Freneticism

Wow - has a lot of time passed! So many ups and downs of wrapping up a California life in preparation of being rather out of touch for the next 27 months.

Had a FABULOUS goodbye with Ashley and Greg in NYC - outfitting her apartment (my Craigslist expertise) and lugging the merchandise down 1st Avenue to her 76th St. apartment! Greg and I frequented lots of Starbucks for the free wireless and shared camaraderie. The three of us cheered on the Spanish team as they won the World Cup and just had easy fun together. I met Sol, who Ashley works with at the UN, retiring after 30 years - back to the Philippines! So, I'll have a friend there. Also visited the Embassy and became overwhelmed with all I didn't know about the Philippines . My friends "The Marys" came from Wilmington and Ithaca to spend a bon voyage day in NYC - totally rained upon, but we chatted (well - ate) our way around town from the Cornell Club to an intimate Spanish restaurant to the Algonquin. Great fun. Felt like a wonderful vacation.

Returned to chaos and a property manager who was AWOL - I was both worried about him and frantic since I had less than a month before I left. Things geared back up and he found me FABULOUS tenants - Mike and Hadley, who move here on Monday from Austin, TX. They've already adopted Katie, who is showing them the particulars about the house. However, the FRENETICS kept coming - when I switched the utilities, PG&E found a gas leak and shut off the gas - 2 days before my Sendoff Party! Unfortunately, the plumber found 6 gas leaks and the entire system had to be replaced - quickly. Stressful at the time, it now seems a blessing that it was successfully fixed. After investigation, there were 6 gas leaks and I had to have the gas lines completely redone. A stellar job was done, and Hadley and Mike are living in a house that is in its best condition ever!

With all the chaos and unexpected glitches, I am indebted to my friend Ellen for actually getting me packed up and out of there! She helped me pack up the last boxes and forced me to organize and throw things away - Yahoo!! And, she packed my Peace Corps crap for 2 years - under the 80 pound limit, I thought it was great - until I tried to move it all myself....80 pounds is rather heavy!!!

The last week was absolutely FRENETIC and chock-full of EMOtion - although a very different EMO from July 4th!! Katie and I had LOADS of fun - my friend Laura lent us her beautiful get-away on the Russian River and we read for 2 hours in her hot-tub, situated in the pines. We played Jenga and howled with laughter. The next weekend was spent in Half Moon Bay at a terrific B&B - The Inn at Mavericks. We visited our haunts - Happy Taco, Twice As Nice, and Katie bought me a silver Celtic ring to remind me of her - and to remind me to chill out! We also happened upon the new SF Academy of Sciences, whose premier exhibit was on the Philippines!!! I'm working with their education department to try to get my secondary project in the area of marine ecology. It's been wonderful and we will miss each other after being so close. I've tried to make sure that some of my wonderful women friends will keep in touch with my daughters and make sure that they're okay with some surrogate mothering!

What a blessing my friends and family are in my life....