The San Diego County Young Democrats marched in the San Diego Pride parade today with the Gavin Newsom campaign. It was a sizzlin' hot day, and for a girl who doesn't like to be east of the 5 on summer weekends, this was quite a feat. We were outside walking around for about five hours, and despite my attempts to hydrate with lots of water and consume lean proteins in regular intervals, I still managed to end up with a migraine. So I spent the afternoon in my steamy hot apartment, in bed, being unimpressed with my situation. Oh, and in the middle of my migraine stupor, I somehow managed to go into my fridge, pull out an egg and smash it on myself - all down my legs, on my stomach, on my arms, everywhere. This is what happens when your brain is fried, your vision is compromised and it is wicked hot outside. I have no other explanation, but I do still have a lingering stinky egg smell.
Anyway, here are some photos from the parade. I think everyone had an awesome day. After Californians' equality taking a pretty hard hit this year, it was really great to see the entire community out rallying!
Oh, and for those of you wondering about the phrase most often uttered by parade-goers as Gavin walked by? "He is HOT!"
I am committing blog plagiarism and simply referring you to my cousin Cassandra's "Fourth of July" post for a re-cap of Independence Day festivities in Washington state. All I can say is that there is pretty self-depricating video of dancing and sparklers.
I recently returned from a fabulous vacation to the Pacific Northwest with my bff, Meghan. We had a ton of adventures, which I will definitely include in upcoming blog entries. However, my first vacation-related entry will focus on an amazing earth-friendly home that I saw in Woodland, Washington. (As those of you who read the Haylapa post know, I am totally jazzed about alternative building.)
My cousin, James, is helping his friends Sterling and Crystal construct an earth-friendly, underground home. When James initially began telling me about the underground home, I pictured the dirt home Pa dug into the side of a hill in the Little House on the Prairie books. This image somewhat concerned me - why would James' friends want to live like moles? I understand that it gets rainy and dreary in Washington state, so why compound the issue by living in a dirt cave?! James must have sensed my confusion because he kindly offered to take me out to the home for a tour. James, along with his wife, Cassandra, and their daughter Madison, climbed into the glamorous Subaru that Meghan and I had rented for our trip and we all headed off to the underground house.
This photo demonstrates what the house looks like from the main road. As you can see , the house itself is barely visible. Eventually, the roof will be covered with soil and native seeds (probably grasses and clover) will be planted. This is called a living roof or a green roof. The goal of the living roof is to manage storm water run-off, reduce energy costs, improve air quality and have the home blend into the landscape.
The front of the home does not face the street, but instead looks out over the pastures. The entire front portion the home will be glass (either windows or French doors), which allows an incredible amount of light to enter the home. The house has been positioned so that it receives optimum sunlight during the darker winter months. The patio roof provides shade which prevents the home from getting too warm during hot summer months.
This is a shot of the interior of the home. You may notice that the walls look like a bunch of white blocks. These blocks are called Insulating Concrete Forms (ICF) and are Styrofoam blocks that have been stacked and filled with concrete. As you can imagine, this provides a solid framework in addition to stellar insulation against both heat and cold.
The floors have underfloor heating -a system of coiled water pipes in the floor. The pipes will carry hot water and will warm the floors (and thus the home, as we all know that heat rises) in the colder months. This is an extremely energy efficient way to heat a home. (My Uncle David installed a similar system in his garage in Connecticut so that he stay warm whenever my Aunt Divinna kicks him out of the house. Hehehe. Just kidding, Uncle Dave. We know you want to stay warm while working on the El Camino.)
There are other aspects to the home which are earth-friendly, such as the plan to install solar panels over the garage and the gravity water system which allows water to flow from the well above the house to the home without the use of electricity. If you haven't already guessed, I am very jealous of Sterling and Crystal's innovative and beautiful home. It has certainly inspired me to be more conscious of the plethora of green building options and I hope that it inspires you as well!
P.S. I am sure that I have neglected to mention numerous components of this underground home, and it is entirely possible that I have mis-quoted bits of information. If this is the case, I hope that James or Cassandra will correct me in the "comments" section!!
I apologize for the two week lag in postings, but remember my dear readers - you are supposed to be happy for me when my life is so busy that I don't have time to write.
So, first, I resigned from my job at the foster family agency and spent two crazed weeks trying to tie up all the lose ends. I had a fabulous "No More Walden" cocktail celebration with my girlfriends, and then I jetted off to Utah, where I enjoyed a low-key week of vacation. Unfortunately, despite a multi-year drought in Wasatch Valley, it rained heavily each and every day of my visit. During the few hours of sunshine, I enjoyed doing yard work in Katie and Will's garden and at the Sandcastle Ranch. I did not enjoy being consumed by the enormous mosquitoes while gardening, but I will just have to consider my nasty, bite-covered legs to be evidence of my love for digging in the dirt.
I began a new job with Head Start on Monday, and I have spent the past week trying to get acclimated. Environmentally, it is a big change for me. In my previous position, I had a gorgeous corner office with two walls of windows, a comfy papasan chair, and lots of plants. I now have a cubicle with four foot high walls, no sunlight, and lots of exposure to chatty people (today I had the fortune of listening to a woman explain in detail how her daughter has a "bum rash" as a result of ingesting too much watermelon).
At my new job, I am mandated to take a one hour lunch break. Hmmmm. . . Lunch break? This is a foreign concept to me. As is true for most social workers, I have spent years eating "lunch" (i.e. whatever remnants I locate in my desk) while typing out a report, driving to a home visit, or sitting in a meeting. Therefore, in this job, during the first two days in which I had a lunch break , I only took 30 minutes because I had no idea what to do with myself! However, I am quickly beginning to like the idea of an hour break in the middle of the day. On Wednesday, I went to Walden for a visit with my old work friends. Today, I went to Starbucks and sat in a comfy chair outside, drank a latte and read my book. Tomorrow, I will get a pedicure. I am fairly certain that I can get used to this aspect of the job.
As most of you are aware, I am very accustomed to managing my social life during work hours. I am talking about managing everything - dinner plans, updating my blog, organizing large-scale Young Dems events, scheduling pilates sessions and acupuncture appointments, booking airfare - during my work day. Balancing my work and social life keeps me on my toes and in a generally good mood. But at my new place of employment, I am blocked from nearly all websites necessary to manage my life (I do get limited access to Google, but it is pretty much just Google Earth. Too bad my social life isn't more oriented around maps). As you can imagine, when I discovered this absolute lack of internet access, I nearly hyperventilated. No internet coupled with the cubicle situation (and the resulting lack of privacy/ability to use a cell phone) caused me to experience intense panic as I imagined my social life coming to a screeching halt. Friendships would be lost (both real and Facebook-based). Events would go unplanned. I would become a hermit - a person who has no idea what is happening with Jon and Kate Plus Eight. With my relaxation breathing, I was able to calm my panic, but I still worry. This situation has the potential to become quite dire.
Mom, Dad and Nate arrived in San Diego last Wednesday afternoon for a week long vacation. Unfortunately, the fam decided to visit during the spring months which are known locally as "May Gray/June Gloom". As you can imagine, there have been numerous comments along the lines of "I thought San Diego was always 75 degrees and sunny" and "I only brought one pair of socks because I thought I'd be wearing sandals the whole time". Well, I guess the jig is up - San Diego does not always have perfect weather. What can I say? The world is an imperfect place.
Mom, Katie, Nate & Dad
Mission Bay
May 30, 2009
(If you are confused by the date and location combined with the sweatshirts and windbreakers, please refer back to the "jig is up" comment.)
Tesch Family
Miguel's Cocina June 1, 2009
This is the requisite "Tourist Family at a Mexican Restaurant" photo. The Tesch family is incredibly classy, so we opted not to wear sombreros.
Since the writing of the entry "Mother on Facebook Causes Irresponsible Behavior to End", there have been several inquiries about my retina situation. Instead of telling the entire story again, I thought I'd just post the mass email that I sent out the week following the eyeball explosion. (Note: The term "eyeball explosion" comes from the inter-office email that one of the receptionists sent out to the staff informing them why I would be out of the office. This was the term she used, and what can I say? It stuck.) For those of you who have been long-time recipients of my email updates, please don't feel obligated to continue reading. For others, I take you back to Logan, Utah, summer of 2005. . .
Arrrr! Sorry for the mass email, but it is truly the most efficient way of disseminating information. Last week, I had an unfortunate eyeball incident. The short story is this: I experienced a retinal hemorrhage on Tuesday of last week and this was followed by an emergency surgery to put a gas bubble in my eye to create pressure on my retina. I had to lay face down for three days, which was quite unpleasant, but I persevered. I can walk around now, which is good. My buddy Katie has graciously sewn me a pirate patch which is quite fabulous. The gas bubble will be absorbed in about three weeks and at that time I can start to get an idea of how much of my vision I will get back. It won't ever be as good as before, but such is life. I would like to take a moment to address a few questions that have frequently been asked regarding my situation:
1. No, my eye will not "turn into" a "lazy", "googily", "wandering", or "crazy" eye.
2. At this point, eating carrots will not help my eye. I am past the point of preventative medicine.
3. I do not think that "showing a little leg" will distract anyone from looking at my bloody eyeball.
4. Marijuana is for glaucoma, NOT a retinal hemorrhage. I do not need you to "hook me up".
I want to thank everyone who has been so supportive over the past few days and who has and will continue to help me out with food, transportation, and companionship.
With love, Stephanie Amber, the one-eyed Pirate
This photo is from Jimbo and Kate's Wedding party, about two weeks post-eyeball explosion. At the time that this photo was taken, pretty much all I could see was a bunch of black, lava lamp-esque orbs floating all over the place. Understandably, you may be thinking to yourself, "She was heinously visually impaired. Why was she smiling?" Well, this was one of the few times that I attended a party at Jimbo's house in which the toilet was enclosed in a room with walls and a door. Who cared about busted up retinas when you can enjoy peeing at a party in privacy?!
Trevor (my brother-in-law through engagement) just likened me to Anne Frank. Why? Because Anne wrote a diary in an attic annex, and I write a blog in a studio.
This is a shot of the interior of the home. You may notice that the walls look like a bunch of white blocks. These blocks are called 
