Browse Author: beakatude

Colored Fog

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After a relaxing day at home, we decided to walk to Fisherman’s Wharf for some July 4th fireworks. Everyone knew there was fog but everyone was still hopeful that it would miraculously clear up for the fireworks. That included me, of course. We walked amongst the diverse citizens of SF, which included families, young couples, elderly groups in wheelchairs, teenagers, and your garden variety thugs.  As we walked along The Embarcadero, there was a particular orange “party car” that had the music blasting and was packed with people bouncing along to the beat. I had the impression that they were on their way to the pier with the rest of us but it turned out they were just cruisin’.

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As for the fireworks, they weren’t very visible. In fact, it was like a light show of colored fog and loud booms. I suppose SF wouldn’t be SF if it were done any other way. So, we headed home a little early and got quite a show from all the illegal fireworks all around us. Despite the poor visibility, I still managed to have a good time and Jes got a nice 3-mile walk.

nice work

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As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve had an intern for a few weeks now and yesterday was her last day with us.  She did a great job and I had a great time having her by my side.  It’s so neat to have a student who enjoys learning and absorbs everything around her.

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Here’s the basket of goodies that she left for me.  The best part of it all was the variety of jarred items that she made for me.  I got some strawberry preserves, apricot preserves, jarred pears, and homemade relish!  I can’t wait to try them all!

Best of luck, Angie!

Experiment Update

So, Month 5 of our “We Have No Car” Experiment has just come to an end and things are going well. Commuting on public transportation, using zipcar, and just plain walking has been fine. The only inconveniences may be day trips or weekend trips that require a little more planning than just hopping in your car and driving off. However, when it comes to daily activities and local weekend activities, I don’t seem to feel the need for having my own car. So, with the money that we’ve saved on just the car payments alone (not including insurance and gas), we have plenty of money to take a nice week-long trip.

belize_map.jpgI got a week off at the end of August and we are heading to Belize! It’s located in Central America with lots of little cayes (keys) to explore. I guess this is a fitting place to visit considering it’s the pioneer of eco-tourism. All the fuel I’ve saved on not having a car will go towards my 5-hour flight each way to and from my destination. I booked our flights on American Airlines last night and I just booked one of our three hotel stays today. My co-worker just spent two weeks there in April and she got me really excited about lounging around drinking rum-spiked punch, snorkeling just outside of my hotel room, and trekking through tropical forests to find ancient Mayan ruins. It sounds awesome.

As for the experiment…it looks as though we may not be able to go carless for much longer. Starting in September, I’ll need a car in order to get to my teaching job. Sure, my teaching job is only 1-2 times per week and it’s in Oakland too but I’ll also be working 9-hour days on my non-teaching days as Daylight Saving Time also comes to an end. We’ll probably be looking for something small, fuel efficient, in the $15-20K range, and won’t be very tempting to the hoodlums in OakTown. So, if anyone has any suggestions on what we should consider, let me know. I just know that U.S. News and World Report ranked Honda Civic, Honda Fit, and Honda Civic Hybrid as #’s 1, 2, and 3, respectively. How boring.

Visitors from C-Town

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Patti and Howard are in town this weekend for a wedding and brought Katie with them. We met up at the Ferry Plaza this morning to hang out and taste all the yummy samples together. Katie started out pretty shy, as usual, but once she got some tasty treats, she perked up quickly. In fact, she couldn’t stop smiling with the purple jelly tucked away in her cheek for the rest of the morning. It was great to see them again after so many months away from LA.

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Afterwards, the Sokol-Juns arrived. We wandered around and tasted some pretty awesome nectarines, apricots, and cheeses. Jack even got a little taste of nectarine for himself before passing out in the stroller. Later, Jes showed up and we had some lunch at Hog Island to round off the morning.

You shall call me Professor Beakatude.

That’s right, baby!  One of my life goals is to teach and it looks like I may finally get to do it for real!

One of my old professors from grad school, who also works at Children’s, recruited me for the Pediatric Clinic course at my alma mater.  It would require taking time off from my current full-time job at the hospital so after about a month and a half of negotiation with my manager, I’ve been given the OK to take it!  Woo hoo!!

So, this fall I will be helping out on Monday afternoons as an Assistant Proffesor.  It involves supervising the grad students with their clients and I’ll be assigned to 8 of my very own students.  That means, I will giving mentoring them and GRADING PAPERS!!!  Wow.  On top of all that, I’ve been asked to give two of their weekly Wednesday lectures.  That’s crazy…can you believe I’ll be TEACHING?! I’m gonna have to get me a new red pen!

recycled shoes

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My sneakers are made from recycled materials. They’re called “ecosneaks” and they’re pretty comfy. Uppers are made of hemp. Outsole is made of old tires. Insole is made of paper pulp. The laces are PET (recycled plastic bottles and containers). Cool, huh?!