What might she be doing all day...?

What might she be doing all day...?
May 29 - June 10, 2001
... this creature called housewife. You'd be amazed, but she hardly manages visitors, taking care of a sick spouse, hunting for a job, and writing journals...

I'm sure that no one of you can imagine, how diverse and crowded is a housewife's schedule. My previous journal entry was late just because of me being hopelessly busy.

Right on Tuesday, after our coming back from Stanislaus, our second visitor arrived, right into the midst of our un-unpacked leftovers from the weekend. Vlastík is one of my internet associates, I've never seen him "live" before. But we did chat, and we agreed that on his way to Alaska, where he was going to work for the summer at Denali NP, he would stop by and leave his bicycle with us. He planned to pick it up after work in the fall and go for a ride through California.



	Vlastík on a beach

Considering the fact that they managed to remodel San Francisco International Airport since I arrived, my mission was not to get lost in a new maze, find the correct parking spot and Vlastík's gate of entry. Having reached the airport hall I realized I was not quite sure how he looks (I simply saw a few pictures on his website). Eventually I decided that a box with a bike shall be a sure sign and began to scan the crowd for a man with glasses, a bag, and a huge box.

Other flights, arriving at the time, had to be from Asia, as there were only few European-looking characters emerging. Still I managed to almost rush to one Pole (glasses + suitcase + huge box), until unfamiliar stickers on the box made me hold back. I was lucky the second time, and soon I was stuffing Vlastik and his box into my Cecilia.

An agony of leaving the airport followed; the only correct route through a two-tiered labyrinth was blocked by some excavator (or so it appeared), and once we missed it, we were lost. Eventually I reached a bus parking lot, guarded by a visibly important lady officer in a reflective vest. She was obviously grateful for any action breaking her guarding duty and was very helpful in explaining the way out (turning left at the fifth light).

We turned there, but through talking with Vlastik I forgot to count the lights. I rejected the fifth intersection on grounds of it's suspicious looks (kind of like a McDonald drive-through), which was my other mistake; we had to turn back again. To make things short, we found the freeway after all, and I'm glad that an airport policeman who watched me drive on the wrong side of the road, was struck with a temporary blindness (or was he so overwhelmed by my arrogance that he did not act?).

I think by that time Vlastik was aware that having his bike stored with us would put him through a purgatory. Still on the same trip from the airport he "volunteered" to accompany me up to a hill (with a great view to the Valley), pick up developed films from the weekend at Costco Wholesale, meeting the Hippo (poor Vlastik was so intimidated that he called him Mr. Paral on the first day), and eating raw fish for dinner (Sono Sushi).

On Wednesday, I took our wagon away from Sid (a heat wave was on and my Cecilia has no air conditioner), to take our poor visitor up through switchbacks towards the Pacific Ocean, San Gregorio Beach. Somebody up there had decided to reward Vlastik for his patience by beautiful weather, and for this one day lifted the usual coastal fog. We had amazing views, sunshine, a cold breeze blowing from the ocean, and we drifted along the surfline. As it was, the farther down from the entrance we got, the weirder I felt -- density of naked men, and male couples rapidly increased. I guess we really live only a short distance from San Francisco.

In the evening I passed Vlastik on to Alaska Airlines, and returned to unpacking our weekend stuff, as well as other pleasures available to a functional Hausfrau.



	A miracle of technology allows to gaze through previously opaque wall right across the whole house.

For the next weekend, we were invited to Monterey, to review a window made of liquid crystals. Krens had installed this amazing toy between their living room and a master bedroom - if you apply electricity to a normally opaque, white glass, the crystals reorder themselves obediently, making the glass see-through. Smudla appreciates that at most, as he can stand on the headboard of a bed in the bedroom, and watch things happening in the living room, thus being in control of everything without leaving the bed. Madeleine, on the other hand, seems quite disgusted by this new view to the ocean, turning it off at every opportunity. Simply the whole family will certainly enjoy it, plus they now have a 180° view of the Monterey Bay!



	San Gregorio Beach on summer afternoon

Next Wednesday I was to visit a "job fair" at Stanford University. The campus is practically next door, they were hiring anybody with hands and feet from kitchen helps to professors, so I said to myself -- why not trying that? Unfortunately many people must have said to themselves. At four p.m., there was no way to even find a parking spot anywhere on the campus (!!!). At five, I could park, but I had to endure a twenty minute wait in a queue just to get to the building. The real "meatgrinder" was happening inside. It reminded me of a St. Matthew Fair, which I attended some quarter century ago. Several hundreds of individuals slowly slithered within a very confined space, skin to skin, if you wanted to pass, you had to make swimming moves, and prop yourself gently on the crowd. A point where it got too dense to part indicated a line to a stand. The stands and their operators were mightily outnumbered, and the thick crowds made it impossible to guess what amazing jobs they might be offering. I decided not to press with the common herds, and chose a slightly less filled space -- and could apply for a kitchen help position, or qualify myself as a parking lot guard. I will never know what happened to all those black women in pink summer dresses, or bankrupt geeks (I reckon a successful scientist would a) no need to seek a job this way, and b) would not be so spit-curled), or climacteric girlies in streaming Indian robes (certainly scientific experts, one of whom surely filled the position of Secretary for Sexual Harassment - I'm not kidding, that was one of the jobs offered there!!!). I fled, cowardly. I'm simply not destined for the world of Academia. :-)



	On a walk with my sick husband (operating the camera)

Since Thursday I enjoy yet another pleasure -- I released Sid into the claws of a dentist in the morning, and picked him up two hours later with a note to watch over him as they had to put him to sleep using an increased dosage. Hippo thus lost three wisdom teeth and one more (an unwise one). That would not be so bad, but can you imagine the mood a man of Hippos size is in when he cannot EAT???? :-) .

Despite his compromised health, Sid agreed to join me for a walk on Saturday. It was my second visit to San Gregorio Beach in a short time, but on this day we got a classical oceanside weather (fog and low clouds). Everything looked quite different than during my trip with Vlastik. With Sid, we went to the southern end (away from the nude boys), as is seemed less flooded with buckety families. Eventually we traced coastal cliffs all the way to the next beach -- Pomponio -- an hour each way. Quite an achievement for a sick man, is it not?

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