So I made it back to Oakland, after a very pleasant holiday in Puyallup and a work trip to Boston. Boston was great! I was there for a two day mid-year retreat and then two days of master’s classes. The mid-year retreat made me realize that A) I’m mid-way through my first year and B) I really like my job. It’s hard to believe that the school is year is halfway over. (well it’ s not exactly. My supervisor keeps warning us about how spring semester is interminable.) And having time to reflect on the semester, away from the busy-ness of it all, helped me see that I really do like what I’m doing. Even if it gets a little wild and crazy along the way. Tonight I called some of my students to remind them that we start up again on Tuesday and it warmed my heart. It’s good to remember that they are the reason for all the stress.
While in Boston I visited this lovely place:
Jamaica Pond
I was staying right near Jamaica Pond and had the chance to walk around it one morning. It made me wonder a lot of things. Why don’t we have ponds in the West? We tend to call everything a lake, even when it’s small. Why are there so many places on the East Coast with Jamaica in the name? Further research is necessary. Why are there those swirly lines on the pond? Something to do with the way the water freezes, I guess. Also I saw ducks on ice for the first time which was pretty silly. They would come in for a landing and just sort of glide along. I wondered if their feet get cold…they don’t look very insulated.
Anyway Boston was supergood. I was staying in a co-op which was really lovely and I met lots of cool people there. I’m inspired. Perhaps I should live in a co-op! Seems like a good way to form community, which is the gap I feel most keenly in my life right now. At this house they cook vegan dinner together four nights a week, which was really nice. Although I’m not sure I could be vegan, considering that cheese is pretty much my favorite food of all time. 
I also got to hang out with friends new and old. Lots of cooking and eating and talking. Which are high on my list of the best ways to spend my time.
Then after a long day of travel delays I arrived back to Oakland which was (is) in upheaval over the shooting death of Oscar Grant. Oakland wastes no time in welcoming me back to the urban scene.
Today I escaped to Berkeley which made me quite nostalgic. Perhaps I’ll end up back there…I haven’t made much of an effort at getting to know Oakland, which is probably part of the problem, but Berkeley just seems more likeable. It’s easier to walk and bike around. There’s lots of friendly people. I seem to end up there to run errands a lot, so maybe it has more of what I need. Today was unseasonably warm so it felt like summer in Berkeley and everything was golden, very good weather for feeling a bit wistful.
I went by Games of Berkeley to get some extra dice for games at school. I asked the saleslady if they have blank dice, and she replied that they have blank D6. Now since I happen to go to game night almost weekly with a group of gamers far more hardcore than myself I actually do know what D6 means. (Don’t worry, it’s just a die with 6 faces! aka what most people simply call dice) I wasn’t sure what to make of this. Is it appropriate to assume that everyone who shops at the game store is nerdy enough to know what this abbreviation means? Seems a bit bold. But perhaps I’m underestimating my own nerdiness and in fact the only people who shop at Games of Berkeley are indeed…nerds.
Ahoy, McCoy!
1) I was struck by those swirly lines, too! Very nifty, and worthy of research (tomorrow).
2) While it might be a bit presumptuous to assume you know what d6 means, Games of Berkeley is host to many a role-playin’, dice-rollin’, trash-talkin’ D&Din’-type games (they’re just downstairs where no one can see them). I’m guessing that many of the people who frequent the shop know about d20s and d100s and d4s and whatnot, and that maybe the staff often forget that not everyone has a secret, sacred clutch of dice like they do.