Scientific evidence proves....
as if it needed to be said again: Procrastination makes things worse!! It's been nigh on two months since this dear blog was updated, and it's nagged me persistently. Some of that was wanting to record our news, some was wanting to actually let people know that we landed okay, and how to reach us now that we're in California. So! Let me start at the beginning (kinda), and try to sum up a whole lotta goings-on.
Before we left Asheville, we did indeed put in a bid on a cute little 2-bedroom house in West Asheville, that became ours mid-September. Our amazing, shining-knight-of-a-realtor Rory walked us calmly through the entire process, and has gone above and beyond earthly courtesy by showing the house to prospective tenants. We're looking forward to meeting our new tenants when we next visit Asheville, which will be in March for the wedding of our friends Justin and Michelle, who got engaged on a lovely beach in Costa Rica. Asheville came to us a few weeks ago, when friends Jason and Liz visited northern California on their way to see Liz's brother and girlfriend, who live on a Hawaiian plantation. They've pounded poi in the jungle! How cool is that? Berkeley pales in comparison.
One thing we do love about living in Berkeley is that transit by bicycle is the norm. (I feel more at ease on a bike than in a car -- 'cause you gotta watch out for bicycles everywhere!!) That said, we were unprepared for the outrageous market for STOLEN BICYCLES, of which we fell victim in our second week here. We'd just returned from a camping trip to beautiful Big Sur, where we'd splashed in frigid waters and admired a sea of clouds from a mountain ridge, to discover that our bicycles had been stolen from Kenneth's house (those rat-bastards!). We were advised to look for them at a local (sketchy) flea market, and at a bike dealer's known for possessing unlawfully obtained property. Unsuccessful, and very nearly heartbroken, we resigned ourselves to declaring them gone for good. And they very nearly were... well, Kenneth's is, because he had a whopping kick-ass bike that must have netted someone a tidy profit, and we haven't seen it since. But six days after the theft, I happened to wander by said nefarious bike shop--with no hope in my heart, but just to look and see what was there--and THERE WAS MY BIKE! And the rat-bastard made me buy it back from him!! For seventy-five dollars! After I'd given him a precise description the week before! And I had to pester him to return all the juicy parts he'd removed from it -- my seat, my back rack, my pedals even. But don't worry, I called my credit card company and reported him for fraud. And I bought myself a hefty lock that very day.
At the risk of going on and on, I'll quickly sum up the rest of our too-busy lives: Kenneth and I started our school programs, both of us in teacher training for the Alexander Technique and K also for Waldorf education. I've been (ecstatically) working in a gourmet ice cream shop, run by the former pastry chef of Chez Panisse (yes, you should have heard of it). In two weeks I start my dream job, at a new business called Urban Forest Home (details forthcoming). Kenneth has been walking dogs at a local shelter, getting a daily doggie fix while still managing to keep up with his substantial homework. We each moved into shared housing, where we enjoy the company of our housemates, have each other over for visits, and appreciate the time and space to write and re-write our lists.
You can reach us at:
PO Box 96, Berkeley, CA 94701
We send you our love, our best wishes for a colorful fall, and look forward to hearing from you!
Michele and Kenneth
Before we left Asheville, we did indeed put in a bid on a cute little 2-bedroom house in West Asheville, that became ours mid-September. Our amazing, shining-knight-of-a-realtor Rory walked us calmly through the entire process, and has gone above and beyond earthly courtesy by showing the house to prospective tenants. We're looking forward to meeting our new tenants when we next visit Asheville, which will be in March for the wedding of our friends Justin and Michelle, who got engaged on a lovely beach in Costa Rica. Asheville came to us a few weeks ago, when friends Jason and Liz visited northern California on their way to see Liz's brother and girlfriend, who live on a Hawaiian plantation. They've pounded poi in the jungle! How cool is that? Berkeley pales in comparison.
One thing we do love about living in Berkeley is that transit by bicycle is the norm. (I feel more at ease on a bike than in a car -- 'cause you gotta watch out for bicycles everywhere!!) That said, we were unprepared for the outrageous market for STOLEN BICYCLES, of which we fell victim in our second week here. We'd just returned from a camping trip to beautiful Big Sur, where we'd splashed in frigid waters and admired a sea of clouds from a mountain ridge, to discover that our bicycles had been stolen from Kenneth's house (those rat-bastards!). We were advised to look for them at a local (sketchy) flea market, and at a bike dealer's known for possessing unlawfully obtained property. Unsuccessful, and very nearly heartbroken, we resigned ourselves to declaring them gone for good. And they very nearly were... well, Kenneth's is, because he had a whopping kick-ass bike that must have netted someone a tidy profit, and we haven't seen it since. But six days after the theft, I happened to wander by said nefarious bike shop--with no hope in my heart, but just to look and see what was there--and THERE WAS MY BIKE! And the rat-bastard made me buy it back from him!! For seventy-five dollars! After I'd given him a precise description the week before! And I had to pester him to return all the juicy parts he'd removed from it -- my seat, my back rack, my pedals even. But don't worry, I called my credit card company and reported him for fraud. And I bought myself a hefty lock that very day.
At the risk of going on and on, I'll quickly sum up the rest of our too-busy lives: Kenneth and I started our school programs, both of us in teacher training for the Alexander Technique and K also for Waldorf education. I've been (ecstatically) working in a gourmet ice cream shop, run by the former pastry chef of Chez Panisse (yes, you should have heard of it). In two weeks I start my dream job, at a new business called Urban Forest Home (details forthcoming). Kenneth has been walking dogs at a local shelter, getting a daily doggie fix while still managing to keep up with his substantial homework. We each moved into shared housing, where we enjoy the company of our housemates, have each other over for visits, and appreciate the time and space to write and re-write our lists.
You can reach us at:
PO Box 96, Berkeley, CA 94701
We send you our love, our best wishes for a colorful fall, and look forward to hearing from you!
Michele and Kenneth
posted by Perpetual Pilgrim at 6:54 PM
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