Glamour...

How many AAA stars do you get if you find two finger/toenails on the nightstand?

I have said many times that business travel is only glamorous to those folks who don't do it...or have enough money to only stay in five star hotels.

Frankly, as far as business travel goes, I have it pretty good. I fly the airlines I want, which allows me to build up some status. And I stay in nice business-friendly hotels with amenities--avoiding the two-star "traveling salesman" hotels with the shampoo in tear-open ketchup packets.

But still, business travel is not all champagne and chocolates. For example, although my hotel is sitting on the Riverwalk, MY view is in the opposite direction and is of the local Denny's.

In any case, my positive adventurous spirit will prevail, and I will have some NEW fun photos tonight.

A warm night in San Antonio...

I left San Francisco right after noon today and could see the low coastal fog streaming in through the Golden Gate. So, I'm assuming Jeff is a bit cooler tonight.

We banked southeast and headed for San Antonio...well, San Antonio by way of Phoenix. I'm in San Antonio for a few days attending a conference, and my hotel is located along the Riverwalk, which is a lazy sunken river walkway that winds through downtown San Antonio. FYI, this is the #1 tourist stop in Texas. Sucks to be the Alamo.

Speaking of which...I saw the Alamo as well. Its a couple of blocks off the Riverwalk. Its iconic, and cool to see at night. (I'm sure it is REALLY annoying during the day, since directly across the street from the Alamo is a Ripley's Believe It Or Not and a wax museum and an IMAX theatre.)

Now, speaking of oddities of commercialized America: Hooters. Las Vegas is continuing to explode with new growth, and the town is DEFINITELY re-introducing the Sin in Sin City. One of the latest hotel's is the re-branded Hooters Hotel and Casino. U.S. Airways in-flight magazine had a full page ad consisting primarily of a photo of a traditional, busty Hooters waitress. Well, what made me laugh was the inset photo showing a young couple on their "romantic getaway" at the Hooters Hotel.

Oh, please! Give me a break.

The original is always the best...

After a long absence from the Tribulations scrolls, Elena #1 makes a very short, heartfelt return to our lineup.

This is short letter. Just to say you hello and to send kiss to you. I am fine. Also I have hope that I can soon get all necessary to trip to you.

Ah, it makes the warm sunshine even brighter :)

Fireworks and other things...

Saturday night, Jeff and I joined friends John and David and their other guests for a fun evening of fireworks on their sailboat. Every year, John and David sail across the Bay from their regular berth in Richmond to a popular marina near the Giant's ballpark. A local radio station (KFOG) throws this free event called the KFOG KABOOM! ... before the real summertime fog sets in.

The air got cold last night, but we had a fun time chatting, laughing, and watching some spectacular fireworks set to a rock soundtrack.



On Sunday, the sun continued to bear down and push the temperature to near 80 in our backyard. So, we took off for a drive in the Marin Headlands. I'll leave the Marin pictures to Jeff on his blog, and I'll post a couple of pictures from our garden, and a fun tunnel picture from our drive.

Photo show recap...

Our "Natural Acts" photo show this weekend at Ft. Mason was a success. I think my work really came together nicely, and my friends who were able to stop by had a fun time. I even sold a couple of pieces, which is just icing on the cake.

Here are a few images from the show, including one of my friend Susan showing her latest series. Our opening reception Friday night was well attended. I think its partially the artists...and partially the free wine :) Jeff and I capped off OUR Friday night with a really yummy dinner with our friend Chris.



Saturday was a truly amazing day. Ft. Mason sits right on the waterfront and includes three historic piers that are now used for events. The Bay was FULL of sailboats taking advantage of the big breezes and bright sun.

Bad days and Ryan Seacrest...

Well, there is probably no better way to top off a beautiful sunny Friday in San Francisco than to revel in the fact that I am NOT on the front page of the newspaper for aledgedly providing inferior concrete to the Golden Gate Bridge. I'm sorry, but there is no good way to spin this sort of headline, nor any worse mom-and-apple-pie symbol to jeopardize. Good luck with this one.

Speaking of defacing public property... So, I'm walking innocently to grab a sandwich, and this freakish live-size cutout of Ryan Seacrest catches the edge of my vision and scares the crap out of me. It is truly freakish.

Ooooo, I wonder if mentioning Ryan Seacrest three times in my blog will create Google hits on my site, and all those Idol fanatics will descend on my and spam my blog! Well, I've been looking for a replacement for all those Elena stories :)


[Interesting note: Blogger spellcheck thinks 'Seacrest' should be 'scarcity'. Wishful thinking? And no, I have nothing against Mr. Seacrest, who now has FIVE mentions on my blog, and should be cutting me a check now.]

No, no, no...

I don't consider myself a voyeur, but the benefit of having a camera on my phone is that I can snap discrete photos of things (or people) that annoy the heck out me.

Case in point. IF I have to ride up 30 floors in an elevator with a guy wearing horrid loafers with those tassels AND I'm already cranky, THEN I'm going to take the opportunity to share this travesty with the world!

Just say no.

Boring technical jibber jabber...

Regarding posting to Blogger via email. Blogger gives you a couple of methods. The easiest is using Blogger's "change settings" button on your friendly blog dashboard. Within the settings, there is an e-mail tab with an option called "Mail-to-Blogger". Here, you establish a secret e-mail address. With this option, you can only post text, but you can do it from any email address.

To post pictures, you have to use Blogger's new go@blogger.com address. Its a couple of steps, but it does work. This is for posting from a phone. You send an e-mail with your picture to go@blogger.com. Blogger will create a temporary web page and send you back the address and a "claim" key via text message to your phone. Then, you must go to go.blogger.com and enter your claim key. They will then allow you to direct all future postings from your phone number to an existing blog. Whew!

There. You asked for it. :)

Kitties and flowers...

For those of you who believe that my blog has taken on a somber tone lately, let me reassure you that life is good. Here are two happy pictures to reinforce my point :)

First is a photo of Dobie and Buster from last night. They are striking their usual poses. Dobie is watching me closely and planning her escape route in case I try and pick her up. Buster is in mid-meow...which isn't so odd, because he does that about every 30 seconds to let you know he is alive.

And second is a pretty flower. This one is a test for my mother, who SHOULD receive this blog update via email...if I set this all up properly.

And now my next trick...

The photo of my Starbucks application? Fingers crossed!

I had to go through a couple of extra steps with Blogger.

Break in case of emergency...

One of favorite items in my office is the emergency Starbucks job application that my friend Steve filled out for me and framed. Always a good conversation piece. By the way, this is a test of posting via email. I'm NOT having a bad day :)

Balls...

I forgot that I had taken this photo of our Japanese snowball this morning in our back garden.

Speaking of balls, let me just say that I think it takes BIG balls to have someone wait around all day for installation service and then to tell them (only after they call) that they should just reschedule for another day.

Just who is the tail and who is the dog? (I just know who the ass is!)

Fortunately, its a sunny day. Jeff and I have had a relaxing time puttering around the house, and we did get out to the Apple store briefly to buy a connector to store photos from our camera onto my iPod. This way, we don't have to cart a computer around when we travel. THIS is a cool widget to have.

But...our tale of woe is with DirecTV.

I stumbled on a web article telling me that San Francisco local channels are now available in high definition. (For the record, this is how you find out things about DirecTV, because they like to bury this information on their website.) So, I called DirecTV on Friday night and they scheduled me for a Sunday morning equipment upgrade. We currently have HD through DirecTV, but apparently we need to keep up with the times and get a new HD receiver. But its free...so cool.

Anyhow, our appointment was between 8-12 this morning. At 11, we got a call saying that the technician was behind schedule (big surprise) and would not get to us until 2pm. OK. I was annoyed to lose 3 hours of my morning, but we ran off to do our errands and returned at 2pm.

At 4pm, I called DirecTV. They called their local contractor. The contractor "tried to contact the technician, but could not reach him" and suggested that I reschedule for another day. I said no...that I had wasted my day waiting for them, and that they can try a bit harder to find their guy.

Sooooo, they are sending a "supervisor technician". I don't know how much I trust him, since he can't find the technician he is supposed to be supervising.

It is 5:16. He is late.

An update. It is now 7:34. The "supervisor" never showed up. Instead the lost technician arrived. It look him FOREVER, but he did the job. (Jeff actually hooked up the HD receiver while the technician was on the roof.) Of course, when the technician called DirecTV to activate our new receiver, they tried to charge us, because there was no record of our 'no charge update'. Total time spent on the hook for DirecTV? 11 hours 34 min.

A good day for a run...

After a morning running our typical weekend errands, Jeff and I decided to take advantage of the warm afternoon sun and run along Crissy Field. This is one of our favorite runs, going all the way back to when we lived in my apartment in the Marina District. The route takes you along the northern edge of the City and ends at Ft. Point under the Golden Gate Bridge. On a day like today, you just wonder why everyone doesn't want to live in San Francisco.

The end of the route is marked by two whimsical signs for joggers to touch and turn around. There is one sign for people, and one at ground level for the joggers' canine companions. The turn-around point used to be directly under the bridge, but thanks to terrorist threats, there is an attractive jersey wall and chain link fence. Chalk up another reason to despise terrorists.


The jogging route is filled with life. Its a favorite spot for pet owners to bring their dogs to fetch and get wet in the cold Bay waters. On windy afternoons, the Bay is typically filled with wind surfers. As you get closer to the Bridge, there are picnic grounds that are ALWAYS full. Today, we even spotted an odd spontaneous linedance to some loud Christian country music blaring from an open van. Better to focus on the serene heron that wandered nearby.

As I was pulling up the photos from our jog, I was drawn back to a couple of new images from Venice. Yes, I have Venice on my mind. I'm excited, ok! But it was the pigeon photo below that made me chuckle. After my blog meltdown from earlier in the week, this shot reminded me that its not always a bad thing when the world shits on you a little bit. It can add character :)

That's what friends are for...

See, the mood has passed. This evening, Jeff and I indulged in two true comfort items: pizza and frozen cosmos. These allowed us to unwind, reflect, and talk about our upcoming vacation. We also discussed the complexity of immigration politics with a very friendly (and a tad bit odd) stranger.

Well, it all worked. I'm relaxed now. Down from my ledge.

And yes, I agree with the assertions that I have a good life. I certainly have the best friends in the world....especially you guys that read my blog. (For the record, you guys are my favorites...just don't piss the others off and tell them!)

All I need is the occasional rant. (Although those tiny bags of airline snacks STILL irk me :)

So here, in the spirit of peace, love, and harmony: a picture I took of some chicks. I'm not normally into chicks (no chuckling!), but these little peepers made me smile. Hmmm, and no, these chicks were not in the bar where I snapped the top picture...I never realized that our favorite bar has the atmosphere of a chicken incubator!

Seeking the truth...

I think I'm due for ONE rant, aren't I? I mean, I've been good, right? I've been Happy John...at least online :) But I'm just frustrated today. And I didn't get lunch. So, I'm grumpy.

What's got my goat today? What tipped me over the edge was trying to book two upcoming trips. Travel to Michigan? Expensive. Travel to Europe? Through the roof. Upgrades from those thousands of loyal miles I fly every year on United? Waitlisted.

I guess I'm just tired. I'm tired of hearing the woes of the airlines. Flights are packed. Planes are smaller. Upgrades are far and few in-between. Points in mileage programs have become totally devalued. Food in coach is a bag of Savory Snack Mix. In flight entertainment is a non-stop advertisement for a TV network. What more do these companies want from us?

I'm tired of people always wanting more.

I'm tired of being made to feel guilty for not giving more.

I'm tired of taking my car to a crooked auto service center that sloppily breaks my anti-lock brakes and then tells me that I have to pay to diagnose the problem.

I'm tired of my City telling me that they don't have enough money to fix the freakin' potholes, while we're JAM PACKED full of tourists paying top dollar for hotels and tee shirts. We're a true destination city with only 750,000 residents in a tiny 7mi x 7mi box, and yet our inept government and flavor-of-the-day social programs are draining us dry!! (We don't even have bad weather...so why the hell do we have so many potholes?!!)

Don't make me the bad guy. I'm a softie. I want to love every one. I want Mexican families to lead good lives...but don't break into my house and then tell me to feed you!! When did I become the bad guy?

I'm pretty convinced that I haven't changed one bit. I think the world shifted under my feet. The Great Quake of 2006 is just a social tremor, I guess.

Sigh.

I'm just tired of being tired.

So. Jeff and I are hopping on a plane in three weeks. We're going to Europe. And we're not answering e-mail. And our last stop (after London and Paris and parts in-between) is to return to our most peaceful destination yet. We're going to wander the silent alleys of Venice at midnight. And feel great about it.

DEN to SFO...

The upside of my visit to Denver was one of the most comfortable beds I have slept in on any business trip (kudos to Embassy Suites) and an excellent client meeting in Ft. Collins (which is about an hour north of Denver). The downside was that I woke up 4-5 times during the night to drink more water. The dry Denver air totally parched my throat.

Oh, and the Embassy Suites had nowhere for me to grab my morning latte :( Oh the horror!

Still, the trip was a success, and also very quick. I made it back to the airport to catch an early standby flight. With some time to wander a bit, I snapped a few new fun shots of the airport. You can see the main terminal's "mountain peak" roof from the outside in the first shot. Also, a shot out the window on the flight home.





So really, the only interesting story came with the cab ride from the airport to my hotel. But, after trying for the past five minutes to succinctly write this odd story, I've decided that its actually only amusing to me. (And frankly, its nothing like the cabbie I had in LA who was rude, ran the meter while he sat at the airport trying to find my destination on a map, and then sped off with the door still open after I took his name and refused to give him a tip.)

So, instead of boring you with my cab story, I will share my what-the-hell-is-that photo of the day: my cabbie in mood lighting.

Cheez-Its versus Chocolate Chip Cookies...

I took a late afternoon flight to Denver today. I have a meeting bright and early tomorrow and zip...I'll be back home for a late dinner tomorrow.

So, just for kicks, I snapped a couple of pictures during the flight. I know there are a few window glares here and there, but I thought they were fun enough to share. Plus, any image that reminds me of home is worth reflecting on :)


Also, if you have never been to Denver International Airport, then you're missing on of the most interesting main terminals in the US. The entire roof of the main terminal is fashioned from a dozen-or-so tent-like spikes that resemble snow-capped mountains on the horizon. It was nighttime when I left the airport, so I couldn't grab a shot back.

One odd thing about this airport is that is SOOOOOOOOO far from civilization. The airport is now about 10 years old, and it still stands alone out in the prairie. (People used to say that Washington Dulles was out in the middle of nowhere, so perhaps civilization is coming.)

Oh yes. About those Cheez-Its. It seems that this is Embassy Suites' response to Doubletree's chocolate chip cookies. Uh, I hope this is just a test site. Give me a warm cookie any day!

The reunion episode...

Every now and then, the fans prevail and pull a show from cancellation. So a la Family Guy, we have the return of Elena #1 in tonight's very special episode where the evil corporations and predatory men close in on our heroine. I have clipped judiciously...she was rambling a bit.

My dear. I sincerely apologize before you. I am guilty that I do not write to you the letter. I am so sorry. You understand my honey? The standard of life constantly rises and the salary remains same. I already whole year try to find to myself new good work. But I am trapped with failure. I and my girlfriend wanted to open the business. But while at us it turns out nothing. We have economic education and we understand as it is necessary to make business. The big seed capital is necessary. But communicating with you I feel better. I shall speak you the truth. At first I simply wanted to have the friend from other country. I did not trust that foreign men others. I thought that all men identical as our Russian. They try to have relations with women only to lie in bed. I understand that the majority of men want to get acquainted with me then to drag me in bed. It bothered for me. I not a simple doll. Now I was convinced that you not such as Russian men. You have soul and respect for the person. Fairly to tell I have attachment to you and I am ready to be your wife. But the life builds on my way of a barrier. While I have no opportunity to arrive to you. I cannot save the sufficient sum of money for trip. I am sorry my honey. I shall wait for your letters knowing that it lifts my mood.

This has brightened an otherwise gray, foggy day. Frankly, I'm dragging this morning, because the Claritin I took last night made it very hard to sleep. This is the Claritin D, and while it does an amazing job clearing my nasal passages, it fills my head with random crazy dreams. Really. I have the oddest, fitfull nights on Claritin. Today, I dreamt about President Bush imitating Dana Carvey imitating Bush Sr. Where THAT dream came from, I may never know.

So, we can talk about Elena, or we can read about existential Claritin experiences. Or, better yet, we can look at a photo from Venice.

Ft. Mason Photo Show...

On May 12th and 13th, I am participating in my 10th photo show with my Portfolio classmates at Ft. Mason. Our spring shows are extra special, because they are just with members of my Portfolio class...a group that morphs slowly over time, but is always a close knit group. Most of these folks have done several shows with me.

This spring, our show is called "Natural Acts". I've decided to hang some of the industrial series that I've been working on. You'll probably recognize these two samples from previous posts.

So, if you're in SF on the evening of May 12th (6-9) or during the day on the 13th (10-5), then drop by the Ft. Mason Center, Building B, Room 106.

Delivery Status Notification (Failure)...

Its been over a week now since Elena #1 or #2 have written. So, out of curiosity, I wrote a short "Hi" note to see if I could trigger something new. Well, Elena #2 no longer exists. I feel strangely abandoned!

Is this how NBC felt when Friends went off the air?

iPod iNgenius...

So yes, I've become an iPod fanatic, because frankly it has added a new distraction to some of the duller parts of my life: commuting, flights, airports, expense reports. Well that, and that it has allowed me to dust off parts of my CD collection that I haven't listened to in the Great State of California.

But let's set the record straight: the iPod's shuffle algorithm is NOT random. No way. I don't care what Apple says. I have noticed that the same bands come up over and over...and I'm not sure this is a bad thing.

Being an inquisitive one, I did today's equivalent of "in-depth research"; I did a Google search.

I didn't find anything to substantiate my claim...although there are several pages dedicated to this topic, including lots of denials from Apple. Personally, I think that Apple should tout this "smart shuffle". I think that it makes "random" more like how a DJ would program an iPod.

Let's take my current shuffle session. I have 1153 songs today. About 30 of them are from Yes. I have heard 3 in the past hour. And honestly, every 5 songs since I have owned this iPod HAS TO BE from U2. (Tell me that Apple doesn't favor U2.)

Anyhow, I think that the iPod is 1) clustering songs as it randomly selects artists, 2) favoring newly added items, and 3) repeating recently played items. This is smart programming, and I love it.

But, I can't prove it and I'm rambling and you really came to this blog to see pictures. Tomorrow.

Sunshine and lollypops...

What a nice weekend. We spent it primarily enjoying the sunshine in the garden, although we did get out for a couple of nice long drives. Our garden activities were primarily spring prunings, repotting, and fertilizing. Temperatures haven't turned warm yet, so most of our plants are still holding out for the real deal.

Friday night, we went out with Chris to one of our favorite restaurants: Lime in the Castro. Fun music, cool ambiance, very fine mojitos, and mini-hamburgers. Oh, and mini-ice cream cookies for desert! Last night, we all went out to El Torreador in West Portal--one of our favorite Mexican restaurants.

And one other fun photo...something you just don't see every day.

[Oh, by the way...there were no lollypops. Just teasing.]

Diplomacy...

At work yesterday, I read the recent press release from the White House announcing the nomination of a new ambassador to Lithuania (on the same page as a change at one of my clients...so yes, it was work.) Anyhow, the official title of the position is Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Lithuania.

OK, I admit that I had to look that up. Plenipotentiary refers to "a diplomatic agent invested with full power to transact business". Makes sense, but hard to put on a business card!

Hmmm, maybe he slips it in at parties to get chicks :)

[For the record, blogger spellcheck (which still thinks 'blogger' should be 'blocker') had no problem with Plenipotentiary.]

Little bits of goodness...

I could easily have spread this entry over five updates, but out of kindness, I'm cramming all these juicy bits into one overstuffed uber-entry! Trust me...these are all worth wading through. Consider these titles to whet your appetite:

1. Streets of Philadelphia...
2. Dirty talk in the airport
3. I'm sure that I'm carrying the bird flu...
4. Elena #1 returns...
5. Benjamin Franklin kicks ass...

So first, we begin with my warm afternoon stroll through Independence National Park yesterday afternoon. My coworker Jen and I had a couple of hours to kill before our flight home, so we took a stroll in the 80-degree sunshine.



Truly a lovely day to see the the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, and various other colonial buildings. Now, I do love that period of American history, but it does make you chuckle to visit buildings "OVER TWO HUNDRED YEARS OLD" so soon after visiting Rome and its 2000-year old structures. Oh, but I'm not here to pick.

Although, yes, I will.

So, Benjamin Franklin's final home a couple of blocks from Independence Hall was torn down after his death. Now, you can "peer underground" at the bricks that were once his house. Nice try, but the Coliseum is still standing.

Oh, but here is the brick hole where Franklin's bathwater and toilet used to drain.


So, from Independence Park, I took a short cab ride to the airport, where I grabbed a bite at the TGIFridays. It was there that I was reminded how good my job is and why I could never be a traveling salesman. Seated next to me were two middle-aged men and a young women who clearly worked in sales for the same company. One of the men (clearly with no brain-to-mouth filter) made two classic conversational observations:

"If I could do what a dog can do, I wouldn't be married." and "This store had some of the nastiest magazines. Stuff like 'Hemaphrodites' and 'Women Over 40'."

Let me remind you that he was talking with a female coworker, and that nobody at the table was under 40. Can you just imagine this guy trying to charm his way to closing a sale?

On to item #3...the bird flu. I would just like to state that for the entire flight home, the woman to my left and the two men across the aisle to my right were all sneezing. I'm doomed.

Jumping to Elena...Elena #1 to be precise. Yes, she wrote back. Jealousy perhaps? Anyhow, her storyline is advancing nicely, and for the first time we hear about sending money!! This is a good one:

My dear and love. Today I woke up with fine mood. Do you know why? Since that time when I got acquainted with you I thank destiny. I think that soon we shall together. The visa will be given to me for the period of 3 months. Do you you imagine? We can see 3 months each other and feel each other. It as in dream. Yesterday I and my girlfriend sat counted charges which will be for trip to you my honey. It approximately 1200 US dollars. I have available 330 dollars. Yesterday I could agree with the chief on work that he gave out to meholiday for 3 months then when I shall ask him. All goes well. It pleases me. ... I am glad that I have an opportunity to devote the life to the fine person as you my dear. I love you and this finest feeling. I can not wait our meeting.

Signed: "Your beauty".

Awesome.

And finally, I leave you with the best tourist trinket ever: the Benjamin Franklin action figure! It capped off a fine week.

Its good to have a backup plan...

First of all, let me say that my trip to Philadelphia has been wonderful so far. My very favorite colleagues. Amazing spring weather. Flowers in bloom. Wonderful food. And, our meeting is just two blocks from Independence Hall. In the scheme of business trips, this one is pretty nice.

But no pictures.

Anyhow, I do have an email from Elena #2. I don't know if its the same person writing, but this Elena sent blonde pictures, and the other brunette. It was a long email, so here are the highlights:

Hello my the new friend. I am glad to receive your letter. I am very happy that now I write you this letter. I want to speak much more about me. Ok??? My name is Elena. This very much widespread name in Russia. I was born and now I live in Russia. My city a name Kirov City. I very much love children but I have not children and I was never married. You probably want to know why I was not married??? In Russia it is a lot of men and they use many alcoholic drinks and want only sex. And I want to find the man of my dream and to create happy family. It is very difficult in Russia. Also I have overlooked to speak you that I do not drink and I do not smoke, but I do not mind if people have this hobbits. ... I hope that you will not ignore me and write to me and we shall learn each other better because I think from one letter we do not learn each other. I shall wait for yours the letter.

Coming in May: Elmo's World...

Yes friends, the billboards in Philadelphia are proclaiming the arrival of Elmo's World.

THAT is the highlight of my trip to Philadelphia today. I'm assuming the rest of the trip will turn up some interesting stories or photos.

In the meantime...here is the carpet at Philadelphia's airport! Take that. That's how I felt about the airport this afternoon.

I mean frankly, there is nothing here to report yet. The flight was normal...no food makes me grumpy but its old news. My hotel room is normal...I'm like a kid that looks forward to Christmas only to get a sweater (a nice sweater...but just a sweater!).

The only item of note today was that I got an email at WORK from a mysterious Elena from Russia. MY Elena is now cheating on my alter ego...with me! How dare she. Here is what she wrote:

Hello!!! I am a 32 year old girl who loves life. I like to stay busy, always doing something. My favorite things ever include the sun, the water and the beach, art and music? I'm looking for someone who loves to have fun. Someone who can not only keep up with me, but who will challenge me. If you want to correspond with me and to learn more about me that write to me on my e-mail. Ok??? I shall wait for your letters. As soon as you will write to me that I shall send you my photos. Ok??? Your friend Elena.

Notice no accent in this one. Sigh. I fear she is gone.

Oh, and happy 100-year anniversary of the Great Quake. (For the record, Jeff and I own a home built on bedrock.)