.

A good read: The Dogs of Babel by Carolyn Parkhurst. I picked this up at my local public library because I was intrigued by the title. It's Parkhurst's first book and it's the story of a man who has recently lost his wife in an accident and the only witness to said accident is the couple's dog, a Rhodesian Ridgeback. The man is a professor of linguistics, so he decides to teach this dog to speak so she can tell him what happened. This is as impossible as it sounds, but the descriptions of his sessions with his dog (which could have been expanded on), as well as the memories of his wife that come upon him as the book progresses are truly touching. I think that you have to like dogs and be a bit of a romantic to enjoy this book, but the writing is solid and the story moves along well.

Comment on the world: C'mon. More abuse pics were published in the Washington Post this weekend. Really sick. I'm sure this kind of freakish abuse goes on all over the world and in each war, but to document it so extensively? Dumb, and it makes it that much more heinous for some reason.

That's enough for now. My fingers are tired and I actually have some patrons to help. In a happy aside - Sox are ahead - oh, happy day! Ok, didn't want to start a whole new entry - Sox cleaned up the field with the Jays and are now sitting pretty in 1st. To quote Bryan, "I heart the Red Sox."