Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Thursday, December 25, 2008
The Longest Night of the Year
This was written on Sunday night/Monday morning, recounting our cross-country flight not to be believed.
DATELINE - Country Inn & Suites, Mount Prospect, IL, 2:45am, Dec.22
So the day started out pleasant enough. Our friend Jeff drove us to the San Francisco airport in plenty of time for our 11:15a flight to DC. We were in good spirits, William was ecstatic, and Lila was mostly smiles.
We boarded the flight to Chicago on time and, even though our seats were in the back and it was a full airplane, things went pretty smoothly. William watched The Jungle Book, Lila took a couple catnaps, and the flight attendant was nice. The kids did have some issues as we descended into Chicago O'Hare and we were glad that the long leg of our trip was behind us -- only an hour-and-a-half to DC! Little did we know it wasn't going to work out quite that way.
At O'Hare we scurry over to the G terminal for our connecting flight. We arrive in plenty of time for some pit stops and a bit of browsing. We're ready to board at 6:45 for the 7pm departure (it was a smallish plane). But no boarding happens. 7pm comes and no boarding. 7:15p and no boarding. The plane is there, the passengers are here, and the weather is clear, but still no boarding. At 7:30p we learn that our crew has not arrived yet; hence the delay. "They'll be here soon," the gate agent said several times. So we smiled and relaxed and were grateful that the delay wouldn't be worse.
I guess it was about 8:15 when we started to realize that it could be worse -- much worse. We had boarded around 8p but we were still sitting at the gate a half-hour later. In that half-hour, Lila had gone from fussy to frantically crying, so overtired that she couldn't settle down. The passengers around us were getting worried that this was going to be the longest 1.5-hour flight they had ever been on.
But as the plane finally backed out of the gate, Lila settled down. She was still fussing but at least she was drinking a bottle and doing the eyeroll thing that usually preceeded deep sleep. I had visions of being in DC with a beer in my hand before midnight.
Then the pilot tapped the brakes. I guess he was testing out the traction on the frozen O'Hare runways. The traction was good. The plane jerked, down came the armrest on Lila's head while she was feeding, and out came the screams of agony and anguish.
Ten minutes later we are still taxing around the runway. Lila's settled into a quiet keening, tolerable for now. The plane turns on to the runway and the engines rev up. It looks like we're getting off the ground at last.
Until the pilot cuts the engines, turns right, turns right, turns left, and halts the plane on a side runway. I'm sure he's forgotten his phone at home or something. "Uh, folks, looks like we got a warning light as we were heading for takeoff. We'll get maintenance on the horn to see if there is something wrong. Please be patient."
This news was bad, but not as bad as the wailing that came out of Lila's mouth. For some reason, the speaker system was set at 139 decibels, loud enough for people in Milwaukee to hear it. Predictably, Lila didn't like it. For the next ten minutes, she alternated between muted whimpering when we soothed her and frantic sobs when the pilot made another announcement. I think everyone was relieved when the plane headed back to the gate to get us all off.
There was some mechanical failure and we needed a new plane. We all trooped off and stood around the gate looking lost.
About 30 minutes later, close to 11pm, they announced that our plane was ready at the other end of the terminal. So our merry band of 30-40 passengers hoofed it down the hall. We all gathered at the new gate and watched as the pilots and crew went in and out the jetway door. We made friends with fellow travelers. After William took a fall (by this point he was deliriously dragging his rolling backpack in circles as fast as he could), some friend shared a chocolate cookie with him. Things were looking good.
Then the voice in the ceiling changed our plans. Evidently, this plane was no good. We were going to have to try a third plane back at the previous gate. So off we went, back to the other end of the terminal.
Then the comedy/tragedy of errors really gets rolling. We're sitting at the new gate for fifteen minutes when the pilot and crew come strolling down the hall. Evidently the voice in the ceiling had failed to tell them we were changing planes so they were just hanging out on the second plane waiting for us to board.
OK, good that the crew is here. But when they go down the jetway, they find out someone forgot the keys. Yes, the plane was locked and no one left a key under the mat. So they call Airport Operations to get the guy with the key. Twenty minutes later he shows up and the crew gets started. Hope returns.
Then the crew comes back out and says that due to the frigid Chicago weather (it was 5-below by now), the inside of the plane was freezing -- about five degrees. It was going to take 20-30 minutes to warm it up.
All right. We've waited this long, we can handle another half-hour.
Until the airport fire alarm goes off. Flashing blue lights, discophanous sirens, alternating loudspeaker warnings. I guess we were all beyond tired because nobody reacted. We just sat there.
But it was the beginning of the end. Apparently, a space heater in the Crew Room had caught a rug on fire. The sprinklers in the room went off, putting out the fire... and flooding the downstairs. The water flowed out onto the tarmac underneath our plane and froze. Our plane was going nowhere.
"Flight 4096 to Washington Reagan airport has been cancelled." It was 1am.
The next hour was filled with parents who had lost it and kids who were barely hanging in there. The next flight was at 6:20am, but the airport hotel was sold out. So we had to take a shuttle to a distant hotel, but there was no shuttle service. So we had to get a cab voucher, but most cabs don't accept the vouchers cause it's such a hassle to get reimbursed by the airlines. So we had to pay for the cab but the driver didn't know where our hotel was. So we had to use our GPS system in our iPhone to find the hotel, but the hotel sign was burnt out so we drove past it twice. So we get to the hotel, sans food, sans water, sans toothpaste. They have no food except some vending machine chips. They water costs a $1 a bottle. The toothpaste is nowhere to be found.
Neither is my iPhone. As we piled out of the cab, it slipped out of my pocket on to the back seat. Frantic calls to the cab company got a hold of the driver, but he was on another call already. So I have to spend another hour sitting in the lobby waiting for him to come back. (He was very gracious about having to go so far out of his way to return my phone.) I get to bed around 4am.
Morning comes early with a wake-up call at 8am. We get hotel breakfast and grab a cab to the airport (no shuttle service at a convenient time, of course). The plane is on time, we take off without stopping, and by lunchtime we land in DC over the Potomac River to conclude the longest night of the year.
Merry Christmas!
DATELINE - Country Inn & Suites, Mount Prospect, IL, 2:45am, Dec.22
So the day started out pleasant enough. Our friend Jeff drove us to the San Francisco airport in plenty of time for our 11:15a flight to DC. We were in good spirits, William was ecstatic, and Lila was mostly smiles.
We boarded the flight to Chicago on time and, even though our seats were in the back and it was a full airplane, things went pretty smoothly. William watched The Jungle Book, Lila took a couple catnaps, and the flight attendant was nice. The kids did have some issues as we descended into Chicago O'Hare and we were glad that the long leg of our trip was behind us -- only an hour-and-a-half to DC! Little did we know it wasn't going to work out quite that way.
At O'Hare we scurry over to the G terminal for our connecting flight. We arrive in plenty of time for some pit stops and a bit of browsing. We're ready to board at 6:45 for the 7pm departure (it was a smallish plane). But no boarding happens. 7pm comes and no boarding. 7:15p and no boarding. The plane is there, the passengers are here, and the weather is clear, but still no boarding. At 7:30p we learn that our crew has not arrived yet; hence the delay. "They'll be here soon," the gate agent said several times. So we smiled and relaxed and were grateful that the delay wouldn't be worse.
I guess it was about 8:15 when we started to realize that it could be worse -- much worse. We had boarded around 8p but we were still sitting at the gate a half-hour later. In that half-hour, Lila had gone from fussy to frantically crying, so overtired that she couldn't settle down. The passengers around us were getting worried that this was going to be the longest 1.5-hour flight they had ever been on.
But as the plane finally backed out of the gate, Lila settled down. She was still fussing but at least she was drinking a bottle and doing the eyeroll thing that usually preceeded deep sleep. I had visions of being in DC with a beer in my hand before midnight.
Then the pilot tapped the brakes. I guess he was testing out the traction on the frozen O'Hare runways. The traction was good. The plane jerked, down came the armrest on Lila's head while she was feeding, and out came the screams of agony and anguish.
Ten minutes later we are still taxing around the runway. Lila's settled into a quiet keening, tolerable for now. The plane turns on to the runway and the engines rev up. It looks like we're getting off the ground at last.
Until the pilot cuts the engines, turns right, turns right, turns left, and halts the plane on a side runway. I'm sure he's forgotten his phone at home or something. "Uh, folks, looks like we got a warning light as we were heading for takeoff. We'll get maintenance on the horn to see if there is something wrong. Please be patient."
This news was bad, but not as bad as the wailing that came out of Lila's mouth. For some reason, the speaker system was set at 139 decibels, loud enough for people in Milwaukee to hear it. Predictably, Lila didn't like it. For the next ten minutes, she alternated between muted whimpering when we soothed her and frantic sobs when the pilot made another announcement. I think everyone was relieved when the plane headed back to the gate to get us all off.
There was some mechanical failure and we needed a new plane. We all trooped off and stood around the gate looking lost.
About 30 minutes later, close to 11pm, they announced that our plane was ready at the other end of the terminal. So our merry band of 30-40 passengers hoofed it down the hall. We all gathered at the new gate and watched as the pilots and crew went in and out the jetway door. We made friends with fellow travelers. After William took a fall (by this point he was deliriously dragging his rolling backpack in circles as fast as he could), some friend shared a chocolate cookie with him. Things were looking good.
Then the voice in the ceiling changed our plans. Evidently, this plane was no good. We were going to have to try a third plane back at the previous gate. So off we went, back to the other end of the terminal.
Then the comedy/tragedy of errors really gets rolling. We're sitting at the new gate for fifteen minutes when the pilot and crew come strolling down the hall. Evidently the voice in the ceiling had failed to tell them we were changing planes so they were just hanging out on the second plane waiting for us to board.
OK, good that the crew is here. But when they go down the jetway, they find out someone forgot the keys. Yes, the plane was locked and no one left a key under the mat. So they call Airport Operations to get the guy with the key. Twenty minutes later he shows up and the crew gets started. Hope returns.
Then the crew comes back out and says that due to the frigid Chicago weather (it was 5-below by now), the inside of the plane was freezing -- about five degrees. It was going to take 20-30 minutes to warm it up.
All right. We've waited this long, we can handle another half-hour.
Until the airport fire alarm goes off. Flashing blue lights, discophanous sirens, alternating loudspeaker warnings. I guess we were all beyond tired because nobody reacted. We just sat there.
But it was the beginning of the end. Apparently, a space heater in the Crew Room had caught a rug on fire. The sprinklers in the room went off, putting out the fire... and flooding the downstairs. The water flowed out onto the tarmac underneath our plane and froze. Our plane was going nowhere.
"Flight 4096 to Washington Reagan airport has been cancelled." It was 1am.
The next hour was filled with parents who had lost it and kids who were barely hanging in there. The next flight was at 6:20am, but the airport hotel was sold out. So we had to take a shuttle to a distant hotel, but there was no shuttle service. So we had to get a cab voucher, but most cabs don't accept the vouchers cause it's such a hassle to get reimbursed by the airlines. So we had to pay for the cab but the driver didn't know where our hotel was. So we had to use our GPS system in our iPhone to find the hotel, but the hotel sign was burnt out so we drove past it twice. So we get to the hotel, sans food, sans water, sans toothpaste. They have no food except some vending machine chips. They water costs a $1 a bottle. The toothpaste is nowhere to be found.
Neither is my iPhone. As we piled out of the cab, it slipped out of my pocket on to the back seat. Frantic calls to the cab company got a hold of the driver, but he was on another call already. So I have to spend another hour sitting in the lobby waiting for him to come back. (He was very gracious about having to go so far out of his way to return my phone.) I get to bed around 4am.
Morning comes early with a wake-up call at 8am. We get hotel breakfast and grab a cab to the airport (no shuttle service at a convenient time, of course). The plane is on time, we take off without stopping, and by lunchtime we land in DC over the Potomac River to conclude the longest night of the year.
Merry Christmas!
Friday, December 19, 2008
Making Gingerbread Men (and Women)
On the last day of school, William and his classmates made gingerbread cookies. They spread the flour, rolled out the dough, cut out the shapes, and put them on the baking sheet. I think they will taste pretty good -- everything tastes better on the last day before vacation!
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Doctor's visit
long. That puts me in the 90%ile like I've been since I was born! I
have nearly doubled my weight and grown five inches.
Dr. Newell said I'm very healthy and, to my parents' relief, it's time
for me to sleep through the night! She also said not to worry about
my gallons of drool everyday - totally normal for little ladies. Just
pretend I'm acting elegant when it's dripping off my chin.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Chilly morning
balmy to most of you, but for us thin-skinned Californians it's time
for mukluks and long underwear!
Friday, December 12, 2008
Fiesta de Invierno
The whole school put on a collection of performances for the Winter Festival. All the kindergardeners sang a sassy version of "Feliz Navidad"!
Monday, December 8, 2008
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Papadaddy's Here!
pirate ship. Papadaddy's here for a long weekend.
Storytime for Lila
Be patient, check your email, wash your socks... this video is 4 minutes and will take a while to load, but it's worth it!
Friday, December 5, 2008
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
The golf adventure begins...
need for my 3:30am alarm.
As soon as she finishes this bottle I'm hitting the road for the 2.5
hour drive to golf nirvana- namely Cypress Point Golf Club: the no.2
gold course in America right behind it's neighbor, Pebble Beach.
Later today we play Bayonet; tomorrow we finish at Monterey Peninsula.
Trip generously sponsored by my uncle, Doug!
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Thanksgiving Morning
We are enjoying a morning of coffee and reading in bed. We are on Chapter 13 of James and the Giant Peach, where James crawls into the peach.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Eating dinner
I think Lila wants some of my grilled cheese... but she doesn't have any teeth yet. Maybe I'll save a piece for her when she gets her teeth in a few months. I'll keep it under my bed.
Friday, November 21, 2008
ALERT! ALERT!
We have achieved "Operation Rollover." I repeat, Lila has rolled over.
Reset your expectations for our talented little girl!
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Point reyes sculpture
Point Reyes.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Back at Starbucks
Today, Daddy took me to hang out on the Starbucks window seat for the
first time! He said that William practically grew up there and made
his first friends there. Seems pretty cozy and Daddy brought my
favorite toys. Good music too.
See you 'round the 'hood!
UPDATE: About two minutes later Lila found her thumb and fell asleep.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Who's That?
Hey baby! What's your name? You new around here?
You know you got a bit of drool hanging off your chin... just thought you'd want to know. And hands off my mama -- I'm her cutie-pie!
A Political Aside - The Color of America
The top map is how most news organizations present the 2008 electoral map -- the blue states and the red states. However, if we are going to get beyond our red/blue dichotomy, we need to see our neighbors as not red or blue but as shades along the political spectrum.
No state is all red or all blue. Even the reddest state (Idaho) has a sizable number of Democratic supporters (34%). Even the bluest state (Vermont, not counting DC) has a significant group of Republicans (32%). The map below represents this spectrum. Each of the states are shaded according to the redness or blueness of their vote. Note that all states are somewhere in between red and blue - some shade of purple.
We need to remember that we are a nation of opinions along a spectrum, not two different species that have been caged together. Our future depends on connecting with our neighbors, no matter what state they are from.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
The Final Tally
this graphic method next time?
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Our Election Party
Here is our election party!Me, Laura, Jeannette, Abby, Matt, Adela, Dylan, William, Erin, Julie, Michael, Ellen, and Jack!
With this election, we have swept in a new era for America.
More voting
(That'll be in 2021 that he casts his first vote!)
I Voted for Barack Obama!
the lines for my main man, Obama!
Election Day 2008
of American history. (Lila's onesie says " My mama's for Obama.) It is
hard to imagine what the world will look like to William and Lila --
an African American president and gay marriage will seem as normal as
desegregated schools are to us. It is unbeleivable to be witness to
and part of this moment in history.
In our little Noe Valley voting place, where there has never been a
line ever, the wait is 40 minutes! We are glad it's not raining.
We will be at home tonight watching the votes roll in with friends.
Here's to hope becoming reality!
Monday, November 3, 2008
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Halloween Pics
The rain held off for both the school parade and the trick-or-treating on 24th street. William got a great haul!
Friday, October 31, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Grammy Lin Visits!
Grammy Lin came up for an afternoon from her conference in San Diego just to say hi to me! And she gave me lots of kisses and fed me my bottle! Can't wait to see her again.
Monday, October 27, 2008
The Bond Begins...
What are these two plotting already? I'm sure they'll be full of tricks for us in the years to come...
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Pumpkin Carving with Javier
Today we went to Ardenwood Farms with Javier to carve pumpkins and get some fresh air. Javier is a friend in William's kindergarten class. As you can see, they did a great job with the carving. In fact, if we let them keep going they would have carved the pumpkins into little piles of mush!
Friday, October 24, 2008
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