Saturday, July 30, 2005

Gators take third place at Championships

Out of twelve competing teams our swim club took third place at championships today, thus marking the end of another swim season. The final swim meet is held at Chabot college's 20 lane pool. The scene is a mad house with hundreds of swimmers participating. The event begins at 7am and finishes around 6pm. Families arrive as early as 6 am to set up camps on the lawn where they can hang out between swim events. It is a long day for all to be sure!

All three of my kids swam four events in each of their different age groups. My husband was a timer and I got to be a Clerk of the Course for the 8-10 Gator boys. Being Clerk of the Course is an all day job and you are on your feet the entire time, tracking down the boys, keeping them in your line of sight, walking them to the staging area where all the swimmers check in and line up to be escorted into the pool deck. Then the Clerk runs to the pool deck with all the towels and swim parkas and waits for the swimmers to emerge from the water. Then the Clerk escorts them back to the campsite only to start the process all over again with the next swim event. I did my job well, no lost little 8 - 10 boys. However, I did manage to loose my own six year old at one point!

The kids had a lot of fun and were very spirited. There was a lot of hair braiding, hair shaving, nailpolishing, and body painting going on...and that was just the boys, now let me tell you what the girls did! Really, the kids had a blast and were very creative in showing unity and team spirit. The relay teams came up with stupid and funny costumes. My eldest son's group painted Super Gator symbols (think superman logo) on their chests with sharpie markers and wore their towels as capes. Others wore wigs and hawaiian shirts and one group even showed up with rubber ducks and floatation devices. Quite the carnival atmosphere...imaginative and very entertaining.

Tomorrow we end the season with a final awards ceremony/pot-luck/dance event to celebrate another great swim season. We all heave a sigh of relief that early morning swim practices and all day swim competitions have come to an end! Yet, at the same time, endings, as always, are sad...we will miss not seeing friends every day at the pool and the unique comeraderie we share. It may be over, but it is never completely over! There is always next year! The Gators will return and they will rule the pool...again!

Saturday, July 23, 2005

The art of T.P.ing


Belonging to the Gator swim team brings with it the necessary evils of T.P.ing. There is an underground movement that only surfaces late at night, when most decent and unsuspecting folk have gone to bed. They strike with their hoarded rolls of toilet paper & chalk, leaving streaming trails of white paper dangling from trees and bushes, empty cardboard rolls stacked upon innocent car atenas and brightly colored messages on driveways, in their wake. Part of the fun, on the part of the T.P.er is the thrill of skulking around someone else's yard in the dark, cowering in the shadows when headlights pass by and covering as much lawn in toilett paper as is humanly possible without getting caught. Part of the fun, on the part of the T.P.ee is to hear the hushed whisperings and the giggling and to catch the culprits in the act. Turning on a porch light or opening a window and yelling out "busted" sends the pack scrambling down the street into waiting parked cars...cars, I might add, that are driven by adults! In my day and age, no decent, self respecting parent would be caught dead consorting with, let alone DRIVING these hellions to appointments with delinquency. Ahhh, but we live in a different world these days. Parental involvement seems to be required these days, necessary in fact in a world where we barely let our children walk ten feet to school without a chaperone!

As we approach the end of swim season and with Championships next weekend, the past few days have seen new heights in T.P. activity. In fact, our house was hit twice two days running by different bands of roving Gator buddies. In fact, while we were out T.P.ing others, our house was being hit. It's pretty much all fun and games and innocent fun. But, try explaining that to the neighbors. We live in an area were there are a lot of Chinese and Indian familes. The first time the sun rose over our barely recognizable yard strewn with millions of strands of white toilett paper, they immediately rushed over to console us, ready to call the police, soooo sorry that our house had been vandalized. We, on the other hand, stood on the front steps in our pajamas, grinning broadly trying to explain that, no quite the opposite, that this was a good thing and we were really quite happy and excited to have singled out by our Gator team for recognition. The boys, you see, get very excited by the whole ordeal, even though THEY are the ones the get to clean up the entire mess the next day!

Tuesday, July 19, 2005

Ocean's 12

I can't believe I hadn't seen Ocean's 12 before tonight. What a great movie. Who knew that parts were set in Italy...always a plus. It's a good thing we watched it on DVD because we could stop & start & rewind the movie as much as we wanted to review and discuss the complicated plot twists. I have to admit that I thought the whole thing was pretty humorous and enjoyed the bantering between all the characters. And, I now have a new favorite movie line. At one point, Matt Damon's character is brainstorming a plan to have Ocean's wife, Tess (played by Julia Roberts) mascarade as the real movie actress Julia Roberts (because she bears a resemblance to her) to steal a Faberge egg. (Pay attention! I told you it was a complicated movie!) The other guys think it is an outrageous idea, but are slowly convinced that it might work. During all this, one guy comments to Damon about the plan:

"It's Italian television crazy....and we are still watching."

I laughed out loud, since recently Francesco and I have been discussing the merits of Italian television and I know that Mindy is not a big fan of Italian programming either. I, on the other hand, know it is crazy...but I AM STILL WATCHING! It seemed to hit home...another one of those, I guess you had to be there moments! Oh, go watch the movie, already!

Monday, July 18, 2005

Of mice and.....

I am matching my wits against a sneeky little mouse that loves the big juicy nectarines that I have accidently left out on the counter at night. To add insult to injury, I am also under seige by an army of the teeniest, tiniest ants. The heat has brought them out of the ground and into the kitchen where they are also running rampant all over the counters. Once upon a time, the area in which I live was once filled with fields of apricot, cherry and olive trees. Our actual neighborhood was built over the site of the old Weibel Vineyard. It really is a shame that fields of fruit trees and vineyards have to be mowed down to give way to "progress" and the construction of houses. They say that less than twenty years ago, this entire area was open and wild and people used to ride horses where there are now expressways. So, in some ways I guess the "visitors" are less the intruders than me. But, none the less, I am not too keen on sharing my nectarines with a mouse. Finding little teeth marks in my fruit in the morning is not the greatest of ways to start the day! So, the hunt is on. But, I am finding that this is a sneeky little thing and it seems to be dancing around and avoiding the sticky traps that I leave out at night. The story continues...hmmmm....who will out smart whom?

Sunday, July 17, 2005

Bocci anyone?

As you may have guessed from previous posts it is really hot around here. Today at 4 pm the thermometer rose to 110 degrees. Now, the heat doesn't really bother me but what does is a rather disturbing correlation between the heat rising and my internet service pooping out. Every day since last Wednesday, my service has gone out at 11:30 am but comes back on line every evening around 7:30. Argh! My mood swing is mercurial...when the internet is out, I am down in the dumps; when it is back, all is right with the world and can't even recall how annoyed I was just a few hours earlier. Yet, as these outages persist, I have decided to conduct a highly scientific "charting" experiment to see if sun spots, the changing gravitational pull of the earth and/or heat temperatures, are in fact linked and reeking havoc with my internet connection. Come on folks! Let's give a girl a break here. You know it is absolutely essential and vital that I check my e-mail at least twenty times a day and surf the web just as many.

Ahh, well...what to do, what to do, when the internet goes down...that is besides panicking and driving Comcast crazy with five calls a day to their service center to check in with the mother ship. Let's see. I've gone to the mall. I've actually grocery shopped. Oh yes, I even cleaned out the two "catch-all-junk" drawers in the kitchen. I fell asleep, on my bed, over an Italian grammar book while watching an Italian situation comedy show (sorry about that RAI, but sometimes your programming isn't all that captivating!) I have been to the gym a couple of times and even seen the inside of the local library. So, yes it is nice to know that there is life beyond the internet...kind of.

I have to admit though, the most fun I have had in the last five days since the internet has gone down has been at City Beach. My husband and I and a group of friends hightailed it over to this local hang out spot last night, where we ended up staking a claim on one of the bocci ball courts where we proceeded to play a "friendly" men-against-the-women tournament for about five hours. I am not going to point any fingers...but some of us may be just a teeny bit competitive. And despite the fact, that I quite possibly, may have been playing under the influence of a Cosmo or two (and also maybeeee some red wine), I have to admit that I am a pretty darn good bocci ball player. Soon I too, will be carrying a little ruler around with me like the gentlemen in Italy do to measure the distance of the balls. Bocci is my new calling in life..as my youngest would say...it's heck-a-fun. So, if you are looking for me when the heat rises and the internet goes down, you will probably now find me on some Bocci ball court perfecting my toss. Bocci anyone?

Friday, July 15, 2005

Morning hours

L'aria รจ fresca e pulita. The air is fresh and clean. I open the window wide to let in the coolness. In the distance I can hear the hum of mowers already at work, despite the fact that there is still dew upon the lawns. I smell the sweet aroma of newly cut grass. The world isn't quite awake and the sun hasn't yet begun to melt or parch the earth. This is my slice of time that I can call my own. A time before the day fully engages and competing domands on my attention are made. This is a time of peace, and clarity of thought. I savor the cool morning breeze, for I know, that it too will soon vanish, as the sun rises higher in the sky.

Thursday, July 14, 2005

Evening hours

It is night time and it is hot. It is a sticky, opressive heat that has turned the hills outside my door an ugly brown. It is a heat that makes the pavement shimmer and defeats the car's air conditioning system. The sun is down, but the house remains excessively warm inside. It is quiet except for the clicking of computer keyboards and mouses. It is funny, actually, to hear the stacato tappings coming from all corners of the house. It may be hot, but nothing keeps us from our computers. And yes, if I listen closely I can also hear the low mumble of the golf channel coming from the living room. My husband is a fanatic golfer. He and my father are the only two people on earth that I know of that can avidly watch golf on tv! Now, there it is! I can feel it...a welcome cool breeze is starting to waft through my open window. There is a perfect half moon high in the sky. I feel a nocturnal stroll coming on....

Monday, July 11, 2005

My excellent three day adventure


Too much fun was had this past weekend! It feels like I have been gone a week and yet, as I glance over at the three Italian calendars I have strategically placed on my office wall for confirmation, I see that it is only Monday. What did I do that could cause me to loose sense of time and place. Well, let me tell you!

Day 1: It all started Friday at 7 am, when I went day tripping with some girlfriends to pick up kids from summer camp. Stacy, Lunette, Bridget and I decided, that as long as we had to drive four hours north of San Francisco to pick up our kids and bring them home for an early Saturday morning swim meet, we might as well make it a girls' day out. With Starbucks coffee in hand we headed up highway 101 and arrived in Healdsburg, a quaint town near Napa/Sonoma just in time to do some serious damage to our pocket books. We shopped and enjoyed the views and lunched in the shady backyard of a restaurant converted from an old house called Ravenous. The falafel and yogurt sauce was delicious as was the chocolate torte served with coffee gelato. After lunch we headed up Dry Creek Canyon road to visit several of the wineries located in the hills north of town. We stopped and sipped wine in the wine caves of Bella Vineyards and then again on the lovely estate of Ferrari Carano. I couldn't resist the Zins and bought a couple of bottles to bring home with me. We arrived at camp around six, loaded up our two cars with seven stinky boys, no worse for ware, having spent the last six days roughing it in the wilderness. And that, was just the start of my excellent weekend....

Day 2: Saturday 6:30 am. Rise and shine and head to the pool for the afore mentioned swim meet! But, the swim meet wasn't the hightlight of this day...oh no! What we really were looking forward to was the Gator swim team camping event and beach day scheduled for the remainder of the weekend. Once done with the meet we packed up the car with towels, wetsuits, blankets and most importantly sticks to roast marshmallows, and headed out to Santa Cruz and the KOA (camp grounds of America) located near Sunset Beach. It is a tradition for the Gators to camp together every year and this year about twenty-five families joined together for this communal celebration. Kids were running around playing in our little tent city, while parents were strolling from tent to tent, socializing and celebrating with margheritas.

Day 3: Beach Day Sunday. After a hearty community breakfast cooked over a camp stove, the Gators headed out to the beach. We parked ourselves under umbrellas and easy ups and we didn't leave until late afternoon. There was a lot of sand castel building, and burying of kids in the sand (my son was turned into a giant mermaid and the girls took great care to make it an anatomically correct with a large bosoms) but the best part was riding those wonderful waves on a boogie board. Such an exhilarating thing to become one with a huge wave! I must admit, that I abandoned myself to the sea for an entire afternoon of playing in those waves. We came home covered in sand, a little roasted and red from being in the sun all day, but what a fabulous time we had!

Thursday, July 07, 2005

I applaud the In-N-Out Burger


Okay, here is a first. I finally made it to In-N-Out and tasted my very first In-N-Out burger.

Usually I avoid fast food restaurants like the plague and have pretty much given up on greasy fries and trying to discern the questionable origins of most fast food joint fare. I am especially leary about the partaking of such fare after hearing about the movie "Super Size Me" from friends who spare no details in describing the horrible impacts a month of eating food filled with perservatives and grease does to ones body. But, happily, I report that the In-N-Out burger is GREAT! It is made from the freshest of ingredients, nothing is frozen or added to or processed. The french fries are made before your eyes from real, yes, you heard me, real potatoes. The menu is simple and consists of hamburgers and cheeseburgers and the best milkshakes ever. This place is a real throw back and it makes me happy just to walk through its doors. Sorry to all those not living in California, Nevada and Arizona...the In-N-Out burger resides only in these states. You will just have to come and visit and we'll all go out for a burger together.

Monday, July 04, 2005

Happy Fourth of July

We celebrated today, by marching in the annual Fremont 4th of July parade. What a turn out and what a diversified parade we were! There were boyscouts, cubscouts, Sikhs, Chinese, Scotts, Mexicans, marching bands, pirates, nuns, swim schools, dance schools, veterans, the chamber of commerce, the rotarians, florists, animal activists, balloons, floats, antique cars and bikers on Harleys...it truly takes all kinds to make a great parade. It makes me proud. Happy 4th of July to everyone!

Here are a couple of shots in the staging ground minutes before the parade kicked off.





Saturday, July 02, 2005

Things that go together


Alanis Morissette and the treadmill. Somehow, running on a treadmill at speed 6, is just so much easier while listening to Alanis. My legs go faster to her beat.


Late afternoon hunger pangs and Soy Rocks from the Dixie Diner's Club. They are crunchy. They are Soy. They are Flaxy. AND they are chocolatey. What more could you ask for! For all of you who want to run out and acquire some Soy Rocks of your own you can go to the Dixie Diner and get some!


My feet and $1.00 flip flops from Target. Such a deal and very fashionable at that!

Proud moments

These are the moments that make a mother so proud...

Winning 4, count them 4, first place ribbons at last week's swim meet. Ryan took first in the Medley Relay, Free Style, Breast Stroke and Free Relay. We went on to win the meet! Go Gators!


Michael was promoted from sixth grade to seventh. Next year he leaves elementary school behind and will attend Junior Highschool.


Kyle survived first grade...

...and learned to ride a two-wheel bike in just one day!.

Friday, July 01, 2005

The closest thing I have to a piazza

It occurred to me the other evening, as I was watching my youngest learn to ride a bike for the first time without training wheels, that the elementary school playground, with its vast expanse of asphalt, was similar to an Italian piazza. At certain times of day, the black top comes alive with vibrant activity. A real neighborhood community exists upon this black top and it reminds me of every Italian piazza that I have ever strolled across in Italy. In Italy, the neighborhood piazza is the center of activity. It is where young boys kick around a soccer ball and it is the meeting ground, where couples young and old, come out to walk and enjoy each other's company.

We live on a hill, thus making it difficult to learn to ride a two-wheel bike. So, the other evening I suggested to my son that we go to the elementary school playground where he could learn to ride on a beautiful flat surface. As I sat there watching my son gain the confidence to ride off on his own (and I must proudly note that he is a very adept biker rider) I took a moment to look around and observe the activity around me. And it hit, me. This was my piazza! Here the children come to play after dinner. Here, the women stroll arm and arm around the black top as the sun hangs low in the sky drenching the black top in amber light. Here the toddlers ride their two wheel bikes around and around and around. Here the Indian ladies in their saris and the chinese grandmothers dressed in silks converse quietly amongst themselves and scold or laugh at their children. Here young men turn out for impromtu games of basketball.


Well, there it is. The elementary school playground in all it's glory. No baroque fountains spritzing water, no marble benches or cobblestones, but yet it reminds me of an Italian piazza. Here a neighborhood comes out to play and to enjoy a summers' evening.