Sticky Song

You know how a song gets stuck in your mind sometimes.
For a long time it was "Fernando" by Abba, ummm.
Then it was "here comes your man" by the Pixies.
Last week it was "warthog" by the Ramones.
Right now it's "Left Behind" by Aqualung. Achingly, hauntingly stuck in my mind.
Feelings of abandonment encapsulated by a lovely voice, piano, guitars and drums.
The magic of music, getting in your veins like a drug, pullng your mind to "that"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Li2xawjw6-4&feature=related
place.

Green Biatch

What will I do when I'm done with my credential? What will I do with the free time at the computer? Instead of writing about pedagogy and Bloom's taxonmy and teaching strategies for English as a Second Language (btw, I'm teaching secondary art but I still need to know how to teach English.....) I'm going to blog. Blog, blog, blog.
Green Biatch needs to get up and running...
here's a sample of the flavor:

Sorry, long blog.
Green Biatch wants the world to be more green and curses the toxic offenders but....as much as she wants the world to be green...she wants everyone to stop proclaiming how green they are. Gwyneth Paltrow only feeds her kids organic vegetables. Hey GP, does that supersonic jet you travel on dozens of times per year from London to New York run on used cooking oil? did-n-think-so. I saw a friend of a friend featured on the AP about her green life and how she dries fruit. There was an adorable photo of her and her daughter drying a whole box of plums. She waxed on about how green her family is. It's all really great but...REALITY CHECK. The dryer she was using was made of toxic plastic and exported from China. Seen the smog in china lately? Know how much oil a tanker uses to get from China to here? The carbon footprint on the dryer could only be erased by eating only the plums from her backyard for the rest of the year. And I don't mean just snacks. And seriously, your kids may eat the plums once or twice, but a whole tree of them? Get real, this isn't the depression...and guess what? Your kids know it's not the depression. they know they don't have to eat dried plums all the live long day. They know you can afford to get them goldfish crackers and other kinds of fruit that don't add to their regularity in the bathroom.
I think all these celebrities (and regular joes who get featured on the AP) should say, hey, I'm not really that green. You should talk to the guy who doesn't own a car and shits in a composting toilet and buys mostly local and the solar panels on his house have been there since before Leo Dicap had em. Talk to him, I'm trying but I could be alot better. Don't waste your time on me, me, me.
I don't want to knock any efforts to go green. I just want to knock those who bleat on about it in silly ways.
One of the best ways to go green: plant trees. Plant trees in your yard, donate to urban greening organizations, national forests. Take care of the trees we have. Trees not only cool the earth but they prevent erosion, keep the ground water table running, provide habitat for animals and oh yeah, they give off oxygen. We're losing forests at a scary rate. Buy recycled content paper, not recyclable, there is a diff ya know. I'm not impressed by a full recycling bin, I'm impressed by what goes IN IT. Buy only paper products from sustainable forests. We can use things on the earth, we just have to replace it.
I have to go water the three incense cedars I just planted in my yard. They're young so they need extra water in the summer. By next year, they should be fine on their own in the summer. I've named them: Jacques (Costeau), Rachel (Carson) and John (Muir).
I'm writing a book where the trees of the world come alive and they're pissed. I don't think any publisher will print it.
Maybe I'll blog it.
Later biatches. Stay cool, stay green.

Great American Road Trip

The Great American Road Trip. Grand Canyon and back.
We're off with the Berry's of Australia, over the top to have them on our Great American road trip.
Walnut Creek to Lone Pine. Coolest rest stop ever with beautiful sandy, shady creek in middle of desert. Lone Pine has a Jake's Saloon, bought a t-shirt. Stayed at Best Western and peed in the pool. Mt. Whitney at night, bats and low flying airplanes.
Death Valley. HOT. duh. Surreal, like another planet. Was named for some of first survivors saying "goodbye death valley!" upon their rescue.
Hoover Dam. Huge. Hot. duh.
Vegas baby. What happens there stays there. Ron won on slots, peed in Excalibur pool. Smoked indoors. Surprise visit from coolest brother ever and coolest niece ever.
Spongebob 4d ride, won prizes at the arcades for kids. Walked alot. Hot. Duh.
Grand Canyon lives up to it's name. The Yavapai Observation Station is now one of my favorite places on earth. We hiked into the canyon, didn't just look over the edge like most visitors. Breathtaking adventure. Stopped to let mules by. More importantly, we hiked back up. Hot. Duh. Awesome ranger presentation on Mountain Lions. Shooting stars, bats, coyotes, owls.
Jake picked out coyote puppet, named Canyon and hasn't let go of him since.
Goodbye to Berry's sad to see them go. they're off to Utah, we're back to Walnut Creek.
Route 66. Lunch at Ludlow Cafe, the most depressing city I've visited for a long time. Poor route 66, should stay in the history books, not the travel books.
Can't drive anymore, so Ramada Inn in Bakersfield. Peed in the pool. Hot. duh. Made a free waffle and them home via Highway 5 past the stinky cows. Think I'll eat vegetarian tonight.
Best moment: seeing the Grand Canyon for the first time. Jake telling me he wants to be a Park Ranger when he grows up. Being with my fav cousin and our families.
I love this country.
Next time, to the coast. Where it isn't hot. duh.

Venus and Serena

As I am the summer "coordinator" of the Indian Valley Swim Club tennis court, I figured I should play a bit more. What's not to love about smacking the ball around the court. I have two tennis racquets, both Wilsons a racquet brand that has always fit me. My newer racquet is the "same" that Venus uses. So it seemed only fitting to name them Venus and Serena as they use Wilsons as well. My newer racquet is Venus because, well you figure it out.
10 S N E 1?
Tennis and swimming, I am such a white girl from Walnut Creek.