The Show!

The scene: AT&T Park
The event: World Series GAME ONE!!
The participants:

People dressed in Giants themed colors...





George the Younger...



The Location: The BEST seats in the house.... Game time 4:30. Arrival time? 2:00!! Need to get there early to check out the seats, avoid the crowds and watch the warm-ups.



The pictures: With Mom as official photographer of the event, this is the only photographic evidence, besides our appearance on the Jumbo-Tron during the "fist bump" sequence (which surely is kept in a super secret locked vault somewhere in the Giants file of "crazy fans doing stupid things") George the Elder took this on his new AT&T phone - for which, oddly enough - he had trouble getting a signal for in the aptly named AT&T park. Yuck yuck yuck.





The pre-game: Here's warm up. George the Younger and I toddled over to the other side of the outfield to see if we could snag a ball. We were nearly bombed by a ball that landed smack directly in front of George the Younger hitting the steel railing in front of us. Thanks to the overly enthusiastic fans to our right, we were promptly pushed out the way, and their reward? Nadda. All the commotion caused the ball to drop between the fence and the bleachers.




George the Younger heading down to where we nearly got bopped. He's on the far left on the photo. Crazy people who tackled us to get the ball are lined up across the bottom.




See the guy in the aisle with the white shirt in the middle of the photo? (Not the guy in the while shirt to the left of the middle, but the one in the middle middle...) See tiny guy about three rows lower with the orange hat? George the Elder holding down the fort while G and I check him out from across the way. Notice the seats are starting to fill up a little more...




And the Game!!!!: Here are the stands as the line-up is getting announced. Quite a pronounced difference in attendence. 43,601 screaming fans. 90% of them are Giants fan. Much Orange. Many poms waiving! It was electric. George the Younger, while not in the this shot, is now sporting a ridiculously over-priced World Series sweat shirt that we had to cut in line to get. And yes, I said cut in line. It's a little trick I learned from the old ladies in Tokyo who are internationally known for their ability to cut in line adeptly without pissing people off in line behind you. In fact, we made fast friends with the people in line directly behind us. I can't tell you the secret because then everyone would be using it...




Incredibly moving National Anthem with the humongous flag. Still can't listen to that song without crying. I thank my Grandpa Frank for that. The Battle Hymn of the Republic also brought him to tears....


And..... the flyover. They look small in this photo, but they were low, they were fast and they were loud. Amazing!

And in the end - they bring in the BEARD!! Much excitement in the crowd.....

And... the win goes to the GIANTS in game one. It was SUCH a thrill.

The George's sporting the smiles of winners ....

The price of tickets? Absurd.

The price of the sweatshirts and a couple of pups? Outta Sight

The thrill of attending the opener of World Series 2010??? PRICELESS!!!!

A New Hand Jive

Grabbed this off another blog that I follow and it's a hand slapping fun fiesta for everyone....

This kind of stuff always makes me wonder... are you just sitting around one day surrounded by brightly framed photos of tigers and Jesus when it occurs to you.... hey? wouldn't it be great big fun to do a little hand dancing to pass the time? You know a la the hand jive in Grease, but oooo so much more hip? Let's rehearse!!! Mambo everyone....

">

June

I received the sad news that June Cleaver had recently passed away. Her real life son (not the Beav) reported that she was just as wonderful a mom in the nonfictional world. Good on her.


But, it got me to thinking - - what the hell time in the morning do you think that June Cleaver needed to get up? I'm figuring 3 a.m. She had to get all gussied up, cute dress, stockings (with garter), full on make-up, hair fixin (cause even though she likely had a weekly set and comb, there's not enough toilet paper and bobby pins in the world to ensure that her 3 hours of sleep did not muss that cute little do), she needed to put on pumps and pearls and then head down stairs to make sure that she affixed her darling little apron, rustled up an honest to goodness kick-butt breakfast for her men and get the table set - - all with a joyful half smile on her face as in, "Damn I love this!"



I had dinner on Sunday night with some friends from Tokyo - the kinds of friends where you haven't seen them in a long time and yet within moments you are sharing the most intimate details in your life as if no time had passed. I actually fist bumped one of them when she shared with me that her daily goal is to just make sure she takes a shower before her husband gets home and that staying in her jammies until 2:00 happens more days than not. I was so amazingly relieved to know that I am not alone.



June Cleaver? Hardly. I'm more like - - well, come to think of it, there is no fictional character who portrays me. I briefly considered the domestic goddess of Roseanne - but I couldn't fully embrace it.



In the olden days, when I wore a suit to work (and pantyhose and pumps), I think I had a decent reputation as the kind of person who got. shit. done. Give me a project and I could beat the living daylights out of it. I had charts, I had plans, I had teams of people willing to help me get. it. done. I even managed to put on lipstick now and again while I was doing it. Now I can make it all the way to 3:00 when it's time to pick up the boys and I can't seem to get anything finished.



And let's talk about the suit and the pumps. June...now June always looked fabulous. She had a whole boat load of dresses with petticoats and paper thin stockings in the ultimate nude color. She had matching gloves and darling hats and even when the Beav pulled some messy stunt, the most mussed up she might get was a darling little smug of something on her perfectly powdered face. Me? Well, on the days when I do manage to get out of my jammies before I leave to pick the boys up from school - my "uniform" consists of an astoundingly large collection of black t-shirts. I got them long sleeved, I got them short sleeved, I got them with v-necks and crew necks. George the Elder has threatened bodily harm should I buy any more. I also have about 1 gazillion pairs of cute black flats. They are my go to shoes. Pumps? fuggedaboutit....



And lately? Well, I have a certain weird pride about keeping my house spotless. I have been teased by various friends and family regarding my pseudo "problems" in this area. I know beyond fact that my sister once came to visit and got great joy out of moving throw pillows out of their assigned positions just to see how long it would take until I moved them back to where they belong. Now? Well, my downstairs "guest bathroom" has some kind of brown bids adhered to the sink. They've been there for several days and I just can't seem to get there. Did one of the boys spit in there? Did they just grow there since it's been a few weeks since it's been cleaned? My grey living room carpet is actually a shade of white that frighteningly matches the color of my dog. I can write my name (and those of all the signers of the Declaration of Independence) on various dust laden surfaces of my home.

So, June Cleaver RIP. Obviously you set a bar that I am unable to jump over. But, you did it looking stunning and sweet and composed. You are making me crazy.

But now I need to run. I've a black t-shirt to don and things to do. I won't get them done, but I'll give it a whirl. Even if I'm not whirling in a skirt :)

The Impasse

See this floor? We like this floor!! Isn't it pretty? Isn't is shiny? Isn't it so gosh-derned mid-century it practically sings?? Yet, as of today we still have no damn idea how to get this floor...

We keep asking. Mr. Architect?? Can you please tell us what it will take to get this floor? Mr. Architect answers, "Perhaps this floor might cost about $10 per square foot." We ask Mr. Architect, "But how do we get this floor? Will it cost $10 per square foot or is it about $10 per sq ft?" Mr. Architect answers, "Here are lots of photos from some guys who do concrete floors." I am left wondering.

We keep asking. Mr. General Contractor??? Can you please tell us what it will take to install this floor?? Mr. General Contractor answers, "Perhaps this floor might not be exactly like the steel troweled floor that is in the original plans." We ask Mr. General Contractor, "But how do we get this floor? I know it is not what is in the original plans, but can we get this one instead? How much will it cost? How do you install is? Who can do it?" Mr. General Contractor answers, "Here is a picture of the sidewalk in front of my office. This is what seeding looks like." Now I am really wondering.

Neither Mr. Architect nor Mr. General Contractor have been able to answer my question. I don't think that they are being cruel or stubborn or stupid. It could very well be that I am the one who is entirely unable to crack the construction vernacular nut on this one.

Obviously, we are unable to communicate clearly about this GD floor. I want it to look like the picture. I showed them the picture. I still don't know what it will cost. I am not certain I can ask the question any more clearly - but there's got to be a way. I thought pictures were the simplest form of communication. I fear that I will have to enroll in terrazzo floor construction school and learn to install my own floor before I can get someone to tell me HOW DO I GET THIS FLOOR?? HOW MUCH WILL IT COST???

The upside is that if I do attend Terrazzo Floor School, I will never have to ask those questions again. And, I think it's good to have a trade in your back pocket. Scrap booking and sewing don't really count. Especially if you want to have a floor beneath your feet while you do them.

Arghhhhh.

To Interrupt our Regularly Scheduled Programming

It's been an interesting few weeks here in the Wisniewski household but I haven't had much to report - except that I have lately been able to go through an entire week doing loads of stuff that take up loads of time for which I am completely unable to account for in the evening when asked , "What did you do all day?" Heck if I know - but I know I was doing something.

This week, I did take time to catch up on all things Cambodia Tomorrow. Had some billing to do for existing sponsors. Had a meeting in Berkeley with a fellow board member to talk about getting new scholarship sponsors for students at the school. Updated Spreadsheets, collected pictures, learned to do Picaso Photo sharing, uploaded photos, renamed photos, reordered photos and posted said photos on FB. Guess what? Now I'm posting it here....

In a nut shell - we need some new sponsors for some of our students. Can you help?

We are looking for people who are interested in contributing on an annual basis to our student's education. The Cambodia Tomorrow School is now in it's 3rd year of operations and it has been thrilling to watching the teachers, the students and the curriculum mature. Unfortunately, the school isn't free, the teachers need salaries, the students need uniforms and books and school supplies and new computers and food.

The greatest thing about Cambodia Tomorrow, besides their official 501(3)(c) designation?? We are simply a group of parents with adopted Cambodian children who are working together to make a difference in the lives of the children at the Kompong Speu Orphan Center. We accomplish this by creating a school where the children are thriving, learning English, learning computer and taking advantage of tutoring in Khmer subjects for the older students. We do this ourselves. We do this without overhead, without administrative costs. This means that nearly 100% of your entire scholarship amount goes directly to the students, the school, and their future. It doesn't get any greater than that.

Here is the link to the Picaso album of the students needing sponsors. Just click on the photo below of all the children at KS Orphan Center (most of whom are students at our school) and you can see the children who are in need of sponsors. I hope that you'll take a moment to look through the photos and see if there's a student there that speaks to you.




And if you want to know a little bit more about Cambodia Tomorrow, I encourage you to check out our FB page and our web-site. We're a little behind on the web-site thing (remember reading above about us being a group of adoptive parents who do this in our free time?? So we're trying to find the time to make our website snazzier....just haven't found it yet). But it gives you the gist of who we are and what we're up to. Just click on the photo of our school below...





Annual scholarship sponsors are $385 per year. This covers everything from the school, the teachers, school uniforms for Khmer school, books, school supplies, rice, nannies and all sorts of other goodies for the children like helping to create a real library for the students. There are several ways to pay - once per year, twice per year or whatever rings your bell. We are open to all suggestions!

So, take a look at the photos, take a look at your wallet, remember that you will need charitable donations to offset any new taxes higher income taxes heading your way (heh heh heh), look at the faces of the students who need your help - - and make the right choice to make some one's life brighter and more promising.

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming...

CMR Update 2 Oct: Radiant Drainage

We got heat! Or at least we have tubes through which hot water will run and provide heat. Or at least we have tubes through which hot water will run and provide heat in the lower level. We do not have tubes through which hot water will run and provide heat for the upstairs yet. Perhaps this week??

These are the tubes...



Obviously in their ingenious construction planning, they have identified that there are some things that do NOT need to be heated. This eventual closet is one of them. See...green for no heat. I probably would have chosen blue - but maybe green spray paint is more obvious. Who knows?



I am assuming that "PERFORMA_HYDRONIC BARRIER" tubing is top-notch. It would be nice to have the hot water continuously contained in the tubes as opposed to seeping out. Nice thing is that we now have "excellent drainage" under the lower level - so that means we are prepared "just in case." Yup, just in case our radiant heat fails and we need to dig up the concrete that encases it. That would be bad.



And here, in our newly constructed "mechanical closet",is where all the radiant heating tubes from all 4 zones terminate. Henry is checking out one of the four pressure gauges that will help to control the heat. All I could think of was Steven King's The Shining. If you've read the book you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't. Sorry.

A tangle of cords signifying the shortening of days. Now the crew needs artificial light to work.

It's kind of festive the way they string the lights like Christmas....

The garage is now completely level, filled with nice clean sand and rebarred for the next concrete pour.

The drainage pipes have been installed on the north side of the garage wall. These pipes will safely carry the water from the atrium floor down to.....

Our new handy dandy drainage terminus here that connect the old terra cotta pipes belonging to the city. Our crew nicely roto-rootered out these terra cotta pipes so that we have a nice smooth flow to the sewer lines. Hurrah!

And finally, while we were noticing that nearly every wall upstairs now has some hole cut in it or another - looking for pipes, looking for electric, looking for Bobby Fischer - we snapped a picture of our weekly field trip in the mirrored closet doors of the master bedroom. George the Younger wanted me to clarify that I am wearing clogs and are therefore about 2 inches taller than I should be. i.e. He is MUCH taller than I am now. Clarification duly noted.

Oh! And the good news for all of you who have lost countless hours of sleep wondering - did they finally choose doors and windows? Were those doors and windows made of Oak or Clad or...well what???? Yes, we chose doors and windows. To have them all made in Oak was going to be loads and loads and loads of extra money. We would have had to only let George the Younger take 1/2 of his classes in his eventual freshman year of college to pay for them. They were clearly going to be made by a blind artisan wood-worker so skilled in his craft that paying what amounted to a half a year's college tuition at a private school made absolute sense. To someone. Not to us. So, the windows will be fir and we are going to be crafty and paint them. The casing will still be Oak - so that's that.

Now go take a nap since that mystery has been solved for you :)

Not my Fault

Dear fellow San Franciscans,

Just because I have tickets to tomorrow's game between the Giants and the Padres (along with plans to attend what should be a bang-up tail-gate party hosted by some friends) - and just because I said, "wouldn't it be great if Sunday's game was the lynch pin to them winning their division" - and just because I also wrote the same thing in an email to the host of tomorrow's tail gate party who happens to be a die-hard Giants Fan - Does NOT mean that I am single-handedly responsible for jinxing Friday night's and Saturday's losses to the Padres. I'm just saying.

It's possible that there was at least one other person that is attending tomorrow's game that might have wished for the same thing. I mean, I have pretty powerful wishing powers. But, it would take at least two of us to completely jinx an entire baseball team. I'm just saying.

Kindest regards,

A moderate Giants fan who is now wishing fervently for tomorrow's victory