Enjoying where I am

A 90-minute walk was on the workout agenda yesterday.  It being a gorgeous day and one in which I actually had someplace to be midday, I decided that I didn't have time to head to San Francisco or my old neighborhood in Oakland to get in some strolling, but that I couldn't waste the beautiful weather by heading to the gym.  So, I decided to take a long walk around town.  Kiefer and I have lived here in the suburbs for seven months now and despite loving the house, we haven't connected with the place on the whole.  We get out of town and back to our old haunts as often as possible.

The sun was shining, it was early enough to not be too hot, and there was a gentle breeze.  There is a trail near my house but there is little scenery and I've actually run many miles of it in the past seven months, so that didn't sound terribly exciting.  Instead, I headed out with no destination in mind to wind through the residential streets and see where it is I've been living for more than half a year.

What did I find?  Two parks that I didn't know existed.  A cat that looked just like my Bear, except all white instead of all black.  I tried to coax the cat to me with a magic kitty call and whispers of "NegaBear, come here, NegaBear." (Didn't work. Go figure.) I also found that there are roses in bloom everywhere and I played with the new Hipstamatic App on my iPhone for a few shots.

It was lovely.  A different kind of lovely for me, who is drawn more to people watching and hustle and bustle than gardens and quiet strolls, but lovely nonetheless.

P.S. On the packing front.......it's all going to fit, carry-on it is!  I feel so proud.

The Friday Five (Freitag funf)

Yes, you are in the right place!  Yes, I changed it again.  Yes,  I do realize that I cannot, should not be changing the format so often.  I don't want to run you off with impatient thoughts of me as a wacky, flaky girl.  But I just wasn't happy with the look and feel of An American Girl; it didn't feel like me and this is, well, supposed to be all about me and what I'm going through this year.  It's important to me that my blog reflect who I am.  So I changed it again.  One last time.  This is it...promise.

And, since it's Friday again (already?), it's time for....

The Friday Five/Freitag funf

1.) Added a feed for the Austrian Times to my iGoogle page to read the news every day .  One of the front page articles this week makes me nervous, BZO Calls for Tougher Immigration Laws.  More on that later.

2.) Spent Sunday afternoon walking around San Francisco with Kiefer.  Bright and sunny, but windy...typical San Francisco.  We ventured through a new (to us) neighborhood...Polk Street.  We walked nearly the entire length, from City Hall up to Russian Hill, not quite all the way down to the Wharf.  Lots of different people enjoying their coffee, their pedicures, their beer and the USA v. Canada Olympic Hockey Game at the local bars.  Saw my friend's friend's flower shop, Cherries, but it was closed, so I enjoyed via a peek through the window.

3.) Started a Story Ideas notebook for possible writing topics - keep it with me at all times to log random thoughts, ideas, connections that pop into my head.  I've always thought my biggest block to writing was ideas.  Now I've got ideas on the page but I have to actually begin the writing.

4.) Left a message for my old landlord in Oakland to see if he has any vacant studio apartments he'd be willing to let us occupy for a few months.  No word yet.  I'm hoping that's not a bad sign.

5.) Started taking photos of furniture to sell on Craigslist.  I wasn't kidding last week.....if anyone in the Bay Area wants to buy a crescent-moon shaped, light-blue leather couch....look no further!

Mann und Frau

Please pardon the lapse in writing....I've been off. Busy. Getting married!

It's been a great week, and, well, it seemed busy to me, although it was nowhere near as full as most people's when they get married.  A simple ceremony at San Francisco City Hall.  Dinner. Night in the City. Brunch.  We did it just the way we wanted, which isn't always easy to explain or to make happen.  I suppose that's what we're doing with Vienna as well.....something that's just for us and just us, doing it our way.

But we do have the love and support of many people - for our wedding and for our move.  I was reminded of that this week.  And it made me smile.

The question now is, do we have to (or should we) do it all again when we get to Vienna?  Not that I mind, just curious....