notes & observations

First, a note about my employment outlook (rosy), and then I'll have some details from our trip to southern Oregon. The disappointment of not getting that full-time job has been upended. I've been offered a contract position as copyeditor at the same firm. And there is always the chance that it will become a full-time position. And, amazingly, I start tomorrow. You can imagine how thrilled Adam is to have the attic all to himself.

So we had a very lovely trip up to Ashland last week (the following will mostly be lists of restaurants and meals, with breaks for coffee; if that doesn't interest you, stop reading now). On Tuesday, after driving most of the day in a generally northward direction, much of the drive spent with Mt Shasta looming in the windshield, we arrived in Ashland around 5 p.m. and checked into our motel. We rested a little, and then headed into downtown Ashland to pick up our tickets for the plays. We had drinks and dinner at The Black Sheep, which happened to be celebrating International Talk Like a Pirate Day. There was an unfortunate incident where I got shepherd's pie instead of a Cornish pasty (after sending the pie back for the pasty I'd ordered, the pasty was still a bit cold in the center). But at least the cider was good. So was The Importance of Being Earnest, which Adam enjoyed more than I think he expected.

Wednesday began with breakfast at the Breadboard. Adam had a huge plate of eggs and potatoes and bacon. I had a bagel and cream cheese. Then we went to the monstrous big box store in the next town so that Adam could replace all the toiletries in the bag that didn't get packed into the suitcase. After that we walked downtown to find a cafe with wifi. A late lunch at a place on Main Street was disappointing (it was the kind of place that would be popular with middle schoolers on a group trip to see Two Gentleman of Verona). Then we went to a little grocery co-op to pick up some supplies for dinner at our motel room (fresh basil, brie, a baguette, and cream cheese for breakfast). When my father had visited a few days before, he had given me a big bag of tomatoes from his garden, and I hadn't eaten some of them before we left for Ashland, so I brought the tomatoes with us. Because our room had a little kitchen, I decided to make a light dinner there: tomato soup, bruschetta, garlic bread and brie. Then off to the theater for The Merry Wives of Windsor. They'd gone with a sort of Dickens meets Cirque du Soleil vibe for the costumes and music. Perhaps it was the noisy high school students sitting behind us, but there was something a bit lacking in the show (although some of the acting was really stellar, especially the merry wives).

Thursday began with a bit of trouble with the housekeeping staff that put Adam into a bad mood, so I told him we should spend the morning apart and meet up for lunch. I had a latte and read for a while by myself, which was nice. Once we met up again, we strolled through Lithia Park and down Ashland Creek to have tacos at Agave. I had picked up a map for a walking tour of the historic railroad district and had seen that there was a gallery with a letterpress and engraving workshop, so we walked the six blocks or so to the DeForest Gallery where I was able to take a look at the vandercook and glance over some of the work that was done there (mostly wedding invitations). It was around this point that we agreed we had done and seen pretty much everything there was to do and see in Ashland. We went back to the room for a nap and more tomato bruschetta, and then I washed my hair and put on a skirt and we went out for a nice dinner. Most of the nice restaurants in Ashland had seemed a bit boring or tame, and maybe even a little overpriced, but we found a fantastic Asian-Latin fusion restaurant (yes, you read that right) called Dragonfly. The menu was inventive, inexpensive, and so very, very good.

Then Friday we packed up and left after breakfast (at the Breadboard, again; the marionberry muffin was nice and cinnamon-y). Instead of driving straight back to Oakland, we stopped for a night at my parents' house outside of Chico. We finally got back to town Saturday evening. It felt like we'd been gone at least a week. It's always nice to leave for long enough that, when you get home, you're glad to be there.

A bit of a disappointment

Some of you may have heard that I was very close to getting a full-time job. Well, that wasn't quite close enough. I just found out this morning that I'm not going to be getting the job. Not because of anything to do with me. Sounds like the department is about to be in some turmoil, and they've decided not to hire anyone for the moment.

As Adam says, it would have just been too easy to walk into a job on my first try.

A small trip is better than none at all

So we've decided to go on a trip. More than decided, we've booked rooms and theater tickets for next week in Ashland. Very spur of the moment, and kind of fun to know we're going so soon. We're going to stay in a 1940s-style autocourt (affordable and available, a difficult combination on such short notice), and we're going to see The Importance of Being Earnest and The Merry Wives of Windsor.

coconut poetry

I recently found out that at least one of my poems will appear in an upcoming issue of Coconut. I'm very excited to see "two * dreams" in print.

acorn madness

Maybe it's the season, the end-of-summer panic, but the squirrels who frequent the oak tree outside our living room have been acting particularly squirrelly, as of late. Lots of chattering and branch shaking, and rather more banging on the third-floor fire escape than you'd expect from what are, after all, little rodents with big fluffy tails. The other morning, one actually peered in the window to see what we were doing.

summer cold

I turned my computer on today for the first time since at least last Thursday, I think. I've been staggered by a vicious cold, all sinus pressure and icky fluids, and I had to miss out on all the fun of Labor Day barbecues.