Boo!

Come on, you knew it would happen...

Vacuuming the Garage

Bryan and I took some of our wedding money and splurged on a Dyson vacuum. It is, as the hype says, the best vacuum on the market.

So with the wildfire ash having settled, I took another pass over the house this afternoon. Then I turned off the vacuum and thought. I thought for a second more. Then I wheeled the vacuum into the garage and turned it on. Louie of course watched me with his "what's the crazy girl doing now?" expression he's become so good at. But the ash (and dirt, and dust, and mold, and particulates, and dog hair, et cetera) has been removed from the garage. If only the machine had a longer cord and I could clean the sidewalks.

Identity Change

You'd think it would take Social Security more than fifteen minutes to process a name-change application. And not because of the bad reputation government offices have with efficency, but because it's a big change! The Israeli government supposedly questions travellers for an hour to decide if their reasons for wanting to enter the country are valid.

I took a number and waited ten minutes before being called by a processing agent. I turned over my paperwork, flashed a marriage and a driver's license, and was on my way.

I was happy that I wasn't stuck there for hours, a la the Beetlejuice scene in the Waiting Room for Lost Souls. But shouldn't it take a little more time? Maybe my concern isn't with the government's ability to vet people's intentions, but the ease with which you can change yourself.

My Yukon Experience

I'm not sure of the last time I didn't have cell phone reception for any significant amount of time. Grad school? Parts of Riverside County back in college?

My phone cut out at some point on Highway 1 on my way to Tomales Bay. But the isolation proved fruitful, because I made exciting progress on two stories.

When I emerged from the woods Monday morning, I met my old high school friend Melissa in Oakland for lunch before catching my plane. We ate at a restaurant within Jack London Square. London spent some time in Oakland, and the city/county/chamber of commerce/nice people took his cabin from Alaska and reconstructed it here with half of the original logs. Some of London's fiction would be drawn from his experiences in the Alaskan wild. It was fodder for writing that would come. Just like my time in rural Tomales Bay has been a springboard for stories.

Tomales Bay

Sights...

Sense of Direction

It only took me three tries to make it to the workshop grounds this afternoon. I think it's a sign that the workshop is going to be great.

Off Again

Tomorrow I head north to the Tomales Bay Workshops. I think it will be a good shot in the arm of writing after being so busy with wedding planning. That is, if I don't get lost on the drive from the Oakland airport to Marshall, CA.

Evacuation

What you take:
Your husband
Your dog
Your wedding dress
An antique typewriter
Snacks
One good book

What you have:
Good friends who will take you in

Weekary

I've been married for a week now. The change is like night and day, I tell you. Night and day. :)

Back to writing! Without a wedding to plan, or recover from, I find myself with time to feed my addiction. I worked on a short story today, one I haven't looked at in a couple weeks. The time has provided good perspective on the some of the issues I knew were present.

I leave Wednesday morning for a writing conference, which I'm hoping will be the literary shot in the arm I need after being distracted with nuptial planning.

I love you
because the earth turns round the sun
because the North wind blows north
sometimes
because the Pope is Catholic
and most Rabbis Jewish
because winters flow into springs
and the air clears after a storm
I love you
because it is the natural order of things

From "Resignation"
by Nikki Giovanni

Silence

I haven't posted lately. And here's why. The key to a successful blog post is being able to get your head around the experience you want to chronicle, and I can't do this at the moment. These last few weeks of wedding planning have been so crazy and wonderful, and I'm unable to find narrative distance. But it will happen. Stay tuned. I'm about to marry the love of my life....He makes me a better person, so I know our big day will help me find perspective.