Berkeley, Oakland, Napa, and people who are pretty cool
Fun fact: SFO doesn’t even give you free wireless, but Horizon Air serves free beer and wine on the flight between my town and SEA. (Well, the late-night flight, not the early morning flight.) I had water. No one else did.
Anyway, I had a wonderful weekend. After my presentation, H and J picked me up at my flat and we went over to Berkeley for dinner, drove up and around (and around, and around — twisty road) for a beautiful view of the Bay area, and had coffee (one of us was still recovering from her presentation and accompanying adrenaline high/anxiety attacks). In the morning we had breakfast next door to the Scharffen Berger chocolate factory, which was fabulous and would have been incomplete without a Scharffen Berger mocha SERVED IN A PINT-SIZE BOWL that one has to lift with both hands. I may start drinking like that from now on.
After that, H and I drove up to the Napa Valley for the day before I had to go home. We looked at (but did not touch) some wineries, shopped a bit, and took pictures (there are FLOWERS and BLOSSOMS and GREEN TREES in Northern California, unlike, say, Washington). J joined us for lunch, along with my husband’s sister’s husband’s sister (or, my sister-in-law’s sister-in-law, if that’s clearer). The next day we girls had a get-together with pastries from Bouchon (yes? how am I on the spelling of that?), then H drove me to the airport (via a wonderful place for lunch). It seemed too short a visit to me, but probably very long for H and the people sacrificing their precious finals week to entertain me!
Now it seems time to write the conclusion to this post, and today I’m finding that hard. It was really wonderful to see H, J, S, and R, and my aunt and uncle and their bulldog (Wally!). And the trip was mostly less awkward than I would have guessed (if you don’t know, don’t ask). But I’m always glad to come home, to see The Husband and The Remarkably Clean House and The Cats (new blog coming soon! probably!), and I’m really glad the hurdle of the presentation is over and done well.
Forty-three days until this graduate school, procrastiblogging saga is over, and I guess I’ll use this week to try to think about maybe, possibly looking for some type of job thingy so to not have made these past two years in vain.
I’m extremely happy for you. When I was in grad school I applied for the four Cs with some other fellow grad students. We didn’t get accepted, and had planned to apply again the next year but never got around to it. I’m happy that you got the chance, however, to get out and meet some cool people in your area of expertise. And we are now glad to have you back.
[Reply]
Great post. The visit did indeed seem too short. No sacrifice at all. Come back again soon. More coffee served in bowls, I promise.
[Reply]
It was great to see you! I’m a fan of, you know, actually hanging out with the folks whose blogs I stalk, just to get that human element back in there. Plus, digging my new title. Glad your trip home was safe.
S.
[Reply]