thanks for my brother

the last time i dropped my brother off at the airport, i drove away in tears, feeling so alone. and so scared to start over.

when i dropped him off on saturday morning, i felt content, happy, and excited to get back to my life as usual.

what a difference a year makes.

tim flew in the sunday before thanksgiving, fresh off the closing night of his play in NYC (of course, he got rave reviews). i picked him up in Oakland, and found him huddled under a hoodie and fleece jacket and avaitor glasses. he looked like the unabomber. i was wearing jeans, a t-shirt and flip flops. "hey," i said, "why are you wearing all that?" "it was cold when i left." he said sheepishly.

he was a little zonked from the play/trip, so we went to get some comfort food, brunch at the homemade cafe in berkeley - i highly reccommend it. a hometown place with lots of families and young folks on the weekend. then he slept for about 4 hours. until i woke him up. we saw "the science of sleep" at the parkway (pizza, beer and couches - perfect). before the movie started, they showed a loony tunes reel, and tim leaned over to me and said "i'm so happy i'm here!".

for the next three days, i had to work and he was on his own. i gave him a copy of my lonely planet (my bible since arriving in california - it is THE authority on where to go and how to get there), and he was off. talking to people, taking walking tours, asking where to go, what to do, and exploring san francisco. in the evenings, we met up for dinner (sushi zone on market - easily the best sushi i've ever had. but get there early - 5pm). and even had time to see another movie (casino royale. love me some bond.) and sing some karaoke (tim performed a unique version of 'holiday' by madonna, improvising his own dance moves...and tune...and melody).

on the morning of thanksgiving i made monkey bread and watched (hurrah!) the MACY'S THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE - only one of my favorite traditions of all time. then tim and i took advantage of the glorious weather to drive up to stinson beach. clear blue skies, families having their turkey on the beach, kids running around half naked in the sun and siblings, spouses and parents playing soccer and football in the sand. it was beautiful.

thanksgiving meal we spent with by-now-old-friends, the powell-baldridges, where i lived for 6 mos when i first moved here. it was great - a real friend thanksgiving. and then we went to another friend thanksgiving - lynn and allison were having a random assortment of friends over. and even got us all to play a new version of charades. i haven't laughed so hard since.....i saw borat. the meles kicked ass, i must say. it was pretty funny. also - i made 2 pies and they were hits! i even got applause (not surprising for theater people, but still impressive).

friday we spent all around san francisco and in the evening played more charades and ate more with my friend adam and his family. whew. what a week. and if only i had a camera, i would have had pictures of it all.

but, alas! you'll have to rely on my engaging prose.

i remember moving here and thinking "dear god, i wish time would just go by faster. i wish i had already been here a year, that i was settled, that i didn't feel so alone and disoriented."

i'm still not sure if i'll ever feel sufficiently settled in life. but what a difference a year makes.

so...i'm dating someone. and he's reeeeally tall.

From hikesouthofhere

i'll post more later. but here's a really dim picture in which you can see little more than the height differential.

i sent this to my parents with the subject "Lopsided Couple". they were really irritated that they couldn't see anything else. but what can i do? with no camera of my own, i'm stuck with second hand photos!

also - please check out this painful video from the folks at bank of america. a friend brilliantly compared this to the british version of "the office." very apt. note: you *will* cringe. http://theshermanfoundation.blogspot.com/2006/11/one-bank.html

PHEW! now what?

I think others have already said all there is to say about the Dems re-taking the house (and - please, please? - the Senate). But thought I'd add my "hurrah!" and then my......ugh....YIKES.

Here's hoping they can live up to all the pent-up frustration and promises of the past 6 years. Now that they have some power, let's see what they do with it.

Though i can't smile more when i think about Deval Patrick's win as Governor of Massachusetts. My town went red (boo!!!) but it's good to have a dem back on beacon hill. Actually, it's good to have a GOOD dem back on beacon hill. I really like this guy.

photo of me laughing.

mom really wanted me to change my profile picture. so, instead of the innocent smile of my harvard id, taken almost five (!!) years ago, you have this one. of me laughing in bree's apartment in october. gosh, my hair is long. but i guess this one is a lot more characteristic de moi.