Hooray! Or Notes from a Swing State
06 November, 2008Believe it Or NotPermalinkTrackbacks (0)(1) comment
Wow, what a week! We’re exhausted and giddy.
All the door knocking, registering voters, phone calling, emails, pestering people in line to the rally... It really worked! We were still calling people up ten minutes before the polls were closing, telling them that if they're in line by 8pm, they have the right to vote; if they needed a ride, we'd come and pick them up... It was heartening to hear people on the street, asking each other if they'd voted yet. We had record voter turn outs here in PA... with a little help from our friends.
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Life, etc.
30 October, 2008Believe it Or NotPermalinkTrackbacks (0)Comment
Barak Obama was in town this week, so naturally, we went to see him speak.

I'm glad to finally have an opportunity to vote for a
candidate I truly expect to create positive change for all of us - one
who can't be bought by special interests, but truly has our best interests in mind. I suspect a few others feel the same way, or he wouldn't be filling colosseums on a regular basis.
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Carrboro, North Carolina
22 March, 2008In Which We Set Out Into the World to Seek Our FortunePermalinkTrackbacks (0)Comment
A friend of mine in SF hooked me up with Susan in Carrboro, North Carolina (near Chapel Hill, Durham and Raleigh). Susan had moved there from SF a few years earlier, and was very happy with the move.
She told me about the interesting, progressive town she lives in - "the Berkeley of North Carolina" - with much more affordable real estate prices. There, she found more good job opportunities, and bought her first house after decades of renting. (More)
Knoxville, Tennesse
11 March, 2008In Which We Set Out Into the World to Seek Our FortunePermalinkTrackbacks (0)Comment
Next, we headed toward Knoxville, Tennesse. While I was curious
about the deep South, we decided not to go through there on this trip.
It was summer time, and would be even hotter down south. Plus, we
really did want to focus on possible areas to relocate to, and the deep
South would probably not be such a good place for vegan hippy lefties
like us (though I don't actually know this first hand). (More)
Nashville, Tennesee
29 February, 2008In Which We Set Out Into the World to Seek Our FortunePermalinkTrackbacks (0)Comment
Back on the Hospitality Club website, I found Michal, in Nashville,
Tennesee - our next destination. Did we really consider moving there?
Probably not, but we weren't ruling it out either. I called Michal
because he's Russian, and would be someone I could speak Russian with.
We had a nice chat. I like to have a substantial conversation with
potential hosts (or future guests), just to make sure we're on the same
page, and a good match. (More)
Raw Foods, New Friends, Satsangs, etc
22 February, 2008Believe it Or NotPermalinkTrackbacks (0)(1) comment
We went to a raw food meetup the other day. (If you're not familiar with meetup.com, it's a website where you can find a group for just about any interest and location. Check it out.)
I was very happy to meet some kindered spirits at this meetup. Though I'm not a total raw foodist like some of the people at this meetup, a large portion of my diet consists of raw foods. Plus, I've found that most of the people in this group are into healthy eating, natural healing, spiritual practice, etc. All the stuff I'm interested in, and was involved with in San Francisco. (More)
Ice Storm
03 February, 2008Believe it Or NotPermalinkTrackbacks (0)Comment
There was a big and scary storm the other night. In the morning... icicles everywhere... all the trees covered with ice, it looked like a magical wonderland. (More)
Our Grand Art Project
31 December, 2007Believe it Or NotPermalinkTrackbacks (0)(8) comments
As many of you know, we've been fixing up and improving our fixer upper house for quite a while now. I call our house our grand art project, because we're doing some rather fancy, though unnecessary stuff to it. I want to do artsy stuff, like mosaics, and of course Dan wants techie stuff, like radiant flooring... That's what happens when you rent for a long time, then buy your first house that you can do anything at all with!
As promised here are some photos of the bathroom mosaic, some action shots of the work in progress, and a few of Dan taking the first shower! (More)
Do You Want to Come Over and See?
06 December, 2007Believe it Or NotPermalinkTrackbacks (0)(2) comments
I was calling references for a plaster guy, and not only did they want to chat for twenty minutes, they wanted to know what we were doing, gave me advice on remodeling and finishing walls, AND ... one guy asked me if I want to come over and see the plaster guy's work for myself! (More)
Surprise
23 November, 2007Believe it Or NotPermalinkTrackbacks (0)(2) comments
We were at Tram's the other night - one of our favorite restaurants in the city - and in walks Moxie - our friend from San Francisco Food Not Bombs! That was surprise number one. Surprise number two: (More)
More Construction on the Horizon
23 November, 2007Believe it Or NotPermalinkTrackbacks (0)Comment
We've been back in serious construction mode for the past few months, and I've been neglecting everything else, including this blog. Tiling the bathroom floor isn't going too well. We used the wrong adhesive, which didn't dry properly - after almost two weeks. Many of the tiles shifted or broke before we figured out what's wrong. (More)
I Went to a Cool Summer Festival, and Not Once Did I Have to Wait for a Portapotty
29 September, 2007Believe it Or NotPermalinkTrackbacks (0)(7) comments
Good music, great vegetarian meal, enlightening workshops, hayride/educational tour of the farm, $5 all inclusive admission price... No wait for the portapotties? What gives? (More)
Onward to St. Louis
01 September, 2007In Which We Set Out Into the World to Seek Our FortunePermalinkTrackbacks (0)(6) comments
Ok, so I've been slackin on my travelogue. I guess I'm just too in the moment and caught up in the excitement of being here... there's so much to report.
Plus, I didn't really keep a journal during our travels, and unfortunately didn't take many photos. But you know, this way only the most memorable stuff will be included here. If I don't remember it, it must not be too important.
So onward to our next destination: St. Louis, Missouri. We didn't spend that much time there, but we did make some new friends. (More)
Pgh Newbie Question
25 August, 2007Believe it Or NotPermalinkTrackbacks (0)(8) comments
Does anyone know any good places to go swimming, not too far from the city? (Now that it's swimmin weather...) I'm hoping to find a natural body of water, like a lake or river, with some shady trees nearby.
Thanks in advance for any ideas.
Garbage
15 August, 2007Believe it Or NotPermalinkTrackbacks (0)(626) comments
In San Francisco, each household or apartment complex gets a trash receptacle, recycling receptacle and compost receptacle. The receptacle sizes are proportional to the number of households. They are color coded, and once they get filled up, that's all the trash collectors will pick up. (More)