Poseidon
(12-21 March 2004)

21 March 2004
[from Oceano, California]
-Sand dunes are so surreal.  & tiring, when looking for people who aren't there.
-Steve's alleged basketball court overlooking the sea was better than anticipated.  We bought a ball & played some mighty intense 3-on-4, followed by 3-on-3 when the drunk guy went down with a foot injury.  I need to get basketball back into my life.
-This place has felt a lot like a high school debate tournament at a hotel.  I can't explain precisely why, but it reminds me of the better parts of Baltimore '97 or Minnesota '97 (without the heartache, of course).

20 March 2004
[from Oceano, California]
-This retreat for Em's work officially got underway with a report on how all the various divisions of PIRG & its affiliates in California are doing & discussion of goals being set for next year.  It made me feel very good about the work that Emily's doing.
-Sea kayaking was the worst idea for an activity for me in a long long while.  I did it only because Emily was right about the last sea adventure we went on... whale-watching on our honeymoon was wonderful & much safer than anticipated despite being in a tiny motorboat.  Sea kayaking not so.  We were dumped twice in the first 10 minutes & I felt the closest to a panic attack I've probably ever had.  The ocean terrifies me, & the irrationality of the terror I feel is tempered by the rationality of my own inability to swim & my near-drowning.  The combination is scary & one that I don't seek to repeat.
-Texas Hold 'Em tournament!  Yielding $14 made for me, a second-place finish in overall profit.  What fun!

19 March 2004
[from Oceano, California]
-Have arrived in the Pismo Beach area amid much craziness.  Apparently Oceano is the town of record where we'll be staying.  Already, the games are afoot!
-IHOP is always a good decision.

18 March 2004
[from Oakland]
-Pandora seems to be much happier in the new place.  She wasn't exactly jazzed about heading to the VCA to board for the next 4 days while we go to Pismo with Em's work, but she generally has adjusted well to the new location without any infamous accidents as yet.  Maybe she just needed some room to run around in.

17 March 2004
[from Oakland]
-St. Patrick's Day wound up being a sort of holiday at work, not in honor of the actual day, but because it was a time for teacher in-service at the school & so those who normally work on Wednesday (not just meetings, but full work) wound up there all day.  So I got the day off.  Haven't put it to much use, but that's okay.

16 March 2004
[from Oakland]
-Went by the old place to pick up some things & get phone service set up, which won't actually be in till Thursday.  DSL may be longer, sadly.  Bah!
-Thus begin 5 days off!...

15 March 2004
[from Oakland]
-So much stuff to do around here, it feels like it will never be done.  Moving always makes me want to throw everything away & never acquire possessions again, besides maybe a book or two, some CD's, & a computer.  But I guess it's a good tax on having so much stuff that one has to move it from time to time.

14 March 2004
[from Oakland]
-Tired beyond belief at work.  Still pretty tired.  Emily's been heroic in the amount of work she's doing for the move.  I'm missing the old place already, but only a little.
-In case you're wondering about the [from Oakland] under the days here... allow me to delve into some meta.  I'm trying to keep the base-city locations for Introspection consistent in that they only change on the day of an "Era" (300 days) changing.  The Waltham-to-Berkeley transition coincided very nicely with our move to Berkeley as Berkeley became the base-city on 30 August 2002.  The next end of an era is slated for 10 April 2004.  So with it less than a month away, Berkeley will remain the base-city till then, when it will become Oakland (barring unforeseen circumstances like another breach of contract or something).  You might be asking yourself... aren't Berkeley & Oakland practically the same city?  Aren't they next-door to each other?  Yes, yes it's true.  But these things matter to me.  Your mileage may vary.

13 March 2004
[from Oakland]
-First night in the new place, & now we don't have internet to display the 4-year anniversary of Introspection on the actual page.  Hopefully the DSL will transfer soon.  I am absurdly exhausted from a full day of moving stuff, with the help of Emily & her mother.  To be fair, it was mostly them with the help of me.  I also spent a bit of time painting our 3rd bedroom, which we have designated as the Library.  Yesterday we stayed up late painting the living room a color Behr calls Jamaican Sea.  Things are starting to fall into place.  Like me, falling into bed.

12 March 2004
-I just broke my Catzilla mug.  This makes me very sad, though I'm consoled in great deal by the fact that they still sell them online.  It was filled with water at the time & I told Em it was symbolic & she just said "What, because the real cat spills water everywhere?"  I laughed but had meant that it's the end of an era, the passing of time, change & flux.  & tomorrow this page turns 4 years old, the day we've selected to do the majority of the actual moving push.  Even with so much positive change, nostalgia creeps through & clings my feet to the floor of this old apartment.  & I will miss it, if only for its cozy corners & the memories here imparted.
-Apparently I'm not the only one feeling nostalgic these days.  I should call a lot of folks.  I still have a fierce headache from yesterday though.

Introspection, My Worst Friend* (Current)
Ye Olde Archive (Past)
Introspection Directory (Source)
The Blue Pyramid (Home)