Kokochi

Bouncy Bee

Click to see video.

After dinner, we went over to Rachel and Cesar's where they presented us with Bouncy Bee.

Fisher Price came out with new editions of their vintage toys. I don't recall this one, but Rachel does, and couldn't resist getting one for Gargle (we *still* don't have a name...we might wait until we actually meet her on this). Dav promptly gave Bouncy Bee a test run. Since Gargle will have to be able to walk to play with it, we'll have to patiently wait a while, but it just tickles me so when our friends pre-welcome her like this!!

Norikonoko in Berkeley

Finally was able to have dinner with Rachel and Cesar at this lovely homey Japanese restaurant in Berkeley. Cesar is going to school AND teaching so his time is precious. It was quite special for all four of us to share dinner.

I had samma (Japanese pike), one of my favorite fishes with daikon and lemon. No sushi; just home style food which was quite nice. Dav ordered a bowl of natto (fermented soy beans) so I made sure to snap a picture of the gooey-ness. I'm so happy Dav has acquired a taste for natto as it's profoundly homey to me and I'm glad we can share it (usually, non-Japanese find the smell and texture offensive, which makes me feel I should eat it in a closed closet when no one is home).

[geez. I just realized I took pictures of the food, and not one of Rachel and Cesar. Dav got in one just because of the natto. Crazy-food-lady I've become.]

Belly

At the Blog Business Summit, sitting at our table, I couldn't help noticing this particularly view I had.

Blog Business Summit in L.A.

Been here since 9:00 am with Anil and Marissa from Six Apart to join the Blog Business Summit. I've been working with the Blog Business Summit folks for a while, finding areas for collaboration to educate businesses about blogging. It's yet another branch of what I do at Six Apart. I was a little nervous dragging Anil and Marissa (Marissa and I left Oakland at 7:00am today, and Anil has been speaking in the sessions all day), but it's turning out so well. The balance between the sessions and what the audience wants to learn/hear is just about right, and the size is small enough that everyone is asking questions and talking to us.

We're all energized, and love getting out to meet people. Too often we get cocooned in our blogosphere and don't realize the real issues/fears people have about blogging. We see the benefits, but it is still a "wild west" new territory for many. It's great to talk to people and see their eyes light up, especially when we show solid examples. "Is that really a blog??" Why yes! Evangelizing is fun ;)

Marissa hard at work

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Going well.

Just started the afternoon sessions. Our overall impression so far is that this is going well. The audience is more or less beginner-level with some experienced business bloggers looking for more information...and the sessions are on target to answer questions. It's small enough that people are actively asking questions.

Marissa and I have given out a lot of discount codes, and we've talked to folks about the basics of TP and MT. We're energized by being here, discussing ideas for the upcoming Blogs @ Work (6A business solutions blog), and noting the main issues that are bubbling up.

We got some insight when Anil showed the TP darling example, MSNBC's Rising from ruin blog, and heard a gasp, "is that a blog? That looks like a normal/cool website!" So we're thinking it's key to show the true potential of blog design for newcomers to become convinced that they need to be blogging : )

According to our schedule, Anil was to be the last speaker on the future of blogs. However, he somehow got pulled into 2 additional morning sessions with Steve Broback. He was on his laptop at the front looking up what the topic was! We're not quite sure what happened, but Anil winged it beautifully. Well, of course; it's Anil : )

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At the L.A. Westin

For the Business Blogging Summit. Left Oakland airport at 7am with Marissa. I slept fitfully last night, worried I'd miss waking up early, but I'm doing alright for now (and no coffee!).

But, I by mistake went to the bathroom in the men's bathroom! I swear it wasn't my fault. There were 2 entrances, and when I saw one for men, I assumed the other entrance was for me. No one was in there, but I remember noting that it was pretty dirty...us women don't use bathrooms like that. Then when I left, I noticed a guy standing in one of the stalls with the door open (there were no urinals). I was like, "what the f--k??" When I checked the signage outside, indeed there were 2 men's bathrooms...I'm just glad no one saw me.

But I guess my bulging stomach would give me an excuse (as in crazy spaced-out
woman).

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MattCon

Dav and I have a combined calendar to track stuff we do so we don't double book. I had noticed "MattCon" for this weekend, but thought it must be some geek conference. Instead, Dav suggested I tag along as it was basically this guy Matt's birthday for which every year, he invites people over to play games all afternoon and night. Although suspicious it would be geeky, and not feeling super energetic to sit and play games, I still joined.

To my pleasant surprise, it was a cool gathering with games galore for sure, but in the most beautiful home, with the most tasty chocolate/cream cheese concoction ever, and tea. Everyone was super friendly...and I even met Neil from work! And he knows Estrella and Dan who are our friends! [I love how SF can seem so small and quaint like this.]

After making myself some tea, I found Dav engrossed in reading the rules for Carcassonne. It's pretty easy to comprehend yet when we played with Estrella and Dan, it turned out to be a fantastic game. There are several levels of strategy and winning involves long-term planning and even teamwork. I think Dav and I will get our own. I've played and loved Settlers of Catan...and although this is different, there are similar themes. Haven't played such a game in a while, nor been surrounded by fun-loving gamers for an evening. It was worth it.

After that, I went home as I just needed to lie down chill. Dav stayed to play a game that Dan originally created. Now that's cool.

Estrella, showed me the cutest bootie she knitted for Gargle. She's working on the other now. I melted at how small it is! Oh my...how thoughtful! I love all this attention Gargle is already getting even before she's here!

The last 2 pics are of 2 striking paintings that were in the living room.

Reality Check

Colleen, Dav's bio-sis, had a baby girl like 6 months ago. It's perfect because we can inherit stuff she's outgrown. We've decided to get as much used items for Gargle as possible. The list of things we're told we'll need for her is insane, and I'm just not into buying so much stuff especially when we have many friends with babies already who are willing to hand-off their stuff.

Well, after dinner, we got our first item from Colleen. It's a vibrating chair. I know vibration works on some babies (Kimi's first girl loved that thing). We also got a polka-dotted car seat cover that apparently costs $80! That's crazy!

Anyhow, once we brought the chair home and set it in the living room, we giggled how this must freak out our housemates. We'll just fill the whole living room with baby stuff over the next few months and say, "oh, don't mind us...it's just an art project." [We’re still figuring out our living situation as it's probably not the best idea to have a baby with 4 housemates trying to sleep.] But boy, that cutey little chair looks so out of place in our living room!

Double B-day Dinner Bash

Last night we went to San Rafael to celebrate Dav's bio-sis and bio-bro's b-days with a giant Chinese dinner. I couldn't believe the number of dishes we had. It was in a strip-mall ugly building that I would never have suspected as good, but the dinner was quite tasty (well, all is tasty these days). As usual, with Dav's bio-fam, the gathering was full of multiple conversations, jokes, and family banter. Marcus got an 1800's pistol which caught a lot of attention. We polished off the dinner with a cake, but in order to cut it, the waiter brought out the decoration and candles first...the candles propped up in a cut tomato. How's that for practical originality?

Of course, we ended all with fortune cookies. I'm such a sucker for these and chose mine which said, "The joyfulness of a man prolongeth his days." Hmm. OK. Gotta take care of my hubby. Sounds good.

Then, since Dav never picks his fortune, I chose one for him out of the 20+ pile of cookies. Low and behold, it was the SAME fortune! I almost scrawled in a "wo" in front of the "man" before showing the double message to Dav, but considering he's been so good massaging and helping me around, I conceded that his "joy" should be my focus.