Cat on the lap and it must be blogging time. I guess my sitting here with an open, available lap is nothing but an invitation. *I* think it means I’m working. Clearly I am mistaken.
The Governator came to town yesterday and messed with our production schedule. We held the paper back by two hours in order to hear his speech — in which he attempted to blame others for the budget crisis, because it’s always someone else’s fault, isn’t it? Getting the stories done, the paper proofed and sent took longer and the press was so mad and we were actually an hour later than all that, but we made it. There were also two fires the previous night, drama, adventure, you name it. It’s all there. Check it out in the Sun, today.
It’s Earth Day this weekend, at least here in Alameda, and we’ve got an event planned. It’s the Man’s idea: we’re gonna have a neighborhood cleanup of our little filthy beach here at the Point. It’s right on the edge of Seaplane Lagoon, which sounds so pretty, unless you consider the nickname for the place: The Navy’s Toilet. There are signs warning of toxins in the fish. Don’t eat it! Apparently there is airplane and ship fuel, probably fun stuff like dioxins and PCBs and mercury — all just waiting for us. However, there is also a lot of broken glass, plastic, an old mattress and more, so we’ll do our best to clean those things up and see how it looks afterward. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a little stretch of beach that was not covered in trash? That we could sit on and smell the mercury once in a while? I think so. Kudos to Mr. Husband for thinking it up. We made a flyer and passed it to all the nay-bors and we’re all set to clean up, then potluck afterward here, on Saturday. Join us, if you’re free. Wear gloves.
I had the Tiger Cub Scouts in the newspaper yesterday afternoon, working on a merit badge, and they were so cute — but um, energetic. Very much so. I was thinking they’d be older and was unprepared for six very high-strung 7 year olds. But they were all very eager to know more and so I did my best to show them what we do and how we do it. Later I took their photo (getting them to sit still was a challenge). I told Mr. Husband that it was like dropping a jar full of marbles, trying to keep the “lesson” going. Crash, rattle, roll…but that’s how it is. Fun stuff. Look for their photo in next week’s paper. Very cute boys.
I posted a call for interns on Craigslist, sent the flyer to UC Berkeley, SF State, CSU East Bay, College of Alameda, Ohlone and I think a few other places. Laney, too. I hope to get a couple of good candidates to come onboard for the summer. I also have an eager high school intern who wants to learn the ropes. It will really help me a lot to have some interns. I just can’t keep all the plates spinning these days. I expect to spend the next few weeks interviewing and figuring out who is right for us.
Last night Ana and I baked a cake from scratch — she wanted to surprise her boyfriend for passing the proficiency exam. Good for him — yay, Vinny! I realized how easy it is to bake a cake from scratch — literally just five more minutes than baking from a mix, and the flavor is so much better that it is hardly worth it to get that nasty chemical taste and extra sugar — for five minutes’ saving? Yuk. I can’t wait to taste this one. The batter was delicious. Ten times better, no, twenty, than a box mix. A good lesson: The old ways are often the best ways.
On the list today is a meeting with a freelancer, a couple of calls to women friends from my group, continuing to clean up in prep for the Saturday Earth Day potluck, planning what I’ll prepare for that (probably a couple of salads, maybe a cake — from scratch!); water the veggies outside, and in the front, all the potted plants (they look wilty). A load of laundry, perhaps. Husband says we have to go to the gym tonight. Ugh. We just got a membership to the Bladium in trade for advertising — so it’s “free” — so I guess I’d better go (creak, moan, groan…) I guess that’s why I NEED to go, huh? To stop the creaking?
Dinner tonight: Vegetarian feast. That means salad. One daughter is sick. It’s a quiet few days at the White House (La Casa Blanca), out here at the Point. Potluck this weekend.
Next week: New York.