It's late. I'm tired. But, what joy! O-ba-ma! O-ba-ma! We are happy. So, so happy. We hung out with our friends Adrienne and Bisi and a few others and watched with increasing excitement as the results came in. and exactly when the polls closed in California at 8:00 an Obama victory was declared. Bisi opened up a bottle of fine champagne and we celebrated.
I'm still worried about how things turned out in California though - especially Proposition 8 - banning gay marriage. Tomorrow we'll know the final results. But tonight I will go to bed with a great big smile.
Showing posts with label Fall 2008. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fall 2008. Show all posts
04 November 2008
02 November 2008
Just 2 more days!
Two more days. Long, long days. It's beginning to look like nothing's going to jinx things. But we always remember '04 and '00. So we stifle/suppress/compress our optimism. Should we buy champagne and expect to be celebrating? And if things go badly how on earth are we going to face the world on Wednesday?
For Halloween this year I was Joe the Plumber. When I asked my 3rd graders if they knew who he was someone said "Obama's vice-president?" I was going to make my sign "Joe the Dumber" but you know, got to be professional and all.
It's the first day of standard time when darkness descends at the ungodly hour of 5:00. I hate it. At 6:00 it feels like midnight. Jeez I find this depressing. The weather's been amazing, though. It's still warm and I'm still in my summer wardrobe. We haven't had to turn on the heating yet. But it is November and any day now the air will turn chilly.
Meanwhile, we prepare for Tuesday. Signs all over the place announce who and how to vote. Obama/Biden bumper stickers far outnumber the other out here in California. We are a solidly blue state. But we have some nasty measures on our ballots that could go the wrong way. Proposition 8 to my mind is the worst - banning gay marriage. Hopefully the number of sensible people will outnumber the dummies.
For Halloween this year I was Joe the Plumber. When I asked my 3rd graders if they knew who he was someone said "Obama's vice-president?" I was going to make my sign "Joe the Dumber" but you know, got to be professional and all.
It's the first day of standard time when darkness descends at the ungodly hour of 5:00. I hate it. At 6:00 it feels like midnight. Jeez I find this depressing. The weather's been amazing, though. It's still warm and I'm still in my summer wardrobe. We haven't had to turn on the heating yet. But it is November and any day now the air will turn chilly.
Meanwhile, we prepare for Tuesday. Signs all over the place announce who and how to vote. Obama/Biden bumper stickers far outnumber the other out here in California. We are a solidly blue state. But we have some nasty measures on our ballots that could go the wrong way. Proposition 8 to my mind is the worst - banning gay marriage. Hopefully the number of sensible people will outnumber the dummies.
18 October 2008
Last Weeks before Election
We are all so excited. Should I be even thinking this? I should wait just in case the bad luck gods are listening. Okay, I'll wait until November 5 to jump for joy!
Meanwhile, we are sailing along, embracing fall, bravely saying goodbye to oh, beautiful, beautiful summer. Last week we went to listen to Paul Theroux give a hugely disappointing talk. What a downer to discover that somebody you've 'known' for years - in his personal narrative style books he has a way of making the reader feel like you and he are real good pals - is actually boring on the stage. He seemed to go off on tangents A LOT and the audience was left wondering if he actually spent any time preparing his talk. I do recommend his books, though. I loved SIR VIDIA'S SHADOW and MY SECRET HISTORY.
We also went to a few local concerts recently. Jennifer Terran is a local singer/songwriter and performs for a select audience at her home in a converted barn. She has loads of talent and the atmosphere at her place is warm and friendly. Another concert we went to was at a cafe - Muddy Waters. We saw Scott Ray, the brother of our friend, Vickie Ray, a professional pianist. Scott does this slide guitar thing and creates very interesting, whimsical music. He happens to be married to someone from Durban! Vickie is married to Shaun, who grew up in Ladysmith! What a world of coincidences we live in!
Oh, another big event was me being a guest author at a local event called "Breakfast with the Authors". This is organized by the school county library and it's an opportunity for educators to meet and interact with local writers of children's books. Each author had to give a two minute talk so I tried my best to sound impressive and worldly.
With two months of teaching behind me already I have to say I'm really enjoying it all. Mostly because the students I have are really sweet and are very highly motivated. It's such a pleasure to go to school everyday and see their smiles and feed their brains. They are good, and I see them lapping up knowledge like hungry kittens.
Meanwhile, we are sailing along, embracing fall, bravely saying goodbye to oh, beautiful, beautiful summer. Last week we went to listen to Paul Theroux give a hugely disappointing talk. What a downer to discover that somebody you've 'known' for years - in his personal narrative style books he has a way of making the reader feel like you and he are real good pals - is actually boring on the stage. He seemed to go off on tangents A LOT and the audience was left wondering if he actually spent any time preparing his talk. I do recommend his books, though. I loved SIR VIDIA'S SHADOW and MY SECRET HISTORY.
We also went to a few local concerts recently. Jennifer Terran is a local singer/songwriter and performs for a select audience at her home in a converted barn. She has loads of talent and the atmosphere at her place is warm and friendly. Another concert we went to was at a cafe - Muddy Waters. We saw Scott Ray, the brother of our friend, Vickie Ray, a professional pianist. Scott does this slide guitar thing and creates very interesting, whimsical music. He happens to be married to someone from Durban! Vickie is married to Shaun, who grew up in Ladysmith! What a world of coincidences we live in!
Oh, another big event was me being a guest author at a local event called "Breakfast with the Authors". This is organized by the school county library and it's an opportunity for educators to meet and interact with local writers of children's books. Each author had to give a two minute talk so I tried my best to sound impressive and worldly.
With two months of teaching behind me already I have to say I'm really enjoying it all. Mostly because the students I have are really sweet and are very highly motivated. It's such a pleasure to go to school everyday and see their smiles and feed their brains. They are good, and I see them lapping up knowledge like hungry kittens.
05 October 2008
Sunday Thoughts
Yesterday, Saturday, all of us in Santa Barbara were walking around with big smiles. The reason: it was a grey, drizzly day! The last time it rained here was in late February. so we were delighted. Trees and shrubs in our gardens are still covered with ash from the big July fire so we welcomed a downpour to rinse off the air and the plants and make it all clean again. By mid-afternoon the clouds had pretty much disappeared and the sun made its appearance. Today we woke up to blue skies and warm temperatures.
This past week we had a string of sweltering days. Not terribly unusual for us. It's as if summer is making a last burst of effort. You can tell it's all just a show, though. Kinda like Sarah Palin pretending to know stuff. Fall signs are all over the place. Am I ready for short days and crisp evenings? Never!
As I made my Sunday rounds - pool, hot tub, then market - I thought about delightful Sundays I experienced in other places. In the fall of 2004 we were on Sabbatical in Barcelona and there we used to start the day by going to the local bakery and buying breakfast pastries and a yummy cake for dessert in the evening. Often we chose 'The Opera', a layered chocolate cake. Then we'd pick up a newspaper - The Observer - overpriced, but we craved news from the English speaking world - and spent the mornings relaxing with coffee, pastry, and the paper. I would then go to the gym across the road and do my 'spa' routine - pool, hot tub, sauna. Around midday Daryl and I would take the metro into the city and have lunch at Maoz Falafels. This tiny place - right on the Ramblas was always crowded. They made terrific falafels and you got to stuff your pita pocket with an enormous selection of great fillings. A truly satisfying meal. Then we would head out to a cafe we discovered just past the market for coffee and a chocolate dessert. This was sinful indulgence. We would spend the afternoon sightseeing and afterwards head out to an atmospheric square for a glass of wine. Back home we'd prepare a dinner with the amazingly wonderful produce and mushrooms, etc we found so easily in Barcelona, and end the day with the delicious cake we purchased in the morning.
Other fun Sundays - like the ones in Cape Town and the ones in Oxford - scrolled through my mind too. But, Santa Barbara is such an uplifting city that I didn't find myself longing to be elsewhere.
Even though I feel resentful about not owning my time anymore, I can't say that my days are awful. I'm enjoying teaching third grade. The kids are so delightfully motivated and so full of heartwarming innocence. They love to read and would keep their books on their laps to sneak a quick read whenever they can. They are also so thrilled that their teacher is an author. One of my students checked out UNDER THE AFRICAN SUN from our school library. The kid who sits next to her looked at her other book and said to her, "Did Ms Moodley make this book too?" Cute, or what!!
And so life has slipped back into the 'normal' state. The university is back in session and so downtown is busier and grocery shopping at Trader Joe's on Sunday afternoons is impossible.
A month from now we'll know exactly how racist America is. The whole world knows who we should pick for a president, but will it happen? I think so!!
This past week we had a string of sweltering days. Not terribly unusual for us. It's as if summer is making a last burst of effort. You can tell it's all just a show, though. Kinda like Sarah Palin pretending to know stuff. Fall signs are all over the place. Am I ready for short days and crisp evenings? Never!
As I made my Sunday rounds - pool, hot tub, then market - I thought about delightful Sundays I experienced in other places. In the fall of 2004 we were on Sabbatical in Barcelona and there we used to start the day by going to the local bakery and buying breakfast pastries and a yummy cake for dessert in the evening. Often we chose 'The Opera', a layered chocolate cake. Then we'd pick up a newspaper - The Observer - overpriced, but we craved news from the English speaking world - and spent the mornings relaxing with coffee, pastry, and the paper. I would then go to the gym across the road and do my 'spa' routine - pool, hot tub, sauna. Around midday Daryl and I would take the metro into the city and have lunch at Maoz Falafels. This tiny place - right on the Ramblas was always crowded. They made terrific falafels and you got to stuff your pita pocket with an enormous selection of great fillings. A truly satisfying meal. Then we would head out to a cafe we discovered just past the market for coffee and a chocolate dessert. This was sinful indulgence. We would spend the afternoon sightseeing and afterwards head out to an atmospheric square for a glass of wine. Back home we'd prepare a dinner with the amazingly wonderful produce and mushrooms, etc we found so easily in Barcelona, and end the day with the delicious cake we purchased in the morning.
Other fun Sundays - like the ones in Cape Town and the ones in Oxford - scrolled through my mind too. But, Santa Barbara is such an uplifting city that I didn't find myself longing to be elsewhere.
Even though I feel resentful about not owning my time anymore, I can't say that my days are awful. I'm enjoying teaching third grade. The kids are so delightfully motivated and so full of heartwarming innocence. They love to read and would keep their books on their laps to sneak a quick read whenever they can. They are also so thrilled that their teacher is an author. One of my students checked out UNDER THE AFRICAN SUN from our school library. The kid who sits next to her looked at her other book and said to her, "Did Ms Moodley make this book too?" Cute, or what!!
And so life has slipped back into the 'normal' state. The university is back in session and so downtown is busier and grocery shopping at Trader Joe's on Sunday afternoons is impossible.
A month from now we'll know exactly how racist America is. The whole world knows who we should pick for a president, but will it happen? I think so!!
21 September 2008
What a Week!
Forget all the stuff going on with the financial markets. I'm blown away by all the news going on in South Africa. First there was the Jacob Zuma stuff - charges dropped against him. (Dang! And I was hoping he would be found guilty and therefore be unable to inherit the presidency.) Then there was the fiasco surrounding cartoonist Zapiro with his cartoon in the Sunday Times last week depicting Zuma unzipping his pants and about to rape the justice system. (Poor taste, Zapiro! Rape is a sensitive issue in SA - not something that should be used for laughs!). And then, as if all that wasn't riveting enough, we hear today that Thabo Mbeki rang out his farewell message to the nation. Well, well, well. I have to say the man showed gentlemanly dignity in this. Thank you for showing the world that African leaders aren't all power hungry, autocratic, insane dictators. Now the country has to brace itself for a Zuma leadership. Is there any way out of this? I am kinda hoping that with all the internal problems the ANC has been experiencing that a split in the party might occur. This would be really healthy for South Africa to strengthen its democracy. A viable opposition party to keep the ANC on their toes is what the country needs really badly.
It's Sunday afternoon - perfect as September days tend to be in Santa Barbara. Tomorrow summer offically ends and this makes me sad. Soon I won't be able to do what I love doing best on Sundays. I start the day with strong latte and homemade muffins or pancakes or croissant (thanks to Trader Joe's ready dough), then peruse the paper. Around 9:00 I go to the pool and swim for about half an hour. This is followed by a soak in the jacuzzi and then relaxing in the steam room. After a shower, I go to the farmer's market and buy organic produce for the week. Then it's off to Trader Joe's for groceries. Back home I get house and garden chores done and then there's the afternoon to catch up on emails, phone calls, visiting friends, reading, cooking ambitious meals like biryanis, etc., and catching up with the weeks news. I listen to podcasts of WAIT, WAIT, DON'T TELL ME, and the Mail and Guardian from South Africa. As the afternoon progresses to evening I get that heavy feeling. Time again to think about the work week.
It's Sunday afternoon - perfect as September days tend to be in Santa Barbara. Tomorrow summer offically ends and this makes me sad. Soon I won't be able to do what I love doing best on Sundays. I start the day with strong latte and homemade muffins or pancakes or croissant (thanks to Trader Joe's ready dough), then peruse the paper. Around 9:00 I go to the pool and swim for about half an hour. This is followed by a soak in the jacuzzi and then relaxing in the steam room. After a shower, I go to the farmer's market and buy organic produce for the week. Then it's off to Trader Joe's for groceries. Back home I get house and garden chores done and then there's the afternoon to catch up on emails, phone calls, visiting friends, reading, cooking ambitious meals like biryanis, etc., and catching up with the weeks news. I listen to podcasts of WAIT, WAIT, DON'T TELL ME, and the Mail and Guardian from South Africa. As the afternoon progresses to evening I get that heavy feeling. Time again to think about the work week.
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