Si Se Puede!

On Friday we finally ended negotiations on our contract! Yay! The 401k foolishness is worked out and I have a new big, bad title. Aside from being relieved that I have a contract - I'm also glad that I officially have some collective bargaining experience under my belt that will give me a little more credibility with my members. Even if my negotiation experience wasn't a particularly contentious one - I still did it - and there were even tears. Although, I think the tears were more of a product of exhaustion than collective bargaining - but whatever.

I love my job and I'm so glad I'm lucky enough to love what I do and also get a decent salary and benefits. Makes weeks like this one not so bad. It has been a long, long week and I'm worse for wear. I started fading on Thursday and now I'm basically just sleep walking.

I'm in SF now for our board meeting - which has basically had to be refocused on the ENDA hijinks that have been happening in DC. It has been a very emotional and trying few days - between internal strategy conversations and coalition disagreements - we have all taken turns crying, raising our voices, and even pounding our fists on a few tables. If we have to face disgusting and shameful situations like this in our movement, I'm at least glad I'm working for an organization on the right side of history. Anyway, I usually try not to talk politics too much on here, but this has basically been consuming my life and there's really nothing else I'm thinking about. Except maybe getting home, but as much as I was looking forward to taking some time off after this trip, I have a feeling shit is going to hit the proverbial fan this week since we called a picket of Nancy Pelosi's Keynote at HRC's national dinner. Wish me luck.

I'm heading back home on the red-eye tonight. I haven't had an opportunity to enjoy SF at all since I've been so busy and beat. Which is just as well because it's freezing and whenever I do drive around the city I get the theme song from Full House stuck in my head.

Sugar Skull

I walked all the way back to my hotel downtown from Hillcrest this afternoon. I walked along Park through Balboa Park. I walked by the Natural History Museum and the Zoo, but didn't stop because I wasn't feeling great and was lugging my laptop. I did stop at the Centro Cultural de la Raza to see the Dia De Los Muertos exhibit there. They had an altar set up where you could add the names of your dead and give thanks so I submitted a card for Rosita Hidalgo y Costilla Deloi.

Tonight's meeting was short and sweet. I was toward the end on the agenda so I kept it really brief. The other speaker at the meeting was a worker trying to organize at the maquiadora in Tijuana where he worked. I'm going to try to get some sleep because I have an early meeting tomorrow.

John Edwards needs to chew less gum. It makes him look smug.

Good Day, Sunshine

It's a freaking gorgeous day in San Diego. I've had three meetings today and now am enjoying some downtime at a cafe in Hillcrest. I love visiting CA, but it makes me feel so east coast. The reception last night was lovely - Larry's house has a great patio and the turn out was good. JB helped me prepare my remarks (thank you!), I fielded questions for a bit, and the membership pitch was fruitful. I'll be recyling last night's speech for tonight's delegate's meeting, so I hope there isn't too much overlap in the crowd.

I have some time before I need to be anywhere, so I think I may take a stroll through balboa park on my way back to my hotel. I really wish I had a camera with me. It's really such a beautiful day.

On the Road Again

I'm on a layover in Las Vegas for my trip to San Diego. The airport is packed with slot machines and my layover is just long enough for me to gamble away my per diem. I'm tired and I miss JB already, but I suppose things could be worse. The CBTL was closing when I arrived at the airport, but they stayed open to make me a drink even though they had just turned someone away (I guess I just looked THAT tired) and since they were closing, they even threw in a free cookie. Work is slightly overwhelming, but it needn't be, I'm just letting little things get to me. I don't have any meetings in the morning so I'll have the first half of the day to myself (and with the time difference it's possible that I won't just sleep it away).

On Friday we went to see Rik in "Ah, Wilderness!" which was delightful and went out for drinks afterwards. On Saturday we went to a friends birthday party and on Sunday we shared a game of scrabble at the Quiet Storm. JB and I are infamous for our long goodbyes whenever either of us have to go away and this time was no different. It may have been the best/worst good-bye yet.

I'll be gone for a full week (mon-mon) which is longer than I like my trips to be. Still, hopefully I'll be busy enough that it will go by quick.

Adieu, sweet megapixels

I'm having one of those days where I have a ton of work to do but all I can do is look at digital cameras online...

Our camera died this morning. Very sad, but it's served us well, and we've been toying with the idea of getting a new camera, but felt silly getting a new one when we have a perfectly good one - even if it is the size of a brick. My mom came in from MX for work (Yay!) so we went out to breakfast at Coca Cafe (double yay!) and just as we were about to immortalize the morning - our little camera coughed, let out a little puff of smoke, and hoarsely said "I'll see you on the other side..." Ok, well maybe the LCD screen just had lines across it and wouldn't respond to button pushing or (gentle) banging. Still, it was sad.

And the last pictures I posted were of my horribly burnt stove. Great. That image will just stay with us for a while. Oh, if only I had downloaded the pictures I took last night of Stephanie's incredible taquitos with salsa verde.

Lead paint chips aren't dangerous unless you eat them...

It's been a busy, but great week. On Monday, JB and I went to the Gypsy Cafe for the monthly queer women's dinner. The food is always great, and it's BYOB so JB and I usually take a bottle of wine. The next night we met a group of friends at Tusca on the southside. We shared many, many tapas and a couple pitchers of sangria. Then we headed over to Shootz for a game of pool.

Well, JB and I are not big drinkers, so after two nights in a row, I started to fear becoming a wino, so we took a night at home to detox. We made dinner and watched a movie. I also thought I'd try to clean our stove.

When we bought the house, the stove was in pretty ugly shape - burned and stained. We cleaned it, but not with a lot of elbow grease - I guess we kind of just disinfected the top layer of burnt grease. It's a really old (and tiny) stove, so we have tried to work with it the best we can, but it's really an eyesore in our already homely kitchen. Before I really understood how expensive life is, I thought we'd be remodeling the kitchen soon after moving in, but now that I've resigned myself to the fact that this kitchen will need to serve us for several years, I thought I'd buckle down and try to take pride in our crappy appliances by giving the stove a good scrub.

As I scrubbed, some of the grime slowly came off - but in white flakes. It turns out, that the person who owned the house before us, in an attempt to make the stove look new, had painted the cooktop. I guess it seemed like a good idea at the time, but over the next few months (or years) the paint burned and fused with dirt and food that had been spilled. So by the time we inherited it, it was horrible. I posted pictures of how it looked after several hours of scrubbing - I wish I had thought to take a before picture, because you really can't appreciate how different it looks now. The painted stove is just one of the many cheap, poorly done, corner-cutting projects we've discovered since moving into our home. It irks me so much. I really hope the paint isn't lead paint, because although I did my best to clean up all the flakes, they were all over our food preparation area.

Anticlimactic...

Well, the great Apple Pie experiment is over and done with. I got so caught up in making it, that I forgot that I'm not really partial to pie. So what is usually the best part, sitting down and enjoying the finished product wasn't quite the thrill I was hoping. Still, Daniel, who is partial to pie, says that it turned out very well.

This was the first opportunity I had to use our new apple-corer, which I thought would got the way of so many kitchen gadgets - helpful in theory, but doesn't do exactly what it's supposed to and is better at taking up space in your kitchen than at assisting - but I actually found it very helpful and easy to use. Our peeler on the other hand is a piece of crap and was completely useless. Enter JB who peeled all of the apples with a knife in no time flat.

The crust was alright for a first try. I think it would have been much better if I hadn't panicked mid-preparation and added almost twice the amount of water the recipe called for which left it a little tough. Still, it was pretty flaky for an all-butter crust. As I've mentioned before, I'm not a fan of shortening - even though they've come out with zero trans fat varieties, I just don't trust it - which is said to create a flakier crust. Still, I'm sticking with an all butter recipe. A little vinegar helps boost the flakiness.

I also tried my hand at a lattice crust, but I did the lazy-version which isn't a true lattice. It achieved the basic effect, but I think next time I'll go all out and do the more intricate pattern. The pie was quite a project, and I'm really glad I can officially say that I've made a pie from scratch...I just wished I like pie more. And yes, the apples were from the farmers' market :)

Phipps-tastic!

Today we went to Phipps Conservatory to see the Chihuly glass exhibit (finally). It was absolutely incredible. I'd heard a lot of good things about it, and I love glass and I love Phipps, so I was sure I'd enjoy it, but still...it was just breath-taking. I can't wait to go back to see it at night.

JB and I got a household membership to encourage us to go back (and of course to support the gardens). I'm glad we did. I always say I want to support Pittsburgh's arts and museums. Hopefully this will be the beginning of a long career in Philanthropy :). Interestingly enough, this is the first non-political joint-membership JB and I have shared.

My favorite installation was the canoe filled with orbs, but other pieces were really well matched with their surrounding flora to create really striking views. Also, the plants and flowers themselves were gorgeous and the butterfly garden was really active. I'd forgotten how large Phipps is; we spent over two hours walking through. By the time we got to the end we were pretty hungry.

For dinner JB made a mashed red potatoes, broccoli, and cheddar cheese bake (potatoes, broccoli, and cheese all from yesterday's trip to the farmers' market). I also decided that I'm going to try my hand at an apple pie. Such a classic, simple dessert, and yet, so much room for error. I've never made a crust from scratch before, so that alone may foil my good intentions. Luckily, my grandmother recently handed down to me her standing mixer which has seen plenty of pie crusts. Now, she may not be in mint condition, but if only you'd seen her 12 hours ago before I gave her a good scrubbing. I thought that she was not white, but rather that yellowy-taupe color so many kitchen appliances were in the 70s. But no, it was just a generation of pastry splatter, and now she is sparkling and ready to tackle another decade of pies and cookies.

Well I began the crust preparation tonight, and with a lot of chilling (chill the butter, and the water, and the bowl, and the flour, and the mixer paddle...) and butter cutting I now have two discs of dough in the fridge waiting for me. This is the first time I used a standing mixer without parental supervision (although JB was standing by, just in case). Tomorrow I will give it my best shot. Wish me luck.

Aubergine Love

Every time I entertain getting eggplant JB and I have the same conversation:
Me: I think I'll get some eggplant
JB: How many are you going to get?
Me: I don't know, one or two...
JB raises one eyebrow
Me: You're right. Just one.
JB walks away
I walk to stand/cart/register carrying two eggplants
Me: I was thinking, and I'm going to get two
JB: Ok....
Then, we return home and one eggplant is more than enough and we have to eat eggplant two days in a row.

Now this story would be embarassing, except that JB has an eggplant story to top it. Once upon a time, many years ago, when JB and I were first officially living together and JB was a novice in the kitchen...she thought she'd make dinner for us and chose a type of vegetable burrito dish. Now, JB has come a long way since then, but at this time, JB was the type of cook who would select a recipe, take it to the supermarket and use it as a grocery list. No room for improvisation or substitution - it was adorable.

Well, this recipe called for several different kinds of vegetables and was written like this:
5 cups of gr. pepper (approx. 5 gr. peppers)
5 cups of yellow squash (approx. 5 squashes)
5 cups of eggplant

Well, JB did what she thought was the logical thing...and bought 5 eggplants. I kid you not. We must have been eating eggplant for three weeks.

Well, anyway, today we went to the northside farmers' market and, as you may have guessed, I bought two eggplants. We had one for dinner tonight and still have one left in the fridge. I made oven-fried eggplant - which is an old tried and true recipe in our household.

The farmers' market was great. The squashes and apples are coming in and it really feels like fall. We also got a great bouquet of sunflowers that are currently in our window. I love having fresh flowers in the house, it feels so special.

Thanks, Charlie!

Last night we went to a lecture about slow food at the Carnegie Library in Oakland - which means that we finally got around to getting library cards. Now, I have a deep appreciation of libraries, literature, and making knowledge readily available...but JB's feelings about libraries (and library cards in particular) are out of control. She was excited and impatient all day and was positively giddy as she finally filled out the paperwork.

I've recently found out that Charlie (my elliptical) displays "Good Workout!" on his little LED screen after you complete your time on certain settings. I love it. I don't know why it makes me so happy, but it really does. I usually use a different setting, but have been experimenting with new ones because I hate having to keep my hands on the heart rate sensors the whole time and on the setting I used to use, he would stop the time if I took my hands off the sensors. The new setting not only congratulates me on my workout every time, but also lets me use the moving handles. What a find.

Only in the last few days has it been cool enough to even consider working out. The nights are even starting to get a little brisk. This is great news, because there's nothing I like more than JB in shorts and a sweater.

Projected (possibly unattainable) Goal

We have good news! Last night our neighborhood civic council voted to write a letter of support for Hoi Polloi! That means that we are closer to getting a loan and opening. We have set a very ambitious goal of opening during the first week of December in order to participate in the neighborhood's holiday house tour. We'll see how that goes... Del dicho al hecho, hay mucho trecho.

Work has been hectic-ish because it's looking like there will be a vote on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act this month. I also have several work trips over the next month - San Diego, San Fransisco, and Las Vegas. Still, can't complain :) As my kid brother reminded me yesterday: "u have such i cool job and u dont even know it u need 2 relize that."

Staying Close to Home

JB and I walked to the Pirates game last night. Our seats had a great view of the city and we had beer, hot dogs, peanuts, cotton candy and, believe it or not, a tummy ache. As if all that weren't enough, the game was good too! The Pirates won 9-0 and a ball was even hit into the river. The walk to the stadium was nice - and made me feel less guilty about ordering one of everything at the game.

On Sunday we did the MWSS House Tour (which was incredible!) and when we finally finished all 14 houses and made it back to our house, I thought my feet were going to fall off. We were so exhausted that we just took turns giving each other foot rubs. I ended up going to bed at 8:30 pm. Still, it was totally worth it. The houses on the tour were beautiful, and some even had before and after pictures - with before pictures that were in worse shape than our house. It's really inspiring and motivating to see what people have done with old homes - especially when you are starting to feel like every time you turn around something else is falling apart in your home.

It's so hot out I think I'll bake

The peaches were turning and I had to do something with them and I thought it would be nice to make a peach crisp - of course this is the same day that I had to move my luna bars from the pantry to the refrigerator because they were melting in the heat. I do not recall living without air conditioning being so miserable when I was a kid.
Well, the heat aside, it seemed like such a classic summer dish, I just couldn't resist. I blanched, peeled, and sliced the peaches (Elliot, our turtle, enjoyed the skins and softer parts). I placed the peaches in a baking dish and tossed them with some cinnamon, cornstarch, and vanilla. I only cut up about four peaches, but it was plenty for the dish that I used.

The crusts on crisps and cobblers often call for shortening, which I'm not really wild about, but I made a really simple crust with just rolled oats, cinnamon, brown sugar, whole wheat flour and butter. Crumbled it over the peaches and baked for about 40 minutes. It was my first crisp ever. I can't wait to try it with a berry filling. Blueberry. Definitely blueberry. On a much cooler day.

Book Nook

The latest addition to our bedroom is a reading corner. It all started when my sister Stephanie brought me the most beautiful tapestry you ever did see back from Thailand. You know when you get a present that is so gorgeous that you can't think of anywhere that would be nice enough to put it? Luckily, it just so happened to match the color scheme in our bedroom (which also happens to be the only nice room in our home).

So even though we don't have much wall space to choose from (since our room is in the attic and has dramatically vaulted ceilings) we agonized over where to hang it. We chose a corner of our room and added a $10 garage sale chair that we purchased earlier this summer (which got a good vacuuming from our brand new vacuum!) and painted an old bookcase (that we've had since the last time we lived in Pittsburgh) to match the room. Throw in a lamp and an a large plant (which breaks up the space to keep the tapestry from competing with the pattern of the curtains) and you've got a fabulous reading corner.

I'm especially proud that my Pachira (braided money tree) is doing so well. These plants are notoriously difficult to care for and ours seems to not only be surviving, but thriving. There are new shoots growing from the top of the plant and it has been through all the traumatic changes that tend to harm them (repotting, moving location in the house, pruning). I went through a rough patch with house plants...there were no survivors...but since moving to Pittsburgh I've had great luck with a variety of plants. Just call me Green-thumb McGee.

The bedroom is nearly complete. We are saving up to buy some new furniture (a chest of drawers and two night stands) and another pair of curtains to cover the closet doors. It has been so nice to see it all come together...if only there weren't four rooms left to go. I'll post pictures of the entire room when it's complete.

You Never Close Your Eyes...

DC highlights:

• Arrived Monday - Gonzales resigns
• Enjoyed dinner with ACLU former co-workers
• Tsoghig and Chris were my gracious hosts the first two nights
  
• Work: strategic planning (which led to personal life strategic planning)
• Raku with Kalina - Martinis, champagne, giggling, gossip
• Stayed with Adam and Eric on the last night
• Patio weather inspired happy hour at Fox and Hound
• Later in the evening - Stetson's (where the Bush twins were first arrested for underage drinking) for A LOT of 25 cent chicken wings and a serenade of "you've lost that loving feeling"
• I got blisters because apparently I'm no longer used to walking everywhere
  

It was possibly the best work trip I've ever had. Everything just kind of came together and it was as though I'd never been gone. Both of the friends that I stayed with were right in Dupont so I walked to and from work everyday - which in spite of the blisters was really lovely. The weather was perfect and all three dinners were enjoyed on patios. It was the last week of recess, so despite the Senator Craig foolishness and Alberto resignation, everyone was relaxed and able to get out of work at a reasonable hour. It was so perfect that it made me miss JB even more than usual.

Since I've been back we've been hella productive. We registered the car, painted the bookshelf, listed all the crap we're trying to sell on craigslist, grocery shopped, and visited the Greek food festival down the street. I also tried to find a solution to our out of control pet hair problem by vacuuming Talula.

She wasn't thrilled about it, but humored me. Of course as soon as I finished, she jumed down, shook herself off, and released more dog hair into the air. Brushing doesn't help, vigorous petting doesn't help, and now we know vacuuming doesn't help. I'm at my wits end with the damn dog hair. We just ordered a new vacuum that I've convinced myself will solve all our problems - it's supposed to rival the dyson at about half the cost. This one is not for use directly on the dog - but rather to control the hair that has already been shed. Not quite as amusing, but hopefully effective.