Boston March 26th

I started my first day yesterday at Global Exchange in San Francisco. It has been really good so far, the staff is doing really amazing work in human rights, grassroots movements, international education and so much more. My supervisor and the director of the development department are really great to work with and we have great work chemistry. I am taking Caltrain to Bart in the morning and the commute isn't bad and I get to catch up on reading.

Also, Happy Cesar Chavez day on Weds!

Happy Spring

March 20th at 10:32 marks the first day of spring and I officially want to be the first to wish you a HAPPY SPRING!!

March 19th, 2003- Iraq

An attack on Iraq that Bush ordered 7 years ago TODAY marked the war we are STILL in. It is easy to forget this living our day to days in our own world, but halfway around the world 9 THOUSAND and 600 Iraqi civilians have died. In addition, 4 THOUSAND and 400 soldiers and service people have died. While I did not live through Vietnam or any world war, this war seems just as bad. So, I just want to make a point to remember what we as Americans are in and to remind myself not to forget many people who have died under potential circumstances that could have been different...

Monday March 15th....A Good Day for the Daveys

A good day started at the DMV. Hard to believe, I know right! But it starts with my aunt buying a scooter that we are sharing while I am living at home, so you actually need a motorcycle liscense to ride a scooter and I was at the DMV waiting for 3 hours in line, after line, after line. After my experience at the RWC DMV when I was 16, having to take the permit again because they thought I cheated (when I actually ran into a friend there and I took the test first and said something like good luck to her and they failed me for "cheating") then when I took my license test, I hit a curb in my stepmom's minivan (hey it's a big car ya know) and so after that I am still not happy with that place nor do I think anyone is. Anyways, I took the M class permit test, and by the by they make you take the driver's permit test too that you have to pass if you have not taken it in the last 12 months, and after much review, thought, and double checking answers I PASSED! So who would have thought but now I can legally drive a motorcycle (or scooter!).

Then I get a call from the Development Director at Global Exchange, in regards to the Development Assistant position I applied to in the city. So she starts out, we loved meeting you, you had a great interview and you are definitely qualified for the position- and then my heart sinks- but it was a really tough decision and we decided to hire internally. So, what can I say, its hard to beat experience and knowledge about the organization, when I don't have that. How can you fault an organization for being loyal and hiring from within. But now the upside is that I was actually offered a contract position in the same department until summer. So, I am super excited to say that Global Exchange hired me and that I will be in the city working full time really soon. This is definitely what I have been looking for-- a great organization to work at that matched my long term career goals and that is in the city.

Check it out: www.globalexchange.org and support me by becoming a Global Exchange Monthly Sustainer and donating!!

While my plans to visit my brother in the Ukraine are canceled for now, I hope to see him in the summer and do some intense traveling then!

To top off the day, my little brother got his report card back with all As and Bs and we had a family dinner at Applewood!

Definitely a great day-- oh the luck of the Irish!! ps Happy belated St. Pattis Day!

Prayers for Kaky March 2009

Growing up around family friends- the Simonsons, I had a lot of great women in my life. Kathy is the sister of one of my many mothers, Janet Simonson. She passed last year in March and I went to the memorial service with Mary Kane and Annie, other close friends who I was introduced to through the Janet. Janet knew my mom and I knew Kaky (Kathy Anne Belding).

http://prayersforkaky.squarespace.com/

Here is an amazing rememberance site. When Mary Heffernan, Janet's daughter, a close friend, and Kaky's god-daughter talked about her at the church last year, I thought a lot about my mom and the pain of losing someone. I could see what Emmy, my childhood friend and Kaky's daughter, was going through.

Here is Mary Heffernan, her mom Janet Simonson, and Kathy.

So the least I can do is post something about a great person.

February 23rd was my mom's bday and it is this time where I miss her the most.

Off to Napa on the 13!

Hard to believe but in my 22 years I have never been to Napa for site seeing or wine tasting...

Today is Michelle Horowitz Bday (a very young 30!) and a bunch of her friends are all taking a van up to do a little tasting! Michelle is Mikey Horowitz wife. They got married while I was in Spain two years ago, and sadly I wasn't able to go because it was all the way in Venezuela which is where her family is from. Mikey is like my brother. I grew up going to his house every week for dinners with his parents, since all the kids were grown and out of the house, I was the 5th Horowitz. I used to ride horses with Lenore, Mikey's mom and she would help me with homework ever since the 3rd grade!

Here is the itinerary for Napa- according to Mikey



Bauer Party bus will pick us up at Jeff and Dave’s place in the Marina at 8:45am.
DON’T BE LATE. We will be serving some of Jeff’s special Bloody Marys to anyone who makes it earlier.


8:45 – 10am drive to Healdsburg watching a fashion show of “Michelle Throughout the Years” put on by her co-googlers!

10am- 11:15am – Some vineyard TBD (maybe Toad Hollows) to check out barrel tasting.

11:15 – 12:30 – Seghesio Vineyard for a wine and food pairing (nice hookup here so we cant be bombed yet)

12:45 – 2:50 – Lunch, probably at JimTown and drive to next vineyard – Round Pond in Rutherford

3pm – 4pm – Round Pond wine tasting (cant be late for this – 3pm is their cut off.)


Head back to the marina

We have a dinner reservation for those still standing at Supenkuche at Hayes and Laguna.

I am excited!!!

kids, kids, and more kids....

Hey there, yes, my life the last couple of weeks has revolved around kids. I have been sitting non stop rotating all my favorite families and kids. I am not complaining, I really enjoy it and love seeing them grow, but the darnedest things really do come out of their mouths.

While with my fav little girls Auds and Court, we were driving back from piano lessons while listening to 95.7, yes country, and Auds blurts out "I dream of going to the olympics, getting married, buying a house and having twins." At 7 years old she is very ambitious! She said well at the olypics I will get really famous and have enough money to buy a house with a fence, then I will get married and have twins (which is funny because she has a sister and multiples do not run in her family!) Then Court chimes in and says well, I want to be a teacher and have one child and 7 dogs. She said the 7 dogs will make up for her childhood (for not having any pets she means during her childhood). At 10, I think she does know what she wants and she will make a great teacher!

Another family I sit for have two adorable little toe head girls who spent almost all the time I am with them in their adorable onesie pajamas with either little cupcakes or pink polkadots or little girls on them...even though I we spend the daytime together, I zip them up from toe to shoulders and they love their comfy booties and fully body flannel!

Dressing as princess forever would be fun huh? Well, for these other little ones, 5 and almost 3, that is their reality. Whether it's Belle, or Snow White, Sleeping Beauty or Princess Aurora, they are always in poofy dresses with tiara and little plastic high heels (well if you call .5 inches high for little girls). They love twirling, tapping, twisting, and turning and make great little princesses!







It is funny how adults seem to idolize childhood, whether always looking back to their own, or wanting to be like a kid responsibility wise or free spirit wise, or whether it is not having a worry in the world (besides who stole your candy at lunch or where your lovey is to sleep with- those are big issues for kids). Adults make childhood dreamy and exciting, safe and a whole magical world.

So these are just some of the reasons I love being with kids...

I love my Brother!

So John and I are trying to find flights from London to Odessa and he sent me the nicest email....

"I'm so excited you're coming out. soo soo excited. and so soon! masha [the GF] is excited to meet you. she had the biggest smile when she heard you are coming.
love you."

so Ukraine...here I come!

March 1st- National Peanut Butter Lovers Day

Happy March People!
I always get excited on the first day of each month. It reminds me of the opportunities I still have in front of me. It reminds me of time passing and all my good memories behind me. It makes me giddy like a little kid about to open and birthday present and for many reasons just happy. Well too bad its the 2nd...no but Happy March. We are about 20 days from the first day of spring, yes I am counting down, and also planning my spring/summer travels. Oh yah, it is that time of year again for me to start traveling again.

Here is the short list (though who knows if I will make it to all these places)

The Ukraine- to visit John my brother and his girlfriend Masha
Paris- for Melanie's wedding, a French friend who I studied with in DC
Kansas- see Gma and the fam! the biannual trip
Kenya- for a conference in Nairobi for Akili Dada, the NGO I intern for
Kuwait- my good friend cecily is living there now (though she says there is not much to do there since Kuwait city is small, but I don't believe her!)

I would be super excited if any of these trips happened, so we will see!!

I love the rain and the daffodils out here in sunny CA! I'll have more adventures for you next time!