Judy's Turn

I'm a PC and Steve Jobs Could Have Cared Less

Over the years, particularly the last 10, I've been ridiculed for my choice in internet browsing appliances (which is what a computer has become for me). It's been implied that I'm uncool or conservative - I've had to explain my choice to workmates, friends, and my kids. But, here's the deal - Steve didn't care. Because he knew better than anyone that eventually a device from Apple would make sense and I would purchase it.

As I look around my house filled with iPods and review my ATT phone bill that now has three iPhones on it, or check my email on my iPad in the morning, or trip over the MacBook that my daughter left on the floor in her room last night, it's pretty obvious that the genius of Steve's vision did indeed enter my sphere. He just focused on his vision and kept creating products that provided solutions for my life. Before I knew it, I was right where he knew I should be.

Don't get me wrong - from my earliest days in the tech business, Steve was my tech hero. So much so that after the birth of my first child in 1988, while job hunting, I didn't think about sending a resume to Apple. I wanted to work for Steve, so tried to get into NeXT. I wasn't successful and went to work for a bank (my job was to help bring down one system and bring in the IBM PC) and eventually dropped out of the workforce for several years while I raised our three kids. A PC has been all right for the contract jobs I've landed in the last 7 years, so I haven't bothered to switch. Yet.

I lost a very good friend to pancreatic cancer several years ago. The time between diagnosis and death was less than three months. As I saw pictures of Steve over the last few years, I couldn't help but feel that he was going to lose his battle soon. When my daughter's text announcing his death came to my iPhone yesterday, guess what I was doing? Waiting in my car for my other daughter to finish up school. And downloading an app.

Thank you Steve, for elegant design, for helping others create, for making my life easier. For caring about the big things. For your vision.

 

 

What is Really Real?

We just finished a really nice vacation in London and Paris. We went to some museums, tried to find local hangouts and ate good food. I was excited to take our youngest daughter with us, since she had never traveled out of the country. I was really looking forward to her reactions when she saw the magnificent old cathedrals and buildings. My first trip to Europe was in the 1980s and the first morning in Paris is a memory that stays with me still. Back then there was no Eurostar. From London, I took a mixture of bus, train and ferry to get to Paris. It was very early in the morning as I walked towards the old Opera House. I had never seen anything more beautiful.

My daughter did love Paris, but commented as we stood in the bright sunlight under the Eiffel Tower that she felt like she had been there before. It was familiar to her because she'd seen it in movies or videos so many times. I understood her thoughts. While researching this trip, I had watched countless YouTube travel videos highlighting neighborhoods and special places in Paris. When I saw them in real life, a bit of the wonder was diminished. I tried to have her imagine what it must have been like many years ago for visitors who had never seen any videos or images until they arrived. I could see her eyes begin to glaze as she anticipated a lecture on "the way things were in my day." For her, the 1980s are in the same league as the 1880s - really, really, long ago.

On our last evening, we said good-bye to our friends who live in Paris. We were sort of tired and sad and ready to go home. We decided to just ask our hotel for a recommendation for a restaurant and to take a long walk to it. As we rounded a corner onto a side street that was very pretty, a man was running towards us with a stick or cane, being followed by two other guys. There was a lot of screaming between them as they chased and ran. Things calmed down for a while and then the man with the stick decided to turn around and go after the other two guys. People on the street were starting to get worried that they might be struck or pushed by the three men as they ran arguing through the street. We kept walking and I said I felt that I was in the middle of a movie. Possibly The French Connection. But I didn't even mention to my daughter how this moment would be changed if I'd never seen a movie before. She'd never understand if I told her that the guy carrying the stick is now looking a lot like a young Gene Hackman in my memory.

Pillow Talk

There was more traffic than usual Saturday night on the Embarcadero. Slowed to a crawl, my husband and I tried to figure out the cause. An accident ahead? A special event? And why were all those people on the sidewalk carrying pillows?

An hour later, the car parked, Bill and I, joined by Judy and Jay, started walking towards the Ferry Building. It was Valentine's night, chilly, but mercifully there was a break in the rain. Bill and Jay were lagging, and Judy and I were about a block ahead. And suddenly, more people with pillows...

"Pretend you're still a journalist and ask that mother with her three kids what's going on with the pillows," Judy said. 

It's a spontaneous pillow fight at Justin Herman Plaza, the woman (sort of) explained. Spontaneous pillow fights on cold, rainy nights don't just happen, and they are never announced as a coming event in the newspaper, so I summoned the most arcane fact I knew about how hip people communicate these days.

Is it a flash mob, I asked?

I would never take my children to anything that would involve public nudity, the young mother indignantly replied. No, no, I explained, a "flash mob" is a gathering of people called forth to a prankster event by word on the internet. (One day I saw a flash mob of people dressed in Santa costumes, running to their designated meeting place at Union Square. Memorable.)

As we left the still indignant woman with her three pillow-toting (and fully clothed) tykes, Judy started laughing. "Flash mobs are so two years ago," I think she said. (And said, or implied, "Boy, are you dated.")

When we got to Justin Herman, feathers were flying. We sidled up to a young woman clutching a pillow on the sidelines, and asked her about the event. It happens every Valentine's night, at this location, starting around 5 p.m. No mystery, everybody just knows. It's a tradition.

And that's why, Judy and I agreed, we love San Francisco. You may grow old, but it never does.

I'm Bummed With the Academy

At this time every year, like many other people, I try to watch the major films that are showing potential for Academy Award nominations. Then, after the nominations are made public, I usually make sure that I've seen all the movies that are up for best picture. What's up with this year? How did the Academy miss nominating Clint for best actor in "Gran Torino"? He carried the movie and for sure he was the reason that the mostly inexperienced Hmong actors were believable. How often does an actor have to do that these days? Plus. he directed and sang the final song himself. What's up with that song not being nominated? How much fun would it have been to see and hear Clint growl through those lyrics on stage February 22?

Clint is an awesome actor and film maker. After "Million Dollar Baby" ended, I turned to my husband and said "that's the best movie that I'll never see again." It was just too much for me. On the other hand, I've watched "Unforgiven" several times just to see that scene where the young outlaw, the Schofield Kid, realizes he can't kill another man.

I've been a fan of Clint's since we used to watch reruns of his Spaghetti Westerns at college in the 1970s. He is so cool. Just like Walt Kowalski in "Gran Torino."

Movies for Your Consideration

Quick movie recommendations :

Good

Milk
Gran Torino
Frost vs. Nixon
(I know there are lots of others, but they don't get to the burbs too fast, and when they do, they don't stay long enough)

Not So Good

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
(Too long - the length becomes the thing that you remember)

Thinking I'll Like This One the Best

Revolutionary Road
(Love the previews)

The Eve of Christmas

Watch Alastair Sim in "Scrooge" and remember that once Christmas was just really a day that was celebrated starting on it's eve. I get in the spirit every year that I watch it and wish I didn't have to start the season in September.......

Skater's Relief

Yikes.  We're a mere few days away from Christmas.  This can strike panic in the hearts of many, or not.  For me, the panic is the perception of never having enough time to finish the framing projects I've promised.  This is nothing new; it happens every year.  At the moment, typing a blog post is sweet diversion; my hands are sore from cutting mats and cranking vices, and I'm tired of standing on my feet on concrete.   Ahhhh... this is where skating comes in!  I simply can't imagine a better form of stress release than diving into an exercise routine that you love.

Last week was so cold and rainy that there was no window of opportunity to skate.  Even the Friday Night Skate on 12/12 got a mid-skate deluge at about 10:30 pm.  (And again, we diehards chose to finish out the entire route in the pouring rain.  Nearly everybody fell or nearly fell.  I ripped my jacket and briused my hip.  It was silly, but I must admit to feeling happy about getting in the full 12 miles.)  So after a week of no skating, and a VERY hectic week of framing, I was chomping at the bit to strap on my skates for last night's Friday Night Skate.  And boy was it worth it.  Most of us showed up in Santa attire, or some form of it.  Hats, lights, red leggings, green elf tops, etc.  It was a very festive night.  And most skaters were feeling what I felt, an eager anxiousness to SKATE.  The night air was clear and brisk.  It was a perfect night for rolling through the streets of San Francisco, and we all had a blast.  There were so many people "out on the town," enjoying the dry weather and the city lights and entertainment.  Ice skaters at the Embarcadero and Union Square were out in force.  Everybody was happy last night.  It's a nice sight to witness when our daily news is filled with gloom. 

If there's anybody on your Christmas list who's a budding young athlete, why don't you consider procuring for them a nice pair of rollerskates or rollerblades?  (And then encourage them out to Golden Gate Park on a sunny Sunday and I promise you... they will get all the free skating tips that they could possibly want!)

Merry Christmas.  Happy Hanukkah.  Joyful celebration of all types.  May we all embrace the season and look joyously towards the fresh new year on our horizon.

Skating Union Street Christmas Parade

Every year, Union Street in San Francisco hosts a small town parade for Christmas and another one for Easter. Easter has actually always been the bigger of the two but both have typically brought out a good amount of happy spectators. A group of Friday Night skaters has always participated in both.  We do this as a good will gesture, as well as for fun sociability. For the past nineteen years, Friday skaters have invaded Union Street as the halfway mark of our weekly nighttime route. We have a long rest stop at Union and Fillmore where we descend on the corner market, and then basically take over the street for the uphill trek up to Polk Street.  The parade organizers have always loved having our participation.We are festive, musical and courteous in our friendliness. On Easter we dress as skating cows (the neighborhood is called Cow Hollow) and on Christmas we dress as elves. We always draw huge smiles, as well as expressions of wonder from the children.

This year, unfortunately, the parade was canceled for economic reasons. It was a disappointing shock. I guess the merchants association simply couldn’t justify the expense, and many businesses didn’t feel much cause for celebration. But what did we skaters do? We went anyway! (Sadly though, there were only seven of us participating. We usually have a couple dozen or more, but I guess the majority of skaters simply weren’t feeling it… especially knowing there was no official parade.) There was however a Santa available for photos, and a wee bit of Christmas activity in the vicinity of the Santa station. So on what was a normal Saturday evening, suddenly there exploded a loud blast of Christmas music (our leader, D, has amplified music that fits into a jogging stroller) and a gaggle of red and green elves. Even though it was the smallest participation ever, it seemed that the onlookers were noisier and happier than ever before. They came out of stores and restaurants to cheer us on. We felt that they were REALLY wanting to see some holiday spirit. I guess there just hasn’t been enough of that so far this year. 

The skaters that got the most attention however actually weren’t skaters at all. They were two pugs that their skater-owners dressed in red and green and placed together in their own jogging stroller.  Every couple hundred feet, we had to stop so that people could pet the dogs and/or take a picture with them and us. So the moral of this story I suppose is:  even when “times are tough,” go out and spread some fun and festivity.  It will make everybody feel better.

Happy holidays!

Due to some technical difficulties, Judy is getting the credit for this story. Be assured that this article was written by Lainie, our skating correspondent. Great story Lainie. Good follow up to my sort of negative one yesterday!  -- Judy

Strategies for a Pre-Holiday Warehouse Sale

Note:  This is different from a Black Friday Walmart sale

So a friend of mine has introduced me to pre-holiday warehouse sales. And, at first, they were sort of scary. The doors open and people, in a mad frenzy, rush in with their baskets and boxes and start loading them up with items. They don't seem to know or care what they're buying. I'd never seen this type of shopping behavior before. What I have learned in these linen/holiday decor/kitchen item/stationery warehouse shopping events is that you load up and then get in the long line to purchase. As you're in line, you purge items out of your basket. So, if you're a really smart shopper, you shop the discarded items around the checkout line as well as on the actual floor. It's taken three years but I think I might have reached an intermediate level in my warehouse shopping skills.

My absolute favorite warehouse sale is the one at Cavallini Stationery in South San Francisco. The quality of the calendars, picture frames, wrapping paper and other odds and ends is the very highest. If you like to always have a few nice notecards around, then this sale is a must. The people attending it wait patiently in line outside, while the employees of Cavallini serve coffee and donuts and discuss the upcoming purchasing frenzy. Then the doors open, the basket handles part, and all hell breaks loose. This year I went specifically for the vintage calendars and then ran around all the tables grabbing things and stuffing them in my basket. At the 20 minute wait in the checkout line, I took a look at my holdings. And got rid of most of them. But, I did keep the French alphabet flash cards and the book plates. Random, but neat.

The book plates were glued into some of my cook books and then labeled with our family name. As I was doing this, I instructed my daughter that when I had passed away, to look for the cook books that were labeled with the book plates and keep them. She could toss the other ones. She said that I was morbid.

Choosing the top 12 cookbooks in my collection to wear a beautiful inscribed Cavallini book plate was more difficult than I thought. I don't cook much and I also rarely use cook books. "Joy of Cooking" got a plate. Also, "The Fannie Farmer Cook Book" that had belonged to my husband's mother. Then I stopped and got lost in another cookbook that will become a MOFBC (Michelle Obama Fantasy Book Club) selection for Friday's post. So please tune in. 

A Shock for Good

Over the weekend we went to Los Angeles to see the taping of a special for CNN called "Heroes." It will air Thanksgiving night at 9 p.m.

Watch it. Or, if you're like busy on Thanksgiving night, tape it or DVD-R it or TIVo it for later.

It's been a rough couple of months. We've all been worried about the economy, the war, the environment, you name it. It's all bad. (Well, except for the election...But even there, there's the worry: How many burdens can you heap on the shoulders of one skinny little Hawaiian?)

The "Heroes" Show will make you feel better. It profiles 10 ordinary people who have, on a whim or a dream or religious grace, decided to do something to make something better. After the show, I was privileged to meet one of the honorees, Yohannes Gebregeorgis, a quiet, dignified gentleman who fled Ethiopia in the early 80s, made a life for himself as a librarian in San Francisco's beautiful main library, then returned to his country six years ago with a mission: to bring the gift of reading to rural children. He is a lovely man.

The other stories were no less affecting. During the taping, I sat next to a young woman who kept saying, "this one should win." "No, that one." At the end of the show, a hero of the year was announced, the votes solicited by CNN through an on-line poll. The winner had the wisdom to note that all those featured during the evening deserved the honor -- and the extra stipend that came with the award.

The next day, I watched a talk show panel discuss how bad things were in the economy, with Tom "The World is Flat" Friedman even suggesting that maybe we should consider moving up the Inaugural because, possibly, Jan. 20 would be too late to dig us out of the deepening hole. No, Tom. That's a Constitutional no-no. I was still under the "Heroes" aura, and the discussion seemed surreal.

In the Shock Doctrine , Naomi Klein argues that big events provide cover for evil governments and corporations to have their way.  In the afterglow of "Heroes," I had a thought: maybe this particular trial will yield a different outcome. Maybe this holiday season, for example, consumer excess will (must?) give way to the things that matter -- friends, family, philanthropy. Watch "Heroes." It will put you in a holiday frame of mind.