Gadget Gal

Yesterday marked three weeks since I began a new baby nursing position in DC. My contract is for 24hr care this whole month of August followed by night shifts in September. This position has far surpassed any expectations I had when I arrived on the 26th of July. The family is wonderful and the multi-staffed environment is relaxed and friendly despite this being a very formal household. The estate is beautiful and sits hidden like a jewel in the heart of the city.

As always, I am well prepared with the tools I need in the nursery to keep idle time from getting the best of me. A million thanks to the folks at Amazon for inventing the Kindle!! In all the years I've been doing this, it was customary for me to carry loads of books with me at all times. I would pack up my trunk with favorites so that I would always have one while on a job. I would add a half hour to my commute just so that I could stop at the nearest bookstore for more reading material before a shift. I've ran desperately into the closest drug store or (god forbid) grocery store looking for my reading fix before or even sometimes during a shift. Those days are now behind me. I will always have something to read at hand and it will always be something hand picked by me, at my leisure, via the wireless connectivity on Kindle. I swear to you people, I could sell this device!

Then there's my ipod for when I need to give my brain a break. For this one I have Bryan to thank for having the fortitude to get me an 80GB video ipod when I specifically requested the 3rd gen. nano for X-mas last year. I was more interested in portability and cute factor, but he KNEW as soon as I realized the full potential of the device I would be crying for more gigs. Now I have my favorite shows (I could watch 30 ROCK for hours and not get bored), favorite movies (two nights ago I woke up the baby because I couldn't keep the laughter in while watching Birdcage) and favorite music for when I'm rocking baby back to sleep.

So, now here I am three weeks into a great situation and I realize that there is still something missing. The ugly truth is that I miss the internet! I really do. I want to:

• Update my blog whenever inspiration strikes.




• Read the news every day.




• Network socially on occasion.




• Write reviews on all the books I've been reading lately.




• Plan my next vacation on a whim.




• Order stuff! (I live for deliveries)

And so it came to be that I am writing this blog post from my new netbook. I realized that checking email, updating facebook, and reading snippets of news via my cell phone just wasn't enough of an internet fix. I've had it for less than one day and it has already become indispensable! It is so freakin' small and adorable. I can't wait for my sister to hurry up and leave for France already so that we can skype or live video chat! Hooray for technology!

August 5, 2000

Nine years ago today I walked up a flight of stairs in downtown Long Beach and met my destiny. He thought I was on the elevator and when I opened the stairwell door, we collided. The rest of my life started at that very moment.

A few minutes after that clandestine meeting, another monumental life-changing event occurred. My destiny walked me to his condo and introduced me to the most amazing dog I have ever known, my beloved Kuma.

That day I had the best date of my life. I arrived for lunch and I didn't leave until 4am. Bryan was funny, kind, attentive and above all else, a perfect gentleman! We talked for hours over our Taco Beach lunch, then sat on his couch and talked for hours over a six pack of Sierra Nevada pale ale. That night we went to the Foothill and saw OO Soul perform a live set and then popped in Notting Hill back at his place later so that I could clear my tipsy head before driving home.

It's amazing to me how very vivid these memories are in my swiss cheese brain. I was 22 years old and I fell hard. Nine years later I sometimes feel like I'm still falling.

Thank you my dearest, my darling, my heart.