Okay, I'm really back now. News of today -- quiet at the office, just fielding calls while boss is away. Fed Ex'd Metari Nights to Puritan -- hope they like it. Going to mail off the collection manuscript to the rest of the publishers and agents today -- with any luck I'll have a contract soon and the book will be ready in time for Christmas sales. Wouldn't that be a lovely thing to slip under someone's pillow? :-)
Kev's leaving today to do some travelling of his own :(. House is going to feel awfully empty -- just me and my cat. I should take some photos of her and put them up -- she's a beautiful black cat, the kind I always wanted when I was younger and planned to grow up to be a witch (when I wasn't planning to be a librarian, or an astronaut). Don't have easy access to a scanner anymore, but I could probably manage something.
Re: trip -- Well, the weather was absolutely fabulous. Unbelievably beautiful. A cool and sunny 70-75 much of the time in SF (Oakland was a little warner), and there were flowers everywhere. It startled me how much it looks like Ceylon (Sri Lanka, that is) -- palm trees and bougainvillea everywhere. That's my favorite flower, and it won't grow in the climates I've been living in -- I'm looking forward to seeing it everywhere. In Sri Lanka, it covers the houses in walls of bright colors.
Sightseeing was great fun -- saw the Exploratorium (best science museum I've ever seen, and I've been to quite a few), and the Faberge exhibit at the de Young Fine Arts Museum. Walked up and down the famous Haight street (near Ashbury, where all the hippies hang out) and through the Mission district (yummy Mexican food, very cheap). Stopped at Good Vibrations, slightly embarrassed, but was a very neat store. Also spent an afternoon at the beach near Cliff House (with my friend, Cliff :-) and an evening at the production of Medea: The Musical (free on Thursdays if you wear a toga :-). Also hung out a lot with friends and watched The Joy Luck Club again -- fabulous movie. We sobbed buckets. Even the guys teared up. Met a really neat woman named Lorelei who was in town for a week-long piercing workshop -- welcome to San Francisco! :-)
Apartment hunting was sadly a little less productive. Apparently, unlike Philadelphia (where you must starting apartment hunting three months in advance), Oakland rarely has listings more than a month in advance. Saw lots of nice places, but couldn't pin anything down. Did find a really nice room in a house (close to Mills, with garden and piano!) which may work out -- I'll know soon. Cross your fingers for me...
Mills itself was beautiful. Quietly elegant, it looks like a good place to work. And if it gets too dull, San Francisco is not far away (I'm thinking of volunteering to do Indian storytelling at the Asian Arts Museum; might also get a busking license so I can play flute and pennywhistle in the park :-).
Well, that pretty much covers my trip, and I hope this long entry makes up a little for all the time when I couldn't reach y'all...I missed you! (Oddly enough, since I rarely here from you. :-)